Flag

by demonicgallade

listen (unfinished)

Fight Like A Girl BookwormBelle Summary:
On the way to school one morning, Izuku falls victim to a sex change quirk, and ends up getting sucked into another nefarious scheme. Now, Izuku must continue her hero training while balancing her new gender and other changes. Will she be able to juggle all these changes and still manage to become the #1 hero?

Notes:
First off, I'd like to apologize and give a word of warning: I'm not really a writer. I'm doing this mostly for fun; I've wanted to write this for a while now. I've been reading a lot of other fics lately, so some of my writing is probably inspired by them. Either way, I hope you enjoy it, and thanks for reading! 3

Also special thanks to my beta reader citygirlgeek2 for pointing out how garbage parts of this were before editing.

Chapter 1: A Really Bad Day Chapter Text The light from the full moon came through a window, casting shadows of crates and random objects stored away. The warehouse seemed long forgotten by the original owner; it's purpose now only to collect cobwebs. The few windows that remained were coated in a thick layer of dust. Most curiously in this warehouse was a figure, chained up, arms pinned to their sides, and hung from the ceiling.

The figure had a familiar outline, yet somehow different. The moonlight highlighted the figure as they were slowly spinning while they dangled from the ceiling. The figure's hair was fluffy and slightly curly, going down to their mid back, and partly covering their face. They were currently unconscious, hanging limp in the air, bound by the chains wrapped around them.

Below the figure sat a single woman with long blonde hair. She seemed to be distracting herself by looking at something on her cell phone, completely ignoring the figure hanging above her. She seemed to be chewing gum and would occasionally blow and pop a bubble while she continued to fiddle with her phone. Her phone screen flashed with news reports, namely, of a missing boy from U.A. High School. The name of the boy read "Izuku Midoriya" and showed a picture of a boy with freckles and fluffy dark-green hair similar to the figure hanging about her.

The woman's eyes narrowed momentarily, while she looked to be thinking through something. She glanced from her phone up to the figure hanging above her, and then back to her phone. She shook her head, and continued to browse the news on her phone, going back to ignoring the suspended person above her. The woman tucked her hair behind her ear, and flinched when she heard police sirens drive by. She sat on edge until the sirens faded off into the distance, feeling safe once more.

The figure above began stirring, and groggily opened their eyes. They looked around and started panicking in the unfamiliar surroundings. They struggled to release themselves from their bonds, but try as they might, the chains that bound them refused to give in to their vain attempts at freedom. The woman beneath them still hadn't looked up from her phone as she continued to whittle away her time.

Okay, I seem to be bound and … hanging above a warehouse? How did I get here? Think Izuku! Look around, what can we determine from where we are? There's a lot of dust, so it's unused. There seems to be windows that are broken, and I smell salt, so I'm by the ocean? Maybe that means I'm still in Musutafu by the water in the warehouse district?

As Izuku had been thinking, they began muttering at the same time, the same habit that had gotten them in trouble back during the U.A. entrance exam, and the same one that some of their friends commented on every time it came up.

"Be quiet up there! Your muttering is driving me insane, I can't even distract myself from it because it's just so damn annoying." Screamed the woman from below.

Damn, I guess she knows I 'm awake now.

The woman was frustrated and vigorously typing on her phone, probably to get into contact with someone else. Her face looked slightly more agitated than before. She was no longer sitting in her chair, and had stood up and started pacing. After a few seconds her phone rang and she answered it.

"Hello?

Yeah, the kid's awake. What do you want me to do?

What do you mean just wait here?

But what if some hero shows up looking for them?

I suppose you're right, she would be worth a pretty penny on the market. Fine, I'll keep waiting. But you and your goons better be here ASAP to help me out just in case one of those heroes shows up, or I'm bailing when they get here, got it?"

So they 're going to sell me? I guess to them I look like a girl now. I… can't really disagree with that assessment, it's just annoying that 24 hours ago this wouldn't have happened if I still looked like a boy.

Izuku sighed. This was not an enviable position to be in by any stretch of the imagination. But how did she get into this position to begin with? To figure that out, we'll rewind the clock to earlier that day.

—

Izuku got up this morning like any other. He got out of bed, did his sets of push-ups, sit-ups, and decided to go for a run before starting his day. His arms were still scarred from his fight with Todoroki; they probably always would be. The cool morning air always woke him up, and ever since he had gotten used to running daily due to All Might, he continued to wake up with a morning run. The sun still wasn't quite up when he started, but that was Izuku's favorite part about running in the morning; watching the sunrise.

He got back home, and his mom was just finishing up breakfast.

"Morning Izuku! I made you breakfast. Please eat, you need to get your strength back after the Sports Festival." Her eyes drifted down to his arm, worry crossing her face.

"Mom, I swear it's fine. I learned my lesson. Recovery Girl already told me the dangers of overusing my quirk again. I just need to get a better understanding of it…" He started mumbling to himself before Inko interrupted.

"I know sweetie, but I'm your mother. It's my job to worry about you. Especially when you do something so… so reckless." Her eyes were starting to glisten from the tears beginning to form.

"Mom, I promise. I'll be more careful." He said, getting up to hug his mother. She started crying from the hug.

"Please do. I love you Izuku. I'm so proud of you." She sniffled one last time.

Izuku was going to be late at this rate, so he finished the last few bites of his breakfast and headed for the door. "Sorry Mom, I can't be late. I'll see you later okay?" He threw on his shoes and said his parting words to his mother as usual.

"Of course dear. Be safe. Plus Ultra!" She wore a big smile on her face, though she tried to hide it, she was still worried.

Izuku closed the door behind him, and turned towards the station to make his way to school. He had plans today to meet up with some of the others to go out to the park after class. A couple of the girls wanted to go to the park and invited him to join them to enjoy some time outside of U.A. together. He was supposed to meet up with Kirishima, Uraraka, Asui, Yaoyorozu, Jirou, Hagakure, and Ashido after classes let out. The girls said they also invited some of the boys, but most of them were busy; Shouto said he had personal plans, Kacchan told them to "fuck off", Kaminari had other plans with his parents, and Iida was visiting his brother. It ended up with all the other guys in the class having plans of some sort, so Izuku would be spending some time with the girls at the park as the only boy from class 1-A.

Just thinking about spending time with all the girls in class makes me nervous. Maybe I should just tell them I 'm busy as well, and they can just have a girl's day together? But then they'd probably think I was too scared to hang around them just because they're girls, since I already said I would before all the other guys cancelled. I don't mind spending time with them; going to the park sounds fun anyway. I haven't had much leisure time since the start of the semester anyway…

He was so caught up in his own thoughts that he didn't notice the woman he ran into. She wore clothes that covered almost every inch of her skin, including gloves for her hands. The only thing not covered on this woman was her face. Given the weather, this should have stood out to Izuku had he been paying attention. However, he was busy thinking when he got on the train, causing him to miss the woman, and she was too preoccupied to notice him. His arm brushed against her, right at the separation of where her sleeve and gloves just barely didn't cover her skin.

The morning train wasn't packed today, so Izuku managed to find a seat as he continued to debate on his plans later today. While he continued to mentally argue the merits of spending time with all the girls, he started to feel a strange sensation.

Why do I feel so light-headed? Did I not sleep enough? That can 't be it. Did I not eat enough? I ate what I normally eat for breakfast. Is it someone's quirk? Is there a villain on the train?

Izuku looked around mildly panicked, but the light-headed feeling became worse, and Izuku slowly began to black out where he sat. To a normal commuter, it probably looked like he was just exhausted and decided to sleep on the train before his stop, so no one bothered him or tried to wake him up. The train arrived at the station for him to disembark to U.A. and he continued to remain unconscious.

—

"Katsuki?" Aizawa droned.

"Yeah, I'm here."

"Midoriya?"

Silence.

"Midoriya? Does anyone know where Midoriya is?"

"No one's heard from him today Aizawa-sensei. He was supposed to meet up after class today with some of us, since he just got out of the hospital recently. He should be here today." Mina informed him.

"Hm. I'm going to call his house and see if he left for school this morning. I'll be back, don't make a mess while I'm gone." Aizawa walked out of the room.

"What do you think is going on with Midoriya-kun? He's never absent from class." Kirishima Eiko said. Her red hair went to about her shoulders, with spikes here and there. Her spiky teeth hidden by her current frown she wore. She had turned to talk to her childhood friend Mina.

"Except when he breaks his bones you mean. Midoriya tends to do that a lot lately… But why are you worried anyways, got a crush on him?" Mina said. She enjoyed teasing her friends far too much.

"You know that's not true, Mina. Besides…" Eiko looked in Uraraka's direction, "Pretty sure someone already has dibs on him." She turned back to Mina and flashed a toothy grin. "I'm sure he's fine. Maybe he just needed another day to recover?"

"But I feel he would've told one of us. Midoriya isn't that inconsiderate…" Mina looked concerned.

At the back of the class, Uraraka was watching the door to the classroom. She had a look of concern on her face, but she wasn't listening to the conversation her friends were having ahead of her. "Please be okay Deku-kun," she said a quiet prayer to herself.

—

Some time later, Izuku awoke to a young man taking his pulse on the bus, and shining a flashlight in his eyes; two officers stood nearby to oversee the examination. "Excuse me, miss? Are you okay? We found you unconscious when we reached the last stop before we turned around and decided to check on you," said the young man. He looked to be an EMT by his apparel.

What 's going on? My head still feels fuzzy. I remember getting on the train this morning, and then feeling really light-headed. Did he say I was unconscious until the last stop? Wait, that means-

"Wait, you said I was unconscious all the way until the last stop? What time is it?! I'm late for classes! Aizawa-sensei is going to kill me." Izuku shrieked. The voice that came out of his mouth was clearly more feminine that usual, marked by a higher pitch than his normal tone.

"Wait, is that my voice!?" There was no way that was his voice. It was way too girly. Sure, he was already fairly feminine compared to most of the class 1-A boys, but his voice now? The boys would surely give him grief over it if it didn't go back to normal before he got to school.

"Miss, are you okay? You seem shaken up," the young EMT continued. He was probably in his twenties, maybe still in his late teens, but he seemed very knowledgeable on treating patients.

"Miss? Why did you call me miss? I'm not a gi-"

Izuku caught his- her(?) reflection in the window. It was unmistakably him, except it was also completely different. The face in the reflection resembled his own, but was now far more feminine. The hair was longer; down to around mid back, but it was still the same green color, with the fluffy curls from before. The eyelashes on the face were longer, and this face seemed softer than his was. He looked down at his hands, his scars still present on his right arm, but his hand wasn't as deformed, and both of them were much more feminine. He took his hands and ran them down over his body, examining all of his body.

The skin felt soft to the touch, softer than it had before. He watched the reflection as he ran his hands over his face, noting that the reflection mirrored exactly what he was doing. His hands moved down to his torso and stopped feeling a soft sensation. He pressed on his body's breasts again, and a small sensation shot through his body.

I have breasts!? What on … hold on.

After finishing that thought his hands moved down to his hips and around his butt, and then to his groin. Where before he had been unmistakably male, now his body was very much not.

"What the hell is going on!?" He yelled in his now very cutesy voice. "This isn't right at all! I'm… I'm a girl?!"

"Miss, what do you mean? Is something wrong?"

"Yes something's wrong! When I got on the train to go to school today, I was very much a boy. And now… as far as I can tell, I'm a girl!" Izuku's voice was distressed. He - or she? - was unsure what to make of this situation.

I 'm not sure why, but I don't feel as upset as I should. I mean, sure I'm shocked at this entire situation, but I don't feel… upset? Or sickened. I might even feel a little… happy?

"I'm sorry, you said you were a boy before you got on the train this morning? But that's not possible, miss. Are you sure you didn't hit your head or have a crazy dream?" The EMT's face was extremely concerned, and the two officers looked at the situation with a hint of concern. "There's nothing that would change you from a boy into a girl; there aren't even quirks that would do that, are there?" He looked up at the two officers. Both of them shrugged, unsure of the answer themselves.

"Oh… Um." Izuku took a breath to calm down. "I think I'm okay. Do I need to be checked out before I can leave?"

"Oh, yes. If you don't mind, we have a nurse on site who can check out everything to make sure you're okay, then you can go on your way." The young man smiled, and helped Izuku to his feet. Her feet? Izuku had some thinking to do on that matter, but first, getting cleared to go back to school by the nurse. The two officers nodded to the EMT and headed back out on patrol. The EMT started to lead Izuku to a small office near the train boarding area.

"Um, thank you for checking on me. I-I really do appreciate it." Izuku was suddenly nervous. He hated being a burden to others, but he seemed to always inconvenience them by breaking himself and making more trouble for them. He wanted to be a hero to save others, to protect them. And if things kept going the way they were, Aizawa-sensei's words during the ball throw would ring true.

How can I expect to save everyone if I keep causing trouble for everyone else? I really need to figure out how to use my quirk in a way that won't cause more trouble for other heroes.

"Of course. I couldn't leave a pretty girl like yourself unconscious on the train for some pervert to take advantage of." The EMT smiled, and Izuku blushed at the comment.

I 'm pretty? I figured I looked more cute to others. Wait, that's not the point. Why am I blushing about being called pretty? Do I actually like being pretty?

"Here you go, Miss. Nurse Aki will take care of you and make sure you're all set. Try not to pass out on the train anymore," he said with a small smile and waved to Izuku as he left.

"So you must be the young lady who passed out on the train? I'm Nurse Aki, pleased to meet you."

"Ah, likewise." Izuku did a small bow.

"I'm going to run a few tests to make sure there's nothing wrong with you, then you have the all clear to go back to school, since by the look of your uniform you're skipping class today." She gave Izuku a small wink.

"That's not- that's not what I was doing. I started feeling light-headed and then passed out on the train. Next thing I know I'm being woken up by that EMT shining a light in my eyes." Izuku explained.

"I'm kidding sweetie. You just looked a little tense, so I figured a joke would be good for you. Do you mind if I draw some blood to do a few quick tests?

"Uh, sure. That's fine."

Nurse Aki drew some blood, and then took a small amount and put it on a tablet looking device. The display changed to show a diagnostic read out of anything that could be wrong with a patient.

"Seems that you're all fine. The tests some mild anemia, but nothing that should cause you to pass out if managed properly, so you might need more iron. Though it's also possible you're overworking yourself in your studies. Judging by your U.A. uniform, and how rigorous the coursework is there. Might be a good idea to take some time off and relax soon."

She turned the tablet display so Izuku could see it. A various list of diseases were listed as "Negative" on the results. The result next to anemia had a "Positive" next to it. At the top left of the display screen were the words "Donor sample XX".

Well, there 's no question Izuku. Your body is that of a girl now. Does that mean I'm a girl? Or a boy trapped in a girl's body? Do I feel trapped in this body?

"Thanks Nurse Aki, I appreciate it. I need to be heading off to school, I'm already late." She grabbed her bag from where she left it on the way in. "Actually, what time is it?"

"It is currently close to noon. You were out for a while apparently." She furrowed her brow and scrunched her mouth a bit. "You might be able to make it back to Musutafu and U.A. in time for your last class if you catch the next train. Here's a note I wrote explaining your situation to your teachers." She handed Izuku a piece of paper.

"Oh. Well thank you again. I'll be going then." Izuku ran out the door, returned to the platform, and waited for the next train.

So, I got on the train this morning, passed out, and woke up as a girl. Did anything happen when I got on the train? I remember being deep in thought while I waited for the train, and I was trying to figure out if I should spend time with the girls in my- The girls in my class! Oh god, school. How am I going to explain this? How am I going to explain this to Mom? But … I kind of want to stay like this? Is that bad? I kind of like being a girl, it just… feels right? Is it wrong to think of myself as a girl now?

Izuku started to become panicked, muttering out loud under her breath with her nervous tick. She didn't notice the woman with long blonde hair walk up behind her and follow her onto the train. As she continued to mutter to herself, the woman continued to watch her from right behind her, examining her delicate features; the woman licked her lips while staring at Izuku's feminine features. Izuku was busy in her own little world. So much so that she didn't notice the woman sidle up closer to her, and put her hand on Izuku's shoulder. Once again, the world around Izuku began to fade to blackness with that feeling of being lightheaded.

—

When Izuku awoke again, it was nighttime. She was dangling from the ceiling in the warehouse, the only light being the full moon, and the crappy lamp on the desk below her, along with some street lights off in the distance she could barely make out through the windows.

Twice today. Twice today I 've passed out on the train. Though this time looks like I was kidnapped, so I'm guessing someone used their quirk on me. Probably this blonde woman below me? So her quirk has something to do with rendering a person unconscious? Is it like Midnight's? Or is hers by touch? I'd guess by touch, since if it were scent based, I'd probably still be unconscious.

The woman finished her conversation that she was having on the phone. She looked up at Izuku and then went back to looking at her phone.

Well, it looks like she 's not particularly interested in keeping a close eye on me. Look around Izuku, is there anything you can see to figure out where you are? Or how to get out of here?

Her eyes scanned the room, and she caught a glimpse of her backpack. It was tossed near the desk in the middle of the floor, still closed. Well, at least I can grab my stuff and run out of here if it comes down to it.

The chains around Izuku were fairly tight, but not tight enough to restrict breathing. She didn't want to use her quirk if she didn't have to, knowing that she would probably hurt herself more than help herself if she wasn't careful. It wasn't ideal, but she could claim self-defense using her quirk here, since she was chained up and held captive. That didn't change the fact that she would probably break something in her body if she used her quirk anyway, which would make escaping so much worse.

Izuku looked around some more and couldn't find any other way to get out of this situation; she was going to have to use her quirk. She took a deep breath and sighed. Even in this situation she could hear Aizawa-sensei going off on her about not hurting herself while using her quirk. 'You can't injure yourself and become some useless doll for someone else to save.'

Sorry Aizawa-sensei, it 's either hurt myself, or be sold off like some commodity. And I'm not particularly fond of the idea of being sold. But I don't think I need to use my full strength of One For All… Wait, what if I used a smaller percentage of it; just enough to break the chains?

She focused on using her quirk at less than full strength throughout her body. She would need her legs to brace for the fall, her arms and core for breaking the chains. A small amount of green lightning danced around her, and she mustered her strength, and managed to break the chains while only bruising herself a little.

I didn 't break anything! Maybe… No escape now, figure out One For All later.

Izuku dropped from her suspended location above and dropped down onto the woman below. She had barely heard the chains break when Izuku landed on her. The impact dazed the woman long enough for Izuku to pin her down. She used a pair of handcuffs she found on the desk to handcuff the woman to it, since it was the only thing readily available.

"Not bad girly. But as I'm sure you heard, I have people coming who are bound to show up any minute now." She had a sinister smile on her face.

"I won't be sticking around to meet them."

Izuku grabbed the woman's phone, and ran to grab her backpack. She pulled out her own phone, and sent the location she was at to the police department and began running out the warehouse. She got outside, and realized she had no idea where she was. She dialed the police number she had just sent her location to.

"Hello, emergency line, what is your location and what is your emergency?" A voice far too cheery for the job said.

"I sent my location to you from my phone. I was kidnapped and escaped, and I'm currently surrounded by warehouses. The woman who was holding me said she had 'friends' coming so I need police or anyone to help as soon as possible!" She was trying to remain calm, and given the situation, was doing a fairly good job of it.

"Understood, we have a unit near the location you sent us. Remain where you are, and police will be there momentarily to assist you ma'am."

Izuku looked around and saw two cars pull up to the warehouse, headlights shining in her direction. "I don't think I can do that, it looks like her 'friends' showed up sooner than I thought they would." She started to run off down an alleyway between two of the warehouses. "I'm going to keep this line open if that's okay. But currently I'm running from those guys since I'd rather not go back." Izuku's voice was far more panicked than it was before.

"Of course ma'am, is there anywhere you can hide?"

"Um… Yes, there's a building up ahead. It might be locked though. But I'll check." She ran towards the building, hoping to find refuge from her pursuers. As she approached the door, the world seemed to slow down. She was nearly to the door of the building when the building blew up, sending her flying back and showering her with glass, slicing her skin and puncturing her with shrapnel. The pain caused her to lose consciousness for the third and final time that day. As the world faded to black, she saw the flashing lights of police officers, and could swear she heard someone yelling at her in a panicked voice asking if she was okay.

—

"I don't understand it either Doctor Akira, by all accounts that explosion should have killed her, or at least severely injured to crippled her. But from a cursory exam, she's completely unharmed." A man's voice was speaking with someone else.

"Well Doctor Kochi, let's just consider it a miracle that she survived."

Where am I? She opened her eyes, and the bright fluorescent bulbs blinded her. Ah, a hospital. How did I- Oh. There was an explosion. I'm not dead?

She groaned aloud; she may not be dead, but she still felt like she had been hit by an explosion. The two men that were talking before looked at her. The doctor who's voice must be Doctor Kochi began speaking to her first. "Miss, are you okay? You were caught up in an explosion from what was supposed to be an abandoned building. The assumption so far is a gas leak, but they're looking into it. The officers that arrived said they saw you get hit by the explosion nearly point blank. Honestly, they were surprised you didn't die immediately."

The other man with a bearded face continued, his voice was the one belonging to Doctor Akira. "But apparently as they approached you, your wounds on your body had already started to heal…"

"Wha-" She looked down at her body, there were no wounds anywhere. She still had her scars on her right arm, but the wounds from the previous night were nowhere to be seen. "Wait, that's… what happened? I was almost certain that was going to kill me. I had metal sticking out of me!"

"Now now. Don't get too worked up. From the looks of it, your quirk saved you. It seems you regenerated after the injuries were sustained. When the officers found you, they were… shocked to say the least. Your body had basically been shredded, and somehow managed to still be intact. Though, the same can't be said for your school uniform," continued the Doctor Akira.

"The only problem is we don't have any ID for you, though it looks like you had your brother's ID on you, so we don't actually know what your quirk does. As far as we can tell you have some pretty powerful regeneration. And some… interesting fangs."

"Fa- Did you say fangs?" She said. "…Do you have a mirror?"

Doctor Kochi handed her a mirror. She smiled so her teeth would show, and sure enough, there were some very noticeable fangs in her mouth where her canines normally sat. Izuku flushed at the site, not that there was much color in her face to begin with. She also noticed her eyes were red, which struck her as odd. The whole look seemed very… sinister to her. Not exactly heroic by any means.

"I've never had fangs before… And I've never had regeneration before…" Izuku said quietly. Maybe the entire day would be just a weird dream. Not that it was all bad. She did get to be a girl after all, even if she was mostly unconscious for it.

"Oh? Hm. Your quirk might… Is it possible your quirk activated because of a near death situation? Or because of the explosion? I suppose the investigation underway there will let us know more. Anywho, we also need to contact your family. Is there someone we should call?"

"Huh? Oh. Yeah, call my mother please. Tell her 'Izuku is unhurt, but… unhurt but might look a little different.'" She muttered.

"Miss? What do you mean?"

"Would you believe me if I told you I was a boy yesterday? That ID in my bag is mine; I don't have a brother. I woke up like this yesterday after passing out on the train, and after that I got kidnapped and-" She was breathing rapidly at this point, nearly to the point of hyperventilating.

Doctor Akira handed her a bag to breathe into. "Please, take some deep breaths. We'll call your mother to make sure she knows what's going on. But we don't want you passing out in the meantime. We need to run some tests, so we're going to need to take a blood sample and we're also going to have a female nurse give you an exam, is that okay?"

"…Yeah, that's fine." Izuku was busy in her own head, thinking through everything that had happened today.

What the hell is going on today. I regenerated? I should be dead. That explosion … That shrapnel turned me into minced meat. But the police officers said I was alive, and my body was healing itself? And now I have fangs? This is all too much. I know I didn't have a quirk before. We had it verified by several doctors. Is this part of One For All? I'll have to talk to All Might about this later and see what he says…

She laid back in her hospital bed, waiting for the nurse to come in and do her examination, too exhausted to continue her thinking for the moment.

Chapter 2: How About Izumi?
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text Inko Midoriya was a mess. She had received a phone call from the hospital she was currently at stating that Izuku Midoriya was a patient there. She rushed straight over after the call, panicked at the news that Izuku was in the hospital after being missing for the last day. She arrived at the front desk and was promptly escorted to a waiting area. The receptionist who escorted her informed her a doctor would be in shortly, then turned and left Inko in the room by herself.

She paced the room for several minutes before a young doctor with a clean-shaven face came in. His eyes were tired, probably from working too many hours, and his hair was starting to grey. He began to introduce himself to Inko, but she was too impatient to wait, thus beginning her barrage of questions.

"Where is my son? Where is Izuku? What is going on? Why won't anyone tell me what's going on? Please tell me what's going on." Her eyes were nearly drowned in tears, but she was keeping them at bay for the moment. She was determined to find out what was going on with Izuku before she broke down and cried.

"Mrs. Midoriya, Izuku is fine. They're currently in our care, and we're running some diagnostic tests on them. But the reason we stopped you before you could see Izuku was because we have some… shocking news."

Her face was nearly distraught at this point, but she managed to form a reply. "Shocking news? What news? Is he okay? Where is he?"

"Well, Mrs. Midoriya… You might want to have a seat for this news." He waited a moment for her to seat herself in one of the waiting room chairs before continuing. "There's no real delicate way for me to say this, so I'll just tell you. Izuku seems to have been hit by a quirk that affects a person's gender; Izuku's body is no longer that of a male. But they seem to be handling it well. Oddly so. We felt it best that you see them after hearing this news to better prepare yourself." He looked pensive after he finished talking.

"But Izuku is fine? Can I see hi- them?" Inko was about to cry again.

"Yes, of course. They're currently being examined by the nurse, but as soon as she's done, you can see them." He nodded to her and walked out the room.

"Izuku…"

—

Nurse Rika, according to her name tag, finished her examination which consisted of a full head-to-toe assessment. Izuku was blushing on her bed now; for part of the exam she was asked to take off her gown. She even caught a few glimpses of herself in the mirror, though she tried to avoid looking at herself for the moment. The few glances she did catch only made her blush grow deeper. After the exam was finished, Izuku put back on the hospital gown she was wearing before, and a soft knock was heard at the door. The nurse walked over and opened it, greeting the person at the door.

"Ah, Mrs. Midoriya I presume? I just finished my examination, come right in." Nurse Rika then escorted Inko into the room and over to Izuku. Nurse Rika started to leave, "If you need anything, feel free to press the call button on your bed." With that she closed the door behind her.

The two Midoriyas sat in silence for a few moments. Izuku's gaze never meeting her mother's. Izuku broke the silence, speaking in her new feminine voice. "Mom, I know it's a lot to process. But-"

"Honey, I'm just happy you're okay." She smiled, tears still rimming her eyes. She leaned over and gave Izuku a hug, nearly smothering her. "I was so worried about you. Aizawa-sensei called me asking if you left for school, since you never showed up to class, and I couldn't get a hold of you. I was worried something awful had happened to you. I don't know what I'd do if something terrible happened to you Izuku. I worry about you being a hero enough as is." Inko had started rambling, similar to how Izuku did when nervous or deep in thought.

"So, you… you'll still love me even if I'm… Even if I'm a girl?" Izuku managed to stammer out. The question had been bothering her since she first thought of telling her mom. Of course Izuku knew that her mom loved her but that was before this; this was a big change. So the anxiety of not knowing whether her mom would still love her after this was done and settled.

"Of course, sweetie. You're you. And I'll always love and support you." She paused for a moment, searching for the right words. "Are you… okay with being a girl?" Inko was worried. This kind of news would be devastating for most people. She wanted to make sure her Izuku was going to be okay, no matter what.

"It was a bit of a shock when I first woke up like this. But I've given it some thought over the last twenty-four hours." She took a deep breath, "…I actually… kind of prefer it…" Izuku mumbled. She finally looked at her mother and continued, "So if possible, I'd like to stay like this and live as a girl." Her smile was wide, which showed off her current fangs in her mouth. Her gaze also met Inko's which highlighted her red eyes as well.

Inko was momentarily caught off guard but soon recovered. The tears in Inko's eyes were starting to run down her face now, but she wanted to reassure her now-daughter that everything was fine, and she was there for her. She wouldn't make the mistake of apologizing for things out of her control again. "Then everything is fine. I still love you just the same, Izuku." Inko stopped for a moment realizing something. "Honey, are you going to keep your name? It is a boy's name after all."

"I… I hadn't thought about it much yet. I should probably think of a new name, right?" She looked at her mom unsure of picking a new name for herself.

Inko nodded, "I think that would make sense. Do you have anything that comes to mind?" Inko was trying to fight her tears with all she had. She was happy her child was alive but it was a change still. But she was going to be supportive no matter what.

"Um… I don't really have anything currently… Does anything come to mind for you? If we don't think of one immediately I can always think on it. "

"I don't know… Well, you can give it some thought, and we can always talk about it more after we leave here." Inko was crying fountains at this point; the floodgates had opened and they weren't stopping.

Izuku hugged her mom and let her cry for a while longer. Doctor Kochi, the clean-shaven doctor with salt and pepper hair, eventually came back in with a digital tablet and sat down near the bed.

"So, Miss Midoriya and Mrs. Midoriya, how are you both holding up?"

Izuku was patting her mother on the back as Inko cried into her chest. "I seem to be doing fine but we're just working through… all this. I'm guessing you have the test results there?"

"Ah yes. We ran some tests on your blood. We didn't find anything wrong with your blood work. Though we did find something interesting in your blood."

"And what's that?" Izuku remarked.

"Well, we did find out your blood has some… regenerative qualities. You mentioned before that you've never had this quirk until last night, correct?"

"Well, yeah. My quirk has nothing to do with regeneration. I don't know if you watched the Sports Festival last week, but my quirk is… well the best way to describe it is super strength." She stated.

"Well, upon testing, your blood itself now has the ability to heal you." Doctor Kochi stated matter-of-factly. "And we think it might have been a quirk you've had all along. But up until recently it didn't manifest, so it lay dormant in your blood.

"The doctors told her that she was quirkless. So why would it be dormant for all this time?" Inko had composed herself enough to join in the conversation.

"Well, effectively, she was." Both Midoriyas looked on with confused faces. "Ah, let me elaborate. Your quirk seems to be linked to your gender. As a male, it was dormant, but since you were hit by this… gender change, your quirk is no longer dormant."

Izuku stopped and thought for a moment. I wasn't quirkless? Just effectively so? What kind of luck is that? If I had been born a girl originally I would have manifested my quirk at a young age like others and… no don't do that line of thought. Nothing good comes from it. Let's just consider this a win.

She took a breath to calm her thoughts before asking, "Did you figure out what's with the fangs?" This was the main question that had been on Izuku's mind.

"Ah, yes. It seems that as you regenerate, it actually uses some of the blood. So, the hypothesis is that the fangs are your body's way of… replenishing that supply or so we think. Sort of like vampires of mythology." The doctor smirked. "My guess is that you can ingest blood and your body can somehow… transform it into your own blood. Though the only way to test that would be-"

"To have me drink some blood?" Izuku looked conflicted. Inko sat next to her, merely listening, unsure of what she could possibly add to this conversation.

"Precisely. You're not required to, of course. However, that is our best guess for why you have fangs now. Though it is curious… most people only develop one quirk in their life. Perhaps you manifested part of it with your strength, and now you have the full range of your quirk? Though it would be hard to say for certain." The doctor's face was covered in a puzzled expression.

"Maybe? I'm not sure what would cause that…" She trailed off. She couldn't exactly explain she was given her quirk by someone else. Deciding to change the subject back, she started again. "I'll try it. I'll drink the blood. Worst case scenario, I get sick from drinking blood, right?"

Doctor Kochi snapped out of his thoughts. "Y-yes! Exactly. If we're wrong, we might have to get you to expel it. That is, if your body doesn't decide to immediately do so. All-in-all, it shouldn't harm you."

"Okay… So, do you have, like, a juice box full of blood around here?" Izuku laughed dryly.

The doctor laughed with her, "Not exactly, no. It would be difficult to drink blood through a thin straw after all!" He continued laughing. "We have bags of blood. Also, you're not the first individual who has possibly needed to drink blood due to their quirk so we also have small containers with blood in them. They're opaque so that no one will know what's in them, if you're worried about that."

"Well, that's at least reassuring…" Izuku smirked to herself. This is absurd but I suppose there are weirder things that have happened recently.

"Wait, Izuku… you're really going to drink blood? I know it could possibly be for your quirk but…" Inko was still processing Izuku being her daughter now. The added information of her daughter being a… vampire- for lack of a better word- was a bit overwhelming.

"Well, it won't hurt me Mom… And I'm honestly kind of curious myself." Izuku reassured her.

She furrowed her brow, then conceded, "Fine… It is your choice after all."

The nurse arrived with a bag of blood and handed it to the doctor. The bag seemed to have a place on one end of it where it could be opened, just big enough to drink out of it. Doctor Kochi inspected the bag and then handed it to Izuku. "Alright, here you go Izuku-san. Try this."

Izuku looked at the bag of blood and stopped for a second. The actual thought of it was a bit… unsettling. Would a hero really drink blood? That seems like something a villain would be more likely to do… But… at the same time… It looks… appetizing? She opened the bag and put it to her mouth.

"Itadakimasu?" Izuku said. Is blood a food or a drink anyway? I guess it would be a drink…

The taste was slightly metallic, but Izuku found the taste enjoyable. She drank down the entire bag quickly which surprised both her mother and the doctor.

"Uh, Izuku… You have some blood on your lips." Her mother said, looking a little embarrassed.

"Oh, sorry." Izuku licked her lips and the doctor handed her a tissue. She wiped her mouth of the last drops of blood. "Better?"

Inko nodded.

"So, do you feel okay? You drank the entire bag… I didn't expect that." The doctor chuckled as he said that. "But it seems to be sitting fine with your stomach?"

"Yeah, I feel fine. I actually feel better than before. When I woke up my body felt kind of… heavy?" Izuku smiled wide at feeling better.

"Oh! Izuku, your fangs disappeared! And your eyes…" Inko had started to tear up again. Izuku's eyes had returned to the beautiful green eyes she was used to seeing. The sight of her daughter now was an emotional wave for Inko.

"Huh?" She picked up the mirror that was sitting on the table next to her and looked into it again, "Oh, you're right. How does that work?"

"If my hypothesis is correct, I think you'll only see the fangs when you run low on blood. Think similar to an anemic who gets shaky and passes out, instead you grow fangs and drink blood. If you injure yourself greatly, say, getting hit by an explosion, it'll use a lot of your blood. If you use up too much blood, your fangs will return." He said, smirking at her.

"Well… that's good to know. At least I won't have that sinister look all the time, red eyes and fangs and all." She mused. "I was worried that having fangs all the time wouldn't look very… heroic? Ya know?" She beamed.

"Haha, quite."

—

After the doctor left, Inko and Izuku continued to catch up back at home. Today was Wednesday, so classes were still in session, but Inko told her daughter to take it easy today, she would talk with the school about the situation at hand. Inko also told Izuku that she was taking her shopping tomorrow after school to get some more appropriate clothes for her new body.

Izuku was discharged from the hospital, given a prescription for her new form of medicine, and they went home to relax. She went to her room and contemplated a lot of things.

I 'm kind of happy with how things turned out. I wonder if the explosion had something to do with manifesting a new quirk, or if it's part of One For All… I'll have to talk to All Might soon about that. Even if it's not, I can use this to help me control One For All, I think. Plus, it'll help me stop breaking my body, as long as I don't overdo it, or at least fix my body as I break it…

Wait, didn't I use One For All without breaking anything the other night? Before the explosion. I managed to break the chains and only bruised myself. She looked over her body to check for the bruises. They had already healed after the explosion. Hm. Maybe that's what I need to do. I need to use One For All not at full strength in one part of my body, but low strength all over?

Aside from that, how am I going to explain this to my classmates? They 're going to… I don't know what they're going to do. Ashido-san will probably tease me half to death. Kirishima-san will probably join her. Kacchan… He's going to bully me more I'm sure. Uraraka-san will… I think things got a little more complicated. Crap! Now I'm nervous to have to basically reintroduce myself to all my friends at school… School! I need a new uniform!

"Mom! I'm gonna need a new uniform. Mine got… shredded." Her voice was full of panicked excitement.

"Well of course Izuku, you needed a girl's uniform anyway. I already called your school and talked to principal Nezu. He said he would prepare a girl's uniform for you at school tomorrow, as long as you're up to returning to school. Though if you decide to go to school tomorrow, we should at least stop and get you some underwear." Inko seemed to be enjoying herself.

"Mom… are you- are you excited to have a daughter?" Izuku asked. Originally, she was worried her mom would hate the idea of having a daughter. Maybe she wanted a daughter? It wouldn't surprise me. She mused, Well, at least she's happy. Less for me to worry about then.

"Honestly… kind of! It means I get to go clothes shopping with you. I get to spend time with you and talk about fashion or makeup. It makes me happy." Inko was giddy.

"I'm glad you're happy. I was worried this would be too much to handle."

"It's a change for sure, but I love you Izuku. And I will support you no matter what." Inko beamed.

"Thanks Mom. I'll be up in my room for a few okay? I need to make a phone call."

"Of course. When you're done, let's go get some lunch and grab a few things while we're out. You'll need some things for tomorrow."

"Sounds good."

Izuku went up to her room, originally intending to change into her tracksuit. As she began to change, she caught a glimpse of herself in her mirror, and got a bit distracted; she was curious about her new body after all. So she decided to at least become more familiar with it. It was hers after all, right? With that thought in mind, she stripped off her t-shirt and stared at her chest in the mirror. As her eyes scanned her body, her face began to blush a bit.

She still had her well-defined abs from before, but she also had decent sized breasts; they were probably a B or a C cup, she wasn't sure. She was certainly more endowed than Jirou, though definitely not as sizable as Yaoyorozu or Uraraka. She slid off her pants and stared at herself, still wearing her boxers; she felt uncomfortable going home without putting on any underwear, but seeing as this situation wasn't exactly normal, the only ones she had were from before she was a girl.

The boxers she wore hugged her hips more tightly than before, the waistband elastic stretched a small amount. The biggest difference was her hips filled the fabric of them far more than they had, along with her ass and thighs, which had become thicker. Oh I have an ass now. Not that I didn't before, just that it's more… shapely? She smirked to herself. Overall her body was distinctly more feminine; if she didn't know she was looking at herself, she wouldn't have believed it. The girl in the reflection barely resembled Izuku, aside from the scars on her right arm. Though they were slightly more faded than they had been, they were still prominent.

Izuku put her thumbs inside the elastic waistband and gulped for a second, then pulled her underwear off herself. She covered her face with her hands, peaking through the spaces between her fingers at herself completely bare. She looked down between her reflection's legs and noticed again what she had confirmed the other day, she was definitely a woman now. Before, she had a member hanging between her legs. Now in the mirror, only the green mess of hair that covered her nether region was visibly noticeable. She slowly reached her hand down to her most intimate region and stopped herself. Stop! I can't look at that, even if it's myself. Her face flushed.

She breathed a heavy sigh, and put back on her boxers, and threw on her now ill-fitting sweatpants of her old tracksuit. These just aren't flattering at all. I'll definitely have to get some new clothes soon. She threw on a t-shirt, but her nipples were noticeable through the fabric, so she put the matching jacket on to cover herself. This is definitely going to take some getting used to, even if it does make me happy. She walked over to her bed, pulling her phone out of her bag that was sitting next to it.

Izuku opened a messaging app and debated on who to message regarding her current situation. What would I even say? Or ask? Oh! Maybe… She dialed a number on the phone, put it to her ear and listened to the dial tone. After several rings, a woman's voice on the other end answered.

"Hello, this is U.A. High School, where can I direct your call?

"Ah, could you transfer me to Midnight-sensei's phone? This is one of her students."

"One moment while I check if she's in her office." The line went quiet for a moment before the receptionist returned. "Looks like she's in her office, I'll transfer you now. Have a great day." And then the line clicked before ringing again.

A moment or two later, "This is Nemuri Kayama of U.A. High School. Can I ask who's calling?" The voice was that of the pro hero Midnight.

Izuku cleared her throat before talking, "Um, hi Midnight-sensei. You- you may not believe me, but this is Midoriya." Her voice was trembling.

"…Are you okay? Your voice sounds… feminine."

"…It is. Look it's kind of hard to explain… But since you're the female teacher I'm closest to, I figured it would be best to talk things over with you… I uh, I got hit with a gender change quirk…"

There was a slight chuckle in Midnight's voice as she replied, "I see. Are you sure you're up for class tomorrow Midoriya?"

"I can't miss class and fall further behind! I've already missed two days. Sure, this is an unusual situation, but even so, I have to keep pushing myself closer to being a hero."

"Okay, okay. I get it. Well, tomorrow your class is doing a group training exercise, so you might need a new tracksuit. I'll be sure to get one for you tomorrow." Midnight paused briefly, "Are you still roughly the same size?"

"…I can get Mom to help me with measurements and send them to you if that'd be easier?"

"That would probably be best." She also rattled off an email for Izuku to send the numbers to. "Is it permanent?"

"So far. But I'll need to stop by the support course and have Hatsume update my hero costume before internships next week…"

"Seems you've given this some thought." Izuku could swear she heard Midnight smiling through the phone. "Have you decided on a name yet? I assume you'll want something more feminine for your given name?"

"I haven't decided yet… I actually called to get your opinion on the matter." Izuku clenched her fist not holding the phone. She was too nervous to ask any of her friends, so she went with Midnight instead.

"Oh? Didn't want to ask any of your classmates?" Izuku heard the faint teasing tone in her voice.

"I… just felt I should ask a more professional opinion…"

"Of course. Well, I'd assume you'd want something close to your current given name? How about Izumi? It can be written as either spring or fountain."

"…I actually really like that. I have some things to get done tonight before I can actually go to class tomorrow, so I'll see you in the morning before classes."

"Of course. Have fun shopping Midoriya-san."

"Wh-" Izuku couldn't even finish her word before the line clicked off. I guess that's to be expected. If I just got turned into a girl, it would be safe to assume I need to do some shopping. She's kind of scary sometimes… Oh! I should probably text All Might to let him know that I'm okay at least.

Izuku sent a quick text to All Might letting him know she was fine and that she was home now. With that out of the way, Izuku went downstairs to talk to her mother about the conversation she had just had with Midnight. They both agreed that the name she suggested was perfect, and that she would change her name to Izumi; the legal paperwork had already been given to them by the hospital, due to the nature of the gender change, they assumed she would want to change her name shortly after. They filled out the paperwork, and Izumi had her mother help with her measurements to send them to Midnight.

Why is it embarrassing to send these? I get how all the girls feel when asked about them, it 's just so… personal.

Izumi sent the numbers over to Midnight, and promptly received a reply text.

Oh my. ;)

I 'll get everything sorted out for a new gym uniform for you. See you tomorrow.

Izumi couldn't help but chuckle. She is the 18+ hero after all… Was this really the best choice to talk to her about this situation? Guess there's no turning back now.

Izumi and her mother headed out to grab lunch together, opting for something simple at a cafe. Then they headed to a nearby store to buy a few things Izumi would need in the coming days. Inko took her to a lingerie store to get her fitted for a couple bras, which was highly embarrassing for Izumi; she left with three new bras regardless, along with a deep blush. The next store they went to was a clothing store for girls, since Izumi needed underwear.

She walked into the store, and the first thing she was were pairs of panties with heroes plastered on them. No. Izumi no. You had All Might boxers before, but this is a chance to show you're not just a hero fangirl. You're a future hero dammit!

"Izumi look! They have some with All Might's logo on them!" Inko teased.

"Mom!" Some of the girls around stifled laughs from her mother's comments. "Let's… go with something a bit more 'grown up'. Please." She looked around at the other patrons who had giggled at her, and scratched the back of her head, lightly chuckling herself.

"Of course, dear. I just had to tease you a little bit. You've always been a bit of an All Might fan after all. Do you have anything in mind? Though I don't suppose you've ever thought about buying women's underwear until recently." Inko said, more quietly to Izumi this time. She had her fun teasing her daughter, she didn't need to bring more attention to her at the moment.

"Well… no clue really. I don't really have a preference. Something simple perhaps?"

"Hm. You could go with just plain colored ones. Or perhaps striped?" Inko had a small smirk as Izumi shifted a little under the questions. "You know you'll have to get used to this kind of thing, right?"

Izumi eyed the various types of undergarments for women, mildly overwhelmed. Maybe something simple? I'm still new to this whole girl thing after all… Or should I take this time to be bold? Ahhh! This is too big a choice for me to make this soon… Fine, I'll just pick something, and it'll be fine!

Even though Izumi had made up her mind, it didn't change the fact that her face was a deep shade of crimson. "…I know. I guess… I'll go with…"

—

Izumi was exhausted after shopping. Her mother took her to get bras, underwear, and she even got some sports bras for when she was going to exercise, including at school. She also ended up with some deodorant since apparently girls used different deodorant. They didn't end up buying many clothes, since that was a shopping trip for tomorrow. Today was more about getting her set to actually go to school tomorrow, since she had a uniform lined up, and a new tracksuit Midnight was preparing as well.

She was happy with everything that had happened recently, even if she was extremely anxious about seeing her classmates tomorrow. Hopefully it would go well; most of them were accepting, but then there was Bakugou. And Mineta. Oh god, Mineta. She can already hear the crass comments about her being a girl now. Specifically, about her body. I know he's quite the pervert, but it strikes different as a girl doesn't it? She sighed, took a deep breath and decided it didn't matter. Regardless, I'm going to school tomorrow, I can't afford to miss another day. Plus, I'll have to see everyone eventually even if it's not tomorrow.

Notes:
Hey again! Trying to keep a regular upload schedule for chapters. I ended up working a few chapters ahead while my beta reader tore this chapter apart for all the grammatical mistakes in the first draft. Sorry this chapter is a bit slow, but there's a lot going on for our girl Izumi. Thanks for reading 3 Belle

Chapter 3: Nice to Meet You!
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Izumi's alarm woke her up at 5 am feeling more refreshed than she had in a long time. She got out of bed, did her normal morning workout in her room, and even stretched a bit.

Oh, I 'm a bit more limber than I was before. Nothing crazy, but it's still more than I used to be. That's good to know. Maybe I can ask Ashido tips for how better to use that in a fight? Hopefully, she'll be willing to help…

Izumi finished stretching, opting for a morning run; she had missed running yesterday morning due to everything that happened, so she wanted to make up for it. Her hair was too long to leave down, but she didn't think to grab anything for it yesterday, so she just dealt with it this morning. The cool morning air felt great on her face, mixed with the feel of salt in the air from the nearby ocean. She ran her normal circuit at a quickened pace, pushing herself to the limits before heading back home to eat breakfast.

Her mom was finishing up breakfast as she got back like any other morning. "Back from your run, sweetie? Breakfast will be done in a few minutes. Why don't you wash your face and then it'll be done after?"

"Sounds good. I'll be right back." Izumi ran to the bathroom and splashed her face with water. She scrubbed at her face and dried it, returning to the kitchen as breakfast was done.

"Here you go! I'm not sure if you should keep eating what you did before, but for now, until we know if we need to make some changes, it should be fine." Inko served Izumi her breakfast and started humming quietly to herself while she ate, admiring her daughter.

"Mom, you're making me blush."

"I'm sorry Izumi, you're just so pretty."

"Thanks…" The compliment made her squirm and blush. "I should probably leave early today to get to school and get my uniform and everything."

"That's probably a good idea. Are you going to be okay this morning on the train?"

"I'll be fine Mom. Do you want me to text you when I get there?"

"Please do. At least for today. After Tuesday, I don't think my heart could take another day like that."

Izumi nodded and ran upstairs to grab her bag. She was wearing a pair of her old shorts since she didn't have much else that would fit, and a jacket. Under her jacket, she wore a plain black t-shirt.

"Thanks for everything Mom, I'll see you later today," Izumi said with a smile.

"Take care Izumi, I love you."

"I love you too!"

Inko reminded her to grab a few things before Izumi ran out the door and to the train station. She was careful to pay attention to her surroundings this time, arriving at school a little earlier than usual. She sent her mother a text so she wouldn't worry about her. With her extra time, she headed to the teacher's lounge to talk to Midnight. She approached the door and knocked quickly. The door slid open and in front of her stood exactly who she was looking for.

"You look kind of… familiar? Ah Midoriya, that must be you." Midnight stated.

"A-ha-ha… Yeah. Good morning, Midnight-sensei." Izumi said.

"We have your uniform back here, and I have your tracksuit as well. Did you remember to bring a sports bra?"

"Yeah, my mom reminded me before I left. I still don't completely get how regular bras work…"

She chuckled, "I'm sure your classmates can help you with that later. I don't think Aizawa was informed of your… situation, so we should probably get him up to speed. But first, why don't you change into your uniform?"

"Sure, should I just change in the locker room?"

"That's probably best, do you need an escort, or will you be okay?"

"I… I think I'll be okay. I'll have to get used to this anyway, right?" She had a nervous smile on her face.

"True. Well, call me if you get into trouble I suppose." She laughed. "I'll be here when you're done."

"Thank you, Midnight-sensei." She did a bow and walked off towards the girl's locker room.

Izumi opened the door to the room and nearly ran into a familiar pink-skinned girl with fluffy hair.

"Oh, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to run into you like- Ah, Ashido-san!" Izumi said.

"Do I know you? You look kind of familiar. If we've met before I'm sorry, I tend to be awful at names." Mina clasped her hands together and bowed her head.

"Oh, it's okay. Really. I uh- I just need to get changed into my uniform. They didn't have time to deliver it to my house, so I had to show up extra early to change. I didn't think I'd actually run into anyone this early." Izumi had a mild blush on her face. She wanted to tell Mina who she was but figured it would turn into a whole ordeal if she did now, and she still needed to change and get back to the teacher's lounge.

"Oh, I like to use U.A.'s equipment to exercise in the morning, so I get here early." She was staring at Izumi intensely, scanning her features. "Are you a transfer student? Since you just got your uniform today, that seems like a logical guess. If you want, I can show you around later. I don't mind; you're kinda cute after all." She winked at Izumi.

Ah, crap. Wait, does Ashido like girls? I could 've sworn she liked boys. Maybe she likes both? Not the point! When she finds out who I am, I'm gonna have to apologize later. Sorry Ashido, it'll have to wait until later.

Izumi blushed and scratched her head, giggling a little at the forwardness of her classmate. "Hehe… thanks. You're pretty cute yourself, though." What the hell are you saying? I mean, yes, she's cute, but…

Now it was Mina's turn to blush, but she didn't stammer or stutter. "Thanks! Here's my number, text me and we can meet up. I'll catch ya later!" She handed Izumi a piece of paper with her phone number on it, and continued out the door, a smile on her face and pep in her step.

I 'm definitely going to have to apologize for that later.

Izumi quickly changed then rushed back to the teacher's lounge. She still had plenty of time, but she was worried she had taken too long talking to Mina. She knocked and Midnight answered the door again.

"Welcome back. I was beginning to worry you had gotten lost or kidnapped again. Or maybe you were busy flirting with a girl?" Nemuri wore a teasing grin, and Izumi turned a deep shade of red. "Oh? You were? That surprised me. I was just teasing you after all."

"Well, it was kind of an accident. Anyways, that's not the point. Is Aizawa-sensei here now? I should probably still talk to him before class starts.

"Of course. He's over at his desk." The two walked through the lounge toward Aizawa's desk. They stopped in front of an empty desk and Midnight talked in the desk's direction, "Aizawa, Midoriya is here to talk to you before class."

A figure emerged from under the desk, wrapped in a yellow sleeping bag. The bag started talking to Midnight and Izumi.

"What a pain, I was looking forward to sleeping mo-" He stopped mid-sentence upon seeing Izumi. "I see. Nezu told me to expect Midoriya back today, but he didn't explain why he was laughing." Aizawa sighed. "He could have at least prepared me for this."

Aizawa groaned, "Well, at least you're alive. I feel class is going to be… interesting. If anyone says anything inappropriate, I'll deal with them myself." He looked at the girl reassuringly. She made a small smile at him before he continued. "We can head over right before class starts. Oh, while I've got you here," Aizawa paused. He looked through his desk and handed Izumi two packets of papers. "That's the classwork you missed on Tuesday and yesterday. Try and get it done by the end of the week if possible. I… understand your situation is a bit different but sometimes normalcy helps."

"Thanks, Aizawa-sensei." She looked at the clock, she still had probably half an hour before class. "Is there a desk I could work at to get some of this done since I have some time before class?"

Aizawa's face showed a mild amount of shock, then returned to his normal scowl. "Ever the diligent problem child. There's a desk nearby." He motioned toward the edge of the teacher's lounge before continuing, "I'm gonna nap until it's close to class time."

Izumi nodded and walked over to the desk Aizawa had indicated. She looked through the packets and began working on her missed assignments. The first packet was math, which Izumi had little trouble with. She finished most of it before it was time to head to class and Aizawa had stopped her, reminding her of her actual classes today. She put the homework in her backpack and followed Aizawa out the door.

"Are you sure you're up for this today Midoriya? I would understand if you wanted to take another day to just… process things." Aizawa sounded like he was trying to be sympathetic. Mixed with his normal gruff way of speaking, it was rather jarring.

"I appreciate it Aizawa-sensei, but I'll still have to do this if I wait until tomorrow. Plus, I've missed two days already. So I think today is as good a day as any." Her voice wavered a bit, in contrast to her confident words. Aizawa started to say something, but when he looked at her, he knew she wasn't going to give up in this fight.

"Okay. Well, wait here for a moment, and I'll wave you in." He said dismissively.

"Y-yep!"

—

Aizawa walked into the classroom and scanned his students. Everyone was accounted for today at least; that was good news. There were some remnants of conversations that could be heard as he entered.

"Yeah, Eiko! I met this cute girl in the locker room this morning. I think she's a transfer student." Mina was full of energy already.

"Oh? Preying on the girl that just got here today?" Eiko teased. "You're gonna scare the poor girl. Not everyone appreciates how forward you can be."

"I'm not preying on anyone!" She pouted. "I called her cute and offered to show her around U.A. Then she called me cute! So, I gave her my num-"

"Ahem. You guys are too noisy. Class is about to start. But first-" Aizawa motioned toward the door, and an extremely fit girl, with green curly and fluffy hair that went down to about her mid-back, a face full of freckles, and wearing the school uniform for U.A. walked into the class. She stood at the front of the room smiling gently as she waited for Aizawa to continue.

"Wait, are we getting an exchange student? That's pretty shocking news. I kind of figured they would have mentioned it to us." Kyouka said flatly.

"She looks kind of familiar though, doesn't she? Plus, she's cute." Denki shot back at her.

"Very." Mina purred back at Denki, Cheshire grin directed at Izumi. Eiko looked at her friend and pieced it together that this was the girl Mina had met this morning.

"Wait… Deku-kun!?" Ochako yelled from the back of the room, standing up in her excitement. Everyone in the class looked at her from her outburst, and then back up to the new girl that stood in front of them all.

"Ochako-chan, why do you think that's Midoriya-kun, kero? She's clearly a girl." Tsuyu said to her friend.

"Yeah, Ochako, I think you need your eyes checked," teased Mina. "Though she does kind of remind me of Midoriya, you know if he were a cute girl."

Up in front of the class, the girl scratched the back of her head and gently giggled to herself. She hadn't said anything yet and looked at Aizawa to settle the class down. Aizawa sighed out loud and muttered something under his breath before he addressed the class.

"That's enough. Settle down and we can continue introductions, I guess," Aizawa grumbled.

The class settled down and all sat looking up at the new girl at the front of their class. She was cute while extremely athletic. She stood with an air of confidence, despite her obvious nervousness.

"So, I know everyone has been worried about Midoriya-kun since he wasn't in class the last two days… Actually, I think it's better if you explain." He looked at the girl and she nodded to him.

"Um, hi everyone. Where to begin… On Tuesday morning I was hit with a gender change quirk and ended up missing school because of it. Then later that day I was kidnapped by some low-class villains who wanted to sell me. I managed to escape from them and then I-" She was talking so fast it was hard to keep up with what she was saying.

"Maybe it would be better if you just… simplified it. Please." Aizawa looked exhausted, more than he usually did. This was clearly wearing on him. The girl quickly turned to him and bowed to apologize.

"Ah, sorry! I didn't mean to ramble." She turned back to the class, summarizing what seemed to be a long story. "Uh… Hi everyone, I'm Izumi Midoriya. You all knew me as Izuku Midoriya before, but some things happened and I'm… I'm a girl now. I hope we continue to get along." She did a deep bow at the waist in front of the class.

"No. Way," Mina said. Her face was covered in a deep blush that could be seen through her pink skin. "Midoriya!?"

"Midoriya, dude. You're quite the hottie as a lady." Eiko said. She had a large grin on her face. Izumi blushed at the girl's comment. She avoided eye contact with the brazen girl as well as Mina.

"Midoriya, you're hot as a girl! Look at those curves now! I knew a pretty boy like you would be-" Mineta's tirade was interrupted by Tsuyu's tongue slapping him across the face. This was accompanied by some nasty glares from the other girls surrounding him.

"Tch. That damn nerd…" Bakugou growled, clearly displeased by the entire situation.

"Deku-kun… I'm so glad you're okay." Ochako had tears in her eyes, and she sat back down at her desk.

Various other comments were made about the situation, ranging from comments about her looks to questions about what exactly happened. Eventually, Aizawa became fed up with the situation and brought it to a halt.

"That's quite enough. We still have a class to continue. I'm sure if you want to ask Midoriya-san about what happened, she would be more than happy to fill you in. After class." His glare sent the message loud and clear. "Midoriya, if you wouldn't mind returning to your seat so we can continue with class."

"O-of course." She quickly hurried to her desk and sat down. Everyone's eyes followed her as she walked to her desk, noting how cute she was when she walked. She walked to her desk with her head held high instead of trying to make herself smaller. She seemed more sure of herself than the Midoriya before, and the way she carried herself showed as much.

"Also. If anyone treats her poorly for this change. Or makes any… unsavory remarks," his gaze drifted to Mineta. "You will deal directly with me and be punished accordingly." His threat was clear: Izumi was still their classmate, and they would treat her as such.

Aizawa continued their lesson and informed them that they would all be having a math quiz today, and then they would be heading to one of the training grounds for some team training. The less thrilling news about the quiz was lost in the excitement of getting to do team training. Everyone was eager to improve on their quirks and hero abilities. Izumi was deep in thought, wondering how best to use her new abilities, but also not wanting to show off her new useful quirk with its sinister-looking side effects.

The rest of the class went by quickly. The math quiz was simple for Izumi, even without having been to the last class. The usual suspects for doing poorly in their academics were clearly panicking because of the quiz, while the usual successful students had no trouble. Izumi finished her quiz quickly, turned in the quiz to Aizawa, and headed out of the classroom. She decided to head towards the locker rooms before anyone else did, not wanting to make a scene.

She made it to the women's locker room and shed her jacket as she entered. She walked over to a bench and started to unbutton her shirt when a voice behind her stopped her about halfway down.

"Midoriya, did you decide to rush over to avoid having to change with the other girls?" Midnight asked.

"Uh… yeah…" She spoke shyly.

"I figured you would. Aizawa wanted me to let you know that you can opt-out of physical training today. Since you're in a new body and all." She smiled at Izumi.

"I figured that's what you were going to say. However, I think that's exactly why I should participate today. I need to get comfortable using my new body, especially using my quirk in it."

"I figured you'd say that." She stood up and walked towards the door. "But I'll tell you a secret."

"Oh? What's that Midnight-sensei."

"I knew you'd want to participate. I just came here to stall you long enough to have to face your classmates." Midnight winked at Izumi as she opened the door. Outside the locker room were several of the girls from 1-A, namely Momo, Kyouka, and Tsuyu.

"Midnight-sensei! You've betrayed me!" Izumi cried out.

Midnight cackled as she walked past the girls, calling back to Izumi before leaving. "This is for your own good Midoriya. I promise."

Izumi stood there dumbfounded for a few moments as the first three girls finished with the quiz after they entered the locker room. They had plenty of time before they needed to leave for the training exercise, so the fact that they were here meant they were either in a hurry to change or knew Izumi had that idea and wanted to talk to her. She took a deep breath, trying to tame the blush that had crept over her face. She felt like a pervert being in the girl's locker room.

"Midoriya, kero?"

"Uh, Midoriya, are you okay?" Kyouka asked.

"Ah! Y-yeah… I'm just…" She trailed off, unsure of how to phrase what was on her mind.

"You're nervous to be in the girl's locker room, even if it's where you're supposed to be. That would be my guess." Momo picked up her thoughts pretty well. Izumi only nodded in response, too nervous to look up from the floor. "Midoriya-san?" Momo sounded concerned.

"Yes, Yaoyorozu-san?"

"Are you uncomfortable here? You know the girls in class 1-A will accept you for you."

"Especially since you're nothing like Mineta. Or most of the guys who will ogle the girls anyway." Kyouka added while taking a few steps closer to her. She then whispered in Izumi's ear, "Even though I've seen you looking at some of the girls." She took a step back and smirked at Izumi, causing Izumi to fidget.

Momo stared at Kyouka, who just shrugged at her in response. The door to the locker room opened, and the remaining five girls from 1-A entered. "So please, don't feel shy. If you have any questions, I'm sure most of the girls here would be willing to help you out." Momo's smile was bright; Izumi had finally looked her in the face since the other girl had arrived.

"Ahaha… Thanks, Yaoyorozu, I appreciate it…" She was still fidgeting nervously.

The rest of the girls all sat down on benches around the room. Izumi started to have a bad feeling about this situation, but she knew it was inevitable that she would be asked about the last two days sooner or later.

"Uh, hi girls." She meekly said. Her face was incredibly red from being in the girl's locker room having to face her classmates.

"Pfft, oh my god. Midoriya you're so adorable when you're flustered." Mina cackled. "You're so red, you could be mistaken for a tomato." The comment only further deepened Izumi's blush

"You don't have to be so nervous Deku-kun," Ochako reassured her.

"Yeah, Midoriya. We won't bite or anything," Kyouka added.

"Unless you ask nicely," Eiko said huskily.

Izumi flushed at the redheaded girl's comment. Seeing Izumi's reaction Eiko started cackling. Mina joined her friend in laughing before Ochako elbowed Eiko in the side to silence the girl's laughter then she shot a glare at Mina. The two girls calmed their laughter quickly, looking sheepishly at Ochako and then Izumi.

Sensing the tension, Izumi decided to break it by diverting the conversation back on course. "I'm guessing there are probably some… questions surrounding me now, right?"

"Yep!" The chorus of girls was unanimous, breaking the tension immediately.

"I figured. Guess I'll change after we chat then." Izumi put her hero uniform back in the bag, but she left her shirt unbuttoned as it was. She folded her uniform jacket so as not to wrinkle it and sat it on a bench next to her. Her bra was exposed for the other girls to see, a lacy black one, but she didn't seem to notice or mind. Honestly, she probably didn't register it being a problem.

Izumi sat down on a bench cross-legged and leaned forward slightly to not fall backward. "So, do you have specific questions or should I just… explain what happened?" She asked.

Kyouka's face was mildly pink while Mina looked slightly more red than pink from the view. Ochako seemed to be trying very hard only to look at Izumi's face, obviously struggling to do so. Eiko wore a smirk on her face. The other girls seemed mostly unphased wearing only a mild blush with a normal expression; Toru being the exception.

"Um… It might be best if you just kind of, explain things dude," Eiko said. She then glanced around before leaning in and adding so only Izumi could hear, "And your current appearance might be a bit… distracting to some of the girls. So maybe button up one or two buttons. But it's your choice." She flashed a grin at Izumi as she sat back on the bench next to her friend.

Izumi's face blushed for a second, but her expression never changed. She decided at this point that buttoning her shirt would draw more attention to it, so she opted to just leave her shirt undone and explain the last few days. She chose to omit several choice details. Namely, the explosion and her new quirk. She wasn't ready to elaborate on her quirk when she still didn't have a feasible explanation for One For All. She did, however, mention her conversation with her mother about preferring to stay a woman.

The girls in the room sat wide-eyed, completely befuddled by what they had just heard. Izumi scratched the back of her head with one hand and chuckled a bit, the action accentuating her bust line a bit. "So yeah. I've had a busy few days away from classes, but I can't fall behind you all, now can I?" She shot a fierce smile at the other girls, who nodded in agreement.

"Does that… at least clear some things up?" Izumi asked, tilting her head a little. The action caused her hair to flow down beside her; the action making the girl extremely cute.

"Yes. Thank you Midoriya." Momo was mostly unphased by Izumi's current state of dress and was able to respond rather quickly. "Do you have any questions for us? Since you're new to being a woman, I assume there are going to be some questions that arise?"

Izumi blushed a bit before responding, looking away from Momo for a moment. "Ah yeah. I still have no idea how a bra works. I know nothing about makeup or fashion… I don't even know my own body that well. It's a little overwhelming to be thrown into the middle of…" No longer blushing her face had shifted to a more anxious look.

"Well… I don't know much about makeup myself since I've never needed it. But I'm sure the other girls here would be able to help you with that." Toru said.

"And if you want fashion, you're best talking to Mina or Momo, kero."

"But for now, you should probably start by figuring out how to work a bra," Ochako said. "They're not too complicated once you've used them a few times. How did you even get one on if you're not sure how to work one?"

Izumi looked away towards a wall and muttered under her breath. "I hooked it together and pulled it over my head…"

Kyouka stifled laughter with her hand, while Toru made an exaggerated face-palming motion. Ochako had a blank expression that matched Tsuyu's. Momo was understanding and composed as usual. Eiko and Mina were outright laughing at Izumi's statement.

"Seriously Midoriya? You've never watched a dirty video to see a girl strip down?" Mina teased.

"W-wha? N-no!" Izumi was bright red from the girl's teasing.

"Wow, you really are a cinnamon roll, Midoriya," Eiko teased.

"Alright, I think you've teased her enough, you two." Momo interrupted. "We still do need to change into our hero uniforms before our training exercise. We should do that before we run out of time and Aizawa-sensei gets cross with us."

"T-thanks Yaoyorozu. I don't want to be late after missing two days of class." Izumi said. She turned around and finished unbuttoning her shirt, trying not to look towards any of the other girls. She slid her socks off before she unclasped her skirt and slid it down her waist, returning her hands to her bra where they stopped. "Ah. Right." She turned toward the locker room. "Can any of you help me with th-"

The sight was more than Izumi had bargained for. Most of the girls had already stripped off their outer clothes and were clad in nothing more than their underwear. Mina had already stripped her bra off and was in the process of rummaging through her disorganized mess she called a locker for her sports bra. Izumi's eyes glanced over her body and scanned the room for a moment before she looked at the floor, swallowing hard on the saliva in her mouth.

"Oh, I'm sorry Midoriya, we got so caught up in teasing you that no one actually told you how to get your bra off, huh?" Eiko grinned at her, and her eyes wandered down over Izumi's body. Izumi blushed mildly but didn't cover herself up. "I knew you were pretty fit, but damn Midoriya. Your body is fine now!"

The other girls turned toward Midoriya. Sure enough, Eiko was right. While standing in her black lacy underwear, Izumi couldn't hide her well-toned muscles from the last year of hardcore training, or how shapely her new feminine body was. Ochako and Kyouka stared as subtly as they could while Mina gawked openly. Izumi's eyes caught her gaze, and she just smirked at the pink girl. This caused the pink girl to turn several shades more pink and avert her gaze.

I have never been confident around women, what is with this lately? I guess I do feel more confident about myself in general …

Izumi turned towards Ochako and Kyouka and caught them staring at her as well. Izumi raised an eyebrow at the two of them before turning her attention back to Eiko in front of her. "So how do I get this thing off the 'right way'?"

Eiko grinned at the girl after she had done a scan of the room herself, admiring Izumi's effect on a majority of the girls. "You're a girl and you can still swoon the ladies, even now," she chuckled. "Anyway, you know the clasps on the back? You push them together." Kirishima had turned around and was going through the motions with her hands on her own bra to show Izumi the steps. "And when you go far enough, one side will go over the other, or something like that. It should pop undone."

As the fiery redhead finished her explanation, her bra popped open behind her back, hanging loosely off her shoulders. She turned around to talk to Izumi face-to-face. "Does that help?"

Izumi reached behind her back and popped the clasp undone relatively easily. "Ah, yeah, that was easier than I thought it would be. And do you snap them back just the opposite, with two hands?"

"Pretty much. If you need help after we're done, I'll help you then." She gave Izumi a thumbs up, causing her bra to slide down her shoulder and exposing her chest.

"Thanks, Kirishima." Izumi had a slight blush cover her face as she struggled to only look at Eiko's face. Realizing it was easier to look away at this point, she turned to finish putting on her hero costume. It no longer fit her body proportions well, but she didn't want to be the only student in her gym uniform. The suit was loose around her waist, and tight around her chest; it hugged her hips, thighs, and ass while hanging loose below the knees.

"Well, it's certainly not the most flattering fit, but it'll do until I get the support course to upgrade it. Though I wonder what the best design would be? Skin-tight bodysuit like Ashido and Uraraka? Or many I could do something like the Wild Wild Pussycats and wear a skirt? Or a leotard like Mirko?" Izumi muttered to herself, admiring her reflection in a mirror.

"Um… Deku-kun. Deku-san?" Ochako walked up beside the girl wearing her hero costume already.

"Hm? Oh, whatever works Uraraka. Or you can call me Izumi." Izumi sounded chipper and upbeat.

Ochako blushed and stuttered as she replied. "R-right. I-Izumi… Maybe just Deku…? Are you okay? Are you sure it's a good idea to participate in today's exercise? You just got back after a life-changing event… Are you okay with being a girl forever?"

"You don't have to worry too much, Uraraka. I'm fine, I promise. I don't think I would have considered it before, but I prefer being a girl. It feels… right?" Izumi explained. "I just feel way more comfortable in my skin now, I guess?"

"If you're sure you're okay. Don't push yourself too hard though…" Ochako was extremely worried.

"Well, if you think I'm pushing myself too hard out there, you can stop me or have Aizawa do that, okay?"

Izumi's smile beamed at Ochako. All the other girls in the locker room saw the exchange between the two; they realized Midoriya was going to be fine.

Notes:
Sorry for the delay! I've been extremely under the weather so this got delayed a few days, so the next chapter might be delayed as well. Not sure yet, since I tossed what I already had since I didn't like it. But I'll do my best to get it done in the next few days. The next chapter will hopefully be a little more action-filled than these last few. Special thanks to my beta reader again for putting up with all the garbage first drafts.

Thanks for reading!

3 Belle

Chapter 4: Teamwork Notes:
I'm not completely happy with this chapter, but I've kind of delayed it a bit too much already. So apologies in advance. I was going to blame my beta reader, citygirlgeek2, but I wrote this chapter 6 different ways before she could read it once.

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text Class 1-A arrived at Ground Beta, the same training ground that the Battle Trials had been before and stood facing several of their teachers from U.A. Aizawa, Midnight, and Present Mic stood in front of the class preparing to explain today's exercise.

"Is All Might not joining us today?" Toru inquired.

"He has a meeting that he's attending. He might join us toward the end, but that depends on the meeting." Aizawa stated.

The class had a collective murmur discussing their absentee teacher. The discussion didn't last long before Midnight silenced them.

"Today, we will be working on building teamwork. We're going to split you all into four teams of five. Teams will be decided at random, and you will work with your team to compete against one of the others in a game of capture the flag. Travel to the enemy team's base, grab the flag, and bring it back to yours. You can only score if your flag is still at your base. You can use capture tape on the opposing team members. If the enemy team grabs your flag and you capture the person carrying it, you can carry the flag back to your base; you cannot keep your team's flag on you outside of taking it back to it's starting position. Simple, no?"

The students nodded in agreement while the teachers produced a box with a hole in top of it, "Inside this box are twenty balls, five of each team: Team A, Team B, Team C, and Team D. Once you've gotten your team assigned, find your other teammates and stand by them."

One by one the students of 1-A went to the front and pulled a ball from the box to get their teams. The lineup for the class was: Team A had Iida, Momo, Tsuyu, Rikido, and Mashirao; Team B consisted of Bakugou, Eiko, Toru, Mezo, and Koji; Team C was Izumi, Kyouka, Mina, Yuga, and Fumikage; Team D had Shouto, Ochako, Minoru, Denki, and Hanta. With the teams decided, Aizawa continued instruction instead of Midnight.

"Today we'll have Team A face off against Team B first, then Team C will face Team D in the following round. Everyone on your team will be given communication devices specific to your team, capture tape, and taken to their respective bases. You will have to find the enemy base to find the flag, while keeping damage to your surroundings at a minimum. The first round and the second round will use different base locations to prevent the second teams having too much of an advantage. You'll get five minutes to discuss strategy once you go to your team's base before we start the game."

"So, we can capture our opponents or ignore them, as long as we can capture their flag and get it back to our base, while keeping hold of our flag?" Shouto asked.

"Correct. You're free to use your quirks, capture, evade, ignore, or whatever other options you can formulate when it comes to the enemy team. Remember that the object of the exercise is retrieval of the flag and returning to your own base. If anything gets out of hand, Midnight or I will step in and put a stop to things, causing that person to be removed from the match, but their team can continue." He scanned the students, "If there are no other questions, Midnight will escort Team A to their base while Team B will follow me. The other two teams can follow Present Mic to the observation room."

Izumi and the others in the second-round followed Mic while the first-round students went to their bases. She began analyzing the two teams currently on the field and their capabilities for going against each other. Izumi had a look of concern on her face while she was deep in thought.

"Kacchan's team has quite a bit of scouting available with Shoji and Koda if he uses animals to do such. Toru can sneak past the enemy defenses and would make a valuable target to keep hidden until the enemy team is unprepared. In terms of raw power, Kacchan and Kirishima are both pretty strong, so fighting head on might be possible.

On the other team Iida is a scary target since he has speed, and getting the flag means he might be able to get it back to the base before their opponents can catch him. Yaoyorozu can probably set traps or create weapons to help defend the base, while Asui is extremely mobile and might also be good at capturing the flag. Sato has pure strength if he has sugar, and Ojiro seems formidable in hand-to-hand combat. I think in terms of a head-on fight, Iida 's team comes out ahead. But that won't stop Kacchan-"

"I-Izumi, you're muttering again." Ochako stated. "Are you okay?"

"What? I could've sworn I wasn't that time…" Her face took a rosy tint while she tried to look away from her classmates. "Sorry, I'm just a little nervous…"

"I think it's cute, Midoriya." Mina smiled at the blushing girl, sensing her unease. "You get very passionate about things and just starting rambling."

"Especially anything hero related," Ochako added. "Whenever you watch a hero, you analyze everything about them."

"Don't forget she mutters when she's nervous, like before tests." Kyouka smirked, "I remember Aizawa getting on you before one of our tests because you wouldn't shut up." She giggled a bit at the thought.

"Oh yeah, Iida got mad at her for the same thing during our entrance exam. She kept muttering because she was nervous." Ochako reminisced about the first day she met Izumi.

"Ah, but Midoriya is also super reliable and cool. She came in first in the obstacle race without even using her quirk. Her team did well on the cavalry battle, and she went toe-to-toe with Todoroki in the tournament. Très bien!" Yuga explained.

"Plus, she's got great boobs now! And that a-" Izumi's glare stopped Minoru mid-word. "P-plus you're a really cool hero. I remember at the U.S.J. incident how cool you were!"

Denki and Hanta both gave thumbs up and smiles in agreement to their classmate's assessments while Fumikage and Shouto nodded their affirmation.

"Thanks everyone…" Her face was tinted red again. "So, what are all your thoughts on who's gonna win this first match?"

Everyone in the room thought for a few moments, Shouto being the first to break the ice. "As Midoriya was saying, in a straight up fight, Bakugou's team is at a disadvantage. As strong as Bakugou is, he can't fight four of them who are fairly strong in hand-to-hand combat, and most of his team isn't great for a straight up brawl. I think if Bakugou's team uses a decent strategy they'll win, but Iida's team can brute force a victory."

"I think Bakugou's team is likely to win this. He himself is fairly observant and intelligent, but extremely prideful. He seems the type to charge in head-first himself to prove he's better than everyone, but he has some skills to back that up. He could probably take on two or three of them himself while the rest of his team fights four on two." Fumikage observed.

"True, but Iida is fast! His team can just steal the flag and run it back to base super fast!" Mina added, "Plus, they could slow down everyone with Momo, and Sato is strong enough to hold at least Kirishima. I think Iida's team will win."

"Kacchan will win." Izumi said coolly. The rest of the students were stunned by her change in demeanor and quick stance on her classmate, especially after her calm and rational analysis previously.

"I thought you had just pointed out all the reasons why it could go either way with your muttering?" Jirou asked.

"I did, but I can say with one hundred percent certainty, his team will win."

"Why do you say that? Given what you said before-" Fumikage started before Izumi interrupted him.

"Because, regardless of anything else… Kacchan refuses to lose, no matter what. And he will break himself to do it."

"Reminds me of someone else I know," Shouto mused.

Izumi's cheeks tinged red at the comment, but she tried to compose herself before replying. "R-really? You don't say."

Some of her other classmates stifled laughs at the girl while Ochako patted her on the back. "He has a point, though. You do tend to… overdo it Dek- Izumi." She wore a crooked smile.

"…I know, but I won't be able to learn to control it unless I know what doesn't work." The greenette smiled at her best friend, "I know it probably looks… awful the way I fight sometimes."

"Awful doesn't begin to describe it, Midoriya!" Minoru cried. "You break your bones! I can't bear the thought of you fighting now as a beautiful girl and breaking yourself!"

"While the intent behind those words is… questionable, I somewhat agree with Mineta. It can be quite painful to watch you hurting yourself so much." Shouto agreed.

Izumi paused, "I'll give it some thought. We have internships coming up, and I have a pro hero that wants me to work with them, so hopefully I figure some things out there. Will that make you all feel better?"

She was aware of how reckless and painful her current fighting style seemed to her classmates. They nodded and agreed with her learning to control her quirk better. Izumi didn't want to tell them about her new quirk; it wasn't the right time and without a solid explanation for One For All she felt explaining that she had a second quirk would be difficult. She still needed to talk to All Might before she did much else.

While Izumi was deep in thought, the first match of the class had begun. The monitors to watch the match only supplied video, the audio wasn't broadcast for the students watching in the observation room; the sound was reserved specifically for the teachers watching in the room above them. Both teams employed very different strategies: Bakugou's team opted for a more straightforward approach of three on offense, two on defense, the defense team being Eiko and Mezo; Iida's team kept Momo near their flag, Mashirao and Rikido on a midfield position, and Iida and Tsuyu on straight up offense.

The match didn't last long; Bakugou flew behind the two front runners separating the team and causing panic. His team took advantage of this while he charged forward, and the enemy team's members were captured quickly. He ran head-first into the enemy base where Momo did a good job of stalling with various traps and flash bangs along with some smoke grenades. Even through her attempts she still lost to the angry boy and his team.

The teams returned to the observation room where the other students were waiting. The students were congratulating the winning team and talking to their classmates about the match. Bakugou was the last to enter the observation room, storming in extremely pissed off for his messy victory. He spotted Izumi as he walked in and paused a brief second before continuing towards a wall, pouting now instead of vocally complaining.

Izumi noticed him walk in but was focused on talking to Momo about her tactics she had used to stall. She was impressed with the girl's use of her quirk and creating of items that she had made. The complexity in some of the items seemed like it would make their creation rather difficult. Before Izumi could get out her notebook, Aizawa and Midnight came back in to grab the second group of students for their exercise.

"Good luck." Shouto directed toward Izumi.

"Don't worry about us, we don't plan to lose," the girl shot back with a crooked smile.

Ochako smiled at the girl while waving a small goodbye; after they left this room, they would be enemies after all.

Izumi and her teammates were escorted to a small building on the north side of the grounds. The building itself looked to be an abandoned office building, cubicles with desks strewn about the entire floor as well as computers and chairs. She looked around, analyzing the points of entry and weaknesses of their base. Mina looked at her curiously as she walked around muttering up a storm.

"There's the main door to get in, and then there's that door in the back. There are around thirty cubicles in this room, and there are a lot of windows. This is probably the worst possible room to have as a base since there are so many points of entry. We also don't really have quirks great at defending…"

"Midoriya." Jirou tried to get Izumi's attention.

"Jirou is great at scouting, so she might be able to defend here just knowing what direction they're coming from. Mina has her acid which can help her move around, as well as be used defensively and offensively. Tokoyami might be good at defending but with all this light from the windows his Dark Shadow will be noticeably weaker. Aoyama can use his laser to attack easier than anything, but he has range with it. He might be able to defend with it or he could use it as offensive pressure."

Mina tried this time. "Earth to Midoriya. Midoriya can you hear me?" She poked the girl in the cheek while she talked to the oblivious mutterer.

"With the enemy team having several close-range fighters, as well as Todoroki, Sero, and Kaminari's ranged attacks-"

Mina grabbed the greenette by her shoulders and shook her to get her attention. She yelled at the girl, "IZUMI!"

"Huh? What's wrong?" Izumi replied to the pink girl.

"You've been muttering for nearly the whole time we had to prepare! Do you have a plan or not?"

"Oh. Not really. I was just observing that it would be awfully hard to defend this room from all directions with how open everything is. They also have us outclassed in ranged firepower…"

"We heard that much. We figured you maybe had come to some sort of conclusion with your muttering." Jirou replied.

"Well, we could always…" This is the worst plan. But it might work. Can it even be called a plan? Izumi gulped. "We could always ignore defense and just go everyone on offense."

"Is that wise, Midoriya?" Fumikage replied. "I feel leaving our flag unguarded is most foolish."

"Oui, leaving the flag alone seems like an awful idea," Yuga agreed.

"True, but we'd have a numbers advantage on offense. We could just capture one person in a numbers advantage and snowball our way to victory. It's not a good plan, but I think in terms of firepower, they have us beat. So, if they leave anyone on defense, we can press our numbers."

"But what if someone goes around us to capture the flag?" Mina asked.

Jirou answered her friend, "We stop them before they get back to their base. I mean it could work-"

Present Mic interrupted the girl over the intercom, "GO!"

"Guess we're going. Screw it, it's the only plan we came up with." Jirou groaned.

Izumi dashed out of the building followed closely by her teammates. "Are we sticking together?" Mina shouted.

"No, with Todoroki's ice sticking together is probably the worst idea. I think we should scatter a bit while keeping each other nearby." Izumi answered back.

As if on queue a wall of ice shot towards the group. Izumi grit her teeth and used her fingers to fire off a shock wave to stop the ice from reaching them. The wave of air was seemingly stronger than during the festival. She cried in pain as her finger broke. The pain started to subside rather quickly as her finger started to heal.

Dammit! I was trying not to do that right away. Can I do what I did at the warehouse? Use a smaller amount throughout my body?

Another wave of ice shot towards Izumi while she was concentrating. Before she could try and use One For All through her body, she had to dive out of the wave to avoid being frozen. Some of the ice tore at her size and ripped her uniform around her waist. She hit the ground and rolled onto her hands and knees. She looked at the rest of her team and nodded. Her eyes that glistened red were noticed by Mina and Kyouka as they departed.

Shouto tried to intercept the two girls with more ice before Izumi jumped between them and shot another wave of air knocking the Todoroki back in the gust. The pain of her finger breaking again caused her to scream in pain.

She breathed heavily for a moment. "You're dealing with me, Todoroki-kun." She grinned at the boy.

"You remember how our last fight ended, Midoriya. It's been less than a week. Do you really think the results will be different?" He remarked with a small smirk on his face.

"Who knows? Guess we'll have to find out."

Izumi tried to concentrate on using One For All throughout her body like last time. The boy ahead of her interrupted her with a crash of ice in her direction again.

This is just like against Kacchan. Todoroki isn 't giving me enough time to think, so I can't concentrate on using my quirk through my body.

Even without One For All she dodged the wave of ice as she heard footsteps running up beside her. She glanced quickly and saw Ochako running at her only a few steps away.

Crap! If she touches me, I 'm done for.

In her panic she decided to jump back as hard as she could accompanied by the sound of her legs shattering. Without thinking she had used One For All causing a huge gust of wind to envelope the area where she had just been standing. The damage was limited to a broken window or two.

"Midoriya, we all know that you won't be able to move now that you've done that." Shouto commented.

Her regeneration had taken effect while she was midair; Izumi landed a large distance away from the two she was battling sliding back on the ground for a solid sixty feet. She looked down at her pants which were now turned into shorts.

I panicked. I shouldn 't have but it's too late to think about that. Concentrate. You've got time now.

She felt her body strengthen as she channeled One For All throughout every inch of herself at once, trying to use a lower percentage. She looked at her two opponents standing opposite her and grinned a wide smile, baring her fangs.

I can take both of them, right?

—

"Should we be worried about her? Her eyes were red when we left." Mina said to Jirou.

"Uh. Maybe?" Jirou replied.

They kept running when Jirou heard footsteps that were avoiding the two girls. "I think I hear Ochako running toward Midoriya. Should we help her or stick to capturing the flag?"

Mina thought for a second, "I'm just gonna go for the flag. I'm not the brains here after all." She grinned at Jirou.

A moment later they heard a large explosion that sounded like Izumi jumping in the festival, but louder than that.

Jirou looked at Mina, "What on earth-"

A spool of tape shot past her face interrupting her. She followed the tape up to look directly at Hanta. As she looked up, a barrage of purple orbs flew in her direction. Mina jumped in the way and threw up a wall of acid to melt them before either of them could get stuck.

"You okay?" The pinkette asked the other girl.

"Yeah. Thanks, Mina. Guess we don't have time to worry about Midoriya anymore, huh?" She smirked.

"Nope, we have these two to deal with."

—

In the observation room the students from the other teams were watching the match unfold before them.

"Seems Midoriya and her team are going all on offense, while Todoroki-kun and his team are keeping Kaminari-kun on defense." Momo said.

Several of the students nodded their heads in agreement as Shouto met his opponents head on. They watched as Izumi blasted away the wall of ice and motioned for her team to continue without her before putting herself between the boy and her team. They noticed Ochako running up to the girl, getting dangerously close to the greenette before an explosion of air and smoke appeared on the screen.

"Would she really be that reckless? She probably just broke both of her legs!" Toru squealed.

"Serves that damn nerd right. Thinking she can actually do anything besides be a useless Deku." Katsuki muttered under his breath.

Several of the students gasped after the smoke cleared. Izumi was standing some hundred meters away from Ochako with her pant legs torn off. Her legs appeared to be completely fine.

"Wait, she didn't break her bones?" Eiko mused.

"There's no way she did that without breaking her legs. She moved as fast as All Might did, kero." Tsuyu added.

The camera rotated, showing a view of the girl who should have broken her legs from head on. She was smiling wide at her opponents. Normally that wouldn't cause concern, but the girl had red eyes and fangs now. Momo stifled a gasp as she put her hand to her mouth.

Iida couldn't believe what he was looking at, "Midoriya-kun?" His eyes were wide staring at the screen; his eyes scanned the room with the other students to see if they were seeing the same thing. They all continued staring at the girl on screen.

—

I 'll keep the percentage low, maybe 5%, so I don't break anything else. I feel I've done too much already. But I can't let the others down. I'll keep these two here as long as I can.

She readied herself and started running at the two opponents before her with her grin plastered on her face. Small amounts of green and red lightning danced around her as she ran. Her opponents readied themselves, preparing to take her down quickly. Shouto had melted the ice starting to build up on himself while Izumi had been preparing herself.

At least he 's using it a little. Even if it's just to warm himself up right now. Just means it'll be better when I beat him fair and square this time.

As she finished her thoughts a barrier of ice formed itself between her and her opponents. The wall separated her from the two, but it also served to keep Izumi away from both her flag and her teammates.

"Shit." She muttered out loud. I either go around it or go through it. Going through it might be best…

She tried to punch it with her current percentage of One For All and the ice barely cracked. She got annoyed and blasted the wall down with her full strength.

I 'm not normally like this. I'm starting to act like Kacchan. Blowing things out of my way that annoy me… Is this a side effect of overusing my quirk?

Before her thoughts could gain any more traction, a single word snapped her back to attention, "Release!"

The brunette tried to tackle her as soon as the ice had cleared; Izumi barely avoided the girl's hand by rolling to the side.

"You almost had me, Uraraka." She smiled at the girl. "Almost."

Ochako flinched momentarily before steeling herself and running at Izumi. "Sorry Deku, but you're not going to win this time." She threw a punch instead of trying to grab the girl and Izumi barely parried the hit.

"You're determined, Uraraka. I'm guessing Todoroki went back to capture Ashido-san and Jirou then?"

Ochako flinched a bit hearing those words and threw a kick towards Izumi. Izumi's smile widened hearing she was right.

"Guess I should check on him then. Before he causes my team some trouble, of course."

Izumi blocked the kick and tripped the girl before running off toward Shouto and his team at a sprint. Ochako got up to follow but decided to look for her opponent's base and flag instead.

Izumi came up right behind Shouto as he had coated the street in ice in the direction of her teammates. She tackled the boy to the ground and pinned his left arm behind his back.

"You let your guard down," she grinned at the boy she had pinned beneath her.

His face showed shock before several purple orbs landed on Izumi. She loosened her grip on Shouto as the orbs rained down on her. He took advantage of this and threw her off him. The orbs stuck to her shirt, gloves, and shoes as well as the ground. She was immobilized but her smile never faded.

"Well that sucks. Guess I deserve it for letting my guard down to tackle you though." She mused.

"True. You won't be going anywhere now, Midoriya." The two-toned boy said, turning to walk back toward Ochako.

"You think so?" She growled. Keeping her quirk activated throughout at 5%, she tried to stand up; the clothes strained against the the orbs and the girl's strength but began to tear.

Fine! It 's just my clothes that were hit.

She slid her feet out of her shoes and propped them on the ground to push up with. She groaned as she increased One For All from 5% to 10%, feeling her body ache and strain as she did so. She tore through the majority of her uniform and stood up. She panted heavily while standing in nothing but her ripped pants that had been reduced to shorts and her sports bra.

"Todoroki-kun, I'm not going to lose a second time." She growled.

The boy turned back around to face her, face flushing at her current lack of apparel. His mouth hung slightly agape betraying his usual stoic facade.

"Midoriya! You're so damn hot!" A certain purple boy screamed from behind Izumi. She quickly turned around to notice him throwing more orbs in her direction. She swung her arm in a motion similar to backhanding someone causing a large gust of wind to blow the orbs and the purple boy away. Most of the orbs attached themselves to buildings and the ground while the purple boy bounced back over himself. Hanta had managed to get himself caught in the gust as well; an inconvenient timing on his movement toward the nearly naked girl had him blown back into a wall right onto several of Mineta's balls. Shouto also got caught up in the wave and was knocked back several feet before catching himself with his ice.

"Ashido, Jirou can you still move?" Izumi asked. She never turned in their direction

"Y-Yeah, Mineta tagged one of us with a couple balls but Mina managed to melt them so we're good." Jirou informed her.

"Great. Go get their flag with the others. Uraraka is probably going to grab ours since I let her go before heading back this way."

She charged back toward Shouto barefoot, managing to barely keep her One For All at 5%. She was close to Shouto when a wave of fire sped toward her.

"You're finally taking me seriously? The girl cackled.

The fire formed a ring around her and temporarily halted her movements.

—

"Should we stop her Aizawa?" Midnight asked.

"She hasn't done anything to warrant so. She broke a few windows, but the damage seems to be relatively minimized. I'm actually kind of impressed."

"I was more referring to her fighting in less apparel than I normally wear." She grinned. "It almost makes me jealous."

"Personally, I don't care. If the only thing damaged is her outfit, then that's already better than she did at the sports festival." He groaned.

"But haven't you noticed that she's still breaking her bones. That sound is pretty hard to mistake."

"We'll talk to her about it after class. Maybe bring in Principal Nezu." The man shuddered; that creature was terrifying, even if he was a genius.

—

Mina and Kyouka ran towards the enemy base where they saw lightning and laser beams escaping through windows.

"I think we're in the right place." Mina grinned.

They charged in through the front door causing Denki to panic for a moment at the now four-versus-one situation. He gulped and started charging up.

"Fine, then I'll just have to use ten million volts!" He sparked electricity wildly in his hands.

Kyouka heard him say this, grabbed Mina, and dove behind a wall. Fumikage covered himself with Dark Shadow as best he could while trying to hide while Yuga tried to launch himself backwards with his laser. The electricity filled the entire room but most of it had missed. Now he sat near his flag giving two thumbs up with a dumb look on his face.

"Oh my God. Why do you do this to yourself," Kyouka cackled.

Not taking time to celebrate, Fumikage grabbed the flag and ran out the door accompanied by his team. They ran back towards Izumi and were greeted with the sight of Izumi standing over Mineta while Shouta sat several feet away, tied with capture tape.

—

The last few seconds had been a blur for Izumi. She had been surrounded by fire one second, then the next she had blown the fire away by leaping at Shouto with far more than 5% of One For All. She tackled him to the ground and pinned his arms behind his back, tying them with capture tape. She glanced over and saw Minoru crawling back on his backside trying to escape, clearly no longer concerned about capturing her.

Izumi calmly walked over to the boy and leaned down, grinning widely at him. "Where do you think you're going?"

"Midoriya? You're…" Mineta choked on the words he was trying to say. The fear in his voice was evident to everyone. "Y-you're scaring me," he finally spit out.

Izumi stopped. "Scaring you?" She stood up and walked a few steps to a nearby window to check her reflection. She was wearing tattered clothes, her hair fell over her body, and she was wearing a huge grin with her fangs very noticeable. Her red eyes combined with this to give her a very monstrous appearance. She fell to the ground and landed on her butt, grin leaving her face completely.

"I look like a monster right now…" She muttered.

She heard footsteps and quickly looked up to see the rest of her team, Fumikage carrying the flag, running towards her. They stared at her current state of dress then glared at Mineta.

"No, it's not his fault." Izumi said softly. "I did this to myself. We should get that flag to our base. Hopefully we see Uraraka on our way so we can get our flag back."

"Midoriya, may I inquire as to what happened?" Fumikage asked her.

"It's a long story." She grinned at her team. Her team looked at her in admiration and mild shock.

"Ah, you are a fellow warrior of darkness, Midoriya? I did not know this." Fumikage smiled back at the girl.

"Huh? Oh, something like that…" She sighed before remembering something and grabbing a container from her belt. She opened it and chugged the liquid before looking at them again, a small amount of blood on her lips. "Let's go."

—

Mina stared at the girl for a second, taking in her appearance. The greenette was scantily clad and had bright red eyes paired with a pair of fangs in her fearless grin. She had what looked to be blood on her lips and her eyes shone with a certain confidence the girl had never shown before today. Her heart skipped a beat looking at the girl.

Uh oh. I 'm sorry Ochako.

She glanced at the goth girl standing next to her and noticed her staring mouth agape at Izumi. Kyouka's face was completely covered in a blush.

Well, I guess she made an impression on more than just me. I think Ochako just got a bit of competition …

Across the battlefield a certain brunette felt a chill go down her spine.

—

The group finished capturing Minoru before heading back toward the base, the flag in hand. They ran back toward their base and ran into a brunette girl carrying the flag from the base she had just come from.

"Hey, Uraraka." Izumi said to the girl as they ran towards her, a grin still plastered on her face.

The girl was shocked by all five of the enemy team being here to stop her and her face showed as such. She was suddenly hit by a wave of sound causing her to flinch, dropping the flag at her feet while she covered her ears. Izumi took advantage of this and grabbed the flag while running at 5% and dashing off with the flag towards her own base. The rest of her team continued running alongside her.

"Wha-" She turned to follow the greenette with her eyes and was amazed at her running off covered in green and red lightning. She watched the girl closely, forgetting about the exam for the moment, just enjoying the site of the girl running off. Her thoughts were interrupted as Present Mic shouted over the intercom.

"Team C wins! Please return to the observation room for after battle discussion."

Notes:
Thanks for reading. This chapter was a bit longer than the last few. I'll probably shift to posting on Saturdays, I just was already late posting this one so I figured a day early this week and Saturday next week would be fine. Take care.

3 Belle

Chapter 5: Aftermath Notes:
Late upload, decided to split this chapter in two at the suggestion of my beta reader citygirlgeek2.

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text The students of Class 1-A had gathered back in the observation room, the three teachers who had observed the exercise stood in front of the class. Minoru had dragged Denki and Hanta off to the side of the room opposite of Izumi to discuss something as soon as they arrived back at the room. As Izumi entered last Bakugou walked up to her, getting in her face as soon as she was in the door.

"What the fuck, shitty nerd!?" He snarled, shoving her backwards, hands crackling with small explosions.

She glared at him with red eyes that pierced into him, "What do you want, Kacchan?"

Bakugou flinched back momentarily at her tone, then continued, his voice full of vitriol. "What the fuck do you think I want? How can a loser like you do that!"

"Do what? I just did what I normally do." She grinned at the spiky haired boy in front of her, showing her fangs. "Is there a problem with that?" Not waiting for an answer, she started to walk past him to her friends, her back to Bakugou.

Bakugou growled at the girl, grabbing her shoulder to stop her from ignoring him, "Don't ignore me you worthless nerd." She stopped walking but didn't turn to face him. Bakugou's anger increased and his hands crackled louder; Izumi's shoulder where his hand was resting was burned slightly by his quirk, causing her to flinch. Even so, she continued to ignore him. "Now that you're a girl do you think you're less worthless? News flash, you're still a useless waste of space."

The class was staring at the interaction with a collective look of panic. Aizawa took a step toward the two students who were causing a scene as Bakugou spat words at the girl, "Listen to me, Deku. You're below me, don't forget that! You should've taken my advice before and-"

In a blur, Izumi spun around and slammed her fist right into Bakugou's nose. The sound of something breaking could be heard before blood spouted from Bakugou's face as he crumpled to the ground. The smell of blood hit Izumi in the face and she had to stop herself from doing something else to the boy.

Aizawa shouted, "Midoriya!"

Izumi snapped to attention facing her teacher and took a deep breath. All of her classmates just stared at her wide eyed while they held their breath.

She merely said one word, "Sorry."

Aizawa glared at the girl and then at the unconscious boy, "Normally I would tell you off for assaulting a student like that. However, given what I just witnessed, I think it would be best if we had a conversation after classes today. Is that okay with you?"

"Yes," Izumi grinned wryly.

While everyone was absorbing what had happened, Midnight walked up and threw a blanket over Izumi's shoulders, winking at her while she did so. She blushed at the gesture and looked at the ground to hide her face from her classmates, a mix of shame and embarrassment.

"Midnight, can you take Bakugou to the infirmary?" Midnight nodded to Aizawa and picked up the unconscious boy, carrying him out of the room. Aizawa continued talking to the rest of 1-A, "I think it would be best if everyone got changed and headed back to the classroom."

Izumi walked up to Aizawa and tugged on his sleeve. She talked low so others couldn't hear her, "Aizawa, can I go see Recovery Girl? I need to take my medicine and would like to get this checked out." She pointed to a small burn mark on her shoulder left by Bakugou, it hadn't healed completely yet.

He raised an eyebrow at the girl, "That's fine. Just don't take too long."

The students were quickly dismissed from their after-exercise discussion, and several of her classmates came up to talk to her while they walked back to the lockers. Izumi was walking barefoot with the blanket still draped over her.

Kyouka was the first to talk to her, "So… I have, well, a lot of questions. First though… Since when have you had… you know, fangs?"

"Uh, since Tuesday?" Izumi sighed before continuing, "After I woke up like this," she used one hand to motion over her body, "some other things happened. After those things, I woke up again, but with fangs."

"How come you didn't have them this morning before the exercise?" Mina asked her.

"It's a complicated story. I can tell you all later."

Ochako tapped Izumi on the shoulder, "Um, did something happen between you and Bakugou?"

"Hm? No, nothing recently. Just the things he's done before and what you saw in the observation room."

"…What 'advice' was he talking about?" Mina asked the girl.

"I'd… rather not say right now."

Deciding not to pry, Tsuyu shifted back to the other topic, "So, aside from the fangs and the obvious, is there anything else weird going on with you, kero?"

Izumi stared at the frog girl, "A few things. I actually need to talk to Recovery Girl since there's a lot I'm dealing with currently."

"Midoriya-kun, you can also talk to us. Remember we're your friends and we care about you." Iida commented.

"Thanks, though some things I still need to talk about with an expert."

Minoru shouted from nearby, "Oh, like having a va-"

Denki silenced his friend, "Dude! Can you calm your perverted self for like five minutes? Unless you want Midoriya to send you to join Bakugou."

Several of the guys in the class blushed at what Minoru had started to say while Izumi sighed at him. She opted to ignore him and silently thanked Denki before continuing.

"I appreciate all of you. Before I came to U.A. I spent a lot of time by myself."

"Those of us that are warriors of darkness tend to live a solitary lifestyle," Fumikage mused. This caused several of class 1-A to laugh.

"I'm surprised though, you seem like the kind of person that would attract a lot of attention," Mina teased.

Izumi grinned, "Nah, I'm just a dork who likes quirks way too much."

She got a chuckle out of her classmates and soon the students arrived back at the school and headed toward their respective locker rooms. Izumi shed her hero costume, if you could call it that anymore, and changed back into her uniform. She had a minor hang up trying to get her bra clasped again but managed to get it done with a little help from Eiko. Of course, the redhead couldn't help teasing the greenette about it. Izumi grabbed her bag and headed toward Recovery Girl's office.

Ochako followed her out of the locker room, "Deku, do you mind if I walk with you?"

"Of course not. I'm just heading to see Recovery Girl." Izumi replied with a small smile.

The pair began walking toward Recovery Girl's room when they heard footsteps behind them. Izumi turned around slightly too late; she was greeted with a pink girl jumping on top of the two of them with something between a tackle and a hug, Izumi wasn't sure which. The three of them hit the ground rather hard with a loud thud.

"Mina…" Ochako groaned.

"Ow, what are you doing, Ashido-san?" Izumi asked her.

What is that smell? It smells … good?

"Hehe, sorry. I just wanted to chat as well. Oh my gosh, Ochako you're bleeding! I'm so sorry!"

"Huh?" She put her hand to her nose and took it away, some blood on her fingers. "Oh, don't worry about it. We're heading to Recovery Girl anyway, right?" She smiled.

Izumi looked at the blood on her friend's hand and licked her lips unconsciously. So that's what I smelled. Shit. It looks really good. I bet it would tast-

"Uh, Izumi? Are you okay? Blood doesn't gross you out does it?" Mina stared at the greenette, meeting red eyes with her own black and gold.

Her eyes are really pretty… Izumi composed herself after that thought, "No, blood doesn't bother me…" She looked away from the girl. "It's just…"

"Oh!" The pinkette looked surprised. "My bad!"

Izumi looked at Mina who looked at her with understanding eyes. Izumi sighed in relief, smiling at the girl. Mina responded with a wink before helping Izumi and Ochako to their feet.

"Thanks, Ashido-san," Izumi offered to the pinkette.

Mina beamed at the vampire, "Of course! It's what friends do."

The rest of their trip to the infirmary was uneventful. Izumi drank her medicine and Ochako got her nose fixed up by Recovery Girl. Mina's antics caused the three of them to take too long in the clinic, so they had to run back to class. The pinkette led her friends by their hands while running through the halls. This caught the eyes of some of the other students. Specifically, a girl with periwinkle hair walking with a tall boy with blond hair and another boy with indigo hair. She noticed the three girls running down the hallway hand-in-hand. She smiled at the trio, waving as the three girls dashed past her and her companions. Mina merely smiled back at the girl, while her two unwilling tag-along friends ran to keep up with her.

The three arrived back at the door to the classroom only a couple minutes late.

"Ashido-san, wait! At least let us catch our breath before we walk back in." Izumi pleaded.

"Nope! In we go!" She dragged the two girls with her into the classroom by their hands.

Aizawa stared at the trio as they entered the classroom, Mina still holding onto the other two's hands. Eiko stared at the three as they entered with a grin on her face, giving a thumbs up to Mina who merely smiled back.

"I know Midoriya was going to see Recovery Girl, why are you two late?" Aizawa asked the girls.

Mina froze at that; Izumi stepped around the girl sensing her hesitation, "I needed my medicine and Uraraka fell and got a bloody nose. So Ashido-san decided to escort us both since she didn't want anything else happening to us."

He eyed the three and then sighed, "Very well. Get back to your seats."

The girls broke apart and Izumi walked to her seat, noticing Bakugou's desk remained empty. Several of her classmates were looking at her warily still, but the rest of class continued rather uneventfully. Bakugou never returned to the classroom; he probably was out cold still after one of Recovery Girl's draining kisses. After class was dismissed, Izumi waited in the hallway for Aizawa to head to the faculty lounge.

Mina came up to the girl while she waited, "You have a meeting with Aizawa don't you, Izumi?"

Did she call me Izumi? I think she called me that earlier, too.

"Y-Yeah. I need to talk to him about what happened with Kacchan today. I also need to head to the support course and get my hero costume… well, remade at this point." She smiled ruefully at the thought. "Did you need something?"

"Nah, not really. Just checking on you. With this big change in your life and breaking Bakugou's nose, I just wanted to make sure you're okay."

Aizawa stepped out into the hallway before Izumi could answer. "Problem child, I'm heading over to the faculty lounge. I scheduled the meeting in an hour. The other teachers will be there so don't be late." He turned and walked away before Izumi could reply.

"Well, I guess I can go and get my hero costume taken care of. To answer your earlier question: I'm fine, Ashido-san." She peaked past the girl's shoulder and noticed Ochako walking over toward the duo.

Ochako greeted the two happily, "Hi guys!"

Izumi smiled at her best friend, "Hi Uraraka, what are you up to?"

"Iida had something to do, something about his family. So, I'm checking on you."

"Me?" Izumi tilted her head and put on a confused expression. "Why? Are you worried about me?"

Mina's face had a slight blush, mostly masked by her skin's natural color. She thought to herself, Why is this cinnamon roll so cute?

Ochako had a similar thought run through her head at her best friend. She composed herself quickly, "It's been a busy few days for you, Deku. I'm just worried you're taking this harder than you let on."

Izumi smiled, "I'm fine. Though I do need to get to the support course. If you both aren't busy, you could walk with me at least?"

The duo agreed, "Sure!"

"Thank you, both of you. For checking on me, I mean. Before coming to U.A. I didn't have anyone I could talk about my problems, let alone someone who would check on me." She froze realizing what she had just said.

"I thought you and Bakugou were friends before you came here?" Mina chimed in.

"You two seem to have some sort of fated rivalry," Ochako added.

"Well… It's not that simple." Izumi tried to evade the question.

"We won't press but we're here if you need anything." Mina said to the girl. Izumi looked at her and got caught up staring at her eyes. Mina noticed and winked at the greenette, causing her to blush. Even though she was embarrassed, Izumi still smiled to herself. She was happy to have friends she could feel at ease around. They walked in silence for a moment or two before Ochako looked around Mina to talk to Izumi.

"Hey, Deku? Do you have any girl clothes bought yet?"

"Not really. I got some things that were important but haven't had time to really shop for any clothes. Mom said she would take me shopping later."

"Well, we could go shopping with you?" Ochako offered. "Mina and I, I mean. Or we could invite some of the other girls along as well?"

Izumi thought for a second, "That actually sounds kind of fun. Plus, you can help me pick out clothes since I have no sense of fashion. What day works best? Saturday?"

The two other girls grinned at each other. "Works for us," they replied in unison, smiles plastered on their faces.

The group arrived at the support course room not long after. "I still have plenty of time. Guess I'll head in-"

As Izumi reached for the door handle, the door was blown off its hinges in an explosion. The two girls watching screamed at the same time.

"Deku!"

"Izumi!"

Izumi was sent flying back and landed on her back and was hit with something soft and heavy that landed on her. A thick smoke filled the hallway from the explosion.

A girl's voice could be heard from the smoke, "Oww…"

One of the U.A. teachers, Power Loader, walked out into the hallway. "You know, you really shouldn't just put everything you think of together! Will you listen to me for once, Hatsume?"

As the smoke cleared, the girls saw a girl with pink dreadlocks and a low-cut tank top on top of Izumi; her cleavage was right in the girl's face.

"Oh, when did you get there?" Mei asked.

Oh god, boobs!

Ochako and Mina stood there shocked at the explosion. As soon as they saw the girl atop their friend, that shock turned into something else. The two students grounded by the explosion stood up as the other two girls walked over to join them. Power Loader walked back into the classroom groaning about something under his breath.

Mei looked over the group, "Oh, you're all from hero course students, right? Wait, except you." She looked directly at Izumi, "I don't recognize you. You look familiar, but I don't remember seeing you at the Sports Festival."

"You wouldn't remember me, I looked different a week ago…" She trailed off a bit before continuing, "I'm Izumi Midoriya. Nice to meet you again, Hatsume-san." She beamed a smile at the girl.

"Midoriya? Wait, is Ten Million your brother?" She looked to the other two girls who shook their heads at Mei.

"Hatsume-san, that's me. I was… hit with a gender swap quirk. So, I came to see if someone in the support course could make me an updated hero costume."

"Making you a costume?" Mei shrieked. "Sounds interesting!"

"Wait, so you want to help? Are you sure you're not bus-"

Izumi froze for a simple reason: Mei had started running her hands all over her. She caressed every part of Izumi's body in a very methodical fashion.

"H-H-Hatsume-san? W-What are you doing?" Ochako stammered while Mina did her best not to laugh at the situation.

"Hm? I'm getting her measurements, of course! I need to know every detail of her body to make sure her new uniform has the best fit."

Mina was still stifling a laugh behind Ochako. Izumi was trying to remain composed, but due to the pretty girl touching her all over, she was rather overwhelmed.

"H-Hatsume-san, are you done yet?" Izumi meekly managed to ask.

"Almost." Mei ran her hands over Izumi's ass one more time before she was satisfied. "Done!"

Mei walked over to a desk to start drawing up blueprints, completely ignoring the other students in the room. Izumi fell to the ground and sat there for a few moments muttering under her breath.

"Oh god, Hatsume why?"

Ochako sat down next to the girl. She didn't say anything for a moment, letting the girl process. After Izumi seemed to calm down slightly Ochako asked the girl, "Deku, are you okay?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah. I'm just shocked I think." She mused.

"I'll say. Hatsume did a number on you. And I thought I was the only one who got an intimate interaction with you today." Mina teased.

Izumi froze at that. Ochako turned to Mina and curiously asked, "What do you mean by that?"

"Oh, nothing. I just ran into Izumi in the locker room before classes and thought she was a transfer student."

Izumi sighed in relief.

Ochako looked dissatisfied, "What else Mina?"

The pink girl grinned at her friend, "Then I offered to show her around U.A. since she's just so cute. Well, it turns out Izumi here is a huge flirt and said I was cute, too."

Ochako blushed slightly, "Well… neither of you are wrong in your assessments… Wait, do you hit on every cute guy or girl you meet?"

"Only the ones I find interesting," Mina mused. "Plus, I just so happen to like cinnamon rolls."

Izumi looked away from the pair while they continued chatting. She looked over the support course room, observing all the current projects and half created support items. She moved her gaze and it rested on Mei working at her desk, drawing up designs using the measurements she had just taken. Izumi heard Mei muttering to herself while she worked, "Can't argue with the pink girl's taste. Ten Million's a cutie now, not that she wasn't cute before."

Izumi thought to herself, I'm just imagining things, right? I swear I heard Hatsume muttering to herself, but she's too far for me to hear her.

Izumi stood up from the floor and dusted off her skirt. Ochako and Mina had finished their chat, so she helped Ochako off the ground. She pulled out her phone to check the time.

"Hm, I wanted to get there early, so I think I need to head over to the faculty lounge. Before that though…"

She walked over to Mei in the back, "Hatsume, I have to head out. Would you mind sending me your design once you're done so I can give some input before you create it? Here's my number to get in touch with me." She handed the girl a piece of paper with her number and her name on it.

"Sure thing, Ten Million. I'll send you the specs when I'm done with them and you can look over them so there's nothing too crazy."

"Thanks, Hatsume." She grinned at the inventor before she walked back to her friends. "Well, I'm off. I'll see you both tomorrow?"

Mina replied first with her signature smile, "Yep! We'll see you tomorrow morning, Izumi."

Ochako beamed at her best friend and waved, "Yep! See you tomorrow, Deku."

Izumi returned both the girls' smiles. "Then I'll see you tomorrow Ashido-san, Uraraka."

Before Izumi could walk off, Ochako stopped the girl, "Deku, you don't have to be so formal with us, we're friends after all."

"She's right, Izumi. You can just call me Mina. I call you Izumi already, after all." Mina added a cheeky grin to illustrate her point.

"And feel free to call me Ochako, okay?"

"S-sure. You can both call me Izumi if you want." She smiled awkwardly before telling the girls, "I'll see you both tomorrow, O-Ochako, M-Mina."

Why is my heart beating so fast? She thought to herself.

Little did she know, the other two girls were having similar thoughts.

Notes:
Mostly fluff, next chapter a cinnamon roll cries.

Chapter 6: The Secret of One For All Summary:
A cinnamon roll cries. The staff of U.A. learns a few things.

Notes:
Okay, so I'll preface this:

Trigger warning: Suicide and possibly self-harm.

Also, this is the second chapter I've uploaded today, so don't skip the previous chapter on accident.

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text Izumi arrived at the faculty lounge slightly earlier than she thought she would. She knocked on the door and was greeted to a familiar face.

"Midoriya-shoujo?" All Might greeted the girl in his hero form.

"All Might! I'm surprised you recognized me."

"Nezu gave me a heads up. But even then, it's hard to mistake you for someone else when you have the same mop of hair, even if it is longer now." He laughed at his observation.

"I suppose I do still look similar," she scratched her cheek. "Were you waiting for me?"

"Yes, I suppose I was. Aizawa informed the staff of what happened today, and all of us will be at the meeting." Izumi gulped at this. "Ah, worry not, Midoriya-shoujo, Aizawa feels there are some extenuating circumstances that need to be discussed. Since we have time before the meeting, I wanted to check on you. Come have a seat and we can talk."

All Might escorted her into the faculty lounge and closed the door. Once they were inside, he deflated to his more skeletal appearance that people knew as Toshinori Yagi. They walked into a room with a small couch, a chair, and a table that they could sit by and chat. Izumi sat on the couch while Toshinori took the armchair across from her.

Toshinori looked at the girl before asking, "How are you handling this transition?"

She stared at her lap for a moment before answering. "I think I'm handling it well. I… rather enjoy being a girl," she said shyly.

"Well, I'm glad that you're adjusting well, I was worried you would be overburdened with everything going on."

Izumi's eyes met her mentor's and she spoke again, "I… I have a quirk." Her voice was raspy as she tried to spit the words out.

"I saw your match earlier. At first, I thought you had gotten One For All under control… I realized as I watched that you were still breaking your bones. The split second before most people would notice, you healed." He spoke carefully, noting what he observed during her recent training exercise.

"Part of it is regeneration. Pretty strong if I were being honest since if you watched my match, you saw how little control I had over One For All…" She smiled ruefully. "But I think I can work on that control, especially now that I can do so a little more freely. If I push myself too far, I won't have to burden Recovery Girl as much."

"I'm sure you noticed as well, but you seem to get quite aggressive when you use this quirk. Did this factor into you breaking Bakugou-shounen's nose?"

She looked away from his gaze, "That… It may have factored in, but that's not the entire reason."

"Would you please explain? You and Bakugou seem to not get along, though you've never told me what happened between you in the past."

"Because we used to be friends." She was staring at her lap again, twiddling her thumbs absentmindedly.

"Used to be? I thought you were friends, even with your differences?" He pressed.

Her voice was quiet, barely audible. "All Might, Kacchan and I haven't been friends for ten years… He's…" She choked on the words, "He's been b-bullying me since he got his quirk and I didn't: physical violence, using his quirk against me when I was quirkless; turning the other students against me because I'm a 'useless Deku'; verbally berating me for the last ten years…" A tear ran down her face, followed by another. "The day I met you, I was debating on killing myself…"

"Midoriya-shoujo…"

"He told me… He basically told me that if I wanted a quirk so bad, I should take a swan dive off a roof and hope for a quirk in the next life… I considered it. I seriously considered it. Why wouldn't I? I didn't have any friends. The only person in the world who would have missed me was my mother… But I can't do that to her." Tears poured down her face.

Toshinori was trying to remain calm, but his voice was strained. "Why didn't you mention this before?"

Izumi stood up and practically shouted at the man opposite her. "Because I couldn't! He's still my friend, and even though it sucks, and he's done so much bad, I know deep down he's still a good person! But after today, after he said that I look like a villain, all that repressed anger at him, all the bullying, it spilled out. I tried to bottle it up, but it spilled out and I seriously hurt him…"

Toshinori stared at the girl before him, weighing the words he could say in his head. "A true friend, no, a true hero would never bully anyone, especially a friend. Our job as heroes is to protect and uplift the people, not look down on them and belittle them with some undeserved sense of superiority." His words sounded calm, but the look in his eyes said he was anything but.

Izumi continued to shed tears as she fell back onto the couch. Her shoulders heaved as she let her emotions flow out of her in waves. Toshinori just watched her until she began to calm down, the tears finally coming to a near halt.

"So…" She sniffled, "What's going to happen to Kacchan?"

"I have a friend in the police department I can have come in and ask some questions. His quirk makes him great at his job. He might ask you some things as well if that's okay." She nodded and wiped her face with her sleeve. Toshinori took out his phone and sent a text message to one of his contacts before he continued talking. "Then depending on the severity, he might be placed in therapy here to deal with his behavior, or he could possibly be expelled."

Izumi's head shot up, "I would prefer him to not be. I still think deep down he's a good person."

"You know that the teachers here at U.A. are the best. We will make the decision after discussions." He smiled a little, "So, why don't you explain to me what you know about your quirk? Aside from its regeneration, is there anything else you've noticed?"

"It makes me more aggressive; I literally ripped my- Oh god, I ripped my hero costume off in front of everyone!" Her face turned bright red. "I can't believe I did that! Mineta was right there!"

"It'll be fine, Midoriya. Midnight said she rather enjoyed seeing how far you were willing to go for victory." He chuckled a bit before continuing, "Though knowing her maybe she just enjoyed seeing you strip." Izumi paled so Toshinori decided to move along, "Is there anything else?"

"Blood smells stronger now," she stated. "O-Ochako got a bloody nose earlier and before I saw her face, I could smell the blood in the air. I also get fangs and red eyes." She had a conflicted smile on her face. "Do you think I can still be a hero with fangs?"

"Well, of course," he reassured her. "We have Vlad King after all, and he has fangs. So, fear not, you'll still be a great hero one day."

She beamed at his words. "Thanks, All Might…"

He smiled at his protege before continuing, "Well, if you notice anything else, please feel free to talk to me about it. Nezu might also be interested, he loves quirk analysis, after all. You already have enough to worry about with One For All, so please talk to one of us about this if you need to."

She paused for a few moments, neither saying anything in the silence before she continued, "Do you think it would be okay to tell people about One For All? I can't think of another reason to explain why I have a quirk now. I know it's a closely guarded secret, but at least telling the staff of U.A? They are some of the most trusted people in the world after all…" She trailed off. "It's also possible I could get new insights from them that I wouldn't get from just you. No offense meant, but I can't imitate you forever."

All Might blinked in surprise, "I've never thought of that… Getting help from other teachers could help you grow. My biggest concern is if a staff member at U.A. were to be spying for the villains-"

"Then they would already notice you spend more time with me than any other student, and you know that's true." Her face had a smirk plastered on it. "We have our meetings like this pretty regularly, and I don't think you have them with other students. I'm sure some of the faculty has noticed. My classmates have even noticed things." She barely suppressed a chuckle, "Todoroki thinks I'm your secret love-child; Asui-san has mentioned several times how similar my quirk is to yours. Most people probably wouldn't think much about the similarities, but if there are any villains that know of One For All, it wouldn't take a genius to figure it out."

Toshinori thought for a long moment, hand against his chin. "You've given this quite a bit of thought I see… Though I think you're right. We can tell the staff. I have something I need to tell them as well as yourself. It's about the origins of One For All." He stood up and offered Izumi a hand, "We don't want to be late to this meeting, now do we?"

Toshinori and Izumi arrived at the conference room which was filled with all of the U.A. teachers, along with a man that Izumi recognized from the U.S.J. incident as a detective. Toshinori had returned to his hero form for the moment.

"Now that everyone's here why don't we begin," Nezu announced. "First, I'm sure all of you here know that this is Detective Tsukauchi. All Might has asked him to come here today." The man in question took off his hat to bow then sat in a seat near Nezu. "In any course, we have a few things to discuss."

"Why is there a student here?" Hound Dog asked. "I assumed this meeting was a faculty meeting."

"Yes, yes. However, the student in question has several things that she needs to discuss. Izumi-kun if you wouldn't mind introducing yourself and explaining your recent circumstances. Everyone else, please save your questions until the end, it will speed things along." Nezu motioned toward the girl.

She stood at the table, clearly more than a little nervous. "Actually, Principal Nezu, I feel it would be best to let All Might explain things first." She smiled awkwardly. Nezu nodded, understanding what the two were planning.

"As you all know, I am the newest teacher here at U.A. but what most of you don't know is the reason why. I came to U.A. to search for a successor. The reason for this," he transformed into his smaller, more skeletal appearance, "is because I suffered a great injury six years ago at the hands of a villain. The name of that villain is All For One, and he has lived for over two hundred years.

"All For One is named after his own quirk, a quirk that allows him to take quirks for himself. But he also can give those quirks, and during the era in which he was born, quirks were rare. His brother was quirkless, and All For One gave him a quirk that stockpiled strength, hoping it would help his brother. However, his brother was not quirkless, but merely had a quirk that allowed him to pass down his quirk. The fusion of these two quirks created my quirk, One For All.

"One For All has been passed down repeatedly, and I am the eighth bearer of its torch. After my last fight with All For One, I knew that my time as a hero would be short, and I decided it was time to find a worthy successor to inherit my quirk, and to be trained as the next symbol."

Toshinori finished and returned to his seat. The faculty merely stared at him, taking in all the words he spoke. He nodded to Izumi, who stood up again.

"Um… I know that was a lot to take in, so I'll try to be brief. Two days ago, I was hit with a quirk that swapped my gender. Before this, I went by Izuku Midoriya." Several hushed gasps could be heard around the room. "And now because of that quirk, I'm Izumi Midoriya." She looked to Toshinori who nodded at her to continue. "I was born quirkless, or at least, I thought I was, until two days ago when I finally manifested my quirk.

"Midoriya, you've used a quirk several-" Aizawa stopped himself, the realization dawning on him.

"Yes, the quirk that I've used up until now is the same quirk that All Might talked about. I am the ninth bearer of One For All, and I was chosen to be All Might's successor."

The teachers started talking before Nezu interrupted them, "Please keep order. We don't want to waste too much of Izumi-kun's time."

She bowed to the creature before continuing, "Up until two days ago, the only quirk I had was One For All. But after I changed, the doctors discovered I had a rare quirk that only affected me if my genes were XX; rather cruel of fate," she laughed at the irony.

"That… is a lot of information." Midnight said. "But it explains why you had no control of your quirk. What I don't understand is how getting your gender changed allowed you to control this quirk, Midoriya."

"It didn't," she stated flatly.

Aizawa raised an eyebrow at the girl. "You're saying you still can't control this quirk? Then do you mind filling us in?"

Izumi nodded and Toshinori sat back down. "Sure." She thought for a moment before asking, "Can I borrow your knife for a moment, Aizawa?"

Aizawa eyed the girl and looked at Nezu who merely nodded approval. He removed the knife from its sheath behind his back and he handed it to the girl who was removing her jacket. She said a quick thanks and sat the knife in front of her.

"It might have looked like I could use One For All now without causing damage to myself," she was rolling up her sleeves as she talked, "but that's not true. I still cause just as much damage to myself as I did before when I use it at full strength."

"In my case-" she picked up the knife in one of her hands before plunging it into her arm in a quick motion accompanied by a cry of pain. Several of the teachers stood up as she did this, thinking she had lost her mind. She pulled the knife back out of her arm with another yelp of pain before holding up a hand at the teachers ahead of her.

After she gasped for a couple more seconds, she licked the blood from her arm to show the wound, or rather, the lack of a wound. "In my case, my body now has a form of regeneration."

Several of the teachers could do nothing but stare at the girl. She had stabbed herself with a knife but the evidence that she could regenerate was plain as day.

"Midoriya, I feel like you could have done that without the theatricality." Recovery Girl complained. "You're lucky I brought some medicine for you as requested by Nezu." She slid an opaque bottle across to the girl.

"Thanks. The problem with my regeneration," she started to open the container in front of her before pausing to pick up the knife again. She licked the blade clean of her blood and set it back down. She smiled for the staff, "Is that it is very noticeable when I've used it. And I'm not sure about the upper limit of it. Though I did survive being blown up the other day."

The staff continued to stare at the red-eyed vampire in front of them, talking of her near-death with the casualness of talking about going to the dentist.

"Another downside, if you want to call it that, is I tend to be a bit more… aggressive if I've used it. It's part of the reason why I snapped at a certain student today…" She grinned wryly.

Nezu smiled at her. "Since you mentioned it, would you like to explain what happened earlier when you struck a fellow student?"

She flinched a bit at his words but continued to meet his gaze. "Of course. That was the original point of meeting with Aizawa-sensei."

Nezu nodded at her to continue, but she stood frozen for a moment before Toshinori put a hand on her shoulder. She took a deep breath and filled in the faculty on her recent outburst, breaking Bakugou's nose. She then recanted the story she had told Toshinori in the lounge. The staff had mixed reactions from silent anger to concern about the tale. Izumi finished the story and was nearly in tears again. Nezu looked to Tsukauchi who nodded his head at the creature with a sad look on his face before Nezu turned to address the room.

"Everything Izumi-kun said is the truth. As the faculty of U.A. we have a responsibility not only to our students but to the public as we are molding future heroes. This is a serious issue and we will need to deliberate more once we can do so in a more private fashion." The staff nodded at his announcement. "I believe that is everything we needed from you for today Izumi-kun. We will arrange a press conference for you to inform the public of your gender situation after your internship is done." He smiled at the girl.

Izumi nodded, "If you have any other questions or need anything else from me, please let me know."

She did a small bow to the principal and then she picked up her bag, jacket, and the medicine in one hand. She picked up Aizawa's knife in the other, walked over to him, and handed it back to him before she bowed in front of Aizawa, Midnight, and Present Mic at the waist.

"I'm sorry for my earlier outburst at Kacchan." She bowed at her waist. "It won't happen again."

The trio nodded at the girl with various smiles on their faces. Aizawa merely stated, "No, it won't," with a smirk. Izumi left the room for all the faculty to continue their meeting.

Nezu looked over his staff, "Before we continue our meeting, I should mention that after Izumi-kun's recent incident, I believe that it would be prudent to begin implementing our plan for student dorms."

Notes:
Did Izumi make the correct decision to have All Might tell the rest of the U.A. staff? Who knows. Next chapter is almost entirely a fluff chapter with Izumi and some of the 1-A girls spending time together. I still haven't added relationship tags to the tags because I'm trying to keep things spoiler-free, but I don't know if that was the best decision. I mean, I already added the poly tag, and the yuri, but I think that's keeping things still pretty open.

Either way, thanks for reading!
3 Belle

Chapter 7: Shopping and Sweets Notes:
Just a fluff chapter to fill the week. I was hoping to have the next chapter done by today to double post but that didn't seem to work out.

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text Saturday came quickly for the U.A. students; Izumi was waiting at the train station for her friends to arrive. Since she had nothing else to wear, she had thrown on a light blue t-shirt that said 'Dress Shirt' on it and her U.A. sweatpants, currently rolled up to right under the knee; she even pulled her hair up in a ponytail to keep it out of her face. After she told her mom that her friends invited her to go shopping Saturday, Inko decided to postpone shopping with her daughter so she could enjoy time with her friends as her new self.

She had arrived fifteen minutes early due to be a combination of being excited and extremely nervous. Mina had invited most of the girls from class 1-A but most of them had plans, so only Kyouka would be joining them. She sat on a bench absentmindedly kicking her feet while watching the people walk by. Her mother had given her some money to buy some things today while she was out; Toshinori had offered to give her some as well since she had been through so much recently, but she outright refused. She also had her own small bit of savings as well, so she wasn't worried about spending a bit of money today.

Izumi lost herself in thought, 'All For One… I wonder if All Might finished him, or if he's still out there… I guess there's no reason to worry about it now, I should enjoy my day with everyone. I'm definitely more than a bit nervous going shopping for girl clothes. Though, I definitely need to get some, I can't very well keep wearing baggy shirts and sweatpants everywhere.

'I wonder what stores we'll even shop at. I've never exactly been shopping; Mom usually bought my clothes for me before. I don't know anything about fashion either. Hopefully Mina, Ochako and Jirou know something about what looks good. Spending the day with the three of them… it gives me butterflies for some reason. Why am I so nervous though? I'm just hanging out with my friends and going shopping for clothes, right? That's not a date or anything. Maybe I'm nervous because they're girls. Don't freak out, I'm just spending the day with three really cute girls. I'll be fine.'

She suddenly felt a poke on her cheek interrupting her thoughts.

"Hi, Izumi!" exclaimed her pink haired friend sitting on the bench to her left. She was wearing shorts and a white crop top with a band logo on it and wore several bracelets.

The greenette squeaked at her friend's sudden appearance, "You scared me. How long have you been here?"

"Hm. Probably about the time you started muttering about spending the day with three really cute girls," Mina cackled.

Izumi's face filled with a blush. "Y-You heard that?"

"Yep, all of us heard it." Mina grinned, pointing past Izumi to the other side of the bench where Ochako was sitting. The brunette was wearing a skirt and a pale blue blouse while wearing a pair of grey flats. She had a mild blush that looked only slightly deeper than her natural blush as she smiled at the pair.

"Hiya, De- Izumi," Ochako waved slightly at the girl.

"W-Wait. You said 'all', right?" she gulped and looked behind her.

Standing behind the bench was their purple haired goth classmate. She was wearing a pair of black shorts and a pair of pinkish purple tennis shoes along with a loose yellow tank top that had the words "Deep Dope" on it. She had on a bracelet on her left wrist and the outfit was accented by her black choker, as well as the deep blush on her face.

Just end me already.

"H-Hi everyone. R-Ready to go shopping?" Izumi managed to stammer out.

Mina giggled at Izumi's flustered appearance; she grabbed Izumi's arm and started to drag her along, "I definitely am! Oh, how's your burn?"

"Hm? Oh, it's fine. It healed up pretty quick." Though, not instantly like my other wounds. Maybe since it was a burn it took a bit longer? I might need to do some tests… That makes me sound like a masochist… She gulped at her train of thought while being dragged along by Mina.

While Izumi was deep in thought, Ochako fell in beside her with Kyouka keeping pace on the opposite side of the brunette. Ochako's own shoulder brushed up against Izumi's, a fact that didn't go unnoticed by a certain green-haired ball of anxiety.

They've both so close! Mina smells kind of like citrus. And Ochako smells sweet, like cotton candy. She blushed at her thoughts. I wonder how Jirou would smell… Stop being weird brain!

Mina spoke while dragging their group along, "Anyway, we need to find a store to go shopping, we can't very well have Izumi keep walking around in sweatpants and…" Mina's eyes looked down at Izumi's shirt, "Does that shirt say 'Dress Shirt'?" She started laughing while she was talking, "Where do you get these shirts? We have to find you some better clothes!"

Ochako verbally agreed while Kyouka just nodded along; the group headed off to the shopping district. The first store they stopped at Izumi ended up finding quite a few things with the other girls' help. Mina had a decent sense for fashion as well as Ochako, while Kyouka tended to have a more laid-back approach to what she wore, though she did still give her input on some of the clothes Izumi was looking at. With the help of the three of them, she started getting into a rhythm with her shopping and started to enjoy herself, trying on various outfits that she would actually consider wearing and some more silly outfits that were far too ridiculous to be actual outfits.

At the insistence of Mina telling her that she can't keep walking around in her sweatpants and 'Dress Shirt', Izumi changed into a pair of black shorts, a black tank top, and a white off-shoulder t-shirt with what looked like a blood splatter and five asterisks on it. She ended up throwing her clothes that she was wearing into one of the shopping bags and they continued their shopping. Izumi wasn't the only one buying things, though. The other girls tried on various outfits as well, Izumi giving her honest opinion on each even with her limited sense of fashion.

Ochako came out of a changing room in a light pink cold shoulder dress with darker pink accents that hugged her body curves perfectly with the skirt flaring out. She came out and did a spin for her friends, "How do I look?"

"Ochako, it's so cute!" Mina squealed.

"Yeah, that looks great on you, Uraraka," Kyouka agreed.

The trio looked toward Izumi to get her input.

Even after spending time with them, I 'm still nervous. I guess the nerves and anxiety are still here, just slightly less… I definitely feel more confident in general, but that doesn't fix everything, I guess.

Izumi pulled herself from her thoughts and looked at her best friend. She breathed in slowly and smiled at Ochako before speaking, "Y-You look beautiful, Ochako. It suits you really well."

Ochako's face blushed at Izumi's words. She grinned wide at all the praise and said excitedly, "Thanks, everyone!"

She went back into the dressing room to change out of the dress while Mina went into the next changing room to try on an outfit. She came out with a form fitting black shoulderless long-sleeved shirt with gold accents, a pair of dark blue denim shorts, and black thigh high socks with her tennis shoes.

Izumi stared at the girl, amazed at the simple outfit fitting her so well. Apparently, she was staring because Mina smirked at her and winked which brought a blush to her face and caused her to shift her eyes away from the pink devil.

"So, what do you think?" Mina asked the rest of their party with a smug grin.

Kyouka looked impressed, "It's very fitting, Ashido. It looks good."

"Mina, you should totally buy that outfit!" Ochako told her excitedly.

Kyouka elbowed Izumi, motioning toward Mina who was looking at her expectantly.

Izumi felt the blood drain from her face, "Um. I really like it, Mina."

Mina's mouth turned into a sly grin, "What do you like about it, Izumi?"

Izumi's brain went into overdrive.

She wants something specific? Uhh … Her shirt matches her eyes and accentuates her curves really well; the thigh-highs with those shorts highlights her long legs, showing off her athletic figure. I'd be lying if I said I didn't find it an extremely attractive look for her… What do I tell her specifically?

Izumi's mouth moved faster than her brain and muttered the words without realizing she was doing it. Mina's normally confident and scheming grin fell off her face and was replaced with her mouth hanging agape. A blush shifted her face into a deep shade of lilac as she stared at the girl who had muttered her thoughts aloud.

Izumi noticed Mina's expression shifted and the realization hit her like a tidal wave, "I muttered all that out loud, didn't I?"

"Yep… I think you might have broken Ashido. She's never this quiet," Kyouka teased.

Izumi looked down in shame, "Mina, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable or anything-"

Mina came over and hugged Izumi, talking into her ear, "Thank you. I promise you didn't make me uncomfortable. I just was shocked to hear you speak so honestly. It made me happy."

Mina pulled back and smiled at the greenette before walking away to the changing room, adding a certain sway to her hips that Izumi couldn't help but stare at.

"Jirou, we can tease her for this later right?" Ochako asked.

Kyouka smirked, "Of course, it's hard to tease Ashido for anything but I don't think I've ever seen her blush that hard."

Ochako grinned at the girl, "It'll be nice being on the opposite end of her teasing."

"You know I can still hear you, right?" Mina groaned.

"Surprised you can talk like nothing happened. You seemed pretty flustered for a moment there," Kyouka shot back.

"Shut up!"

The group stopped at a couple other stores where Izumi ended up buying things at the other girls' suggestions; basically, anything she could make an outfit out of. She ended up with quite the selection. Though the girl would never admit it, Kyouka's favorite store was one that ended up having a ton of gothic apparel that Izumi definitely didn't look really hot in when she tried them on. Definitely.

Izumi ended up trying on an outfit with thigh high stockings with garter belts attached to up under a skirt, black heeled boots, a short red plaid skirt with crosses accenting the bottom, a black corset, and a black choker. She also wore several bracelets and a necklace; assorted styles from crosses to hearts and took her hair down so it fell over her shoulders.

"I'm not sure," Izumi said. "I don't know if it's my style."

She eyed her classmates who had looks of approval, with Kyouka outright gawking. She turned and looked at herself in the mirror. I kinda like it? I'm not sure it fits my green eyes… I wonder… She reached deep down in herself to see if she could find that feeling she had during the exercise the other day. She found a feeling inside herself and tugged at it. When she opened her eyes she saw they had shifted to a deep red and her smile had morphed into her vampire grin.

Izumi turned back to the group and grinned, "What do you think?"

Ochako's and Mina's eyes went wide at the sudden shift in her appearance. Kyouka's face turned bright red before she fainted. Mina and Ochako managed to catch the goth girl so she wouldn't hurt herself.

Izumi frowned at the situation, "Is my appearance that scary?"

"I-I don't… I don't think that's why she passed out." Ochako stuttered out.

Mina giggled, "I think Jirou has a thing for vampire girls." She eyed Izumi's appearance, "You can change your eyes and fangs at will?"

Izumi shrugged, "I just… remembered the feeling from during training?" She glanced to Kyouka and then back to Mina with pleading eyes, "Will you hold on for a moment so I can change?"

Mina and Ochako nodded while supporting Kyouka as Izumi went to change back into her previous outfit. While in the changing room Izumi managed to figure out how to return to normal and experimented going back and forth a few times before settling on her normal green eyed appearance. Izumi bought the outfit that caused the goth girl to pass out as well as a full-length gothic dress that she also liked the look of. She had no idea when she would wear it, but she liked the style. After she had paid, she walked over to her friends and picked up the unconscious girl in a princess carry and brought her to a nearby bench.

The group waited a few minutes to make sure Kyouka would wake up again before doing anymore shopping; they couldn't very well carry her unconscious from store to store. Ochako and Mina decided to grab some drinks at a vending machine, leaving Izumi next to Kyouka on the bench. She woke up before long and looked around in a mild panic.

"Wait, where am I?"

Izumi patted her on the shoulder and smiled at her, "Morning, Jirou. Are you okay? You passed out in that last store, and we brought you to a bench to rest."

Kyouka thought for a moment before remembering what had happened. "Y-Yeah. I'm fine. Sorry to worry you."

"No, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to startle you like that…"

"Y-You didn't startle me."

Izumi tilted her head, "Then why'd you pass out? I figured seeing me like that terrified you."

A small blush crossed the stoic girl's face, "Don't worry about it."

"…If you're sure, I won't press."

Kyouka scrunched her face for a moment, "Hey, Midori? Do you think it's possible to like multiple people at the same time?"

Izumi thought hard about the girl's question, sorting through her own feelings before she answered. "Well, yeah. I mean, I'm pretty sure I do."

"What do you do about it?"

"Well, I don't exactly have advice for that. I've never acted on any of my feelings. I've always been focused on my goal of being a hero. Plus, now with everything that's going on, dating seems more complicated."

Kyouka snorted, "You're not kidding. Especially if you're planning on finding a way to change back."

"Hm? I don't want to go back. It's just more complicated since-"

"Since you're a lesbian now?" Kyouka smirked at the girl, "Sorry, I figured there was no point dancing around it."

Izumi blushed, smiling a bit, "I expect nothing less, Jirou. Yeah, I guess that's one way to put it. Plus, who'd want to date someone in my position?"

"You mean an attractive girl who's going to be a great hero?" Kyouka said, blush still on her face.

"…That's not what I meant."

"A hot vampire girl who can break a building in half?"

Izumi was blushing furiously, "You're just messing with me aren't you?"

"A little. I think you've got less to worry about than you think. With how unique quirks are there's not really any stigma in dating anyone anymore. Hell, I knew a guy who was basically a cactus in middle school, and he was still somehow popular with the guys and the girls."

"Then why haven't you confessed?"

"Like I said, I like more than one person."

Izumi thought for a moment, "Guys, girls, or cacti?"

Kyouka burst out laughing at that, "Definitely not cacti. I actually prefer girls over guys, though some guys aren't too bad. Most of the guys in our class aren't great. My crushes are both girls."

"Sorry the only good option for a guy in our class is a girl now," Izumi teased.

The goth stared at her wide-eyed for a moment before she could reply, "I don't remember you being this confident before."

"Oh, I just… feel comfortable with myself now? Don't get me wrong, there's still some issues I'll have to work through, but they're definitely not gender related."

"I just wasn't expecting it, is all. Usually you stutter and blush talking to any of the girls in our class which was cute, but you seem much more relaxed now. More calm and confident. It's nice." Kyouka smiled gently at the vampire next to her.

Izumi smiled back, "Thanks. Getting back to your issue… You could just tell these girls how you feel? Or spend time getting to know them and see if they'd even be interested in dating other girls. Maybe even date them both if they're okay with it."

Kyouka stared at her blankly, "H-How would that even work?"

"No clue, but I'm pretty sure it's a thing." Izumi took out her phone and searched the internet for a moment. She finally found what she was looking for, "Ah, here we go. It's called polyamory. You can have relationships with multiple partners…"

Wait, article written by Nemuri Kayama. Midnight?

"E-Even if that is an option, who in their right mind would pick me over any of the other girls in our class?" Kyouka's tone was one that Izumi was familiar with, full of self-doubt and the belief that you're not worth it.

Izumi furrowed her brow, "Why do you think that? Aside from the fact that you're gorgeous, you're extremely passionate about things you care about, you're driven, smart, and have a wicked sense of humor. You have a ton of great qualities, so please, don't think someone wouldn't be downright blessed to have the chance to get to know you."

Kyouka had gone red up to her ears, unable to find words to speak. Mina and Ochako returned from the vending machine, Mina sitting right next to Kyouka on the bench.

Never missing an opportunity to tease someone, Mina purred into the girl's ear, "Look who's flustered now."

Kyouka's head snapped toward the pink girl, eyes glaring at her, "Shut it."

Izumi heard Mina's taunt to Kyouka but kept her mouth shut, deciding she didn't want to turn Mina's teasing toward herself. I was just being honest… Why does it feel like I just confessed?

The four girls rested on the bench and drank their beverages, chatting about other stores they might want to go to. Before anyone could decide, Mina threw out a different suggestion.

"Is anyone else hungry? I could go for something sweet. And I think Jirou could probably use something to eat after passing out."

"Oh, that sounds good! I could go for some mochi," Ochako excitedly chirped.

"Y-Yeah. I think eating would be good for me," Kyouka managed.

Izumi had an idea and smiled at the girls, "I know of a place nearby that sells great sweets. It's also not too expensive."

The girls were shocked, but Ochako laughed out a reply, "You like sweets? I figured the only thing you liked was katsudon."

"H-Hey, that's not fair. Come on, I'll show you." She grabbed Kyouka by her hand, worried she would pass out again, and guided the girls along side streets. They snaked through a maze of alleys until they ended up at a small sweet shop with a sign that said 'Japanese Sweets and Confections'. The shop front was rather plain; Izumi led the girls into the store, chatting while they walked.

"How do you know of a sweet shop like this? It seems like more of a date spot than anything," Jirou stated, her face still covered in a small blush; Izumi was still holding onto her hand, after all.

"Haha, nothing like that." She scratched her cheek, "Mom and Auntie used to bring me here a lot when I was younger. Though we haven't been here together in a couple months."

A petite brunette girl in her early twenties with brown eyes, short chopped hair, and a cowlick stood behind the counter, "Welcome to Japanese Sweets and Confections, we have a huge selection of sweets to pick from."

"Ah, Haru-chan!" Izumi said.

The girl eyed Izumi for a few moments before she smiled at the girl. "Ah, Midoriya-chan! I didn't know you enjoyed cross-dressing," she teased the girl. This caused her classmates to giggle at her before Haru rested her face in a smirk.

"N-no, it's nothing like that. I uh-"

"I know, I know. Your mom already filled me in. I just like teasing you a bit, Izumi-chan." Haru smiled at the girl, using her new name without missing a beat.

Izumi was caught off guard, a surprised expression crossing her face, "When did you see my mom?"

"Oh, I saw her today," she grinned at the girl, looking slightly over Izumi's shoulder.

"Mom came here today? Was she with Auntie Mitsuki?"

"Of course," she replied sweetly. She was barely stifling a laugh at this point.

Suddenly Izumi felt arms drape over her shoulders as she was hugged from behind by a woman with blonde spiky hair.

"Long time, no see! I've missed you, Izumi." The woman had a large grin on her face as she hugged the girl.

"Auntie? You were here?" Izumi turned her face to look at Mitsuki, "Would you mind getting off me? You're embarrassing me," she said with a slight pout.

"I suppose so. Your mother and I came here today to spend some time together since she said you had a little date today. I didn't want her to sit at home all day by herself." She pointed back toward her table where Inko waved at the girls. "Which of these lovely young ladies is your girlfriend? I assume it's the one holding onto you for dear life," Mitsuki teased.

Kyouka squeaked and pulled her hand away, trying to hide behind Mina who gave her a teasing smile. Ochako was pouting slightly for some reason.

"Ah, uh. It's not like that," she forced out. "They're my classmates at U.A. and they offered to go shopping with me for some new clothes." Izumi leaned in closer and kept her voice low, "Plus, I uh… I doubt any of them are interested in me like that."

Mitsuki looked past the greenette toward the group of girls she had entered with, keeping her voice low to match Izumi's. "But you didn't say you weren't interested in any of them," she grinned at the girl who fidgeted at the words. "Plus, I wouldn't be so sure. You won't know unless you ask."

Izumi took a step back with a small blush on her cheeks at Mitsuki's words.

Ochako took advantage of the brief pause and asked, "You said this was your aunt?"

Izumi's face had an awkward smile on it as she talked, "Ah, well, not really. I've always thought of her as my aunt. She's Mom's best friend."

"Mitsuki Bakugou. Pleased to meet you three."

"Wait, Bakugou? Are you Katsuki Bakugou's sister?" Mina asked.

Mitsuki couldn't help but laugh at that. "Oh no, sweetie. I'm his mother. Thank you for that, though." Mitsuki leaned in and hugged the pinkette tightly, surprising both Mina and Izumi.

"His mother?" The girls chimed in unison.

Mitsuki pulled away from the hug and looked at the group, "Yep, why don't you all order your sweets and we can chat more. I'll be sitting over with Izumi's mom." She walked off leaving the girls at the counter.

"So, are you and your girlfriends going to order anything Izumi-chan?" Haru had a smirk on her face as she asked.

"Auntie already teased me with that, you won't get a reaction out of me this time." Though she sounded confident, the blush on her face showed she was lying.

Haru smiled at the girl knowingly, opting instead to do her job before teasing Izumi again, "What can I get for you lovely young ladies?"

The girls ordered their preferred sweets: Ochako ordered assorted mochi, Mina ordered a strawberry crepe, Kyouka wasn't sure and settled on pudding while Izumi couldn't decide and opted to be surprised.

"So, I've got an order of mochi, one strawberry crepe, an order of pudding, and one chef's choice. Are you treating all your girlfriends, little Izumi-chan?" Haru teased.

"You don't have to do that, Izumi." Ochako protested, a mild blush at the word 'girlfriends'.

"I was planning to pay for everyone anyway. You all helped me a lot today. And you're here for me during this transition." She smiled at the girls, "So let me do this, okay?"

Ochako started to protest but conceded knowing that Izumi wouldn't back down once she said she was going to do something. They thanked her and headed to Mitsuki and Inko's table. Izumi turned back to the counter to the girl who was eying her mischievously.

She deadpanned, "What?"

"Oh, nothing. I know I tease you a lot, but I'm beginning to think they might actually be your gorgeous girlfriends," Haru said.

Izumi stared blankly back at Haru, "How much do I owe you?"

"It's on the house."

"Seriously, how much do I owe you?"

Haru raised an eyebrow, "That determined to pay for your girlfriends, huh? It'll be ¥1980." Haru's face turned to a slight pout, "You're a lot less fun to tease when you don't get as flustered."

Opting to ignore that last comment, Izumi answered promptly, "I just don't want to owe you anything. Plus, I said I'd pay for it." The greenette smiled and paid for everyone's sweets and headed toward the table with her friends and family at it.

"Gotta say, she's more confident as a girl," Haru mused to herself.

Izumi got to the table and sat between Kyouka and Mina, "Did I miss anything?"

"Nope, we were just chatting with Inko and Mitsuki here," Ochako grinned.

"Inko?" Izumi looked at her mother confused.

She smiled and replied, "We've just been chatting here. Mostly about you."

Izumi flushed, "W-Why me?"

"Mostly about your recent change. Though we did discuss something interesting. Something about a training exercise on your first day back." Inko was trying to stifle a laugh but couldn't keep it contained. The other girls at the table were all doing their best to stifle some laughter as well.

"The training exercise on my first day back?" She thought for a moment before her went wide, "N-no! You told them?"

"So, you like running around in your underwear for hero work now, Izumi?" Mitsuki laughed.

"What's this about running around in your underwear?" Haru asked. Izumi felt all the blood leave her face again as she slowly turned to see the brunette girl with a tray of sweets and a grin on her face. "Did I hear that right? Izumi was running around in her underwear at school?"

Izumi mumbled, trying to defend herself, "I just… really wanted to win…"

The girl sat there and listened to the other women tell Haru about Izumi's recent hero training. She sat their sweets down in front of the girls, giggling at the story and teasing Izumi for being an exhibitionist.

Izumi blushed a small amount, "Like I said, I wanted to win. I just got… too competitive and kind of… didn't think about the fact that I'd be mostly naked…"

"That's some competitive drive. Most people wouldn't want to embarrass themselves like that just to win a combat exercise," Mina mused.

"I guess… But what if that were the real thing and being trapped like that meant something worse than just losing? I won't get become the best by half-assed attempts at being a hero. I'm going to give my all, no matter what." Izumi's eyes blazed with determination as she spoke.

"That or you just enjoy being naked in front of people," Haru teased causing the table to laugh.

Haru finished doling out the sweets to the girls, setting a large parfait in front of Izumi. At the sight, Izumi's eyes went wide, looking toward Haru.

"There's no way I can eat this by myself."

Haru leaned in close and whispered to the girl, "I know," then took a step back and winked at Izumi. She looked at the table and made a quick bow, "I hope you like it!"

Izumi turned her attention to the parfait before her and gulped, grabbing one of the spoons Haru had brought; one of the four spoons she had brought. She glanced at the other girls eying her parfait with hungry eyes then at her mom and Mitsuki, the latter just giving her a thumbs up.

Izumi grinned wryly to herself before she looked up and changed it to a smile, "Do you girls want to help me with this?"

"Of course!", "Duh!" Ochako and Mina replied, nearly in unison. Kyouka merely blushed and looked away. Izumi leaned in, whispering to her, "You don't have to if you don't want to. I just thought you looked like you wanted some."

"…I'll try it," Kyouka said while picking up one of the spoons.

Izumi couldn't help but grin at that, "Let's dig in then. Itadakimasu."

"Itadakimasu!" the chorus of girls rang out.

The girls dug into the giant parfait together; after a tentative bite, Kyouka decided it was too good not to eat more of. Occasionally, the other girls would take a bite of their own orders, which Izumi eyed curiously. Mitsuki was talking to Inko and noticed Izumi's gaze wandering to the other girl's sweets as they ate. She nudged Ochako under the table as she was eating her mochi, and the brunette looked up and noticed Izumi staring at her food.

"Do you want to try some, Izumi?" Ochako asked.

"Um, I just thought it looked good."

Ochako picked up one of her mochi in hand and offered it to Izumi; she ate it straight from the girl's fingers without hesitation.

"That's so good! You have good taste, Ochako."

"Thanks! I love mochi. It's my absolute favorite."

Ochako smiled at the girl enjoying the mochi with a wide, infectious smile on her face. Mitsuki put a hand on Inko's shoulder and whispered something in her ear while Izumi was zoned in on her parfait again. They both laughed and watched the girls eat their sweets. Mina snuggled up next to Izumi and offered her a bite of her crepe.

She smiled wide at the greenette, "I promise it's good, too!"

Izumi took a bite of the crepe and savored the flavor. "You were right Mina, this is good!"

Izumi had managed to get whipped creme on her cheek from the crepe and merely continued eating her parfait, blissfully unaware. Ochako eyed the whipped cream on the girl's face before shaking her head at the thought that had entered her head. Mina followed her gaze and noticed the same thing Ochako had, grinning at her in a way that screamed of mischief.

"Izumi, you have whipped creme on your face," Mina informed her.

She turned toward Mina with a puzzled look on her face, "I do? Where?"

Mina took her finger and wiped the whipped cream off Izumi's cheek, "Right there." She grinned at the girl before sticking her finger in her mouth and eating the whipped cream from it.

"T-Thanks, Mina," Izumi stuttered, the pink girl giggling at her reaction.

Izumi turned back to take another bite of her parfait and saw Kyouka offering her a spoonful of pudding. Izumi smiled at her, "You don't have to-"

"Just shut up and eat it!" Kyouka exclaimed, shoving the spoon into Izumi's mouth.

The other girls at the table couldn't help but laugh at the sight. Izumi smiled at the flavor and at the girl who was bright red and looking away at her.

"Thanks, Jirou, that was delicious too." She grinned at the goth girl sitting next to her.

The girls finished their sweets while discussing random topics with the two adult women. Inko couldn't help but tease her daughter a bit about her All Might obsession, though she did brag about how great her daughter was as well for getting into U.A. with these wonderful girls. They all bid farewells to each other, Inko inviting the girls over whenever they wanted for dinner or to stay the night. Inko also offered to take Izumi's bags so she wouldn't have to carry them, which Izumi relented to after a bit of arguing.

Izumi thanked Haru for the delicious sweets which she accepted happily, telling her to come back soon. She did manage to toss in several teases directed at Izumi and her cute girlfriends before she made it out the door.

"Is there anywhere else you want to go?" Izumi asked.

"I have a couple more places I'd like to visit," Mina said. "How do we get back to the main street?"

"Oh, follow m-" Izumi stopped in her tracks.

What is that smell? I 've smelled it before. Recently, too.

"Izumi, is something wrong?" Ochako looked at her concerned; looking at Izumi's face she noticed her eyes had turned red.

She started to run off down an alleyway toward the smell. She shouted back at the girls with her.

"I smell blood!"

Notes:
Just some cute fluff I wrote. In honor of best girl's birthday on that was on the 7th, she'll be making her debut in the next chapter for IzuToga week.

As always, thanks for reading 3 Belle

Chapter 8: New Blood Notes:
Less fluff, more angst, so I apologize. This chapter also wasn't beta read so... here's hoping it's fine.

TW: Mentions of enciting suicide again

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text The other girls were running after her struggling to keep up; Izumi was running as fast as she could and had created a sizable gap between herself and her friends.

Someone could be in trouble. Think … I need to call All Might!

She took out her phone as she dialed Toshinori on her phone as she continued running. A second or two of ringing later Toshinori answered.

"Midoriya-shoujo? Is something the matter?"

"All Might, we're in downtown Musutafu and I smell blood. I… I think someone's hurt."

"I'm nearby, so I'll head over right away. Don't do anything reckless."

Izumi grit her teeth, "…I won't."

The line disconnected and Izumi sped up. She sent her location to Toshinori to make things easier for him. The girls that were following her were having a difficult time keeping up but did their best to not lose sight of her.

"Izumi wait up! Where are you going?" Mina shouted after her.

Izumi didn't answer, she just kept running toward the smell. She rounded a corner and stood in the intersection while the other girls were several blocks behind her. Ahead of her in the alley was a young blonde girl who was unconscious in a puddle of blood. She looked to be around the same age as Izumi and her hair had messy buns on top of it. She was wearing a school uniform with an over-sized cardigan over it and seemed to still be bleeding.

Izumi ran over to the girl and checked for a pulse; it was weak but it was there. Izumi did a quick scan of her body and took note of a stab wound on her stomach and a large bruise on her face, some blood trailing down from her hairline. Izumi pulled off the shirt she was wearing over her tank top and folded it, using it to stop the blood from her stab wound as a makeshift dressing. The pressure Izumi was using on the wound caused the girl to gasp in pain and wake up slightly.

"I'm sorry. You're bleeding and I'm trying to stop the blood. I didn't mean to hurt you. You're going to be okay, though. I promise."

Izumi did her best to reassure her, even putting on a fake smile for her as she stopped the blood from her torso. Her head wound wasn't bleeding anymore but there was still blood covering her face. No matter what happened she wasn't going to let this girl die.

Think you idiot, think! Is there anything else I can do? I need to get her to a doctor. If only she had my regeneration …

The blonde girl looked up at Izumi as she was doing her best at first aid. The girl put a hand to Izumi's face and stared into her eyes, speaking quietly, "You have really pretty eyes." The girl flashed a fanged smile at Izumi before she passed out again.

"Fear not everyone! I am here!" All Might yelled from the opposite end of the ally.

"All Might!" Izumi's eyes had tears in them, "We need to take her to Recovery Girl!"

"Midoriya-shoujo, you know I can't-"

"We have to! If we don't, she'll die! Please!" Izumi screamed.

Izumi was holding the bleeding and unconscious girl in one arm, the other holding the shirt to the girl's abdomen. Izumi's hands and torso were covered in blood at this point. She tried to wipe some of the tears from her face and smeared blood on it instead. The other girls rounded the corner to see All Might standing near a blood-covered Izumi and a bleeding girl around their age.

"Oh my god, is she okay?" Ochako said to Izumi.

"I don't… I don't know. She's lost a lot of blood. I slowed the bleeding down, but she's been stabbed."

"We need to get her to a hospital!" Mina screamed.

"Midoriya-shoujo… I don't think she's going to make it. She's lost too much blood…"

Izumi turned to Toshinori who looked at her with a sad expression. Izumi slipped off her belt and wrapped it around the girl's waist to keep the dressing in place; it wasn't perfect, but it would suffice for the moment. Izumi glared at him as she picked up the girl in her arms; she sprinted off to the nearest hospital. Her eyes were filled with tears and she grit her teeth in frustration as she ran. The nearest hospital was less than a minute away in her adrenaline-fueled sprint. She burst into the emergency room and screamed for help.

"Get me a doctor now!"

The medical staff looked at the screaming girl covered in blood and the girl bleeding in her arms, moving quickly. A young doctor that she recognized from a couple days ago came into the room and began checking the blonde girl's vitals as they walked. One of the nurses tried to tell Izumi she needed to wait here and let the doctors do their job; Izumi yelled to get the doctor's attention instead of listening.

"Doctor Kochi!"

"Hm? Midoriya-san? We have to get your friend a transfusion. She's lost a lot of blood."

"I know. I want you to use my blood for the transfusion."

Doctor Kochi looked at her for a moment and nodded, "I understand. Follow along with us, we need to make sure she doesn't bleed to death before we can give her your blood."

Izumi nodded and waited in an observation room outside the surgical room as the medical staff cut off the blonde girl's shirt and ran some medical tests and stopped the bleeding using a type of skin adhesive as per Doctor Kochi's orders. The place a gauze dressing over the wound before sterilizing her head wound and placing a bandage on her head; it had already stopped bleeding, but they didn't want it to start again. As the medical staff was working on stopping the blonde's bleeding, Doctor Kochi came up to Izumi who had her face in her hands to wipe away her tears. He had an empty blood bag and a needle in his hands.

"This might sting a bit. Are you okay with this?"

She looked at him with fire in her eyes, "I'm positive." She paused for a second, "…You know what I'm expecting to happen, right?"

"Let's hope you're right." He frowned slightly, "I'll be honest, it doesn't look good if this doesn't work."

The doctor stuck the needle in her arm and filled the bag quickly. He removed the needle from Izumi's arm and she flexed her hand a few times and folded her arms in front of her, anxiously watching through the observation window as the doctor took the fresh blood and hooked it up to the blonde girl's arm. The doctor made sure the line was secure and walked out of the room as the medical staff ran some more tests. Izumi felt a hand rest on her shoulder as she watched; she looked at the reflection and her red eyes glared at Toshinori in his normal form.

"What?" she growled, causing him to pull his hand away.

"Midoriya-shoujo… I'm sorry… I didn't think there was anything I could do."

Izumi spoke coldly to her mentor, never looking his way, "If she dies, I won't forgive you."

Toshinori just looked at her with sadness in his eyes, "You know you can't save everyone. Not even I can save everyone."

Izumi's eyes never left the girl in the surgery room, "She wasn't beyond saving. She still isn't."

He put his hand on her shoulder again and stood in silence with her for a few minutes.

"Why is this girl so important to you?" he asked quietly.

Izumi's eyes looked sad in the reflection. She spoke softly to her mentor as he listened quietly, "She looks like she's my age… She hasn't gotten to experience life yet. And she's the first person I've tried to save that… that might not make it." As she talked her voice started to waver and hitched on certain words; the tears she had held back started to run down her face again. "So, she has to live. Because otherwise life is just too unfair."

"Why did you want me to take her to Recovery Girl? Other doctors do their jobs just as well as she does."

Izumi took a slow breath to calm her nerves and anger, tears still running down her face, "Because Recovery Girl knows about my blood… If I told her to use my blood for a transfusion, she would understand. Coming to the hospital… I wasn't sure if they would listen to me."

Toshinori nodded at the girl as Doctor Kochi returned to the observation room with Mina, Kyouka, and Ochako. The girls all looked at the blood-spattered vampire with looks of concern on their faces.

"Midoriya-san, are these your friends?"

Izumi smiled faintly to the doctor through her tears.

"Yes, they are. Thank you."

"I'll leave them with you. I'm going to check on your other friend to see if our treatment worked." The doctor did a small bow and went back into the surgery room.

"Izumi, are you okay?" Ochako asked her.

Izumi spoke quietly, afraid to will the words she was about to say into existence, "I'm… I'm worried she won't make it."

Kyouka stared at the blonde with her lips pursed, "It's the hands of the doctors, now."

"I'm hoping for a miracle. Doctor Kochi said it doesn't look good but there's a chance that she'll make it." Izumi wiped her face of more tears, smearing more blood across her face in the process.

Mina looked at her sadly, "I'm sure she'll be okay…"

Ochako stared at the blonde girl in the room with all the doctor's buzzing around, unsure of what to say to her friend.

They all stood in the observation room and didn't say anything else; after a minute or two of silence Doctor Kochi returned.

"Good news. The treatment worked; her wounds are all healed and I daresay she's in better condition than she was before. We're going to move her up to a private room so she can rest but she's no longer in any danger."

Izumi's eyes started to water again, and tears fell down her face, creating trails of watery blood down her cheeks. She looked at the doctor ahead of her and bowed in front of him.

"Thank you for saving her."

Doctor Kochi smiled at her, "Midoriya-san, I think it's safe to say she's alive because of you."

She looked him in the eyes, "If I would have told any other doctor to do what you did, would they have listened?"

The doctor thought for a moment, "It would have taken time to run tests, time that she didn't have… I'm glad I could help. I'll be in to check on her later today but if her tests are fine she can leave before dinner."

Everyone in the room breathed a collective sigh of relief.

Ochako watched as the medical staff prepped the girl to move, "Seems she's going to be okay. It's a good thing you found her, Izumi."

"Yeah… I'm just sorry we had to cut everything short." Izumi grinned wryly at that fact.

Kyouka looked at her exasperated, "Dude, you saved someone's life. I think that's a good enough reason to interrupt a date."

Mina grinned at her, "Don't sweat it, Izumi. I still had fun today. Are you going to stay here with her?"

"I am. I want to make sure she's actually okay before I do anything else. You all don't have to stay, though."

Mina patted Izumi on the back, "Maybe we can all come over later once you find out if she's okay? Have a sleepover!"

Izumi smiled softly, "That… that sounds like fun. Mom would be happy to see you all again so soon. Plus… I know I would like that…"

Ochako grinned at her best friend, "I'll ask my parents when I get home. Let us know if that's okay, Izumi."

"I wasn't planning on doing much tonight anyway. I'll see what my old man and my mom say." Kyouka headed toward the exit with a barely noticeable smile.

Izumi grinned at her friends and waved as they walked out, "Thanks guys. Hopefully I'll see you later."

The girls said their goodbyes and left Izumi with Toshinori in the waiting room. Izumi pulled out her phone and dialed her mom, ignoring Toshinori for the moment.

Inko sounded panicked when she answered, "Izumi? Is something wrong? I saw you run off after leaving the sweet shop."

"I'm fine, Mom. I… I'm at the hospital with someone until she wakes up. I should be home for dinner. Do you mind if the girls you met earlier stay over? I… need some friends tonight."

"Of course not, dear. I told them they were welcome whenever. I'll grab some things for dinner before you get home."

"Thanks, Mom… I'll see you in a little while."

She hung up her phone and looked at Toshinori, pausing for a long moment.

"…I'm sorry for earlier."

Toshinori bowed slightly, "No, I'm the one who's sorry. You saved her without my help. If it were my decision, she wouldn't be here."

Izumi sniffled and wiped some of the tears away again, smearing the blood more, smiling as best she could. "I had to save her, no matter what."

Izumi left Toshinori in the observation room and headed up to the girl's room. She got the room number from one of the nurses and found it without issue. The nurse had already setup a chair near the hospital bed. Izumi sat down and laid her head on the bed, gently holding the girl's hand as she slowly dozed off.

Izumi woke up to someone running a hand through her hair causing her to hum happily at the sensation. The blonde girl giggled at Izumi's happy humming before Izumi sat up and stretched her arms above her head, rubbing at her eyes with her hands for a moment before remembering where she was. Izumi noticed the vampire in her hospital gown looking at her with a faint smile on her face.

I didn 't notice before but she's really pretty.

Composing herself, she spoke to the girl excitedly, "You're awake! How do you feel?"

"I thought I was dead. The last thing I remember was… you telling me I'd be okay."

Izumi smiled at the girl, "I brought you to the hospital and had the doctors give you an emergency transfusion. I'm just glad you're okay… I was so worried."

The girl furrowed her brow, "Why were you worried about someone you had never met before?"

"You were dying; I couldn't let that happen. I had to save you." She widened her smile, "I'm Izumi Midoriya."

The girl scanned Izumi's face curiously. Satisfied with her conclusion, she returned Izumi's smile.

"I'm Himiko Toga. Thank you for saving me, Izumi-chan."

"You're welcome." Izumi squeezed the girl's hand she was still holding, "…Do you have anyone in your family you want me to call? Like your parents?"

Himiko's face had a look of disgust and sadness spread across it, "They don't care about me."

Thinking of Himiko's fangs and the obvious discrimination against blood quirk users, the answer was simple.

"…Is it because of your quirk?"

Himiko nodded, "They think I'm a monster because I have to drink blood."

"You're not a monster. I promise." She hesitated to ask the next question, conflicted between her need to learn about other's quirks, and the issue that this girl clearly had with hers. "Do you mind if I ask what your quirk is? Aside from having to drink blood, I'm guessing there's more to it. You don't have to tell me if you don't want to."

Himiko shyly answered while looking away, "…I can transform into anyone who's blood I've drank recently."

"That's so cool!" Izumi exclaimed, standing in her excitement and putting her fists in front of her in an excited fashion. "You would make like, the greatest spy in history! You could be a great underground hero with a quirk like that. There's no telling what kind of information you could get if you turned into other people."

Himiko was stunned. "You think my quirk is cool? That I could be a hero with a monstrous quirk like mine?"

"Your quirk isn't monstrous. You could do so much good with a quirk like that. With just a little blood you could be anyone and get all kinds of information to help people." Izumi beamed at the girl.

Himiko's eyes filled with tears and she started crying into Izumi's chest. "Everyone always said I was a monster. That someone like me could never do anything good. I'd be better off dead with a quirk like mine. My parents told me they wished I'd never been born; at school I was told that I should just kill myself for having such an awful quirk."

Izumi flinched at those words. She had heard similar words before, 'If you want a quirk so bad, why don't you take a swan dive off a roof and hope for one in the next life?'

The next words Izumi said were filled with anger; anger from similar experience. "Himiko, your parents are shit parents. Anyone who told you to kill yourself is the real monster!"

Himiko paled and pulled her face back slightly, still crying. "…Izumi-chan?"

Izumi was seething but calmed down slightly. "…I was told something similar. Before I got into U.A. I… They thought I was quirkless until I was fifteen… I was bullied, demeaned, attacked; all because of my lack of a quirk. And one day, the guy who used to be my best friend told me to take a swan dive off a roof and hope for a quirk in the next life."

Izumi took a deep breath and the corners of her mouth rose, "So, I can relate to what you've been through and… it's horrible. I know you're not a monster though, Toga. No matter what anyone says."

The tears on Himiko's face poured down faster, "No one's ever been genuinely nice to me. You don't even know me!"

Izumi grabbed one of Himiko's hands and stared at her eyes, red meeting yellow. "I know that you've been hurt by a lot of people and I know that you're not a monster just for your quirk."

"…Thank you." She continued to stare at Izumi's eyes, putting her free hand on Izumi's cheek, "You really do have beautiful eyes."

Izumi grinned at the girl with her fangs, "Thank you."

Himiko's eyes lit up at her fellow vampire, blinking the tears out of her eyes. "You have fangs, too? Do you also drink blood?"

Izumi nodded, "Neither of us are monsters for having to drink blood or for having fangs. The monsters are the bullies and your parents for rejecting you for who you are."

Himiko stared at her amazed and brought both her hands to Izumi's face. She looked at her and asked, "Can I?"

Izumi thought for a second and nodded. Himiko tilted Izumi's head so she could get a better look at Izumi's fangs as Izumi opened her mouth slightly. Himiko used her thumbs to brush over the fangs with some pressure, one of them tearing her skin and drawing some blood. Himiko pulled her hand back and brought her thumb to her mouth, licking off the blood; the small cut had already healed.

"Yours are as sharp as mine. See?" Himiko smiled wide, mouth slightly agape to show off her four fangs. She grabbed Izumi's hands and brought them up toward her face, "Go ahead."

Izumi hesitantly used her thumbs to trace Himiko's fangs. Just tracing them didn't break her skin, but when she added some pressure, the sharp points slightly cut the skin on her thumbs. "Oh wow, you're right." Izumi brushed over all four of them gently, "They're really pretty. I've never met anyone else with fangs so it's really cool to see yours up close."

Izumi stared at the blood droplets on her thumb for a moment and blushed a small amount before licking them off.

Himiko looked down at her hands and laced her fingers together, twiddling her thumbs as she spoke with a large blush on her face. "I don't think I've ever heard someone say my fangs were pretty."

Izumi blushed faintly at the realization of her words, "Sorry. I hope that's not weird or anything. I've only seen mine and Vlad King's from a distance. Yours are cute, almost like a cat's. Same with your eyes."

Himiko stared at the girl with her blush still on her face, "You're kind of weird, you know that?"

Izumi grinned in response as the door to the room opened and Doctor Kochi walked in with a small smile on his face, "Ah, good. You're awake. You look like you're feeling much better."

Izumi pulled out her phone and sent a text message to Toshinori while the doctor chatted with Himiko. 'She's awake. Her name is Himiko Toga. Her parents kicked her out for her quirk.'

Himiko smiled faintly at the doctor, "I am. Were you the one that fixed my stab wound?"

"Ah, no. Not really. That would be the due to the blood transfusion we did."

Himiko looked at Doctor Kochi confused, "What do you mean?"

"I'll be blunt, miss..?"

"Toga."

"Okay, Toga-san. You were going to die from that stab wound. You had lost a lot of blood, but the problem was you had internal damage that we couldn't have repaired in time."

"Then… how am I alive?"

"We gave you a transfusion of very rare blood. The owner of that blood has regenerative capabilities and her blood literally saved your life. Surgery takes time but the blood took effect almost immediately."

Himiko frowned at the doctor, "Who would do something like that for me?"

He grinned at the girl, "Someone who didn't want you to die. If you want to thank her personally, I suggest looking beside you. I just need to run a few tests to make sure you're okay to leave and then you can go home."

Himiko's expression went from amazement to a look of disgust at the mention of her home. "I… don't have a home."

Doctor Kochi hesitated, "Perhaps you have a friend you can stay with?"

"I don't-"

Izumi interrupted, "She can stay with me."

"Izumi… you don't have to do that."

"It's no problem, I promise."

"Good, now that that's sorted out, I'll just do a few quick tests and you'll be on your way. I don't think Midoriya-san wants you staying here longer than you have to."

The doctor went through an examination checking for anything out of the ordinary and determined Himiko was in perfect health. "Everything checks out Toga. If there are any lingering pains or other issues, please feel free to contact me."

The corners of Himiko's mouth raised slightly. "Thank you…"

Doctor Kochi smirked at her, "My pleasure. Have a good day, Toga-san. And you as well Midoriya-san."

The doctor left the two vampires in the hospital room. Himiko looked at Izumi with a puzzled look, "Why did you give me your blood?"

"I wanted to save you. I wasn't going to let you die."

Himiko leaned over and hugged Izumi, "Thank you again for saving me, Izumi."

Izumi hugged her back, the blood on Izumi had dried in the time she was asleep so most of it stayed off of Himiko. "Of course, Toga."

"Call me Himiko. You saved my life; I think it's only fair."

"Okay, Himiko. Are you ready to go?"

Himiko hesitated, "I… I need to tell you something before we leave…"

Izumi looked at her concerned, "What's wrong?"

"When I said I have to drink blood, I meant I have to. If I don't, I… lose myself. I hurt a classmate and got expelled for it; I stabbed him in the arm to get his blood. After I got it I felt terrible but I can't take back what I did…"

Izumi smiled at her and patted her head gently. "That's not your fault, Himiko. You told me your parents hated your quirk, so it's safe to assume they refused to get you blood or treatment knowing full well what it would do to you. I don't think of you any differently knowing what happened, since I know you didn't choose to do it. And if… If you need blood, just ask, okay? I'll let you drink mine or I have some bagged blood at home."

Himiko smiled at her a wide grin, "Really? Thank you… That means a lot."

Himiko jumped out of the bed she was in and untied her hospital gown behind her back, sliding it off. Izumi looked away from her with a small blush that was masked by the blood still caked on her face but didn't say anything. The hospital staff had left Himiko some sweatpants and a t-shirt to wear since they cut her shirt off on arrival. Izumi went into the hospital bathroom and splashed water over her face to rinse away some of the blood. Deciding that it would be too much of a hassle to take a sink bath to wash off everything, she only washed her face and hands.

The duo walked down to the hospital entrance and signed the discharge papers. The paperwork took them a little bit more time than Izumi thought it would, but they finished and headed for the door. Outside they were stopped by Aizawa stepping out of a limo with the U.A. logo on its license plate.

"Problem Child, Nezu and I came to pick you up." Aizawa opened the back-passenger door and the two teens got inside the car after nodding to Aizawa.

"Do you always get picked up in a limo, Izumi?"

"Nope, first time getting in one." Izumi looked to Nezu who was sitting in front of her, "Hello, Principal Nezu. Good to see you."

"And you as well, Izumi-kun. Is this young lady Toga-kun then?"

Himiko nodded, "I'm Himiko Toga. Nice to meet you!" Her eyes scanned the chimera, "Izumi said 'principal'… principal of what?"

"Ah yes, I'm Nezu. The one who could be a dog or a mouse or a bear, but more importantly… I'm the principal of U.A!"

Himiko's eyes went wide in surprise, "Of U.A? That's so cool. Izumi you know the principal of U.A?"

Nezu smiled at her wonder, "Indeed she does. She's a student at U.A. currently."

"You're going to be a hero? I think you'll make an amazing hero one day. You saved me after all!" Himiko grinned at her and hugged Izumi again, latching onto her.

"I agree with that assessment, Toga-kun. She will be a great hero." Nezu paused for a moment, collecting his words. "Toga-kun, can I ask you about your home life?"

Himiko's eyes narrowed at the chimera and tensed, not saying anything for a moment. She still clung to Izumi who spoke softly to her, causing her to turn to the blood-spattered vampire.

"Himiko, it's okay. He just wants to help. I trust Nezu and Aizawa with my life and would never ask you to talk to someone I didn't completely trust." As Izumi spoke, she hugged onto the blonde vampire.

Himiko relaxed and took a deep breath before turning to back to Nezu. "My parents kicked me out. I was expelled from school for assaulting another student because of my quirk and my need for blood; my parents told me I was a monster. I've been living on the streets for around six months now."

Nezu stared at her with sad eyes, "Toga-kun… Your parents told the police you committed suicide. They even produced a note to substantiate their claims. That was over a year ago."

"I… It hasn't… has it been that long?"

"I think you've lost track of time with your need for blood over the last year or so. I have police talking to your parents right now."

Izumi looked impressed, "Nezu, you move quickly. It's been thirty minutes since I sent a text to Toshinori with her name."

Aizawa interjected, "Her name is fairly well known for her suicide last year. It was called a 'failure in quirk therapy'."

Nezu looked at the vampire duo, folding his hands before he talked. "After I was given her name, I looked into it; it wasn't hard to find information. As Aizawa said, her name was all over the news last year for her apparent suicide. Falsely claiming that Toga-kun here committed suicide is a serious offense. If there is evidence of abuse and neglect as well, which should be apparent if she was not given adequate quirk counseling, that is also a serious offense."

"What's going to happen to me?" Himiko asked nervously.

"Normally, you would go into foster care or become a ward of the state."

Izumi's blood boiled and she raised her voice, "Principal Nezu you can't-"

"Now, now Izumi-kun. I said normally. However, in this case, I feel it best for her to stay with someone who cares about her." Izumi visible calmed down at his words.

Himiko frowned, "I don't have anyone I can stay with that cares about me."

Izumi furrowed her brow and flicked the girl in the forehead, "No one?"

Himiko grabbed her forehead with both hands, "Ow!" She turned to Izumi and pouted, "I can't stay with you. You've already helped me enough!"

Nezu clapped his hands once to get their attention, "For the time being, U.A. has been granted custody of Toga-kun. Once we determine a suitable living situation for her, whoever she lives with will be given a stipend to help fund food and housing. Her custody and living situation all rely on the condition that she enrolls at U.A."

Izumi looked at the chimera, "But the enrollment period was over a month ago?"

"One of our teachers at U.A. called in some favors to allow her to enroll at U.A. late. She can transfer into the general education course, support course, or hero course if she can pass an assessment for those courses."

Izumi's eyes went wide at the news.

All Might. Guess he felt guilty …

Himiko's face lit up, "Wait, you want me to enroll at U.A? I get to go to school with Izumi?"

"Indeed, Toga-kun. For tonight, you will be staying at the Midoriya household. We will figure out living arrangements for you after that."

Himiko looked at the chimera and then to Izumi, tears dotting her eyes again. She bit her lip to try and stop the tears, but her emotions won out. She cried into the greenette's chest for the second time today. Izumi stroked Himiko's hair gently and looked at Nezu.

"Thank you so much, Principal Nezu."

"You have no need to thank me, Izumi-kun. I am only doing what I feel is in the best interest of my students, after all. And please, call me Nezu when we aren't around other students."

"Okay, Nezu. Still, thank you."

Notes:
Honestly, I really wanted Toga to already be a student at U.A. since I enjoy IzuToga fics far too much. I had already decided to start after the Sports Festival for reasons, so I wanted to add her before she would've joined the LoV in canon. I also toned her crazy down so that she's not a murderer in this timeline, though I won't completely gut her character hopefully. Due to the way I'm introducing her here, I'm also going to add another student to 1-A at the same time she officially joins class 1-A.

Hopefully you're enjoying the story so far.

3 Belle

Chapter 9: Sleepover, Pt. 1 Notes:
Got some IzuToga interactions. More cute fluff. Edited to change Himiko's nickname for Izumi.

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text Izumi arrived back at her house with her fellow vampire and Aizawa in tow. Izumi still had blood on her body as they walked to the door, though her face was now clean.

Izumi eyed her teacher, "Why are you joining us, Aizawa-sensei?"

"I have to be somewhere in this area anyway tonight. This seemed the opportune time to discuss a few things with your mother since I was already with you."

She furrowed her brow at him, "If you say so."

Izumi unlocked the front door and walked in with her teacher and Himiko right behind her. Himiko clung to Izumi's hand with her own out of nervousness or the desire to be close to her, Izumi wasn't sure which.

"Mom, I'm home! And I have company."

The trio slipped off their shoes and Inko rounded the corner to greet everyone. Her eyes went wide at the sight of her daughter caked in blood with her eyes red as blood. There was a girl standing next to her holding her hand and a man who looked like he hadn't slept in weeks standing behind them.

"Izumi! Are you hurt? You're covered in blood!"

Izumi pursed her lips before answering, "No, I'm fine, Mom. This isn't my blood. It's Himiko's." Izumi nudged the blonde forward with her hand.

Himiko looked at Inko nervously, "H-Hi, Mrs. Midoriya. I'm Himiko Toga. Izumi saved me after I was stabbed and left for dead in an alley." Himiko did a small bow with her introduction.

Inko smiled at her daughter and the blonde girl, "It's Miss Midoriya, but you can call me Inko."

Izumi raised an eyebrow at her mother for the comment. Since Hisashi had disappeared, Inko didn't tend to mention it…

Inko continued, "I'm glad Izumi was able to help you; you two seem quite close already."

"The doctor said I was going to die but Izumi gave me some of her blood for a transfusion… I owe her a lot." Himiko fidgeted nervously as a blush crept over her face.

Inko stared at the girl and soft smile crossed her face, "Toga-chan, you don't have to be so nervous. I can tell you care a great deal for Izumi, and she cares for you. Anyone my daughter likes is welcome in this house."

Himiko relaxed hearing those words, "Thank you, Inko. I'm not used to having someone be so nice to me like Izumi is… And now you're also being nice to me… It's a lot to take in." Her eyes glistened with tears, but she held them back.

Inko looked at her daughter for a moment who gave her a sad smile. She turned back to the blonde girl and pulled her into a hug, "Oh, Toga-chan. Of course, I'd be nice to you. If Izumi cares about you then I care about you."

The tears that Himiko was holding back started to pour out of her into the hug she was in. Izumi smiled at her mother caring for Himiko.

I wonder if she wanted a bigger family … That was never really an option for us after Dad disappeared…

Himiko calmed down after a few minutes of crying and pulled away from the hug with a 'Thank you' directed at Inko. She stood next to Izumi and grabbed her hand again for comfort.

Izumi turned to Himiko, "Himiko, I told some friends they could come over tonight to watch movies and sleep over… Is that okay with you? They were with me when I found you and they were worried about you as well."

Himiko smiled at the greenette, "I'd love to meet your friends, Izumi."

"Great!" She turned back to her mother, "Mom, I apologize for not introducing him earlier… This is Aizawa-sensei. He's my homeroom teacher at U.A."

Inko stared at the man and smiled softly, "It's a pleasure to meet you, Aizawa-san." She accented her greeting with a small bow.

"You can just call me Aizawa. I needed to discuss a few things with you this evening if that's alright."

"Of course. Would you like to stay for dinner?"

"Thank you but I have other plans tonight."

"Very well then, we can speak before Izumi's friends arrive." She then turned to Izumi, "Will you make sure they're coming over? I'll start dinner once I know they're on their way."

"Sure. Give me just a minute," Izumi replied.

Izumi pulled out her phone and sent a text to the three girls in a group message.

Izumi: I just got home from the hospital with Himiko. Mom said she's cooking dinner, are you all still coming over?

After several minutes she got several notifications.

Mina: I'll be there!

Kyouka: My parents said it's fine. I'll head over after I grab a few things.

Ochako: I'll head over after I put up this stuff I bought.

Ochako: Is Himiko the girl you saved?

Izumi sent them her address, ignoring the question about Himiko for now. She turned back to her mother and smiled.

"They'll all be here shortly. What'd you decide to make for dinner?"

"You seemed like you were having a rough time earlier, so I bought ingredients for katsudon. I understand now why you sounded so upset. I'll start on it while you go wash up. I already ran the bath before you got here and I'm sure your friends will understand if you're in there when they arrive."

"You're right. I definitely want to wash the blood off before they get here. Himiko, did you want to take a bath before me? I'm guessing you haven't gotten the chance to in a long time."

"I don't want to make you wait, Izumi. You've got my blood all over you."

Izumi smiled at her, "I don't mind, really."

Himiko thought for a second before her eyes lit up, "You could bathe with me!"

Izumi's smile faltered as she tried to look for words, "I… I can't…"

Himiko tilted her head at the girl, "Why not?"

"I…" Izumi gulped.

Himiko grabbed Izumi's arm, "Come on, I'll help wash the blood off of you. It's my blood after all!"

Izumi tried to argue, "Himiko… Wait, please?"

The blonde vampire didn't wait and pulled Izumi off to the changing room. Aizawa and Inko walked toward the kitchen so that Inko could speak to him while she cooked.

In the changing room Himiko stripped without hesitation and took her hair down before going through to the bathroom. Izumi avoided looking at the girl as she stripped off her own blood-soaked tank top and shorts. She looked at herself in the mirror and she was caked in blood. Her entire torso and her arms, part of her legs, and her face had mostly dried blood on them. She stripped off her underwear and put them and her clothes in the washer on cold, hoping to remove the blood from them.

Himiko peaked out from the bathroom and stared at the naked blood-spattered girl, "You're slow. Come on already."

"You're staring awfully hard, Himiko…" Izumi said with a small blush but didn't cover herself.

Himiko blushed but grinned wide, "You're cute, why wouldn't I stare? Now get in here so I can help you get that blood off of you."

Izumi was caught off guard by Himiko's honesty, "R-Right. Coming."

Himiko made Izumi sit down on a chair and grabbed the shower nozzle, rinsing some of the blood off the greenette, the rest would need to be scrubbed off. Izumi sat in silence as the water washed over her. Himiko rinsed through Izumi's hair, running her fingers through the green locks.

"Thank you again for saving me, Izucchi."

"I'd do it again if I had to, Himiko."

Himiko grabbed a sponge and started to wash Izumi's back, "But you didn't have to. You didn't know me. I could've been a murderer who deserved to die."

"No one deserves to die. I think that atoning for your crimes in life is far better than being sentenced to death. Maybe that's naive." Izumi smiled softly, "I just don't like the idea that the solution by some heroes is to kill the villain when it's not needed."

"I… I think that's a good mindset to have. But… I think it is naive. Some people won't change even given another chance. Some people murder out of necessity I'm sure, so they can atone for it. But some… Some kill because they want to. Can someone like that really change?"

"I… You're probably right. I never thought about that…"

Himiko finished washing Izumi's back and had moved to her arms while they talked. "Just… promise that if you ever face someone who the only option is to kill them or they'll kill you, that you'll look out for yourself. I've only known you for a few hours but you're already better family than my parents ever were…"

Izumi turned toward the girl and looked her in the eyes, "I can't promise I'll be able to kill someone. But I can promise I'll always come back alive."

"That's good enough for me." Himiko used the sponge on Izumi's face since she was facing her now, the greenette closing her eyes. "You have so much blood on you. Is this really all mine?"

"…Yeah. The doctor said if you lost any more you would've died."

Himiko hugged Izumi's face into her chest. The greenette's eyes were still closed but the soft sensation wasn't lost on her.

"Um… Himiko? What are you doing?"

"I'm giving you a hug for saving me."

Izumi blushed heavily and kept her eyes shut, "Himiko… we're naked and I'm pretty sure I can feel your chest on my face…"

Himiko's tone turned to a teasing one, "You don't like my chest in our face?"

Izumi's blush continued strong. "I just… Can you get off me and hand me the sponge so I can wash my front?"

"Are you sure you don't want me to wash it for you?" Himiko teased before pulling away from her hug.

Izumi snatched the sponge from Himiko and looked at the wall as her blush began to fade. Himiko grabbed a handful of shampoo and lathered Izumi's hair with it. "Your hair is as long as mine. How long did it take you to grow?"

Izumi sighed and spoke softly, "I… haven't always been a girl. I've actually only been one for less than a week. I just… woke up on the train and looked like this, long hair and everything. I'm happy with it though and don't want to change back. That… doesn't bother you does it?"

"Why would it? If you're happy as a girl then you're a girl. Even if you wanted to change into a boy, I wouldn't think any differently of you. I love you for you; your gender doesn't matter."

Izumi blushed at the vampire's confession, intentional or not, and smiled as she washed herself, "Thank you… I… I was worried you would see me differently because of that."

Himiko sat down on a chair beside her and started rinsing herself off, starting with her hair, "Of course not. Now let's finish bathing before your friends get here."

Izumi finished washing herself with the sponge and Himiko handed her the shower nozzle so she could rinse off the soap. Himiko grabbed a sponge and washed herself off as Izumi stood up to get in the tub.

Himiko stopped her, "Can you wash my back for me? Or wash my hair?"

Izumi stared at her from the side for a moment with a mild blush, "Fine. Give me the sponge and I'll wash your back since it's easier for me."

"Yay! Thank you," the blonde vampire said with a large grin.

Izumi washed her back and then took some shampoo and lathered Himiko's hair, the blonde humming happily at having her hair washed. Izumi rinsed her off and walked over to the tub and slid into the water. Himiko walked over shortly after. It was big enough for two, but Izumi was debating on getting out of the bath at the thought of Himiko getting in with her.

Himiko could read her thoughts as she slid into the water, "Nope, stay there. You need to relax."

Himiko's back was to Izumi and she sat herself between the greenette's legs and leaned back into her causing Izumi to blush slightly.

"Uh… Himiko? Don't you think this is kind of… intimate?"

"Maybe. But it's nice and comfy. I haven't had the chance to be this close to anyone in a long time and I'm taking advantage of it."

Izumi sighed and decided she couldn't argue with the girl, "…Just for today then."

Aizawa and Inko had finished their conversation when the doorbell rang; Aizawa went to get it while Inko was cooking. He opened the door to see Mina, Kyouka, and Ochako with overnight bags in hand.

"Aizawa-sensei!?" Ochako shrieked.

Aizawa glared at the girls, "Don't just stare. Come in."

The girls walked in and took off their shoes in the entryway. Aizawa escorted them inside where Inko greeted them, returning her expression to a more welcoming one than she had been wearing moments ago.

"Izumi is bathing currently. She wanted to wash the blood off of her before you all got here. She should be done shortly."

Mina looked confused, "Why is Aizawa-sensei here?"

"I had some business to discuss with Miss Midoriya here," Aizawa explained flatly.

"A-Are you joining us for dinner then, Aizawa-sensei?" Ochako stammered out.

"Don't worry, I have other plans of my own, so I won't be staying," he stated plainly.

Kyouka stared at him, "It's just weird to see you outside of classes. Especially at Midori's house."

"I could leave now if you'd prefer," he deadpanned.

A grin crossed Mina's face as she looked at Inko, "You said Izumi was bathing?" She stood up, Kyouka and Ochako trying to stop her, and walked to the changing room. She knocked on the bathroom door, "Hey, Izumi. Ochako, Jirou, and I are here. Hurry up and join us!"

The sound of splashing behind the door could be heard followed by a girl giggling that wasn't Izumi.

"Y-Yeah, just a minute, Mina," Izumi replied.

"Don't keep us all waiting!"

"You could always join us!" Himiko called out through her giggles.

Mina blushed and slammed open the door, "You're not alone?"

Izumi and Himiko sat in the bath and looked over at a lilac Mina staring at them while they soaked. "Mina, it's rude to barge in on people in the bath," Izumi sighed with a large blush on her face.

Himiko grinned wide at the pink girl, "Hiya!"

Izumi decided it was time to get out of the tub, making Himiko get up first. The two girls grabbed their towels and walked to the changing room. They stopped in the door where Mina was still standing with a blush on her face.

"Mina? Can we get through?"

Mina realized she was still in the doorway and covered her face with her hands, peaking through her fingers at Izumi in nothing but a towel. "I'm sorry! I just came to tease you a little."

"Of course you did…" She sighed, "We'll be changed in a minute… Crap, I didn't grab any clothes."

"I-I can grab you some things from your room, Izumi. It's the least I can do for trying to tease you."

"Yeah… I… guess that's fine. Thanks… My room's just across the hall, you'll know it when you see it…"

Mina walked out of the changing room and into the room across the hall. Her voice could be heard through the door, "Holy shit that's a lot of All Might stuff!"

Footsteps out in the hall could be heard and then quiet talking in her room that Izumi couldn't hear.

"Can you grab something for Himiko as well?" Izumi shouted to her.

"Sure~!" Mina sang.

Mina came back in and tossed a pair of black shorts and a white t-shirt that said 'Shirt' on it to Izumi. She passed a pair of grey shorts to Himiko along with a plain blue t-shirt.

"Thanks, Mina."

Mina grinned and tossed her an unopened pack of underwear, "Of course. See you in a minute."

Izumi looked at the package Mina had tossed her. They were some she had never seen… and they were All Might themed.

Izumi shouted after her, "What the hell are these?"

Himiko giggled at her, "You have All Might underwear?"

"No! I've never seen these before!" she denied.

They look familiar … Where have I seen these? Wait…

"MOM, WHAT THE HELL?" she yelled.

"Izumi! You're starting to sound like Mitsuki with that language," Inko shouted from the kitchen.

"Why did you buy these?" Izumi groaned back.

Izumi heard Inko laughing before her mom shouted again, "I figured you'd like them!"

Izumi groaned and looked at Himiko, "You don't have any that are clean currently, so I guess we get to match."

The duo got dressed, Izumi drying her hair with her towel and Himiko giggling at the exasperated greenette while she brushed her own hair.

Himiko smiled at her, "I like your mom and your friend Mina-chan."

"Of course you do…" Izumi groaned.

The duo headed out into the living room, Izumi's face being bright red at Mina and Inko's antics. Mina sat in the living room with a cheshire grin next to Kyouka and Ochako.

Inko asked her from the kitchen, "So do you like them? I know you said you didn't want them, but I couldn't resist buying them for you."

Izumi looked at her mom in frustration, "Mom…"

"Midori, what's she talking about?" Kyouka asked her.

"Nothing."

"Izumi has All Might underwear! They're so cute!" Mina squealed excitedly.

I want to die.

Ochako giggled, "Wait, really? That sounds like something Izumi would have."

"Midori, aren't you a little old for hero themed underwear?" Kyouka smirked at her.

She looked around the room at the girls teasing her before looking into the kitchen and remembering that Aizawa was there at the moment. He looked slightly amused beneath his normal exhausted expression.

Izumi just groaned and walked toward the living room, a small smile on her face at her friends that she would deny until death. "Yeah, yeah. I hope you're all enjoying yourselves."

Aizawa looked at his watch, "I actually need to be going. I have another stop I need to make. Problem Child, will you come with me for a moment?"

Aizawa headed to the door, Izumi turned and followed him outside. He looked at her blankly, "I just wanted to let you know, if you ever need anything feel free to reach out to me. As your homeroom teacher, I feel responsible for not noticing or doing anything about Bakugou's behavior before. Combine that with this transition and the expectations placed upon your shoulders, I don't want you to crumble under the pressure."

"Thank you, Aizawa. I'm… happy about being a woman, truth be told. I appreciate your concern for me and if I ever need anything, I'll be sure to ask."

A faint smile crept across Aizawa's face as Izumi grinned at him. "Good… You can call me Shouta when we're not around the rest of your classmates. Given the circumstances it might be nice to have someone you can talk to at school. Now I must be going. If I'm late, I won't hear the end of it." Aizawa took two steps before Izumi couldn't resist a small tease.

"If you've got a date, I might suggest running a brush through your hair."

Aizawa shot back a glare before heading down the street. Izumi walked back into the living room to Himiko chatting with her classmates as they sat on the floor; Himiko was clearly enjoying herself.

"Izucchi, you've got good friends."

Izumi sat down nearby, "They're pretty good, I'll admit."

"Hey, what kind of praise is that for your amazing friends, Izumi?" Mina pouted.

Izumi stared at her with an unamused expression, "I don't think amazing friends barge in on each other in the bath."

Mina blushed at the words and tried to defend herself, "I was caught off guard when I heard Toga's voice, okay? I had intended to tease you a bit to maybe make you smile after you seemed so down earlier."

"…That's… surprisingly thoughtful, Mina. Thank you." Izumi's expression softened and she smiled gently at the pink girl.

"Mina's right, Izumi. You seemed rather down earlier. So, we're here to cheer you up!" Ochako said with a smile.

"I appreciate it. Plus, Himiko was excited to meet you all as well."

"You're on a first name basis already?" Kyouka teased with a slightly amused expression.

Himiko grinned wide, showing off her fangs. "Izucchi saved me. The least I can do is let her use my first name."

"I can't argue that. I was just trying to get Midori to blush again," Kyouka mused.

Himiko frowned at a realization, "Why don't you and Izucchi use each other's first names? Mina-chan and Ochako-chan both use it, but you don't."

Kyouka froze at the question, staring blankly at the blonde vampire, "I uh… We're not that close…"

Izumi looked at Kyouka, "You can call me Izumi if you want, Jirou. I'd like to think after today we're a lot closer than we were before."

Kyouka smiled at her softly, "Then you can call me Kyouka if you want, Izumi."

Izumi grinned at her friend, "Of course, Kyouka." She turned to Himiko, "I'm glad you get along with all my friends. Do you want to tell them or should I?"

Worry crossed the three girl's faces. Himiko took note of the worry that basically screamed, Tell me they're not dating already.

Himiko giggled at them, "Oh, calm down. It's nothing like that."

Izumi looked confused, "Like what?"

Himiko flashed the vampire a grin, "Don't worry about it, Izucchi." She turned back to the three girls in front of her, "I'll be a U.A. student with you all soon!"

Ochako looked amazed, "Wait, really?"

"Yep! Nezu said that was my condition for my new living arrangements since I've lived on the streets for the past year."

"Dude, you lived on the streets? I am so sorry." Kyouka looked distraught at the news, as did Mina and Ochako.

"It's okay. For tonight I'm staying here with Izucchi and Inko."

Inko was listening in and walked over, "Not just for tonight. Aizawa and I talked it over while you were in the bath and you will be living here for as long as you need."

Himiko's eyes started to water, "You don't have to do that…"

"No, I don't. But I am. Welcome to the family, Toga," Inko's voice was filled with happiness.

Himiko finally let the dam break and cried. Izumi pulled her into a hug while Himiko cried into her neck.

Izumi smiled up at her mother, "Thank you, Mom."

Inko smiled at her and pulled Izumi into the hug. She hugged both of them before standing up and heading to the kitchen to finish cooking. Himiko finally slowed down her tears and wiped her face, a soft smile resting on her lips now.

Ochako smiled at the pair, "Congrats, Toga. Inko's going to have her hands full with two girls in the house now. And both of them are vampires."

"I didn't even think of that…" Izumi mused.

"At least they're both cute vampires," Mina teased.

Izumi rolled her eyes at the pinkette and Himiko grinned at her.

"Thanks, Ochako-chan. Mina-chan, I think it's safe to say Izucchi's the cuter vampire," Himiko praised.

"Yeah, right," Izumi scoffed. "Out of the two of us, that goes to you."

Kyouka stared at the vampire duo, "Hey uh… Izumi? I know you've been a bit more confident lately… But calling Toga cute without blushing. What gives?"

"Is me being more confident a problem?" Izumi smirked. "Basically, I'm more confident in general being me. The thing is… I tend to be a… bit more more aggressive, assertive and confident the more blood I lose since I ended up a vampire."

Ochako gulped, "That's… worrisome."

"It's why I decided to rip off my hero costume to capture Todoroki." Izumi didn't have her usual blush from being embarrassed on, just a look of serious contemplation.

"So, will you go back to the scared cinnamon roll you are if you drink blood?" Mina asked hesitantly.

"I think so. Speaking of, I should probably drink some soon. Are you doing okay on blood, Himiko? I assume you still need to drink blood even after I gave you transfused blood?"

"I do but… I think should be okay…"

Izumi stared at her, "Are you sure? I don't mind."

"Really?" Himiko beamed. "Then allow me."

Himiko swung over Izumi's lap and straddled the greenette's hips before pulling her shirt away from the crook of her neck. Himiko sank her fangs into Izumi's skin without hesitation, lapping at the blood from the bite. Izumi gasped slightly at the sharp fangs piercing her skin before moaning softly at the sensation of Himiko sucking at her skin. Izumi's eyes went wide and she slapped her hand over her mouth. Himiko finished drinking Izumi's blood and licked the last few drops from the bite mark before pulling back and smiling at Izumi.

Himiko blushed at Izumi, "Thanks, Izucchi."

Izumi smiled back at her, "Of course. Now I'm pretty sure I have to drink some. I'm not sure what will happen if I get too low and I'm not sure I want to find out right now."

Himiko giggled and nuzzled up to Izumi, "You can always bite me and drink my blood. I owe you my life after all."

Izumi just stared blankly at her, "I feel like drinking the blood I gave you to save your life is the exact opposite of a solution."

"Are you saying you wouldn't want to sink your teeth into one of us then, Izumi?" Mina teased.

Izumi swallowed her saliva and stared at the pinkette before looking at the ceiling to avoid her eyes.

Sinking my teeth into them, huh? The thought of drinking blood directly from one of them definitely excites me … Maybe even… arouses me… but I can't tell them that. If they ever found out, I'd never hear the end of it.

Izumi roused from her thoughts and looked up to three blushing girls and one amused vampire staring at her. "Tell me I didn't mutter that out loud?"

The silence to her question was deafening. Izumi bit her lip so hard she punctured it with her fangs.

"I really need to work on my muttering…"

"Um… Have you drank blood from a person before?" Ochako asked nervously, fidgeting at the words.

"I've never drank from anyone directly. Just bagged blood. That's not exactly something I can just ask someone…"

Himiko nodded and crawled off Izumi's lap, sitting next to her. "Drinking blood from someone directly can be very personal. The person you're drinking it from is someone that has to trust you… personally I'd only trust Izucchi to drink my blood."

"I mean, I trust you, Izumi," Mina smiled at the vampire.

"I'm not drinking your blood," Izumi deadpanned.

"Please? I just want to know what it feels like!"

Izumi pursed her lips as she thought about the offer, "Fine. Just… give me your arm or something."

"Don't want to go for my neck?" Mina teased.

Izumi blushed slightly, "While the idea of biting your neck is enticing, it seems kind of… sexual. I'll stick to your arm for now."

Mina furrowed her brow, "Didn't you just let Toga drink your blood from your neck?"

"I'm assuming you missed the part where she moaned from the bite, Ashido," Kyouka teased.

Mina blushed at Kyouka's words and wordlessly offered her arm to the vampire. Izumi lightly bit into Mina's arm causing a small gasp from Mina. Izumi slowly lapped up Mina's blood, enjoying its flavor while she could.

This is so much better than bagged blood … That's really bad isn't it? What am I going to do, ask my friends for blood whenever I need it now?

Izumi continued to drink her blood before licking the last few drops from the pinkette's arm and smiling at her.

"Thanks, that was delicious!"

Mina was biting her lip with a blush on her face, "Y-You're welcome… Um… Next time can you bite my neck instead?"

Izumi absently licked her lips at the thought, "We'll see."

"I didn't know Mina would be so forward," Kyouka observed.

"She seems like the type to play games with the person she likes, doesn't she?" Ochako replied.

"She just knows what she likes," Izumi teased. She leaned next to Mina's ear and purred, "Isn't that right?"

"Drinking blood didn't help you be more of a cinnamon roll at all!" Mina whined.

"I only drank a small amount. I didn't want to drink too much since we have internships starting Monday. Compared to what I had drawn earlier for the transfusion and what Himiko just drank, it wasn't enough to replenish it all. Hang on."

Izumi got up and walked to the fridge, grabbing her last blood bag and walking back to the living room. She downed the bag quickly, noting how unsatisfying the flavor of it was as she drank it down. Izumi finished it and a small amount dripped down her chin.

"Oh, Izucchi, you missed some!" Himiko said excitedly.

"What? Where?"

Himiko smirked and walked up to Izumi.

Oh no.

"Oh no," Ochako said.

Himiko licked the blood off of Izumi's chin and up over Izumi's lips, "There!" She started giggling as she sat back down.

Izumi's face lit up in a blush, "H-Himiko!"

"Yay, the cinnamon roll is back!" Mina giggled.

"H-Himiko, why'd you do that?" Izumi sputtered.

"Seemed like a waste if I left it there," she grinned wide at Izumi.

Izumi licked her lips absently at the sight of the blonde vampire and her blood-stained teeth, pausing when she realized she just licked where Himiko had licked.

"I know you're all enjoying yourselves, but dinner's ready," Inko called.

The girls all got up and funneled into the kitchen. They all sat around the table, Himiko sitting right next to Izumi, of course. The group said a quick 'Itadakimasu' and began eating. Mina was enjoying her food but had to comment on the choice of dish.

"I was originally going to laugh at you for having katsudon since that seems to be the only thing you eat, Izumi. But this is delicious! Your mom is a great cook."

"Hey, I eat more than katsudon!" Izumi pouted.

"Barely," Ochako giggled. "I'm pretty sure I see you eat katsudon at lunch three times a week."

Izumi pouted while she ate her dinner, unable to argue with her friends' observation. Himiko was enjoying her meal greatly as she munched away happily. She had a grin on her face and the other girls couldn't help but smile at her cheery attitude while she ate. Izumi finished her serving faster than the rest of the table and opted for seconds.

"Can you cook too, Izumi?" Mina asked.

Izumi grinned, "Yeah, I'm a pretty good cook, I think. Since I didn't have a quirk to practice for a long time, I picked up other hobbies. Cooking, quirk analysis, and I definitely like trying new things. I tried quite a few things to pass the time, at least anything I could do by myself."

Kyouka turned to Izumi, "Are you as good a cook as Inko?"

Izumi shrugged, "No clue. I think I'm decent enough."

Inko grinned at the girls, "She's being modest. Her future girlfriends are going to be spoiled by her cooking."

Izumi choked on her some rice at her mother's comment, the other girls at the table masking mild blushes behind their glasses as they drank.

Notes:
So, I'm sorry for taking so long to update. My mental health has been rather trash and I wasn't feeling writing lately. This isn't one of my better chapters but I hope you enjoyed it regardless. Soon, Hero Killer stuff and probably some canon divergence, well more than already. Still toying with Bakugou getting redemption or just falling off the deep end and being a villain. Thoughts?

I should be back to weekly but I make no promises.

3 Belle

Chapter 10: Hero Internships Notes:
Sorry for the delay. Writer's block hit hard.

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text Izumi woke up at around eight, which was really late for her, in her room surrounded by sleeping girls. Izumi looked over their sleeping forms and blushed heavily.

How did we end up falling asleep in my bed? We were talking and playing games … oh. I guess we passed out while playing.

Izumi looked at the girls on her bed; Ochako was wearing some cute pink mittens while she slept; probably to prevent her quirk from accidentally activating in her sleep. Mina was hugging Ochako like a teddy bear from behind, forcing the brunette and herself close to Izumi due to the limited space on Izumi's bed. Himiko was curled up on Izumi's stomach with Kyouka halfway on top of her as well.

Not how I imagined waking up today. It's kind of nice though…

Izumi tried to get up and realized she wasn't going anywhere yet. She looked at the girls and slowly nudged them awake.

"Hey, um… everyone? Can I get up? I want to cook breakfast…"

Himiko pushed herself up and stretched, yawning wide with her tongue sticking out.

Oh, she looks like a kitten. That' s adorable.

Kyouka rolled off Izumi just enough that she could get up as soon as Himiko got off her. Izumi slid her arm out from underneath Ochako and Mina, noting the pinpricks she felt from getting feeling back in her hand. Izumi slid out of bed while the girls laid back down. Izumi went into the kitchen, quietly starting to work on breakfast. She set the rice cooker and began making a miso broth for soup.

I think Mina said something about liking natto before? I ll make that, too.

She danced around the kitchen making sure everything was prepared. Before long she had finished cooking everything and set the coffee to brew. She went into her room to find her four friends still dozing.

"Hey, everyone. I made breakfast," she said fairly quietly.

Kyouka stirred and yawned widely as she sat up, sliding out of bed. "It's still early."

"It's eight thirty. You've gotta get up way earlier than that for classes."

"Izumi, it's Sunday. I wanna sleep in…" Mina groaned, covering her head with a pillow.

"I made natto for you."

Mina shot up, "You made natto? You remembered it was my favorite?"

"Yeah? Get out of bed. That goes for you all, too."

Ochako groaned, clearly not a morning person, but sat up. Himiko did another of her catlike yawns as she crawled out of bed. Izumi stood in the doorway and stared at the four of them with an amused expression.

"Izucchi, why do you get up so early?"

"Himiko, I normally wake up at five. Come on, breakfast is the most important meal, after all."

The four girls walked into the kitchen after Izumi, finally having woken up enough to function. They sat at the table and were amazed at all the food.

"Wait, you made all this?" Kyouka basically shouted.

Aside from the rice, natto, and miso soup, Izumi had also grilled salmon, prepared tamagoyaki, and made a cucumber salad. What's more, there was a lot of food.

Ochako's eyes were wide, "Oh my god, Izumi."

"What?" she asked nervously, afraid she had messed something up.

"That's a lot of food!"

Himiko looked at all the food in front of her, "Izucchi, I can't believe you made all this."

"Do you always eat this much for breakfast?" Ochako gasped.

"Blame Toshi. I've gotten used to eating large meals." Izumi had begun eating her food as she talked, "Takes a lot of calories to gain all the muscle I did."

"Well thank you for all the food," Kyouka smiled lightly. "It looks good."

The girls enjoyed the rest of their meal before they decided to head home and get some things done before their internships. Izumi said goodbye to them all and fell to the couch, Himiko sitting next to her.

"It's been a busy week," Izumi sighed.

"Sounds like it, you got turned into a girl, went on a date with three of your classmates, rescued a beautiful girl from death," Himiko teased.

Izumi blushed, "It wasn't a date…"

Himiko shot her a teasing grin, "Uh huh, sure." Himiko looked at the greenette, "Are you going to be good on blood, Izucchi?"

"I'll have to get some blood bags…"

"You could drink my blood?"

"Isn't that pointless? I'd basically just be drinking the blood I gave to you yesterday…"

"Well… My quirk makes me drink blood, and that blood I drink is different than the blood in my veins. I drink blood and it stores it as like a resource for my quirk. If that reserve hits zero, I get… stabby." Izumi's eyebrows shot up slightly. "Yours is different since your blood and the blood you drink both are how you heal, right? So, yours seems to be any blood you drink your quirk turns into your own blood."

"Yeah, I guess? But if I drink your blood, I'm just drinking the blood I gave you for the transfusion, right?"

"True but a small amount won't hurt."

"Well… I'll need to drink some before my internships."

Himiko swung over her again and smiled, "Great! Then feel free to bite me."

Izumi was pretty sure Himiko just wanted an excuse to be bitten but her inner vampire was telling her she needed more blood and that the cute blonde girl in front of her was the best option. Izumi bit down on Himiko's neck causing her to moan quietly into Izumi's ear as Izumi sucked out the blood from the bite wound. Himiko ran her hands down Izumi's back, hugging onto her tightly. Izumi drank a small amount and finished by licking the remaining drops off of Himiko's skin, pulling back so they were now just hugging with Himiko on her lap.

"Thanks, Himiko." Izumi smiled at the vampire with her normal appearance, "Do you feel okay after having that much blood drank? Not light-headed or anything?"

Himiko stared at her amazed, "Yeah I feel fine… But Izucchi, your fangs disappeared! And your eyes are a pretty green!"

"Do you prefer the fangs and blood red eyes?"

"I think you look beautiful either way, Izucchi."

Izumi blushed heavily at the girl and smiled awkwardly, "T-Thanks, Himiko…"

Monday morning arrived and Izumi had opted to skip her morning exercises at the suggestion of Toshinori. She still woke up extra early to stop at the U.A. campus and get her updated hero costume. She was in her uniform next to Himiko who had decided to tag along at Izumi's insistence, mostly because Izumi wanted her to learn where the faculty lounge was at least. Himiko was wearing some of Izumi's clothes since her clothes weren't clean; a simple pair of shorts and a t-shirt that said 'Vampire' on it. Izumi didn't remember buying that shirt.

Izumi also wanted to stop by Recovery Girl's office and grab some blood to take with her in case of an emergency.

"Mom said not to worry about coming and going as you please this week while I'm gone. She'll make dinner every night, but if you're not home, just let her know."

"Of course. You had to get a new hero costume made up, right?"

"Yeah, the uh, the other one got torn apart."

A mischievous grin crossed Himiko's face, "Didn't you say you tore it off yourself to capture a classmate in a training exercise?"

Izumi stared blankly at her, "I was hoping you had forgotten that."

"Nope!"

Izumi sighed before continuing, "Hatsume told me she had finished the new one and she had a few surprises for me with it. Which has me worried… From what little I know of Hatsume, she's a bit… eccentric."

They had reached the support course door and walked into the room. The two vampires looked at the girl who was covered in grease and dust working away at another one of her babies. She turned slightly as the door opened and had dark bags under her eyes.

"Hatsume, when was the last time you slept?" Izumi asked in a concerned tone.

"No time to sleep when I'm making babies!"

She sighed at the mad scientist, "Hatsume, I'm glad you're here so early but you need sleep… and probably a shower."

The pinkette frowned, "I had to work on my babies."

Izumi pinched the bridge of her nose, "Speaking of, did you have any problems with my hero costume?"

"Nope! Everything is done! You'll have to let me know how it fits later." Mei produced a case and handed it to the greenette.

"Not now?"

Hatsume beamed, "I have more babies to work on!"

Izumi gave her a concerned look, "Please take a shower and get some sleep, okay?" Mei frowned at her before Izumi urged her again, "Please, Hatsume?"

Mei looked at her and pursed her lips, "Fine… I'll shower and get some sleep like you said. An hour is fine, right?"

Izumi chuckled at the girl, "That's not exactly enough sleep but it's a start. Thanks, Hatsume." She gave threw her arms around Mei in a hug, "I'll send you a picture later to show you how it fits. Seriously, thank you so much."

Mei stood shocked for a moment at the girl's gesture but returned the hug after a moment. "You're welcome. Good luck with your internships!"

Mei scurried out of the room towards the locker rooms, leaving Himiko confused and Izumi amazed.

"She's… interesting. I don't even think she realized I was here," Himiko said.

"She gets very absorbed in her thoughts from what I've seen," Izumi said. "But let's head over to the faculty lounge."

Himiko nodded and they walked over to the faculty lounge. Izumi arrived at the door and knocked. After several moments, she was greeted to the sight of Midnight, real name Nemuri Kayama.

"Good morning, Midoriya. Aren't you supposed to be starting your internship today?" Nemuri asked.

"Ah, yeah. We're meeting at the station in a couple of hours. I wanted to show Himiko where the faculty lounge is for this week. Has Nezu informed the staff of Himiko's… circumstances?" Izumi was smiling as she spoke.

"He told us about a new student, but we didn't know anything else. We have a faculty meeting this afternoon that I'm sure he'll go over the details with everyone."

Nemuri was eying the blonde girl who smiled a toothy grin at her. Nemuri looked back to Izumi and saw the bite mark on her neck, barely covered by her uniform, a smirk crossing Nemuri's face.

Izumi smiled at her, "Of course. Can we see Aizawa?"

The group walked over to Aizawa's desk which was currently empty. Nemuri laughed, "He's not going to be happy you know."

Izumi merely smiled awkwardly, "I know."

Nemuri shouted at the desk, "Hey, Aizawa. Your problem child wants to see you."

A groan could be heard from under the desk before Aizawa stood up. He glared at the girl, "Why are you here? It's like seven in the morning…"

"To show Himiko where to find you this week. Mostly to find the faculty lounge. I assume you'll be the one to assess her for hero course work."

He stared at Izumi for a moment, "Yeah, that would be me. Here I was looking forward to my week away from problem children."

"Sorry, Aizawa-sensei," Izumi frowned.

"It's not your fault, it's Nezu's. He could have had Vlad or Midnight do her assessment and it would've been fine. Either way, Toga, I'll be spending this week assessing you to make sure you're cut out for heroics. Do you already have experience with fighting?"

"I've been in a few… I'm good with a knife, too."

"That's a good baseline to start with. I'll get you a gym uniform for tomorrow when we'll start the assessment. You'll be working with another student as well."

Izumi's eyebrows quirked, "Oh? You won't be assessing just Himiko?"

"I have one other student who shows promise. He'll be joining her."

Himiko grabbed Izumi's hand and squeezed. Izumi reassured her, "I don't think you have to worry. Aizawa wouldn't bring someone in to assess if he didn't think they had potential. Just give it your all, Himiko."

Aizawa wore a lopsided grin, "I'm glad you think so highly of me. When you get back, maybe you can join me for a sparring session to see if you've improved. If you think you're up for it."

"That sounds like good experience regardless," Izumi grinned.

Himiko and Izumi had gone to the train station so that Himiko could head back home to spend the day with Inko and Izumi could meet her classmates at the train station. She had her hero costume case in hand and Himiko's hand in the other at the blonde's insistence; she also had a small blush on her face from Himiko holding her hand. They met up with class 1-A all standing around with their costume cases; Aizawa still hadn't shown up.

"Izumi! Good morning!" Ochako shouted and waved at her.

Izumi and Himiko jogged over to Ochako and her other classmates, Himiko feeling slightly out of place. Her crushes joined her as well as Eiko, Toru, Shouto, and Momo.

"It's unlike Bakugou to be late," Momo observed.

Toru glanced around, "Huh, you're right, Yaomomo. Usually, he's the first one to class."

Izumi looked around and noticed Katsuki was in fact late. That was rather unusual.

"Hey, Midori. I have to ask, is this your girlfriend clinging to you?" Toru asked excitedly.

"Huh? Oh, this is Himiko Toga. Himiko, this is Hagakure, Kirishima, Todoroki, and Yaoyorozu. Himiko is a friend of mine."

Himiko did a small bow and smiled at the group with her cute fangs. "Nice to meet you all."

Eiko gave her a thumbs up, "She's cute. You've got good taste, Midoriya."

Ochako had a slight pout while looking at Himiko clinging to Izumi but didn't say anything about it.

"Haha… thanks, Kirishima…" Izumi scratched the back of her head as she talked with a blush on her face.

"Do you happen to know what happened to Bakugou, Midoriya?" Shouto asked.

Izumi shook her head, "I don't talk to Kacchan outside of class if I can avoid it. Sorry."

Eiko grinned, "I'm sure it's nothing. He might just be late for once."

As they continued to chat, Izumi noticed a certain grape-headed boy staring at some of the girls from afar; namely staring at the backsides of Mina, Momo, and Himiko. She let go of Himiko's hand and wandered over to the grape boy, which caused some of the class to watch in confusion.

"Mineta, we need to chat," Izumi said lightly, glaring at him with red eyes.

Minoru flinched and looked at her with fear still lingering from last week's training exercise. Izumi grabbed him by the back of his collar and dragged him to a bench and threw him on it and started talking in a low voice that sounded happy, in stark contrast with the words.

Mina turned to Kyouka, "Why's Izumi talking to the pervert?"

"I'm not sure you want to hear what she's saying…" Kyouka said with wide eyes.

"Oh god, what'd she say?" Toru asked.

"Um… She basically said that if she catches him staring at her or any of the girls in a perverse manner again, she would… well let's just say I wouldn't want to be Mineta right now. Or any guy that pisses her off."

"Who knew she was so protective," Momo mused.

"Go Midori!" Toru said while pumping her arms.

Izumi walked back to the group and smiled at them, standing next to Himiko again and grabbing her hand unconsciously. "Sorry about that," she said with an innocent smile, her eyes having returned to their normal green.

"Thanks for saying something to the pervert, Izumi!" Mina hugged onto Izumi and whispered in her ear, "Who knew you were so protective."

"You were listening?" Izumi said, almost panicked. Mina pulled back and grinned at her.

"Yeah… Thanks, Izumi," Kyouka agreed.

Momo, Toru, and Eiko looked in Kyouka's direction with mild surprised looks.

"Since when have you and Midoriya been so close?" Momo asked her.

Kyouka froze; apparently the pressure of being on the spot caused her to panic.

"Jirou went shopping with us all this weekend and we all ended up staying the night at Izumi's," Ochako told Momo.

Momo eyed Kyouka curiously but didn't press. Eiko and Toru looked at Izumi and Kyouka suspiciously. Or Izumi assumed Toru was, it was hard to tell what expression she was making most of the time.

Aizawa showed up with Katsuki and instructed the class on proper etiquette for their internships, telling them to learn as much as they can. They all boarded their respective trains, Himiko's showing up before class 1-A's.

Izumi smiled at the blonde, "See you this weekend, Himiko."

"Have fun, Izucchi. Good luck!"

Himiko gave Izumi a large hug, causing some of her class to stare at the duo before she boarded the train. Luckily, Aizawa either didn't notice or didn't care. Slowly the class filtered onto their trains, eventually leaving Izumi waiting with Mina. The pinkette grinned happily as she stood and waited for the train with Izumi.

"Excited for your internship?" Mina asked her.

"Nervous, I think. Apparently, this pro can be a bit… intense. He's retired but wanted to train me specifically because of my quirk."

"Oh, that'll be fun. Maybe you can get it under control a bit."

"Hopefully…" Izumi replied absently.

"Hey, Izumi?"

"Y-Yeah?"

"Do you have any crushes in our class?"

Izumi blushed slightly, "Um… Yes? Why do you ask?"

Mina turned to face her with a blush on her own face, "Well, you're cute, caring, super strong and super cool, and you're more confident now. I've got a bit of a crush on you and was wondering if you had a crush on anyone. Plus, since I can't show you around U.A. now you owe me a date."

Izumi's face could rival a tomato now as she sputtered a response, "Y-You have a crush… On me?"

"Yep! Though I'm pretty sure most of our class does at this point. Not to mention Toga," Mina giggled.

"Um… It's not that I'm not interested… It's just… Have you ever had feelings for more than one person?"

Mina looked at her, "Yeah, I have. Lots of people get crushes or even fall in love with more than one person. I don't think it's a problem."

Izumi's blush had died down slightly, "It's… not?"

"Nope!" Mina grinned. "Midnight told me about this thing called polyamory when I talked to her a couple weeks ago about a similar problem. It's something I'm open to."

Huh, seems Kyouka and I weren't the only ones with more than one crush…

"Honestly though, I figured you just liked to tease me…" Izumi said shyly, looking away from the pinkette slightly. "I didn't figure a girl like you would fall for a dork like me…"

"Well, I had a small crush on you before, mostly after watching you in the Sports Festival, but you were too shy and I figured if I talked to you then you would be too afraid of me to pursue anything. But after you came to school as Izumi… You ran into me in the locker room and you were confident, and you seemed… happy with yourself? My crush definitely increased since then… And when you flirted back with me, I never would have figured you were you. When you came into class though and introduced yourself again, you didn't shy away from everyone and make yourself small like you used to."

"Well… Yeah… Most of my life something just felt… wrong? But I couldn't figure out what it was. And when I woke up like this my brain went 'oh' at the realization that this was how I was supposed to feel." Izumi smiled softly at her current situation. She hesitated a moment before blushing and speaking to the pinkette, "I uh… won't lie I've had a small crush on you for a while. You're so bubbly and energetic and just fun to be around. You make people in our class smile. But you were popular and I'm just… plain?"

"You're not plain. But that settles it!" Mina leaned in and planted a quick kiss on Izumi's lips. "We like each other so the answer is obvious."

Izumi was bright red, "But what about-"

"We'll deal with your other crushes later. Looks like your train is finally here," Mina grinned. "Mine should be in a minute or two."

"Seems so…" Izumi swallowed her saliva hard and looked at Mina before planting a brief kiss on the pinkette. "I'll see you this weekend!"

Izumi boarded her train and waved out at the pinkette who had a lilac blush on her face as Izumi's train left the station, a large blush on her own face.

I can't believe I actually did that… Think about it later! Where's the address I'm looking for?

Izumi looked at the address she was given and then at the building in front of her.

This building is… well it's kind of run down for a pro hero. Rather plain too. She walked up to the front door and knocked. The door was slightly ajar, and she pushed it open.

"Hello? Is anyone home?"

The sight in front of her was a man lying face down on the ground covered in a red substance that looked similar to blood.

It doesn 't smell like blood. Are those… sausages? Ah, I see.

Izumi started laughing at the sight, "Were you trying to make it look like you got murdered? With ketchup and sausages?" She was wiping tears from her eyes she had laughed so hard.

The man on the floor stood up and laughed, "You're not as dumb as Toshinori. When I pulled that prank on him, he thought I was actually dead."

Izumi was dumbfounded, "…You managed to prank Toshi with that? How gullible is he?"

The man raised his eyebrow at this, "Toshi, eh?"

Izumi grinned at the strange man, "Well, Toshinori is a mouthful. Toshi seemed to work just as well."

"You remind me of someone else, kid. What's your name?"

"Izumi Midoriya. If you watched the Sports Festival-"

"Toshinori filled me in. You've got it rough. But we're not here to listen to you grumble. We're here to teach you how to fight." He looked at the girl with a gleam in his eyes, grin spreading across his wrinkled face. "So, try and hit me with One For All."

At that, the man leapt into the air and started bouncing off the walls. Izumi focused and channeled 5% of One For All throughout her body, red and green lightning crackling around her with the red lines crossing her skin. The man flew right at her and she bent awkwardly out of the way. She turned around to throw a punch, but he dodged at the last second using jets from his feet.

"You're a helluva lot better than I thought you would be. Watching you in the Sports Festival you had no control. Seems you've learned a thing or two in the last week. Now actually hit me!"

Izumi jumped after him and threw a fist at him, which he deflected with his arm. The man threw a punch at her which she blocked and fell back to the ground. Getting frustrated, she pushed One For All up to 10%. The lightning around her amped up before she charged at the man again, catching him off guard with her speed. She landed a solid hit to his stomach.

Seems I can use 10% without any pain now. I wonder if I can press that higher or if I ll start hurting myself again…

The man held up one of his hands to stop her, "All right. That's a good showing. Go change into your hero costume and then I'll really make you work your ass off."

"I'll do that. I have a question first, if you don't mind."

"Sure thing, kid. What is it?"

"What's your name?"

"Sorahiko Torino, but you can call me Gran Torino."

Izumi was upstairs in the room she would be staying in. She took out her hero uniform case and opened it; she hadn't gotten to see Mei's handiwork yet. She pulled out her uniform and gave it a once over.

This is actually pretty great. I'll have to thank Hatsume by buying her dinner or something sometime.

After she had finished admiring the outfit out of the case she put it on. The outfit consisted of a dark green skin-tight crop-top shirt and matching shorts, exposing her stomach just slightly. The shirt and shorts had black accent lines like her previous costume did down her side to accent the outfit. Her legs were covered in black thigh highs made of a special stress resistant material to support her knees and hopefully not tear under the strength of her quirk; this left a small section of her thighs uncovered. She wore black boots with deep red accents that came up to her knees and white fingerless gloves with slightly reinforced knuckles. Her belt and pouches had been changed to a deeper red than before to better match the darker green of her outfit.

Izumi pulled her hair back in a ponytail with a green ribbon matching her costume, sitting high up and creating what looked like rabbit ears with the ribbon. She would probably be better off learning to braid it in the future but who knows, she doesn't really get girl hairstyles yet. She looked at herself in the mirror and snapped a quick photo, adding a nice, fanged grin. She looked at the picture and sent it to Mei.

Izumi: Hey Hatsume, the costume fits great. I really like it. I 'll buy you dinner sometime to make it up to you.

Izumi thought for a moment and sent the picture to her class's group chat that they had created a while back. Izumi didn't pay much attention to it usually but decided this was an opportune time to use it. She sent the image of her new hero costume to her classmates with a quick message.

Izumi: How do I look? It 's simple still but different.

Before she even put her phone down, she got several replies. Shouto had sent her a thumbs-up emoji and the other messages were actually messages.

Minoru: Holy shit, Midoriya. That costume is sexy.

Denki: Looking good Midoriya!

Momo: I have to agree. It suits you.

Ochako: It looks really good!

Kyouka: Agreed. Heroic and good looking.

Mina: Really good looking };)

Mezo: Quite stylish.

Izumi laughed at her classmates and put up her phone before heading back downstairs. She arrived at the base of the stairs and before Gran Torino had said anything, a foot came flying at her face. She bent away from the blow but wasn't fast enough and it grazed her cheek; though it wasn't painful, it startled her. She threw a counter punch at him which caused him to dash away to the other side of the room.

He grinned at her from on the wall, "Seems you've got pretty good reflexes. Maybe you won't be quite the punching bag that Toshinori was."

Gran Torino had apparently been holding back when she landed the blow to his stomach earlier… or she got lucky. They continued sparring for several hours before Gran Torino decided to give her a break. Izumi had landed a few hits, but for the most part was on the defensive and spent most of her time dodging or blocking.

"Do you know what your problem is?" he asked her.

"I… I think too much. I'm trying to analyze your attacks so that I can come up with a countermeasure instead of relying on instinct and experience."

"That's one that's hard to recognize. You spend too much time analyzing and not enough time fighting. Granted, it gets easier to fight with more experience, so the best thing to do is keep training with different sparring partners, otherwise you build bad habits."

"That makes sense. Thank you, Gran Torino. Today has been insightful."

Gran Torino grinned at her, "Get some rest, kid. If you do well tomorrow, we might be able to go on patrol soon."

Izumi went back to her room and changed out of her hero costume, returning it to the case. She was relaxing in sweatpants now, and if not for her quirk, she'd probably be rather bruised. She decided to flop down on the bed and check her phone. Mei hadn't replied to her message, probably busy working on her babies. Some of her other classmates had replied to the picture she sent.

Fumikage: A warrior of darkness needs more black.

Tsuyu: I think it looks great on you.

Toru: Midori, it looks really good!

Hanta: That is really form fitting.

Minoru: I said it before but it 's sexy!

Tenya: Mineta, behave yourself. Your costume looks good on you, Midoriya.

Izumi smiled at the message before she went to her contacts and dialed Himiko's number. After a few rings, the phone picked up.

"Izucchi! How'd your first day go?" Himiko's happy tone could be heard through the phone, and Izumi could picture her smiling as she talked.

"It went fine. I spent today sparring against a pro hero and I learned I suck in a fight."

Himiko giggled, "Well, you're there to learn, right? When you get back, I can spar against you if you want. I'll go easy on you."

"Oh, you think you can just go easy on me? Who knows, maybe by the end of the week I'll be able to fight toe to toe with villains," she joked. "How was your day with Mom and Mitsuki?"

"We went shopping! Your mom bought me some clothes, and Mitsuki even bought me some things. She said she wanted to spoil me since I was 'so important to her favorite niece'."

Izumi chuckled at that with a blush on her face, "That sounds like Auntie. Did you have fun though?"

"Oh yeah! They did ask me a ton of questions though."

"It wasn't anything too embarrassing, right?"

Himiko giggled, "No. Mostly just getting to know me."

God, I love her giggle. It's so cute. Who am I kidding, everything about her is cute. All four of them are cute. This is going to be a long week until I can figure everything out with everyone…

Himiko giggled again, "You're adorable, Izucchi."

"You heard that didn't you?"

"Yep! I can pass that along to your friends if you want," Himiko giggled.

Izumi flushed at that, "Please don't. I… need to figure a few things out. Mina kind of confessed to me after everyone else left and I'm happy but…"

Himiko's tone turned slightly more serious, "I get it. It's pretty obvious you like all of the girls I've met and me, so you don't know what to do about it."

Izumi hesitated, "…Is it really that obvious?"

"Yep! Why not date all of us?" Himiko offered.

"I… I don't think it's that simple… Either way, you have a big day tomorrow so don't be late. And don't hold back or Aizawa might get pissed."

"Okay! Goodnight, Izucchi. Sweet dreams."

"Sleep well, Himiko."

Izumi hung up the phone and sighed lightly before checking the time. It was a bit late, but Izumi dialed the second number on her list, her new girlfriend.

Mina picked up and answered in a bubbly tone, "Izumi! How was the first day of your internship?"

"It was good. I'm just a bit demoralized since I suck at this whole sparring thing," Izumi chuckled.

"Work hard and learn a bunch! Are you getting your quirk under control better?"

"Yeah. I can use it without hurting myself if I don't use my full strength. How's your internship?"

"Great! I'm exhausted though since I had to do some crazy physical training today!"

"Guess you'll sleep well tonight then," Izumi giggled. "Mina… Are you sure you're okay with us dating?"

"Duh, you dork, or I wouldn't have said anything. Get some sleep and stop worrying yourself over nothing, okay?"

"…Okay. Goodnight, Mina."

"Night!"

Notes:
I finally decided to add in a confession. I was bouncing between Himiko and Mina since they made the most sense. Honestly I love both ships so it was a hard choice but it's posted now so I'm not taking it back. Again, I hope you're enjoying this and thanks for reading.

3 Belle

Chapter 11: The Hero Killer Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text Training was going better today than it had the previous day. Izumi had stayed up late practicing her control in the alley and had woken up early to practice using One For All over her entire body. Her training in the alleyway was jumping from wall to wall, emulating Gran Torino while using a percentage of One For All over her entire body; she had dubbed this technique Full Cowl. Without any pain she could use 10% and with minor pain she could push to 15%. Honestly, it was thanks to her new quirk that she could push herself so hard and risk going over her limits. Not to mention that she was used to pushing through the pain at this point; the Sports Festival match with Shouto had proved that.

She was making good progress when Gran Torino had her come in for more sparring. Izumi was slowly getting better at not thinking about every little thing in a fight, and instead started actually aggressing instead of fighting solely defensively. After a couple of hours of sparring, Izumi and Gran Torino took a small break to eat and discuss her progress.

"You're learning pretty quick. Your moves are becoming more fluid and automatic as opposed to robotic and forced. You may have speed and strength, but those aren't the only things in a fight that matter, remember that."

"Thanks again. I feel like I'm learning a lot. I'm glad you decided to teach me, I hadn't had much practical experience with fighting, and I'm working on controlling One For All better. I can hold 10% over my entire body without hurting myself."

Gran Torino's expression was pensive, "We can spend a few more hours sparring today. If I think you're up for it we can go on patrol in the evenings. I think you're fine to go with me."

"Sounds good!"

Izumi finished eating and took a quick break to check her phone. As she was getting ready to check her messages, her phone rang; Ochako was calling her.

"Hi, Izumi! How's your internship going?"

"Pretty good, Ochako. I'm learning a ton about fighting while sparring with Gran Torino." Izumi laughed a little to herself, "How's your internship going? You're training with Gunhead, right?"

"Yes! It's so cool, I'm learning martial arts here. I figured since I needed to get close to people to use my quirk, working on that would be best."

"That's a good idea. You'll have to show me some of what you learned when we finish our internships."

"Will do! Are you doing anything else besides sparring?"

"We're going on patrol in the evenings if he thinks I'm up for it. I'm a little nervous."

"I wouldn't worry too much. I'm sure if anything bad happens, your pro will be able to help you out or get you out of a sticky situation."

"Hopefully you're right. I'll let you go so you can get back to training. I'll talk to you soon, Ochako."

"Thanks! You too, Izumi."

She hung up her phone and heard Gran Torino shout at her from the other room.

"If you've got time to flirt with your classmates, you've got time to get in here and get your ass kicked some more."

Izumi sighed, "Yep, I'm coming."

Izumi was tired. Not physically so much as mentally. Even if she was improving, she still got hit more than she would like for how fast she could move. She had made a lot of progress, but after hours of endless sparring, she had definitely worked all her muscles and been hit quite a few times, so her quirk seemed to be working hard. She decided to stretch and relax for a few minutes while she had the chance.

I really am more flexible. I wonder if I can get Mina to help me improve more? She 's a dancer, isn't she?

She pulled out her phone and opened up her messages, finding Mina's contact info she shot her a quick message.

Izumi: Hey Mina, you 're pretty flexible, aren't you?

Mina: Yeah! Did you have something fun in mind?

Izumi: Mina! No, not like that …

Izumi: I was thinking about increasing my flexibility to help me in a fight.

Mina: Oh! Yeah, I can help you with that.

Mina: Though there are more fun uses for flexibility };)

Izumi: MINA! I know you like to tease me but …

Izumi: Don 't you think that's going too far?

Mina: Only if I were teasing you!

Mina: I 'll help you with your flexibility when you get back.

Mina: I hope you 're ready for it.

Izumi put down her phone with her face bright red and her eyes wide.

It 's not like Mina is wrong… Wait, stop! Focus! You asked her to help to benefit you in a fight with villains. Not for any ulterior motives, regardless of what she says.

Izumi sat back up and finished stretching. Dinner would be done soon and then she would be out on patrol with Gran Torino. Nerves were getting to her, even if she didn't want to admit it. She looked at her phone for a minute and shot Kyouka a message to check on her internships.

Izumi: Your internships going well?

Before Izumi even sat her phone down she, got a call from the purplette.

Izumi answered it with a smile on her face, "I didn't expect you to call me."

"It was easier than messaging you back. My body feels like lead from the physical training I've had to go through today," Kyouka said in an exasperated tone.

"That bad huh?"

"Yeah. We run during our patrols and I'm apparently not as in shape as I thought."

"You could exercise with me? I run in the mornings before class to stay in shape."

"As much as I don't want to, I might have to. Compared to half our class you're in amazing shape."

Izumi giggled, "Toshi has me doing a pretty intense training routine so I'd get in shape."

"I might take you up on joining you sometime. I'll talk with you later, I gotta get back to patrolling. I don't know if I'll survive this week."

"You can do it, Kyouka. I believe in you."

"…Thanks. Later."

"Bye!"

Izumi hung up and blushed slightly.

A week ago, I never would have talked on the phone with even one girl and I 've chatted with four in the last two days… I really need to talk to Mina about all these feelings… But it can wait until after internships.

Izumi and Gran Torino were patrolling around Shinjuku for the evening. There were quite a few people in the area and the two of them managed to stop several small skirmishes. Gran Torino had her assisting in the skirmishes to not build bad habits from just fighting against him. Izumi had informed him of her regeneration, so he wasn't worried about her getting injured and even let her take the lead on a couple of the skirmishes. With her speed and strength she didn't have trouble with any of the villains but Gran Torino was always there to back her up. When they finished patrolling for the night, they headed back for Gran Torino's place and called it a night.

"You did good today, kid. I'm impressed."

Izumi blushed at the praise, "Thanks, Gran Torino. I will say compared to fighting you most of those villains were… pushovers…"

"That's to be expected. But you got to fight opponents with unknown quirks and fighting styles which means you had to be adaptable. After training with me that's what we're looking for. If you just fought me all week, you'd start relying on things that work well against me but are impractical. Make sense?"

"Yeah. Since you fight a specific way, I'd end up adapting to how you fight and not just to fighting in general. When I get back to U.A. I'll have to spar against a bunch of different people to get better."

Gran Torino nodded, "It comes down to practice and experience. Still, I'm impressed you managed to get your control for your quirk as good as it is in the last week. How'd you figure out to regulate it through your body?"

"I uh… Got kidnapped actually. After I woke up as a woman, I ended up getting kidnapped by a villain and they chained me up. They… planned to sell me off, probably because I'm a girl. I needed to escape without hurting myself and figured I'd try to use less of my strength all over, so I don't break anything. It worked and I managed to escape with it."

"Can't say I envy being kidnapped but you managed to escape without hurting yourself. Compared to a week ago when I watched you break your fingers against your classmate…"

"Y-Yeah… That was an extreme case. I know I can't do that again, but I have my regeneration now if I lose control. I'm trying not to rely on it though since I don't know all its drawbacks and limits yet."

"Just keep working at it. You've done well to get this far. Has Toshinori been any help?"

"I'll be honest… not really. His advice for me to use my quirk was to clench my butt cheeks and scream 'Smash!'" Izumi sighed.

"That buffoon. Great hero but he's an awful teacher from the sound of it."

"I think… he just got used to using his quirk without thinking about all the nuance that goes into it. Muscle memory kind of took over and trying to explain what he doesn't think about anymore is hard for him. Using it over his entire body just comes naturally to him now. He probably didn't even realize I was just focusing it on one area entirely until I mentioned it."

"You give him too much credit, but you might be right. He's probably forgotten more about his quirk than he remembers."

Izumi giggled, "Well, maybe he'll be able to help me still. I can also train with other heroes besides just him teaching me since getting more experience will help for sure."

"That's the spirit. We have three more days so we're going to Shibuya tomorrow for a different area of exposure. Slightly further trip than today."

"Sounds good. I'll see you in the morning then?"

"Mhm. Night."

Izumi went into the room she was staying in and changed into her pajamas, lounging on the bed to relax a bit. She pulled out her phone to check if anyone had messaged her today. She had gotten a few from Mina, Ochako, Himiko, and Kyouka checking up on her while she patrolled. Izumi smiled and started with the most recent message first. Kyouka still was being run ragged by Death Arms and Himiko was suffering a similar fate with Aizawa. Ochako was enjoying her internship with Gunhead but was dealing with similar fatigue, though not as extreme as Kyouka or Himiko.

Mina was learning a lot from hers apparently and had sent Izumi a picture of her and a civilian she had helped earlier that wanted a picture.

Mina: My first person helped as a hero!

Izumi: That 's so cool! They wanted a picture with you?

Mina: Yep! They learned I was a student, so they wanted my picture for the future when I become famous.

Izumi: Maybe I should get your autograph and a photo now. Might be worth big money someday.

Mina: You 're a dork. How was your day?

Izumi: Patrolled in Shinjuku today. Going to Shibuya tomorrow. Stopped a mugging and a street fight today. No pictures though.

Mina: Boo! I wanted to see you in action.

Izumi: You 'll have to wait til we get back and do another training exercise to see how much I've improved in a few weeks since the Sports Festival.

Mina: Looking forward to it! I gotta get some sleep. You should do the same.

Izumi: Okay. Night Mina!

Mina: Night }:)

The train ride to Shibuya was boring so far. Izumi was sitting next to Gran Torino who was lecturing her on patrols. They were currently passing through Hosu as they chatted.

"Just stick close to me, kid. I'll keep you out of danger, same as yesterday. Got it?"

"Of course. What if we get separated today? I didn't ask yesterday and should have." It was a valid question, while on patrol it wasn't unlikely that they could get separated.

"If that happens, take care of yourself. You can use your quirk, I've seen that you're capable, and I'll take responsibility if anything comes of it. If you get attacked and you think you can fight, do it. But if you don't think you can win, run. Self-defense is fine even for a normal citizen. But your life is important, don't get yourself killed."

"Understood. I'll try not to do anything reckless then."

A sudden crash stopped their conversation as a hole was ripped in the side of the train car by a large creature tackling someone through it. The creature was large and had an exposed brain, something Izumi was familiar with the sight of.

"Gran Torino, that's a Noumu! It's similar to what the League of Villains brought to the U.S.J!"

The creature had a pro hero in his hand and was shoving the hero to the ground of the train car.

Gran Torino nodded, "Kid, stay back, make sure the people are safe."

At that, Gran Torino leapt around the train car and tackled the Noumu out of the train, flying off with it, the pro still lying on the floor of the train.

"Is anyone else hurt?" She looked around the train car to see everyone panicking. Pushing down the nerves she felt, she grinned to the passengers, plastering on a fangless smile that was reminiscent of All Might. "Everything is fine. We're here to help. Is anyone a doctor that can look at this hero?"

A woman in her late twenties spoke up, voice trembling slightly, "I-I'm a doctor."

"Can you check his vitals at least, I don't know what else we can do for him for the moment, but I want to make sure he's stable."

The young doctor checked the pro hero, feeling for his pulse, breathing, and checking if he had a concussion. "He seems to be fine, he's just unconscious."

"I'm glad. Don't worry everyone, I'm going to make sure you're all safe."

She looked around at the train car, everyone's expressions were more hopeful. While the fear wasn't gone, they no longer looked terrified. There was an officer who was escorting people out of the car and toward the end where they could leave.

Izumi asked the officer, "Do you have this under control? I need to help Gran Torino, he's the pro who tackled that creature out of the train."

"Yes, ma'am. Go and help you pro hero, we can handle evacuations."

She nodded, a small smile on her lips, "Thank you."

Izumi ran to the hole in the side of the train and jumped out with her 10% Full Cowling activated and headed toward the fires, dashing from roof to roof. Izumi was searching for Gran Torino but Hosu was in chaos.

There are so many fires. And then there was the Noumu … Is the League of Villains attacking Hosu? Wasn't the Hero Killer also in Hosu recently?

A chill ran down her spine that she ignored as she continued to look for Gran Torino. Then, she smelled it; she smelled blood. She smelled a lot of blood.

Turning in the direction of the blood, she sped up as fast as she could. She needed to get there faster, she had to. She upped Full Cowl to 15%, lightning surging higher but there was no pain; whether that was from adrenaline or just not feeling it didn't matter now. The smell of blood was getting stronger, just a few more blocks. Then she saw it; she saw the Hero Killer, or who she assumed to be him, standing near the pro hero Native covered in blood.

The man was standing above Native, speaking to him with a sword in his hand. The sword was pointed downward, ready to thrust into the hero. "Goodbye. You're an offering to a more just world." He drove the sword down at Native.

Izumi leapt into action. She jumped from wall to wall in the alley as she had seen Gran Torino do in her training. When she was low enough, she leapt off the wall, spinning and connecting a fist across the man's face. The blow sent the man flying down the alley, crashing to the ground and into a trash can. Izumi landed on her feet and slid a few feet and readied her stance to keep fighting.

She shouted at the man, "I won't let you touch him!" She glanced over Native who was no longer conscious.

Stain glared back at her, "I'm going to kill that false hero. If you stand in my way, I'll kill you as well."

She looked at the Hero Killer, "Meddling when you don't need to is the essence of being a hero. No matter what happens, I won't let you hurt him."

Stain roared, "Then you shall also die at my hands."

Looking at Stain, Izumi was utterly terrified. This man had killed more heroes than she cared to count, and she was staring him in the face, the only thing between him and Native. Her nerves were causing her to shake a bit, but she steeled herself; she was a hero after all and fighting against fear was in the job description.

Stain ran at Izumi as she charged toward him. Stain swung his sword at her, but she was faster than he was at 15%; she reached his chest and connected a heavy punch to it. He pulled a knife from his belt and swiped at her side, Izumi narrowly dodging away from the blade. Izumi punched him in the side, sending him into a brick wall in the alley.

Stain coughed up some bile and choked as he hit the wall, "Gah, you're not bad kid." Stain glared at her and pulled out another knife, "You might have what it takes to be a true hero. If you keep getting in my way though, I'll have to kill you."

Izumi stared at the Hero Killer, "True hero? False hero? What are you talking about?"

"Those heroes that are only heroes for fame and fortune. Those are the false heroes of this world. True heroes like All Might, those are the only ones that deserve to live."

Stain kicked Izumi in the chest while she was processing his words and leaped over to Native, standing over him with his sword facing downward again.

"Stop it!" Izumi cried out. She had been kicked far enough down the alley that she couldn't make it to Native without using 100% and destroying half the surrounding area.

Stain raised the blade up above his head, preparing to bring it down.

There 's got to be something I can do… Think!

The blade made its way down towards the hero, the world moving in slow motion. Izumi grit her teeth and forced her Full Cowl higher. She pointed her fingers at him like she did against Shouto and shot a 50% smash toward him, wind rushing down the alley and colliding with Stain head on, kicking up debris and knocking trash cans over and breaking a few windows. Otherwise things were still in-tact. Native hadn't moved since he was flat on the ground and the wind couldn't pick him up. Izumi immediately ran over to him and stood between Stain and the hero again.

"I told you I won't let you hurt him!" Izumi shouted.

Stain glared at her from on the ground before a manic grin spread across his face. "Impressive. You flicked your finger at me and nearly blew me away. Almost like that boy during the Sports Festival."

"If you want to kill him, you're going to have to go through me."

Stain grinned manically at her once he had gathered his footing, "You would really risk your own life to save him? You really are worthy of being called a true hero. It's a shame you stand in the way of my mission."

Izumi calmed herself slightly and forced her Full Cowl back down to around 20%. She glared at the Hero Killer before launching herself at him again, punching him as hard as she could in the stomach. Stain doubled over in pain before Izumi spun around and punched him into the wall again. The man recovered quickly and pulled out two knives and started slashing at the girl ahead of him, his sword having been dropped when Izumi hit him with a 50% smash before.

Her own body groaned as muscles tore and bones broke before her regeneration fixed them shortly after; 20% was more than her body could handle at this point. Still, she pushed through and the pain until her and Native were safe.

"I can't let you stop my mission," Stain roared.

His fighting pace was picking up, frenzying to kill her and Native before the police arrived. He had begun jumping off walls and leaping at her, much faster and more frantic than he had been before. She continued to dodge and duck around the knives, their reduced reach compared to the sword meant her increased speed would help her immensely. She was being completely defensive now that Stain had become rabid, and she knew she couldn't keep it up forever.

Fine. I know this is going to hurt even more, but I can 't let him kill anyone. I can't let him hurt the people I care about!

Izumi forced Full Cowl up to 30%. Her body groaned at her but she ignored it, pushing through the pain she knew would come next, she continued dodging the man's attacks, small gusts of wind forming whenever she moved causing Stain to slow his assault. A few times he tried to throw knives at Native which she either deflected with the wind from her attacks or in the case of one stray knife, blocked with her arm.

Izumi still wasn't sure what his quirk did. She was hoping it wasn't anything bad.

The fight continued while Izumi tried to analyze things and she realized she was focusing more on analyzing than fighting. Stain nearly stabbed her in the chest before she blocked it with her forearm, hissing in pain as the blade stuck in her arm. She took advantage of the blade getting stuck and moved closer to the man, grabbing his shirt with her other hand. She threw the man over her onto his back, knocking the wind out of him, the blade still piercing her forearm. Stain rolled before righting himself and jumping to his feet, once on his feet he charged toward the girl again.

Izumi dodged a slash of his knife and pulled back Full Cowl to 20% while bringing her fist into contact with the killer's face, hearing a similar sound to when she broke Bakugou's nose. The impact broke the man's face as blood poured down into his mouth, freezing him on the spot. Izumi was hesitant that the man had stopped moving but looked at Native.

"Native are you conscious?"

"Y-Yeah…" the hero replied weakly.

"Can you move?"

"No… his quirk paralyzed me. He stabbed me and then I couldn't move."

Izumi looked at the Hero Killer and hesitantly walked toward him, pulling out a pair of handcuffs she had with her. She kicked the blades away from him and cuffed his hands.

"You have a blood quirk, don't you?" she asked Stain.

"I do. You understand how it works then?"

Izumi looked at some of the blades on him. One of the blades had blood on it but it looked streaked as if it had been licked.

"You have to ingest someone's blood to activate it. Otherwise I wouldn't be able to move. It also works on yourself from the look of it."

Stain grinned at her, "You figured out my quirk pretty quickly. Do you know what else can affect my quirk?"

"It's either a limit on the number of people you can use it on or a time limit… I'd guess a time limit…

Stain taunted her, "If that's the case, do you know if anything else effects the time limit?"

Izumi thought for a moment.

A time limit that 's variable? That means it's either…

"Either based on the amount of blood ingested like my quirk or maybe… blood type? I haven't seen it used on anyone besides yourself and Native so I can't know."

After she cuffed Stain, she removed all his blades from him that she could find on his person. After that she pulled out some rope and made sure to restrain him as best she could; she didn't want him escaping because his quirk wore off and he was in only a pair of handcuffs.

"I'm impressed. No other hero has figured out my quirk in the months that I've been doing this, and you figured it out in a matter of minutes. You, a hero trainee."

Izumi looked at Native who's breathing was slow. Izumi approached him, "Native, can you move yet?"

"Y-Yeah… I think so. Definitely seen better days…"

Izumi helped Native to his feet and propped him over one of her shoulders. She grabbed the rope that tied Stain and drug him behind the two of them as they made their way to the street.

Izumi looked at Native, "How bad are your injuries?"

"I have a few wounds," he gestured to a few cuts in his upper arm and then to a larger deeper cut on his abdomen. "This one is slightly worse. I'm sorry you got injured because of me…"

Izumi grinned at him, "I want to be a hero. If I get hurt protecting people, that's fine. As long as you're safe."

Stain looked at Izumi while being drug behind her, "What's your name girl?"

Izumi looked at him with cold red eyes, "Izumi Midoriya. You go by Stain right?"

"Midoriya? The boy in the Sports Festival?" Stain sounded surprised.

Izumi ignored the question for now, "Why did you do what you did?"

"This world of heroes is a disease. Being a hero used to be about saving people and helping people. Now it has become a way for people to claim fame and money. Endeavor is the primary example of a fake hero. He cares not for the people he saves and has caused as many deaths as some villains have with his collateral damage. Not to mention his personal life-"

The familiar voice of an older man rang out, "You bonehead, what are you doing here?"

Izumi turned to see Gran Torino and Endeavor with several other pro heroes and Shouto approaching them. "Sorry, Gran Torino. I smelled blood and went to check it out."

"And?"

Izumi pointed at the Hero Killer in his restraints. She reached to her waist and grabbed out a small container and drank it, quickly feeling herself calm down slightly.

God, I prefer fresh blood now. Bagged and bottled blood just tastes … stale.

"That's not what I meant when I said fight if you think you can win. I didn't mean take the Hero Killer on yourself," Gran Torino grumbled.

"Midoriya? Are you alright?" Shouto asked her.

Izumi smiled lightly at him, "I'm fine. Thanks for asking, Todoroki-kun."

"There's no way a measly girl like you defeated the Hero Killer," Endeavor sneered.

"Yes. She did," Native stated. "This young hero here saved me from the Hero Killer. Without her I… I would probably be dead."

Endeavor folded his arms and looked at Shouto, "You said Midoriya? Isn't that the name of the boy that you defeated in the Sports Festival, Shouto?"

Izumi glared at Endeavor with her piercing red eyes, "That's me. I was hit with a quirk that swapped my gender. I've come a long way in the last week."

Stain's face had a look of realization, "So, you are that boy that fought Endeavor's son in the festival? It makes sense now."

Endeavor merely grunted at the girl. The other pros on the scene looked at Stain and confirmed his identity before calling the police and an ambulance. From above, a winged Noumu swooped down and clutched Izumi in its talons, sinking them deep into her shoulder. Izumi screamed in pain as the creature's talons dug into her flesh, the sharp nails piercing deep into her.

Shouto reached for Izumi's hand as the creature pulled her into the air, grasping it slightly before she slipped away. The creature flew up higher as Izumi tried to pull the creature's talons out of her shoulder, the pain and the fact that she could only use one arm making it difficult.

On the ground, Shouto cried out with a look of horror on his face, "Midoriya!"

This is bad! If I get any higher and fall … I'll probably die.

The Noumu flapped its wings and continued to fly away, Izumi still clutched in its claws. She grit her teeth and raised her other hand toward it and flicked a 50% blast at the creature's head, causing its grip to loosen at the impact. She used her hand to rip the creature's talon out completely, causing her to fall from the air. Izumi looked at the ground approaching quickly and then felt talons dig into her side; the Noumu had chased her toward the ground and grabbed her in the air, sinking its sharp implements into her abdomen.

Izumi used both her hands and ripped the Noumu's claws out of her side as it started to fly upward again. Every time she ripped out its claws from one talon, the other grabbed her. Izumi grew frustrated and ripped one of the knives out of her arm with her Full Cowl at 20% before throwing it at the creature's face, the knife piercing into the Noumu's skull. As soon as the knife pierced the Noumu's brain, the creature halted and dropped to the ground with her in its clutches. Izumi grit her teeth as she hit the ground with a large crunch, followed shortly by the Noumu.

"Midoriya!" Shouto shouted again, running toward the fallen Noumu and the girl.

Izumi groaned and stood up, pushing the Noumu's body away from her as she limped toward her friend. Between pushing her limit on One For All for too long, being stabbed twice, and the Noumu's claws ripping holes in her over and over, her regeneration was being taxed. Her injuries were healing but it wasn't instant so the injuries from the Noumu were visible to everyone watching. Izumi walked toward Shouto with an awkward fanged smile, coated in her own blood. She collapsed and passed out, Shouto catching her before she hit the ground.

Above them on a rooftop, someone stood nearby with a camera in hand. "This will definitely make an interesting news story."

They grinned to themselves as they slipped off into the shadows.

Notes:
Two chapters in one week to try and get back on track with posting on Saturdays. I didn't have Tensei get attacked by Stain in this timeline, hence no Tenya interning with Manual to hunt down Stain. Next chapter a wild rabbit appears.

As usual, thanks for reading and I hope you're enjoying it.
3 Belle

Chapter 12: Just Lucky Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text Izumi jolted awake in a hospital bed by herself. She remembered fighting Stain and being attacked by the Noumu. She remembered falling to the ground and hitting the ground hard. Thinking about it she remembered the pain she had felt and checked her body for injuries. She had healed up for the most part but was still bruised and sore. She sighed in relief before a nurse came in and saw she was awake.

"How do you feel?" the nurse asked her with a smile.

"Bruised and injured. Could I possibly get some blood? It's for my quirk…"

The nurse thought for a second and nodded, walking out the door to grab Izumi's blood and returning shortly.

"Here you go, dear. Do you need anything else?"

Izumi smiled lightly, "I think I'm okay for now. Thank you."

The nurse smiled and nodded at her, heading out the door as Gran Torino, Endeavor, and a man with a dog's head walked into the room. Gran Torino looked at Izumi and a smile crossed his wrinkled face.

"Morning, kid. How are you feeling?" Gran Torino asked.

Izumi waved a hand at the old man, "Hey, Gran Torino. I feel like I was dropped through a paper shredder onto concrete. Could be better, could be worse."

Gran Torino tried to hide his surprised expression with a chuckle, "I'm glad you're alive, kid. You surprised us there."

The man with the dog's head took a step forward and cleared his throat before speaking, "Sorry to interrupt… I'm the chief of police Kenji Tsuragamae but you can call me Chief since my name is a bit of a mouthful."

Izumi did a small bow from her bed. Chief continued, "First, let me say that I am thankful you are safe and well. Second, I must inform you that what you did is a crime, due to unlawful usage of your quirk."

Izumi shifted in her bed before the man continued. "Quirks are not to be used without a license for any reason. This constitutes a crime that can even impose jail time."

Izumi thought for a moment, and then interrupted the man before he could continue. "I was given permission to use my quirk by Gran Torino."

Kenji looked at Izumi, "You were?"

"I gave her permission to use it at her own discretion," Gran Torino supplied.

"Even if I hadn't been permitted to use it, modern quirk laws prevent anyone from using their quirk unless it's for self defense or to prevent harm from occurring to someone else," Izumi explained.

The man stared at her for a moment, "That is true…"

Izumi didn't let him finish, "In a life-threatening situation, one's quirk can be used to defend oneself and others."

Kenji thought for a moment, "It seems you know your quirk law young lady. I'm… actually impressed."

Endeavor grunted, "As much as I hate to admit it, she's right. There are specific laws in place that allow even trainees to act in times of necessity. I would classify a dying hero a time of necessity."

Izumi looked at Endeavor shocked, "I spent a lot of time studying quirk laws when I was younger. Why… Why are you helping me, Endeavor?"

Endeavor furrowed his brow and looked at her, "You managed to do something I never could have done in helping Shouto."

Izumi stared at the pro hero, "I… Todoroki-kun is my friend and I wanted to help him no matter what."

Endeavor bowed slightly, "Still, you helped him to use his fire half. I would never have been able to do that by myself…"

"I… I'm glad I helped him, even a little."

Chief let them finish their interact before continuing. "I had planned on coming into this room and telling you that we could wipe the record clean by saying that Endeavor captured the Hero Killer who was attacking you but I can see that is not necessary now."

Gran Torino looked over at the TV in their room and noticed the news story was extremely relevant. He furrowed his brow as he spoke, "Chief, you might want to look at this. I don't think it would have been an option either way."

Izumi and Chief turned to the TV and Endeavor turned the volume up so they could listen in.

"-have footage of what looks like a young hero fighting the Hero Killer. The young hero in question is apparently a first-year student at U.A. High School, though her name is being kept private for now. A pro hero was attacked by the Hero Killer before this young hero stepped in to save him. A warning, some viewers might find this footage hard to watch."

The video was extremely clear compared to what she expected to see for a random reporter; maybe it was someone's quirk? The video showed her clearly fighting against the Hero Killer. Native could be seen covered in blood and paralyzed on the ground as Izumi took down Stain, getting stabbed several times in the process. Then it showed her getting captured by the Noumu before she killed the creature and crashed to the ground in a spray of dust and rubble. She slowly emerged from the cloud looking ragged and bloody but still alive before falling over into Shouto's arms and passing out.

Izumi pursed her lips, "I got really lucky in that fight… Am… Am I going to be in trouble for killing the Noumu?"

Chief thought for a moment, "No. Since you acted within your rights as a hero to take down a creature that is clearly not a person, you won't be charged for anything."

Izumi sighed in relief at that and Gran Torino seemed to relax as well.

"Thank you…" Izumi said quietly, "I… I won't lie. I still feel… conflicted about what I did… I just acted on instinct to save myself and I-"

Gran Torino interrupted her, "It's okay, kid. Don't worry about it for now and get some rest."

"I will… Thank you." Izumi ended up lying back on the bed to relax some more before remembering something, "Oh, Endeavor? Will you tell Todoroki-kun thank you for me? I don't remember much from right before I passed out, but he tried to save me from that winged Noumu."

Endeavor grunted a response and nodded his head slightly before walking out of the room with the other two men. After the men left her alone in her room, she decided it would be best to get some rest for now.

"Principal Nezu, you can't be serious about the first years taking the provisional license exam in two weeks!" Vlad King argued. "There's no way any of our students are ready for that!"

"Now, now. I understand your concern. However, with All Might's upcoming retirement being imminent and last night's incident with the Hero Killer involving one of our students, I feel it is in our best interest to allow the students to take the exam as soon as possible, ensuring that they can take it again in September if need be."

"That… I can't argue the logic but that doesn't change the fact that none of them are ready for this exam! The exam is the week after midterms and most of the students won't be ready for any form of rescue training!"

Shouta thought for a moment, "We could prioritize rescue training exercises the week before midterms as a form of crash course for the students. We were planning on emphasizing it next semester anyway."

Ectoplasm frowned, "That's still only a week of training for rescue training. How many students do you expect to obtain their license?"

Nezu folded his hands in front of him and thought for a moment. "Honestly, I don't expect many to pass. Maybe one or two from each class unless they can work together. Given the nature of the exams in the past, it places an emphasis on prioritizing yourself. The HPSC has asked that Izumi-kun specifically take the exam herself after the Hero Killer incident."

"Why not make her take the exam by herself?" Cementoss asked.

Nemuri frowned, "She wouldn't take it if the chance were offered only to her. She wouldn't feel she deserves it over any of her classmates."

"That seems a fair bet," Shouta sighed. "I suppose we can't have all of them take it… Since she won't take it alone, we can… Why don't we offer it to the top five students from each class, 1-A and 1-B, in the midterm placements?"

Nezu's eyebrows rose for a moment, "That might be a viable option. It creates a competition of sorts for the students to aim high on their test scores and allows Izumi-kun a reason to feel like she earned the chance herself."

"And if she doesn't get the top five in 1-A?" Power Loader asked.

"I have no doubt that she will. In terms of academics, Izumi-kun is quite intelligent. We can come up with a special stipulation for her in mind if we need."

"You could always tell her she has to take it for beating the Hero Killer?" Vlad King offered. "Surely she realizes that is a notable accomplishment as a first-year student."

Toshinori who had been quiet up to this point spoke up, "Knowing her… She won't feel like she truly earned her victory. She's rather stubborn when it comes to things like this…"

"I suppose you would know, Dad Might," Hizashi joked.

The room filled with laughter from the other teachers and Toshinori blushed and looked away from them.

Nezu calmed everyone down, "Let's stay on task for the moment. I have faith that Izumi-kun will place in the top five of her class. If that fails to occur both homeroom teachers could nominate one student each?"

"That… might work. Doubtful that she won't see through the ruse. Let's just hope she does as well as we think she will," Shouta pondered.

"Very well. Onto the other matter… After midterms are finished, we will be moving students into the dorms during those few days of break. Have all of the parents been informed?"

"Most have," Nemuri stated. "The only ones left are for Bakugou, Midoriya, and Toga, since Toga lives with Midoriya currently."

"They live together?" Ectoplasm asked.

"Toga is staying with Midoriya because it makes the most sense given her delicate situation," Shouta explained. "Midoriya found her nearly dead in an alleyway and saved her, even going so far as to give Toga a blood transfusion of her blood. Toga latched onto Izumi and refuses to let go so them living together makes the most sense."

"Is enabling a dependence a good idea?" Hound Dog asked.

"Once they're on campus we can work on it with more supervision. Toga has been doing fine this week while Midoriya was at her internship. She did mention they speak daily but otherwise she seems stable enough," Shouta said dryly.

Nezu nodded, "If that's everything then I think we can call this meeting to a close."

Izumi woke up late the next morning and stretched her back while in the bed. The nurse from the previous night came in to check on her, gave her another blood bag, and she was allowed to leave shortly after. Izumi drank the bag down, finally having sated her thirst for the liquid. She grabbed her bag and costume case. She changed into normal clothes, a feeling nagging at her that she had forgotten something. She headed to the lobby to find Gran Torino waiting for her.

"You heading home?" he asked her.

"I think I have to… My hero uniform is kind of… shredded." Izumi said awkwardly.

"Yeah, but it could be worse. You're lucky you have your quick healing otherwise you'd probably be dead…"

Izumi pursed her lips, "Yeah, you're right. I'm pretty lucky. Just means I need to get stronger, so I don't have to rely on luck in the future."

A grin crossed the wrinkled man's face, "Just take it easy sometimes. You deserve a break after what you went through. After last night half of Japan knows the feisty green-haired girl who fought the Hero Killer as a student and won single-handed."

"Well… Thank you for helping me this week. I don't think I could've done anything without your help."

"I didn't do much. You've come a long way. You're still green but you've got a good start."

Izumi chuckled at the joke slightly, "Well, thank you for training me this week. Sorry it ended up a mess."

"Not like you planned to fight the Hero Killer. What's done is done."

Izumi furrowed her brow and bit her lip while she was deep in thought. Coming to a conclusion, she looked at Gran Torino with a conflicted expression and asked him, "…Can I talk to him?"

"Talk… to Stain?"

Izumi nodded, "I want to if it's possible. It doesn't have to be today. I just want to talk to him at some point."

Gran Torino thought for a second, "I'll see what the police chief says. You might be able to talk with him once he's in prison but it's doubtful."

"I figured but I wanted to ask at least. But seriously, thank you for this week. It gave me a lot to think about."

"Just don't go fighting any more dangerous villains on your own…"

Izumi smiled awkwardly, "I'm more worried about my mom when I get home if I'm being honest…"

Gran Torino chuckled and extended his hand for her to shake, "Good luck, kid."

Izumi smiled wide at him and shook the old man's hand, thankful to have had the opportunity to work with him during all this.

The train ride back was anything but uneventful; Izumi was accosted by several people who recognized her as the girl from the news, asking her questions about if she was afraid and wanting pictures and even autographs from her. She did her best to avoid attention as much as she could after the first few but several other people still bothered her, barely giving her any time to herself the entire train ride. She finally got back to U.A. after more hassle than she would have liked and headed to Nezu's office.

Izumi knocked on his door and he greeted her promptly, "It's open."

Izumi opened the door and walked in to see the chimera chatting with someone already while drinking his usual tea, a soft smile on his face.

Izumi was surprised to see him already talking to someone, "Oh, I'm sorry Principal Nezu. I can come back later if you're busy."

Nezu smiled at her, "No, no. We were waiting for you, actually. You're right on time."

"You… were waiting for me?" Izumi asked, puzzled.

Izumi looked at Nezu and then at the other person he was talking to and realized she recognized the woman; he was chatting with the pro hero Mirko, real name Rumi Usagiyama. A tan woman with a lot of muscle, white hair, rabbit ears, and a rabbit tail. She was shorter than Izumi was if you didn't count her rabbit ears; with her ears, she was taller than Izumi.

"Wait, Mirko?" Izumi basically shouted.

The rabbit woman wave at her, "I wanted to meet this girl who took down the Hero Killer by herself."

"I'm flattered but… why?"

"I want you to fight me so I can see if you're actually strong or if you got lucky."

"You… want to fight with me?"

Rumi's face split in a feral grin, "Yep! You up for it?"

Izumi looked at Nezu who hadn't said anything. The chimera was watching the exchange with great interest; he had set his tea to the side and folded his hands in front of him.

Izumi smiled at Rumi, "Um… Sure. You should know I'm inexperienced when it comes to fighting but when it comes to speed and strength, I'm pretty formidable."

"Skill can be learned. Let's see what you can do."

Nezu grinned, "If that's the case, perhaps we should have you two go to one of the training grounds nearby. I'll grab Recovery Girl just in case and Eraserhead to referee for you. Shall we meet up in Ground Beta in say, fifteen minutes?"

Izumi looked at Rumi who had a smug grin on her face. Izumi nodded, "Sounds good. I'll put on my hero costume… Actually… I'll put on my gym uniform. My hero costume is a bit… worse for wear."

"The support course can fix that up for you, Izumi-kun. Get changed and we'll see you there shortly. Mirko, would you like an escort?"

Rumi nodded, "If you don't mind, I'll stick with you."

Izumi stood up and walked out the door toward the locker room and changed into her tracksuit that was in her locker. Izumi rolled her pant legs up and left the jacket unzipped to expose her tank top. Izumi walked out of the lockers toward Ground Beta which was a good ten minutes away. She decided to jog her way over to the field to get a slight warm-up in before Rumi kicked her ass in a fight.

Izumi was already nervous at the idea of fighting against a pro hero in a sparring match. She showed up before Rumi and stretched a bit; her flexibility was slowly increasing. After having stretched she stood around nervously before she heard rapid footsteps approaching. On instinct she ducked out of the way, watching Rumi fly overhead and landing with a grin on her face.

"Well, you've got good reflexes and you're pretty quick. This might be fun."

"I heard your footsteps and reacted accordingly. Gran Torino did something similar in my training…"

"Either way, I'm impressed. I expected to hit you with that and be done with it."

Izumi chuckled quietly as she looked over and saw Shouta, Nemuri, Himiko, Hitoshi Shinso, Recovery Girl who's real name was Chiyo Shuzenji, and Nezu.

"That's more of an audience than I expected," Izumi observed.

Nezu nodded, "Midnight wanted to watch when she heard you were back from your internship. Toga-kun as well. Shinso-kun tagged along because Shouta is judging for you."

"I… see," Izumi replied. "Well, it's good to see everyone." Izumi's eyes landed on Himiko who had a frown on her face. Izumi furrowed her brow, "Himiko what's wrong?"

"We've all been trying to get a hold of you since last night! You haven't been answering your phone or replying to anyone's messages!"

Izumi paled and realized what she had been forgetting to do. "I'm sorry! There was so much going on that I haven't even looked at my phone since yesterday…"

"At least tell Mina-chan you're okay!"

Izumi felt bad for forgetting but she had basically passed out after the Noumu attack and woken up long enough to talk to the chief of police before passing back out. "You're right. I'll call Mina when we're done here…"

"If you're done scolding her, Toga-kun, we shouldn't waste too much of Mirko's time while she's here," Nezu chided.

"It's my fault. Sorry about that," Izumi said with a blush before turning toward Rumi. "Any rules for our sparring match?"

Rumi shook her head, "I'm just seeing what you're capable of. I'm not here to break you so I'll be holding back. I want to know what you're capable of."

"Okay then. Ready when you are."

Shouta walked between them and looked at both contestants before beginning the match. As soon as the match started Izumi focused on her Full Cowl at 15%, lighting dancing around her erratically. She immediately dodged out of the way of a kick from Rumi aimed at center mass. Izumi grinned at the woman before launching a counterattack with her fist toward the woman's face. Rumi bent out of the way and aimed a kick upward at Izumi's chin. Izumi barely avoided the kick with her current speed, the kick grazing her skin just barely.

"You're really fast," Izumi gasped as she got a small amount of breathing room.

Rumi grinned, "I'm still kind of impressed you dodged that. I can see why you went toe-to-toe with the Hero Killer."

Izumi pushed Full Cowl to 20% and dashed at Rumi, ignoring the pain in her legs as she did so before connecting a punch into Rumi's arms. The rabbit had blocked at the last second and been sent flying backward from the impact. Izumi didn't have time to celebrate as Rumi launched toward her again. The rabbit bounced across the pavement and aimed another kick at the greenette, Izumi crossing her arms in front of her to block the blow. The attack sent her crashing backward where she toppled over herself.

"Sorry kid, I didn't hold back as much on that one. Hope I didn't break anything…"

Izumi groaned as she stood up and dusted herself off, noting that she definitely hit harder than Gran Torino. As to who was faster, she wasn't sure right now.

"It's fine… It would've been better to dodge that instead of blocking it…"

"You're not fast enough to dodge that," Rumi taunted.

Izumi ignored the taunt and decided not to push her luck with her quirk right now. She grimaced slightly, "Currently, no. If I could fully utilize my quirk, maybe.

Rumi stared curiously at the girl, "You can't use your quirk fully?"

Izumi blushed slightly, "I can only use around 15% of my quirk without injuring myself. If I use more like I have been, I tend to injure myself and it's not exactly fun."

"So, you're fighting through pain?" Rumi smirked.

Not waiting for an answer, Rumi bounced toward Izumi again and attacked with a feint at Izumi's face before hitting her in the stomach without Izumi being able to block it. Izumi crashed into the ground and coughed up a small amount of blood.

"If I push my limits, yeah…" Izumi groaned from the ground. "Also, I can't exactly hold a conversation while fighting well."

Izumi stood up and wiped the small amount of blood from her mouth before licking it off her hand and smiling with her fangs bared at Rumi. She had to fight the urge to use more of her quirk that was bubbling inside her.

Rumi's grin looked feral in response, "Guess we'll chat once we're done."

Izumi forced her Full Cowl back down to 15% with every ounce of willpower she had, going against her quirk's urge to fight with everything she had against the strong opponent in front of her. Injuring herself to push her limits right now while taking heavy hits would tax her regeneration far too much. Izumi sprinted at Rumi straight on, the rabbit girl smirking at the straightforward attack before Izumi dropped below Rumi's kick, sliding under the rabbit and ending up behind her. Rumi bent backward over the greenette in a backward walkover, avoiding Izumi's attack before dropping a kick down toward Izumi's head.

"Luna Arc!" Rumi grinned.

Izumi panicked in a brief moment of realization that if that kick lands, she was done for. Izumi ducked lower from the kick and used her own leg to trip the rabbit, kicking her grounded leg out from under her as the lightning around her amped up. As Rumi started to fall, she pulled her fist back and punched Izumi across the face before she hit the ground. She got to her feet before Izumi did, taking a few steps back to give the greenette a breather.

"Can you still move?" Rumi asked.

Izumi stood up and grinned at her, her steps slightly shaky from adrenaline, "Y-Yeah. Not sure for how much longer… Plus Ultra though, right?"

Izumi tried to calm herself with a deep breath before Rumi bounded toward her again. Izumi dodged a strike from the rabbit and countered with her own attack, grazing Rumi barely. Izumi's body hurt and she realized she had lost control of her Full Cowl but part of her didn't care. Rumi took the hesitation in Izumi's moves as an opportunity to attack the girl again, Izumi awkwardly bending away from the blow before a second one connected. Izumi grit her teeth through the pain and used the change to counter with her own attack which caught Rumi off guard.

"Shouta, shouldn't you stop the match?" Nemuri asked the man from the sidelines. "She seems to have sustained quite a few heavy hits from our pro hero here."

Shouta didn't look at her, "…I'm letting Midoriya show Mirko what she's capable of."

Hitoshi's eyes widened slightly in surprise, "Did you say Midoriya?"

"Yes. That's Midoriya now," Nemuri explained, eyes remaining on the two girls fighting, still exchanging blows. "She got hit with a quirk that changed her biological sex."

Himiko was watching the fight in awe; she had never seen Izumi fight with her quirk besides against Stain on the video so seeing how fast and strong she was in person was exciting. Plus, there was the smallest amount of blood on Izumi's face still, and try as she might, her inner vampire still loved blood.

Izumi jumped over a trip from Rumi, holding her hand out to unleash a flick-smash as she did against Shouto, no longer caring about injuring herself after the injuries she had sustained. She landed and flicked at Rumi who barely had time to dodge out of the way toward the greenette, kicking her in the chest and sending her to the ground.

Izumi groaned from the ground before Shouta called the match for Rumi's win. Izumi wanted to protest but decided they could fight all day and Izumi would never beat the rabbit.

"Well, I'm impressed. You're still pretty new to fighting and I can see it in your technique, but you have potential. Can you still move?" Rumi asked her, walking over and offering her a hand.

Izumi nodded and grabbed the hero's hand and was helped to her feet, "Yeah. Though I probably need some medicine soon."

"I do have a question for you."

"Sure, what is it?"

"Why do you only fight using punches? You're limiting yourself a lot and using your legs would help with that. Not to mention you're very straightforward in how you fight."

Izumi looked at the woman and processed her words, Vary my fighting style with kicks? It… actually makes a lot of sense…

"Thank you!" Izumi blurted. "S-Sorry. Thank you, Mirko. I hadn't ever considered it before but you're right. I'll work with some of my classmates-"

THWACK.

Izumi was interrupted by Chiyo smacking her on the shins. Chiyo glared at her, "You idiot. If you didn't have your quirk, you'd be in the clinic right now for sure. You still feel pain, right? So, stop injuring yourself!"

Izumi winced as Chiyo smacked her shins again with her cane, "You're right… Sorry Recovery Girl."

Chiyo smacked her again before sighing and handing her a blood bag, "I knew you'd need this when Nezu told me you'd be here fighting against Mirko. Drink up."

Izumi nodded and drank the blood bag instantly, her eyes and fangs remaining vampiresque; she still needed more blood but wasn't going to complain.

"Gross. It tastes stale compared to fresh blood."

"Quit whining," Chiyo huffed. "You're lucky you even get that. I shouldn't enable you to hurt yourself like that!"

Rumi looked at her, "You've got a blood quirk?"

"Y-Yeah. Strength, speed, reflexes, increased healing, all at the cost of drinking blood. Though part of my quirk didn't activate until I nearly died…"

"Pretty strong quirk. Well, I've made my decision. When you get your provisional license, I want you to intern with me."

"Seriously? You want me to intern with you?" Izumi gawked. "It would be an honor to work alongside you."

"Just know that I'll push you to your breaking point and if I ever feel like you're not keeping up I'll drop you."

"That seems a fair deal. Thanks, Mirko. We don't get our provisional licenses until second-year though?"

Shouta shook his head, "Nezu and the rest of the U.A. staff have decided to push our first-years through the provisional exams this year. There's one in June and another at the start of the fall semester in September."

"We're getting our provisional exams this fall?"

Nezu smiled at her, "Some of you will be getting it in two weeks' time."

"I still don't think the first years are ready for that Nezu," Shouta sighed. "They may be great compared to some first-year classes but they're still inexperienced."

"You don't think anyone is ready for the provisional license exam?" Izumi asked. "We have midterms coming up as well, don't we?"

"That you do. Can you handle all of that?" Nezu grinned sadistically.

Izumi thought for a moment and looked at Rumi and then to Shouta and Midnight. "I think you'd be foolish to count our class out before we've even tried. At least a few of us will pass for sure."

"Good. We're still deciding on who in your class will be attending. I look forward to it and your continued progress as a student."

"Maybe help your girlfriend study for her midterms," Shouta stated dryly.

"H-How did you know I had a girlfriend?" Izumi asked nervously.

Shouta pointed at a certain blonde vampire who was looking away and feigning innocence. Shouta smirked, "Maybe Ashido's grades won't be as bad if you help her study."

"I'll do what I can. I need to help Himiko study as well since uh… she's missed the last year of schooling and part of this year. Speaking of, how has this week gone for Himiko and Shinso?"

Shouta stared at her and Izumi saw the barest hint of a smile hidden behind his scarf, "They're doing okay. I'll make my decision for them tomorrow."

"Sounds good. I need to go home and see my mom… I'm sure she's upset…"

Himiko ran over and practically tackled the greenette in a hug, her frown from earlier disappearing after her lecture. "I'm just glad you're okay, Zumi."

Izumi pulled away from the hug and smiled at the blonde, "I told you I was fine."

"Before you two start making goo-goo eyes at each other, aren't Toga-kun and Shinso-kun still doing their assessment for the rest of the school day?" Nemuri teased.

Izumi and Himiko both blushed lightly before Shouta cut in, "Midnight is correct. We had our little break but you two are coming with me. Midoriya, feel free to head home."

Izumi smiled awkwardly, "I'll see you at home then, Himiko."

"Yep! I'll see you at home, Zumi. Call Mina!"

Izumi blushed at the realization she had forgotten about letting everyone know she was okay after her sparring match. Again.

Notes:
Sorry it's a little later than last week. Got distracted by life. Also, I suck at action/fight scenes so if anyone has good advice or reading material to improve, let me know.

Thanks for reading as per usual!
3 Belle

Chapter 13: Training Ground Gamma Notes:
Slightly edited but the plot is identical.

Chapter Text "Are you going to tell me which course you're in, Himiko?" Izumi asked to the blonde vampire next to her. The vampire duo was currently sitting in the hallway outside of the U.A. faculty lounge, chatting before classes started.

"Nope! That's a secret," Himiko teased in response.

"Okay, okay," Izumi laughed. "How does it feel, though? You're a U.A. student now!"

"It's crazy! It doesn't feel real at all. Like, I feel like I'll wake up and this will be a crazy dream. Weird to think that if you didn't find me, I wouldn't be here anymore," Himiko said solemnly. She fidgeted with her uniform skirt slightly with her hands.

"Hey, just remember you're here and you have friends already. Ochako, Kyouka, Mina, and I are already your friends."

"Yup, yup! Hitoshi-kun is okay too… he's like a mini Aizawa!" Himiko said with a large grin. "They both act the same way when I tease 'em. It's so much fun!"

Izumi laughed at the thought of Hitoshi and Shouta being similar. The two sat there for a few minutes in silence after that and watched some of the other U.A. students arriving and walking through the halls. Before long, Himiko broke the silence.

"Aren't you going to go to class? You don't have to wait here with me."

Izumi scratched her cheek and laughed nervously, "Y-Yeah… I'm just… nervous about the incident with the Hero Killer, I think…"

"Izucchi, you were in a scary incident. You stared a serial killer in the face…"

"Yeah… I was scared when I was facing off against him… But I also felt alive. I know that sounds horrible since I was fighting for my life but… The more I fought him the more I wanted to keep fighting him."

Izumi couldn't read Himiko's expression as she thought for what seemed like an extremely long silence. Himiko finally looked at her with a soft smile, "You mentioned how aggressive you can be with your quirk. I wouldn't worry about it."

"You're probably right. This entire experience was… terrifying in more ways than one. I killed that Noumu… I'm worried that my quirk makes me… too aggressive?"

Himiko frowned for a second and put a hand on Izumi's, "I told you my quirk makes me a bit crazy if I don't drink blood. Yours seems to do a similar but different thing to you. We can help each other through it and I'm sure U.A. has some help for us as well, right?"

Izumi smiled softly at the blonde girl while standing up, "You're right. I shouldn't worry about it too much for now. I'm going to head to class now. I'll see you in a few?"

"See you in a bit!"

Izumi walked into the classroom with plenty of time to spare. The first thing she noticed was that the classroom was bigger than before, probably thanks to Cementoss putting in overtime. The second was that she was the last to arrive in the classroom this morning. She was greeted to the sight of everyone chatting in their normal friend circles first thing in the morning: Denki, Hanta, Mina, and Eiko were crowded around Katsuki's desk; Ochako, Tsuyu, and Iida were chatting with Shouto; Momo was chatting with Kyouka currently about a book she was reading from the look of it and Toru was currently chatting away with Mashirao, her exaggerated happy body language catching Izumi's attention. As the class heard the door slide open, all eyes shifted in her direction.

"Wait, Midoriya?" Shouto gasped, his normally stoic expression giving way to more shocked one with his eyebrows raised slightly. Several other students had similar looks of shock on their faces at seeing the girl in class so soon after watching the damage she suffered during the attack on Hosu. Izumi didn't have time to dwell on the concerned looks before another voice interrupted her gaze.

"Izumi!" Mina shouted, running to her in the doorway and wrapping her arms around Izumi in a large hug.

Izumi's face tinted red at the overt display of affection in front of her classmates and she awkwardly hugged Mina back. She spoke quietly at the pinkette, "You realize we're at school, right?"

"So? You just fought a serial killer, I'm allowed to hug you when I see you, no matter where that is," Mina said quietly.

Izumi laughed awkwardly before Mina pulled away from the hug and took a step back. Ochako and Kyouka had made their way over toward her to check on her as well. She had given the class an update telling them she was alive but didn't mention being in class today.

"Morning!" Ochako said with an awkward smile, failing to mask her concern about her best friend.

Kyouka looked nervous as she twiddled one of her ear jacks with a finger, "Morning, Izumi. Are you sure you should be here today?"

"Morning you two," Izumi said with a wide, toothy smile. "Did your internships both go well?"

"No, no, no. You can't shift the conversation away. You have to answer the Jirou's question!" Mina interrupted. "Everyone saw what happened and everyone was worried about you!"

Izumi scratched her cheek awkwardly and noticed the class looking at her apprehensively. "That's fair, I suppose…"

"I am rather curious about Jirou's question myself," Momo stated. She sat her book down on the desk and focused her attention on Izumi. "Are you sure you should be here today instead of resting?"

"Oh, I'm fine. I promise. I wouldn't be here otherwise, right?"

Eiko furrowed her brow and spoke up, "Midoriya… Dude. Everyone saw the video of what happened… You should be in a hospital still and not up walking around like nothing happened…"

Izumi looked at her nervously, "I…"

I never came up for a reason why I would be fine today! Shit!

The class looked at her expectantly, waiting for her to come up with a reason.

Izumi hesitated and said the first thing that came to mind, "It's hard to explain… Part of my quirk didn't manifest until two weeks ago; the doctors believe that part of it was tied to my sex. Hence the fangs and blood red eyes…"

"Okay… What does that have to do with you being at school today?" Toru asked her. Her arms were crossed in front of her with one up to where her chin would be.

"I'll just say I heal faster now. Can I just leave it at that?" Izumi asked.

"That's… Okay, we won't press for now. Still, why were you even in the position to fight the Hero Killer? You could have died!" Kyouka's voice had started even but by the end her worry and anger seeped into her words.

"I smelled blood…"

Ochako, Kyouka, and Mina had conflicted looks on their face but understood what she was talking about. The rest of the class was at a loss by this information.

"You… Smelled blood?" Mezo asked.

Izumi nodded, "Since I became, for lack of a better word, a vampire, blood smells extremely potent. I can smell it from huge distances now, especially if there's a lot of it. I ended up smelling Native's blood and went to check it out and found Stain standing over Native while he was paralyzed from his quirk."

"Aren't you worried that you'll get in trouble for using your quirk without permission?" Tsuyu asked. The class all looked at her slightly confused so she put her finger to her chin and tilted her head to explain, "We can't use our quirks as students against anyone, even villains. Not without a provisional license. You can get in a lot of trouble for it; even go to jail."

"Jail!?" Minoru shouted. "You really think they would send her to jail?"

Katsuki was doing his best to ignore Izumi but the conversation piqued his interest just slightly, grabbing his attention. He was still annoyed Izumi had punched him before their internships and that his own internship was garbage; not to mention Izumi was now somehow the center of attention. But the talk about using quirks on someone as a student imposing jail time made him nervous for some reason.

Izumi smiled slightly at the frog girl, "You're right. We can't use our quirks as students without it being against the law. Not normally. I had permission to use mine from the hero I was with, so I was protected. Even if we got separated, I was told I could use it."

"It was still incredibly reckless to fight the Hero Killer, Midoriya-kun," Iida reprimanded her. "The pros should have handled it."

"I agree. They should have. But I couldn't let Native die. I didn't expect to beat Stain. I didn't really have a plan going in there. To be honest, what I did was probably the dumbest choice I've ever made in my life and I'm lucky to be alive. But still, I wasn't going to stand by and watch Native be murdered. As a future hero, I had to do something…"

"It was still reckless, Izumi. You worried the entire class!" Mina scolded her.

Izumi did a small bow to the classroom, "I really am sorry I worried you all with my reckless behavior."

"We're just glad a sparkling gem such as yourself is okay," Yuga beamed.

"It would be a shame if a fellow warrior of darkness were swallowed by the abyss," Fumikage added.

The class agreed with the two boys and the teens continued to talk for a bit longer. As class got closer to start, Tenya reminded everyone that 'Class is starting soon!' and that they should get seated, chopping his arm in his usual fashion. The students groaned at him but cooperated, taking their seats before the bell.

The door slid open and Shouta walked in, looking more exhausted than usual. He took notice of everyone in their seats and quiet as he came in, "I can see you're all taking class seriously today. So, there are a few announcements to be taken care of this morning. First off, we have some students transferring into this class."

The classroom was shocked, all except Izumi who smiled softly; Shouta said students which meant Hitoshi and Himiko both got in.

Sero looked at Izumi and leaned in to ask her, "Did you know we were getting new students? You don't look surprised."

Izumi responded by smiling innocently, "I had a feeling we were. I'm glad."

Sero stared back and started to say something before Shouta cleared his throat, "Today we're getting two new faces." He gestured to the door and in walked a very tired looking boy with unkempt lilac hair and a blonde girl with messy buns on her head and a natural lovesick blush on her face that was smiling widely, showing off her fangs. Most of the class recognized her as the girl with Izumi from the train station.

Shouta droned on, "Please introduce yourselves to the class."

"I'm Hitoshi Shinso. I transferred from General Education after the Sports Festival. As most of you know, my quirk is brainwashing but I won't use it against anyone outside of sparring. I plan on being an underground hero. I like cats, and I don't plan on making any friends while I'm here."

Izumi frowned at his introduction and stared straight at the boy. His serious expression faltered before he sighed, "Okay, that last thing was a joke. I hope we get along."

He really is like Shouta.

Denki shouted, "Hell yeah, man. We're gonna get along great."

"He's right, that quirk is pretty amazing, dude. Plus, we're kind of an odd bunch, you'll fit in just fine," Kyouka added.

Hitoshi smiled at that, "Thanks, everyone. I also wanted to apologize to anyone who I used my quirk on during the Sports Festival… I was determined to get into the hero course, no matter what."

Mashirao nodded, "No hard feelings. It actually taught me a valuable lesson for the future."

Yuga frowned and sighed, "Oui. I may not agree with your methods, but you got her by your own ability."

Himiko started next, energetic and excited, "My turn! I'm Himiko Toga. I was allowed to transfer to U.A. due to some special circumstances. My quirk allows me to transform into anyone who's blood I've drank, though it has a time limit based on how much of their blood that I ingest. I want to be a hero like Izucchi and save people."

Toru asked her excitedly, "So, you drink other people's blood and can take their form? That's pretty neat."

Himiko grinned wide, "Thanks! That's what Izucchi said, too.

"So, are you and Midoriya dating then?" Denki asked.

"Not yet!" Himiko said with a wink directed at the greenette. "She did save my life though."

Katsuki huffed, "The fuck are you talking about?"

"Izucchi found me in an alleyway bleeding to death and got me to a hospital. She even gave me some of her blood for a transfusion!" Himiko explained.

Izumi was already blushing from Himiko's declaration and it deepened as several of her classmates looked at her, impressed at her actions; she was rather embarrassed by the attention she was getting. She smiled at Himiko and caught Mina out of the corner of her eye smiling at her. Izumi looked at Mina's wide smile and gorgeous eyes, her own smile widening in the process.

Shouta cleared his throat to get everyone's attention, "Now that introductions are done with, we're going to need a new seating arrangement. Here's the chart because I don't have the patience for you all to fight over where you're sitting."

Shouta showed the class the chart on the board to their new assigned seat. The students checked their new location and scattered to take their new seat. There were five rows of five seats now, which meant that all but the very back row would be full. The first row starting from the window and moving to the door was Denki, Minoru, Katsuki, Tenya, and Hanta. Behind them were Eiko, Fumikage, Ochako, Mina, and Kyouka. Next was Shouto, Momo, Tsuyu, Hitoshi, and Himiko. Then Yuga, Koji, Mashirao, Toru, and Izumi. The last row was two empty seats followed by Mezo and then Rikido, the chair behind Izumi being empty.

Izumi looked around at the students near her and had to admit that being so far from Katsuki was… nice. She was also near Himiko and Hitoshi, not that they could talk much during class. Izumi didn't talk to Toru a ton, but she was bubbly and energetic like Mina; not to mention one of the pinkette's closest friends. Getting to know the invisible girl was probably a good idea.

Shouta continued his announcements, "Now that that's done, our next announcement: I'm sure some of you know, but U.A. will be moving to a dorm living situation after midterms are done. Your parents have been notified of this and have all approved."

Minoru was drooling, "Yes! Living in close proximity to all these gorgeous girls!"

Izumi fought the urge to throw the boy out of a window and instead just took a deep breath as Tsuyu slapped him across the face with her tongue.

Shouta shot him a glare as well before continuing, "As I was saying, after midterms, you'll be living in dorms. Once everyone has moved in, we will discuss some ground rules that will be expected of you while living on campus. Our final announcement that concerns midterms: the top five students in their midterms will be recommended to take their exams for their provisional licenses."

"Sir! What about the other students?" Tenya practically shouted at him.

"Don't worry, the other students will be taking their provisional license exams in September at the start of the second semester. That also includes any students that don't pass this time around. Make no mistake, we don't expect any students to pass this early in the school year, but the opportunity is there for them."

Several students looked like they were thinking hard about the chance. Izumi could practically feel Katsuki seething with excitement at the chance to prove himself better than anyone else in the class. Some of the students had resigned themselves to not getting the chance due to their grades, Mina being a prime example who groaned at the fact she would have to wait. Izumi started thinking about a study plan for Mina for the rest of the semester, muttering to herself about the best ways to help Himiko and Mina learn all the material.

Toru giggled and whispered to her, "Midori, you're muttering again."

Izumi blushed slightly and rubbed the back of her head, whispering a reply to the invisible girl, "Sorry, Hagakure… My bad."

Shouta finished his announcements and stepped away from the podium as All Might's voice cut through the air from behind the door, "I am coming in the door like a normal person!"

"I think saying that makes it fairly not normal," Hitoshi whispered to himself.

"You get used to it," Kyouka groaned back.

Izumi still dreaded changing in the locker room, but she was at least not going to freak out this time… she hoped. She stripped off her uniform with her back to everyone, taking her bra off and sliding her sports bra on. She pulled out her hero costume shorts, slipping them on before being interrupted by a gasp.

"Izumi, you're not even injured!" Kyouka practically shouted.

Izumi blushed slightly without turning around, "Uh… Yeah?"

"Were you checking out Izumi, Jirou?" Mina teased.

"I-I wasn't… I just caught a glimpse of her, and she doesn't have a scratch on her!"

"Midoriya, Jirou's right," Momo confirmed. "You look to be completely unharmed. How fast do you heal exactly?"

Izumi sighed slightly and turned around, currently wearing her dark green shorts and a sports bra. She tried to smile slightly, more to reassure herself than anything else. "Extremely…" Izumi closed her eyes and put her wrist to her mouth, biting down with her fangs into her arm. She licked the blood away and showed her arm to the girls. "Does that answer your question?"

Momo's eyes were wide staring at Izumi's arm, "That… How is that possible?"

Izumi bit her lip for a moment before deciding on her answer. "My blood is regenerative now. The scars from before stuck around as you can see," gesturing to her scars from the Sports Festival. She had a few others that stuck around but they were harder to notice if she didn't point them out, namely the ones on her collar bones. "But new wounds don't cause scars and heal extremely quickly. The doctors think part of my quirk was dormant until I was hit with the sex change quirk."

"That explains why you're okay," Toru chimed in. "Can I ask a question though?"

Izumi looked at her nervously. For some reason the question put her slightly on edge. "Sure?"

"Where'd you get the bite mark on your neck?"

Izumi slapped a hand on her neck where the bite mark was and went pale. Mina giggled from beside Toru, "That would be our new class vampire, Toga. Though from the look of it, that's a different bite from last week," Mina teased her.

Himiko grinned at them, "Guilty."

"That explains where it came from but not why it hasn't healed, kero," Tsuyu stated plainly.

"I'm… not sure why it hasn't healed," Izumi said, a large blush on her face as she looked away from everyone.

Eiko chuckled a bit, "Maybe you didn't want it to heal?"

Izumi thought about it for a second and realized Eiko was probably right. "Huh," she muttered to herself. "That would definitely explain things… Since it doesn't actually hurt or hinder me, maybe I subconsciously don't want it to heal… Does that mean I like having proof of being bitten? Doesn't that make me some sort of degenerate? Am I going to end up like Midnight or-"

"Earth to Izumi," Ochako said to the greenette. "Don't you need to finish getting ready?"

Izumi snapped out of her muttering trance at her friend's words, "Oh, right!"

Izumi hurriedly threw her hero costume on, making sure everything looked fine on her in the mirror nearby. She smiled at the outfit and realized her eyes were still red since she bit herself earlier. She focused on looking normal by closing her eyes. She listened to the other girls chatting with Himiko a bit to get to know her since she was new in the middle of the semester and smiled slightly at the fact that Himiko was already making friends.

Mina appeared next to her as she was finishing up with a teasing grin on her face. Izumi smiled at her, "Hey, Mina."

"Hiya. Your hero costume doesn't cover your bite mark, just so you know."

Izumi checked in the mirror, "It doesn't?"

"Nope!"

Izumi frowned slightly, "You're right… That'll be fun to explain later…"

The girls filed out and met up with the boys before they all headed toward Ground Gamma with All Might. Hitoshi and Himiko were both in their gym uniforms since they didn't have their hero costumes yet. Izumi walked next to Mina who chatted with her quietly.

"I'm really glad you're okay, Izumi," the pinkette whispered.

Izumi smiled at her, "Thanks, Mina. Sorry to worry you. And uh… sorry about the bite mark…"

"The one on you or the one on Toga?" Mina teased.

"Both?" Izumi offered, shrugging slightly.

"I don't mind. I know you need to drink blood for your quirk and so does Toga. I'm only a little jealous Toga and you were sucking on each other's necks and we haven't gotten to do the same," Mina teased her.

Izumi's face lit up bright red, "Mina! Not so loud."

"Oh relax. No one's even paying attention to us chatting."

Izumi looked around at the other students chatting with each other as they walked and nodded, "You're right. Have you told anyone yet?"

"Nope. Not yet. You?"

"I may have mentioned it to Himiko. You're not mad or anything about that, are you?"

"Why would I be mad? I don't mind if people know we're dating. I just figured you wanted to keep it to ourselves for now."

"Just for a little longer…"

"Sure! You'll have to explain to Toru why I didn't tell her right away, though," Mina teased.

Izumi's eyebrows shot up slightly, "You're gonna make me tell her? I suppose that's fair…"

The group finally arrived at Ground Gamma together after their brief walk over and stood with All Might in front of them, waiting for his announcement at what they were doing. All Might's voice ripped through the air and interrupted any conversations that were still lingering, "Okay class, today we are going to practice Rescue Training in a race! We will have groups of five participate at a time to see who can reach the central location where I am first."

Izumi grinned to herself, Time to see what I can do now.

"First group: Ashido, Midoriya, Sero, Iida and Ojiro."

The five contestants walked over to stretch, Izumi flashing the pinkette a cocky grin as they did. The rest of the class watched as the five students were taken to their various starting locations.

"So, who do you guys think will win?" Denki asked the class.

"Well, on a straight road I'm pretty sure Iida is the fastest," Eiko said. "But it's hard telling after watching Midoriya last week…"

"The fuck you mean, Shitty Hair? Deku doesn't stand a chance. She's going to lose," Katsuki huffed.

"I… I'm not sure. She seems to have gotten her quirk under control a bit more, but the terrain might give her trouble," Momo interjected.

Eiko spoke again, "Since Momo mentioned terrain I think Sero is my bet. Even with Midoriya's quirk control."

"Hm. I'm thinking Ojiro, he's got some crazy mobility with that tail," Denki added happily.

Minoru added his vote, "Mina! She's super athletic."

Momo asked the class, "Anyone else have a vote?"

Hitoshi threw his vote in, "I don't know much of your class outside of what I saw during the Sports Festival but I'm going with Midoriya."

"I'm going with Iida," Ochako said.

Himiko grinned, "Izucchi."

Kyouka thought for a second before voting, "A few weeks ago I would've bet against Izumi but seeing her improvements lets me believe she'll pull out a win. My second choice would be Sero."

Momo nodded at her classmates' votes and watched the monitor as the race started.

_

Izumi stood on her starting mark, waiting for the signal to go. She focused on her Full Cowl at 15% again, the red and green lightning surrounding her as she grinned to herself. She breathed out slowly and got into her stance.

All Might's voice rang out over the speakers, "GO!"

Izumi launched herself, jumping from surface to surface with ease.

This is just like in Hosu. Focus and don 't get distracted. Don't overdo it with your quirk, no matter how much you want to win.

She continued to jump from pipe to pipe and running across them in a flash of green and red, jumping and doing flips in a minor flurry of parkour. She stepped onto a pipe that gave out under her weight and caused her to slip, falling to the ground below.

Shit!

Izumi landed on the ground with a crunch, rolling forward and wincing at the pain of what would have been a broken ankle. She grit her teeth before she took off again, jumping back up the walls to the top where she knew she had a better chance of winning. She saw Sero getting close to the finish and barely crossed the finish line after him.

Hanta laughed, "Holy shit, you nearly caught me even after you fell! That was impressive, Midoriya."

Izumi was absorbed in her thoughts before she registered what he had said to her. "Oh, thanks. I guess I just need to get better for next time, right?"

"…Did anyone else see Midoriya move? I'm pretty sure all I saw was a blur," Denki gulped and fell on his ass.

Momo was absolutely speechless. Sure, she knew Izumi was a skilled classmate in her own right but when it came to her quirk, she didn't seem to be able to use it well. Though with the Hero Killer fight she seemed more capable… Before last week, Izumi constantly broke her legs if she used her quirk to run. Now she seemed more confident and sure of herself, as well as far more capable of utilizing her quirk. Momo muttered to herself, "I have a long way to go, it seems."

Himiko frowned slightly at the results, "She was doing so well…"

Denki looked over at her, "Didn't you vote for her just because you knew her before you came to U.A?"

"I just felt like she could win after seeing her use her quirk before today."

Hitoshi nodded, "Same. I've seen her in training, so I was confident in my vote. Shame she lost her footing."

Katsuki was trembling in anger at what he had witnessed. She was second, even after fucking up big time. "Deku…" he seethed. "How dare you…"

The group of students who just went returned shortly after, Izumi chatting happily with Mina. Katsuki walked up to her and got in her face like last week, grabbing her by her shirt. He screamed in her face, "What the fuck, Deku!?"

Izumi panicked slightly before All Might stepped in. All Might's tone was serious as he spoke, "Bakugou-shounen, unless you want to be expelled, I suggest you let Midoriya-shoujo go."

Katsuki glared at All Might and hesitated on letting her go. Izumi was basically holding her breath to calm herself down. Sure, she had stood up to Katsuki before internships, but she was much lower on blood than she was now and the boy still made her uneasy. All Might glared back at the boy before Katsuki finally let Izumi go. He muttered under his breath as he walked away from her, "Tch, worthless bitch…"

Izumi relaxed after being released and smiled faintly to All Might, mouthing a silent 'thank you' to her teacher.

"Now that we've dealt with that interruption, I think we should get the next group going," All Might said to the class in a much more lighthearted tone.

Several students were staring at Katsuki and Izumi before turning back to All Might. Kyouka looked at their teacher and raised her hand.

"Actually, I had a question about the groups. Is the last group only going to be two students?"

"Good question. Instead of having them run the course just the two of them, they will be joining the last two groups to form groups of six."

The students nodded at that and the next group was called up. Next on the list was Katsuki, Denki, Eiko, Koji, and Fumikage. Izumi found her way back toward her group of friends with Mina where the group had mixed expressions.

"You did good, Izucchi. What's that blond dick's problem with you?" Himiko asked.

Ochako answered for her, "Oh, Bakugou is always like that with Izumi. I'm glad All Might stepped in but I didn't think I'd ever see All Might threaten a student with expulsion…"

"That seems more like Aizawa's thing," Kyouka added. "Did something happen during your conversation with Aizawa before internships?"

Izumi fidgeted at the question, "N-No. Not really…"

Mina placed a hand on her shoulder and Izumi flinched away from it, still on edge from Katsuki getting in her face. Mina froze for a second and took a step back, "Sorry! I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable."

"No! You didn't, I promise. I'm just a little on edge after Kacchan acted like that is all…" Izumi said meekly.

"How long have you known that douche?" Hitoshi asked her.

"Um… Eleven years."

"And he treats you like that? That's pretty fucked up."

Mina tentatively moved closer and reached a hand out to Izumi again. The greenette smiled and nodded at her before she placed it on Izumi's shoulder, "You can talk to us, you know. We care about you."

Izumi smiled at her, "I know. Thanks, guys. Kacchan and I have a… rocky relationship. He used to be my best friend, but we had a falling out."

Himiko's eyes widened as she remembered a conversation she had with Izumi the day they met. 'And one day, the guy who used to be my best friend told me to take a swan dive off a roof and hope for a quirk in the next life.'

Himiko muttered to herself, "No way…"

Izumi looked over at her and saw the girl's face go from heartbreak to unbridled rage in the span of about two seconds. The students from the race had returned and Himiko was glaring right at Katsuki with murderous intent. Izumi stepped in front of her and spoke quietly, "Himiko. Stop."

Himiko stopped and looked at the girl, "But Izucchi-"

"Please. Not now," the greenette urged her.

"Izumi, what's going on?" Ochako asked her quietly.

Himiko tried to go around Izumi to get to Katsuki before Izumi grabbed her and held her back. Izumi had tears dotting her eyes as she looked at the vampire, "Himiko. It's not worth it. I don't want to see you get hurt or get expelled. I already told the staff."

"Then why is he here!?" she hissed.

"Because I think he can still be a hero, despite what he's done in the past."

The words hit close to home for Himiko and she grit her teeth and tried to calm down, taking a step back. The other girls and Hitoshi were looking at the pair, extremely concerned. Himiko looked at Izumi, "No one else knows?"

"Knows what?" Kyouka asked quietly. "You guys are starting to worry us."

Izumi pursed her lips and looked at Himiko sadly, "No. No one else knows. But I think maybe they should…"

"Izumi, what's going on?" Mina asked urgently.

"It's not a discussion to have right now. I promise I'll tell you all after class is over," Izumi said softly. "For now, let's watch the rest of the races."

Mina frowned but nodded, sitting on the ground with the other students. Izumi smiled softly and sat down next to the pinkette, leaning on her slightly for comfort. Mina smiled at the contact and leaned against Izumi as well.

Chapter 14: Honesty Notes:
Just a heads up, I changed Himiko's nickname for Izumi and edited the previous chapters. It might be odd after reading it the previous way but it'll be consistent going forward.

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text "Midoriya-shoujo… are you okay?"

All Might had stopped Izumi as soon as class ended, wanting to speak with her privately. Izumi stood near him looking toward the ground with a conflicted look on her face as she sorted through her thoughts. Izumi looked up at her mentor, "I… I think so… I just kind of froze up when he got in my face… Thank you for stepping in…"

"Of course. We had a discussion with Bakugou-shounen before his internships that if any other incidents happened while at U.A. he would be expelled. Clearly he doesn't believe the warnings he has been given."

"I…" Izumi stopped before the words could form. She was going to say she still didn't want him to be expelled but the words wouldn't form. She still thought he could be a good hero but… she wanted time away from him. She loved spending time with Mina and the other girls she had been getting closer to because they treated her how she imagined friends should treat each other. Being around Katsuki was an unpleasant experience for her that still made her feel insignificant.

All Might's words brought her from her thoughts, "If there are any problems with him, please tell one of the teachers. Everyone is aware of his current situation and the fine line he is walking."

Izumi nodded slightly, "I will… Did you need anything else?"

"I wanted to say I'm proud of your progress. You've come a long way in a short time. And I don't just mean with your quirk," All Might said with a large grin on his face. "I'm glad to see you more confident in yourself."

All Might gave her a thumbs up to emphasize his point.

Izumi blushed heavily while smiling awkwardly at her mentor, "Thank you. That means a lot to me, coming from you… Um, I'm gonna go get changed now before my friends start worrying about me. I'll talk to you soon, okay?"

"Of course. If you have time after classes are done, would you stop by the faculty office?

"Uh sure. About anything in particular?"

"The staff are just worried about you and want you to talk to someone. It can be Hound Dog or just one of your teachers for today, but I would like you to start talking to Hound Dog if possible."

Izumi thought for a moment, "…Okay. I can do that."

"Excellent. Take care, Midoriya-shoujo."

Izumi made her way to the locker room and stripped off her hero uniform top as soon as she got into the room, a habit she had gotten into from before that was hard to break. At least she had a sports bra on so she wasn't stripping topless in the doorway, but she should probably break the habit before long.

"Everything okay, Izumi?" Mina asked her.

Izumi looked over at her and smiled lightly, "Yeah, he just wanted to make sure I was okay after Kacchan grabbed me like that. All good."

Himiko narrowed her eyes but didn't bring up what she knew. Himiko looked at Izumi as she changed and noticed something, "Izucchi, did you hurt yourself during the race? Your eyes are red again."

Izumi turned to her, sports bra in hand, "Yeah. I think I broke my ankle when I fell. I heard a snap and it definitely hurt but it's fine now. All healed."

"You broke your ankle and finished the race? Dude, that's manly as hell," Eiko grinned.

Kyouka spoke from her locker without turning around, "You know, most people can't just shrug off breaking a bone like that. The pain alone would send them to the ground. Though, after watching the Sports Festival, your pain tolerance must be really high."

Himiko looked at Izumi with a scheming grin on her face, "So, does that mean you need blood now?"

"I can stop by Recovery Girl's after I get dressed," Izumi deflected. She turned to her locker and slid off the rest of her hero costume, leaving herself in a pair of plain dark green panties and her hair running down her back as she tried to find her deodorant.

"Why not-"

Izumi didn't let her finish, interrupting with a chuckle, "No. I'll just get bagged blood, it's fine."

"Why'd you tell her no?" Toru asked.

"I was going to say she could drink someone's blood directly!" Himiko explained. "Bagged blood tastes gross compared to fresh blood."

"I can handle drinking bagged blood for today."

Izumi slid on her dark green bra that matched her underwear, managing to clasp it herself without issue. She did a small, silent victory cheer.

"Boo, that's no fun!" Himiko pouted.

Ochako laughed at the blonde, "Toga, maybe Izumi isn't comfortable drinking blood in front of this many people."

Izumi shifted slightly, The idea of an audience doesn't sound bad… No, stop that!

Momo spoke her thoughts aloud, "I will admit, I am rather curious what it would be like to see a vampire drink blood. It seems rather fascinating."

"You both drink blood then, kero?" Tsuyu asked aloud.

"Yep! Though we have different fangs," Himiko replied.

To emphasize her point, Himiko grinned wide with all four fangs showing and walked over to Izumi. She spun the greenette around, pulling her mouth open to show Izumi's two fangs to the other girls.

Izumi blushed since she was still in her underwear, "Himiko, you could've waited and let me finish getting dressed, at least."

Momo walked over and looked at the two girls' fangs, "You're right. Even though you both drink blood you have different fangs. That's interesting. Do all blood quirk users have fangs?"

"No clue!" Himiko shrugged.

Izumi put a hand to her chin and thought for a moment before replying, "No. They don't. Stain didn't have fangs and he had a blood quirk."

Toru whispered to Mina, "How long should we let them discuss quirks for?"

Mina giggled quietly, "We have plenty of time until our next class. Just let them enjoy their nerd talk."

"Are there any similarities between the quirks then?" Momo asked Izumi.

"Aside from the fact that we all ingest blood, not that I've noticed. Himiko already explained her quirk earlier. Mine I'm still figuring out everything but mostly it's regeneration, heightened senses, namely smell for blood. I also still have my enhanced speed and strength from before."

Kyouka cleared her throat to get their attention. Izumi looked over and saw she had a huge blush on her face. Kyouka looked away slightly as she spoke, "Are you both done with your quirk analysis session in your underwear?"

Izumi scratched the back of her head as a small blush tinged her cheeks, "Sorry about that. Yaoyorozu, if you ever want to discuss quirks we can sit down and have a quirk analysis session sometime. How does that sound?"

"I'd enjoy that," Momo said with a smile. She turned and walked back to her locker to finish getting dressed.

Izumi pulled her uniform on as well, making sure everything was on correctly until she got to her tie. She stared at it for a second and sighed, creating a mess as she had always done with the damnable creation as she put it on. She smoothed out any wrinkles in her uniform and closed her locker before putting her hero costume back in its case. When she checked her phone they still had around fifteen minutes until their next class so there was no rush.

Mina appeared next to her locker with a conspiratorial grin, "Are you sure you don't need to drink blood? Recovery Girl isn't exactly on the way, you know."

Izumi rolled her eyes, "I'll hurry to Recovery Girl's, then."

"I would still like to see it at some point if you ever get comfortable with the idea," Momo said to her.

"I'm curious too!" Toru bubbled.

"Why not ask Himiko to watch her drink someone's blood?"

"I doubt they'd be comfortable with me drinking theirs yet. And if I drink your blood then you'll need to drink blood even more," Himiko teased.

Tsuyu looked at the vampires, "Does it hurt getting bitten, kero?"

Himiko shrugged, "It stings a little. I'm like Izucchi though, pain doesn't bother me much."

"No clue, really. It doesn't hurt me much," Izumi explained.

"If I remember correctly, you rather enjoyed it last time I saw Toga drink your blood," Kyouka smirked.

Izumi shot a glare at Kyouka who just held her expression in defiance at the girl. Eiko spoke up, "Are you comfortable drinking someone's blood in front of everyone?"

"I mean… I'm not opposed to it," Izumi mumbled.

"Yes!" Himiko cheered. "Do we have a volunteer?"

"You're not volunteering yourself?" Kyouka asked her.

"She drank my blood pretty recently or I would. It would be pointless if she needed to give me another blood transfusion after drinking my blood."

"I'll do it," Mina said with a grin.

Izumi looked at her girlfriend and swallowed hard, hoping to calm her nerves, "O-Okay."

Mina's grin turned seductive as she undid a few of her shirt buttons again; Izumi's face flushed, trying her hardest to only stare at Mina's face. Admittedly, this was easier than she thought it would be but involved her staring at Mina's eyes which were, in Izumi's opinion, absolutely gorgeous. Mina snaked her arms around Izumi's shoulders and behind her head, drawing the two of them together.

Izumi felt her heart skip a beat as Mina was pressed against her. She wrapped one of her arms around Mina's waist, her other hand going up to Mina's collar. Before pulling it away, Izumi whispered into the pinkette's ear, "Are you sure about this?"

"Either bite my neck or I'll kiss you in front of everyone," Mina teased back into Izumi's ear.

That … doesn't sound like much of a threat… Oh god, maybe I am a bit of an exhibitionist.

Izumi pulled the collar away from Mina's neck and brought her mouth to her skin. Izumi grazed her teeth over it and listened to the way her breath hitched from the contact, a smile tinging the corners of Izumi's mouth. Izumi sank her fangs into her girlfriend, the girl gasping at the sharp pain while pulling Izumi closer. Izumi stopped for a second; she had already punctured Mina's skin, but she was worried.

"Mina, are you okay?" Izumi asked softly.

Mina nodded wordlessly, relaxing her grip slightly. Izumi slowly began to lap at Mina's blood, suckling and nibbling Mina's neck on instinct, trying to stimulate blood to the area. She licked up the blood greedily, Mina letting out quiet breathy moans the entire time. Mina's blood tasted different than Himiko's, which Izumi supposed was a mix of her own blood and Himiko's blood at this point. She didn't think about it before, but Mina's tasted slightly acidic. The flavor was something Izumi was definitely fond of.

When she had her fill, Izumi licked up the last of the blood from Mina's neck and pulled away from her, lips glazed with Mina's blood like lipstick. Izumi smiled at the pinkette who had a glazed look on her face but smiled back at her.

Izumi spoke quietly to her, "Are you okay?"

"Y-Yeah… Yaomomo's vampire romance novels were right," Mina whispered back.

Izumi bit her lip to stop from laughing and pulled back slightly, realizing they were intimately close still. She licked the blood from her lips as her eyes wandered to the rest of the girls; they were all staring at the scene with various blushes on their faces, aside from the invisible girl.

"Oh, wow," Toru chirped. "That was something."

"Indeed," Momo agreed. "That was rather… intimate. Ashido, does your neck hurt at all?"

Mina shook her head, "Not really? I felt a sharp pain for a brief instant, but it faded really quickly."

"Hm… Perhaps you have some sort of anesthetic in your saliva or as part of your fangs, Midoriya…"

Izumi thought for a second, "I'm not really sure."

"There's an easy way to find out," Mina said with a teasing grin.

Izumi looked at the pinkette with a confused expression, "What's th-"

Mina leaned in and kissed the girl, parting Izumi's lips with her tongue and exploring Izumi's mouth with it. Izumi's eyes were wide at first until she melted into the kiss.

"Holy shit," Kyouka gasped.

"She just kissed her!" Ochako whispered.

"Yep. Mina-chan and Izucchi have been dating for a week," Himiko supplied.

Tsuyu tilted her head, "Kero, they have?"

Himiko nodded with a large grin on her face, "Yep!"

Momo cleared her throat and the girls broke apart, "Be that as it may…"

Izumi and Mina pulled apart, Izumi blushing heavily. Her eyes shot between Mina and the other girls as she spoke, "Sorry about that…"

Ochako rolled her eyes, "That's just how Mina is. So, did you learn anything from your little test, Mina?"

Mina thought for a second, licking her lips slightly as she did. "It has to be her fangs. My tongue feels fine, but the bite doesn't hurt anymore. Around it feels a bit like a bruise but it's kind of numb."

Himiko admired Izumi's handiwork and giggled, "Looks a bit like a bruise as well."

Eiko nodded, "That's definitely a hickey."

Izumi was kind of proud of her handiwork, even if she would never admit it out loud. As much as she had wanted to keep their relationship private, she had to admit that she was kind of happy that people knew that she was dating Mina.

Either way, everyone knowing about them dating couldn't be that bad, right?

It was that bad.

Izumi was well aware she was being dramatic but as soon as classes ended for the day she was bombarded with questions from her classmates about her new relationship with Mina; once the girls knew, the boys soon followed. The worst were Minoru, Denki, and Hanta. They had practically blown a collective gasket.

"Dude! Not only do you end up as a good-looking girl, but you also end up dating the hottest girl in our class! What the hell?" Denki shouted at her.

Hanta scratched his head, "I don't get it. No offense Midoriya but Ashido seems a little out of your league."

"Hey, that's rude, Sero!" Mina huffed at him from her desk. "And far from true! Izumi's an adorable catch."

Mina had been chatting with Ochako, Kyouka, and Himiko while Izumi dealt with the rabid questions from everyone that was curious. For some reason, most of them went to her instead of Mina. Probably because they were just as shocked as she was that Mina would date a girl like her.

"But you're girls! Why aren't you dating guys?" Minoru screeched.

Izumi tilted her head with a confused expression, "Because I like girls? I don't think it's that difficult to understand…"

"It's not fair!" the boy moaned.

Izumi chuckled nervously and tried to leave her desk, hoping to escape without any issue. She was stopped by a certain invisible girl before she could take even one step.

"Midori! We need to chat."

Her tone was firm but not threatening; for some reason, it still made Izumi nervous. She nodded, "S-Sure, Hagakure. Here or-"

"Nope, come with me."

Izumi was grabbed by the wrist and led out of the classroom. As she passed Mina and her other crushes, she mouthed a silent 'help?' to her girlfriend. Mina giggled and mouthed back 'good luck'. The two girls got out into the hallway and Toru led them just a bit away from the door. Izumi felt like Toru was trying to be intimidating but… Izumi was more nervous by the situation than she was of Toru herself.

Izumi smiled awkwardly at Toru when they finally stopped, "Um, Hagakure?"

Toru turned and put her hands on her hips, trying to make her body language more menacing. It was hard to be afraid of the girl with the bubbly personality, even when she was trying to make herself appear intimidating. Frankly, it was kind of adorable…

She stood there for a long while, not saying anything. Izumi just continued to look at where her face should be and did her best not to laugh at the girl's failed intimidation tactic. Even still, Izumi was a bit nervous, unsure what Toru was planning.

Finally, Toru threw her arms around Izumi, "I'm glad Mina ended up with someone like you."

"Um… what?" Izumi squeaked.

Toru took a step back and her normal bubbly tone returned, "I just mean that I care about Mina and I'm glad she ended up with someone as sweet and selfless as you are. I was worried she would end up with someone like Bakugou."

Izumi couldn't help but grimace at the thought of her girlfriend dating Katsuki.

"She's too good for someone like Kacchan," Izumi said in her disgust.

"Which is why I'm glad she ended up with a cinnamon roll like you! I don't have to worry about you treating her right."

"That… means a lot Hagakure."

"Of course. But if you upset her, you'll have hell to pay," she said in a mock threat.

Izumi couldn't stop her giggle from escaping, "Of course. Um… Would it be okay if I asked your advice on like, date ideas and gift ideas I have in the future? I'm kind of hopeless when it comes to dating and I want to make sure Mina's happy."

"Duh! But I don't think you need to worry too much, Midori. You're super sweet and nice to everyone so just make sure to treat Mina as sweet as always, 'kay?"

"Always. I know what it's like to be treated poorly so I would never put her through that."

Toru was stunned for a second before she nodded with most of her body in what looked more like a bow. Her chipper tone never gave way as she spoke, "Good. I'll let you go spend time with her. I heard you mention to Mina you were going to help her study for midterms."

Izumi smiled, "Yeah. Though I'm pretty sure it'll end up being more than just the two of us for some reason."

"You've got yourself a fan club. Well, talk to you later!" Toru bubbled before heading off, probably to head home.

Izumi smiled and waved after the girl before heading back into the classroom to find her friends still chatting away. As she walked in, Mina grinned at her, "Everything okay?"

"Yep, all good. Hagakure can't be intimidating even if she tries," Izumi chuckled.

Ochako put a hand to her mouth to stop herself from laughing, "Imagining Toru trying to be scary is like imagining Izumi to be scary. Or a puppy. It's not possible."

"Hey, I can be plenty scary," Izumi said with mock hurt in her voice. "I'm a vampire, after all."

"A cinnamon roll vampire," Kyouka commented.

"Yeah, yeah. Mina are you ready to study for midterms?"

Mina groaned in response, "Yeah… Ochako, Jirou, and Toga are joining us, though."

"Oh, Hitoshi-kun said he was too! I hope you don't mind," Himiko grinned.

Izumi smiled, "I don't mind. I kind of figured that would happen anyway. Oh, before that though, I'm going to go to the faculty lounge. You don't have to wait for me, and I can just meet you wherever you decide to study."

"Something wrong?" Mina asked her.

"I'm supposed to go meet with the staff and then I'll meet up for our study session. Is that okay?"

Ochako smiled at her, "Go ahead. We'll head to the cafe ahead of you then."

"Sure, just send me the address and I'll head there when I'm done. Do you want to take my notes with you all?"

"I've never actually looked at your notes," Kyouka said. "I'll see if you have anything I don't have while we wait for you to get there."

Izumi nodded and pulled out her notebooks for class and handed them to the punk girl, "I hope they help. I'll see you all in a few then."

The group said their goodbyes and Izumi walked off toward the faculty lounge. Izumi knocked on the door and was greeted by Nemuri.

"Oh, Midoriya. It's good to see you healthy," she smiled at her.

"Hi, Midnight. All Might asked me to stop by after classes were over. He says he wants me to talk to someone…"

"Of course. The staff all wants to talk to you at some point. Hound Dog wants to start quirk counseling and general therapy given everything going on with you as soon as you're willing. If you want to talk to him today, feel free," Nemuri said with a smile. "I also wanted to let you know you can feel free to reach out to me. I know Shouta already gave you the same offer but I know that as a young woman, talking to a male teacher about some things can be uncomfortable."

Izumi smiled at her, "Thank you, Midnight. I know he's my homeroom teacher and I do trust him with my life but… I can't exactly talk to him about some things like you said."

"Exactly. And feel free to call me Nemuri when we're in private. I don't want you to feel like I'm unapproachable or distant."

"Okay, N-Nemuri. You can call me Izumi if you want…" Izumi blushed and became frazzled, "I mean, if that's not weird, of course! I… I just really like the name and you gave it to me, so it wouldn't bother me if you called me it."

Nemuri smiled softly, "Sure, Izumi. Is there anything bothering you today?"

Izumi looked at her and smiled, "Do you mind if we sit and chat?"

"Of course. Should I make some tea?"

"I'd like that."

Nemuri nodded and put some water on to boil as Izumi sat on a couch in the lounge. Izumi had been here a few times with Toshinori and was familiar with it. She sat her backpack next to her and took off her jacket before Nemuri joined her while the water boiled.

"So, is anything bothering you lately? Your transition? Classmates? Your new relationship?"

"Oh, are the teachers actually watching Mineta's behavior? It's extremely problematic and I know it makes the other girls extremely uncomfortable."

"Yes, he's being watched. Shota has brought it up a few times in faculty meetings. If he keeps it up, he won't make it out of this semester."

"At least you're all watching him. I uh… maybe have threatened him if he kept being a pervert…"

Nemuri laughed, "Someone was going to at some point. Boy is a walking sexual harassment lawsuit."

"Yeah… But how did you know I have a new relationship? I didn't see Shouta as someone to tell the other staff about me and Mina."

"Oh, don't worry. Toga told me when I stopped in to visit during their assessment. We really hit it off. So, how are things with you and Ashido."

Izumi felt a chill go down her spine, "I-I see… I'm really happy I get to date Mina. She's a great girl and I think she's way too good for me-"

"Why do you think that?"

"Well, she's extremely gorgeous. She's popular and she's got a good personality. I'm just… plain and-"

"Izumi, I understand with what you've been through thinking like you are. But I'll let you in on a secret," Nemuri said with a smile.

Izumi looked at the woman curiously, "What's that?"

"You're just as much of a catch as any of the girls in your class. You're pretty, you're intelligent, and you're All Might's chosen protege. Hopefully, Mina helps your self-esteem out and helps you realize how great you are."

Izumi blushed at her assessment, "T-Thanks… Um… Can I ask your advice on something that you won't judge me for?"

"I can give you advice on anything. If you need tips on how to please your new girlfriend, feel free to ask," Nemuri teased.

Izumi's face lit up red, "Well… I… I won't lie, that might be helpful at some point… but that's not what I was wanting to ask right now."

"Then what's on your mind?"

"Um… You know about polyamory from what I've seen from some of your articles…"

Nemuri nodded, "So, you have feelings for more than one girl?"

"Y-Yeah… Mina already knows and said she had talked to you before about a similar problem. I'm open to the idea but I'm not sure exactly how to…" Izumi trailed off. "Do you have any advice?"

"Sure, but we might be here for a few. Is that okay?"

Izumi nodded, "Of course."

"Who do you think Izumi is talking to for so long?" Ochako asked the group. They had been at the cafe for around almost an hour already as they chatted. A lull in studying had caused them to drift off topic.

"Maybe All Might," Hitoshi suggested. "Or Aizawa. Those would be my guesses."

"She's had to talk to the staff a few times recently," Kyouka noted. She was copying some of Izumi's notes into her own notebooks as she spoke. "I hope everything is okay."

Mina frowned, "Speaking of… what was up with you and Izumi earlier, Toga?"

"It's… not my place to say," Himiko avoided. She was uncharacteristically subdued once the question was asked.

"You looked like you were about to gut Bakugou," Hitoshi commented. "Does he bother you that much?"

"He's an asshole but that was before I realized who he was."

"Did you know him before?" Ochako asked.

"Can we drop it?" Himiko said coldly. "Izucchi trusts me and I'm not going to talk about it without her permission."

Mina frowned, unhappy with the vehement denial but she also understood where Himiko was coming from. "Okay. We won't talk about it."

Himiko smiled and seemed to relax at that, "Great! I wanna talk about something more fun anyway. How'd you and Izucchi start dating? She never told me what happened."

"I'm curious, too," Ochako added.

Kyouka looked up from her notes at the mention of how Mina and Izumi started dating, looking at the pinkette curiously.

"It's nothing crazy. No crazy love stories or anything," Mina giggled. "We were the last two to leave for our internships last Monday. I just asked her if she had any crushes in our class."

"And she actually told you?" Ochako gasped.

Hitoshi groaned quietly to himself, realizing his mistake in joining an all-girl study group too late, especially without someone to keep people on track.

"Yep! She was blushing like crazy, but she admitted she had a crush on me… and a few other girls," Mina smirked.

"And that's not a problem?" Kyouka asked.

"Why would it be?" Mina teased.

"Because-"

The chime to the cafe caused the group to look toward the door at the greenette that had just walked in. She had a blush tinging her cheeks as she looked around and saw her friends, smiling before walking over.

"Sorry that took so long."

Ochako looked at her concerned, "Izumi, your face is really red, are you not feeling well?"

"You have been through quite a lot lately," Kyouka said softly. "We don't have to study if you're not up for it."

Izumi waved her hands in front of her, "N-No, I'm fine. I just spent a while talking with Nem- Midnight is all. She can be a bit intense…"

She sat her bag down and took off her jacket, placing it on her chair before sitting between Mina and Kyouka.

Hitoshi caught her slip but ignored it, looking at her curiously, "You were talking with Midnight? Not Aizawa or All Might?"

"I… just felt more comfortable talking with a woman… She's been really helpful. She actually helped me pick my new name for me."

"I didn't realize you and Midnight were that close," Mina giggled.

Izumi's blush had died down finally, and she smiled at the girl, "We're not really. Or we weren't. She just wanted me to have someone to talk to on the staff that wasn't a male teacher. We talked about a lot of different things and I kind of lost track of time."

"Anything interesting?" Himiko said with a sly grin.

Izumi blushed slightly, "Some personal things like about being a woman. Relationships. We chatted about my quirk."

"So, why were you blushing when you got here?" Ochako asked her.

"Our uh… last topic was a bit much for me…"

Mina smirked, "Oh?"

"She ended up giving me pointers on… um…" Izumi's blush had returned as she spoke, "Pointers on sex."

All the students had various forms of blushes on their faces as they stared at Izumi. Himiko's natural blush was deeper than normal but she giggled, "Midnight gave you a sex talk?"

"Y-Yeah… Since my circumstances with this transition have changed some things, she felt it would be… beneficial…"

"Oh my god," Mina cackled. "That's hilarious."

"Y-Yeah…" Izumi shifted uncomfortably and changed the subject, "I also told her to keep an eye on Mineta… I feel kind of guilty for not really saying anything before this happened to me, but his perverse behaviors were obviously bad from the outside but way worse experiencing it first-hand…"

"Yeah… he takes it overboard a lot of the time," Kyouka said dryly. Her own blush had faded quickly at the mention of the grape-headed boy. "At least someone said something to the staff."

"So now… they're keeping an eye on two students," Izumi admitted.

"Are you talking about what happened with Bakugou today?" Ochako asked her.

"…Yeah. I told you all I would fill you in on why Himiko and I were acting weird earlier… I'm just not sure where to start… I-I guess I'll start with this…" She took a deep breath to calm herself and looked at her friends, "When I was five, I was misdiagnosed as quirkless. I finally manifested it earlier this year but before that I… I wasn't treated well. I'm not sure if most of you know how the quirkless are treated but… it's not great. I was bullied, demeaned, called tons of names, and even physically abused by some of my classmates…"

Mina grabbed one of Izumi's hands in hers, tears dotting her eyes as she listened. She didn't say anything, merely listening until Izumi was done talking.

"You never told your teachers?" Kyouka asked quietly.

"I did. They didn't care. If you have a strong quirk you can get away with a lot. If you have a weak quirk or no quirk, they don't care. I'm sure it's the same for people that have quirks people see as villainous." Izumi glanced at Himiko and Hitoshi who both pursed their lips. She continued, "The reason I mention this is because I've known Kacchan since we were kids. We were probably three when we started hanging out because our moms were close."

"You were friends?" Hitoshi asked with furrowed brow.

"We were. Until he got his quirk, and I didn't get mine… Kacchan was my biggest bully and tormentor for the last eleven years. It's why he calls me 'Deku', meaning 'useless person'. Since I was quirkless I was worthless in his eyes… At the worst of it last year, he…" Izumi paused. Somewhere between starting to talk about Katsuki and now her eyes had started to tear up slightly. She looked at her friends around the table, "The reason Himiko was so mad is because last year he told me if I wanted a quirk I should 'take a swan dive off a roof and hope for one in the next life'."

"He… he what?" Ochako gasped.

"He told her to kill herself," Himiko spat. "Izucchi didn't tell me who it was before. She mentioned someone who used to be her best friend telling her that. When Baku-bitch got in her face I was already irritated with him and when she mentioned they used to be best friends I…"

Himiko's eyes were narrowed and her brow furrowed from her disgust. She looked at the table and then her lap before she brushed a hand over her thigh where she her knives were sheathed. She frowned to herself and look up to see Izumi smiling softly at her.

"Himiko, I know his behavior is disgusting. I had contemplated so many times how it would feel to get back at him for everything… But it doesn't help. I… hit him hard enough to break his nose before I met you. It didn't make me feel any better. In all honesty, it probably just made things between us worse…"

Himiko nodded without saying anything. Izumi saw she had something on her mind but wasn't going to ask about it for now. Izumi turned to the rest of the group, "I told the staff and he's on a tight leash now. But that's why Kacchan and I don't get along…"

Mina was crying at this point and hugged Izumi, "I'm so sorry you went through that… I'm sorry I was even friends with him."

Izumi hugged her back, "I didn't tell anyone for a reason. I think he can still be a good hero, but he needs to change a lot… And… and if he can't change then I guess that'll be his own choice."

Ochako spoke up, "I… Izumi, I wish you would've said something before…"

"I… didn't want to burden anyone with all this. I was afraid if I told anyone… they wouldn't believe me or that they'd leave me…"

"You're not a liar, Izumi…" Kyouka started. "And no one here would ever leave you…"

"I… I know that now. But… sometimes it's just hard to believe."

"I just don't get why they didn't expel him right away," Hitoshi stated.

Izumi sighed, "I told them not to. I want to see if he can change. If he got expelled, I don't think it would stop him from trying to be a hero… He'd probably just resort to being a vigilante or maybe he'd fall into villainy. Neither of those are something I want for him."

The room was silent while they processed what she had told them. Izumi smiled awkwardly, "I know that kind of brought down the mood a bit but… I still need to study if you're all up for it."

The group agreed in a subdued manner, the information they had just received still heavy on their minds.

Notes:
Not my favorite chapter I've written but I just got over being sick (luckily not COVID). Thanks for reading as usual.

3 Belle

Chapter 15: Secrets Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text The rest of the week went quickly. In school, the students continued to train in rescue training which Izumi found incredible; she wanted to be like All Might and he saved people with a smile, after all. She was incredibly thankful she didn't end up working with Katsuki at all during the week of training. His attitude was… not really getting better but that didn't surprise her. She supposed it would take some time for him to change, regardless of U.A. making him speak to Hound Dog nearly daily.

That was something Nemuri had told her when they were chatting. Izumi was relieved that Katsuki was finally getting help but she wished it would've been sooner. Maybe they could have been friends then. Not anymore though, at least Izumi was pretty sure she could never see him as a friend again. A rival? Sure. A friend? Doubtful.

It was Friday now, with midterms on Monday. Izumi felt fairly prepared since she had spent the week studying with her little study group that had formed. The group got along well and Hitoshi was rather intelligent for anything outside of the hero course, where his practical knowledge and hero concepts were slightly lacking. His gaps in knowledge reminded Izumi of herself before she got into U.A.'s hero course.

Izumi had taken longer to get to campus than Himiko had this morning and was walking down the hallway to 1-A. She was stopped abruptly by a voice calling out to her.

"Hey! Why are you heading into that class of misfits?"

Izumi was already annoyed since she recognized the voice, turning to see Neito Monoma sneering in her direction.

"I'm going to class? Can I help you, Monoma-kun?"

"Ah, I see my reputation precedes me. You're not from 1-A. Are you a transfer student? A girl as pretty as yourself should be with the real heroes in class 1-B."

Izumi did her best to not let it show how much his comment about her appearance made her skin crawl.

"I-"

"Oh, you're the girl who took down the Hero Killer, aren't you? I'm glad your recovery went well and you're well enough to be in class. It's a shame you ended up in 1-A."

Izumi sighed, "Monoma-kun, is there a reason you're so antagonistic toward 1-A?"

The question seemed to catch him off guard as he seemed stunned for a moment before he spoke with an angry tone, "Why wouldn't I be? Everyone in that class thinks they're better than the students of 1-B just because they survived some villain attack! You probably fit right in, thinking you're some big shot who fought the Hero Killer."

Izumi frowned at him, "1-A doesn't think they're better than 1-B. We're all working to be heroes in our own way, right? It would be nice if our classes could get along since we'll all be working together in the future when we graduate…"

Neito scowled, "I just can't respect those who look down on our class just because of some minor villain attack."

Izumi's blood boiled for a moment and her eyes flared red as she spoke low, more to calm herself than anything, "Our homeroom teacher almost died. I don't consider that a minor villain attack. Now, I'll be going."

She didn't wait for him to reply as she turned to walk toward 1-A, opening the door to an extremely tense atmosphere in the classroom.

Oh boy. It s one thing after another.

She looked around and saw Mina was chatting with Toru, sitting on Izumi's desk to do so. Ochako was chatting with Tsuyu, Tenya, and Shouto. Himiko chatted with Hitoshi and Fumikage this morning; Kyouka chatted with Momo. Denki, Hanta, and Minoru were chatting as well. Normally none of that would surprise her or cause her to worry… but everyone was chatting quietly, and the air felt heavy. It wasn't the normal rambunctious atmosphere that she heard first thing in the morning. Katsuki had been glaring at the board as if it had insulted his entire livelihood, his attention shifting to her when the door opened.

Izumi was half-tempted to turn around and leave, old insecurities bubbling up. Instead, she matched his glare with her own before she turned and walked toward Mina, relaxing at the dancer's smile. She got to Mina and Toru and smiled at the duo; her eyes had returned to normal. That was still weird to think about. Izumi had a girlfriend.

"Morning, Mina. Morning, Hagakure. Why does it feel like something terrible happened in here this morning?" Izumi asked them quietly.

"It's just been tense this morning," Mina assured her.

"Everyone's a little on edge…" Toru added.

Izumi looked around and then looked at Mina, "What happened?"

"Well…" Mina started. "Bakugou might have insulted you while I was talking with Eiko, Kaminari, and Sero about us dating. And uh…"

"You screamed at him?" Izumi hissed.

"…I didn't get the chance."

Izumi blinked, "What happened?"

Toru moved in closer, "Ochako might have screamed at him for insulting you, telling him you're a far better person than he'll ever be. And she might have called him a villain."

Izumi couldn't deny that her heart felt full hearing that. That feeling was replaced a few seconds later with dread.

"He didn't do anything to her, did he?" she asked.

"They got into a shouting match before Iida broke it up," Mina admitted. "Well, Iida and Yaomomo both. Bakugou has been sitting there angry since then…"

"Still… Ochako stood up to him. I'll have to thank her later."

Mina had a sly grin cross her face, "Why not now? I'm sure it'd mean a lot to her if you thanked her for it. Personally, I'd give her a big hug for standing up for you."

Izumi realized what Mina was doing, her cheeks tinging a mild pink at the thought. She smiled and walked away from her girlfriend and Toru, heading over to her normal friend group. Izumi looked at the group and smiled lightly, waving at them before she spoke.

"Morning, everyone."

"Ah, Midoriya-kun! How are you today?" Tenya asked her.

"I'm good. Are you all doing well?"

Shouto nodded slightly, "I'm fine."

"Kero, same here," Tsuyu stated.

Izumi looked to Ochako who had a conflicted look on her face. Izumi pulled her into a hug, the brunette squeaking slightly at the sudden contact. Izumi whispered into her ear, "Thank you for standing up for me to Bakugou. It means a lot to me."

Ochako's face was bright red as she hugged Izumi back, making sure her pinkies never touched Izumi to cause her to go weightless. Ochako whispered back, "I'm… sorry I went off on him. I don't think you want everyone to know about what happened between you or you would've just told the class, right?"

"It's fine. If the class found out, he'd only be reaping the consequences of his actions. I'm just happy you stood up for me."

Ochako pulled away with a smile, face still red, "Well, I just stood up for my friend. I don't think it was anything special…"

If only you realized how wrong you were about that.

"Midoriya-kun, you know public displays of affection-"

"Oh, Iida, calm down," Mina teased from Izumi's desk. "She gave her a hug. It's not like they're making out in the classroom!"

"Mina!" shrieked Ochako. "She's your girlfriend. How can you say that?"

Mina replied with a coy grin before turning back to talk to Toru. Izumi noticed the room's conversations had picked up slightly in volume. Apparently, everyone had relaxed at Mina teasing Ochako like normal.

Izumi chuckled awkwardly while scratching the back of her head lightly and decided to shift the topic, "Have you made any progress with your quirk, Todoroki-kun?"

Shouto looked at her with a small look of surprise on his face before nodding, "I have. I've been meaning to thank you for that actually."

"You really don't need to. We'll have to have a proper rematch sometime. I'm curious how it would go now that I can use my quirk a bit better and you've made improvements on yours."

"I would like that. Perhaps after midterms. Do you have anywhere in mind for if you get your provisional license?"

Izumi smiled at him, "Yep. I already got an offer from a pro for when I get my provisional license."

Ochako looked surprised, "Really? You didn't mention that!"

Izumi heard Katsuki grumbling to himself about 'must be some worthless pro to take that useless nerd' and rolled her eyes. Izumi saw Kyouka glare at the boy before her eyes landed on Izumi. Izumi smiled at Kyouka to reassure her that it was fine before turning back to her conversation.

"I just didn't think about it. I'm trying to make sure I get my license first. Then I'll worry about working with this pro."

Ochako gave her a curious look at who Izumi would be working with. Izumi just smirked at her and decided to wait until after she was working with the rabbit hero to tell people. No use in jinxing herself.

"That's a good idea. Are you all ready for midterms, kero?" Tsuyu asked.

"Ah, yes! I've been keeping up on my studies, so I plan on doing well!" Tenya said passionately.

Shouto had a faint smile on his lips, "I'm ready. I think I'll do well enough to place in the top five."

Tsuyu thought with her finger on her lip, "I think I'll do well. But compared to Iida, or Momo-chan I don't think I'll do that well, kero. Top ten maybe?"

Tenya looked at Izumi with a mild smirk, "What about you? Have you been studying, Midoriya-kun? Or are you too busy with Ashido-kun?"

Izumi was mildly shocked Tenya would tease her even a little about her and Mina dating. She supposed they were an odd pair; Izumi was one of the top students in the class and Mina… wasn't. That's not to say Mina was stupid. She did make it into U.A. and had her own strengths. Izumi realized her attention span wasn't the greatest and that's probably why her grades weren't the best.

"I think I'll do fine. I plan on getting in the top five at least. Even with everything going on, I've managed to keep up with my studies. I've been helping Mina with her studying while keeping up with my own studies."

"I'm glad you're still taking your studies and classwork seriously," Tenya said with a stern look.

Tsuyu looked at Izumi curiously, "Kero, how did you two start dating? You two didn't seem that close before."

Izumi chuckled, "I figured Mina told everyone already. The day I showed up like this, I ran into Mina in the lockers before I could change. She hit on me first thing."

"That sounds like something Mina-chan would do," Tsuyu said, a small croak following her words.

"Yeah and I may have flirted back… We just kind of got closer after that. She asked me out last week before internships."

Izumi was proud of herself. She managed to explain everything without getting flustered or stuttering.

"That… doesn't sound like something you would do," Tsuyu stated. "No offense Midoriya but you were rather timid. I didn't think you knew how to flirt, kero."

Izumi just stared blankly for a few seconds and sighed, "Okay. I was going to argue but that's completely fair Asui-"

"Call me Tsu."

"Sorry, Tsu. You can call me Izumi if you want. I know you call most of the other girls by their given names. I'll just say I've felt more confident lately."

"I'll say. You even drank Mina's blood in front of all the girls," Ochako giggled.

Izumi shot her a look to convey her thoughts before Tenya went into scolding mode.

"Midoriya-kun! Why-"

Momo interrupted him, "I know you all are enjoying yourselves, but class is about to start."

Momo gave Izumi a soft smile letting her know she had been listening which Izumi returned gratefully. Izumi mouthed a silent 'thank you' before she headed to her desk, Shouta showing up not long after.

"Izumi, you kind of… suck at this," Mina giggled.

Izumi was attempting to learn to dance under Mina's instruction. The pinkette had grown bored of studying after a few hours and asked if they could be done for the day; Izumi was kind of proud of her for studying for as long as she did. Honestly, Mina had done great this week for studying for midterms. Their study group decided they could be done for the evening and Mina asked Izumi to spend some time with her 'doing something fun'. That led Izumi to her current situation, tripping over her own feet for the last hour after being run through a series of stretches by the pink demon.

"I'm trying! I'm just… not very coordinated, apparently," Izumi laughed dryly.

"It's because you're too tense!" Mina scolded. "You need to loosen up. Relax. Don't stare at your feet too much and don't get in your head!"

Izumi was slightly frustrated with the dance lesson. Mina was actually a really good teacher; Izumi's problem was her own feet and body. They apparently didn't want to cooperate with what she was trying to do exactly. Her body awareness wasn't terrible, but it wasn't as good as Mina's. Combine that with her rigid movements and she wasn't doing the greatest. This had caused Mina to get a bit intense while teaching her.

Izumi took a deep breath and relaxed slightly, trying to loosen up; it didn't help that much. Now that her friends knew about Katsuki, it had been tense in the classroom with them around him. She was happy they were so concerned but it was rather noticeable for anyone how the five students would basically glare at Katsuki if he caused any scene. Not to mention Ochako and him getting into a screaming match today. Then there was Neito… She just had a lot on her mind.

Mina noticed Izumi spacing out and frowned before walking over to her. Mina threw her arms around Izumi's shoulders and pulled her into a hug.

Izumi blushed slightly but didn't pull away, "What's this for, Mina?"

"You're thinking about something and you look concerned. Did this help you relax at all?"

Izumi hugged her back and smiled, "Yeah… Thanks, Mina. You're good at cheering me up."

"Of course. I'm you're lovely girlfriend. That's part of the job!" Mina teased.

Izumi hugged her tighter, "I could hug you like this all the time."

Mina's face lit up with a lilac blush and a large smile, "And you say I have problems focusing! Come on, let's get back to practice."

Izumi groaned and resumed her dance lessons with the pinkette. She did the moves that Mina had showed her and didn't trip over her own feet, which Izumi was pretty proud of.

"That's more like it, you've loosened up a bit!" Mina cheered. "Though…"

Mina walked over and put her hands on Izumi's hips from behind and turned them slightly, "More like this when you end up here. You need to use your hips a lot to do dance footwork and you're mostly trying to use just your feet. If you practice like that it'll be hard to break the habit later on. Try to use your whole body and not just focus on one part."

Izumi couldn't help but snort a laugh out. Mina furrowed her brow at her, "What's so funny?"

"Sorry. I'm just… If I would have ever practiced dance with you earlier in the year, I might have figured out how to use my quirk better. Focusing 100% on just my arm or just my fingers causes a lot of strain. Now I use a lot less over my entire body as you saw during the rescue race," Izumi explained.

"Oh! Speaking of, how much of your quirk can you use now without hurting yourself?"

"I used about 15% in the race. I used… well, honestly a lot more than that against Stain. And the day I came to class as Izumi, I used all of it a few times on accident but that ended up with quite a few broken bones…"

"That was only 15%? Jeez. Just how strong are you? If I didn't know any better, I'd think you were as strong as All Might at full strength."

Izumi chuckled nervously, "I guess. But All Might doesn't hurt himself, just like I told Tsu when she asked me about it."

"Still… It's almost like you have two quirks now. The super-strength and then now your vampire quirk!" Mina bubbled.

Izumi sighed and looked around. There was no one around since they were practicing at U.A. in one of the training buildings but Toshinori's paranoia had rubbed off on her slightly when it came to One For All.

She made her decision and looked at Mina, "It's because I do have two quirks."

Mina's eyes were wide with shock for a moment before she composed herself, "What do you mean? Didn't you say your quirk mutated or something?"

Izumi shook her head, "I lied about that. Um… Sit down, I need to make sure no one else is nearby and-"

"No one is near your location, Izumi-kun. I'm the only one who can hear aside from the two of you," Nezu's voice cut through the air over the intercom.

"Wait, was he spying on us?" Mina said aghast.

"I… doubt it. Though it's hard telling." Izumi looked up toward the cameras and shot a nervous smile at it. Izumi sat down next to Mina on the ground, not sure how to approach the topic. Eventually, she decided she'd figure it out as she talked.

"First, can you promise me something?"

Mina had a nervous look but nodded, "Anything."

"Promise me that what we talk about never leaves this room. Okay?"

"Of course! Whatever it is, you can trust me!"

"I know I can. So, I told you yesterday I was quirkless growing up and it manifested when I was fifteen, right?"

"Yeah, when we were chatting about… Bakugou," she said.

Izumi nodded, "Well, the part about growing up quirkless was true. But I didn't manifest my quirk until two weeks ago…"

Mina was clearly confused, "But… you had a quirk from day one of class, right?"

"Yeah. But I didn't manifest it. The quirk that you've seen me use before. The super strength and speed… I was given that quirk."

"You were… given your quirk?"

"Yeah. I didn't have a quirk until the day of the entrance exam when someone gave it to me…"

Mina looked like her brain was about to explode as she started muttering to herself, "Given a quirk? Is that even possible? Who would give her their quirk? It's a strength quirk and-"

Izumi chuckled and thought to herself, Maybe my muttering is rubbing off on her…

She cleared her throat to get Mina's attention, "Yeah. I was given it. My quirk is this vampire quirk. The person who gave me the other quirk was-"

"All Might," Mina said quietly.

"How did you-"

"It… just makes sense. You're as strong as he is. You might injure yourself when you do it but it's obvious that your strength is the same as his. Not only that, but he favorites you over anyone else. You're always going off to talk to him about something."

"Goddammit, Toshi," Izumi muttered. "I told him it was obvious…" Izumi composed herself slightly, "Yeah. He gave me his quirk. All Might plans on retiring in the near future and I'm supposed to be his successor…"

Izumi was getting worried with how quiet Mina was as she thought to herself. Mina finally looked up at Izumi with a large smile, "I can see why he chose you. You're like, the perfect fit for his replacement with how kind and heroic you are. I think you're already an amazing hero."

Izumi's eyes watered as she smiled at Mina, "That… means a lot to me, Mina."

"And I'm not just saying that because I love you," Mina teased.

Izumi was pretty sure her heart stopped. The heat in her face from all the blood going to her cheeks told her it definitely hadn't. Izumi smiled at her through her deep blush, "I love you too, Mina."

Now it was Mina's turn to blush as she looked at Izumi. Her face was a deep shade of lilac before the two girls leaned in for a passionate kiss. Mina pulled away after a few seconds with a look of realization and horror on her face.

"Principal Nezu can see us right now…"

Izumi's face lit up bright red as she squeaked out sounds that she wasn't sure were possible for her to make.

Mina cackled at her response, "It's fine. We can just continue that later when we're not at school."

Izumi's blush wasn't helped by Mina's comment, but she tried to compose herself. The two sat in a comfortable silence for a few moments, just enjoying each other's company. Mina finally broke the silence with a question.

"Have you figured out what you wanna do about your crushes on Ochako, Jirou, and Toga?"

"I've… talked to Nemuri about polyamory. I'm open to it but…"

"But?"

"I want to focus on getting through midterms and hopefully getting my provisional license. Plus…" Izumi's cheeks tinged red, "I want to spend more time with just you. Go on a real date and spend time as a couple…"

Mina's cheeks had a slight blush as she smiled at Izumi, "You're getting better at this whole flirting thing. I have a small stipulation though."

"Sure, what is it?"

Mina grinned, "I'm okay with sharing you but I want us to be a package deal. So, if Toga wants to join, she dates both of us! Then if Jirou joins she'd have to be okay with all three of us. That kind of thing. Sound fair?"

Izumi nodded, "I wanted to discuss something similar. I had discussed the different polyamorous dynamics with Nemuri and that was the one I liked the most. I don't think it'll be an issue since I'm pretty sure I've seen Kyouka and Ochako both check us both out in the lockers. Himiko probably has too since she doesn't seem to shy away from anything she likes."

"No, she doesn't. Are you sure you're okay with polyamory, Izumi?"

"I've given it a lot of thought and I don't see any problems with it… I'm not exactly the jealous type. Are you sure you're okay with it?"

"Mhm. Plus, I might have a slight crush on Ochako anyway. Jirou's really attractive and I enjoy spending time with her. And somehow you managed to find the world's other cutest vampire bleeding to death in an alley and made her fall in love with you."

"So, if they're okay with it, we're okay with it?"

"Yep! The real question is actually asking them."

Izumi smiled lightly, "Well, Himiko basically suggested it when talking to me before so I'm not worried about her. Kyouka knows of polyamory but… I think she has self-confidence issues so we'll have to be a bit more forward with telling her I think… Ochako… could go either way. I don't even know if she'd be open to this type of relationship."

"Problems for later, right?"

"You're right. Out of curiosity, do you like boys and girls?"

Mina shrugged, "Yep. I figured that was obvious since I've flirted with you before and after your transition. You don't like boys at all, do you?"

Izumi shook her head, "No. Not like that at least. I can be friends with guys, but I'm not interested in dating any of them. Wait, you flirted with me before?"

"I was just curious. Pretty sure a few guys in our class have a thing for you, after all. And duh? You're cute as boy or a girl."

Izumi giggled, "I doubt they do but I'll take your word for it. For now, though, are you good with practicing some more dance?"

"Of course!"

"Is something wrong, Toga?" Ochako asked the vampire.

The two girls had spent some time together to chat and get to know each other. Ochako had told Himiko she wanted to learn more about her and Himiko was excited at the idea of spending time with any of Izumi's crushes. The problem was that Himiko was caught up in her own thoughts about the blond asshole who bullied her precious Izumi. Her current thoughts were on what Himiko would have done to him if Izumi hadn't stopped her.

Himiko snapped out of her thoughts at Ochako's words and looked at her with a smile, "Nope. Just distracted."

Ochako frowned at her, "You're as bad a liar as Izumi is when she says nothing is wrong."

Himiko's playful smile fell off her face and she stared at the ground for a second, "You'll hate me if I tell you."

Ochako looked at her pensively, "Why would I hate you for anything?"

Himiko motioned to a bench and the girls walked over together. Himiko sat down with the girl, silent for a moment as Ochako waited patiently for her to talk.

Himiko's own voice was soft as she spoke, "I'm not cut out to be a hero."

"Why do you think that? You made it into U.A!"

Because I wanted to kill that blond dick. No, I can't tell her that. I don't know her like I know Izucchi. Can I trust Ochako-chan? Izucchi trusts her…

Himiko frowned, "I… wanted to hurt Baku-bitch really badly on Monday."

"Once Izumi told us about it after school, I did too. Izumi is the nicest person I know and thinking of what she went through…"

"If Izucchi didn't stop me… I think I might have done something really bad…"

Ochako was silent for a moment and Himiko was starting to panic, worried the brunette would think she was an awful person for even saying that much.

"Toga, I get it. You knew he had told her to…" she stopped herself. "You knew beforehand how awful a person he was. If I were in your position, I'd probably do the same."

Himiko narrowed her eyes and looked at Ochako, "I don't think you would have, Ochako-chan. I… I wanted to kill him!" Himiko pulled up her skirt and pulled out one of her knives, slamming it into the bench between them. "I didn't want to just hurt him. I wanted to make sure he never hurt Izucchi again!"

"And you think that makes you not worthy of being a hero?" Ochako asked softly.

"Of course, it does! What kind of hero wants to kill-"

"A villain? I'm sure lots of heroes do. I'm not saying killing is right. I'm saying I get it. He hurt someone precious to you."

Himiko's shoulders relaxed a little as she smiled sadly at Ochako, "I've… hurt someone before. I told Izucchi when we met but… I hurt a classmate and got expelled for it; I stabbed him in the arm to get his blood. I'm worried that it's not just my quirk that wants to hurt people…"

Ochako grabbed the knife out of the bench and set it aside before she moved closer to Himiko. She put a hand on the blonde's shoulder, making sure her pinky avoided touching down.

That's kind of cute how she does that with her pinkies…

Ochako spoke quietly, "But you're clearly torn up about it, Toga. And you're torn up about wanting to hurt Bakugou. You're worried that Izumi or the rest of us would judge you for that and you're worried you're not cut out to be a hero because of it, right?"

Himiko nodded silently as tears fell down her face. Ochako moved her hand down and rubbed Himiko's back to comfort her. Himiko choked out her words, "You don't think I'm a monster for wanting to hurt him? For hurting my classmate before?"

"Of course not. You're torn up inside about what you've done and what you've wanted to do. Even if you did hurt Bakugou, I wouldn't think any less of you. You're not the only one out of us that thinks he's a villain."

Himiko smiled through her tears and hugged Ochako, "Thank you, Ochako-chan. That helped a lot."

"I'm glad. I still feel bad for getting into a screaming match with Bakugou today, personally…"

"Well, you love Izucchi too, don't you?"

Ochako blushed with a slightly sad look on her face, "Y-Yeah… I'm kind of sad Mina asked her out first. She's just… more forward than I am."

"There's nothing wrong with not being forward. Not everyone can be like Mina-chan or myself. I told Izucchi I loved her the day I met her," Himiko giggled.

"I… Wow. That fast?"

"She saved my life. She was the first person who didn't see me as a monster. I… went through some similar things to Izucchi and she comforted me. She was just genuinely nice to me after everything I've been through; she even said my fangs were really pretty! She's done so much for me and I love her for it."

"Does it bother you that Mina's dating her?"

Himiko looked at Ochako with a confused expression, "No? I'm happy for her. Plus, Izucchi likes all of us from the sleepover anyway."

Himiko covered her mouth with her hands, realizing what she had said. But it was too late; Ochako had heard her and her face was bright red; she was starting to float before Himiko grabbed her.

Ochako looked at her, "She does? Did she tell you that?"

Deciding she couldn't undo it, Himiko just decided to be honest about it, "Yep. We talked about it after Mina-chan asked her out. Did you really not know? It's super obvious!"

"I… I've never noticed. I guess she's been more comfortable with us which I was really happy with. Does Mina know? Wait, she mentioned Izumi had a few crushes. She's okay with it?"

"Seems that way. You could ask Mina-chan about it. I told Izucchi just to date everyone, but she needed to figure some things out."

"Date all of us?" Ochako hissed. "Like, her having four girlfriends? Is that even a thing?"

"Yeah? Polyamory is totally a thing! Nemuri-chan knows a ton about the topic if you're curious!" Himiko teased.

Ochako was silent for a while and Himiko was worried she had screwed up. Ochako had a smile on her face when she finally spoke up, "Thanks, Toga. I think I was just worrying over nothing."

Himiko smiled at her and the two girls sat on the bench in silence for a while. After a while, Himiko remembered why they were meeting to begin with: getting to know each other better.

"So, you know how Izucchi and I met. How did you and her meet?" she asked the brunette.

Ochako smiled at her, "Oh, we met back at the U.A. entrance exam…"

Notes:
Last week was rough all around so this chapter is only okay. I did want to get some interactions between some other classmates and other people. Hope you enjoyed it at least.

3 Belle

Chapter 16: Move In Day Notes:
A sizable dose of IzuToga interactions on move-in day. Sorry for the delay!

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text Izumi crawled out of bed at six am and put on her workout clothes before she stretched. Mina had given her a better stretching routine for herself to do every day for increasing flexibility. Combined with Mina's dance lessons, she was definitely seeing improvements. Once she had stretched, she headed out the front door and decided to run a 10 km route taking her to Dagobah Beach. She hadn't been there in quite some time and she was hoping it still looked as good as when she finished cleaning it.

The morning air always felt good on her skin as she kept up a rather fast pace; she wasn't sprinting, but she was pushing herself today. She made it to Dagobah as her halfway point and stopped to admire the scenery and catch her breath. Her mouth was dry from the run, but she had forgotten her water; she would have to drink some when she got home. As Izumi scanned the beach, she noticed a familiar blond man sitting on a bench, staring out at the early morning sun.

Izumi smiled and shouted over, "Toshi?"

The man turned to face her and smiled at her, "Ah, Midoriya-shoujo. How are you this morning?"

"I'm good. Going for a morning run. Why are you here?"

He patted next to him on the bench and Izumi walked over and sat down to talk, "I come to visit on occasion; enjoy the view. You worked hard to clean this beach, after all."

"I haven't had much time to visit it since I've been busy studying and training. I figured we were moving into dorms today so I wouldn't get to visit anytime soon. I didn't expect you to be here."

"How did your midterms go?"

Izumi thought for a moment, "I think they went well. I definitely placed in the top five so I can take the test for my provisional license."

"I suppose you'll get your results back today and find out. If you place in the top five, do you have an internship already? Or perhaps you'll go back to Gran Torino?"

"Did Nezu and Shota not tell you? Um… Mirko asked me to intern with her once I get my Provisional License."

Toshi looked stunned, "Mirko? The woman that believes that working with others makes people weak?"

"Y-Yeah. She said if she thinks I'm not keeping up, she'll drop me in an instant, but I think that's fair."

"That's still quite the offer. She would be a good person to help you get stronger. I'm quite proud of the progress you've already made."

"I… Thanks. I can use around 15% without hurting myself. Since I can heal, I can push that a little harder than before but I'm trying not to abuse my healing since Himiko and Mina only have so much blood I can drink."

"Speaking of, how is Toga-shoujo adjusting to U.A?"

"I… think she's doing fine. She seemed tense her first week but after last Friday she seemed to relax a bit. Maybe she was just uncomfortable being back in school…"

Toshinori smiled lightly, "Well, I'm glad to hear she's doing well. I'm sorry I didn't do more for her when you called for my help back then…"

"It's fine, Toshi. I was upset at the time, but it's done and over with… But I wanted to thank you for getting her into U.A."

"I felt I should make it up to you somehow. She's someone you saved, and she seems rather attached to you."

Izumi giggled, "A little. All my classmates thought we were dating when they met her the first time since she likes to be so close to me."

"You're young. There's nothing wrong with dating anyone at your age."

"So, you'd be fine if I got a girlfriend or four?"

Toshinori's reaction was violent coughing that Izumi was worried would kill the pro hero. He somehow managed to stop coughing and look at her, "F-Four? Why would you get four girlfriends?"

"Technically, it's only three more than I already have," Izumi said with a teasing smile that would make Mina proud.

"Oh? Are you and Toga-shoujo dating then?"

"Nope. Mina and I have been dating for a couple of weeks."

"Congrats to you both. As long as your dating doesn't affect your studies or your progress with One for All, it should be fine… I'm not exactly good with romance so I wouldn't recommend asking for my advice."

"Oh, it's fine. Nemuri- er, Midnight has offered her advice on relationships. I planned to meet with her and chat again in the next few days. I really enjoy talking with her, even if she is a bit… intense at times…"

"I'm glad you can talk to her. Have you seen Hound Dog yet?"

"Uh… No. With everything going on between my new girlfriend, the Stain incident, telling everyone about Kacchan, getting turned into a woman, I've just… not really stopped. Though, my talks with Nemuri have definitely helped. Oh, do you know if they agreed to let me talk to Stain yet?"

Toshi looked at her pensively, "Gran Torino mentioned that after your internship. Why do you want to speak to him?"

"I just… I don't understand him. Why did he let me win? There's no way that I should have stopped him by myself as a first-year student. Out of everyone, why me?"

"Midoriya-shoujo, sometimes the way villains think won't make sense to you. They're human just like us and they have their own reasons for doing things."

"I… I know that. I still want the chance to talk to him."

"…I'll see what we can do. I don't particularly like it but you're stubborn enough to fight him by yourself, you're probably stubborn enough to not let this go."

Izumi smiled at him lightly, "Thanks, Toshi. I'm sorry I give you so much trouble."

"Well, your first year of U.A. hasn't exactly been normal, that's for sure. The attack at U.S.J. The Hosu attack. Your situation. You getting kidnapped. It's been such a crazy start to the year that Nezu has some of you taking your provisional license exam early."

"It kind of feels like all this is my fault…"

"What do you mean?"

"I'm the one that keeps getting into trouble. Causing problems for everyone. I got turned into a woman and then got kidnapped. I was the one who fought Stain on my own. If all that didn't happen, things would be more normal, right?"

"Midoriya-shoujo, none of this is your fault."

Izumi laced her fingers together and stared at her hands, "I'm supposed to be your successor… but all I've been doing lately is getting into troublesome situations over and over…"

"Midoriya-shoujo, look at me." Izumi brought her eyes up to look at her predecessor and he smiled gently at her, "You are an amazing successor and I have never once regretted my decision to choose you. You shouldn't be so hard on yourself."

Izumi's eyes watered as she smiled at him, "Thanks, Toshi… It's just a lot. How do you do it? Take on everything by yourself without anyone, I mean?"

"I was never truly alone. I always had people I could rely on when I needed them. I smiled when I felt the most hopeless to give hope to everyone, including myself. I truly believe you will be a greater hero than I was in my time as the Symbol of Peace and I will continue to do everything I can to help you get there."

"Toshi, you're going to make me cry. I still can't believe you're going to be retiring soon… I'm not anywhere close to being ready to succeed you."

"I've still got some fight left in me, Midoriya-shoujo. I still plan to stick around as the number one hero for a while longer so try not to stress about it."

"I'll try not to. I think I need to head home though, Toshi. I need to wake up Himiko so we can get moved into the dorms."

"I understand, Midoriya-shoujo. I'll see you at school."

"Take care, Toshi."

The train ride to U.A. was about the usual for Izumi. Himiko and Izumi were on their way to move into the dorms and she was always getting recognized as the girl who fought Stain. That was one thing she was thankful for; she wouldn't have to worry about commuting soon which meant less dealing with the fans. She knew she would have to eventually get used to it but some of the attention still made her uneasy.

Izumi was wearing sweatpants and a dark green jacket since she didn't want to wear her uniform to move in and Himiko wore something similar but in black; they had opted out of their U.A. tracksuits to hopefully avoid some attention, which didn't help in the slightest. Izumi was also sporting a fresh bite mark and her eyes and fangs were in their vampiresque appearance this morning.

"Hey, you're the girl who stopped the Hero Killer!" a little girl with jet black hair, cat ears, and a tail said while pointing at Izumi. She had to be around six or seven going off her looks.

Himiko grinned next to her and nudged her slightly. Izumi bent down to eye level with the girl and smiled nervously, "I am. I'm Izumi, what's your name?"

The little girl was staring at her fangs, but she wasn't scared. She looked amazed, "Nice to meet you, Izumi-neechan. I'm Akiko! You have fangs! Are you a vampire?"

"I am. You're not scared of my fangs?"

"Yours are super cool! I've never met a hero with fangs!"

Izumi turned to Himiko who bent down next to her and smiled. Izumi pointed to Himiko, "My friend Himiko has fangs too. Hers are like a cat's though, don't you think?"

"So cool!" Akiko gasped. "Himiko-neechan's are like mine!"

Akiko smiled wide to show off her four fangs for the two vampires.

Himiko looked so happy, "They are! Is your quirk cat related then?"

"Yep! It's like Mommy's and she calls it 'Cat'. I can do anything a cat can! Some of my classmates make fun of me though because I'm just cute… They say I can't be a hero…"

"You want to be a hero?"

"I do! Do you think I can be a hero?"

Izumi looked at the girl and then up to her mother who had cat ears like her daughter. She was smiling lightly but she looked troubled by her daughter's woes at school, one of her cat ears twitching slightly. Izumi looked back at Akiko, "Akiko-chan, I think if you want to be a hero, you'd be a great hero. Just look at Mirko. Her quirk is 'Rabbit'. Rabbits are cute and she's a great hero, right? So, if you work hard, you'll be amazing."

Akiko beamed at that, "You're right! I just need to work hard!"

Himiko nodded, "Work really hard, Akiko-chan. Get strong and be a hero. We'll be rooting for you!"

"Thank you, Himiko-neechan! And you too, Izumi-neechan! Can… Can I get a picture with you both?"

Akiko's mother smiled at them, "Do you mind?"

"Sure," Izumi grinned.

Izumi and Himiko got on both sides of the girl for a picture, all three smiling wide to show off their teeth. Akiko's mom took the photo and showed it to her daughter.

"Yay! Thank you!" Akiko cheered.

"Of course, Akiko-chan. Work hard so we can be heroes together one day, okay?" Izumi assured her.

"I will!"

Izumi and Himiko stood up as the train arrived at their station. Himiko and Izumi said their goodbyes to the little girl and her mother from the platform, the two cat quirk users staying on the train for their stop.

Akiko's mother smiled at them and waved, "Thank you both, so much."

The two vampires grinned and waved back. Izumi spoke before the doors closed, "Take care!"

After they said their goodbyes, Himiko and Izumi headed to campus. U.A. had sent a moving truck for them so they didn't have to worry about paying for moving costs which was really nice. The movers were supposed to deliver their stuff directly to their rooms which would save them all sorts of hassle.

"She was adorable!" Himiko grinned.

Izumi nodded, "She was. I hope we did okay. I'm not great with people still…"

Himiko scoffed, "I think you did great. She looked so happy when you told her she could be a hero."

"And you looked so happy when you saw her fangs were like yours."

The two girls arrived at the dorms and stopped in front of them, admiring the building they would be living in.

"It's so nice!" Himiko gawked. "We really get to live here?"

Izumi was admiring the building herself; it was huge. There were tons of dorms like this one that were just as big as well so Cementoss must have had a busy week. Izumi smiled at the sight, "This is pretty awesome."

"Oh, good morning Izumi and Himiko," Nemuri's voice chimed. "You two are the first ones to arrive."

"Nemuri-chan!" Himiko cheered. "Are you supervising move in?"

"Not really. All of your things have been moved into your rooms already so there isn't much to supervise but if there are any questions, feel free to ask. Shota is currently in a meeting with Nezu and All Might to finalize your grades for midterms; he'll be unavailable for a while. You two girls are on the third floor; the room assignments are listed on a printout in the dining room and your keys are in envelopes on one of the tables. If you need an extra or a replacement, let one of the teachers know."

"How many keys do we have by default?" Himiko asked with a sly smirk.

"Two. One and a spare. Your rooms have a bed, fridge, toilet, air conditioner, closet, and a balcony. Baths and laundry rooms are on the first floor, separated by gender of course. Feel free to explore and either Shota or I will stop by in a while to check on everyone."

"Thanks, Nemuri," Izumi said with a smile. "Do you mind if I stop in to chat again soon?"

"Of course not, my door is always open. Stay out of trouble and I'll see you both later," Nemuri said with a wink.

"Bye Nemuri-chan!" Himiko said with a wave before running inside the dorms.

Izumi waved to Nemuri before the woman headed toward the school. Izumi took one last look at all the dorms that had been erected on U.A. property and was amazed at how many there were; eight classes over three years meant there were a lot of dorms.

Izumi turned toward their dorm and headed inside. She looked around as she entered and was amazed at how nice it was. There was an area with a television, couches and other seats, and a table in the middle of it. There was a dining area with several tables and seating for everyone to eat at, with some space at the kitchen counter bar area. The kitchen was huge and had anything you would need to use while cooking from the look of it.

"Oh wow… This is really nice." Izumi looked around before shouting, "Hey, Himiko! Where'd you disappear to?"

Izumi didn't get a reply and furrowed her brow before grabbing her envelope and walking to the elevator. She pressed the button and waited.

She's probably just exploring.

Izumi went up to the third floor and the door to the elevator opened for Izumi to see Himiko standing in front of her waiting for the elevator.

"Oh, there you are. Were you figuring out where your room was?" Izumi asked.

Himiko grinned at her, "Yep! Your room is right next to mine just like at home. Here, the spare key to my room."

Himiko handed her a key to her dorm and Izumi blinked a few times, "Um… Okay… Do you want to explore a bit for now?"

"Sure!"

Izumi got out of the elevator and headed to her room. It had boxes piled up in the middle of everything, but the room was decent in size. U.A. had supplied a bed for her; it was rather large for her room when she looked at it. She also had a desk and a dresser supplied by U.A. Himiko had followed her and was looking around.

"Your bed is bigger than mine!" Himiko giggled.

Izumi furrowed her brow, "You're joking, right?"

Himiko shook her head, "Come on, I'll show you."

Izumi followed the blonde vampire to her room and Himiko showed Izumi her dorm. As Himiko had said, her bed was smaller than Izumi's. Hers was what would be a semi-double, halfway between a twin and a double, while Izumi's was slightly bigger, probably a double?

"Huh. You're right. Mom didn't send mattresses with us… Oh."

Izumi realized why she had a slightly bigger mattress, and she could only picture a woman with dark purple hair and sky blue eyes cackling at her realization.

"Nemuri-chan?" Himiko teased.

"Nemuri."

Himiko grabbed Izumi's hand and pulled her back into the hall, "Things to worry about later. Let's explore!"

The two vampires explored each of the floors to see where everyone was situated in the dorms. Katsuki was on floor five, Minoru was on two, and Hitoshi was on four. Shoto was also on four. On the third floor, they had Toru down the hall. The next floor up was Ochako, Mina, and Kyouka. The top floor for girls was Eiko, Momo, and Tsuyu. The second floor for girls was empty, probably due to Minoru being on that floor.

Before long they headed back to the common room and sat down on the couch together. Himiko shifted into Izumi's form as they both relaxed.

"Why are you being me right now?"

Himiko leaned her head on Izumi's shoulder, "Sometimes it's comforting being someone else for a while."

"It is?"

"Yeah. I can be anyone else and forget about myself for a while."

"…You don't want to be yourself?"

Himiko's eyes watered, "Sometimes I don't. I know you accept me but… all the things my parents said about me, what the kids at school told me… If I'm someone else, then they're not talking about me anymore, right?"

Izumi pulled Himiko into a hug, "Going through that wasn't easy for you, I know… but you're a good person Himiko. And I'm here for you now, no matter what."

Himiko melted into the hug and pulled Izumi closer, "Thank you, Izumi."

Izumi and Himiko sat like that for a few minutes before several voices interrupted them.

"That's an odd sight," Toru giggled.

Mina smirked, "They look like they could be identical twins."

Izumi had a thought and changed her appearance to normal before whispering to her fellow vampire,
"Do you want to mess with them a little?"

Himiko pulled back and stood up, doing a near-perfect job of copying Izumi's mannerisms, "Hey, Mina! Hi, Hagakure."

Izumi smirked and stood up, "Hey guys. Getting everything moved in?"

Mina looked between the two of them for a moment, "Um… Toru, can you tell them apart?"

"You can't tell which one's your girlfriend, Mina? I'm hurt," Izumi said in mock hurt.

Himiko-Izumi looked offended, "Himiko, stop trying to confuse her. That's not nice."

Toru was facing the two greenette's and sputtered a few times, "I- Mina, I can't help you. They look identical."

While the two girls were standing there staring at the two greenettes, several more students started showing up. Denki, Hanta, Kyouka, and Momo walked in while admiring the dorms before stopping and staring at the two Izumis.

"Am I seeing double?" Denki asked. "Oh, wait. Toga."

Hanta's eyes were wide, "That's crazy. So, which one of you is Toga?"

"She is," both Izumi's said at the same time before giggling.

"I can't tell the difference," Kyouka commented. "That's… terrifying. Himiko, your quirk is pretty amazing."

"Thanks, Kyouka-chan," the real Izumi said with a grin.

Izumi was having too much fun with this and judging by the expression on her double's face, Himiko was too.

"It is pretty cool, isn't it, Kyouka-chan?" Himiko-Izumi grinned.

Momo stared at the two, "Fascinating. I've seen you use your quirk in training but never up close. You really can't tell the difference."

Mina looked like her brain was fried from trying to tell them apart. She walked closer to the two girls and started circling them, trying to find any difference that would give her a clue as to who was who. Momo had also started circling them, out of curiosity for Himiko's quirk's ability to replicate people exactly.

"There are no differences between the two. If they both act the same and talk the same, it would be nearly impossible to tell them apart," Momo commented.

"They really can't tell us apart, Izucchi," Izumi teased.

Himiko-Izumi smiled, "Your quirk is just that good, Himiko."

Denki nodded approval, "It's a pretty freaking cool quirk, Toga."

Hitoshi walked in with Fumikage and both boys just stopped. Hitoshi sighed, "Why?"

"Why what, Hitoshi-kun?" Izumi asked.

Himiko looked over, "Hey, Hitoshi-kun! Hi, Fumikage-kun!"

Both boys shared a look that was a mixture of confusion and exasperation.

"Pray tell which one of you is which?" Fumikage spoke aloud.

"That's Himiko," Himiko-Izumi said, pointing to Izumi.

Izumi smiled and pointed at her double, "That's Himiko."

"Are you two having fun?" Ochako asked as she walked in.

Eiko gasped as she followed Ochako in, "Oh, dude. It's impossible to tell them apart!"

"Well, my quirk is pretty great for that. I can change into anyone exactly as they are, including their voice! I just need a little blood," Izumi said with her best Himiko tone.

Himiko-Izumi grinned, "The more blood I drink, the longer I can stay transformed."

The class was just staring with amused expressions at the two girls who were clearly having a blast. Mina was still trying to figure out which of the two girls was the real Izumi. She got close to the real Izumi's face and was staring at her. Izumi just smiled at her. Mina then got close to Himiko-Izumi who blushed mildly at how close Mina was. Izumi was trying not to burst out laughing as Mina grinned.

"I figured it out!"

"You did?" Toru asked.

"Which one's which, Mina?" Ochako asked.

"My adorable girlfriend is this one!" she said, pointing to Himiko. "Izumi always blushes when I get close to her."

Mina threw her arms around Himiko-Izumi while Izumi was seconds away from cackling like a madwoman. Mina kissed Himiko-Izumi with a chaste kiss and pulled away, "I was right, right?"

Himiko and Izumi both finally lost it and started laughing hysterically.

"Should we stop now?" Himiko-Izumi wheezed.

Izumi choked out words between laughs, "Yeah… I think we should."

Himiko melted off Izumi's appearance and grinned at Mina, "Hi, Mina-chan!"

Most of their classmates looked entertained at their prank and at Mina's reaction. Mina's face lit up lilac as she sputtered out a response, "What? No way! You- You blushed when I got close to you! I don't… But- how!?"

"Acting!" Himiko cackled. "Sorry if we upset you, Mina-chan. It was Izucchi's idea."

Izumi smiled at Mina, "Sorry. I figured it would be fun to mess with everyone. I see why you tease people now, that was fun."

Mina stared at her for a moment before she started laughing, "I guess I deserve it with how much I tease you."

"Dude… Mina, you just kissed Toga," Denki laughed.

"But it looked like she was kissing Midori. I'm so confused," Toru whined.

"Midoriya, aren't you upset?" Hanta asked.

Mina looked over at Izumi who chuckled, "I mean, it was my fault since it was my idea to mess with everyone."

Mina had a sly grin on her face as she walked over and hugged Izumi, "You're not mad then?"

Izumi smiled, "Of course not."

"Not even a little jealous?" Mina teased back quietly.

"Nope, not jealous. That's a good thing, isn't it?" Izumi said quietly.

Mina kissed her quickly before separating, "Yep, it's a good thing."

Hitoshi let out a snort and fell onto the couch, "You two seemed to enjoy that quite a bit, Toga."

Himiko was cackling as she sat down next to him, "I definitely enjoyed it. Mina-chan's blushing face is great! Almost as great as Izucchi's."

Mina sat down next to Himiko and spoke quietly, but Izumi was close enough to hear, "How do you feel that your first kiss was with me and not Izumi?"

"I like you too, Mina-chan, so I'm not upset. I just love Izucchi, so that means I'll have to kiss her at some point to make up for it," Himiko said with a sly grin.

Izumi's cheeks tinged red at that but opted to remain silent on the issue for now.

After I get my license on Monday. We can tell them then.

Hitoshi was blushing slightly at the two girls and stood up, "I think I'm going to go check out my room and make sure all my stuff is here."

Denki perked up at that, "I'll join you in heading upstairs, dude."

"Same here, I gotta figure out where my room is," Hanta said.

Izumi pointed to the table, "Room assignments are listed over there. Keys are in the envelopes on the table."

"Have you been here long enough to explore already?" Momo asked her.

"Himiko and I got here before anyone else, so Midnight gave us the rundown. She said either her or Aizawa would be by to check on us in a few."

Toru cheered, "Awesome! I'm gonna go find my room as well. You wanna join, Mina?"

"Sure! What about you, Izumi?" Mina asked.

"I should probably unpack my stuff… I'll head up with you both."

Himiko jumped up and onto Izumi's back, "Then take me to my room so I can unpack, too!"

The students had gathered in the common room when Shota had shown up. They all had a fairly good idea who would be taking their provisional license exam in two days, but they were still eager to know how well they did. Izumi was sitting next to Mina and Ochako on the couch while Himiko sat on Mina's opposite side. Kyouka was sitting with Momo and Denki and chatting quietly before Shota cleared his throat.

"I can see everyone managed to get here safely. I know it's an unorthodox situation, moving into dorms halfway through a semester, but U.A. thought it would be best. Your midterms have been graded and I brought your rankings with me. I'm pleased to say that none of you did poorly enough for me to expel you. Shinso and Toga, you both will be taking a supplementary lesson with myself to cover some of the material you've missed so far in the heroics course, though you both did better than I figured you would. Either way, here are your rankings."

Izumi looked at the results while searching for her name and her friends. Himiko was ranked nineteenth, placing ahead of Hanta, Yuga, and Denki. Izumi was proud of her. Hitoshi placed in eighth which was impressive, but she supposed he was lacking in practical work and not academic work. Ochako had placed tenth, right behind Mashirao in the rankings. Kyouka was seventh and most surprising to Izumi was Mina's rank. She had placed eleventh. Mina had been working her ass off to study and had mentioned she wanted to make Izumi proud.

Mina was halfway in tears as she saw her rank, "I… I expected to get second or third to last again but…"

Izumi squeezed her hand gently and spoke quietly to her, "You did great. I'm proud of you."

Ochako was grinning, "All that studying we did really paid off."

Momo had of course ranked first and Tenya was second. Izumi ranked third with Katsuki in fourth. Shouto was their fifth and final attendee of the exam on Monday. Katsuki was fuming that Izumi had ranked above him and wouldn't stop glaring at her. Izumi opted to ignore him while smiling to herself and holding onto Mina's hand.

"That means Todoroki, Bakugou, Midoriya, Iida, and Yaoyorozu, if you five would come with me so we can discuss how Monday will go. The rest of you, keep working hard," Shota said with a smirk.

Shota waited a moment while the five students stood up and followed him out of the common room to in front of the dorms. He stopped and turned around to look at them.

"You five will be taking the Provision License Exam on Monday morning. You won't be coming to class at all that day and will instead be meeting up with five students from 1-B and Principal Nezu at U.A.'s entrance when classes would normally start. From there, you will all head to Takoba National Stadium for your exam. Any questions?"

"What does the exam entail?" Momo asked.

"More of what we've focused on these last two weeks in your hero training. Rescue work is always a prime focus. Just remember your training and you'll be fine."

Tenya adjusted his glasses, "Do you know who from class 1-B will be joining us, sir?"

"Why the fuck does it matter what extras from the other class are joining us?" Katsuki snapped.

Shota glared at Katsuki to silence him before speaking, "Vlad King gave me the list. One second…" Shota pulled out his phone to look at it and fiddled for a moment before looking up, "Tokage, Shishida, Kendou, Honenuki, and Monoma."

Izumi frowned at the knowledge that Neito would be joining them. She had only had rather poor experiences with the boy and his antagonistic nature, especially after last week with him trying to insult 1-A. Katsuki was gnashing his teeth at the mention of Neito and for once, Izumi could sympathize.

Shota looked at them all, "Any other questions?"

"Are there any punishments for failing?" Shouto asked.

Izumi was surprised by the question but had been curious herself. Shota shook his head, "None. Personally, I'd be surprised if anyone passes. Most students don't take the exam until their second year after they've had more training. If you don't pass, don't think of it as a failure; you'll have another chance come fall."

Izumi nodded but knew for her, this was her chance.

Notes:
I've had writer's block on this for a few weeks for some reason. I ended up starting a different slightly angsty Izumi fanfic/crackfic and writing random Izumi x Mina one-shots while I couldn't write this. I might post them later just to post them but this is my main focus most of the time.

Thanks for reading as always.

3 Belle

Chapter 17: Provisional License Exam, Pt 1 Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text Izumi was nervous for the provisional license exam today. She ended up waking up at seven, later than usual to get more rest. She felt the weight of something, or someone, in her bed with her. She turned toward the object in the faint light and saw Mina sleeping peacefully next to her with her arms wrapped around the greenette.

She … wasn't here when I fell asleep.

Izumi rubbed Mina's head and hair slightly causing her to let out soft mewls in her sleep. Izumi giggled and spoke quietly, "Mina, it's seven. Time to get up."

Mina grumbled and pulled Izumi closer, "Don't wanna."

"Come on, I have to leave soon, and you have class. Get up."

Mina groaned and sat up to rub the sleep from her eyes. She proceeded to stretch with her arms above her head. She blinked a few times and looked at Izumi, "You slept late today."

"Toshi told me to be well-rested. When did you get here?" Izumi asked, standing from her bed and walking to her closet.

Mina stood up to follow, exposing her slender legs that weren't currently clad in any pants, "Around eleven? I couldn't sleep and I may or may not have a key to your room."

Izumi blushed at Mina's current apparel of nothing but a large t-shirt and her panties and swallowed hard, "Um… H-How do you have a key to my room?"

"Midnight, duh. But are you okay? You look a little flushed today," Mina teased as she walked closer. She placed a hand on Izumi's forehead and put her other arm around Izumi's waist, "Are you going to be okay?"

"M-Mina, I know you enjoy teasing me, but this might be a bit much…"

Mina giggled and took a step back, "You can stare if you want. You're my girlfriend, after all."

Izumi avoided looking directly at her girlfriend, instead turning to her closet to grab her uniform, "You don't always have to tease me…"

Mina wrapped Izumi in a hug around her waist and purred into her ear from behind, "You're fun to tease. Plus, it's not like you haven't seen more than this in the lockers before."

"I-I guess… It's still… I mean, you're my girlfriend now. Seeing you like that, in my room, it um…"

"It what?" Mina said in a breathy tone into Izumi's ear.

"It makes me want to do things with you…"

Mina was clearly enjoying herself as she kissed Izumi's neck, "What kind of things?"

"M-Mina, please don't make me say it…"

"I just want to know what my beautiful girlfriend wants to do to me. Is that so bad?"

Izumi swallowed her nerves, "You know e-exactly what kind of things, Mina."

"I just want to hear you say it," Mina purred before nibbling on Izumi's neck.

"P-Perverted things," Izumi said with a slight breathy moan. "Mina, you're g-going to make me horny before this exam. P-Please stop…"

Mina giggled and pulled away from the flushed form of her girlfriend, "Fine. I'll save that for later."

Izumi blushed heavily, "L-Later?"

Mina winked at her and turned around, "Have you seen my phone? I think it was somewhere down here…" She bent down and got on her hands and knees, raising her ass in the air for Izumi to see. Izumi had to bite her lip to ground herself, managing to finally tear her gaze from Mina's backside. Izumi grabbed her uniform and headed for the door.

"I'mgonnagotakeashowerloveyoubye," Izumi blurted as she ran out the door.

The sound of Mina cackling from Izumi's dorm could be heard by the greenette until she made it to the stairs, where she had to remind herself not to use her quirk while sprinting down to the showers; she was ready to douse herself in ice water.

After her ice-cold shower, Izumi had put on her uniform and said bye to her friends before she went to the gate with Momo, Tenya, and Shoto. The class 1-B students hadn't shown up yet, nor had Katsuki or Nezu.

"The others are going to be late at this rate!" Tenya lectured. "It's our job as representatives for our classes to show up on time!"

"Iida, we still have ten minutes," Shoto said dryly. "We're just early."

Tenya looked almost offended at the idea of everyone else showing up 'on time'. Izumi had to suppress a giggle at his expression since he was far too serious for this early in the morning.

Momo did her best to placate the class representative, "Iida-kun, Todoroki-kun is correct. It is good to be early, however we're leaving to arrive at the stadium early anyway. Aizawa-sensei informed me this morning that the exam doesn't start until 10 this morning, meaning we have plenty of time."

"Be that as it may, we are still supposed to be the epitome of responsible!" Tenya said sternly.

Izumi tried to curb her friends overly stern gaze, "Iida-kun, it's fine. I'm sure everyone will be here before long."

He was going to go off on a tangent when Izumi saw class 1-B walking over to join them.

"Morning!" the ginger-haired girl from 1-B Itsuka Kendou shouted over. Izumi learned that she was class 1-B's class representative after the Sports Festival was over.

The other students Izumi knew by name at least, even if she hadn't really talked to any of them. There was the boy who looked like a hairy version of Tenya, stern gaze and glasses but was covered in fur whose name was Jurota Shishida. Then there was the boy who looked like he had no lips, Juzo Honenuki. The sharp-toothed greenette girl named Setsuna Tokage was the only other girl from 1-B today. Of course, the final 1-B student was the blond boy who was a pain in the ass to deal with, Neito Monoma.

"Good morning, Kendou-san," Momo replied politely. "We're just waiting on Principal Nezu and Bakugou-kun now."

"We're gonna be working together today, huh?" Setsuna said with a grin. "I don't think I know all of your names. I remember Iida from the Sports Festival and Todoroki of course. Yaoyorozu did well in the Sports Festival as well. I recognize you," she pointed to Izumi, "from the Hero Killer videos but I don't remember you from the Sports Festival."

Izumi scratched her cheek awkwardly, "I was there… I just… looked different then. I'm Izumi Midoriya."

"Midoriya? The Bone Breaking King of 1-A?"

Izumi blinked a few times, "I'm sorry, is that a title you all gave me in 1-B?"

Setsuna cackled, "Pretty much. You broke your bones to fight Todoroki in the Sports Festival."

"God, I hope Mina never hears that title…" Izumi muttered.

Momo let out a slight giggle, "I don't know, I feel like I should let her know."

Izumi paled at that before Shoto chimed in, "You did break your bones to fight me, Midoriya. It's a fitting title."

Tenya nodded while adjusting his glasses, "Perhaps if you didn't break your bones, you wouldn't have acquired that title."

"Et tu, Iida-kun?" Izumi gasped. "I thought I got enough teasing from Mina and Himiko."

"Alright students, sorry I'm late," Nezu shouted as he walked up to them with Katsuki. "I needed to make sure the paperwork was all filled out. Is everyone ready to go?"

The students all nodded in agreement before they filed onto the bus. Izumi sat near the front, anxious to get the test underway. She was staring out a window when Setsuna's voice interrupted her.

"So, Green Bean, who are Mina and Himiko?"

Izumi nearly jumped from her seat when she saw Setsuna's head was floating next to her, but her body was nowhere to be seen. She blinked at the disembodied head, "Um… Mina Ashido. The really gorgeous girl in our class with the bright pink hair. And Himiko Toga is a close friend who transferred into our class recently. They both love to tease me…"

A smile graced Setsuna's lips that caused Izumi to instantly feel an impending sense of dread, "I'll have to meet them both. They sound like my kind of people."

"I don't see why not…" Opting to shift the topic away from the two girls, Izumi spoke to the rest of the bus, "We should probably strategize before we get to Takoba National Stadium…"

"That's probably a wise decision," Jurota chimed. "We have the best chance working together, correct?"

"I'm not working with any useless fucking extras," Katsuki spat.

I was hoping counseling was helping …

"Excuse our classmate's rude behavior. Working together seems the best option indeed," Tenya replied.

Neito scoffed, "Why would I work with the miscreants of 1-A?"

Itsuka chopped Neito on the back of the head, "Because working together ensures a better chance at all of us passing."

"I refuse."

Izumi sighed, "Let's… just come up with a basic strategy and be ready to adapt. Preferably we'd stick together and work as a unit to ensure we can cover any weaknesses we each have…"

"If we have to compete against other students, we should also plan on them knowing our quirks due to the Sports Festival," Momo added.

"But we won't know any of their quirks," Setsuna tossed in. "We're at a real disadvantage here."

"Well, let's see what we can come up with," Itsuka commented.

Takoba National Stadium was a huge building from the outside but once they were inside, it looked much smaller. The U.A. students were standing in their hero costumes surrounded by around 1500 other examinees, and all of the other examinees were staring at the U.A. students in a way that reminded Izumi of her time during the Sports Festival before the cavalry battle; she had been singled out because of her point value as target number one. She didn't like it back then and she certainly wasn't enjoying it now.

"This reminds me of right before the cavalry battle," Izumi commented. "That feeling of everyone staring at us."

Setsuna snorted, "Yep, we're definitely being singled out."

"Doesn't matter, I'm going to crush everyone," Katsuki huffed.

Jurota spoke very bluntly, "There's confidence and then there's being cocky."

Katsuki grinned a feral grin, "If you're aiming for the top you just have to crush your competition. If you can't do that, go home."

"Just remember our plans," Itsuka reminded them.

"Fuck that, I don't need anyone's help. I told you I'm going to crush everyone by myself," Katsuki growled.

"I'm still not working with 1-A scum," Neito added. "If anything, I want to take down the miscreants myself."

Juzo frowned, "Fighting amongst ourselves only lessens our odds, Monoma."

"We have enough to worry about with everyone else targeting us, we don't to worry about our allies as well," Izumi pointed out.

"Green Bean has a point. If we fight between our classes, we won't have much of a chance at all," Setsuna agreed.

Katsuki turned away from the group, "Tch, do whatever you want. I'm not working with any of you useless extras."

Their conversation was interrupted by a man's voice, "You all are here for the Provisional License Exam. I'm Mera and I'm from the Hero Public Safety Commission. I hardly ever get to sleep with how busy I am…"

This guy is our proctor?

Mera continued, "Since the capture of Stain several weeks ago, the HPSC has received many complaints and doubts about the role heroes should play in society. Stain's ideology has spread after the video of his defeat has made its way around the internet. The public wants heroes who are out to save and protect people no matter what, not those that wish only to become famous or make money. Now, it would be extremely harsh to tell heroes, the ones that risk their lives daily to save people, to ask for nothing in return. Especially in today's society, so we won't change that.

"That said, we have no shortage of heroes, regardless of their motivations. Moving forward, the HPSC will be looking for those that have worked hard to better embody the meaning of the word 'hero'."

His words hung in the air for a few moments as the examinees absorbed what he said.

Mera sighed, "As for the exam… All 1500 of you will be competing today in a free-for-all exercise. The focus will be on resolving conflicts as soon as possible. Heroes are thrown into the fray and expected to resolve the issues with zero hesitation and today we will be testing your resolve. Only the first three hundred examinees will be advancing."

"Wait, what?" Setsuna gasped. "That's crazy. There are 1500 of us. They're only passing that few?"

Mera smirked at them through his tired expression, "Today there will be no relying on luck. Only those who are skilled will be getting their provisional licenses. The exam requirements will be as follows: Every examinee will be wearing three of these."

He held up what looked like a metal disk, "These are targets. You can place the three targets anywhere on your body as long as they're visible. No bottom of your feet or under your armpits to hide them. Each examinee also gets six balls. You have to take down two of your competition to advance. The targets are rigged so that they only light up when hit by one of the balls. If all three targets are lit up, you're disqualified and that counts as one take down for the person who hit the last target."

"Fairly straightforward rules," Jurota commented. "It seems we were correct in assuming we were going to be pitted against other students."

"We'll be handing out balls once the arena opens up."

The building around them had the walls fall to the sides and the ceiling went with them to expose what looked like a massive version of the U.S.J. There were different environments for anything you could imagine.

Juzo looked around at the room collapsing away, "That explains why the building seemed bigger outside."

"Find an area that suits your abilities and be ready to begin a minute after everyone has their targets," Mera finished.

The U.A. students were admiring the different locations available while the examiners handed out the targets and balls. Izumi looked to her fellow U.A. students as she was placing her targets on herself, all of them on her front to better protect them, "Remember, we need to try and stick together."

"Like I said, I'm not working with you fucking extras," Katsuki spat.

Neito sneered at her, "Never."

Izumi sighed at them, "Suit yourself."

Shoto frowned, "Sorry, Midoriya. I'm going off on my own as well."

"Even you, Todoroki-kun?" Momo asked.

Shoto merely nodded at her with a determined look in his eyes.

"You have one minute to get to your positions," Mera announced.

Izumi looked around to figure out where to go while Shoto, Katsuki, and Neito ran off by themselves in random directions.

"Yaoyorozu-san, Kendou-san, any thoughts?" Izumi asked.

Momo hesitated, "We need cover. We're going to be targeted by everyone immediately."

"The city!" Itsuka shouted.

The group started to sprint toward the city edge before time hit zero. Izumi knew if they were out in the open, it would be extremely difficult to defend everyone completely but damned if she wouldn't try. Izumi flared her Full Cowl to 15% as she looked around at the students that were there to eliminate them while they sprinted.

"Begin!" an announcer's voice shouted.

A massive wave of the balls was thrown at the U.A. students, most of them coming from one direction. With as many as there were, Izumi wasn't sure if 15% would be enough but wanted to focus on her control over anything.

"Midoriya!" Itsuka shouted.

Izumi leapt into the air and faced the wave of orbs, snapping a kick in front of her. She wasn't as practiced as Tenya or Mina, but it would suffice for now. The huge wave of wind from her kick sent the orbs scattering randomly away from the U.A. students.

"Keep moving!" Momo shouted.

As the U.A. students were running, huge walls of what looked like steel formed in the middle of their group, separating the students into two groups; the walls were extremely high and would take too long to scale for everyone. Izumi looked down from where she was in the air and saw she was on the side with Momo and Setsuna. The other four were on the other side, hopefully still together. Izumi hit the ground and sprinted to catch up with her two teammates on this side and deflected several more of the balls from hitting her. As she nearly caught up to her allies, a wall of metal formed between her and them. Izumi hit the wall with a fist, a large dent forming but not much else.

"That won't work!" a girl taunted from above her. "My metal is too hard for you to break with your strength!"

Izumi snapped her gaze to see a girl with blonde hair and a cocky smirk on her face standing atop the metal wall surrounded by several other students all poised to attack. A feral grin graced Izumi's lips, "Is that so? I dented it just fine!"

"But you won't be able to break through it while trying to avoid us!" one of the students next to her shouted as he attacked with what looked like tar.

Izumi stomped her foot into the ground, chunks of rock and rubble stopping the spread of the boy's tar but did little to dissuade the students from thinking they had her trapped. Izumi avoided several more projectiles as she ran along the wall of metal before another wall formed itself in front of her.

They're trying to trap me here. I'm surrounded on three sides by walls now.

"You know," Izumi shouted. "I've noticed that none of you are willing to get close. Are you afraid?"

Izumi turned and saw the girl with the metal quirk was panting heavily, sweat covering her brow. The girl yelled down to her, "Scared? Not a chance!"

A boy that could stretch like rubber and a girl who almost looked like a tiger with stripes, claws, and her tail and ears lunged at Izumi. The greenette dodged out of the way and straight into a pit of tar she hadn't noticed.

"Shit," Izumi swore.

A kick from the girl aimed at her face didn't let her stay distracted long. She blocked it with her forearm before she felt a hit connect to her side; one of her targets had been hit in the mayhem by the rubber boy. Izumi knew she was outnumbered and outclassed in terms of skill with all these examinees, opting instead for overpowering them.

I'm still in the middle of everything, meaning damaging the ground here won't affect the city or endanger anyone in a real-world scenario, so this she be fine!

Izumi focused on using her full strength in her arm and slammed her fist into the ground, ignoring the bone-shattering pain she felt surge through her for a brief moment. The tar dissipated in an instant as wind erupted from the force, the entire arena shaking from the attack that caused wind to explode from her location and the ground to shatter where she stood. The ground cracked until it reached the walls ripping the one closest to her apart like tissue paper.

The students that were near her were launched back by the force of her attack; any projectiles they had launched were stopped immediately. Izumi didn't hesitate, rushing through the opening she had created. Using her quirk, she sprinted away from the examinees hoping to regroup with Momo and Setsuna if possible; the problem was finding them.

Momo was running with Setsuna from several other examinees. They had been separated by the others when that metal quirk user managed to break their group up. Izumi had been on their side of the large wall originally but had also been separated from the two girls who continued to run, making way into a building away from their pursuers. Momo created a steel rod to brace the door from being pursued to hopefully give them time to come up with a plan.

"So, any ideas?" Setsuna asked.

Momo was panting heavily herself and nodded her head toward a hallway, "We should head through and out the other side. We need to lose our pursuers since we're outnumbered. Couldn't you just tag someone out with your quirk without them noticing?"

Setsuna had split apart to scout around while they walked, "I could try but they'd probably be expecting it. Our best bet is probably to pick off one at a time."

"Sadly, you won't be able to do that!" someone shouted.

Momo looked over and saw what looked like a twin boy and a girl standing in one of the halls.

It's only two. We can handle two.

"Tokage-san, any others that you've seen or heard?" Momo asked quietly.

"The door we came in is still shut. The hallway we were heading down is quiet. From what I can tell, it's just these two," Setsuna whispered back. She started to split her body into more pieces, ready for a fight.

Momo had already started creating several objects but wasn't going to manifest them outside herself yet; she was waiting for the opportune moment to do this and hope her plan worked. The twins had finished waiting and charged at the girls, splitting up and running along the walls as they headed toward Momo and Setsuna. The two U.A. students readied themselves before the building literally shook from a huge impact. The twins were knocked to the ground and Momo took her chance. She tossed two flashbangs at the twins and shielded her face and ears before the twins were blinded and disoriented.

Setsuna had already moved and eliminated one of the twins before they hit the ground and Momo quickly followed suit with the second.

"What was that huge explosion?" Setsuna asked.

"I don't think it was an explosion… More like… something hit the ground with a ton of force," Momo said aloud.

"Think it was Green Bean? If it was, she'll be in trouble!"

"You don't have time to be worrying about someone else!" a voice shouted from behind them, one of Momo's targets lighting up red from a ball hitting it.

Momo and Setsuna turned around to a group of three students had finally managed to force their way inside. One of them was a girl with long razor sharp fingernails, one was a boy with black slicked-back hair and a cocky grin on his face, and the third was a boy with snake-like eyes. The girl lunged at the U.A. students and slashed at Momo, catching her upper arm with her nails and splashing blood on the ground. Momo immediately dropped several of the smoke canisters she had been keeping in her and ran, Setsuna following after.

Several projectiles flew through the smoke toward them, small orbs of energy that almost looked like… bullets?

Not the time to ponder it, Momo!

The ravenette threw several more smoke canisters toward the three examinees in the hope to buy some time to figure out another plan. Momo created some gauze to patch up her arm while she ran, Setsuna close behind her while using parts of her body to attack the three students in the smoke. The U.A. students ran down the hallway they were in away from their pursuers.

"Neither of us is really focused on combat!" Setsuna shouted. "I'm not strong enough to take down all three. Are you?"

"Not exactly…" Momo said sullenly. "What would Midoriya-san do in this situation?"

Separate them and take down one at a time? Can Tokage-san and I take one of those three down by ourselves? Between the two of us we should manage to take one of them or at least restrain them …

Momo and Setsuna made it to a conservatory of some sort, filled with windows; Momo and Setsuna had ran into a dead end.

"Nowhere left to run. You could go out the windows, but you'll end up pretty cut up if that's the case," the snake boy taunted. His arms elongated into what looked like pythons that began crawling on the ground toward Momo.

"Out the windows might be our only option," Setsuna shouted.

Momo hesitated in her plans; she wasn't sure the best course of action. What if it didn't work like during the Sports Festival? What if-

A huge shower of glass from behind her caused Momo's train of thought to derail as a hulking boy crashed through the window while tackling a distinct person clad in green. Blood and glass littered the floor as Izumi slammed on her back before she rolled backward and kicked the hulking boy at the three examinees that had cornered the U.A. students before rolling to her feet.

"Midoriya-san?" Momo gasped.

Izumi grinned at Momo with a large, fanged smile, "Found you."

Izumi was running through the city avoiding people as she looked for Momo and Setsuna. Even if they had been split up, she wasn't going to abandon them; they had a plan to stick together and Izumi would do everything she could to meet up with them. The problem was finding them. After escaping from most of their competition, she was managing to avoid most of the examinees without issue, the walls from before separating them from the rest of the students rather nicely. Even still, she was having no luck finding her teammates. A sudden fist crashing into a building right in front of her face stopped her thoughts, her body acting on reflex as she ducked under it and slid past her attacker.

"Pretty good reflexes. I still don't think you're that tough. You're kind of scrawny looking."

Izumi pushed herself to her feet and got a good look at her attacker, a huge hulking boy that rivaled Rikido in physique. Judging by how hard he hit the building, he had a form of enhancement quirk as well which meant things just got a bit more difficult. Izumi dodged a punch and countered with her own to his abdomen, the boy coughing slightly before hitting her hard in the face. Izumi was too focused on finding Momo and Setsuna her fighting reflexes were taking a hit.

Focus! Fight first. Find Yaoyorozu-san and Tokage-san after you- Wait, blood? That's Yaoyorozu's blood!

Izumi charged at the boy and ducked under another punch, aiming a kick at his ribs. The blow knocked him to the ground and Izumi ran off leaving him where he was, running toward the source of the smell. Izumi quickly learned during training that blood not only differentiated in taste between people but also in smell; she never thought she'd be thankful for that revelation until now. All she needed was to get to the source of the smell as fast as she could.

Izumi jumped to a rooftop and blazed like lighting as she headed for the building that she could smell the blood coming from. The scent was strong now and she knew it was the building across from her, the conservatory in front of her being a possible entrance if she wanted to go through the glass; she'd have better luck going to the entrance or making one through a wall unless she wanted to shred her hero uniform again. While debating on the best course of action she heard the sound of footsteps behind her, turning just in time to see the boy she had left lunging at her in a form of tackle.

Guess we're going through the window.

Izumi braced herself for his tackle, unable to avoid it at this point and felt the heavy boy connect, sending them both through the air off the rooftop. She felt the glass shatter and slice at her skin as her body went through the windows first, the hulking boy right behind her. She hit the ground hard but grit her teeth through the pain and used their momentum to roll and kick the hulking boy down the hallway toward three examinees that weren't from U.A.

"Midoriya-san?" Momo's voice said from behind her.

Izumi turned and grinned at the ravenette, noticing her bandaged and bloody arm, "Found you."

Setsuna's concerned voice next to Izumi drew her attention next, "Green Bean, are you going to be okay? You just got shredded by that glass!"

"I'll be fine. Let's deal with these three first."

Momo nodded to her as Izumi's wounds closed up from the glass, the greenette moving like lightning toward the large boy who was standing up while the other three seemed much slower to get up after the impact. Instead of attacking, Izumi pulled out two of her balls and ducked under a punch with her speed, tagging two of his targets. She spun on her feet and grabbed his costume shirt, aiming a knee at his abdomen before tripping him to the ground.

He's a brawler like Toshi but he's not nearly as fast as Stain was. Fighting more like Shota against him works wonders.

Not wasting any time of her own, Momo dashed forward and created a large net that she tossed into the air, "Midoriya! Tokage!"

Izumi saw what Momo was going for and jumped over the boy, grabbing a corner of the net and pulling it down to pin the three students. Tokage grabbed another corner with one of her hands, pulling it taught over the three students and pinning them down. The net looked like it was made of so sort of metal weave and weighed a decent amount. A second of Izumi's targets was lit up by one of the students as she brought the net down, Izumi being distracted capturing them.

Izumi didn't take time to revel in their capture of the three examinees and instead turned her focus to the large boy that she had ignored to help with the net. Izumi heard the distinct sound of one of Momo's matryoshka dolls hitting the ground and shielded her face and moved to the side, a blinding light flooding the room. Izumi slid and launched from her crouch at the boy, hitting the final target as she collided with him.

"Nice job, Yaoyorozu-san, Tokage-san!" Izumi shouted. "I just need one more, you both?"

"One each," Setsuna informed her.

"Then let's finish this and head out."

Momo nodded and walked to the three pinned students who were struggling to get out. The boy with snake arms lashed out and sank some of his snake arm's fangs into Momo's arm to pin her in place.

"Let us go and we'll let your friend go!" he shouted.

Setsuna clicked her tongue, "You know, that would be a bigger threat if you were still in the running."

"What do you- Oh, well done."

Setsuna's targets were lit up blue as her hand floated back with a ball in hand, the boy releasing Momo from his grasp. The ravenette winced and tapped the last target on the boy with slicked-back hair, two targets having already been tapped by Setsuna on each of the examinees. Izumi walked over and tagged the girl with razor nails, finalizing the trio's collective passing.

"Good work Tokage-san," Momo complimented.

Izumi lifted the metal net off the three of them without issue with her strength, helping each of them to their feet. "Sorry for being so rough and throwing that guy at you three. I kind of had a rough landing and wanted him off me."

"Thanks," the black-haired boy said. "You're pretty formidable."

"I'd say that was more Yaoyorozu-san and Tokage-san than me."

Setsuna shook her head, "I disagree, Green Bean. We were pretty much screwed before you came crashing in through the window."

Izumi smiled at the greenette and then turned her attention to Momo, "Yaoyorozu-san, are you okay?"

Momo took her hand off the snake bites and looked at the wounds. She turned her attention to the cuts on her arm as well, "They're not too bad. I'll manage."

"Sorry about that," the claw girl said. "Figured it would at least slow you down."

"It's quite alright. It means you were taking us seriously. Now, shall we head to the waiting area?" Momo asked.

The three U.A. girls headed out of the building after parting ways with the contestants they had knocked out, their targets all lit up bright blue to signify they had passed the exam. They enjoyed a nice leisurely walk before they made it to the anteroom. Momo grabbed some tea that was offered to them and relaxed with the two greenettes for the moment.

Setsuna took a drink of her tea and sighed happily at the flavor before looking at the 1-A students, "So, how'd you find us, Green Bean?"

Izumi smiled as she drank her own tea, "I smelled Yaoyorozu-san's blood. Ran straight to where I smelled it hoping I could help."

"That just poses more questions."

"I'll explain on the bus ride back, let's just relax while we wait for the others to get here."

Momo nodded with her teacup in hand, "Relaxing while we can seems wise. What about you, Midoriya-san? You probably injured yourself a lot earlier."

"Well, my costume has seen better days… again. But I'm fine. I'll need some blood later though."

Notes:
I originally thought about coming up with an entirely new exam than the one in September but the manga says it changes yearly so I kept the format the same but upped the number who pass this time around (Kamino and Stain both affected the pass rate according to the manga). Hopefully, this is at least entertaining enough.

Couple of questions for everyone:

Should I cover the I-Island arc in the future or leave it out since it's from one of the movies?

Do you think that All Might at 100% now is weaker or the same as Izumi at 100% now if she uses it? Manga says he's around 60x weaker when he fights the Noumu compared to his prime but power levels in BNHA are kind of... wonky and it's hard telling exactly.

As always, thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed it.
3 Belle

Chapter 18: Provisional License Exam, Pt 2 Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text Izumi was sitting with Momo and Setsuna after the first part of the exam, waiting for any of their other classmates to return. The three of them were getting more and more anxious as the number of students that passed got higher and higher.

"Where is everyone?" Setsuna pondered aloud. "Should we have tried to regroup with them?"

Momo furrowed her brow, "I don't believe that was possible. I was fairly certain Midoriya-san would be eliminated once she was separated from the two of us."

Izumi frowned briefly at Momo's lack of confidence in her before a small smile rested on her lips, "I can't afford to fail today. No matter what, I was going to succeed."

"No kidding. You got tackled through a window earlier. Are you sure you're fine?"

Izumi looked at her arms and over her shoulder at her mildly sliced outfit, "My hero costume has seen better days. Though it's not as bad as when that flying Noumu attacked me. Hatsume-san is going to kill me for damaging it again."

"Why not request something more durable?" Momo asked plainly.

"I actually requested the material they use for All Might's costumes… but apparently that stuff is really expensive."

Momo sat down her teacup and thought for a moment, "Do you know the material it's made of? I could make it for you if you-"

"Yaoyorozu-san, I appreciate it, but I could never ask you to do that; you're my classmate and friend and I know how you feel about using your quirk for things like that. I'll figure out something with Hatsume-san later."

Momo pursed her lips but didn't say anything else on the issue. Setsuna split apart to start looking for any other U.A. students. She was talking with the two 1-A girls as part of her floated around looking for other U.A. students. The number of spots was getting to be less and less as they waited but Setsuna still hadn't spotted any other students.

"No one else has passed yet? Isn't that… troublesome?" Momo asked.

Setsuna's tone betrayed her confidence, "I'm sure they'll be here…"

Izumi was looking around as well, hoping to spot the familiar dual-toned hair of Shoto, Itsuka's bright ginger hair, or either of the two tall boys with glasses. Hell, even blond spiky hair would be almost welcome at this point. Finally, Setsuna broke their nervous silence.

"I think I spotted Honenuki and Shishida… Yeah, they're together."

"That's good at least, would you direct them this way?" Momo asked.

Setsuna gave an affirmative and before long, Juzo and Jurota both walked over to join the girls. Both looked slightly scuffed up and worn down but nothing crazy.

"So, where are Iida and Kendou?" Setsuna asked them, still looking for other contestants.

Juzo frowned, "They requested us to tag them out due to the number of spots being less than five at the time…"

"'It is the duty of the class representatives to make sure all of their classmates can pass in times like this!'" Jurota said, miming an arm chop.

Izumi had to stop herself from snorting at Jurota's Tenya imitation, "That sounds like Iida-kun… So, neither of them made it then?"

"Sadly, no. Is it just you three?" Jurota asked.

Momo nodded, "So far. Tokage-san has been keeping an eye out for other U.A. students."

"Still no luck," Setsuna informed them. "Monoma is a pretty capable guy, all things considered. But given our opponents were just… far more skilled than we were and he ran off on his own, the odds aren't in his favor."

"Todoroki-kun and Bakugou-kun are both very capable as well. I have similar concerns for them."

"Kacchan and Todoroki-kun are definitely 1-A's two strongest at the moment," Izumi stated. "But they both refused to work with any of us."

"You would place those two above yourself?" Jurota asked. "Even after fighting and defeating the Hero Killer?"

Izumi was silent for a moment, looking at her lap before she returned her gaze forward. She nodded, "I… didn't beat him due to skill. I beat him because I overpowered him. That's it. Nothing more. I was faster and stronger than him in the end, and far more durable. And I had a lot of luck on my side… but if I want to be the best, I can't rely on always being faster or stronger than someone and I definitely can't rely on getting lucky… I need skill. Todoroki-kun and Kacchan are both far more skilled than I am."

Izumi didn't notice the look that Momo gave her at this comment but the ravenette didn't say anything about it.

"I don't think you give yourself enough credit, Green Bean. I don't think anyone in our grade could fight a serial killer like him and live, let alone win," Setsuna argued.

Izumi frowned, wanting to argue but opting against it. She still wanted to talk to him, to know why he went easy on her. She could tell he wasn't being serious against her at first. Was it because she was a student? Was it something else? The only way she could know is if she went and talked to him herself. Hopefully, Nezu and Toshinori managed to get her permission to visit him in Tartarus and at least speak to him. Maybe then she could clear things up.

"Midoriya-san? Are you okay? You've been muttering to yourself for a few minutes," Momo informed her gently. "The last examinee just passed so we're waiting for the second part of the test."

Izumi looked at her, "Sorry, Yaoyorozu-san. Just deep in thought. Has anyone else from U.A. passed the first part?"

"Tokage spotted Todoroki," Juzo stated plainly. "That means there's six of us. I'm curious what happened to the other two…"

Jurota adjusted his glasses, "They went off on their own, so they probably got outnumbered. Monoma's quirk makes him better in a team situation or if he can get into a one-on-one situation. He didn't even bother to copy our quirks before he ran off."

"Kacchan can usually handle himself… I wonder if something else happened," Izumi wondered aloud.

"We can find out after the exam," Momo stated. "Tokage-san, will you see if you can get Todoroki-kun to work with us?"

Setsuna grinned at her, "Sure thing, Yaomomo."

Then Setsuna's mouth floated off to go talk to Shoto. Izumi was anxious for the second part of the test, but she was also excited. If she passed… No, when she passed, she would have her Provisional License and could start her internship with Mirko sooner rather than later. Equally as exciting for Izumi was that she could go back to the dorms after this and spend time with Mina. She really just wanted to cuddle up with the pinkette when she was done today. Well… Mina, Himiko, Ochako, and Kyoka. Maybe they'd be up for a cuddle pile?

Dammit, Izumi, calm yourself down until after we're done today. You need to focus on passing.

Mera's voice over the speakers cut through the air, "Um… excuse me. If all the examinees will please take a look at the screen."

The examinees watched on the monitors as the entire arena turned into a giant disaster zone. The building shook as explosions went off and landslides occurred. Buildings and the freeway all collapsed, all simulating real-world disasters. They weren't pulling any punches for the exam today; they were throwing everyone in the deep end.

"You will all be working as bystanders and will undertake a rescue exercise. In this scenario you are all those who hypothetically have your licenses and are being tested on how well you respond to a rescue situation," Mera continued. "You all have five minutes before you begin."

Izumi looked at the students with her, "Working together might be best for this. What'd Todoroki-kun say?"

Setsuna smiled awkwardly, "He said he's going to do it by himself."

Izumi sighed, "Fine. Yaoyorozu-san, I know you're better with rescue training than I am, any game plan?"

Momo looked almost surprised at that, or at least that's what Izumi thought that expression was. She wasn't sure why, Momo was a recommended student for a reason.

Momo thought for a moment, "Um… It might be best if we stay close and search for injured civilians. One second…" Momo created something in her hand and opened her palm to show off five ear-pieces. She handed one to each of the U.A. students that were working together, "We can keep in contact with those. Make sure to reassure any civilians that everything is fine, we're there to save them, not just physically but from the fear they might be dealing with from the disaster."

Izumi put the earpiece in her ear and nodded. Momo seemed far more capable as a leader than Izumi in this situation.

Jurota looked at Momo, "Should we split up to cover more ground and let each other know if we need assistance?"

"I'm going to stay behind and help with setting up a first aid location. My quirk is highly suited to create medical supplies. You four split up and rescue individuals. If you need my assistance or anyone else's, contact each other."

"That makes sense. We can cover more ground by splitting up and transporting the injured back to you," Juzo nodded.

Momo created one more thing and handed it to Izumi. Izumi looked at it and it was a deep red cape that matched her accents on her boots. It was exceptionally gorgeous but being handed the item confused the greenette, "What's this for?"

"Your costume looks like you went through a paper shredder. It's just to cover your back so people don't worry about you unnecessarily," Momo said with a smile.

Izumi smiled awkwardly and slung the cape around her shoulders, "Right. Thanks, Yaoyorozu-san. Do we want to stay in the same area to help each other quickly?"

"Pair off?" Setsuna offered. "Honenuki and Shishida can work together since Shishida is strong and Honenuki can assist him easily with his quirk. I'll work with you, Green Bean, since I'm not exactly strong but I can scout easily. We don't have to stick together the entire time but stick to the same areas. That work?"

Juzo nodded, "Fine with me."

"Me as well," Jurota agreed. "If all else fails, we meet back up together to help each other out."

The exam started and the five students headed out into the disaster cityscape. Momo split off from them with some older students, all of them beginning to set up a first aid area for the disaster zone. Izumi's nerves were being drowned out by adrenaline now and her red eyes gleamed in the sunlight as she ran off with the other three students.

"Okay, Honenuki-kun and I will head this way, you two check that way!" Jurota instructed.

Izumi nodded, "Got it."

Izumi channeled her Full Cowl at 10% and split with Setsuna in the opposite direction. Setsuna was floating above to scout from a different angle while Izumi was scouting through the city on foot, listening for anyone calling out for help and looking around as well. It didn't take long before Izumi found someone trapped in a sinkhole that had formed screaming up for help.

"Is anyone out there? I can't get out! I think I sprained my ankle!" the woman yelled up.

Izumi touched her ear-piece, "I found someone trapped in a sinkhole. They're injured from what they're yelling. Straight ahead of you about a block, Tokage."

She received an affirmative from Setsuna before she went to the edge of the pit, "Don't worry, heroes are here. Are you okay?"

The woman looked up at her, "I'm injured, and I can't find my husband."

Izumi looked around quickly before deducing he wasn't in the immediate area, "We'll find him. Just stay calm and we'll get you out of there and find your husband."

This wasn't the first time Izumi had to reassure anyone during a disaster. She was reminded of her time in Hosu and the train wreck that she managed to reassure everyone. Izumi dropped down into the hole, sliding down the side of it and using her hand to slow down her momentum slightly; it wasn't a sheer drop, there was a slant to everything. She did take note that her shoes weren't meant for this kind of friction… maybe if they were metal?

Once at the bottom, Izumi looked at the woman with a smile, "You mentioned you injured your ankle?"

"Yes, I think I sprained it."

Izumi nodded, "Are you okay with me picking you up to get you out of here?"

The woman smiled slightly and nodded, "Yes, thank you."

Izumi picked her up gently in a princess carry and used her quirk to jump out of the hole and landed next to Setsuna as gently as she could. Granted, she wasn't used to carrying someone while jumping so she might have jostled the woman slightly but not enough to injure her. Izumi sat her on her feet with Setsuna propping under the woman's arm.

"I'll get you to medical help," Setsuna said.

Izumi nodded, "I'm going to look for her husband and meet up with you as soon as I can."

"Thank you," the woman said. "Thank you both."

Izumi darted off to search for the man while Setsuna assisted the woman in her rescue. It didn't take long for Izumi to find the woman's husband; he was trapped in a vehicle that was pinned under the overpass that had collapsed. He was conscious at least.

"Everything is fine, sir. Are you injured?" Izumi asked the man.

"I hit my head slightly, but I think I'm fine. I just can't get the door open to get out!"

Izumi looked at the man and then went to the back door of the car, "Okay, close your eyes and I'll get this open. I don't want debris getting in your face on accident."

The man covered his eyes and Izumi ripped the back door of the car off of the vehicle without so much as a grunt. She helped the man out of the vehicle and propped him up slightly, "Do you have a wife?"

"I do. She's got brown hair and she was wearing a pink blouse."

Izumi smiled at him, "Your wife is safe. She's at the medical tents. Let's head over to see her."

The man nodded and Izumi escorted him to the medical tents. There were plenty of students administering first aid to the injured and reassuring them. Izumi and her rescued companion approached the medical area and he saw his wife. He looked at Izumi and smiled, "Thank you. I can make it from here."

Izumi nodded to him and let him go, several examinees coming over to check him for injuries as he went to his wife. Momo was working with the other students at the medical tents and was one of the examinees that came to assist the man as he came over. Izumi ran off to look for more civilians in the disaster, alerting Setsuna she was headed back out over the headset. Izumi and Setsuna managed to rescue a handful of civilians together, ensuring they got back to the medical tents safely.

Izumi was honestly feeling proud of how smooth the two of them were working together, Setsuna managing to scout places Izumi couldn't easily see and directing the vampire to civilians. Izumi's strength made her more suited for helping civilians trapped in places that Setsuna couldn't help people in; she had managed to rescue several civilians trapped by rubble while the lizard girl reassured the trapped civilians and helped Izumi move the rubble, though much slower since she couldn't move as much.

After the civilians were freed from the rubble, Mera's voice cut through the air again in the same monotonous tone, "Villains have attacked in the midst of the chaos. Protect the civilians and hold out until backup arrives."

Izumi debated joining the fight against the villains when Momo's voice was in her ear, "Everyone, the villains are attacking the medical area!"

A second-year from another school shouted to Setsuna and Izumi, "This area is clear of civilians. Get to the medical area to make sure it's safe!"

Momo shouted over to her from her vantage point, "Todoroki-kun and some of the other examinees can handle the villains elsewhere, but we need support at the safe area."

Setsuna's voice was heard by Izumi in stereo as she spoke to her and the group over their communicators, "That might be difficult. Our lead villain can fly."

Izumi looked up and saw the pro hero Ryukyu above everyone in her dragon form with a darker and more sinister outfit as she roared into the sky.

An airborne opponent?

Izumi watched Ryukyu dive toward the medical area before several quirks were shot at her and caused her to veer away from the heroes and civilians. Izumi's quirk urged her to fight the dragon hero; it wanted her to face a challenge. Izumi dashed off toward where Ryukyu had landed and stood between her and the civilians with a Mirko-inspired grin.

"Oh? What's this? A hero thinks they can stop me?" Ryukyu taunted. "I've left the rest of my crew to deal with the other troublesome heroes, I suppose I can play with you."

Izumi didn't say anything before charging at Ryukyu with 10% of her quirk. She wanted nothing more than to let loose and use everything she had but knew she needed to learn control; damaging herself to use more was a quick way to end up overusing her regeneration. She launched a solid hit at Ryukyu's face which the dragon hero caught with one of her hands, the ground beneath her becoming grooved from Izumi shoving her back ever so slightly.

"You're not bad. Sadly, you can't beat me," Ryukyu shouted before throwing Izumi like a rag doll.

Izumi hit the ground hard, but Ryukyu didn't get the chance to gloat before the ground beneath her softened and she began sinking. Juzo solidified it once she was slightly in the ground, hoping to restrain her. Ryukyu burst from the ground and hovered in the air, "Not bad, heroes. Let's see if you can keep up!"

Ryukyu dove at Juzo before a large boy from another school ran in front of him and gripped the dragon hero's hands, wrestling her onto the ground barely. Izumi managed to reorient herself and launched at the dragon, aiming a kick at the spot between her wings on her back to hopefully disable her. Ryukyu wasn't a pro hero just for show and managed to dodge out of the way of Izumi's axe kick, countering with a large swipe of her own at the vampire. Izumi crossed her arms to block the hit as she was launched backward but was caught by another second year, a girl this time.

"You're pretty sturdy. No wonder you managed to fight the Hero Killer," she grinned.

"Thanks for the save. We're stopping her here and now."

"I can keep her from moving for a split second. Will that help?"

Izumi grinned a fanged smile, "That's all we'll need."

Izumi amped her Full Cowl to 15% like she had done against Stain and Mirko, launching toward the dragon hero again. She aimed a kick at Ryukyu's side this time, the dragon starting to move before suddenly freezing in place. Izumi landed a heavy blow into the dragon's flank before the muscular second-year boy shoved Ryukyu to the ground that Juzo had liquefied. The dragon sank into it again, deeper than before. The ground solidified once more, and a wave of ice helped to restrain the dragon completely. Ryukyu thrashed in her prison, breaking free enough to move.

The thing that made Izumi's adrenaline shoot sky-high? She didn't even look injured.

Izumi saw a projectile flying at her and dodged away at the last second, confused at where it came from. She then realized that Ryukyu had several foot soldiers assisting her and they were using what looked like net guns.

"Problematic," one of the second years said. "She's got ranged support."

Shoto looked at the foot soldiers and sent a wave of ice toward them, one of the nets wrapping around him while he had planted himself with his attack. Izumi noticed all the other villains were incapacitated at least and had already started to run toward Ryukyu again shouting over her ear-piece at the same time.

"Tokage-san, can you help Todoroki-kun escape? Yaoyorozu-san, can you make something to capture Ryukyu?"

The line was silent for a moment before Momo's voice replied, "I'll need a few minutes, but I can do that."

"On it!" Setsuna replied.

Izumi was right next to Jurota in his larger beast form as he showed up, the two of them leaping into the air at Ryukyu, both of them colliding with the dragon hero before she had managed to gain any altitude. Ryukyu tumbled over in her large form, the impact causing her to lose her balance but clearly not hurting that much. Izumi knew they just had to buy time. The ground below the dragon's feet softened again, causing Ryukyu to try and use her wings to balance herself but Izumi wasn't going to give her the chance.

"Shishida-kun, throw me!" Izumi shouted.

The beast-boy looked at her and nodded, grabbing her and throwing her into the air at Ryukyu's wings. The pro hero could either sink into the ground by dropping from the air or let Izumi hit her wings with the full force of 15% of One For All and a rather large beast throwing her with all his might. Ryukyu knew if she sunk into the ground she would get hit anyway and opted to try and fly higher up before Izumi connected a 15% kick directly into one of her wings. The dragon winced as she felt the pain of the injury, losing some altitude and allowing Izumi to land on her back.

Ryukyu tried to roll in the air to knock Izumi off her but with one wing already damaged, she was having a hard time controlling herself perfectly. Izumi was going to get knocked off the dragon soon, but her plan wasn't to disable her, it was to distract her.

"Now!" Momo's voice shouted in her ear.

Izumi jumped off Ryukyu with all her strength, the force of her jump causing her wings to spasm slightly as the boom of a cannon echoed through the arena. The next moment, Ryukyu's wings were wrapped in a large net that looked like it was made of a similar metallic weave to before. Ryukyu crashed into the liquid ground beneath her and sank into it before Honenuki solidified it again. Izumi landed a few short feet away from Momo and saw her panting from creating such a large object with a slight smile on her face.

"The final civilian has been rescued. That's the end of the exam," Mera announced dryly. "Please return to the center and we will announce the results."

Shoto looked disappointed in himself for getting caught by one of the villains but didn't say anything right then, instead, he was staring at his left hand for a moment again.

"Would you kids mind releasing me?" Ryukyu asked. "As much as I enjoy being half-buried in the ground and unable to fly, I'd like to get out of here."

The other examinees that were nearby laughed slightly and assisted Ryukyu in escaping the net before Honenuki turned the ground to liquid so she could escape. Izumi and the other examinees went and got changed back into their school uniforms. Izumi didn't see any of the others who hadn't made it through the first part yet, they were probably waiting for them in the observation area.

"Okay, your results are here. If your name is on the board, you earned enough points to obtain your provisional license. If not, we'll see you again in three months," Mera said with a yawn.

The display on the screen changed to show names in alphabetical order. Izumi's eyes scanned down the list.

Misaki, Misato, Mito … Midoriya! Yes! Did everyone else pass?

Izumi scanned the list and saw Momo's name toward the end which didn't surprise Izumi much. She found Setsuna's name as well. But… she didn't see Shoto's name. Izumi looked at Shoto nearby and his normal stoic expression barely masked his own disappointment. Izumi couldn't imagine why he didn't pass today. Should she comfort him? Izumi wasn't sure she could say anything to him at this point since he seemed to be dealing with his own internal struggles.

Those that passed were given their provisional licenses after having their pictures taken. For once, Izumi didn't look like an anxious mess in a picture, just a normal smiling girl. That was something she was actually pretty happy about. As she had told her class right before she had gotten kidnapped, her hero name was 'Deku' and it was on the card instead of her real name. Ochako had given it new meaning for her, after all.

It didn't take long for the students to be ushered out of the facility by staff and head back to their busses to return home. The U.A. students all met up again and boarded the bus to head back to campus, a mix of emotions on the bus. The biggest being Katsuki's silent fury for not passing and Shoto's immense disappointment. He hadn't even said anything since the results were announced and he had been given his evaluation.

"Congratulations to you five," Tenya said in as chipper a tone as he could. "I'm glad you all managed to pass this time around."

Momo smiled, "Thanks, Iida-kun. Shishida-kun and Honenuki-kun told us what happened to Kendou-san and yourself."

"It's my duty to ensure my classmates, and even our sister classes' classmates, succeed if all of us cannot."

"Still, only two of class 1-A passed, aren't you supposed to be better than us?" Neito taunted.

Itsuka chopped the back of Neito's neck to silence him, "Stop it. Sorry about him…"

Izumi was waiting for Katsuki to verbally, and probably physically, explode at the boy. The verbal lashing never came, and Izumi had to look to the boy to see if he was actually on the bus with them. He was still there; he was just silently fuming and… thinking? He looked like he was deep in thought over something while grinding his teeth and… tears rimming his eyes? That's… concerning. Or Izumi was imagining things. Probably imagining things; Katsuki is far too proud for that.

Nezu looked at Izumi, who was sitting near her, and spoke in his normal tone, "Izumi-kun, could I bother you for a moment for a shoulder to stand on?"

Izumi smiled at the chimera, "Sure."

Nezu nodded as Izumi bent down and allowed the chimera a perch on her as she had seen Toshinori, Shota, and Nemuri all do before. Izumi noticed that Nezu wasn't as heavy as she figured he would be, but he was still a decent-sized… whatever he was. Once Nezu was in his position, Izumi stood up to face the rest of the bus.

"Students, I just wanted to say that I am proud of you all today. Even if you did not pass, you showed great promise and resolve for students who have only been training for less than two months at U.A. You have all made amazing progress and I truly look forward to seeing how all of you fare in the future," Nezu announced.

"Sir, those of us that didn't pass will be taking the exam again in September?" Tenya asked him.

"That is correct. If you continued to train hard as you have been, I have no doubt that you all will pass when the time comes. I hope that those of you retaking it will help to inspire the rest of your classmates to do the same."

Itsuka raised her hand, "Will class 1-A and 1-B be taking the exam together again in September?"

"I'm afraid not. This was a special case since the group was small enough to bring both classes' representatives students. Come September, class 1-A will be going to a different facility than class 1-B."

The students nodded at that. Left unsaid was that it might be better if they were separate, only due to the festering rivalry that the classes had. Even if it wasn't everyone in both classes, there was some bad blood between the two. Even if it was mostly Neito and Katsuki, it spread to some of the other students unintentionally.

Nezu looked at everyone and grinned wide, "If there are no other questions, we shall return to U.A."

There were no other questions and Izumi let Nezu back down onto his seat, sitting near the chimera to try and ask him something. After the bus started on its way back to U.A., Nezu looked at Izumi who had been staring at him on accident, "What would you like to ask me, Izumi-kun?"

Izumi blushed slightly from being so easy to read, "Well, um… It's not really my business but… what happened to Kacchan in the exam?"

Nezu's smile turned into a thin line, "I would normally leave a student's business to them but considering your prior circumstances with Bakugou-kun I'll tell you. He was disqualified for excessive force on another examinee."

"O-Oh," was all Izumi could manage to reply with.

Notes:
There are a lot of reasons why this took so much longer than I thought it would. The holidays kind of suck in general and I suddenly lost motivation after getting halfway through this and ended up getting side-tracked applying for jobs and interviewing places. I kind of forgot I was working on this in all the hustle and bustle until I was reminded of this fic. Oops.

Hopefully it's a good read at least. Next chapter is probably going to be fluffy fun stuff before we get back into the angst and drama. I'm also finally going back and updating Izumi's Full Cowl percentage in earlier chapters to tone down the power creep I was starting to realize would happen after some suggestions from other people.

Enough rambling, thank you all for reading. Love you guys 3 Belle

Chapter 19: After the Exam Notes:
Surprise! Had some extra time and motivation so here's another chapter.

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text The students arrived back from the provisional exam before classes ended, opting to separate at the dorms and do their own things. Momo noticed that Shoto and Katsuki hadn't said a single word to anyone since the exam had ended. This wasn't that surprising since they both failed the exam but… it was worrying the ravenette. Tenya also left for his room but he had on a fake smile at the very least and said a few parting words.

Izumi on the other hand had mentioned waiting in the common room for her classmates to get back. Momo originally planned to head up to her room like the others but… maybe spending time getting to know Izumi might be nice. Since the greenette had gone from an awkward and cute shy boy to a semi-confident cute girl Momo had taken more of an interest in her. Her heroic drive, how confident she acted when in training, how badass she was when she saved Momo and Setsuna during the exam, how cute she was when-

This might be problematic. She was dating Mina now. Life isn't like one of her books where the main character ends up dating multiple partners. Besides, why would someone like Izumi ever want to be with someone like-

"Yaoyorozu-san, your bandages need to be changed again," Izumi informed her, pulling Momo from her thoughts as she idly stared at her book.

Momo sat down her novel and looked at her arm, "O-Oh, you're right. I'll do that now."

Izumi grabbed the first aid kit, "I'll help. You need to clean them now that we have the chance. You just field-treated them, right?"

"I did."

Izumi sat down the kit and went to the kitchen with a metal bowl in hand, filling it with warm water before grabbing a cloth she could wash out after she was done. She washed her hands to make sure they were clean before she walked over to Momo with the bowl and cloth in hand.

"Sit down and I'll take care of it," Izumi said with a smile.

Momo started to protest but Izumi's smile caused her to falter, "O-Okay…"

The ravenette sat down in a chair and Izumi knelt down in front of her. Izumi dipped the cloth in the water and started gently cleaning the snake bites first. Momo winced slightly at the contact, the wound still sore.

"Sorry. I'll try to be gentler," Izumi assured her.

Momo didn't want to remain silent, speaking quietly, "Do you know what you're doing?"

Dammit Momo, that sounded really rude!

Izumi smiled awkwardly at her, "Recovery Girl made me take a lesson on treating puncture wounds after she learned I drank from Mina's neck at school… And she gave me a rundown on treating most minor wounds. First aid is a pretty important skill for us, right?"

Momo nodded as she watched Izumi work, rinsing the wound before wringing out the cloth several times repeatedly. Izumi checked the bites to see if there was debris in them. Seemingly satisfied that they were clean, she opened up a bottle of antibiotic ointment from the first aid kit and applied a thin layer of it over each puncture mark. Once the ointment was on, she grabbed a bandage and covered the wounds with it.

Momo smiled slightly, "You'd make a good nurse."

Izumi chuckled at that, "I doubt it. I suppose blood doesn't make me nauseous, but it definitely makes me start craving it."

"It sounds like an addiction. Is it that intense?"

"Well… I can usually resist it but if I go for a few days without drinking some I start to get irritable. Himiko is the same way but her tolerance for how long she can go without is far longer than mine."

"Why is that?"

Izumi visibly winced, "I'll tell you because I trust you but please don't mention it to anyone else…"

Momo nodded to her, "Of course."

"Himiko… she lived on the streets for a year before I found her. I just don't want everyone to know her business."

"That's… I can't imagine… But you're right, it's her business so I won't mention it to anyone."

Izumi smiled at her and unwrapped the bandage from around the larger wound, the four slash marks on her upper arm. Momo was watching the vampire with vested interest when she noticed Izumi lick her lips while staring at the cuts. As soon as the vampire did her eyes widened, "Sorry! That was an unconscious thing. You just look like you would taste good…"

Momo's cheeks had lit up bright red at her comment, "I-It's quite all right, Midoriya-san…"

Izumi gave her a full smile, clearly relieved by that before rinsing the cuts now. Izumi continued to nurse the wounds while Momo had an internal panic attack.

Oh my god! She said I look like I would taste good? No! Calm down. She meant your blood. You've been reading far too many girls love novels!

Izumi was finishing up rinsing the cuts on Momo's arm, the ravenette not even feeling all the pressure since she was so in her own world right now. Izumi sat the cloth in the water and applied the ointment to the cuts gently, making sure they were all covered. Izumi pulled out a bandage to wrap around Momo's arm and gently covered her injury before tying the bandage.

"Is that too tight?" Izumi asked her.

Momo had managed to compose herself while Izumi worked on the cuts, her blush finally having faded from her cheeks. Momo smiled at the vampire, "Oh, it's perfect. Thank you, Midoriya-san."

Izumi pulled away as the doors opened, turning to look at everyone with a smile, "Hey guys."

"Izumi! Yaomomo!" Mina shouted. "How'd it go!? Where's everyone else?"

"The others went up to their dorm rooms once we returned. It's just been the two of us down here for a bit. The exam went well."

"Who all passed?" Hanta asked her.

Momo smiled awkwardly, "From 1-A, Midoriya-san and I."

Mina nearly knocked over several things as she rushed to the greenette in her excitement, jumping up to wrap her arms and legs around the vampire. Izumi caught her without much issue, hugging her girlfriend happily.

"Congratulations!" Mina squealed.

Izumi smiled at her, "Thanks, Mina."

The rest of the class seemed torn between being embarrassed by Mina's overeager public displays of affection and conflicted about the news of who passed. Momo was in the first camp while also feeling a slight hint of… was that jealousy?

Izumi sat Mina down and the pinkette turned to Momo with a teasing grin, "Congrats to you too, Yaomomo. I can give you a hug if you want as well?"

Momo blushed slightly, "Thank you, Ashido. I appreciate the thought."

"Do you both have places lined up to intern with?" Rikido asked the two examinees.

"I don't yet," Momo frowned.

"I do. I'm actually waiting to talk to Aizawa-sensei about how internships work with classes and everything," Izumi admitted.

"Are you going to tell us?" Ochako asked.

Izumi smiled at the brunette, "Maybe. Give me a minute to clean up and I'll join everyone in the living room."

"Midoriya-san, I can take care of it. It's more my mess than yours," Momo tried to argue.

Izumi waved a hand dismissively while smiling at Momo, "I'll take care of it. Just relax with everyone and chat while I clean up, okay?"

"Okay… If you need help, just say something."

Izumi nodded and went to clean up the first aid supplies while Momo joined the other students in the living room, sitting around chatting about various things while they waited for Izumi. Momo sat down and a mischievous pinkette sat down next to her with an impish grin on her.

"Izumi decided to play doctor for you?"

Momo was suddenly very nervous for some reason, "She offered to clean the wounds I received during the exam and redressed them… Why?"

"No reason… You just looked smitten with her is all."

Momo was used to handling herself under pressure during her studies. She went through years of intense training of all sorts so that she could handle herself well and come up with a plan that would work in any situation utilizing her strengths. And right now, she had no plan for the pinkette's sudden accusation. So, of course, Momo froze.

"I- Um…" Momo's brain went into overdrive and she found an acceptable reply finally, "That's not it at all. I respect Midoriya-san as a classmate and fellow future hero."

If Mina ever finds out I have a crush on anyone in this class, especially her girlfriend, I'll never live it down.

Momo hoped that would appease the devil next to her and prevent any further teasing. Mina looked at her with eyes that screamed 'I know' and smiled pleasantly at her, "That's good. Izumi is pretty amazing."

Momo smiled lightly at Mina, "She's the reason Tokage-san and I passed today…"

"Wait, really?"

A majority of the other students started listening now that Momo was talking about the exam.

"Yes. Tokage-san and I were cornered by three other examinees with no way of escaping. Neither of our quirks is amazing for combat in a head-on fight. Just when we thought we were going to be eliminated, Midoriya-san came crashing through the window and helped us take down the other examinees."

Izumi finished cleaning up all the medical supplies and everything, deciding to join the others in the living room finally and walking around the couch to sit next to Mina.

"-came crashing through the window and helped us take down the other examinees."

Izumi blushed slightly at that, "You mean I got tackled through a window…"

"I'm not even surprised," Ochako commented at Izumi's admission.

"Well… I originally planned to break down a wall to get to Tokage-san and Yaoyorozu-san but another examinee caught up with me after I got away from him… He tackled me through the conservatory windows… Granted, it backfired for him since I used him as a human projectile, throwing him at the three that had Yaoyorozu-san and Tokage-san cornered. Then Yaoyorozu-san managed to capture the three students from before I got there."

"Midoriya-san, you helped capture them…" Momo argued.

"I didn't really do much. That was all you."

Himiko turned to Kyouka and whispered to her, "Do they both downplay all their accomplishments all the time?"

"You have no idea," Kyouka sighed.

"Either way," Momo said with a tone of finality, "Without Midoriya-san, Tokage-san and I would have been eliminated for sure."

"Why were you separated from them, to begin with, Midori?" Toru asked.

"The other examinees separated us. We started working mostly together, Kacchan, Todoroki-kun, and Monoma-kun deciding to go off on their own. Then the examinees separated us into two groups; I was with Tokage-san and Yaoyorozu-san. Iida-kun ended up with Kendou-san, Honenuki-kun, and Shishida-kun. Then, I got singled out and separated from everyone," Izumi explained. "I managed to find Yaoyorozu-san because I smelled her blood."

"Okay, you explained that you can smell blood before. How the hell did you know it was Yaomomo's blood?" Kyouka asked.

"Everyone's blood smells different."

"Wait, it does?" Himiko asked.

Izumi stared at her and blinked a few times, "It doesn't for you?"

"I've never noticed it smelling different… It smells like blood."

Izumi started muttering to herself, "So, the difference in smell is specific to my quirk? Do not all blood users have the same sense of smell for blood? Himiko did mention that bagged blood tastes different, does blood from different people taste different to her?"

Himiko seemed to have heard some of what she was saying, "Well, for me, I can tell the difference in different people when drinking it. And bagged blood is usually gross, depending on how long it's been bagged."

Izumi scratched her cheek, "That's about the same for me. Your blood tastes… savory but mixed with my blood. Mina's tastes slightly acidic, probably due to her quirk. Bagged blood tends to just be stale, regardless of what it originally was."

Izumi's phone began to ring, and she checked the ID before she pressed the ignore button for now. Rumi had called her, but she was in the middle of something already.

"That's interesting that there are so many differences between blood quirks. I wonder if anyone has done research into that," Momo commented. She had her finger to her chin as she toyed with her bottom lip as she usually did while deep in thought.

That's… kind of cute, now that I actually pay attention to it.

Izumi smiled at that, "I'm not sure, maybe-"

"Aren't you getting a little sidetracked?" Denki interrupted. Izumi and Momo both snapped their gaze to him, and he awkwardly scratched his head, "Sorry, you both just kind of… got absorbed in your quirk talk."

"Apologies, Kaminari-kun," Momo said.

Izumi smiled at him, "Yeah, sorry about that… You know how I get with quirks…"

The class nodded in understanding at that. Mina smiled at Izumi, "So, who are you going to intern with?"

"I really should ask them first…"

Mina put on her best puppy dog eyes, "Please?"

Dammit, she's too cute!

Izumi was biting her lip to try and resist, but she was fighting a losing battle. Seizing her chance, Himiko walked over and sat down next to Mina, putting on her own puppy dog eyes as she also stared at Izumi, "Come on, Izucchi. You have to tell us!"

Double dammit!

Izumi sighed, "Fine. You win…" Izumi muttered to herself, "I'm so fucked in the future if I can't resist those damn puppy dog eyes…"

"So, mademoiselle, who shall you be working with?" Yuga asked.

"I'll be working with Mirko…"

You could hear a pin drop in the room from how stunned everyone was. Mineta was the only one who spoke up, "There's no way you get to work with the super-hot rabbit hero Mirko!"

"She doesn't even take interns, Midori," Toru asked.

"I hate to say this, Midoriya-san, but I find it hard to believe as well…" Momo admitted.

Izumi started to say something when her phone rang again. Izumi sighed since it was Rumi again and looked at the class, "Sorry. One second." Izumi answered her phone, "Hey, Mir-"

"DID YOU FUCKING IGNORE MY CALL, RUNT?" Rumi's voice screamed into her ear.

Izumi flinched away from the phone slightly and scrunched her face, "I was in the middle of talking with my classmates about the exam today. I figured I'd call you back after I had a chance to talk to Aizawa-sensei about internships and classes."

Kyouka was wide-eyed as she stared at Izumi, "Holy shit. That sounds like Mirko."

"What the fuck?" Hanta asked. "How?"

"Hmph, fine. I'll let it slide this time. Don't make a habit of it, got it?" Rumi snarked in her ear.

Izumi spoke to her phone in hand, "I won't." She pressed the mute button and looked at the group, "Should I go somewhere else now?"

Mina cuddled up next to her, "Nope. Stay here. You're comfy."

Izumi giggled while listening to Rumi talk, "Are you still planning on interning with me or did you decide to bitch out on me?"

Izumi kind of liked the lax and carefree way Rumi was approaching this, it felt far less stressful than she was expecting. She clicked the button to turn her microphone back on again.

"Why would I 'bitch out' as you put it? Do you take me for a weakling?"

Some of her classmates' eyes spoke volumes about what they thought of the way she was talking right now. Izumi figured talking to the rabbit hero on her own terms would work better. That and she was in need of some blood after earlier.

"That's what I like to hear. I hope you're ready to start working your ass off. I'll make sure it's okay with the rat that you start next week, that work?"

"Sure, gives me time to take my girlfriend on a date," Izumi said, giving Mina a sly smile.

Mina's face lit up, going from surprised to ecstatic, a wide smile crossing her face at Izumi's declaration.

Oh god, she's so bright.

"Sure. Spend time with your girlfriend, fuck her, whatever. Starting next week, you'll be too exhausted to do much outside of interning with me," Rumi threatened, a feral grin extremely evident to Izumi.

Izumi started cackling at that while Mina was trying to muffle her own laughter with her hand, having heard it from being right next to her. When asked later why she did it, Izumi wasn't sure what compelled her, but she was going to blame it on her blood loss during the exam causing her current cocky attitude.

"You underestimate my stamina. I'll manage just fine."

It was official, Izumi had killed her girlfriend. Mina next to her had gone lilac up to her ears at the comment and was staring at Izumi wide-eyed. Izumi looked at Mina and smiled at her, flashing her fangs to the pinkette.

Rumi chuckled, "You're kind of a cocky little shit, aren't you?"

"Well, I'll be working with a cocky pro hero, isn't it fitting that I match?"

Rumi laughed loud enough that Izumi winced again, "I made the right decision. Enjoy your week off before I run you ragged, kid. Once I've managed to get the okay from the rat, I'll grab you at U.A. so be ready."

"Sure thing. Thanks, Mirko. Oh, quick question. Do you care if I tell my classmates I'm interning with you?"

"Hell, I figured you already did. I'm kind of impressed. Go for it. They'll find out from the media at some point anyway."

"I wasn't sure if you'd care. Wanted to make sure."

"Yeah, yeah. I gotta go. People to save, heroics to do. Later, kid."

"Later." Izumi hung up the phone and sat it back down, looking at her friends, "Believe me now?"

No one seemed to be able to speak until Himiko started cackling, "I think they all forgot how to breathe."

"That… is quite impressive," Momo commented. "Did she decide that because of the Hero Killer incident?"

Izumi nodded, "Yeah. And it was too good an opportunity to turn down once she offered."

Mina leaned in and kissed Izumi on the cheek briefly, "Well, I'm proud of you. That's really freaking cool that you get to work with Mirko!"

Izumi was silently thanking whatever deity was listening that Tenya wasn't downstairs with them at the moment to scold them for the high amount of PDA they were getting away with currently. Izumi kind of… enjoyed being able to flaunt her and Mina like this a bit. Even if Tenya would probably have an aneurysm from their position currently and the kiss Mina had just given the greenette.

"No kidding. That's freaking cool as hell," Denki agreed. "She's already worked her way up the rankings quickly. Hell, she'll probably be top 10 soon."

"Kero, how did you manage to even meet her?" Tsuyu asked her.

"She came to U.A. the day after I fought Stain…" Izumi said hesitantly. She knew Mina and the other girls were still a little peeved at her for failing to let them know she was okay after that incident. "Said she wanted to see if I was actually worth the time to get to know or not. Then she proceeded to introduce my face to the ground."

"What!?" a chorus of people rang out.

Hitoshi's voice elaborated, "Midoriya and Mirko ended up sparring. That was the first time I saw Midoriya like… well, that."

Izumi shrugged, "Apparently, she found me interesting enough that she would take me on as an intern… on the stipulation that she can drop me at any second if she doesn't think I'm worth it anymore."

"That's a bit harsh," Eiko commented. "Still, you're right. It's a really great opportunity. Mirko's one of the manliest heroes I've seen."

"Eiko, is manliness equivalent to strong to you?" Mina giggled.

"Nah, dude. Manly is manly. It's a mindset. Being strong and honorable."

Izumi shrugged and whispered to Mina, "I'm not sure either."

Mina just shrugged and sat next to Izumi, ending up nearly on the vampire's lap. Mina looked at Izumi with her usual teasing smile, "Were you serious while chatting with Mirko?"

Izumi decided to pretend Mina was talking about something else, smiling lightly, "I was serious about taking you on a date this week."

Mina's teasing smile shifted to a more excited one, "Yes! When?

"How does tomorrow work? I'll get permission from Midnight or Aizawa-sensei to leave campus, okay?"

"Awesome!" Mina cheered.

Izumi had managed to hang out with the class all the way through dinner and a bit beyond, chatting about various things that happened in the exam, several classmates asking her questions about her upcoming internship, listening to her classmates talk about their own plans for the future. It was kind of nice to just sit back and listen to everyone talk about everything. Hitoshi and Himiko seemed to be getting along well with the rest of the class now which was great. Interestingly, Tsuyu spent a lot of time chatting with Fumikage tonight, and Eiko chatted with Katsuki once he finally joined them all for dinner. At least Eiko could get him to talk and he seemed almost… docile.

Finally, Izumi absconded to her room to just relax away from her classmates. She was much better at dealing with them now, but she still needed a break every once in a while. She was relaxing on her bed in her pajamas when a soft knock at her door got her attention.

"Izumi, it's me," Mina's voice said quietly.

Izumi had managed to make it to the door in record time in her excitement, somehow not destroying her room with her quirk. Izumi opened the door and Mina was at the door in some pajamas and a grin on her face, "Hiya, you doing okay?"

Izumi stepped to the side and Mina walked in, glancing around Izumi's room at the decorations Izumi had on her walls. Izumi closed the door behind her and turned to her girlfriend, "Hi, Mina. I'm okay, just needed some time away from everyone is all."

"I can leave you alone if-"

"No, you're fine Mina. I just get exhausted answering tons of questions and talking with everyone sometimes. I've been kind of stressed thinking about today and worried about not passing and-"

Mina cut her off with a quick kiss, "But you did pass. You can relax a bit now, right?"

Izumi smiled at Mina, "You're right. What would I do without you?"

"Worry nonstop?"

Izumi rolled her eyes at that, "I can't argue that. I still worry nonstop. But I'll try and relax a bit while I can. Seems that starting next week I'll be run ragged."

Mina walked her fingers up Izumi's chest to tease the greenette slightly, pressing herself up against Izumi slightly, "That means you need to relax and enjoy yourself this week, right? Now… did you want to pick up where we left off this morning?"

Izumi was staring at her face, noticing the way her lips glistened and how her eyes sparkled in the light. Izumi watched as Mina's breath hitched when Izumi put a hand on the pinkette's cheek, brushing a thumb over Mina's skin to feel how smooth it was; Izumi's fingers ended up in Mina's fluffy hair. Mina's lips parted slightly while the two girls stared at each other.

How did I get so lucky to end up with this beautiful girl?

Izumi used her hand to pull Mina in for another kiss, much deeper than the previous one Mina had interrupted her with. Her other arm wrapped around Mina's waist, pulling the pinkette closer to her as Mina's arms snaked behind Izumi as well. The corners of Izumi's mouth went up in a smile at the small gesture as Izumi and Mina made their way toward Izumi's bed. Izumi wasn't sure if she led the pinkette there or if Mina led her; in the end, Mina's legs hit the edge of the bed and Izumi shoved her backward gently.

Mina didn't let go of the vampire, pulling her down onto the bed at the same time. Izumi was well aware that the impact, while soft, could cause some pain if their teeth clacked together (thank you Nemuri) and pulled away from the kiss briefly as they hit the bed. Once they were safely and softly down, Izumi wasted no time in reclaiming her girlfriend's lips as her own. Mina didn't seem to mind Izumi's more aggressive approach she was taking today, and Izumi figured that was a good sign.

Izumi felt Mina's hands go down to the hem of her shirt, trailing gently up under the fabric. Mina's hands stopped on Izumi's stomach, her fingers tracing over Izumi's abdominal muscles as they continued their frenzied makeout. Finally, the need for air outweighed the need for the two girls to continue making out and they pulled apart just slightly.

"Who knew you could take charge?" Mina teased while staring up at the vampire.

Izumi smiled down at her, her hair falling wildly around her face, "I'm full of surprises."

Mina's hands were still gently grazing over Izumi's abs, the muscles tensing with each and every touch, much to Mina's delight. Mina looked Izumi in the eyes again and decided they were done with their small breather. Mina pounced on Izumi, bringing her lips to Izumi's and resuming their makeout session once again, Izumi chasing Mina's lips as the pinkette brought her head back down to the bed. Mina's hands continued to dance across Izumi's skin, seeming to enjoy the soft spasms she could feel.

Izumi's quirk was giving her a slight confidence boost and her hands trailed down Mina's sides and landed on her well-toned butt. Izumi gently squeezed it as they continued to kiss, causing Mina to let out a moan in Izumi's mouth at the contact. A smile formed on Izumi's lips as she continued to kiss Mina without relenting in the slightest. Mina's hands slowly made their way up Izumi's abs and over Izumi's breasts, the greenette letting out her own soft moan.

Knock, knock, knock.

Izumi stopped what she was doing, pulling back from the kiss slightly and looking down at Mina who had a sheepish look on her face. Izumi's hands hadn't moved yet, and Mina's were still in their place as Mina giggled softly and her eyes avoided Izumi's gaze, "Would you be mad if I had invited the girls you're crushing on to a sleepover in your dorm room tonight?"

Izumi stared down at Mina for a moment, trying to memorize every detail of her girlfriend, the Queen of Teasing, being sheepish. Izumi smiled lightly at her, "Of course not. Though, you probably should have mentioned that before we got sidetracked."

Mina slowly slid her hands down from Izumi's chest and over her stomach, intentionally taking her time as she softly caressed Izumi's skin. Once her fingers were down to Izumi's waistband, the greenette sat up on her knees over the pinkette and Mina slid back, sitting herself up in front of the vampire.

Mina scratched the back of her head like Izumi did when she was nervous, a faint lilac blush decorating her cheeks, "Sorry. I figured we'd just end up kissing a bit not…"

Izumi kissed her quickly on the nose, "You don't have any reason to be sorry. But I should probably get the door."

Mina smiled at the cute gesture and nodded to the vampire. Izumi got up off the bed and caught herself in the mirror; her entire outfit was rather disheveled now. She decided to fix her outfit, straightening out the wrinkles and crookedness of it. She also grabbed her hair and pulled it back in a loose ponytail, for now, tying it with a hair-tie as she walked to the door and opened it.

"Hey!" Ochako beamed.

Kyouka was blushing slightly, "Yo."

"Took you long enough! I was about to just walk in," Himiko giggled. "I do have a key, after all."

Izumi stepped aside and the three girls walked in together in their pajamas, all cute sets that Izumi hadn't seen them wear before. Ochako had her pink mittens in hand but not on yet, her pinkies avoiding touching the gloves like usual.

"Since when did you have a key?" Izumi asked her fellow vampire.

"Since Nemuri-chan gave me one, duh?" Himiko explained like it made the most sense in the world.

Izumi should have guessed it was Nemuri who was responsible for that. The overzealous wing-woman was going to get herself in trouble one of these days. Izumi sighed quietly to herself as she closed the door to her room.

Mina beamed at the girls, "I know it's odd to have a sleepover on a school night, but we had to celebrate our cinnamon roll getting her provisional license somehow, right?"

"As long as you don't plan on making everyone stay up all night," Izumi cautioned.

"Does that seem like something I would do?"

"Yes," replied Kyouka.

Ochako nodded, "It's exactly something you would do."

Mina looked offended, "Toga, you trust me, don't you?"

Himiko giggled, "Sorry, Mina-chan. Even though I've only known you for a few weeks, I have to agree with them. That seems like exactly something you would do."

Mina pouted slightly but decided to double down, "We don't have to stay up super late, just a bit. We can play games and talk like the night we met Toga!"

Izumi wanted to argue it was a terrible idea but… she also wanted to indulge Mina's idea. Of course, Mina could never know that Izumi was already letting the pinkette get away with her whims without resistance.

"I don't know, Mina… We still have to get up early for classes," Izumi argued.

And as Izumi knew she would, Mina weaponized her cuteness, putting on the same puppy dog eyes from earlier as she walked over to Izumi, "Please? Just for a bit?"

Oh yeah, definitely fucked in the future.

"Okay, okay. You win, Mina."

"Yes! Time for you all to get your asses kicked in this game I brought."

Notes:
I got a job offer finally and I had an extra bit of motivation so I decided to write a fluff chapter. Izumi and Mina's date will take up part of the next chapter so that their relationship can finally have their conversation with the girls, and it'll be a chapter or two before Rumi makes more of a real impact. I've really loved writing this work for you all, and I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I love writing it.

As always, thank you all for reading. Love you all.
3 Belle

Chapter 20: Date Night Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text Izumi was more exhausted than normal as she woke up even if it was later than usual for her. She looked at the clock above her and it was six twenty in the morning, ten minutes before her alarm would go off today. Normally she'd get up at five but this week she was supposed to 'relax before her training with Mirko ran her into the ground', according to Mina. Izumi looked around in the dark at the girls all asleep in her bed. Honestly, Izumi was impressed they all fit into her bed, even if it was a bit cramped.

On one side if Izumi was Mina with Himiko wedged snugly between them, curled up into Mina's chest with her hair down her back. Izumi smiled at the adorable sight and looked to the other side where Kyoka was right next to her as Ochako hugged around the purplette, practically smothering the Kyoka in her breasts. One of Ochako's hands rested on Izumi's stomach, wrapped up in her cute pink mittens.

Izumi tried to get out of the bed but realized, that wasn't possible without waking up everyone; her arms were pinned under four different girls. Izumi instead opted to just relax for the next few minutes until her alarm went off.

Of course, when her alarm went off is when everyone else got to experience how bad an idea staying up that late was. Since Izumi couldn't exactly reach her alarm right now, Ochako turned it off for them with a groan, "Don't wanna get up…"

Izumi sighed, "Until you all get up, I'm stuck."

Himiko sat up and yawned wide, stretching her arms above her head in an adorable morning routine that Izumi could watch daily. Himiko looked around with a smile, "I could get used to waking up like this."

Kyoka and Ochako both sat up with small groans as well. Kyoka blinked the sleep from her eyes and looked at Himiko with a faint blush, "As long as we don't stay up that late every school night… I'd be okay with waking up like this…"

Ochako didn't say anything but was blushing as she stared at the other girls. Izumi looked at Mina and had their unspoken conversation about what they were going to do. Izumi and Mina both sat up and looked at the girls.

Mina looked at Himiko, "Well, what if you could wake up like this every day?"

Himiko's eyes widened, "Wait, do you mean…?"

Izumi nodded, "Mina and I discussed back when we started dating about a couple of different things and we've both ended up talking to people who know far more about the topic than we do but…"

"Izumi, you're saying words but not saying anything," Mina giggled. "Just spit it out."

Izumi rolled her eyes at Mina and then smiled, "Fine. The two of us want to know if you three would be interested in um… joining our relationship?"

Izumi and Mina both sat there for a few seconds, watching the various reactions on the girls' faces. Himiko's face lit up like a Christmas tree, a wide smile crossing over her face. Ochako's entire face turned red as she slapped her hands over her eyes in embarrassment, slowly floating away from the bed. Kyouka herself went red up to her ears as her jacks started twitching uncontrollably.

"That went better than I thought it would," Izumi joked to Mina.

Himiko pulled the fluffy-haired couple into a hug, "Really? You mean it?"

Mina was giggling slightly, "Yes, really."

"How… How would that even work?" Kyouka asked. "I know Izumi and I talked about dating more than one person but… how does…" she trailed off.

Izumi was released from her hug and stood up to grab Ochako from the ceiling, pulling her back down to the bed as the brunette babbled incoherently. Once Ochako was safely down, Izumi turned to Kyouka, "Well, Mina and I are a package deal. And anyone who joins is also part of that package. Meaning everyone would have to be okay with dating everyone. So, Himiko would have to be okay dating both of us-"

"Of course, I am!"

"And if, for instance, Kyoka was interested, she'd have to be okay with all three of us, and Himiko would have to be okay as well."

Ochako managed to release her quirk and Izumi let go of her, just to make sure she didn't make the brunette uncomfortable as she sat in front of Izumi. This was a weird situation, after all. It's not every day you ask out three of your closest friends to join you and your girlfriend in dating.

Ochako looked at Izumi and then Mina nervously, "So… You both like… all of us? On top of liking each other?"

Mina put a gentle hand on her shoulder, "I figured that was obvious how much time we spend with you all."

Izumi smiled at her, "You all don't have to agree to this. Polyamory isn't for everyone and we get that. But the offer is there if you're all interested because… we're interested in you all."

Himiko pulled Izumi in for a quick kiss, "You already know my answer."

Izumi smiled at her as Himiko turned to Mina to give her a quick kiss as well, the pinkette smiling happily before grabbing Izumi's hand gently behind the blonde vampire.

Ochako looked nervous but it was clear she had made up her mind. Ochako looked at Mina and Izumi before looking at Himiko and Kyouka and back to Izumi, "I'm… I want to try it. I'm okay with dating everyone in this room as well. We all get along already, anyway…"

Kyouka was still fidgeting nervously, "I um… I get why you'd both like Toga and Uraraka but… why me? I'm not as pretty as the other girls. I don't have a good figure like either of them or anything like that… I just don't get it."

Izumi furrowed her brow and slid closer to Kyoka while Mina crawled around Ochako to sit beside Kyoka. Both of them shared a look, figuring this could happen.

Mina spoke softly to her, "Kyoka, you know that's not true. You're an extremely attractive girl. Everything about you. Your silky hair, your beautiful voice, your rockin' body." That last one caused Kyoka to squeak slightly but she didn't say anything. Izumi had to restrain herself from laughing at that terrible pun. Mina continued, "Even if your body isn't as curvy as some of us, I still like it because it's yours. Okay?"

Izumi grabbed one of Kyoka's hands gently, ready to let go if she seemed uncomfortable. When she didn't try to move away, Izumi rubbed small circles on the back of her hand with her thumb as she spoke, "Do you remember when we were at the mall, before we met Himiko? Do you remember what I told you then? I told you you were gorgeous. And that you're passionate, smart, driven, and your sense of humor was wicked. I meant every word of that and… and when we talked about having a crush on more than one person… You were one of them. You really are an amazing person Kyoka."

Kyoka's eyes watered and she looked between them, "You're… you're both serious?"

Mina nodded at her, "Of course. I know I tease you all a lot but it's because I like your cute little reactions… but I'm serious with Izumi when we say these things about you."

Kyoka surprised Izumi and Mina both by pulling Mina into a kiss, a brief and chaste kiss, but a kiss, nevertheless. Mina grinned at her when Kyoka pulled away, the punk girl's cheeks tinging red before she turned to Izumi and kissed her just as briefly.

"S-Sorry, I just… that made me happy to hear. I'm… I'm in," Kyoka said firmly.

Izumi smiled at Kyoka and then at Mina, there little confession had gone better than she figured it would. Himiko and Ochako both crawled over and sat near them as well. Ochako tentatively took Mina's hand and rested her head on the pinkette's shoulder.

Izumi couldn't stop herself from speaking her thoughts aloud, "Adorable."

Kyoka blushed at a thought that seemed to occur to her, "What do we tell the class?"

"We don't have to tell them if you don't want to. It's our business, not theirs," Izumi assured her. "But if you want to, I'll ask Nemuri if she can talk to our class about polyamory. Just so everyone is on the same page."

Himiko grinned, "I'm okay with it. Everyone already knew I liked Izucchi anyway."

"I… kind of want people to know about all of us," Kyoka said with a large blush.

Mina giggled, "Really? Do you want to flaunt your gorgeous girlfriends to everyone?"

Kyoka nodded without saying anything, only blushing and turning away from Mina which ended with her face buried in Izumi's shoulder.

"Are you okay with people knowing, Ochako?" Izumi asked her quietly.

Ochako sat up and thought for a moment, "Y-Yeah… I'm sure some people will think it's weird but… I want them to know we're all together." Her tone started slightly uncertain but by the end, she sounded completely sure.

Izumi's face split in a grin at that, "Okay then. We don't have to tell everyone right away but… I have a sinking feeling that a certain vampire might let it slip."

Himiko pouted slightly, "I just want to show everyone how much I love you all."

"I was referring to me," Izumi taunted before sticking her tongue out at Himiko.

Mina giggled at that and leaned around Kyoka to kiss Izumi briefly, sucking on Izumi's tongue slightly. Kyoka got a front-row seat to the pinkette and greenette's kiss and her blush expanded.

"I love you, Izumi," Mina said to her.

"I know. I love you too, Mina. And now look at us. We have three more beautiful girlfriends to show off. Weird to think that I had never imagined even having one girlfriend at the start of this year. Hell, I could barely talk to Ochako when we met."

Ochako giggled, "What do you mean? You didn't manage to say a single word to me until our first day of class."

Izumi thought for a moment and frowned, "That's not… Oh wow, I think you're right. I really was a mess, huh?"

Kyoka took Izumi's hand in hers, "I don't think anyone can fault you for that. But now you have people who care about you and you seem pretty confident in yourself."

Izumi smiled at that, "I know. We should get ready for class though. As much as I want to sleep because someone decided to keep us awake until four in the morning playing games and talking, we still have classes today."

"Hey, we had fun," Mina teased. "And we had to celebrate you getting your provisional license and getting to intern with Mirko!"

Izumi had to agree, spending time with the four girls was a great way to celebrate. Honestly, Izumi would be fine skipping class and just making out with her girlfriends all day, but Shota would probably have some arguments to make. Himiko tackled all four of them in a hug, giggling like crazy.

Himiko grinned at them, "Yep, could definitely get used to this."

After classes ended, Izumi had managed to get permission from Nemuri to let her and Mina go off campus for the evening. Izumi had gotten Ochako to help her pick out a cute outfit since… well, Izumi was still really bad at fashion and wanted to look cute for her date. Izumi ended up in something more casual for today and opted for a cute light blue dress at Ochako's insistence. It was simple but she figured she never really looked girly since everything had happened.

"Do I look okay?" Izumi asked nervously.

Ochako grinned at her, "I think you look great!"

"It feels way too simple."

"I think it's cute. When did you even get this? I don't remember you buying it when we went shopping together."

"Um… I didn't buy it. Nemuri did. She said it would be a cute date dress at some point…"

"You've called Midnight by her first name twice today; you've gotten rather close to her. Should I be worried?" Ochako teased her.

"Um… She was the one who picked my new name for me. I wasn't exactly sure who to call since I was mildly overwhelmed by everything at the time… But I definitely wanted to stay like this, so I asked Nemuri to help me pick a name out. That's probably when we started to get closer. Then I started talking to her regularly about everything… I might actually be closer with her than my mom… Mom doesn't even know Kacchan used to bully me."

"You didn't tell your mom yet!?"

"…No. You girls met her, and she loved you all but… my mom and I have an odd relationship. After Dad left and I was misdiagnosed as quirkless… we kind of drifted apart. She still loves me and I love her of course and sometimes we're closer than others. Honestly, since I've been Izumi, we've gotten along better. But… I can't tell her everything. That's why I talk to Nemuri about a lot of stuff. She's like an older sister I can rely on and confide in. Does… Does that make sense?"

Ochako nodded slowly, "I… still think you should tell her. She's your mother and you should be honest with her."

"If it were easy, I would have done it already. Mom and Mitsuki are both really close as well and I'm worried if she finds out what Kacchan did, she'd cut out her closest friend and… well, Mom doesn't really talk to many people as is… I worry she'd stop talking to Mitsuki and since Dad's not around… Sorry, I shouldn't dump all this on you right now."

"It's okay, Izumi. I'm glad you shared with me. But you've got a date with our girlfriend." Ochako paused for a second and giggled, "That's such a weird thing to say. That might take some getting used to."

Izumi smiled at the brunette, "Well, it's definitely new for all of us." Izumi stopped and stared at Ochako for a moment and realized something. She walked over to the brunette and pulled her into a hug for a moment.

"I-Izumi?"

"I just realized that you're the only one of my beautiful girlfriends I didn't kiss yet. I wasn't sure if that would make you uncomfortable if I just… kissed you but I wanted to make it up to you somehow."

Ochako pulled back slightly and smiled at her, "It's okay, this morning was kind of hectic. Plus… I kind of wanted my first kiss with you to be more… private. I don't mind kissing in front of everyone but… I don't know, I just wanted you to myself for a few."

Izumi smiled down at her, "I get it." Izumi glanced at her clock and smiled slightly, "We have a little bit of time if you want."

Ochako's natural blush grew larger as she looked at Izumi, staring right into her eyes. Izumi admired her best friend turned girlfriend's warm brown eyes for a moment as Ochako swallowed her nerves. Izumi wasn't going to rush her since that wouldn't be fair to the brunette. Ochako slowly inched toward Izumi who met her in the middle, letting Ochako lead the kiss slightly, not pressuring her to deepen it or anything. Ochako's tongue ran across Izumi's lips and the greenette's eyebrow went up but she gave Ochako permission.

Izumi figured at this point she could lead Ochako slightly since the brunette clearly wanted her first kiss to be memorable. Izumi wrestled Ochako's tongue slightly, the brunette letting out a soft moan. Before long, both of them broke apart, Ochako's cheeks with a blush covering them and Izumi smiling down at her happily.

"Was that an okay first kiss?" Izumi asked her.

Ochako nodded with a smile on her lips, "Thank you, Izumi. It was perfect."

Izumi giggled at that and offered a hand to Ochako, "Let's head down to the common area. I need to leave soon."

"Sure!"

The two girls headed to the elevator together, hand-in-hand, and Ochako's blush hadn't gone away yet. It almost seemed like it was worse now.

Izumi giggled slightly, "Are you going to be okay?"

"Just… a little nervous, I guess… We made it through classes without telling anyone so I'm still not sure how people are going to react."

"Well, if they say anything… unsavory…" Izumi's thoughts went to a certain purple-headed pervert as she spoke. "I can deal with them or have Midnight deal with them if you don't want to."

"Ooh, you may be a girl, but you've got that overprotective boyfriend vibe going on."

Izumi blushed, "I'm sorry, is that a bad thing?"

"I'm just teasing you a little. I think it's sweet."

Izumi couldn't help herself from smiling at her girlfriend, "Not as sweet as you. You're as sweet as mochi."

Ochako's blush grew even larger as they finally exited the elevator together. It was already slightly chaotic in the common room and Izumi immediately figured out why.

"Mina, you can't just kiss someone who isn't your girlfriend! What would Midori think?" Toru shouted at her.

Denki joined in the scolding, "Seriously, Ashido. That's not okay. The first time you can chalk up to Midoriya and Toga pulling a prank on you, but you don't really have an excuse now…"

Izumi saw Himiko giggling nearby and Mina was trying to smooth things over, but Toru and Denki weren't really giving her the chance to. Izumi looked at Ochako who was wide-eyed at the situation.

"Well, I can see this is going to go well," the brunette muttered.

Izumi squeezed her hand to reassure her, "I told you I'd handle it." Ochako relaxed slightly, the tension in her grip loosening as Izumi spoke to the common area. "What's the problem?"

"Midori! Mina and Toga were kissing! Tell her that isn't okay!"

Izumi looked at her two girlfriends and her voice went completely monotone, "Mina, Himiko how could you both do that?"

Mina promptly lost it and started cackling, "Oh my god. Toru, I was trying to tell you! Izumi and I started dating Ochako, Kyoka, and To-" Mina stopped for a minute and furrowed her brow. "And Himiko. It's okay!"

Toru promptly snapped her attention to Izumi, "Midori, is… is she telling the truth?"

Izumi raised her and Ochako's hand to the invisible girl, "Yeah, it's fine. Speaking of, where is Kyoka?"

"Oh, she went up to her room to change," Himiko said. "She said she'd be back down to see you both off."

Toru and Denki both looked like they had short-circuited; Denki probably had at this point and Toru had gone completely rigid.

"Toru?" Mina asked quietly. "Toru! Are you okay?"

The invisible girl turned extremely slowly to Mina, "I'm… confused. How does that… work? I always thought you could only date one person at a time?"

"It's called polyamory," Izumi explained as she heard the elevator behind her ding open. "Having multiple partners with a ton of communication. Mina and I started dating Himiko, Ochako, and Kyoka. All of us are dating each other."

"Could you… repeat that?" Momo's voice chimed in from behind her. "Jiro and I came down at the tail end of that and I swear I misheard you."

Izumi turned to look at the two of them and smiled, "You probably heard correct. Mina and I are dating each other, as well as Ochako, Himiko, and Kyoka."

Momo blinked a few times at that and looked from Izumi to Kyoka who had a blush on her cheeks. Izumi found her rocker girlfriend blushing to be absolutely adorable. Izumi checked her phone, "Oh, Mina we should probably head out now. Are you ready to go?"

Mina grinned at her, "Of course. We'll see you all when we get back, okay?"

Himiko waltzed over to Mina and kissed her on the cheek, "Have fun!"

Izumi looked at Ochako and kissed her briefly, "We'll see you all later."

Ochako blushed and smiled, "Enjoy yourselves."

Izumi watched Kyoka walk over to her and blush while avoiding looking right at her, "Enjoy your date."

Izumi leaned toward the purplette and kissed her gently, "Thanks, Kyoka."

Kyoka blushed at Izumi but a small smile graced her lips at the gesture. Izumi walked toward the door, Ochako and Kyoka following to say bye to Mina in their overly affectionate goodbyes. Even if this wasn't going to be the norm going forward, Izumi was happy with it. Himiko kissed Izumi and the fluffy-haired duo headed out toward their date.

_

Momo was rather speechless at the moment. She had just watched Izumi and Mina, who had been dating for almost a month now, just kiss three other girls that they were apparently now dating. Momo wasn't even aware that was an option to date more than one person in real life. That it was just an option for people in her books because fiction isn't the same as reality. Momo hadn't moved from where she was standing when Kyoka came back over and spoke to her.

"Yaomomo, you um… okay?"

Momo composed herself, "I… I'm just shocked, I suppose. Trying to wrap my head around everything. So… you're dating Midoriya-san?"

"Yeah…"

"And Ashido-san?"

"Uh-huh."

"And… Uraraka-san as well as Toga-san?"

"Y-Yeah…" Kyoka said with a blush. "I know it's a bit weird-"

"I… don't think it's weird. I just… wasn't aware that was an option," Momo admitted with a faint blush on her cheeks. "How did… I mean, how did you all end up deciding this?"

Kyoka motioned to one of the couches and the two girls sat down together. Momo noticed Denki, Toru, Ochako, and Himiko had moved to sit with them. It seemed Denki and Toru were both as curious as she was, and they were going to get an explanation.

Kyoka blushed for a moment, "Well, you know how Mina and Izumi have been dating for a while now?"

Momo nodded, "They started at the beginning of our internships, right after most of us met Toga-san."

Himiko grinned at that and Kyoka continued, "Well, before that, when Izumi went to the mall with Ochako and Mina, they asked some of the other girls to come but you were all busy. Izumi and I talked about having crushes on multiple people and discussed polyamory. I had never heard of it before but she knew vaguely of it. Since then, I kind of looked into it and debated the merits of it. I talked with Midnight a few times to get her opinion since I didn't want to dive into something like that without really knowing what I was getting into."

"That sounds like a good idea. Did you two know of polyamory before?" Momo asked the other two girls in the relationship.

Himiko shrugged, "Not technically. I just kind of suggested Izucchi date all of us since I knew she had a thing for all of us. I didn't really think of the implications of that like Kyoka-chan did."

Ochako blushed a bit, "I didn't really know the complexities of polyamory or what it was until Izumi mentioned it. But I've liked her since the entrance exam, at least a little bit. She saved me from that zero pointer, and it was hard not to like her. Then everything happened with her turning into a girl and… I'll be honest, I wasn't sure I liked girls like that before but… those feelings didn't go away at all. Then I started noticing how pretty other girls were. I guess I just never really thought about it before…

"And then I realized I enjoyed Mina's playful flirting with her random teasing she does. It's cute and it makes me smile-"

"And blush," Himiko teased her.

Momo nodded as she followed along, "Is there a reason you're all dating each other?"

Himiko chimed in for this one, "Oh, Mina-chan and Izucchi said that they were okay with dating us, but they were a package deal. So, if I wanted to date Izucchi, I'd date Mina-chan as well, which I'm perfectly okay with. Then Ochako-chan had to be okay with all three of us, and Kyoka-chan had to be okay with dating all of us. That's what they decided before they told us about it."

"I… see."

Momo went quiet for a moment and thought through everything. So, they were dating each other, which was odd, but they seemed fine with it. While Momo was thinking, Toru spoke up.

"You're all really okay with dating each other, as well as Midori and Mina?"

"I've personally never liked the concept of loving only one person," Himiko said with a frown. "I tend to love more than one person at a time. Having a label only helps explain it. While I'm probably far closer with Izucchi than any of the other girls just because we've shared more with each other than I have my other gorgeous girlfriends, I still care about all of them. I feel… normal around them. And that's not something I ever thought I could say."

Ochako grabbed Himiko's hand gently and smiled at her.

Momo nodded, "I suppose it does make sense…"

Denki hadn't really said anything while they explained everything but sighed slightly, "I'm happy for you all, but you know that when Mineta hears about this… it's gonna be chaos."

Ochako giggled, "I'm not worried. We have an extremely overprotective vampire girlfriend who'll deal with him if she needs to."

Himiko giggled, "Is that what Izucchi said?"

"It wouldn't be the first time she's had to step in…" Kyoka admitted.

Denki swallowed hard, "R-Right. Mineta told me about Midoriya… convincing him to turn the pervertedness down… I don't think it helped really."

"Probably not…"

"Momo-chan, if you have any more technical questions about polyamory, Nemuri-chan is a great resource!" Himiko grinned. "Or Izucchi, she's fairly knowledgeable on the topic as well."

Maybe … it's not a bad idea to talk to one of them about it…

Mina got off the train with Izumi and was looking around curiously, "So, where are we going for our date today?"

Izumi smiled at her sweetly, something Mina loved to see on the greenette's face and grabbed her hand to pull her along, "I have something planned I think you'll like. At least I hope you'll like it."

Mina giggled, "I'm sure whatever it is, it'll be fun. You had us come all the way to Tokyo for it."

"Well, we're lucky Tokyo is pretty close. Come on, it's only a few minutes walk from the station."

Mina followed her eagerly, asking a few questions about what they could possibly be doing which Izumi evaded every time she asked. Mina was amused that Izumi was trying so hard to keep it a secret. Mina figured Izumi would take them somewhere for dinner or dancing but that wasn't really different than a normal night for them at this point.

Izumi stopped them finally in front of a large building and Mina looked up at the sign, "A pre-quirk museum?"

Izumi giggled, "Well, you'll see when we get inside. It's probably a little nerdy but Hagakure-san said you'd enjoy it regardless when I asked her opinion on it."

Mina nodded along and followed Izumi inside and her eyes immediately went wide, "Wait. No way. No way, no way!"

Mina immediately realized why Izumi had picked here of all places and she was tempted to drag Izumi to a private corner and force her tongue down the vampire's throat. There was an entire wing of the museum dedicated to the Xenomorph film universe, with displays, animatronics, and even film showings. Mina wasn't even aware this exhibit existed, and she was probably as obsessed with these movies as much as Izumi was with heroes.

Izumi grinned at her, "What do you think?"

Mina didn't wait, dragging Izumi by her hand now, "I think you did great, come on!"

Izumi giggled at her overeager attitude and followed eagerly along with her. Mina was so blown away by everything. They even had life-sized models of the aliens from the movies; they had Facehuggers, Chestbursters, Drones, Runners, Praetorians, and a large Queen. Mina was so giddy by everything and wanted to take so many pictures which Izumi was more than happy to take for her.

When they got to the exhibit with the giant Queen Xenomorph, Mina just had to get a picture with her girlfriend in front of it.

"Do you think we can get someone to take a picture of both of us?" Mina asked excitedly.

Izumi looked around, "I'm sure we can ask someone. Oh, there's a staff member. I'll ask if she's willing to, okay?"

"Okay!"

Mina watched Izumi walk over to the staff member and not even hesitate to ask her for her assistance, pointing to Mina with a smile on her face as she spoke to the woman. It honestly made Mina so happy to see how far Izumi had come in the few months she had known her. Before, Mina was pretty sure they never could have dated because Izumi wasn't exactly what you would describe as confident… unless it was during training or the Sports Festival. Now though, Izumi was definitely far more confident, and she even started teasing Mina at times. The nerve!

Mina giggled to herself happily, just enjoying the fact that her girlfriend was finally comfortable with herself and others. And now they had three more girlfriends. Mina would have never imagined having four girlfriends but here she was dating four of the most attractive girls she'd ever met.

Izumi came back over with the staff member and smiled at Mina, "Why do you look so happy?"

"Huh? Oh, I was just thinking about how lucky I am while I admire my beautiful girlfriend."

A faint blush crossed Izumi's cheeks at that comment. Oh, how Mina loved to see her blush like that, the pale red highlighting all of the greenette's cute freckles on her face. The vampire smiled at her and scratched her cheek nervously before averting her eyes slightly, "Well, you're pretty beautiful yourself, so I think I'm the lucky one…"

Mina's eyes widened in surprise at Izumi managing to not stammer or stutter at all with that compliment. Her cheeks felt warm suddenly, "When did you get so smooth?"

Izumi giggled, "I don't know. But I think instead of flirting in front of Tachibana-san, we should get our picture taken."

The woman, Tachibana apparently, giggled at that, "It's okay. You two are quite cute together."

Mina smiled and pulled Izumi close, hoping to get the vampire to blush a bit more so she wasn't the only one embarrassed in the photo. She wasn't expecting Izumi to wrap her arm around her waist, pulling them close together. The gesture caused Mina to let out a small squeak.

Izumi giggled, "Sorry, did I startle you?"

"I guess part of me still thinks of you as really shy… Confidence looks good on you," Mina admitted.

Tachibana took their picture and glanced at… Izumi? Is that what Mina saw? The woman smiled, "One more for good measure, okay?"

Mina wasn't going to complain and smiled for the camera as Izumi pressed her lips to her cheek. Mina was pretty sure her eyes were wide and her cheeks were lilac in that picture which is probably what her vampire girlfriend had planned.

Izumi grinned at the woman as she handed Izumi's phone back to her, "Thank you so much, Tachibana-san. We appreciate it."

"Of course! Enjoy the exhibit and if you need any other pictures, just ask the staff around. We'd all be glad to help."

Mina looked at her vampire girlfriend again as a grin crossed her own face.

Yeah, I'm definitely the lucky one.

Notes:
Hey everyone! Sorry this is a little later than I wanted to post this. I had planned for Saturday but I've had a migraine since Friday and couldn't really bring myself to write. Hopefully the fluffy goodness is enjoyable since that's what was promised again this week. The pace will probably pick up with Mirko soon with some fluff strewn in still since I live for fluffy sweetness. I have no real plan for what has to be in next chapter so we'll be surprised together once I finish it. :)

Thank you all for reading and I hope you enjoyed it. Love you all.
3 Belle

Chapter 21: Stain Summary:
Izumi talks to a murderer, Mina talks to a sexpert, Mineta asks some stupid questions.

Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text Tartarus.

Not the most welcoming place Izumi had ever been, that was for sure. Izumi was currently walking with Toshinori in his All Might form and Detective Naomasa Tsukauchi which helped speed things along for the group. Izumi was in her hero costume since she was here as a hero and not a civilian. She was already slightly irritable today since she hadn't drunk any blood in a few days… Actually, she hadn't drunk any since before the Provisional Exam. She probably should later.

Izumi followed silently through the halls of the prison, noticing that it wasn't set up as a normal jail. They had passed several heroes that looked more like members of the military than pro heroes, wearing uniforms similar to the Shiketsu High School uniforms. The school uniforms were probably based on these uniforms when she thought about it.

They were currently on the 10th level down, the bottom level where the worst of the worst are sent in this hell. The groups' footsteps echoed through the hallway as they headed for a room they were supposed to meet in. Izumi felt they must have passed a dozen security checkpoints by the time they finally got to the room they were heading to. She was nervous even if there was no way for anything to happen while they were here. Still, this was a man who had tried to kill her less than a month ago.

"In here, Midoriya-shoujo," All Might instructed, walking into the door ahead of her with Naomasa.

Izumi followed them into the room and saw the man who called himself Stain was currently sitting ahead of her without his mask or other gear he wore the last time they interacted on the opposite side of a thick glass wall; being near this murderer, in general, made Izumi uneasy. She steeled her resolve and sat down between her mentor and the detective.

"Hero Killer: Stain, real name Chizome Akaguro," Naomasa stated. "We're here to ask you some questions."

"I had discerned as much by you visiting Tartarus," Chizome said callously. "What do you want to know?"

Izumi didn't feel like waiting to ask her question and narrowed her eyes slightly, "Why did you let me live?"

The two men next to her were stunned but Izumi didn't back down her gaze at Chizome in the slightest. Red eyes piercing into red eyes as the man sized her up and smirked at her.

"Because you have the traits of a true hero."

"You said that the last time when we fought. Because I'm a 'true hero' you went easy on me?"

"I may be a murderer but I refuse to kill those that don't deserve it unless they get in my way. Even so, I wanted to activate my quirk on you and leave after I had dealt with that false hero Native. When you showed up in the alleyway you hadn't been a target of mine so I had no reason to kill you."

"Did you underestimate me?"

"At first. If I had to fight you again in the future, I won't make the same mistake. I believe you, like All Might, are a true hero, so I hope I never have to fight you again."

"You mentioned refusing to kill those that don't deserve it," All Might stated.

"True heroes do good for the sake of doing good. They risk their lives to save people with no thought of themselves or the rewards they get and they don't deserve to die. Heroes who do it for fame and money, they are not true heroes. Those are the false heroes of this world and they deserve to be purged."

"But… why? If someone does something good, even for a slightly selfish reason, aren't they still a hero?" Izumi asked.

"The world we live in is plagued with a festering disease. Because of the world we've created, heroes that only care about the fame that being a hero brings or the influence it brings are created. Heroes like Endeavor, who only care about being the strongest but not for any of the innocent lives lost in his quest to get there. Or of the lives he's destroyed," Stain growled.

Izumi froze at his words, her blood running cold. It wasn't the fact that he rose his voice or the fact that she was scared of him… Izumi realized he made some good points. Killing people is not the solution by any means. But the society they live in is the reason why people end up like Endeavor or Katsuki, only motivated to be the strongest because society says that's where your value is. They get so blinded that they get to the point where they don't care about anything besides that goal.

Izumi hadn't broken eye contact and spoke her next words carefully, "And you thought killing these 'false heroes' was the way to fix the system? Not trying to affect the system itself?"

"The false heroes that are created are a symptom of the diseased system. I merely took it upon myself to treat the symptoms of an entire system that has been failing to do its job."

"Is that why you called yourself Stain?" All Might asked.

"Yes. Because I will stain my hands with the blood of those unworthy to be heroes. I will kill every unworthy hero in Japan if I have to in order to fix things. I will bear the sins and the burden of the lives I have taken if it means correcting the system."

Izumi stared at Chizome for a long while. He believed himself to be a martyr for his cause, doing things he knew were wrong to 'treat the symptoms' of a system he believed was broken. Izumi couldn't agree with him completely but… the system was definitely flawed. But the way he went about it… Izumi could never agree with that. Killing anyone, hero or villain, was wrong.

"How many pro heroes did you kill?" Naomasa asked.

Chizome looked at Naomasa, "I cleansed 17 heroes and gave 23 a chance of redemption."

All Might and Naomasa continued to ask him more questions about various things that Izumi tried to pay attention to. She was ready to leave now but she would continue to listen to the interview, hoping never to have to come back to talk with Chizome. Finally, the two adults felt the interview had gone on long enough and their questions had been answered.

"I'll be back in the future if there is anything else we need," All Might stated.

Izumi stood up with the two men but Chizome's voice stopped them, "Since I believe you to be a true hero, I'll tell you this, Midoriya. Shigaraki, the leader of the league of villains, is looking for you specifically."

Izumi leaned on her hands, planting them on the tabletop counter near the glass window, "Why me specifically?"

"He wants to kill you. Out of everyone, he wants you dead."

Izumi's blood felt like ice in her veins but she couldn't show fear or weakness right now. Not until she was out of this hellhole. She steadied herself for now as she never looked away from the murderer.

All Might broke the silence, "How did you learn this?"

"They brought me to their base with that warp quirk user. It was a shoddy bar before you ask. Nondescript. Shigaraki wanted to recruit me to work with him and his master that he kept calling 'Sensei'. He showed me a picture of you during the Sports Festival when you were a boy. Once he finds out that the girl who took me down was the same child who he wants dead, I'm sure he'll come after you again to kill you."

Izumi walked over to the door and paused for a moment, "I don't plan on letting him succeed."

Mina was currently sitting with Nemuri while Izumi was off-campus running an errand as she had told all the girls. Mina had debated coming here with the other girls but… she didn't want them to feel like she was trying to pressure them or anything with what she wanted to ask the woman. Mina had to admit, she was slightly nervous, even if she didn't feel like she needed to be. It was just a simple talk with her teacher about sex. No big deal.

Okay, maybe it is a big deal.

Izumi mentioned her and Nemuri talk pretty frequently about all sorts of topics, including sex, and Mina was beginning to suspect the cinnamon roll was a bit more repressed than she originally realized. Mina was fidgeting on the couch while Nemuri brought tea over for both of them.

"You're almost as nervous as your girlfriend was the first time she sat down to talk with me. Here, drink some tea," Nemuri said with a smile. "I take it you have something specific you want to talk about?"

"I um… I do," Mina nodded before she swallowed down her nerves. "How- How soon do you think is too soon to have sex with someone you've been dating? I'm not exactly… experienced with dating…"

"And you're still in high school so you have no real basis for anything." Nemuri thought for a moment and sipped the tea she had made to gather her thoughts before she smiled at Mina, "I think that depends on when you and your partner feel comfortable with it. Are you referring to Izumi or Izumi and your other partners?"

"I think… mostly Izumi right now. Izumi and I have been together for almost a month and I'm not trying to rush into anything but… I can't say I wouldn't enjoy being intimate with her," Mina admitted. God this was embarrassing. "I'm just worried if I bring it up, Izumi will feel like I'm hinting at her to do it and… knowing her she'd go through with it just to make me happy."

"That sounds like something she would do," Nemuri sighed. "However, I think you two should sit down and talk about it. Outside of when you're both driven by hormones, I mean. As awkward of a conversation as it might be, open communication is important in any relationship. Now that you have three more girlfriends, it's even more important."

Mina nodded and was silent for a moment, thinking through everything. She looked at Nemuri again, "You're right."

"Is there a reason it was on your mind?"

Mina blushed slightly at how transparent she apparently was, "We might have gotten more carried away than I figured we would on Monday after Izumi got her provisional license. Just… making out a bit and… exploring slightly. We got interrupted before it turned into anything too bad but I might have groped her while we made out and she did something similar to me." Mina scratched her cheek nervously, "It got me thinking what would have happened if we didn't get interrupted and I wanted to talk to you about it."

Nemuri had a sly smile on her lips, trying her best to remain professional, Mina thought. Nemuri finished her sip of tea and held the cup in her lap and smiled at the pinkette, "I think once you both talk about it, you'll know when you're both ready. Izumi and I had a similar conversation earlier this week, so at least you're both on the same page."

"She talked to you about this too?" Mina asked.

"She was worried she might have made you uncomfortable with her… aggressive approach she might have mentioned."

Mina felt slightly relieved they were both having similar thoughts about taking their relationship to the next stage. Mina wasn't planning to rush with any of her girlfriends but Izumi and her had been together for longer than the others so she was okay with taking whatever next steps they were going to take. As long as it was together.

"Well, I'll talk with her when I see her, just the two of us. I don't want to make Ochako, Kyoka, or Himiko uncomfortable on accident."

"Of course. Though, you'll have to have similar conversations with them eventually. It's best to talk to them about their comfort with certain activities as well. They all might be comfortable with different degrees of physical affection and you don't want to alienate any of them by accident."

Mina hadn't thought that far ahead, "You're right. I still want to talk with just Izumi first… Maybe that's just being selfish but I still want to have that conversation with just her…"

"I don't think that's selfish at all. You two went from being a couple to being part of a polycule. You two have a closer bond than the others, even if they were your friends before they joined you all. Besides, you were each others' first kiss and first girlfriend, correct?"

Mina blushed slightly and nodded, "Y-Yeah… I feel kind of bad for… cutting in line."

"I don't think you 'cut in line' with her. I think you came to terms with your feelings and you were brave enough to act on them. That's hard enough to do without the added knowledge that you have other friends interested in the same person."

"…You're right. Even when it was just the two of us without discussing polyamory and everything else, she seemed genuinely happy with me."

"Oh, she definitely was. She would come in here and gush about you with me for the first few times we chatted. It was quite adorable."

Mina couldn't stop the small squeak from escaping her lips. Izumi gushing about her was sweet but also extremely embarrassing when she thought about it. That little cinnamon roll just excitedly talking about Mina like she does heroes… Mina's cheeks lit up bright lilac at the thought while Nemuri drank her tea with a smirk on her lips. Mina grabbed her teacup and took a slow drink to calm herself down.

Nemuri sat down her teacup and smiled at the pinkette, "Since you were interested in sex with your lovely girlfriend… would you like some pointers?"

Mina's eyes widened slightly as she choked on her tea, almost spitting it back up. She coughed for a few seconds as she tried to catch her breath, setting the cup down to not spill her tea.

"I-I-I…"

"Oh relax, your girlfriend has asked for tons of pointers. Granted she had to learn her own body as well. Seeing her turn bright red from embarrassment is one of my favorite things," Nemuri cooed. "Are you at least informed on the topic?"

"I've um… watched p-porn?"

Nemuri frowned slightly, "Not the greatest resource. But it's a start I suppose. If you're not comfortable talking with me about it I can give you some resources, but if you are we can chat about it. Whatever is more comfortable with you."

Mina wasn't sure why, but she figured talking would be easier and less likely for her to get distracted but she was positive this wasn't going to be an easy conversation. How did Izumi talk to this woman so casually?

"Um… I'm okay with talking to you about things… If Izumi can, I think I can…"

"Great, I'll put on some more tea and we can have our talk."

Mina swallowed her nerves and prepared herself for whatever she had just agreed to talk about, no matter how embarrassing.

Himiko was relaxing with Ochako and Kyoka on the couch, the three of them cuddled up just slightly and watching a random movie on the television; Himiko was cuddling up to Ochako who was cuddling Kyoka. It was some vampire horror that Himiko was really enjoying but Kyoka seemed to be rather jumpy at the horror movie. Lucky for her, Ochako was doing her best to comfort their rocker girlfriend while Himiko continued to get a little overexcited.

Other than the three of them, Tsuyu and Fumikage had joined them, sitting rather close together, Himiko noticed. She quirked an eyebrow at that but didn't say anything to either of them. Izumi had gently reminded Himiko that not everyone was as open about their relationships as they were and Himiko respected that. There was also Toru sitting on the couch near Himiko, Hanta sitting on the opposite couch near Fumikage, Hitoshi sitting in one of the armchairs, and Shoto was sitting in the kitchen eating cold soba, not really interacting with them.

Does he eat anything else?

Himiko was trying to figure out if there were any other blossoming romances in the class when her mind wandered to Katsuki and Eiko's recent interactions. Himiko avoided the blond boy as much as possible but… he hadn't screamed at anyone since the exam on Monday. She was honestly worried he was just bottling up whatever anger he had until he would explode, both literally and figuratively. But somehow Eiko managed to talk to him like normal without all the screaming. She was almost impressed.

Aside from those possible couples, she hadn't noticed many other couples though she also wasn't spending a ton of effort on it. Though she suspected Shoto might only have eyes for soba; she was only half-joking about that. She had also noticed Momo spending more time with their group since Monday. That was rather interesting.

Himiko nuzzled up with Ochako happily as a particularly bloody bite scene played out and had to stop herself from chomping into Ochako's neck. She figured she should probably ask her before just doing that since she wasn't even sure if anyone besides Izumi was okay with her biting them yet. Either way, she was rather enjoying herself while they watched the movie.

And then the pervert showed up.

"Why are there three girls cuddling on the couch?" Minoru blurted.

"Because we're dating," Himiko said bluntly. "What's it matter to you?"

Kyoka shifted slightly at Minoru's outburst, but Ochako seemed to reassure her with a small hug.

"You can't be dating both of them!" he argued.

Himiko's grin turned almost feral, "Oh, it's not just them. The three of us are also dating Mina-chan and Izucchi."

Fumikage and Tsuyu's eyes widened slightly at that declaration. Toru already knew so she didn't really react to it.

"Kero, all five of you are dating?" Tsuyu asked.

Fumikage looked utterly confused, "Pray tell how that works?"

"I know Toga had a thing for Midoriya so I figured something like this would happen," Hitoshi said in his almost monotone reply.

Kyoka looked at them, "I think we should have Midnight explain a general understanding to the class soon."

"Probably a good idea," Ochako agreed.

Minoru was crying tears of blood at this point, "But how is that fair!? That damn playboy turns into a girl and now all of the girls are gay!"

Hanta looked straight at the purple boy, "Your constant perving probably turned them all gay."

"Why is it my fault?" Minoru cried.

"Turned the- What the hell?" Kyoka sputtered. "That's not how that works at all!"

"No, no. Let him believe it is. Maybe there's a decent human being buried under all that pervertedness," Toru said in a serious tone.

The elevator dinged open and Momo came into the common room and glanced around. Her brow furrowed when Minoru was crying blood but she wisely chose to ignore it. Sadly, Minoru wasn't going to ignore the raven-haired beauty.

"Yaomomo, please tell me that at least you're not gay for Midoriya and her girlfriends?"

Momo's expression flicked from confusion to embarrassment in a few seconds, a faint blush appearing on her cheeks. She looked at the pervert, "What are you talking about, Mineta-kun?"

"All the girls in our class are apparently gay and dating Midoriya now that she's a hot girl! It's not fair!"

"Toru, Tsu, Kirishima, and Momo aren't dating us all," Ochako said as calmly as she could. "Besides, why would it matter if Momo or anyone else did like Izumi or any of us like that? A person's sexuality isn't up for debate. You can't tell someone not to like boys or girls just because you're jealous."

The slight bite in her words caused Himiko to squeeze Ochako just slightly more than she had been, the brunette relaxing in her arms. Himiko didn't notice it but Momo's face took on a relieved expression through her slight blush. Minoru clamped his mouth shut at Ochako's words, not wanting to incur her wrath, it seemed.

Momo cleared her throat, "Speaking of, have any of you seen Midoriya-san? I wanted to speak with her about something."

Kyoka looked over at her, "She left campus to run an errand. She's been gone for a few hours now so I'm not sure when she'll be back."

"Oh, thank you."

"Didn't Ashido tell her to take it easy this week?" Hanta asked the girls.

Toru giggled, "She's just running an errand. She spent most of the week relaxing, right? Mina and Midori went on a date earlier this week and I don't think I've seen Midori training that much. Normally she trains like crazy."

Fumikage nodded his appreciation of the greenette's hard work, "Those who walk in the darkness must work hard to cleanse their souls."

"Kero, until she gets back you can wait with us, Momo-chan?" Tsuyu offered.

"Oh yeah!" Toru said excitedly. "We're watching some vampire movie. Toga seems to be enjoying it."

Momo thought for a moment and nodded, "I'll wait here with you all then. Though, I'm not much for horror movies myself…"

"Oh, horror is the best," Himiko admitted. "Creepy and scary things are great."

Toshinori arrived back at school with Izumi, Naomasa parting with them at the gate. Toshinori looked to his protege worriedly, she had been rather quiet since they had left Tartarus and the news she had received was… terrifying to seasoned heroes, let alone a fifteen-year-old girl.

"Are you okay, Midoriya-shoujo?"

"Well, I just found out Shigaraki has a personal vendetta against me. I'm just a little shaken up at the moment…" Izumi responded quietly.

"Do you need to talk about it?"

"I think I just need to spend some time with my girlfriends and relax."

Toshinori chuckled slightly, "You have more than one, finally?"

Izumi smiled awkwardly at him, "Yeah, Mina, Kyouka, Himiko, and Ochako. All of us are dating each other now."

"…Are you trying to date every girl in your class?"

"I wasn't planning to. Hell, I wasn't planning on dating at U.A. period. But life doesn't always go how you plan for it to, right?"

Toshinori nodded, "Well, I am happy for you, Midoriya-shoujo."

He paused for a moment, thinking about how to ask the next question. Finally, he decided not to for now. As much as he wanted to know if Izumi had told any of her girlfriends, that would ultimately be her decision. There was a pregnant silence before Izumi spoke again.

"Thank you, Toshi. For everything that you've done for me and given to me.

"You've worked hard yourself, Midoriya-shoujo. You've earned your accomplishments." The words hung in the air for a moment and Toshinori decided to change topics, "Once you begin training with Mirko, we should have another training session for One For All. I have something I've wanted to teach you but with everything that's been going on, you deserve a small break."

Izumi gave him a wide smile, "After this week, I'll go back to working hard."

"I know you will, Midoriya-shoujo," Toshinori chuckled.

Izumi walked back into the dorms after she got changed out of her hero costume, not really wanting to explain why she was in her costume for an errand; it would bring too many questions. She was ready to relax for a few days before her internships started. Though, she was curious about what Toshinori wanted to teach her. He wasn't exactly knowledgeable on One For All, all things considered… She had to go to Gran Torino to train since Toshinori wasn't sure how to teach her to use her quirk at a lower amount all over her body…

She looked around the common room to see Ochako, Himiko, and Kyoka cuddling on the couch while Momo, Toru, Hanta, Hitoshi, Fumikage, and Tsuyu sat around watching a vampire movie with them; Himiko seemed to be enjoying the movie quite a bit. Izumi managed to take two steps into the dorms when a high pitch voice cut through the air.

"Midoriya! How dare you turn all the girls gay!" Minoru shouted at her as he ran at her.

Izumi blinked several times at the boy's outburst, "What? That's not what happened?"

"Then how do you explain having four girlfriends!? You were a pretty boy and now you're a pretty girl and all the girls are gay because of you!"

"I… Mineta-kun, do you not know how sexuality works? You can't… make someone gay."

Ochako shouted over, "That's what I told him earlier."

"Can't you at least share?"

Izumi's eyes flared red but she took a deep breath to calm herself. She didn't want her new temper getting the best of her. She looked at Minoru and spoke calmly, though there was venom in her words, "Mineta-kun… What the hell is wrong with you?"

Her words had more bite in them than she meant them to, but she didn't really care. The purple-headed boy's eyes widened slightly as he shrank back from Izumi.

"I…"

Izumi watched him sputter for a few seconds before sighing, "I'm sorry, Mineta-kun. That was extremely rude of me. Just… don't ask questions like that. People make their own decisions who they like, they're not a commodity."

"R-Right…" he choked out before disappearing into the elevators.

Izumi groaned, "I'm going to mentally scar him on accident at this rate."

"Hey, compared to right before internships, I'd say that was extremely light of a punishment," Kyoka tossed back.

"Oh… I forgot you um… heard that."

"Kero, I'm curious what you said to him back then," Tsuyu replied.

"I… would rather not say. I might have been feeling slightly… overprotective at the time since I caught him staring at Mina, Himiko, and Yaoyorozu-san's backsides with a lecherous expression…"

"It can't be that bad, can it?" Toru asked.

"I might have threatened him with castration if I caught him being overtly perverted to the girls in our class…"

Izumi watched Hitoshi, Fumikage, and Hanta visibly flinch at that while the girls looked at her with wide-eyed expressions. Kyoka just pursed her lips and nodded at her admission.

Izumi scratched her cheek nervously, "So… Yeah. He's a pervert but even I think that I went too far on that…"

"Well, he has calmed down his perverted antics a bit," Toru chimed. "I mean, he's still a pervert but he's not trying to peak on us in the lockers or anything."

"I guess… I just feel slightly… I don't think hypocritical is the right word… I don't know, weird threatening him since even though I'm definitely a girl, he still met me as a boy. It's… complicated I think. If anything, Mineta-kun probably feels like I'm getting away with peaking because of getting hit by the quirk that changed me."

"He… might have said something of that nature," Hanta admitted. "Saying that you were lucky and getting to see all the girls naked in the locker room now because you were a girl."

"But… Izucchi is a girl. Why's it matter?" Himiko asked.

Toru giggled, "Plus, even when Midori was a boy, she never tried to perv on the girls anyway. Too much of a cinnamon roll."

"Midoriya has probably never even seen porn," Hanta cackled.

Izumi's cheeks dusted red but she put on her best poker face for the moment. She wasn't going to explain that Nemuri had her watch some instructional videos that were definitely what Izumi would classify as porn. That secret was going with her to the grave.

"Ah, no. Before U.A. I wasn't exactly popular or anything, mostly ignored or picked on, so I never even considered dating and… all that."

Izumi realized very quickly that was probably worse to say than admitting she had seen quite a bit of porn lately. Momo's brow furrowed in front of her while Hitoshi and her girlfriends all took on concerned expressions. Hanta, Fumikage, and Tsuyu all looked concerned and… curious. Izumi really wished she could read Toru's expression but she was sure it was probably shocked.

Nobody ask. Please.

"Midoriya, pardon me for prying but why would you of all people have any enemies?" Fumikage asked.

Fuck.

"I…" Izumi sighed. "I didn't have a quirk until recently. It manifested late. So, everyone just thought I was the quirkless loser."

"When… when did your quirk finally manifest?" Momo asked hesitantly.

"I…"

"Izucchi, you don't have to talk about it," Himiko assured her.

"It's okay, Himiko." Izumi walked over and sat down in the common room between Himiko and Toru, the invisible girl sliding over to give her some space. "My quirk finally came in um… the day of the entrance exam…"

Momo's eyes widened at that admission, as well as Hanta, Tsuyu, and Fumikage's. Izumi smiled at them to reassure them, "And then it mutated when I woke up with the right body."

Toru's words were quiet and uncertain, "Midori… were you… bullied before U.A?"

Izumi sighed, "Yeah. I already told these three and Shinso-kun, and Mina already knows."

Himiko wrapped an arm around Izumi's waist to comfort her. Izumi put an arm back around her to let her know she was okay.

"Did your teachers know?" Hanta asked. "Cause that's really shitty."

"They knew. They didn't care. Why bother with the quirkless kid when you have other students with more promising quirks?" she said in a sarcastic tone. She took a breath, "I'm fine now, though. I've been talking to Hound Dog and Midnight about everything. Plus, I have my supportive girlfriends now."

"Kero, didn't you and Bakugo go to the same middle school?" Tsuyu asked.

Izumi didn't want to answer that and pursed her lips. Kyoka's voice answered for her instead, her tone sharp, "They did."

"Pray tell is that why you called Bakugo a villain, Uraraka?" Fumikage asked her.

Izumi looked at Ochako who flicked her a brief smile before nodding, "It is."

Izumi scratched the back of her head nervously, "Can we… talk about something else? It still makes me slightly uncomfortable to bring up all this…"

"Midoriya-san, can I ask one more question, if you don't mind?" Momo said.

"Sure?"

"What was the name of your middle school?"

"Aldera Junior High, why?"

Momo smiled at her, but the smile didn't quite seem to reach her eyes, "No reason."

Notes:
Only an okay chapter. Work so far has been boring but it takes up a lot of the time I used to use for writing so if I slow down to every other week for a while, I'm trying to adjust to the new schedule. Apologies.

As usual, thank you all for reading. Love you all,
3 Belle

Chapter 22: Fur and Fangs Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text Izumi was sitting ahead of Nezu in his office to talk to the chimera before her work-study with Mirko began and there was some paperwork she needed to fill out. She was clearly anxious, probably due to needing to leave soon. Nezu could have easily done this later since she wouldn't be paid her stipend for a few days at least but he had other reasons to speak to the greenette as well.

Izumi sipped on her tea and smiled at the chimera, "Principal Nezu, I don't mean to rush you or anything but-"

"Oh, no worries, Izumi-kun. I understand Mirko can be rather forceful and brash at times, so I won't keep you too much longer," Nezu said with his smile. "Once you fill out the last of these forms, your work-study can begin unperturbed."

"Thank you. I'm not trying to be late on my first morning."

Nezu slid a packet of papers to Izumi and she scanned the first page. Nezu watched her face as she read through the terms of the work-study and her stipend amount, already aware of what she would say momentarily.

Her eyes widened and she snapped her gaze to Nezu, "Principal Nezu, this is too much for-"

"Nonsense. The funding for work studies is paid for by your pro hero that you are working with. They have some flexibility with funds but there is a minimum expectation. Mirko wanted to give you a generous stipend and informed me if you argued against it, she would gladly have another sparring match like when you met to settle the dispute."

Izumi nodded and pursed her lips, understanding the exact implication of those words. Izumi finished the documents and slid them back to the chimera, "Was there anything else, Principal Nezu?"

Nezu sat down his cup and folded his hands in front of him. The real reason he had brought her here today was for a much more selfish reason. He was fascinated by the young woman in his office more than he let on, though some of the staff had noticed the fact that he referred to her by her given name instead of her family name now. Nezu brushed it off as 'making her comfortable with her new name' and no one really questioned it, not wanting to bother trying to understand the chimera's true motives.

Nezu was fascinated by the woman as soon as she had applied for the hero course and knew immediately something was different about Izumi. Aside from the obvious martyr complex that he now understood the origins of, she was truly heroic. So much more so than other heroes Nezu had met in his time here at U.A. But what truly fascinated him was her endless desire for knowledge and answers to questions that others seemed to not care about or pursue.

While not exactly a wise decision, Izumi had opted to interview the Hero Killer to understand exactly why he did what he did. All Might had been firmly against it and was hoping to use the excuse that the HPSC wouldn't allow it in the end. Nezu had other plans and eagerly assisted in allowing her to get her answers. In the end, they got more information out of him than they probably otherwise would have, merely because Izumi wanted to meet the man.

With Izumi's keen mind and heroic desires, as well as the fact that she wasn't afraid to search for answers that some people didn't want to find, he secretly hoped that she might be able to usher in some needed change.

"Ah, yes," Nezu said as he broke from his thoughts. Luckily, he thought fast enough that Izumi barely noticed he had been lost in his thoughts by the expression on her face. Barely. "All Might mentioned that you enjoy quirk analysis?"

Izumi's face split in a grin, "I do. Yaoyorozu-san and I have discussed quirks multiple times. She and I both enjoy quirk analysis. We've been meaning to sit down and have a proper discussion over quirks in a more comprehensive sense, but I guess we haven't had the chance yet. She's quite brilliant and the few conversations we've had have been enlightening."

Izumi pulled out her quirk analysis notebook and slid it across the table to him, "These are more recent so I haven't had a chance to clean all of my notes up but Toshi- sorry, I mean All Might, told me you might enjoy quirk analysis as well. Most of everything in there I've done myself, though a few notes that I've cited in there came from my discussions with Yaoyorozu-san or some of my other classmates."

Nezu smiled just slightly at her slip of using Toshinori's nickname and opened the notebook to look through it. His eyes widened ever so slightly while reading them; Toshinori had mentioned she had an interest in quirk analysis but had only ever glanced at her notebooks once.

But this? This was far more than Nezu had been expecting of someone without a mental analysis quirk. This only further increased Nezu's desire to get to know the future Symbol of Japan.

"Quite interesting, Izumi-kun. These notes are rather extensive and extremely detailed. I would like to extend an offer to you and, with your endorsement, Yaoyorozu-kun to join me for a quirk analysis session soon. If you have given her your stamp of approval, I feel she would also provide some valuable insight in our sessions."

Izumi's eyes widened and lit up at that, "You want to invite Yaoyorozu-san and me for quirk analysis?"

"Indeed, I would. We can discuss the finer details at a later date when you are not on a time crunch. I just thought to inform you since I had the chance. You are, of course, free to decline if you want."

"Principal Nezu, I would be honored. I'll mention it to Yaoyorozu-san and let her know she can decline as well but I'm sure she would be just as thrilled as I am."

"I hope so. If you have any other students that might be interested, let me know. I would very much be interested in finding students interested in such an endeavor."

Izumi nodded, "Of course. I'll keep my eye out for now. If that's all, I should really be going. Mirko will probably be slightly upset if I'm late."

"Of course. Take care, Izumi-kun."

Nezu smiled at the young woman who gathered her belongings and did a small bow as she left, a smile on her lips. He took a long drink of his tea as the door closed behind her before pulling out a large folder labeled 'Aldera Junior High', a business card paper-clipped to the front of it with the contact information for the Yaoyorozu legal team.

It seems that Yaoyorozu-kun and Izumi-kun both seem to share a mutual respect and interest in each other of sorts. Lucky you, Izumi-kun. You've managed to attract the eye of another brilliant future hero.

"Come on, runt, keep up!" Rumi taunted.

Izumi dodged another of Rumi's kicks and tried to counter with her own, her Full Cowl at 18% letting her graze the rabbit hero but not much else with her skills that dwarfed Izumi's own. She had slowly increased her comfortable limit to 18% over the last few weeks, though it seemed much faster than she figured she should be able to. Maybe it had something to do with her muscles being able to heal faster and grow faster.

…Oh.

That was probably exactly what it was. She could probably build muscle faster than most normal persons simply because when she tore her muscle fibers during exercise, her quirk fixed them instantly for her to keep going. That was extremely useful.

While sparring Izumi realized that Rumi was probably as fast if not faster than Gran Torino. One thing was for damn sure, she hit way harder than he did. Izumi was pretty certain if she couldn't regenerate, she'd have a few very broken bones; at the very least she'd have some fractures.

Izumi gritted her teeth and blocked one of Rumi's kicks, which was a mistake, and was sent toppling over. She didn't stay down long, rolling to her feet and closing the distance to the rabbit in an instant. Izumi kicked toward Rumi's face and the rabbit hero's face split in her trademark feral grin as she ducked away from the attack and hit Izumi with a right hook. Her punches hurt less than her kicks but damn this woman was strong.

Rumi shook her head slightly, "Too direct! Your attacks are far too straightforward!"

Too straightforward? Oh, she can read my attacks because from the time I start my attack to the time I finish it, it's all telegraphed. Think about how you've seen Mirko or Aizawa fight…

Izumi recovered from the hit and aimed a kick at Rumi's shins. Rumi smirked at another straightforward attack and Izumi rotated through a second, real attack aimed at her face, the first being a feint. Rumi's smirk was replaced by a grin as Izumi managed to connect a heavy hit to the side of Rumi's head, her arm blocking part but not all of the kick.

"Better! That wasn't complete shit, but you have some work to do on your kicks. Use more of your hips. I can tell you've practiced quite a bit, but you can still improve. Like this!"

Izumi watched her hips as Rumi aimed a kick at the vampire's face. Izumi dodged out of the way of it before a second kick followed the first, Izumi barely blocking with her knee. Rumi wasn't pulling any punches today… err, kicks. Izumi couldn't help but smile at that. That meant that Rumi was taking her more seriously than some people did. She didn't see Izumi as the quirkless loser, the worthless deku she had grown up as. She saw Izumi as someone to kick the shit out of.

Izumi was sweating profusely from her training, but she was too stubborn to quit at this point. Rumi told her they weren't going on patrol until she was sure Izumi wouldn't "suck it up big time when the media finds out about her". Izumi felt slightly insulted, but the rabbit woman had broken her rule of never taking on sidekicks or interns so the greenette shelved what little pride she had at this point and worked her ass off training with the pro hero.

"Not bad for your first day here, kid. I might not be embarrassed being seen with you as my intern now."

Izumi gave her a fierce grin that rivaled Rumi's own, "I told you I wasn't a quitter. Even if I have to break myself to get there, I'm not bitching out."

"Glad to hear it. Take a breather, we're going on patrol in fifteen. Try and keep up."

Izumi nodded and grabbed a bottle of water. They weren't really in any sort of hero agency, just Rumi's apartment that she had. She had her upstairs for her room, a guest room, and a common area while downstairs consisted of an at-home gym, a pool, and a fighting ring that they had been using. A lot of the equipment here was heavily reinforced since Rumi tended to hit things. Hard.

While Izumi was admiring the gym, a towel smacked her in the face, thrown at her by Rumi. Izumi chuckled a bit and used it to dry off some of her sweat she had worked up with her training. Izumi used the water bottle to cool herself off for the moment and collect her thoughts a bit. After she had taken a minute to collect herself, she grabbed her hero costume, sliding it on over her sports bra and pulling on her thigh-highs and boots, having been sparring in her shorts and a sports bra. It wasn't even noon yet and they had probably sparred for a few hours at this point.

Oh god, this was going to be every day of her internship and she wasn't sure if she was more excited or exhausted thinking about it.

Once she was ready with her hero costume, she grabbed a protein bar and ate it while she waited. Rumi mentioned they would eat in a few hours after patrolling so she figured this would hold her over until then. Rumi came back down in her hero costume with her trademark grin on her face.

"You ready to embarrass yourself, runt?"

Izumi's face split in a feral grin, "We'll see who embarrasses who, Mirko."

"That's the spirit. Let's fucking go."

Ochako was currently hanging out with Tenya, Tsuyu, and Shoto in the common room since she hadn't gotten to spend much time with them lately. She felt slightly bad about that, but she had been spending a lot of time with Izumi and her girlfriends now that Mina and Izumi had invited the rest of them to their polycule. She thinks that's what Izumi called it, at least. They were sitting on one of the couches away from the television to chat while the rest of the class were over in that area chatting and watching whatever was on television.

"Kero, how have you both been since the provisional exam? You both seemed to avoid most of the class since then," Tsuyu said in her usual blunt fashion.

"I'm better now. I realized I still have much to learn but we have plenty of more opportunities," Tenya stated.

Shoto nodded, "I… thought I could pass without anyone else. Midoriya and Yaoyorozu proved that working together to cover for each other was the better strategy."

Ochako smiled at them, "You'll both get it next time, I'm sure. Iida-kun, you'll be able to lead our class at least, and you know 1-A needs leadership."

Tenya smirked slightly, "I suppose I can still be there to lead the rest of the class."

"Where is Midoriya today? Aizawa mentioned she was starting her work-study, but I didn't hear where that was," Shoto said.

Tsuyu put a finger to her chin, "You both were busy when she told the class, kero. Izumi-chan is doing her work-study with Mirko today."

Tenya and Shoto both looked mildly surprised.

Tenya nodded, "Leave it to Midoriya-kun to work with the pro hero who refuses to work with others."

"She's the type to get involved with people… regardless of if they want to get involved with her," Shoto agreed with the faintest of smiles on his lips.

"She's pretty great. I was gonna message her shortly to see how things have been going," Ochako informed them. "Though, she might be too busy to reply."

"Hey, guys!" Mina shouted over. "You might want to see this!"

Ochako was curious what Mina wanted them to see and the four of them made their way to the other half of the common room as Denki turned the television up.

"What's going on?" Tenya asked the group.

Toru pointed at the screen, her bracelets showing where she was pointing, "Just look!"

Ochako's eyes widened as she watched the screen. There was a bank robbery being broadcast right now, live. A group of armed villains had managed to swarm the bank and currently held hostages. Police had no idea how many villains were inside but had secured a perimeter and were waiting to move in.

"Oh, I wonder if we'll see a new hero debut today," Himiko said as she watched.

"I think Izumi has been rubbing off on you," Ochako said plainly. As soon as the words came out of her mouth, her cheeks went red and she slapped her hands over her face as several other students started laughing at that, "T-That's not what I…"

Tsuyu grabbed the girl before she managed to float away, "Ochako-chan, calm down."

Ochako nodded but her blush hadn't died down. Eiko chuckled at the whole situation, "Well, Uraraka is right. Midoriya is usually the one excited for new hero debuts."

"Who cares about some useless extra heroes? Not like any of them will be the best," Katsuki grumbled.

Ochako chose to ignore the angry boy as they watched the scene unfold. Suddenly, two blurs dashed across the screen, one white and one green. Several moments later, civilians were seen running out of the bank. Well, whoever showed up, they were good it seemed. A moment later, a hero crashed out the side of the bank, having been hit hard by… something. Out of the side of the bank emerged a hulking mass of a villain with four arms. This guy was massive. Not as big as Mt. Lady but probably a good fifteen or twenty feet tall and bulky as hell.

"Holy shit, what is that?" Hitoshi gasped. "Is that a villain?"

Before anyone could comment a green blur darted out from the bank and hit the villain hard in the back causing him to fall to one knee. On-screen, through the dust and distance of the camera, Ochako could make out a woman with rabbit ears and a girl with fluffy green hair.

"I'm not even surprised at this point," Rikido commented with a chuckle.

Momo furrowed her brow for a second, "Has Midoriya-san gotten faster recently?"

"Still looks like a blur to me," Denki commented.

Mirko stood up with a feral grin on her face and dusted herself off before bounding toward the villain in several leaps, connecting a kick to the villain's chest. He took the blow and lashed out with his arms at the rabbit hero as he fell backward; Mirko launched herself off the titan, completely avoiding the counterattack. While Mirko had knocked him off balance, Izumi darted around the colossus and leapt up to the top of a building, kicking off the wall toward the villain, dropping an axe kick onto the villain's chest.

"Izumi's kind of a badass," Kyoka commented idly.

Mina gave her a large grin, "Duh? She's working with Mirko."

Ochako had a similar thought to Kyoka. Watching the greenette fight alongside the rabbit hero was pretty awesome. The villain tried to grab the greenette and Mirko bounded over and used her Luna Ring to cartwheel through the air and kick the villain's fists away from the greenette before dropping another kick on the villain. Izumi and her both leapt off the villain's chest and away from his melee range before he attempted to stand up. Both women wore the same fierce grin as they leapt at the behemoth before connecting a kick to his chest each, sending him toppling down as he began to shrink.

"A gigantification quirk, it seems," Tenya commented.

Now that the villain was returning to normal size and incapacitated, police officers moved in to arrest him. Mirko and Izumi went back into the bank, though it looked like Mirko was yelling at Izumi while they did. Or more like… scolding her? Izumi looked like she was chuckling nervously while she scratched the back of her head, talking to Mirko the entire way into the bank.

A few moments later, they were dragging several villains out of the bank, Mirko practically tossing the ones she had in front of the police while Izumi was a bit less rough. But only a bit. She still dragged them behind her, but she didn't throw them. Seems there were half a dozen villains total, including the one that was giant moments ago.

"Mirko! Is this girl an intern of yours?" a reporter asked, getting in her face with a microphone.

Mirko looked at the reporter like he was an idiot, "Yeah, she's my intern. This runt's hero name is Deku. I decided to give her a shot since I didn't think she'd cause me any problems. So far, kid's managing to beat my expectations."

"Why'd you decide to take an intern after your stance about never working with others?"

"Huh? Like I said, I decided to give her a shot." Mirko turned to Izumi on screen, "Hey, runt, I'm gonna head out. Catch up when you're done with this lot."

Izumi turned toward her from the police officer she was talking to, her red eyes and fangs just barely apparent, "Yeah, sure. Just need to fill in some details for the police and I'll catch up with you, Mirko."

Mirko gave her a cocky grin and bounded off without another word, clearly not wanting to deal with twenty questions from the reporters.

"Oh god, is Midoriya going to start acting like Mirko?" Denki asked, paling slightly.

"I mean, she already acts kind of like her when she fights. Have you seen that feral grin she wears in training lately?" Toru asked the group. "It's like Mirko with more fangs."

Himiko smiled at her, "It's sexy, right?"

"Damn straight," Mina said with a grin.

"Ashido-kun! Language!" Tenya scolded.

"Calm down, class rep," Eiko placated. "They're just… appreciating their vampire girlfriend."

Tenya pinched the bridge of his nose and muttered something that Ochako didn't catch.

"Why the fuck…" Katsuki muttered to himself, trailing off so Ochako couldn't hear him either. She did notice Eiko pat him on the back gently to appease whatever issue he currently had with Izumi.

"Do you think Midoriya will be fine interviewing without Mirko?" Ojiro asked the group.

Mezo spoke up, "Well, she has been more confident as of late. It's possible she'll be fine."

"You don't need to worry, Izumi will be fine," Mina assured them.

"Maybe you have been a good influence on her," Hanta chuckled. "Though the other three girlfriends probably help too."

"Most of that was probably Mina," Ochako admitted. "Izumi has been a lot more confident since they started dating."

"Deku, can I have a moment of your time?" the reporter practically shouted at the greenette.

Izumi finished talking with the police officer and turned to the reporter with a light smile, noting the camera pointed at her, "Sure, what can I help you with?"

"You're the girl who took down Stain, aren't you?"

"…I am, yes."

"Which means you're a first-year student of U.A?"

"Yes?"

"Why didn't we see you in the Sports Festival? You look similar to that Midoriya boy who placed in the tournament, but I don't believe you yourself took place in the Sports Festival."

Izumi thought about her answer for a moment, "No, that was me. Due to… personal circumstances, this is me now."

"Are you saying you're openly trans like the pro hero Tiger of the Wild Wild Pussycats?"

Izumi blinked a few times, unprepared for the question, "I… suppose I am. I have a lot of respect for Tiger and what he's been through in his journey. Any other questions? I should catch up to Mirko soon."

"What do you think of the recent influx of Trigger users?"

Izumi wasn't even aware of what Trigger was. She knew that it was some street drug, but she had no knowledge of what it did or any details on it. Izumi opted for a safe answer as Shota had taught her in a quick crash course on dealing with the media.

"I… can't comment on the recent influx of Trigger users. If you have any questions regarding it, you'll have to ask the police about the matter. If that's it, I need to head out. Mirko won't let me slack on her."

Izumi did a quick goodbye to the reporter and waved to the police officers before she darted off with her Full Cowl on like usual. She thought she handled those questions… okay at least. She'd ask Rumi what this business with Trigger was later.

Izumi's thoughts ground to a halt as a villain lashed out at her with claws as she cut through an alleyway. Izumi's reflexes were pretty sharp from her training with Gran Torino and Rumi, so she dodged away from the sharp appendages, a few strands of hair falling to the ground. She turned to see a… well, the only word she had for this villain was a werewolf. He was covered in grey fur and had sharp wolf teeth and ears atop his head with a humanoid wolf face; he looked halfway between a wolf and a man.

"You really should be careful with those claws, you could hurt someone," Izumi said warily, readying her stance just slightly.

"You're that bitch who took down Stain, aren't you?" the villain growled.

Izumi could already tell this guy was dangerous. He reeked of blood. Not enough for her to follow if he ran but enough that in this small alleyway, it was pungent. And it was vile.

"I am. He was a villain. He had to be stopped."

Izumi shifted slightly as she tried to figure out the best course of action. She could fight him and maybe take him but… there was the chance he wasn't alone.

Izumi gave him a nervous smile, "Were you a follower of his?"

"I still am!" he roared. "He was cleansing this society of the evils of false heroes!"

He was going about making changes the wrong way.

"So, you blindly follow a man claiming to fight the injustices of 'false heroes'? Is that it?"

The wolf-man lashed out at Izumi and she noted that he was incredibly fast. Not as fast as Mirko but he was still quick and seemed skilled. He closed the distance to her quickly, Izumi dodging away barely with his claws catching her arm slightly. Not enough to hurt her much but enough to put her on edge. She found her footing and pivoted around to kick him in the side. He winced and took a few steps back from her before lashing out with his claws again. Izumi did her best to dodge away from his attacks while countering with her own.

This guy could take a hit and could dish it out if Izumi wasn't careful. She countered one of his hits that slashed into her arm with a heavy punch to his sternum, knocking the wind out of him and knocking him back. Izumi heard someone move behind her and spun around to see a random teenage girl, probably a few years younger than her, staring down the alley Izumi was in. Izumi stood so she was facing straight between the two and looked at the girl and kept the villain in the corner of her vision. This could get really ugly really fast.

"Oh, you're that new hero, Deku! I just saw you fighting with the villains at the bank with Mirko on the news! You were so cool!"

Izumi flashed her a fanged smile, "Thanks." She glanced back toward the alley and the werewolf was gone. Izumi relaxed slightly and walked quickly to the alley entrance and ushered the girl away from it, trying to keep the appearance of being calm, "Glad I have a fan already."

"Of course! We need more badass girl heroes. Oh, can I get your autograph?"

Izumi chuckled and gave the girl her autograph before making sure she was safely near friends or family. With that werewolf on the loose, she didn't want to leave the girl alone anywhere. She didn't want to worry the girl, but she did notify several police officers of the villain attack that got away. She explained the circumstances and they radioed in for patrols to increase in the area.

Izumi's phone ran and she picked it up from Rumi.

"Kit, where are you?"

Izumi sighed and her disappointment crept into her voice, "Villain attack. Werewolf villain. He got away when a girl walked into the alley and I prioritized making sure she was safe."

"Well, you did the right thing. What's the point in being a hero if you can't save the people who look up to us? It's unfortunate he got away but don't let it get to you too much."

"But what if someone else gets hurt because I didn't stop him?"

Rumi was silent for a moment before sighing, "Just get over to this address and let's continue our patrol while we chat."

Izumi hung up and ran off toward Rumi's location.

Mina and her girlfriends were all relaxing in Himiko's dorm room while they waited for Izumi to get back. They had debated waiting in Izumi's room for her but decided against it, in case Izumi just wanted to have some privacy. It didn't take long before there was a knock at the door.

"Himiko? Are you in here?" Izumi said through the door.

"It's unlocked," the blonde vampire replied.

Izumi came in looking slightly exhausted. Drained was probably the better word for it.

"Hey, you're all here," Izumi said with a smile.

Kyoka looked at her, "How was your first day with Mirko?"

"Exhausting. We spent the first few hours sparring and she told me what I was doing wrong with some of my movements. Then we went on patrol."

"And you stopped a bank robbery," Himiko added.

"Yeah. Did you see Mirko lecturing me after we stopped the big guy?" Izumi chuckled.

Ochako's eyes widened, "Oh yeah, what was that about?"

"She said, and I'll quote her on this, "That last kick was absolute shit"."

Mina started laughing at that, "I can see her saying that. Still, you're working with Mirko now. That's crazy cool."

Izumi smiled at her and plopped down on Himiko's bed, lying back onto it with a small sigh. Mina took the chance and got up to sit next to her, running a hand through her hair gently. The other girls slowly joined her, gathering around her closely.

"You okay, Izucchi?" Himiko asked her.

Izumi was quiet for a moment, "There… There was a villain that got away. He was a follower of Stain and he attacked me but… I didn't catch him before he disappeared. A girl, a few years younger than us, showed up near where I was fighting him, and I was focused on making sure she didn't get dragged into anything… And he escaped. I'm just…" Izumi closed her eyes for a moment and thought about everything on her mind. "I'm worried. That he's going to hurt someone else because I didn't catch him."

"Izumi… it'll be okay. From the sound of it, you saved that girl," Ochako comforted her. "Anything he does isn't on you. If you would have continued to fight him, that girl could have gotten injured or worse."

"…That's what Mirko said. Still, I… I want to save everyone. Like All Might does. And I need to get stronger to do that."

"You've got some big shoes to fill if you want to be like All Might," Kyoka stated to her. "I'm not saying you can't do that since… well, you probably could be like him. Just that… Izumi, we're first years. All Might has been a hero for what? Thirty years?"

Izumi sighed, "Yeah… You're right. I just… feel like I'm not doing enough."

Mina ruffled her hair, "You're doing plenty, Izumi. Don't be so hard on yourself."

Izumi relaxed slightly before a small smirk crossed her face. Mina didn't have enough time to react before Izumi pulled the other four girls into a hug pile on top of her. Kyoka squeaked at that while Himiko giggled at it. Mina was amused by how much more comfortable Izumi was with physical affection now than when they started dating. Ochako blushed but melted into the hug with a smile.

"This is better," Izumi said softly.

"I'll say," Himiko agreed.

The group sat like that for several moments before Mina decided to share what was on her mind.

"So… big change of topic but has anyone else noticed that Yaomomo is spending an awful lot of time with us since the exam she took with Izumi?"

"Yes," Himiko replied instantly.

Ochako nodded, "I did."

"I guess so? I hang out with Yaomomo pretty frequently, so I guess I didn't notice. Why?" Kyoka asked.

"I'm pretty sure she's interested in us."

"What?" Izumi asked. "Why would you think that?"

"Well… she did ask me some questions about polyamory when you and Mina were on your date," Kyoka admitted. "But that doesn't mean she wants to join us, does it? I figured she was just curious how this type of relationship worked."

Mina could see the faint blush on Kyoka's cheeks at that. It was no real secret that Kyoka had a crush on the raven-haired beauty of their class from the first week of school, even if she'd never admit it.

Mina shrugged, "I suppose it doesn't. But what if she did?"

There was silence to that when Himiko spoke up, "I don't really have a problem with it. The times we've talked, Momo-chan has been really nice to me and she even helped me study for midterms when I asked. She also thinks my quirk is cool like Izucchi does and isn't weirded out by the fact that either of us drinks blood."

Kyoka's face was bright red, "I… would also be okay with it if she was…"

"If she wants to join, I'm okay with it…" Ochako started. "But… Um…"

Izumi looked at the brunette, "What's wrong?"

Ochako's voice got more and more uneven as she spoke, "I… I don't think we should have any more people in our polycule… after that… We already have a lot of us and… I'm worried that we won't get to spend time with each other as much as we want because there are so many of us… And we're training to be heroes, so we already don't have a lot of free time and-"

Izumi interrupted her with a kiss to her forehead, "Ochako, it's okay. I think you're right. We're already busy enough as is between training, school, homework, and dating each other. We don't want to spread ourselves too thin."

"Exactly…" Ochako mumbled. "Can you… limit the number of people in a polyamorous relationship?"

Izumi giggled, "Yes. It's called being polysaturated. That's what Nemuri called it when I asked her. It means you're at your limit for new relationships in a polyamorous relationship. Some people feel overwhelmed at two partners… We're already at four each so… I get it. Personally, I just want everyone to be happy."

Mina nodded and ran a hand through Ochako's hair, "Izumi's right. It's important for everyone to be happy. And if you're not comfortable with more people, it's important to tell us. So, thank you for saying something Ochako."

Himiko gave Ochako a gentle kiss on her cheek, "Yeah, thanks, Ochako-chan. It can be hard to say something to everyone, I'm sure."

Ochako blushed at the kiss but nodded her appreciation.

Mina looked at everyone again, "So… everyone would be okay with Yaomomo if she were interested in joining us? And her being the last addition to our little polycule?"

Himiko, Kyoka, and Ochako nodded while Izumi thought for a moment before answering, "I'm okay with it. But I agree with Ochako. After Yaoyorozu-san, we won't accept any more people in our relationship. Is that acceptable?"

Mina smiled at her, "Yeah."

"And we let Yaoyorozu-san approach us for it. We don't pressure her into anything. We won't ask her unless she inquires about it. That way she can spend time with us and not feel awkward or anything. Okay?"

Izumi got the affirmative from all the girls and relaxed her head down onto Himiko's bed before Himiko kissed her on the cheek. Mina giggled and kissed the greenette as well, which turned into several more kisses by their other girlfriends until all of them were cuddling and kissing each other.

Mina couldn't ask for a better way to end the day.

Notes:
Hey everyone. Slightly longer chapter than usual but I haven't slept much this week and felt motivated to write in that time. I'll also give a disclaimer that I am not an expert on polyamory or transgender issues, only having my own experiences and what I've educated myself with to go off of, so if anything ever comes across as insensitive or incorrect, please let me know so I can better educate myself.

As usual, I hope you all enjoyed reading. Love you all,
3 Belle

Chapter 23: Preparations Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text Izumi was sitting on a rooftop with Rumi, legs dangling off the edge as they took a small break in their patrol. She decided to ask a question that was on her mind, "Hey, Mirko?"

"Hm? What's up?"

"One of the reporters the other day mentioned something called Trigger. What exactly… is that?"

"It's a street drug that temporarily enhances quirks. Or that's what they tell me. That big guy at the bank was a Trigger user. Pretty frequent user too. His tongue was black from using the drug so often. We're not really sure who's creating it, but it gets on the streets and causes problems pretty quickly."

"That sounds… problematic."

"It is. But we don't know where it comes from so stopping its production has been a pain in the ass. The police are still looking into it but haven't had much luck."

Izumi nodded at that, understanding some things took time. Izumi's phone buzzed in her belt and she pulled it out to check her messages. Izumi saw that her group chat with her girlfriends had several messages in it and decided to check them. Izumi's face split in a grin as she saw some of the pictures she had been sent from Mina and Himiko.

"Why do you look so happy?" Rumi asked her.

Izumi looked up from her phone, "Oh, my girlfriends are doing a date night tonight. They all sent pictures to our little group chat and they're all so pretty and happy looking."

"You said girlfriends? Plural?"

"Oh, um… I have four girlfriends…" Izumi pulled up a picture of her and the other girls together and showed it to Rumi, "This is all of us together the other day. I had Midnight take this for us since we didn't have any pictures of all of us together yet. Mina is the girl with pink hair, Ochako is the brunette, Kyoka is the one who's blushing up a storm, and Himiko is the blonde vampire next to me."

"Holy shit, kit. I don't think that's what they meant when they said 'Plus Ultra'."

Izumi chuckled, "Probably not… Mina and Kyoka are going to a rock club and going dancing tonight. Himiko and Ochako are going to see a movie they were both interested in and getting dinner."

"And you're… okay with your girlfriends dating each other? You're not like… jealous?"

Izumi thought for a moment, "No? I'm not really a jealous person though. I'm happy that they're all enjoying themselves tonight. I mean, look at how happy and adorable they all are."

Izumi opened her messages again and pulled up the pictures. Mina and Kyoka were both in shorts and more casual clothes; Kyoka's shirt said 'Deep Dope' on it while Mina's said 'Acid'. Izumi was beginning to worry her terrible shirts would spread to the other girls if she didn't keep an eye on them. They both had done their makeup and Mina was grinning wide at the camera while Kyoka had a small smile on her lips with a large blush on her cheeks from how close she was to Mina. In the other picture, Himiko and Ochako were both wearing dresses. Ochako wore a cute light pink dress with flats to match while Himiko's was baby blue. Himiko and Ochako were holding hands in the picture with small blushes on their cheeks but they had big smiles on their faces and their own makeup was done too.

"Well, you've got good taste," Rumi commented. "They're all definitely cute. Still, four girlfriends. Damn."

"What about you? Anyone special?"

Rumi scoffed, "I'm aiming for the top ten right now. I don't have time to date or get laid."

Izumi was quiet for a moment as she looked at her hands and then down at the street ahead of them. She finally decided what she was looking to say, "Well… I won't lie. I was worried about dating so many girls while trying to be a hero. My goal… is to be the rank one hero, to be as strong… no, stronger, than All Might. I want to save everyone with a smile. But someone important to me told me that neglecting my own happiness just to try and be like All Might was only one path to take. She told me that I can still be as great a hero as All Might and find my own happiness. Finding someone to care about and being happy with can be a huge motivating force for that goal as well."

Izumi chuckled slightly, "Plus, I'm used to going Plus Ultra in everything. And they all make me happy and I make them happy. I'll still be an amazing hero, not in spite of having that many girlfriends, but because they love and support me as well."

Rumi chuckled, "You're definitely an interesting one, kit."

Izumi was going to say something when she saw someone running down the street with a purse in hand, followed by a woman yelling at them. The two of them dropped off the roof to chase the criminal down, their break coming to an abrupt end.

"Principal Nezu, what are the plans for the first years' finals this year?" Shota started.

With everything that had happened so far this year, Shota wasn't even sure what they could do for finals. Robots weren't enough. Maybe fighting pros? But two of the 1-A students and three of the 1-B students had their provisional licenses already, so they were already approved for internships. Hell, Izumi already had one with Mirko that she was already partaking in.

Finals for the first semester were supposed to be a test of combat ability for the students. Seeing if they had learned enough over the first semester to engage in combat with real people. With how much of a magnet for trouble this years' students seemed to be and All Might throwing them into battle training immediately, Shota knew they would have to do something crazy this year to practically accelerate the students and to actually challenge them. And sending them all to fight A-ranked serial killers like a certain problem child had wasn't exactly something Shota thought logical.

"Are we not doing robots like last year?" Cementoss asked.

Nemuri frowned at that, "I think Shota is trying to say that robots wouldn't be 'logical' for this year's batch of students. Class 1-A has been attacked by villains; one of them got involved with fighting a serial killer and won. And 1-B's students are just as promising as 1-A's. Having them fight robots would be…"

"Too easy?" Hizashi offered.

Nezu nodded, "That was precisely my thought as well. We have an extremely promising selection of first year students. Having them do something as simple as fighting robots leaves a poor taste in my mouth."

"We're practically shoving these students into their second year already as is," Vlad King said. "We're having them all take their Provisional License Exams in the fall. Well, the ones that haven't passed already. Are we also moving up the other thing from second-year?"

"Yes. Though, I want to take certain precautions. Therefore, Aizawa-kun, Vlad King-kun, and I will be the only ones who know of the location for said event."

"Minimizes the risk of information leaking…" Shota commented. "Hopefully it helps."

Toshinori spoke up, "I understand planning for finals ahead of time but… the students still have several weeks, do they not?"

"Since this years' students are of a high caliber, I was thinking of having them fight pro heroes, handicapped of course, in matches that highlight their weaknesses. We should plan and prepare ahead of time."

"What of the five students who have their provisional licenses?" Thirteen asked. "Is it really necessary to have them participate if they have their licenses?"

Nezu thought for a moment while Shota did the same. The test was certainly redundant for those students.

Nezu reached a conclusion first, "We give them the option to obtain a minimum passing grade and opt-out of their practical. Does that sound acceptable?"

"Midoriya and Yaoyorozu won't accept a minimum passing grade," Shota retorted.

Vlad King nodded, "Tokage, Shishida, and Honenuki are the same. None of them would be satisfied with barely passing marks."

"But it can be an option," Nezu countered. "That's the important part."

"Okay… So, we need to think of which students against which staff members?" Nemuri asked.

Nezu worked with the teachers to decide which students would be best suited for specific teachers, starting with 1-A. Most of them were easy to point out but as they got toward the end of the list, some of the students became problematic. Namely Katsuki, Shoto, Izumi, Momo, Hitoshi, and Himiko.

"We can't have Midoriya-shoujo and Bakugo-shounen pair up, can we?" Toshinori asked.

Shota snapped his attention to the Symbol of Peace, "Absolutely not. I was thinking Todoroki and Bakugo with me. Both rely heavily on their quirks and don't seem likely to work together."

Hizashi nodded his approval, "Seems viable to me. Bakugo doesn't seem to want to work with anyone and Todoroki is still relatively aloof. He's willing to work with people like Midoriya and Yaoyorozu on occasion but Bakugo might be hard for him to deal with."

"I agree with that assessment. What of the two students suited for underground work?" Nezu asked.

"I can help out if you need," Vlad King said. "You've got two extra students now. Both of their quirks aren't amazing in combat and we know their quirks already which is a huge handicap for underground heroes. Just fighting a pro hero should be enough of a challenge, shouldn't it?"

Shota nodded, "I don't see why not. I would have them face me but their extra lessons with me might make it seem too much like training. That, in itself, would be pointless."

"So, that leaves our two license holders with All Might?" Nemuri asked curiously.

"I believe so, Kayama-kun. Is that acceptable for you, All Might? Fighting your protege and another student? You won't play favorites and go easy on them?" Nezu asked with a certain glint in his eye.

Toshinori shook his head, "That would be insulting to both Midoriya-shoujo and Yaoyorozu-shoujo. No, if I face them, I face them seriously."

"Good. I think that covers 1-A. How about 1-B?"

Momo decided to finally talk to Nemuri about polyamory today. She had been debating on discussing it with Izumi, but she was worried it would send the wrong message. Or send the message she was too scared to actually say right now. The more she thought about it, the more appealing it sounded. Izumi was an exceptionally smart and driven girl who would no doubt be an amazing hero. Kyoka was Momo's best friend and Momo already had a slight crush on her but due to her own sheltered upbringing, she was never able to figure out how to say anything about it. Her books weren't any use either since even Momo knew they were just trashy romance novels that didn't equate to the real world. Himiko, Mina, and Ochako were all great classmates as well and Momo had definitely enjoyed the time she had spent with them lately since the Provisional License Exam.

Momo knocked on the door to the faculty lounge and Shota answered the door with his normal expression.

"Do you need something, Yaoyorozu?"

Momo blushed barely, "Is… Is Midnight-sensei in? I was hoping to talk to her about something today."

Shota nodded and stepped to the side to let her in, "She is."

He closed the door behind her and led Momo to the woman who was sitting at her desk finishing up a stack of papers she had been grading.

"Midnight, Yaoyorozu wants to speak with you," Shota announced to her.

Nemuri looked over and smiled at Momo, "Sure. I was just finishing up grading your reports for class." Her eyes shifted to Shota, "Thanks, Aizawa. Go ahead and return to your nap."

Shota grumbled something and crawled under a nearby desk into his yellow sleeping bag.

I will never get used to him doing that.

"Should I wait for you somewhere?" Momo asked Nemuri.

"There's a couch over there I usually use when I chat with students. I can make some tea if you'd like after I finish grading this last report."

Momo nodded, "Thank you, Midnight. I'll go ahead and wait for you then."

Momo went to the couch and sat down, opening one of her books and reading while she waited. It didn't take too long before Nemuri came over with hot water for tea, pouring two glasses out for the both of them.

"So, what can I help you with today, Yaoyorozu?"

Momo sat down her book and picked up the tea, blowing on it slightly before tasting it. She smiled at the tea choice Nemuri had made and looked at Nemuri, "I… was hoping you could tell me about polyamory."

Nemuri smiled at her slightly, "I see. Do you have specific questions?"

"I… I'm not sure. I know Midoriya-san and Ashido-san recently added Jiro-san, Toga-san, and Uraraka-san to their relationship and I was mostly curious about polyamory in general," she lied.

"I suppose that would raise some questions about that type of relationship. It might be overdue for me to visit the dorms and answer some questions for everyone but since you're already here we can discuss it more in-depth. Are you interested in polyamory for yourself or do you want to learn more because your classmates have that type of relationship now?"

Momo was quiet for a moment as her cheeks heated up slightly, "I suppose both. As Toga-san phrased it, the concept of loving one person always seemed odd to me and polyamory just gives me more of a label for it. That doesn't make me… odd, does it?"

"Why would it make you odd? There's nothing wrong with having feelings for more than one person. The problem comes when a person in a monogamous committed relationship falls for another individual and pursues that without the consent or knowledge of their partner. Cheating is wrong but polyamory isn't cheating. Though, you can still cheat in a polyamorous relationship. But I digress."

Momo smiled slightly, "So, it's okay that I felt that way before I learned of polyamory?"

"Of course. I've had multiple students come to me for advice on the same issue over the years of teaching at U.A. It comes down to respecting each other's boundaries and ensuring strong communication, even more than a normal relationship."

"How about things like jealousy? Don't people in a polyamorous relationship get jealous?"

"Well, of course. Being jealous comes up but the important thing is dealing with that jealousy if it comes up together. Polyamorous relationships usually try and utilize compersion, feeling happy for your significant others for being happy. It really comes down to figuring out why someone is feeling jealous in the relationship. Each person needs to be able to get what they need out of the relationship in the end and communicating any issues that come up."

"I see. It's not that they don't get jealous, it's just that they dissect the issue and find the root cause of it to deal with the jealousy."

"Exactly. Feelings of jealousy can quickly spiral out of control if they're not discussed and can form a rift or worse in your relationship."

"Are there multiple types of relationships for polyamory? I know Midoriya-san and Ashido-san decided to be a 'package deal' when they added the other three. Is that always the case?"

"No, that's not always the case. Each polyamorous relationship is different, and everyone has their own needs. Ashido and Midoriya decided that for them they wanted to be included together in any new relationship. Some individuals date each other and have separate partners from each other. There are cases where one individual doesn't have more than one partner but the other has multiple partners. It all comes down to what each person is comfortable with and when they feel they can't take on any more relationship or responsibilities. That limit is different for each person and relationship."

"So, I would have to ask Midoriya-san if I were curious about her own relationship's limits on new additions?" Momo asked with a slightly larger blush.

"Yes, that's the case. I can't speak for their relationship since I'm not them, but if you're curious you should ask her or one of them about it yourself. The only ones who would be able to tell you are them."

Momo nodded, thinking through her options at the moment. She was no doubt interested in joining them if the possibility presented itself. But she couldn't just ask to join them, could she? It would probably be better to wait for them to say something to her if they were interested; not that they probably would be. Izumi and the others wouldn't be interested in her like that, would they?

Momo sighed to herself slightly, realizing she should at least ask Izumi and her girlfriends if they were even interested in adding anyone else to their relationship. From what Nemuri said, some relationships stopped expanding at smaller limits than others and Momo didn't want to get her hopes up to be told there wasn't even a chance. The hardest part for her would be… actually asking them if they were okay with anyone else joining.

Momo thanked Nemuri for her time and headed out of the faculty lounge, only pausing briefly when she saw Katsuki leaving Hound Dog's office in a huff. Momo frowned slightly but chose not to say anything to him. Momo knew he and Izumi had a past but she didn't know what all it entailed, and she was almost too afraid to ask.

Izumi and Rumi had headed back to her apartment after their patrol, Izumi feeling more comfortable in general about heroics.

"You've been doing pretty good, kit. Your form is still sloppy at times, but I'm impressed you can keep up with me," Rumi praised her.

Izumi flashed her a fanged grin, "Well, I would hate to disappoint you."

"You up for some sparring before we eat and you head back to campus?"

"I'm always willing to spar if it'll help me improve. I don't have to be back at the dorm until later."

Rumi smirked at her before she motioned for the ring, "Then let's work on that shitty form."

Izumi jumped in the ring with Rumi and readied her stance. Rumi wasted no time in aiming a kick at her face, but her reflexes were improving the more she sparred. And Rumi loved to spar. And Izumi loved the experience she was getting with the rabbit hero.

Izumi ducked under the first kick and countered with her own, Rumi blocked it and they began their back and forth. Izumi was nowhere near as practiced as Rumi but with the pro hero's help, she was definitely improving. Izumi dodged a roundhouse kick to her side before countering with a punch to Rumi's sternum. Rumi was weaved and countered with her own feint to Izumi's face before aiming for her stomach, the greenette barely avoiding the attack.

"You're improving," Rumi told her before following up with another attack. "It's good to see."

Izumi smirked at her and kept up her assault, Rumi not giving her any ground. Both women wore large grins on their faces, Rumi for finding someone who could actually spar against her, even if Izumi was less skilled than she was, and Izumi since the hero was teaching her a ton in her internship.

Rumi aimed a jab at Izumi's face and the greenette tried something different that she had seen Shota do a few times during the U.S.J. She grabbed Rumi's wrist and stepped in, putting her foot behind the hero's front foot before striking her in the chest with her opposite palm. Rumi was sent to the ground from a lack of good footing and the sudden strike to her chest; Izumi followed it up with an ax kick aimed down at the hero on the ground. Rumi reacted with a kick aimed at Izumi's ankle, sending the greenette to the ground with her.

Izumi started to get up but was met with a kick to her chest, sending her backward.

"Ow," Izumi groaned as she stood up and dusted herself off. "I thought I would finally get a good hit on you with that."

"You almost did. I wasn't expecting that. Where'd you learn that move anyway?"

"Aizawa used it before. He's said it to us a few times that villains don't fight fair so why should we and… I never really thought about actually taking his advice until I started sparring with you. Varying up my fighting style instead of sticking with just brawling like All Might has helped a ton."

Rumi nodded at her and readied her stance again, "It has. The first time I fought you, you were easy to read and easy to predict. Now, you've changed up a lot in how you fight, and it makes you more of a threat. Still won't beat me anytime soon."

Izumi sparked Full Cowl and lunged at Rumi, aiming another kick at her side, "But that doesn't mean I won't try."

The two continued to spar for a while longer, Rumi commenting on Izumi's form here and there while they did. Izumi ended with far more injuries than Rumi did, but she didn't really expect otherwise right now. Rumi grabbed a couple of towels and tossed one to Izumi for her to wipe the sweat off her face while she went into the kitchen and grabbed some random takeout menus.

"What sounds good?"

Izumi stared at her for a moment, "Mirko, don't take this the wrong way… but do you know how to cook?"

"What? No? I never needed to learn how. I live close enough I can just pick something up from wherever and it doesn't bother me."

How has this woman survived as long as she has?

Izumi sighed, "I'll cook something for dinner. Let me just run down to the nearest grocery store. It's healthier for you anyway."

Rumi stared at her for a minute and shrugged, "Sure. A home-cooked meal might be nice."

Izumi returned with her shopping supplies and headed to Rumi's kitchen. She had changed into a t-shirt and some shorts for now so she wasn't in her hero costume anymore, but Rumi was still in hers. Izumi got to work on tonight's meal.

"You know, for never cooking, you have a lot of kitchen equipment," Izumi commented, pulling out a rice cooker and a few pans she would need.

"I figured if I ever decided to learn to cook, I should have them. Why? You complaining?"

"Observing. You like salmon, right?"

"I'll eat most things. Need any help?"

Izumi paused for a moment, "You said you wanted to learn to cook at some point? This recipe is pretty simple. It's just miso salmon, a side of miso soup, ginger rice, and steamed vegetables."

Rumi pulled her hair back into a ponytail to keep it out of her face and came into the kitchen with Izumi. The greenette wasn't sure how to feel about the shift of her teaching Rumi something but the older woman didn't know how to cook. How can you not know how to cook?

"Okay, will you chop up the vegetables into chunks that are the same size? They'll cook evenly if you do that. I'll start on the miso and the salmon while the rice cooks."

Rumi nodded and went to work chopping up the vegetables. Izumi saw her steal a few carrots while she was chopping the vegetables but opted not to say anything about it, continuing to prep the other ingredients. It didn't take long before Rumi was done, and Izumi had her put them in the steamer. Izumi explained to her the various vegetables and how quickly they steamed, mostly based on how dense the vegetable itself was, and Rumi sorted them before putting in the vegetables that would take the longest first.

Izumi smiled at her, "It's pretty simple like I said. The miso soup is also pretty easy to make. Rice is rice, it's really hard to mess up with a rice cooker. The salmon we just bake for ten or so minutes and then we're done. I already had it marinating while you were working on the vegetables."

"Huh. I always thought cooking was… I don't know, difficult?"

"It can be. I learned to cook a bunch of simple but healthy recipes when I started training for U.A. I felt bad that Mom would always cook for me and I wanted to help out more, so I learned from her and started making some of the meals. This is just an easy but still healthy meal. I would have made katsudon but I figure I should probably eat something different every once in a while."

Rumi chuckled at her, "Do you eat it that much?"

"…Yes. It's my favorite and I probably have it two or three times a week easily."

Their dinner was done quickly, and Izumi helped Rumi plate everything and they sat down to eat.

"You know, I don't think I've actually cooked since I've moved here."

"I don't know whether I'm impressed or embarrassed for you," Izumi said in a deadpan tone.

"Oh, shut up. This seems like a lot of effort for something that's probably not that amazing."

Izumi pursed her lips for a moment since Rumi hadn't even tried the food yet. They said a quick 'itadakimasu' and Izumi started her meal and watched Rumi's reaction as she ate. The rabbit hero took a bite of her salmon and some rice and paused as she did, her eyes widening slightly. Izumi kept her mouth shut for now, continuing to eat her own food.

"This is fucking delicious," Rumi said with her mouth full.

"'Not that amazing'," Izumi parroted. "That's what you said, right?"

"Fine, I'll eat my words, this is way better than convenience store foods."

"Tastes better. It's probably way healthier. Cheaper than most things you'd probably order from takeout," Izumi listed off. "Plus, it's not that hard to do. Well, at least if you're not completely hopeless."

Izumi looked at Rumi with a shit-eating grin as she ate her food, the rabbit hero glaring at her slightly, though there wasn't any real bite in it.

"So, why'd you want to be a hero?" Izumi asked Rumi while they ate.

"Hm? Well, I was a bit of a spitfire when I was younger. Got into a lot of fights back in middle school."

"I believe it."

"Yep. I'm always itching for a good fight, which may not be the most heroic thing, but those that pick on people weaker than them are gonna get pummeled if they cross me."

"Well, you do a good job of being a hero. And you've taught me a lot in the week that I've been here, even if I'm getting the crap kicked out of me when we spar."

"You're starting to suck less. Plus, you're still just a kit. You have a lot of time to get stronger still."

"I still have a long way to go. I just want to be strong enough to protect and save everyone."

"Even All Might can't save everyone. Just remember that. The ones we can't save are always hard to deal with. I just hope you don't have to deal with that anytime soon."

"I hope I don't ever have to, but that's probably just naive optimism."

Izumi and Rumi both ate several servings of food, Izumi cleaning up the dishes while Rumi put any leftovers they still had in the fridge for her lunch tomorrow.

"I should head back to U.A. Thanks again, Mirko."

"Sure. I'd tell you to be careful on your way back, but I've seen you in a fight, you'll be fine. See you tomorrow, kit."

Notes:
This chapter didn't end up as good as I hoped it would but we're almost ready for finals. Then onto I-Island finally. I just wanted to get a bit more Rumi and Izumi interactions, Momo needed to talk to Nemuri or Izumi about polyamory at some point, and we have some changes to which students are paired up for finals (It's definitely not because I wanted Momo and Izumi paired up together, no way). This was supposed to be done this morning but I completely rewrote the second half of the chapter because I was extremely unhappy with it but this is better, in my opinion.

I also didn't really reread the chapter to check for errors in spelling or grammar, so if anything stands out, please feel free to tell me.

As always, thank you all for reading.
3 Belle

P.S. Why are chapter names so hard?

Chapter 24: Before Finals Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text It was rare that Izumi went to sleep alone anymore. Most nights, Mina and the other girls stayed in her room since she had the largest bed, or she stayed with at least one of the other girls if someone wanted time to themselves. Today, Izumi got back later than usual from working with Rumi and they had all gone to sleep and Izumi didn't want to wake them up just to sleep next to them. As much as she wanted to, she would feel guilty waking them up just to go to bed.

She drifted off to sleep quickly and fell into a deep slumber. She had only been asleep for an hour or two when she woke up panting and covered in sweat. She looked around and her room looked like she had gone haywire with her quirk and destroyed chunks of her room. She sucked in shuddered breaths of air as she puzzled through her dream.

Those were the remnants of One For All … The same ones I saw during the Sports Festival. Was that… was the birth of One For All?

Izumi's thoughts were interrupted as the door slammed open. She looked over to see Himiko leading the charge into her room with Kyoka, both of them looking ready to fight someone. Instead, they saw Izumi breathing heavily and covered in sweat, tears running down her face and her room looking like a disaster; to them it probably looked like a tornado tore through her room.

"Izumi?" Kyoka asked quietly, lowering her stance. "What's wrong?"

Izumi glanced around her room as she tried to calm her breathing down, wiping her eyes with the back of her arm. She hadn't used 100% of her quirk or the dorm would be gone, so that was… reassuring? The fact that her quirk went haywire in her sleep concerned the hell out of her.

"I… I don't know," Izumi said softly. "I had a weird dream and… when I woke up my quirk… I don't know what happened."

Himiko and Kyoka both came over and sat down next to Izumi on the mostly destroyed bed. Himiko rubbed a small circle on Izumi's back as she spoke quietly to her, "Izucchi, we're here for you. Are you okay, now?"

"I… I think so. This dream felt like… a memory. Someone else's memories. I… don't know how to describe it. But I was asleep and used my quirk…" Izumi's breath shuddered, "I'm just… glad you all weren't in here. I don't think I could forgive myself if I hurt one of you on accident from a dream…"

"Izumi, it's okay," Kyoka comforted. "You've only had your quirk for less than a year. You haven't had the time to get used to it like the rest of us have with our quirks. Accidents are bound to happen while your body adjusts."

"But… not everyone has strength that can level a city that just randomly decides to blow their dorm apart…" Izumi sighed. "Sorry, I don't mean to complain, I'm just… worried. It's never done this before."

"Let's just get some sleep," Himiko suggested. "You can sleep in my room and we can have Nemuri-chan get your room fixed up tomorrow."

"…Okay. If you're sure…"

Kyoka nodded, "Of course. Come on."

Kyoka found a small amount of courage and kissed Izumi on the cheek, her own tinging a deep red even in the pale light from the moon and lights outside Izumi's window. Izumi got up with both of them and went into Himiko's room next door, determined to get some sleep even if she was nervous something would happen again.

Izumi smiled as Himiko crawled back into her bed, Kyoka following after and ending up hugged by the blonde vampire as they tried to make room for Izumi.

Adorable.

Izumi slid next to Kyoka in the bed and draped her arm over both girls, her hand resting on Himiko's side, "Thank you both."

"Of course," Himiko said softly. "Try and get some sleep, Izucchi."

"We'll sort out everything else tomorrow," Kyoka said.

Izumi relaxed at her girlfriends' reassurances, a faint smile crossing her lips. Izumi nuzzled her face in Kyoka's neck slightly, noticing the fresh bite mark from Himiko on her skin and the faint smell of Kyoka's blood that lingered. Izumi was content to lie there and cuddle with both of them, the soft sounds of their breathing being the only noise after a time.

Izumi pursed her lips to not mutter and wake them up as she sorted through her own thoughts that were running through her head. One For All had directly interacted with her. The previous bearers had reached out and the first even touched hands with her. That wasn't possible though, was it? But that dream felt far too… clear to be a dream. And her body was there but not completely there. None of it made any sense.

Sleep evaded Izumi for several more hours until she finally managed to drift off to sleep.

"Toshi, I'm scared," Izumi confided in her mentor the next day.

There was no class today and she didn't have to go with Rumi on patrol or anything; she wanted answers. This wasn't something normal and she had to make sure there was nothing that could possibly go wrong again and hurt her girlfriends on accident.

"Midoriya-shoujo, explain to me what happened."

Izumi sighed softly, "I had a dream last night… or more of a… vision? A memory. I was standing with the previous bearers of One For All. You were there, but you looked… not there. Like a shade or a specter. Wavy and ghost-like. Next to me was a gorgeous dark-haired woman with her hair like my mother does hers, half-up and half-down in a bun. There were eight of us and we were watching a scene play out.

"It seemed like… the birth of One For All. A man, his voice was something I'll never forget because it was so comforting yet so sickening at the same time, he was talking to his brother. Arguing with him. He talked about meta-abilities. He even took an ability from one person and gave it to another in front of his brother… And then he seemed to force a quirk on his younger brother.

"It… reminds me of the story you told me about One For All. How his brother was sickly, and he was given a quirk by All For One… In this memory… All For One forced a quirk on his brother but… the first didn't want it. He didn't want to be a part of his older brother's twisted and chaotic world he was creating…"

"It sounds like you saw the memories of the first wielder of One For All," Toshinori said plainly.

Izumi looked down at her hands. She could feel the phantom feeling of when the first bearer reached out and touched her hand. The look the bearers gave her. She had had dreams that felt real before. But this one… this one was almost like she was living it.

She looked up at the blond man, "…Toshi, I don't think it was just a memory." Izumi thought for a moment and wrung her hands together while she figured out how to phrase it. She looked at him again, her red eyes matching his blue, "The first bearer, he talked to me. Directly to me. Not All For One. He looked at me and spoke to me. 'You must be the ninth. I wanted to show you more but you're not there yet. You're stronger than I imagined you'd be, but you still have a long way to go. But you don't need to be afraid, you're not alone.'"

Izumi went silent for a moment and folded her hands, "I thought you said they couldn't directly interfere or influence me? Toshi, he literally spoke to me. All of the previous wielders reached out to me together but the second I touched the first wielder's hand I woke up and One For All went haywire."

"That is extremely curious…"

"Didn't you say you've seen the vestiges before?"

"I have. After I did, Nana taught me about the vestiges and the whole origin of One For All."

"I think that… One For All has some sort of consciousness."

Toshinori was silent for a moment, weighing his words in his head as he rubbed his chin. He sighed, "It… seems that way."

Another question had been burning itself into Izumi's mind since last night. One that she had put off asking for a while until it was brought back into the front of her thoughts.

"Is All For One dead?"

"I… don't know. They never recovered his body when I defeated him… I was certain he died. But…"

"But?"

"Detective Tsukauchi and I were discussing the Noumu. The one at the U.S.J. had more than one quirk. The one that you killed had multiple quirks as well, though it was far less powerful. The only conclusion I can come up with is that he somehow survived…"

Izumi's heart sank at that. His reminder that she had killed the Noumu didn't help but the fact that there was a supervillain after One For All that was still alive didn't sit well with her. Her hands shook for a moment as she stared at the ground, looking for answers in the carpet beneath her feet. Sadly, there were none there.

"I… see," she said softly, her turmoil evident in her tone.

"Midoriya-shoujo, look at me, please," Toshinori said to her. Izumi looked up, feeling the pinpricks of tears around her eyes as she looked at him. "All For One was my responsibility. I never intended you to fight him when I gave you One For All. Focus on getting stronger. Learning. Your girlfriends. You don't need to worry about the woes that I'll take care of."

Izumi's shoulders heaved as she let out a shuddered breath, trying her damnedest to keep from crying, "Toshi… There are followers of Stain who want me dead. All For One wants my quirk. Shigaraki wants me dead and has All For One supporting him. I'm just… scared. For Mina, Himiko, Kyoka, and Ochako. For my mom. I don't want anyone to get hurt because of me."

"I understand. But I assure you, I will do everything I can to make sure All For One is dealt with before I retire."

Izumi relaxed slightly but was still worried. A knock nearby interrupted them and Nemuri peaked around the corner.

"I hear you need a new bed."

"…Yeah."

"Did you break it with your girlfriends?" she teased her.

Izumi's cheeks started to tinge red before she started laughing, "No. Nothing like that. Thanks, though. I needed a good laugh."

"I figured," Nemuri said as she came in and sat down next to her. "So, what actually happened?"

"I activated my quirk in my sleep, I guess… I saw the memories of someone who used to have One For All and talked to the first bearer. One For All kind of went haywire in my sleep and woke me up after I destroyed my room."

"Well, if it's any consolation, the only thing ruined was your bed and some empty spaces on your wall. All of your merchandise and belongings were fine."

"Wait, just my bed was ruined?"

"Yeah, it looks like you unconsciously avoided anything you didn't want to damage."

Izumi's shoulders visibly relaxed at that, "Oh, thank god. I was worried if I slept with the girls they'd get hurt if my quirk went out of control in my sleep…"

Toshinori coughed up some blood at that, "Midoriya-shoujo!?"

"Relax, Toshi. We usually sleep in the same bed is all." She muttered the next part louder than she intended to, "Besides, it's not like any of us can get pregnant…"

Toshinori let out a groan, "Maybe I'll retire early…"

Nemuri started laughing at that, "All Might, you know students get up to all sorts of business at U.A., right?"

"I don't need to know about my students' sex lives!" he practically shouted.

"Nemuri, I think you're going to scar our poor Symbol of Peace," Izumi cackled.

"Midoriya-shoujo, you've been spending too much time with Midnight…"

Nemuri furrowed her brow at him and placed her hand on her chest while speaking in a mock-offended tone, "I have been nothing but a positive influence."

Izumi chuckled, "Very. I need to head out though. I wanted to spend some time with the girls today since I've been pretty busy lately."

"Of course. I'll look into the matter of the vestiges and seek Gran Torino's thoughts on it as well. Perhaps he knows something that I don't."

"And I'll get your bed and dorm sorted out for you. So, don't worry about any of that," Nemuri reassured her.

Izumi had to admit she felt better at that; knowing people cared did wonders for her.

Himiko was lounging in Mina's room with the other girls, sans Izumi, as they filled in Mina and Ochako about Izumi's room situation.

"Just like… destroyed her bed and everything?" Ochako asked them.

Kyoka nodded, "Yeah. She said her dream was like… someone else's memories. And her quirk just kind of activated on its own."

"Someone else's… memories…" Mina muttered, her eyes widening just slightly.

Himiko noticed that, "Do you know something, Mina-chan?"

"I… don't know. Just something Izumi said to me before you all joined our relationship."

Ochako frowned, "Still… you said she was really shaken up about it when you both charged in there?"

"Yeah," Kyoka said, twirling one of her earlobes absently. "She was shaking and had tears running down her face when Himiko and I barged in…"

"Was she okay this morning?" Mina asked them.

Himiko nodded, "She was still pretty shaky."

"And I don't think she slept much," Kyoka said. "I woke up a few times last night and she was still awake each time."

"But she said she needed to go talk to Nemuri-chan and… Toshi? I actually don't know who that is. Does he work at U.A?"

"I… don't know," Ochako said with a puzzled expression. "I've heard her say that name a few times but… I don't actually have any idea who that is."

Kyoka shrugged, "No clue. I've never heard her mention him. What about you, Mina?"

Himiko noticed that Mina was biting her lip as she was deep in thought. She could tell Mina knew something that she wasn't telling them but… she wouldn't press her. She was probably conflicted about sharing Izumi's business, even if they were all dating at this point.

A soft knock at the door broke the silence and Izumi's voice came through it, "Mina, are you in here? I went to Himiko, Kyoka, and Ochako's rooms and they're not in."

"We're all in here," Mina replied. "It's open."

Izumi opened the door and smiled a fanged grin at them, "Morning."

"Did you get to talk to Midnight about your room?" Ochako asked her as Izumi sat down next to her.

"…Yeah. She said she'd sort out my bed and everything. None of my stuff was broken, just my bed and the walls that were empty. So, silver lining?"

Himiko grabbed one of her hands across Kyoka's lap and rubbed small circles on it gently, "Do you wanna talk about what happened?"

"I… do. I don't want to keep secrets from you all. But…" Izumi bit her lip and chewed on it for a moment as she thought. She seemed to come to a decision and sighed softly, "It won't make any sense without some context to anyone besides Mina."

Himiko figured that was the case. She continued to rub small circles on her fellow vampire's hand as the other girls listened in intently as well.

"First, can you all promise me something? That what I'm going to tell you never leaves this room? I trust you all but I need your word."

"Of course," Himiko answered instantly. "Whatever it is."

"Same here," Kyoka and Ochako answered at the same time.

Mina didn't say anything but Himiko knew she had probably nodded or promised the same thing before.

Izumi took a breath, "Well, I don't really know how to say this delicately since I've only ever told Mina but… I um… I have more than one quirk."

Himiko's brain went into overdrive. Multiple quirks? Was that possible? How would a person get more than one quirk?

"My quirk. The one that I should have been born with is my vampire quirk. It's a rare genetic mutation that locked itself behind my chromosomes. Until I was changed to XX, I was completely quirkless," Izumi explained to them.

"And the quirk you used in the entrance exam?" Ochako asked quietly. "How… How did you get that?"

"I was given it by someone."

"Is that… possible?" Kyoka asked. "I've never heard of someone being given a quirk."

Izumi thought for a moment, "There are only two quirks that I know of that can transfer quirks in any way. The quirk I was given and the quirk that created it. The quirk that was given to me has been passed down repeatedly as a way to fight the one who created it for the last two-hundred years. The person who gave it to me was-"

"All Might," Himiko, Ochako, and Kyoka chimed in together.

Izumi pinched the bridge of her nose at that, "Yes, I got it from Toshi- er, All Might."

"That's who Toshi is?" Mina asked. "I figured but you never really… clarified who you were referring to."

"All Might's real name is Toshinori Yagi. I just… think Toshinori is a mouthful."

"Kind of," Himiko giggled. "But still. He gave you his quirk? But we've seen him use his quirk still."

"Um… One For All, that's what my quirk is called, is weird. It leaves 'embers' behind in the person who passes it on. I have his quirk. He has the embers. Eventually, those embers will run out. He got injured six years ago and needed a successor and… he chose me."

Ochako smiled at her, "Well, I'd say you were a pretty good choice for All Might's successor."

"Definitely. You're already my hero," Himiko said, accenting it with a kiss on Izumi's cheek.

Kyoka leaned her head on the vampire's shoulder, "You're a great hero. Now, what was this weird dream that caused you to destroy your room?"

"I… saw the memories of the first user of One For All… I saw All For One give the first bearer the quirk that would combine with his own and become One For All… And then… he spoke to me. Not vague words. He looked me in the face and spoke to me. And the other previous bearers… they all reached out to me… I have no idea what it means but… I woke up with my room… how it is. And I'm scared. I can admit that I'm terrified… I feel like I don't know anything about this quirk and… Toshi doesn't really know what's going on either…"

"Izucchi, it'll be okay. We're here for you. And All Might picked you for a reason, right? If anyone can figure out your quirk, it's you."

Mina smiled at that, "Himiko's right. There's no one I'd trust to figure out a quirk more than you."

"You are probably the biggest expert on quirks in our class," Ochako reassured her. "You'll figure it out."

Kyoka looked up from Izumi's shoulder, "But if you ever need anything from us… Encouragement, reassurances, just someone to talk to about it, someone to be there for you… You can rely on us. You're not alone, Izumi."

Izumi kissed the top of Kyoka's head gently and smiled, "I know. I'm trying to remember that. It's just difficult sometimes… And with One For All acting up I just… I don't want to hurt any of you on accident."

"You won't," Mina said softly, moving to hug Izumi from behind. "We know you won't. But… Izumi, I noticed it when you told me about having two quirks before… You always refer to your vampire quirk as your quirk and One For All as the quirk you were given. Why?"

"W-What do you mean? My quirk is the vampire quirk. One For All is-"

"Is also your quirk."

Izumi paused at that, "But-"

"She's right," Ochako stated. "It's your quirk now just as much as being a vampire is."

"I-"

Izumi's eyes widened at those words, "Oh. I've always thought about One For All as… I don't know what I thought about it like but… I didn't think about it like it was my quirk. I mean, if someone asked, I said it was mine since… I couldn't exactly explain this. But… You're right. It is my quirk now…"

"Exactly," Himiko said softly. "Are you okay now? Do you feel better?"

"Yeah. Thank you all."

"Good! Time to do something fun!"

"What'd you have in mind?" Ochako asked her.

"Preferably something that isn't training or studying. Izucchi needs to relax after Mirko ran her ragged yesterday."

"How about a movie?" Kyoka asked. Her cheeks tinged red as she continued, "We can all just cuddle up and relax."

"Sure! Any preference? I have a ton of pre-quirk movies, comedies, romcoms, horror, pretty much anything," Mina beamed. "We also have a ton of more modern movies."

Mina opened her laptop and pulled up her movie collection which made Himiko's jaw drop. She wasn't lying when she said she had pretty much anything.

"Mina, how do you have so many movies?" Ochako asked her.

"My parents like to do movie nights with me and my younger siblings pretty often so over the years they've managed to gather quite the collection. I should call home and see how they're doing soon." Mina's eyes widened, "Uh oh… I uh… never told my parents about us. They know I was dating Izumi but… I might have forgotten to mention when our relationship got bigger…"

"It's okay," Ochako reassured her. "Mine know and they want to come to meet everyone soon. But it'll probably be a while."

Kyoka nodded, "Did they take it well? Mine were completely fine with it when I told them since they were part of a polycule back in college. They just… decided monogamy was what worked for them."

"Mine should be fine with it," Mina said. "They're super accepting and supportive. When I told them that I liked girls and boys they were happy and supportive of me. I just should have told them."

"My parents obviously don't know but…" Himiko paused and turned to look at Izumi, "…does Inko know?"

Izumi scratched her cheek nervously, "I told her about Mina when we still lived at home instead of the dorms. I wanted to tell her about the rest of you in person and I haven't really gone home since we started dating. Sorry."

"We can go home and tell her after finals. Sound good?"

Ochako spoke up, "Maybe we could all visit your mom and tell her? And eventually everyone's parents. I do want to meet Kyoka's and Mina's at some point."

Himiko felt a little sad talking about parents when she didn't really have parents anymore. Not that she wanted her parents back but she didn't even have parents now. Her emotions showed on her face as she was pulled into a hug by Izumi, breaking her from her thoughts.

"Izucchi?"

"We were talking about parents and you had this sad look on your face. I just want you to know you're loved here. And we're your family. Okay?"

"…Thank you," Himiko said with a smile. She cuddled up with Izumi and smiled at her, "So… movie?"

Mina thought for a moment and pulled up a comedy before putting the movie on her television. She sat back down on her bed next to the other girls, cuddling up next to Himiko while Ochako and Kyoka sat on the opposite side of Izumi.

Himiko smiled to herself because Izumi was right.

This was her family.

After their movie and spending the day together, Izumi opted to head downstairs and cook dinner for everyone. At the insistence of Shoto, she was currently making soba in the kitchen with Mina's help while the other girls chatted with some of their other friends. Izumi was currently mixing flour together as she looked around the common area. Ochako was sitting with Tenya, Tsuyu, and Shoto chatting about… something that seemed to be enjoyable for all of them. Ochako was giggling as Tenya scolded them for something troublesome she was sure.

Kyoka was sitting near Momo and Denki, chatting with both of them about music from the look of things. Denki was doing air guitar while Kyoka was facepalming at his antics. Momo covered her mouth in a cute gesture while she giggled at the boy's display and it was pretty adorable to see. Himiko was currently chatting with Hitoshi, Fumikage, and Toru; they all got along, and seeing Himiko smile brightened Izumi's day.

"You seem distracted," Mina said, bumping her hip against Izumi's lightly.

"Huh? Oh. Just observing everyone. I feel like I'm never at the dorm anymore even though I know that's not true."

"Well, you're a bit busier than the rest of us with Mirko."

"And when I'm here we're studying for finals or training. Oh, and dance practice."

"Oh, yeah. You're definitely getting more skilled. Maybe one day you'll be as good as the master."

Izumi chuckled at that, "I doubt it. I do enjoy it though and all the time I spend with you because of it."

"Awe, is someone smitten?"

Izumi bumped Mina's hip back with her own at that, rolling her eyes slightly. She added water to the flour and started kneading the dough while Mina did the same with hers.

"…I really love you, Mina."

Mina looked at her while she kneaded beside her, "I know you do. I love you, too."

Mina leaned in and kissed her on the cheek, causing Izumi's cheeks to feel warm.

"The fact that if you're good on blood you still blush after a kiss is adorable," Mina teased her. "Even though we've made out tons of times."

Izumi chuckled at that, "I still have a hard time believing I have even one girlfriend, let alone four. When I'm good on blood I just… get embarrassed slightly easier. But being low on blood doesn't make me do anything I wouldn't normally. I'm still me, just… braver?"

"Oh, that reminds me!" Mina said excitedly before her cheeks tinged deep lilac. Her voice got much quieter, so she was whispering to Izumi instead, "I talked to Midnight about… what happened after your Provisional License Exam…"

Izumi's cheeks tinged red for a moment before her eyes widened and matched her tone, "Mina, if I made you uncomfortable, I'm so s-"

"You didn't. I promise."

There was silence for a few moments at that. Izumi continued to focus on the dough and sorted out her thoughts before breaking the silence that hung in the air.

"I'm glad I didn't make you uncomfortable. I… talked to Nemuri about it, too… About what happened after the exam. She said we should… discuss it and our boundaries when we're not… amped up on hormones."

"Exactly," Mina said, her blush fading slightly. "So… Can we talk about boundaries and limits we both have now? I don't want to make you uncomfortable by doing something you're not okay with."

"You're… worried you'll make me uncomfortable?"

"Yeah? I don't want to pressure you into s-sex or anything. I… would have been fine if we got to continue last time."

Izumi swallowed hard, "You… would have?"

"Yeah… I just… don't want you to feel pressured into anything. If you wanted to wait for a while, I'm okay with waiting. But… I'm ready when you are."

Izumi was silent for a few moments, her cheeks tinging the slightest pink as she weighed her own thoughts on the matter. She was ready whenever Mina was but didn't want to push the pinkette into doing anything she was uncomfortable with.

"I'll be honest, Mina… If the other girls hadn't showed up when they did, I wouldn't have stopped unless you said to stop. I love you more than anything. I love the other girls too but… Mina, you've done so much for me. You helped give me confidence that I didn't have before. You've been patient with me as I came to terms with my body. You're just so amazing and I want my first time to be with you."

Mina's cheeks were a deep purple, but she smiled at Izumi, "So… we're both okay with it?"

"Y-Yeah. But we don't have to rush or anything."

"If it happens, it happens?"

"If that's okay with you."

"Of course."

Izumi folded the dough and got out a knife cutting the noodles as she tried to fight down her own blush. She started cooking the noodles and glanced over at Kyoka to see if she had overheard them.

She currently had headphones on as Denki, Momo, and her were talking about the music that they liked from the look of it. She had her eyes closed as she nodded along to the music slightly as she lip-sang the lyrics while Momo and Denki both had on their own headphones. She didn't have a blush on her cheeks, so Izumi's best guess was that she didn't hear Mina and her conversation.

"Have you ever heard Kyoka sing?" Izumi asked Mina as she finished up her batch of noodles.

Mina thought for a moment, "I don't think I have. We went dancing at a music club and I've seen her dance. But we didn't do anything that involved singing. Why?" Izumi motioned to Kyoka with her head and Mina turned to see the same sight Izumi had. Mina cooed softly, "That's adorable. Do you have your phone? Take a picture."

"It's in my back pocket. I'm a little busy though."

Mina grabbed Izumi's phone from her pocket and unlocked it with the password all her girlfriends knew at this point and snapped a picture of the punk girl in her own little world.

Mina showed the picture to Izumi, "There we go. Look at how adorable our girlfriend is."

Izumi smiled at the picture, "Very adorable. You can set my phone down somewhere if that's easier."

A mischievous grin crossed Mina's face, "And miss a chance to touch your butt again? No way."

"M-Mina!" Izumi hissed.

Mina slid Izumi's phone back into her pocket and pinched her butt, giving her a wink before looking to the common area with a smile, "Everyone, dinner's done."

Notes:
I rewrote this chapter probably 8 times and I apologize for that. I wanted all the girls to be on the same page about One For All finally (until Momo joins). The next chapter should be the start of finals which will probably take a few chapters.

I need opinions: Should Izumi add in a few smashes with names inspired by Mirko in the future? I'm leaning heavily toward yes because I love the Izumi/Rumi dynamic so far.

As always, thanks for reading 3 Belle

Chapter 25: Finals, Pt 1 Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text "All of you managed to pass the written finals. Congrats," Shota informed the class. "But you're not done yet. We're doing practical exams after lunch. Midoriya, Yaoyorozu, did you both decide if you were opting out of the practical or will you be taking it with the rest of your classmates?"

Momo spoke from across the classroom, "I still want to take it. I'm not satisfied with a minimum passing grade."

Izumi smiled at that before turning to Shota, "I'm not either. But you already figured as much, right?"

Shota stared at Izumi and she caught the briefest glimpse of his smirk as he spoke, "All right. That means everyone is taking their practical today. After lunch, get changed into your hero costumes and meet up outside. Remember if you fail today, you won't be going to the summer training camp."

"Oh, Izucchi! You haven't seen my costume yet since you were with Mirko last Friday. What do you think?" Himiko asked, doing a small twirl to show off her costume.

Himiko wore a skin-tight black catsuit with grey accents that definitely highlighted her curves in the same way Ochako's costume did. She had black fingerless gloves and Izumi knew that in the knuckles were tiny needles that she could use to gather blood into small little capsules when she hit someone; she had been so proud of that idea when she told Izumi. She had on a black utility belt that was full of random gear she might need, and she had a knife holster on her thigh with a multitude of knives; Izumi knew she also probably had a few more hidden on her person.

The biggest issue with Himiko's previous costume was shifting into someone and getting their outfit would end up with her clothes on top of the transformation's clothes. Izumi suggested Himiko should work with Power Loader and Mei for ideas, and they suggested using her hair to create it; the idea had worked for a third-year student and the concept was similar enough. Luckily, they had a support student with a quirk that made the process easy to acquire said hair, the problem was making the suit in the end took a lot more time than they originally thought but at least she had gotten to wear it a few times.

Good god, that' s sexy.

Izumi was glad her muttering was more under control, not that any of her girlfriends would argue with her assessment. As she looked at Himiko's costume she realized two things: first was that Himiko's costume was just as skintight as Ochako's; the second was that since she and Mina had talked about actually having sex, she was very aware of how sexy all her girlfriends were, and it was slowly driving her up a wall.

Stupid hormones.

Her cheeks tinged pink at that but she smiled at the vampire just the same, "That's awesome. Does it work the way you were hoping it would?"

"Yep! Now I won't end up naked after I transform back if I stripped off my own clothes since it'll change with me." Himiko leaned in close, "Not that any of my girlfriends minded seeing me naked, I'm sure."

"So, finals!" Izumi blurted with a growing blush. "We should head outside now. Can't be late."

Himiko and Mina giggled at that, Mina having clearly overheard her while Kyoka was blushing as much as Izumi was. Izumi was the first one out of the girls' lockers and arrived at the field to see Hitoshi in his costume that was very similar to Eraserhead's hero costume, even down to the scarf around his neck. Izumi almost said something before she noticed all the teachers standing ahead of them, including Vlad King from 1-B.

As soon as she saw them, Izumi knew something was wrong. They weren't going to fight robots today. That much was clear. Izumi looked at Nemuri who licked her lips and gave her a wink.

Oh, shit. I don't like that look she has on her face.

"What's with all the teachers?" Denki asked as he showed up.

Hanta shrugged, "Supervision?"

Shota stepped forward with Nezu on his shoulder and a sadistic grin on his face, "Now that you're all here, does anyone know what you're doing for your practical exam?"

Toru raised her hand, "Fighting robots, right? That's what we heard from the other class and they heard from the upperclassmen."

Nezu cackled from Shota's shoulder and stopped just as quickly, "No, Hagakure-kun, today you will all be paired up against one of the teachers you see before you. They will be handicapped, of course, to make things fairer. Your objective is to subdue your teacher who will be acting the part of the villain or escape the location your test is in within the time limit. You'll all have thirty minutes."

"Sir, do we get to decide our partner or who we face?" Tenya asked him.

Shota shook his head, "Your partner and the teacher you'll be facing were decided ahead of time."

Cementoss stepped forward, "Kirishima and Sato, you'll both be with me."

"Asui and Tokoyami will be with me," Ectoplasm announced.

"I'll be against Uraraka and Aoyama," Thirteen said.

Izumi's eyes landed on her mentor and the man who gave her One For All, staring at him as he smiled back. Someone was going to have to fight All Might and she really hoped it wasn't her. She wasn't nearly strong enough to deal with the Symbol of Peace, even with all her training.

Power Loader's voice cut in, "Ojiro and Iida are with me."

"Ashido-kun and Kaminari-kun are with me," Nezu said with a sadistic smile.

Mina's eyes went wide next to Izumi and the vampire grabbed her hand and squeezed it gently, silently conveying that Mina had this. The pinkette relaxed slightly at that and smiled at Izumi.

"Jiro and Koda get to rock with me," Hizashi shouted, causing Kyoka to wince slightly.

Snipe tipped his hat, "Hagakure and Shoji, ya'll are with me."

Nemuri licked her lips, "Mineta and Sero, you get the pleasure of going against me."

Oh, they're so screwed.

"Toga and Shinso, today I'll be your opponent. I know we don't have a lot of interaction since I'm 1-B's teacher but it's nice to meet you," Vlad King said to them.

Shota's eyes landed on his opponents, "Todoroki, Bakugo, you're both facing me. That leaves-"

"Midoriya-shoujo and Yaoyorozu-shoujo. I'll be your opponent today," All Might said with his trademark grin.

The eyes of her classmates shifted toward Izumi and Momo standing near each other, clearly pitying the two students who had to fight the Symbol of Peace, handicapped or not. Izumi was nervous as all hell. All Might was practically a god. She looked at Momo who had an unreadable expression on her face; she didn't look scared but her normal confident air that surrounded her wasn't there.

"You'll all be going to separate training grounds for your tests. Recovery Girl will be monitoring the matches and will be available for after the match in case of injury. The exam begins as soon as you enter the test, and you have thirty minutes. So, bring your Plus Ultra today," Shota said with a smirk.

The class started to separate to their busses to get to their testing sites, but Izumi hadn't moved. She'd have to fight All Might. Rumi was a badass and was strong as hell, but All Might was on another level.

Ochako's voice broke Izumi from her nerves, "You've got this."

"Huh? Y-Yeah…"

Ochako stared at her for a moment before she smiled wide, "I know you do. Because your Deku means 'I can do it!', right?"

Izumi's eyes widened slightly before her smile did the same, "You're right. Thanks, Ochako."

"Of course. Do your best!"

"You too!"

Momo was freaking out right now as they walked in the street. How could they pass against All Might? He was the Symbol of Peace! The number one hero with the strength to practically move mountains. How do you even beat that? Izumi might be able to beat him by herself, or at least escape-

"-rozu-san."

But what good was Momo in this situation? She would only hold Izumi back.

"-rozu-san!"

And if Izumi failed because of her then-

"Momo!" Izumi shouted, grabbing the sides of Momo's face and forcing the ravenette to look straight at Izumi's green eyes. "I was hoping we could come up with a plan." Izumi pulled her hands back and a blush dotted her cheeks as she averted her eyes slightly, "Sorry for using your name and touching you without asking. You just weren't replying."

Momo was slightly saddened once Izumi let go of her face, but she needed to shelve that topic for later.

Momo sighed softly as they started walking again, "Apologies. I was getting in my own head."

"I… know the feeling. Did you come up with a plan while you were in your own head?"

"Oh, no. I figured you would come up with a plan and I'd just get in your way."

Izumi's footsteps stopped and Momo turned to look at her to see the vampire frowning at her.

"Why do you think that? Yaoyorozu-san, I can't pass this by myself. Not against All Might. And… I'm honestly terrified to fight him, handicapped or not."

"But you're far more capable than I am. You're the reason I passed the Provisional License Exam. You continue to do amazing things while I…"

Momo trailed off as Izumi stared at her while chewing on her bottom lip as she thought. Momo had noticed she did it when she was trying to find the right thing to say and didn't want to mutter her thoughts out loud and it was quite adorable.

"Yaoyorozu-san, I don't think I'm amazing. I think I have a long way to go, even still. But you've always struck me as amazing. You're intelligent, composed, and… honestly, I could probably rattle off dozens of reasons why you're amazing." Izumi paused and sighed, "Even still, we're going to need a good strategy to fight against All Might."

"But what if we fail because of me?" Momo choked out.

"We won't. I believe in you; together we're going to pass this."

The way Izumi so earnestly said those words caused a wave of relief to wash over Momo. She found her determination once more, letting go of the self-doubt that was plaguing her as they had arrived here, "We will."

"We need a plan."

Momo's brain went into overdrive to come up with a way to beat All Might. He was faster than both of them. Stronger than both of them. But… Momo knew he wasn't smarter than both of them. No offense to the man but he never seemed to think things through since he could brute force his solutions.

Subterfuge is probably our best bet.

"I have a semblance of a plan."

"What do-"

A massive wave of wind pressure tore through the city directed at the two girls as they were talking. Momo tried to brace herself but was thrown back toward the ground, Izumi barely staying on her feet as green and red lightning crackled around her. Momo looked up from the ground and saw the sheer devastation that had torn through the city.

Cars were tossed aside like they were made of paper mache, buildings were torn apart, and the street had a groove torn through it all the way to the exit gate. She knew All Might was strong, she had seen him fight the Noumu at the U.S.J.

But being on the receiving end of that strength was utterly terrifying.

Izumi helped Momo to her feet with a look of panic in her eyes, "I… knew he was strong…"

"But this…"

"Who cares about keeping the city intact?" All Might's voice boomed as he slowly walked toward them. "I hope you both realize this isn't just a test. I'm a villain, heroes. So, give me your best shot."

All Might lunged toward them, fixated on Izumi with his attack. The sheer intimidation caused Momo to freeze, and Izumi seemed to do the same. Izumi apparently realized she had to act and did probably the worst thing she could have possibly done, she tried to catch All Might's punch with her hands. The ground cracked under her feet and blood erupted from her arms from the impact, but Izumi still stood with gritted teeth to keep from screaming; All Might had held back it seemed.

"Cute, but it's not enough!" All Might taunted.

Momo ran through fifty thousand options to help as best she could for now and decided that retreating with Izumi was the best option to come up with any semblance of a plan. All Might had moved so fast Momo hardly saw him move, grabbing Izumi by the top of the head and slamming her face into the ground; a small amount of blood-stained the pavement, but she was still breathing.

His strength. That speed. Can we really beat him?

Izumi was pushing herself up from the ground, straining against All Might's strength with a determination that put Momo in awe.

Of course, we can, Momo. Midoriya-san believes in you. She trusts you!

All Might looked almost impressed with Izumi's strength, but it was still not enough compared to his own. Momo came up with a very quick plan to help Izumi get away and give them time to strategize. Even if he could blow away smoke and gas with his strength but she only needed a few seconds. All Might seemed tunnel-visioned on keeping Izumi restrained and Momo took advantage of it.

She had her creations ready and launched a dozen canisters of tear gas and smoke grenades. They wouldn't stop All Might for long but would hopefully distract him for long enough to get Izumi out of harm's way and make a real plan. Momo ran toward both of them as the metal canisters hit the ground, a mask on her face so she could make it through. She pulled Izumi to her feet and shoved a mask on the girl as they ran into an alleyway nearby.

Momo could hear All Might coughing violently behind them as they ran while Izumi was coughing beside Momo as they ran.

"Sorry," Momo said quietly. "I wasn't sure how to assist you and this was the first thing I came up with. We need a real plan now."

"Thank you," Izumi said just as quietly while trying to stifle her coughing. "There's a door up on the left. Let's get off the streets."

Mina was not enjoying this. Izumi had mentioned a few times that Nezu was the smartest being she had ever met, and Mina knew that she herself wasn't. She sucked at strategy games and wasn't exactly what you would call a planner. Still, she was going to pass today. She wanted to go to the summer training camp with everyone and most importantly she wanted to make her girlfriends proud.

So, Mina and Denki were running down a street as Nezu constantly collapsed things around them, forcing them to go a certain way.

"Kaminari-kun, any ideas?" Mina shouted.

Denki looked bewildered, "Don't look at me! I'm focused on running for my life!"

Mina looked around at where they were going and saw a chance. It was stupid and reckless and probably something Izumi would do but she knew that if they were avoiding obstacles that Nezu was dropping, he was probably trying to waste their time. She saw a wall ahead in the direction of Nezu instead of the exit and used her highest acidity and tackled the wall to break through it, Denki following through after her.

"We should try and keep quiet," Mina said quietly.

Denki nodded and they slowly crept through the building, the sound of destruction had stopped for the moment.

If he collapses the building while we're in it, he could accidentally kill us so he might be being hesitant?

"We can either run or we can capture him, right? I don't think we can escape in half an hour with how many obstacles he's creating with that crane. But… maybe we can capture him."

Denki looked at her with wide eyes, "You want to get closer to the mouse with a wrecking ball?"

"I think we have to," Mina sighed. "Just getting in this building was a miracle. I don't have much more of a plan than that but… I don't think Nezu will expect us to go for him instead of trying to escape. So… do you trust me enough to try this?"

"Of course. But he'll be able to react to us coming to him, right?"

"Probably. And he'll know generally where we are but-"

The building shook as a wrecking ball slammed into it.

"But this is the best we've got!" Mina shouted as she ran toward Nezu instead of the exit, Denki reluctantly following behind.

Shoto wasn't going to have a good time with this. He and Katsuki weren't on great terms and were forced to work together. Thinking about it, that was probably exactly why they were forced to work together.

They were running in silence for a while before Shoto spoke up, "Why did you bully Midoriya?"

Bakugo's face contorted into a scowl, "Huh?"

"Why'd you do it? I don't know the extent of it but… I know that you did. Uraraka called you a villain so I assume she knows exactly how bad it was."

"It's none of your fucking business, IcyHot."

Shoto stopped running as they both peaked around a corner for their teacher, "Midoriya is my friend. I just want to know why you did it."

"Because she was a weak quirkless fuck," he spat. "And… and she wanted to be a hero still. And my fucking ego couldn't take it. So, I belittled her. I fucking called her names and told her how worthless she was. I hit her when she pissed me off. Is that what you want me to tell you? That I'm a huge piece of shit?"

Shoto's eyes narrowed at that, "You bullied someone weaker than you and you claim to be a hero. You're just like my father in a lot of ways."

"…The fuck is that supposed to mean?"

"That you're a bastard."

"Are you really picking a damn fight right now?"

"No. I'm telling you that you're a bastard. But you're right, I shouldn't be picking a fight right now. Like it or not, we need to work together."

Katsuki grit his teeth at that, clenching his hand into a fist beside him, "Like hell we are. I'll pass this by my-"

"Like the Provisional License Exam? Neither of us passed going off on our own."

"Shut the-"

"You two should focus more on the exam itself instead of arguing," Aizawa said from above them.

Shoto turned to attack their teacher with his ice but it was no use. Katsuki tried his explosions but they also had been erased before Aizawa dropped to the ground. In one fluid movement, he wrapped his capture scarf around Shoto before kicking Katsuki in the chest.

Aizawa looked at his students with a disapproving glare, "You'll both have to do far better than that."

Himiko and Hitoshi were sticking to the shadows in an attempt to sneak out of the exam; stealth was extremely important for underground heroes. Neither of them was talking to keep the noise low and were communicating with JSL, something Shota had insisted was useful during their extra lessons. Himiko wasn't fluent but she knew the basics to communicate with Hitoshi who apparently was already fluent in it. Himiko didn't ask him why but she had a guess.

Himiko held up a fist to tell him to stop moving as she saw Vlad King was currently searching the area for them in front of the gate. There was no way they could get out without being seen by him, but they might be able to ambush him.

Hitoshi tapped her on the shoulder and signed a few things to her. Himiko took a second to understand all of it but nodded at his plan. He pulled up his sleeve and Himiko bit his arm for some of his blood, a small amount compared to what she normally drank but enough for at least ten minutes of the exam. Hitoshi for his part didn't even flinch or make a sound from her biting him.

Himiko shifted into the lilac-haired boy, gaining his height and appearance perfectly. Hitoshi pulled a mask onto his face that Himiko hadn't seen before as a smirk crossed his face. He adjusted a dial on it a few times before nodding at her to go ahead.

Himiko dropped down from the building to try and ambush the teacher but he heard her and was prepared, looking up and grabbing her out of the air before slamming her into a wall.

"A good attempt at ambushing me," Vlad King praised. "But it was pretty obvious you would since you had no choice."

Himiko-Hitoshi smiled at him slightly, "Well, we had to try something. But if you're busy with me, Toga can probably escape."

Vlad King's brow furrowed as he poured out some blood to keep Himiko-Hitoshi in place, not responding to her for the moment.

"He's right, Vlad King-chan! You should've paid attention to both of us!" a voice that sounded just like Himiko's taunted from down the street.

Wait, what? How does that sound like me?

Izumi was having a rough time against All Might in this exam. He wasn't pulling any punches and he hit harder than Rumi did. A lot harder. Izumi was acting like a distraction for the moment while Momo made her preparations for their plan. Izumi knew she couldn't fight him and win on her own and the thought was causing her to shake far more than she did against Rumi, though the more hits she took, the less she was shaking as her blood ran lower. Even if she used 100% of One For All, he was more experienced than she was and her regeneration would run out before his time limit, of that she was certain.

Izumi was currently pinned under one of All Might's feet as he stood on her chest with enough force to crack the pavement beneath her. She struggled with 20% to push his foot off of her with both her arms but the more she struggled, the harder he pushed down and the more the ground beneath her cracked, her ribs and arms groaning and cracking in protest as they healed just as quickly.

"You really are arrogant to fight me by yourself," All Might taunted her. "You may be stronger than you were a few months ago but you're still far too early to beat me alone. Yaoyorozu-shoujo might get close to the gate but once I'm done with you, I'll catch her in an instant."

Izumi's face split in a vicious grin as she managed to force out a response, "You know… All Might… Originally, I thought you were unstoppable. And there was no way I could fight you… I spent so long thinking you were practically a god that no one could ever beat that the thought of ever having to fight you scared the hell out of me… But you're not invincible."

"It's foolish to think that you can beat me alone. You've grown cocky with your new growth of strength."

"If you think… I'm cocky," Izumi groaned as the pressure increased on her chest. "You obviously don't know me very well. And unless you forgot… I'm not alone…"

Izumi heard the distinct click of several of Momo's matryoshka dolls and slammed a fist into the side of All Might's knee as she closed her eyes. Even through her closed lids she could see the bright flash and hear the piercing screech of the dolls exploding. All Might reeled back from the flashbangs and the impact to his knee, shielding his face as he stepped away from her. Izumi took the chance and spun to her feet, slamming a 20% roundhouse kick straight into All Might's weakest point, his stomach.

"Improvised Super Move: Luna Smash!"

All Might doubled over from the impact and tried to counterattack but missed in his blinded state; all of her training with Rumi had taught her to never let her guard down, especially against someone you think is unable to fight back effectively.

Sorry about that, Toshi. Aizawa-sensei taught us to exploit any weaknesses we could when fighting villains.

"Midoriya-san!" Momo yelled as the next part of their plan came into action.

Izumi's ears were ringing but she heard Momo loud and clear. She dodged away from the Symbol of Peace, watching as Momo fired a cannon she had created at All Might. The pro hero got hit with what looked like a cannonball that exploded into a thick slimy glue-like substance that Momo had created. It wouldn't hold him forever, but it would buy them a small amount of time.

Momo's words rang out in Izumi's head, 'Midoriya-san, remember that normally we'd have to keep damage to a minimum… but since All Might already destroyed this part of the city…'

Izumi started to run and wasn't sure how much time they would have from their little stunt and added in one more measure to be safe. She picked up a car that All Might had already totaled in his first attack, hurling it at the unsuspecting pro hero.

She didn't even wait to see if it hit him, turning to sprint down the street to get to Momo as fast as she could. Momo was panting from using her quirk so heavily but turned to run to the gate as soon as Izumi had thrown the car, Izumi catching up to her quickly before matching pace with Momo as they headed toward the exit.

Ochako and Yuga weren't making a ton of progress against Thirteen. No matter what they threw at her, she used her quirk to destroy it. Ochako felt completely helpless since she needed to get close for her quirk, and anything she did manage to throw at the hero was a minor annoyance at best.

"Mademoiselle, I believe it's time to run," Yuga said to her as he began to turn around.

Ochako nodded and sprinted off with him, passing the boy since he wasn't exactly athletic.

"Even if we regroup, the exit is on the opposite side of Thirteen," she shouted to him as they ran.

"Oui, but how do we get past her?"

"I have no clue!"

Ochako knew they had to come up with something. The space hero was standing between them and the exit gate and she couldn't just run past her, that was a surefire way to end up captured. She brushed her fingers on various chunks of debris and other things to use against the hero and threw them at Thirteen, but nothing ever made contact past her black hole quirk.

Think! What can we do!?

"ARE YOU STILL THERE!?"

Present Mic's voice was horrifyingly loud for Kyoka and Koji both, but Kyoka definitely felt she had it worse in terms of the pain she was in. It wasn't like she could turn off her super hearing when she wanted to.

"Why is he so loud!?" Kyoka yelled with her hands over her ears. "My ears won't stop ringing!"

Next to her, Koji was panicking slightly as he looked around for any animals that could help them while covering his own ears. Kyoka started looking as well before she sighed.

"He scared off any animals you could call in for backup, didn't he?"

Koji nodded at that but didn't say anything.

"What about bugs?" Kyoka asked him.

Koji's eyes widened and he shook his head furiously.

Great. He doesn't want to use bugs. I mean, I get it, they're kind of creepy but… God, I wish Present Mic would just shut up!

Kyoka could feel her ears bleeding at this point but she was a hero, dammit! She stood up toward the 'villain' and plugged her jacks into her boots.

"Counter-Balance!"

Her attack worked to stop Present Mic's quirk for the moment and Kyoka sighed in relief. The reprieve was brief, however, and Kyoka's ears were ringing once more as the man screamed again.

"THAT WON'T WORK!"

"Oh, come on!"

Mina was tired of dodging all the obstacles Nezu was throwing at them. At the very least they were making progress.

"Is the crane too far for you to hit?"

Denki looked up to see the crane above them currently but kept running, "Yeah. Too far."

Mina bit her lip and looked around, "Building on our right. He'll expect us to go left since it's closer to him."

Denki didn't argue with her as they crashed through a window into the building. They were climbing the stairs as quickly as they could before the wrecking ball that they detested crashed into the building again.

Mina grabbed Denki and dove out of a door and onto the fifth floor of the building they were in. Denki looked around, "We're pretty much trapped here, Ashido!"

Ten minutes or so left. We can do this. He can't destroy the building he's on or he'll fall with it.

"You're not gonna like this… but we need to jump out the window," Mina said to him.

"Are you crazy!?"

"I'll do whatever I can to pass, Kaminari-kun. And if that means doing something like jumping out a window to stop a villain, I'll do it."

Mina splashed her acid on the window ahead of her and psyched herself up before jumping through it and onto the roof of the building next to this one that was a story below her. It wasn't exactly graceful, and it hurt when she landed but she made it and rolled with a groan. She didn't have much time to recover as she saw the wrecking ball swinging in her direction once more.

"Seriously!?"

The only response she got was the sound of a chimera cackling like a madman above her.

Notes:
Hey everyone! Sorry for the delay on this chapter. Life has kind of gotten in the way with work and personal life but I found some time to finally get this done.

I hope I did a decent enough job balancing the different perspectives. I know I could have done a better job in some places (I'm looking at you Bakugo and Todoroki) but if I edit until it's perfect, you guys would never get another chapter. Part 2 will be up next Friday at the latest (I'm gonna jinx myself, I know it) for the conclusion to all the finals.

As always, thank you guys for reading.
3 Belle

P.S. Super Move names are so hard for some reason. Heavily debating on just stealing one of Mirko's move names for like half an hour before uploading this.

Chapter 26: Finals, Pt 2 Notes:
Sorry for the (long) delay. There's an explanation at the end. Hopefully this is still enjoyable.

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text Having a car thrown at you wasn't that uncommon when you were the Symbol of Peace. That didn't make it enjoyable, though. Toshinori's ears were ringing, his eyes burned, his stomach churned as he held his mouth, blood dripping from his lips. He had been hit by something that felt like a cannonball that exploded into something slimy and adhesive, then had what he saw was a car thrown at him while he couldn't react.

He was honestly kind of proud of Izumi and Momo for their plan. He figured they were almost to the gate now; he had told Nezu that he was going to give his everything. He wasn't done in this fight, not by a long shot.

He shook his head and wiped the blood from his lips before he looked down the street to see the two girls running to the gate. The car Izumi had thrown at him was wrapped around his body and was still stuck to him by this glue-like substance. He ripped the car off himself and saw the stringy adhesive clinging to everything before he threw it down the street at the retreating girls.

…In hindsight, hurling a car at them was probably an extremely stupid and reckless thing for a teacher to do.

Momo was looking over her shoulder and even if Toshinori couldn't see it from where he was, he was sure her eyes widened drastically at the object flying through the air. Still, he heard the scream.

"Izumi, get down!"

Momo grabbed Izumi's wrist and pulled her to the side, both of them hitting the pavement as the car crashed into the ground where they had just been a moment prior.

Recovery Girl might kill me.

Toshinori shelved his future punishment, his shins already feeling the phantom pain in them from Recovery Girl's cane and charged down the street toward them as fast as he could. As he was running, he realized exactly how exhausted he was and how quickly he was slowing down.

Smart. Yaoyorozu-shoujo created a substance that would slow me down and wear me out. Combined with these weights, the tear gas that Yaoyorozu-shoujo used on me earlier, that heavy hit to my stomach from Midoriya-shoujo, and having a car thrown at me, I won't last much longer. They're trying to escape.

Izumi and Momo scrambled to their feet and started dashing off toward the gate again, Toshinori closing the distance to both girls quickly. Both girls turned to look at him as he caught up to them, eyes widening at the fact he was already here, no doubt. The red and green lightning around Izumi intensified as she aimed a fist at his face.

"Detroit Smash!"

Toshinori was surprised at the force behind the blow, clearly far above the amount she had been using up to this point. He took the hit and pushed through, grabbing both of the girls by their throats and shoulders. He slammed them into the ground with a loud thud and pinned them down over their collarbones. Izumi gritted her teeth and grabbed Toshinori's arm, the lightning around her sparking even more wildly as she struggled to pull him off of her but to no avail. Even as her bones cracked and mended themselves, Toshinori didn't let up, continuing to use more force to match her attempts to free herself.

"It was a good plan, Yaoyorozu-shoujo, Midoriya-shoujo. But still. It didn't work in the end," he said to them. "Though, I am proud of you both."

"Don't count us out… just yet," Izumi said through her teeth, continuing to strain against him with a fanged grin on her face.

"It doesn't matter what you do at this point. There's nothing more you can do in this situation."

Izumi flicked her finger up at him with 100% of One For All, the man gritting his teeth to tank the blow but not moving away. He had to give it to her for being persistent. She continued to struggle and attempt to attack him, but Toshinori didn't back down. He heard the same sound from before and saw a dozen or so matryoshka dolls fall to the ground, popping open to unleash more flash grenades. But he had seen this trick before and shut his eyes as they went off.

"That won't work a second time."

Closing his eyes was the first mistake, as soon as he did he felt light-headed.

What? Why?

Toshinori opened his eyes and his vision blurred, he took a breath and swayed. He tried to look down at the two girls but found it hard to focus until he heard it.

Click.

"Midoriya and Yaoyorozu are the first team to pass," Recovery Girl announced through the intercom system.

The two girls that he had pinned held out for a few seconds before they gasped for air, sucking in deep breaths. Had they been holding their breath?

"…What just… happened?"

Toshinori was stunned, unable to figure out exactly what they did. He looked at the two girls and noticed the handcuffs on his wrist; Momo had created a pair of the capture weapon and clicked it on Toshinori while he was dealing with… something. He still wasn't sure what had happened to cause him to falter. He let go of both of them, Izumi panting with a large smile on her face.

"Yes, that worked!"

Momo was still panting heavily herself as she smiled, "It did. I wasn't sure if it would with something so risky."

"Would you both… care to explain?" Toshinori asked, extremely confused.

Momo propped herself up with a groan, more than a little injured judging by the bruises on her face, shoulders, and arms, "We knew we couldn't fight you head-on. And escaping with your speed was nearly impossible. Even with your handicap, Midoriya-san couldn't get us both out without you catching up to us."

"So, Yaoyorozu-san had the idea to make you think we were trying to escape at first before we 'captured' you," Izumi said while still trying to catch her breath. "Fighting you by myself was my idea to give Yaoyorozu-san enough time for her preparations. Even if I knew I couldn't win, if you thought I was overconfident, you'd lose track of Yaoyorozu-san long enough for her to get everything done she needed to."

"I had to make the cannon, the matryoshka doll flashbangs, as well as figure out a chemical compound that would slow you down enough that you would notice it. We wanted you to believe that we were only trying to escape and slow you down, not capture you. You stopping us was part of the plan. Midoriya-san suggested something… extremely dangerous."

"…And that is?"

"I told Yaoyorozu-san to make pure nitrogen while you had us pinned. It's… well, dangerous because it can kill someone. On its own, it's not dangerous but it replaces the oxygen in your blood as you breathe it, and you get very little warning. There's no smell, taste, or any way to know it's happening. Since the concentration of oxygen dropped in your blood, you probably started to feel… dizzy and lightheaded. We just needed a few seconds."

"You…"

Toshinori wasn't sure whether to be impressed or utterly terrified. Honestly, he was probably a bit of both. But that would have to wait until later. He was running low on time, especially after everything they put him through.

Toshinori chuckled, "That's quite amazing, you two. I'm extremely impressed."

"Asui and Tokoyami are the second team to pass," Recovery Girl announced.

"I'll let you both head off to Recovery Girl. Do you need any assistance?"

Izumi forced herself to her feet, panting while her body shook as she did so. She was uninjured from the look of things but was panting with ragged breaths, Toshinori catching her glancing at Momo with a hungry expression. The vampire swallowed hard, clearly forcing whatever thoughts she was dealing with down before she swayed on her feet, her eyes closing as she passed out. Toshinori caught her before she hit the ground, cradling her gently as he smiled down at her.

I really am proud of you, Midoriya-shoujo. You've come a long way in the last few months.

Remembering that it wasn't just the two of them, Toshinori turned his attention to Momo, "Do you need assistance as well, Yaoyorozu-shoujo?"

Momo looked panicked, "Did she pass out from a lack of oxygen? Is this my fault?"

"I believe she just pushed herself too hard today. She's breathing fine but I'll take her to Recovery Girl to be sure."

Momo nodded at that and they began their awkwardly quiet walk back to Recovery Girl's tent. Toshinori caught Momo sneaking glances toward Izumi when she thought he wasn't looking, but he refrained from saying anything about it, the walk being tense enough as is. Toshinori remembered the phantom pain in his shins as he got to the tent and walked in, the youthful heroine giving Toshinori the largest death glare he had received from her in quite some time.

Scratch that. Recovery Girl is definitely going to murder me.

Himiko was currently pinned to a wall under solidified blood in Hitoshi's appearance still, the smell of the crimson liquid hanging in the air and driving Himiko crazy. Vlad King had run off after Hitoshi shortly after he had taunted their teacher while running to the gate. That left Himiko struggling to escape the blood prison the man had created for her, unable to break out with Hitoshi's body's strength while also having her own internal struggle.

Calm down. You can drink blood later. Just ask one of your girlfriends when we're done. Deep breath.

Himiko calmed herself down for the moment but was still stuck in the solidified blood.

Okay. Now, I need someone stronger to get out of this. Maybe Izucchi? Even if she's stronger than Hitoshi-kun, is she strong enough to break out of this?

Himiko decided to test her theory and shifted into the greenette vampire and strained against the blood prison which cracked slightly but it wasn't enough. Izumi was the strongest out of her girlfriends by far so if she couldn't get out and Hitoshi couldn't, she needed someone stronger than them. Or at least bigger.

Oh. I'm an idiot.

She leaned her head toward her shoulder and licked the blood holding her in place before she shifted into Vlad King. Himiko could already tell the pro hero was strong, no doubt due to his own training to stay in shape. She smiled to herself as she strained against the blood once more before it broke like glass around her. Once she was free, she bolted off after the hero who was chasing down Hitoshi still, shifting back into the purple-haired boy as she ran and shouted after their opponent.

"Did you forget about me?"

Vlad King looked over his shoulder and was surprised to see the second Hitoshi had escaped from his blood. Ahead of the pro, Hitoshi stopped and threw a punch at Vlad King who easily blocked it; luckily, Himiko was far better in a fight than Hitoshi. She used the opening given by his attack and dashed into range and pulled out one of her knives, catching Vlad King on the arm with it before dodging backward.

The smell of blood hit Himiko in the face once more and she had to stop the bloodthirst from overwhelming her again.

I wonder if Izucchi has it as bad as I do when she smells blood? Not the time, Himiko!

Vlad King's muttering broke her from her roaming thoughts, "Aizawa has been teaching you both lethal weapons? I suppose you are both going into underground heroics…"

"Asui and Tokoyami are the second team to pass," Recovery Girl announced.

Himiko didn't hesitate this time, shifting into Izumi as she aimed a kick at his face. Vlad King wasn't expecting the sudden shift into the greenette and took a step back right over the capture tape Hitoshi had set up on the ground.

"Toga, I'm still learning how to use this capture weapon effectively, so I won't be able to do anything close to what Aizawa does. But I'm doing everything I can to catch up to everyone else."

Hitoshi pulled with all the force he could, and Vlad King lurched forward and into Himiko-Izumi's kick. He toppled to the ground and rolled to the side as Himiko tried to stop him from getting up. The pro hero lashed out with a punch directed at Himiko, the vampire using her natural agility to avoid the attack. A wave of blood erupted from Vlad's hand and Himiko grit her teeth from the smell as it solidified in her direction once more.

"Vlad King don't forget about me," Hitoshi taunted as he dropped a knee down where the pro hero was on the ground.

Vlad King countered with another wave of blood solidified between them, blocking the attack. As soon as the attacks had both been blocked, Vlad King reabsorbed the blood and slammed a fist into Hitoshi's stomach before grabbing Himiko-Izumi's wrist and throwing her into the lilac-haired boy.

"Ow…" Himiko groaned as she tried to get up.

Hitoshi shoved Himiko off him and rolled to the side, yanking the capture tape that was still scattered on the ground beneath the pro. This time Vlad King was expecting it and avoided the attack. Himiko took a deep breath and disappeared, something she had learned on the streets to just escape if she needed to. The pro hero's eyes widened in a panic at her suddenly disappearing before Himiko tackled Vlad King from behind as she shifted into him once again.

Hitoshi took the opportunity to rush over and pin one of his arms down, pulling the handcuffs out.

Click.

Himiko whispered into his ear with a manic smile, "We win!"

"Shinso and Toga have passed the exam," Recovery Girl announced.

Himiko stood up and took a few steps away from Vlad King as her transformation began sloughing off. She returned to normal, giving Hitoshi a high-five, "We did it!" Her attention turned to the pro hero, "Oh, sorry about the cut, Vlad King."

Vlad King waved a hand at her, "Aizawa mentioned something about lethal weapons but I forgot about it. That's on me for not treating this like the real world at first."

Himiko nudged Hitoshi again, "Still, I bet you're excited. We passed!"

"We did," Hitoshi said in an almost bored tone.

He wasn't fooling Himiko, though. His stoic personality was just like Shota and she caught him smiling under the scarf he was wearing, clearly excited about doing as well as they did.

"Todoroki and Bakugo are the next to pass," Recovery Girl announced again.

Now it's just Mina-chan, Ochako-chan, Kyoka-chan… you all better pass.

This is bad! How are we supposed to get past her to the exit if we can't even get close to her?

Ochako was definitely starting to panic. They weren't quite backed into a corner yet, but they were getting close.

Recovery Girl's voice cut in once again, "Shoji and Hagakure have passed the exam!"

Ochako looked at their opponent and then at Yuga who was also at a loss. He was firing his laser at the 'villain' occasionally, but Thirteen's Black Hole quirk was a direct counter to it, the beam of lighting getting sucked into nothingness.

Think. What would Izumi do in this situation?

Ochako didn't get to finish her thought before she felt the tug of Thirteen's quirk pulling them closer; luckily it was far enough away that it was still weak, but she was walking toward them. She grabbed Yuga's wrist and pulled him behind a building to get out of direct harm, buying them a moment to think.

Wait …

"Aoyama-kun, you can use your laser to propel you, right?"

"Oui, but she'll be able to stop me with her quirk just the same," he responded with a dramatic pose. "Plus, I can't go very far with it before I fall."

"…What if I make you float? Can you launch yourself toward the exit?"

"Do you think that will work, mademoiselle?"

"No clue! But it's worth a shot, right?"

"I will sparkle and grab everyone's attention as I soar through the air!"

Ochako bit back the chuckle at his enthusiastic acceptance of her frankly ridiculous plan and her eyes widened as the building they were behind started to disappear into the pro's quirk.

"Now or never! Go!"

Ochako tapped Yuga with all five fingers and ran away from the boy, going perpendicular to the hero while Yuga hopped up with his hands no the back of his head, propelling himself with his laser toward the exit like a human torpedo.

"Oh, no you don't!" Thirteen shouted.

The hero used her quirk in the direction of the sparkling and flying teen to pull him from his momentum but Ochako had another idea. She grabbed a half-destroyed street barricade and made it weightless before launching it at the pro hero, running right behind it as it floated through the air.

Ochako remembered the words from the U.S.J. when the mist villain attacked Thirteen. She's a rescue hero. Her battle senses are lacking compared to heroes like All Might or Eraserhead. And Ochako was going to take advantage of that.

Force her to fight on your terms!

"Jiro and Koda have passed the exam!" Recovery Girl announced.

The street barricade hit Thirteen from behind and threw her forward, the hero's quirk stopping from the impact. Yuga saw the opening and used his quirk to propel himself toward the exit once more while Ochako continued her trajectory. She tapped her own chest and leaped through the air at the hero who was turning in her direction before looking toward Yuga again, clearly conflicted on which to prioritize. The nausea was already getting pretty bad from using her quirk on herself, but if Izumi could break her bones on the regular, Ochako could handle being nauseous to pass an exam.

Besides, Thirteen had given one second too long thinking about if she should stop Yuga or Ochako.

Ochako brought her fingers together as she got right on top of the hero, "Release!" She collided with Thirteen, tackling her to the ground as the hero tried to stand back up. Her internship skills came in handy at this moment since her brain had pretty much shut off, her body acting on instinct.

"Gunhead Martial Arts!"

Ochako pinned the hero under her weight and pulled out the handcuffs, cuffing the pro hero and taking a deep breath to calm her nausea. She watched Aoyama land on the ground just shy of the exit gate and her face split in a smile; she could consider that almost a double victory.

"Aoyama and Uraraka have passed the exam!"

Mina didn't have enough time left, but she was so close. She was finally in the building that Nezu was atop of, which meant she was relatively safe from the wrecking ball at last. Only a crazy person would destroy the building that was supporting them. And while Nezu came across as crazy during the exam, he was definitely exceptionally logical and didn't seem the type to risk his own safety carelessly.

Unlike a certain vampire Mina happened to think of when the thought of reckless actions came to mind.

Mina was sprinting up the stairs to the roof, determined to get to the villain atop the building.

One more flight and you're at the roof. Where the hell is Kaminari-kun?

"Sero and Mineta's team has passed the exam!" Recovery Girl's voice announced.

Mina pushed herself to run faster until she finally erupted from the rooftop door to see a wrecking ball swinging in her direction. Mina dove forward as the massive metal orb crashed through the stairwell entrance she had just come from and a cackle escaped from the chimera's box he was in.

"I've had enough of your stupid crane!" Mina shouted.

Nezu's response was more manic laughter, the rodent's body shaking violently from the gesture as his tea threatened to spill all over himself.

…Maybe he was completely crazy.

She stood up and ran toward him, but the wrecking ball came back. She dodged a second time and was pretty sure she wouldn't be able to get close enough to capture him at this rate. She almost lost hope until a massive wave of electricity connected with the generator powering the wrecking ball. Mina saw Denki panting heavily from the building across the street, having climbed high enough to get a straight shot to Nezu.

Good job, Kaminari-kun!

Mina didn't waste any more time and walked over to the crane and threw the door open to see Nezu with his paws up in surrender and a massive grin on his face. She clicked the handcuff on the rodent with a satisfied sigh escaping from her lips.

"Ashido and Kaminari have passed the exam! And… that's time!" Recovery Girl announced.

"Oh jeez, we cut that really close," Mina said to no one in particular.

"You did. However, you have exceeded my expectations. Never would I have thought you would choose to go for me instead of the exit," Nezu commented to her.

"O-Oh. I figured we weren't going to outsmart you and escape easily. The only thing I could come up with was the high-risk high-reward strategy… I'm just glad it worked out…"

"You did well, Ashido-kun. Congratulations."

"You reckless idiot!" Recovery Girl's voice pierced through the air. "Do you realize that you would have killed Midoriya if she didn't have a healing quirk? I could tell on the cameras how many bones you broke of hers! Not to mention Yaoyorozu had several hairline fractures on her ribs! You threw a car at them! What if it had hit them!?"

Momo had to suppress a giggle from the scene, landing somewhere between amused and horrified by the display.

"I knew that Midoriya-shoujo and Yaoyorozu-shoujo would be fine and-" All Might tried to argue.

Whack, whack, whack!

"You don't know your ass from a hat, you blithering idiot! Don't you know how to hold back at all?"

"Plus Ultra?"

Several more whacks on the pro hero's shins and his head made it very apparent that what he said was the wrong answer, Recovery Girl hitting him with surprising strength for a woman as frail-looking as she was.

"Is Izu- Midoriya-san going to be okay?" Momo asked next to the hero. "I'm just worried we put too much of our plan on her and it's my fault that-"

Momo internally chastised herself, almost slipping and using Izumi's given name a second time today.

"Deary, she'll be fine. She's just exhausted. Probably needs a few good days of rest. From what I hear from Nezu, she's been going rather nonstop working with Mirko and her own training. Maybe remind that child she's still human, even with her vampire quirk, when she wakes up."

The young hero candidate smiled before she let out a slight yawn, Recovery Girl having already healed her injuries. After she was done, her cheeks tinged a mild pink, "Sorry. That was rather unbecoming of me."

"Yaoyorozu-shoujo, you deserve to rest as well. You both did admirably today," All Might assured her.

Momo nodded at that, her eyes clearly getting heavy, "Thank you, All Might. I'll rest up here if that's okay, Recovery Girl."

"Of course, deary. I'm going to knock some sense into this buffoon somewhere we won't bother you," she replied with a smile.

The ravenette held back a chuckle as she looked at Toshinori before heading toward the beds and pulling the curtains closed for some privacy. She could hear Recovery Girl hissing words at the Symbol of Peace, her tone far from pleased with the day's events.

I can't believe we actually beat All Might. Handicapped or not, I'm… I'm amazed. I'll have to thank Midoriya-san when she wakes up.

Momo created something to rest in that wasn't her hero costume and slipped into a bed, resting with a smile on her face.

Notes:
Hey guys! Long time, no write. After I posted part 1 of the finals I hit a massive case of writer's burnout. With starting a new job, trying to move, everything else going on in life, I just kind of... didn't want to write anything. So, I just kind of... jinxed myself, as someone said, and didn't post a chapter for almost two months. Apologies for that.

But after doing some things in real life, I had a bit of motivation but I'm still not back to writing like I was, though I did enjoy this chapter a bit; it's just a bit later that I wanted and rusty at the same time. I make no promises on when I'll post the next chapter after this, but it'll probably be more fluffy goodness since... honestly, that's what I've enjoyed writing (with a dash of angst thrown in here and there for good measure). I-Island Arc will start in a few chapters before we get into the Forest Camp and all that entails (I have some plans). So, be patient and I'll get some motivation to keep writing.

I will mention, chapters might be infrequent since I have real-life obligations and a fairly invasive surgery coming up, so I'll be rather... out of it for a while after that, but I felt I should give everyone a head's up before it happens.

As always, thank you all for reading and I hope you enjoyed it.

3 Belle

Chapter 27: Let's Go To The Mall Notes:
Everybody come and play Throw every last care away Let's go to the mall, today

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text Izumi awoke in the clinic with a start, bolting upright as her breaths came in rapid pants.

"Recovery Girl," the vampire rasped. "Are you in here?"

"What is it, child?"

"Blood."

"Hm?"

"I… I need blood. Now."

Izumi clenched her jaw and swallowed hard, her throat feeling dry as she heard the doctor shuffling on the other side of the curtain. Honestly, she was thankful the curtain obscured the woman. Right now, she was almost desperate for blood.

Why is it getting so much worse lately?

Chiyo walked in with a blood bag in hand, passing it to the greenette who didn't even open it normally, instead sinking her fangs into the plastic and drinking it as fast as she could. The cold liquid poured down her throat and helped her shaking die down slightly.

"Still tastes like shit," Izumi grumbled.

"Your language has gotten worse, young lady! You've been spending too much time with that crass rabbit!"

She chuckled dryly at that, "Probably." She paused before deciding to inform someone of what was going on, "Hey um… Recovery Girl?"

"What is it now, deary?" the doctor asked.

"I… My cravings for blood are getting worse lately."

The doctor gave her a concerned look before pulling up a chair and sitting down, "Worse? How so?"

"Like… I drink blood more frequently. Almost daily now. For a while, it was every week or every few days."

"You've probably overused your quirk while working with Mirko. I wouldn't worry about it much," she said, turning to the computer behind her. Izumi could see a medical file on screen as the doctor clicked away at the keyboard to update her chart.

"That's… I almost bit Yaoyorozu-san for her blood after our exam. I had to fight myself to keep under control."

The clicking of keys stopped.

"You had to fight yourself for control?"

"Y-Yeah," she said nervously, the lump in her throat making it hard to speak. "I… I was so thirsty for blood and Yaoyorozu-san was right there. And I could smell some of her blood from her injuries. And I could feel myself wanting that blood as soon as I could get it."

"That is… mildly concerning. It could be a number of things. Gorging on blood could have created a higher dependency, possibly One For All and Vampirism could be synergizing to amplify its effects, the positive and the negative. Other options include your quirk changing as you get used to it and your body."

"So… what do I do? I don't want to hurt someone by accident."

"Not much we can do without knowing more. I'll run some blood tests and see if I find anything. Though before I do that, drink a few more bags so you don't get… feral on me."

Izumi let out a sigh and accepted the blood bags without any verbal complaint.

Even if they did taste like shit.

Momo stood in front of the door to the greatest challenge she would ever face in her entire life. She had fought the Symbol of Peace and yet she was still terrified to deal with her own feelings and the possibility of rejection clung to her thoughts without letting up.

Just knock on the door. You can do this, Momo!

She took a deep breath and knocked, waiting a few agonizing seconds before the door opened up and Mina stood in front of her.

"Hey, Yaomomo!"

Momo blinked once, realizing that Mina being in Izumi's room actually made sense and probably made the situation easier in the end, even if it made it more nerve-wracking.

"Hello, Ashido-san. I was looking for Midoriya-san," she stated, even if it was obvious.

"I figured. Come on in, all of us were just watching a movie since we're not doing much until the mall trip tomorrow."

"I… wouldn't want to intrude…"

"Yaomomo, it's fine," Kyoka said to her from her spot on the bed. The rather large bed, though not quite as big as hers.

Momo smiled awkwardly and walked in, realizing very quickly that Izumi's room was bigger than anyone else's room. How she managed that was quite curious, but not the reason why Momo was here.

Izumi wriggled free of Himiko and Kyoka's grasp, the blonde letting out a slight whine and Kyoka moving closer to Himiko to take Izumi's place, Himiko latching onto her instead. "Hi, Yaoyorozu-san. Thank you for earlier during the exam."

"Earlier?"

"Well, a lot of things earlier. You saved me from being hit by a car and your plan let us pass against All Might!"

"Well, you were a big part of it, so let's say we worked well together and both be proud."

A slight silence fell over the room at that and they all stared at each other awkwardly. "So…" Ochako finally said. "You came looking for Izumi, Yaomomo?"

"Well, truthfully, all of you being here works out. I was going to ask Midoriya-san if you all were available to talk. I um…" Momo fidgeted slightly as Izumi pulled a chair up for her, her cheeks dusting pink before sitting down. "I just… don't know how to start."

Momo could see Kyoka blushing slightly as she looked back at her, twirling one of her jacks with her fingers. Mina and Himiko both wore smiles that screamed they knew where she was going with this while Ochako was blushing and averting her eyes away from her just barely. The only one who looked completely unphased, whether by being oblivious or unperturbed by this conversation, was Izumi.

"Take your time, Yaoyorozu-san," the greenette said to her, her red eyes shining with understanding. Momo wasn't sure if she preferred them as red or green, but both were easy enough to get lost in.

Focus!

Momo let out a soft sigh, "Thank you… I'm… not great at expressing my own feelings or desires, so this is rather… troublesome."

Momo wrung her hands together as she looked down at her lap, her blush growing as she struggled for words.

Dammit, Momo. You fought All Might today! You can admit your feelings if you can fight the Symbol of Peace!

"I… I'll start with this… Are you all… interested in adding anyone else to your relationship?"

She bit her lip and clutched the fabric of her dress, trying to maintain her gaze toward the other girls, but she could feel her cheeks heating up.

"Well, we decided we'd only accept one more specific person," Mina said airily, her eyes trained on Momo and her usual teasing grin on her lips. "And if she were to approach us, she could join."

Himiko nodded with a slight smirk, "But we weren't going to approach her, since we didn't want to make her uncomfortable when she spends time with us."

Momo stared at the group and realized what they were getting at. "You… You all were okay with me joining already?"

Izumi nodded, "For a couple of weeks now. We just figured approaching you would make things awkward and I didn't want us to seem… predatory?" Izumi said with a puzzled expression. "I think that's the best way to phrase it. We just wanted you to feel comfortable around us when we hung out, not like we were pressuring you into joining."

"And you have to be okay with dating all of us," Ochako said with a large blush. "But… I think you already knew that."

Momo nodded at the group slowly, "Jiro-san told me as much… You're… really okay with me joining? Even though I'm-"

"Yaomomo," Kyoka interrupted as she stood up. "We'd be glad to have you join us."

The punk girl came over and wrapped Momo in a hug which Momo readily accepted. Before long, the other four girls joined into a giant group hug and Momo had never felt happier.

"You can join us for our movie if you want, Momo-chan," Himiko said with a large grin before flopping back onto the bed.

"You don't have to join the cuddle pile if it makes you uncomfortable," Izumi added. "But if you are, feel free to join in."

Izumi stood up with a brief smile toward the ravenette before grabbing Ochako and Mina in a hug and falling onto the bed with them in a tight hug. None of them seemed upset by this, just laughing as they resituated themselves.

"Is this a regular occurrence?" Momo asked Kyoka.

"Pretty much. You'll get used to it. Are you going to join in?"

"…I don't think I'm going to just… drop onto them."

Kyoka shrugged, "Sometimes it's fun."

She walked over and spun away from the bed, falling backward onto the pile of bodies with a smirk on her lips as she was caught by the other girls.

"When in Rome…" Momo muttered as she walked over to join the weird cult ritual of her new polycule.

The mall was bustling with activity as class 1-A showed up to get some shopping done today. Izumi wasn't sure what she even needed to get for their training camp but Toru and Mina had planned the trip for everyone.

"Oh, hey, it's the U.A. kids from the Sports Festival!" someone said in the crowd.

"Oh, we're famous now!" Kaminari said with his most charming smile. "Awesome!"

Another voice chimed in, "Yeah, you guys did awesome! Can't wait to see you all next year!"

Izumi shifted her weight from one foot to the other nervously. She wasn't a stranger to attention when going out now, but today she just wanted a normal day at the mall with her girlfriends.

"Izumi!" Mina chirped, Toru speaking at the same time as her, "Midori!"

"Why do I have a bad feeling about this?" Izumi muttered.

Hitoshi spoke beside her, "Because Ashido is the embodiment of chaos and Hagakure clicks with her perfectly."

"He's right about that," Kyoka agreed.

Izumi chuckled softly and turned her attention to Mina and Toru, smiling at them, "Yeah?"

"You don't have a bathing suit yet, do you?" Mina asked her.

Oh hell.

"I uh…"

"That's our first stop then!" Toru cheered. "Himiko probably needs one too, right? Let's get going!"

The invisible girl and the pinkette led grabbed the vampires to drag them off.

"Uh… guys?" Izumi asked her other girlfriends over her shoulder. "A little help?"

"You're on your own," Kyoka teased. "Yaomomo and I were going to get a duffel bag to store stuff in since we already got our swimsuits a few weeks ago."

"Iida-kun and I were going to get bug spray and other things for everyone, just in case," Ochako said. "Have fun!"

Hitoshi blushed slightly as he looked from Izumi to Himiko and then at Fumikage, "Tokoyami, wanna hit up that store at the end?"

"Aw, don't wanna see us in swimsuits, Hitoshi-kun?" Himiko teased him.

The purple-haired boy tried not to react, just giving her a deadpan stare but his blush was barely visible, "I have other things I need to get."

He didn't elaborate before he headed off with Tokoyami, both of them not looking back while Himiko cackled like a madwoman.

"And I signed up to date you and Mina," Izumi muttered. "I must be a masochist."

"Probably~," Himiko whisper-sang to her. "But I don't blame you for loving us. We're adorable."

"…You're not wrong…" Izumi smiled and looked at the chaos duo again, "Fine, let's go. I'm eager to both of my girlfriends blushing when I try a bikini on."

Thank you Nemuri and Rumi for teaching me how to act more confidently.

Himiko and Mina both blushed ever so slightly at her turning the tables on them before they walked off.

The four girls entered the store and Izumi looked around at all the swimsuits. "Where do we even start?" she asked. "There's so many."

Mina pulled her along, "Just find something you think looks cute. Like… I'm thinking about this!"

She picked up a black string bikini, one that would cover very little just at a glance. Izumi's cheeks heated up just slightly as she pictured Mina in said bikini, her mind wandering to their conversation about sex.

Bad brain!

"Ooh, I love it, Mina-chan," Himiko said next to Izumi. "Now for me…"

Izumi was looking around to not look at the pinkette with her teasing grin and spotted something that caught her attention.

"How about this, Himiko?" Izumi said, grabbing a bikini that had blood-spatter orchids on it. It would cover just slightly more than Mina's but her hormones might have picked a slightly more revealing cut with this pattern than the one she spotted just a few feet away.

Himiko didn't seem to mind, her eyes sparkling as she looked at it, "How did I miss that? It's so pretty!"

Himiko grabbed it and without waiting, darted into a changing room. Mina went after her pretty quick into a sister changing room, leaving Izumi with Toru.

"Any plans for yourself?" the vampire asked.

"I'm not sure. I always get self-conscious in swimsuits since it'd be easier for me to just strip."

"I think you look cute in the clothes you wear. You have a good sense of style and fashion compared to… well, me. Mina and Ochako get on me about my t-shirts with random words on them," Izumi chuckled.

"Thanks! I try to look cute, it's just… weird, cause I'm invisible, ya know? And if I strip, no one will notice me anyway."

"Well, I think you're cute in your outfits. Even if no one can see your face directly. You're bubbly and fun, enjoyable to talk to even if you and Mina both tease me uncontrollably, and you're just… a good person."

"Jeez, Midori. Are you trying to add me to your growing harem of girls?" the invisible girl said in a tone sounding completely serious.

"Er, no? That wasn't my intention. It's just… we're friends. And it's important for friends to support each other, right? Not that anything I said is untrue just for support, I really do think everything I said is true. I just mean-"

"I think I get it," Toru giggled. "So, thank you. You know if you were actually a boy, I might have fallen for a line like that, Midori."

Izumi's cheeks tinged pink, "I… don't think that was a line or anything. Just honesty…"

Himiko's curtain flung open and the vampire grinned at Izumi and Toru, "Like it?"

Izumi stared at Himiko for what felt like an eternity to herself, her pale skin contrasting with the black fabric surrounding the red and white orchids. Izumi swallowed hard, trying not to stare at Himiko's cleavage as her words died in her throat.

"It… um…"

Himiko started giggling, "That's the reaction I wanted. I'm definitely getting this."

"It looks super cute, Himiko!" the invisible girl said to her. "It suits you!"

"Thanks, Toru-chan! It really looks okay?"

Himiko spun around to show off her back and butt, a sly grin on her face as she looked at Izumi.

The greenette vampire let out a strangled scream as she tried and failed not to stare.

"It looks great!" Toru assured her. "Doesn't it, Midori? Aren't you going to compliment your girlfriend on how she looks?"

Izumi could feel the shit-eating grin on Toru's face and smiled at Himiko, "It looks really good, Himiko. It's perfect on you."

Or off of you. Either works. STOP BEING HORNY, DAMMIT!

The curtain next to her slid open and Mina stepped out, "Sorry, I was waiting for a moment so you could ogle Himiko before I joined. How's this look on me?"

Izumi punctured her bottom lip with her fangs before she squeaked, "Great!"

"You both are going to kill your girlfriend," Toru giggled. "I like it, Mina. It looks really good on you!"

"Thanks!" Mina said with a spin, Izumi's eyes landing on Mina's butt. "Now, you both need to try something on, too!"

"Yep! We'll look while you get changed back!" Toru said happily. As soon as they went back into the rooms Toru got close to Izumi, "Question."

"Answer?" Izumi said back, unsure what Toru wanted.

"You're friends with Shinso-kun, right?"

Izumi stared at her for a second and could swear she saw blushing, which was impossible since Toru was invisible. The vampire smiled softly and looked past Toru at the racks of swimsuits. She walked around for a minute before grabbing two swimsuits and holding them up for her.

"Shinso-kun loves cats. So…"

Toru looked at the bikinis and took them from Izumi, heading into one of the empty changing rooms without saying anything. Izumi herself glanced around to find anything she'd like, debating on the style she'd go with. She grabbed one she thought she might like, shelving her nerves about being in a bikini for the moment; she had fought in her underwear during class, why was this any different?

The vampire slipped into the changing room and got into the swimsuit, pausing to look at herself in the mirror. She admired the few scars that she did have and the very obvious bite mark on her neck.

Maybe I'll get Himiko and Mina back a bit for teasing me…

She pulled out her phone and snapped a picture in a mirror, trying to look as sexy as she could. She hadn't really taken pictures of herself or even tried to take sexy pictures before. Would Nemuri judge her for asking for tips later?

Silly question. Of course, she wouldn't. She'd just tease Izumi a bit for the question before helping her.

Izumi took a plethora of pictures and checked them, debating if taking something more risqué was acceptable. Honestly, she probably spent too much time with Nemuri. Or she was a horny teenager.

Both were the correct answer.

Izumi let her hormones win and took a handful of less appropriate pictures, and locked her phone before walking out of the changing room, her girlfriends and Toru already waiting for her. She posed with one hand on her hip and cocked it out slightly while pushing her chest forward, something she had seen Nemuri do to flaunt her assets, and put on a confident smile.

"How do I look?"

Her girlfriends stared wordlessly, mouths agape for the moment before they smiled at her; the multi-strapped green bottoms and the matching string bikini top showing off a lot more than the vampire was used to.

"I like it!" Mina said. "Plus, look at all those muscles you're going to show off in this!"

Himiko nodded eagerly, "I think you should get it, Izucchi!"

"Midori, I know your hero costume shows off your abs but you've got muscles, girl," Toru said in response. "But how do I look?"

Izumi looked at the white neko-keyhole bikini and felt herself blush slightly, even if she picked it and the other one for the invisible girl. "I think it looks good. Those boys won't be able to keep their eyes off you, Hagakure-san," she assured her.

"Midori, you can call me Toru. Mina and Himiko already do."

"Then it looks great, Toru," Izumi corrected. Himiko and Mina nodded along with her assessment; Izumi had heard them praising it while she was changing. Izumi decided to have a bit of fun revenge and turned around, looking over her shoulder at her girlfriends, "You both are sure this looks good?"

Mina's cheeks tinged lilac while Himiko's blush grew deeper, both of them nodding wordlessly.

"Midori, don't kill your girlfriends. I think I'm going to get this though so let me get changed," Toru said in her bubbly tone before she disappeared into the room again.

Her girlfriends walked up to her and openly ogled her before Mina leaned in close to Izumi, whispering to her, "You should go change too before I drag you in there for some 'alone time'."

Himiko's large blush was even worse now as she gave Izumi a smile, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively, "If Mina-chan doesn't, I will. I'm thirsty and not just for your blood."

Izumi gave them a sultry smile, "As fun as that sounds, I think we'll have to wait until later."

Izumi spun on her heel and headed into the changing room, hiding her rapidly growing blush from her girlfriends before they could tease her back.

Kyoka was walking around with Momo to get their own shopping done, checking out of their current store.

"Did you not want to try on swimsuits, Kyoka?" Momo asked her quietly.

Kyoka's face lit up, "I… already have one, remember. And I'll see the girls' soon enough, r-right?"

"Are you uncomfortable being seen in a swimsuit by them?"

"I… just doubt that I'm attractive sometimes."

Momo was silent for a moment while she thought, and that made Kyoka anxious. Maybe she wasn't pretty enough for her girlfriends.

"Kyoka, I know words can only do so much… but you are very attractive. I've thought so since the beginning of the school year. I just… don't always know how to express my feelings well, like I said yesterday. I grew up rather sheltered and my only real exposure to romance was-"

"Trashy erotica?" Kyoka interrupted.

Momo's face burst into a blush, "I was going to say my parents but… That was another source, I suppose. I just meant that I should have told you sooner how attractive you are instead of… being too afraid to admit that."

Kyoka's face felt like it was on fire as she clicked her jacks together absentmindedly. "…Y-You're pretty attractive yourself, Momo," she said quietly.

Both girls exchanged a smile at that, their cheeks matching in shades of red as they walked out of the store.

"Pardon me for asking," Momo said quietly as they headed to another store. "But haven't the other girls told you how attractive you are? Izumi seems to be rather… forward compared to the beginning of the semester."

"They have… my brain just… doesn't always listen. I think actions would mean more…"

"How so? Like, physical intimacy?"

Kyoka felt like her face was on fire, "I… maybe? We're all fairly… touchy-feely. Lots of kissing and cuddles as I'm sure you've noticed. But we haven't… done that… if that's what you're implying."

"Oh! I… I don't know why I figured you might have. Sorry, that probably sounded extremely presumptuous. I just mean you're all very close even in the public areas of the dorms."

"N-No, we haven't. Not yet, at least. Mina and Izumi might have. I… overheard something after you and she took the Provisional Exam. But I never asked them about it and we haven't really talked about… s-sex or anything."

"Apologies, I didn't mean to embarrass you or anything. I'm just… curious since I'm the newest in the polycule and I'm not exactly sure what I'm comfortable with myself."

"Well… We all sleep in the same bed most nights. But we haven't done anything more than making out and some… accidental groping while cuddling or sleeping," she said quietly. She was pretty sure she would look like Himiko with a natural blush after this conversation. "But it feels like… Izumi and Mina restrain themselves with us compared to each other. I know they're closer since they've been dating longer but… I don't know."

"Why not… bring this up with them? Isn't that part of a polyamorous relationship? Bringing up issues as they arise so they don't… become bigger issues? I don't claim to be an expert but Midnight-sensei told me a bit about it."

"No, you're right. I'm just… how do I bring it up? 'Hey, I know we've only been dating for just over a month, but I'd be okay if one of you played with my ass or boobs while we made out,' or something?"

Momo nearly choked on air as she tried to cover her mouth from laughter, her ears turning red, "I suppose that's one way to bring it up… Oh, there's Mina, Himiko, and Hagakure-san."

Momo pointed to the three girls with several bags in hand walking toward them with smiles on their faces.

Kyoka was doing her best to fight down her blush as she waved at the approaching group, "Hey. Wasn't Izumi with you three?"

"She was, she went to a vending machine," Toru explained. "Though, she's been gone for a while now."

Momo turned around and looked from the balcony to the areas below, "Where was the nearest vending machine from the shop you were in?"

Mina walked over and pointed to the shop on the first floor, "That's the shop, so down there somewhere? We told her we were heading up here so she should be able to find us, right?"

Kyoka looked around with them, eyes darting around and listening as best she could with her quirk until she saw Izumi walking with a guy in a large hoodie, his arm wrapped around her shoulder as they went toward a bench near the fountain.

"There," Kyoka said, pointing to them. "She's with someone. Do any of you recognize him?"

"Sit down so we can have a nice chat, Izumi," the man's voice said.

Kyoka blinked a few times, I've… I've heard that voice somewhere.

"No. But he's dangerous," Himiko said quietly. "Even from here, I can feel his bloodlust."

Izumi seemed hesitant to reply before Kyoka finally heard it, "What if I don't want to?"

"Then I press my last finger down and you turn to dust."

"…If you did that, the police and heroes would be here in minutes."

"That may be true… but how many people do you think I could kill before the heroes got here? Twenty? Thirty? Forty? Your classmates are here too, right? How many of them do you think I'd kill before All Might showed up?"

"…Fine. Let's talk, Shigaraki."

"Smart choice."

Kyoka paled several shades, "Oh god… That's… That's Shigaraki."

"Who?" Himiko asked.

"The leader of the League of Villains," Mina said quietly. "Momo, what do we do?"

Momo went into immediate planning mode, her gaze hardening, "Hagakure-san, call emergency services and tell them there's a villain here. Mina, you have some of the U.A. staff numbers; get a hold of someone, I don't care who. Kyoka, Himiko, both of you find our classmates and tell them to evacuate quietly. We can't have Shigaraki do something rash. One of you go tell the mall staff as well to get them to help."

"What are you going to do, Yaomomo?" Mina asked quietly, her voice wavering as she stared at Izumi and Shigaraki on the bench below.

"I'll… I'll be evacuating civilians as quietly as I can. I can use my quirk but… I don't want to make things worse. Until Izumi is safe, we can't risk escalating the situation."

The girls nodded silently at that, clearly feeling as nervous as Kyoka felt right now.

Izumi, please be okay …

Izumi was still sitting with Shigaraki when she smelled a faint few drops of Momo's blood. Her eyes darted around until she saw the ravenette on the second-floor balcony, staring down at her. Izumi locked eyes with her and swallowed hard, her fear of getting hurt herself being overshadowed by the fear of the people she cared about getting hurt. Izumi's eyes locked with Momo's; the ravenette had a plan.

Shigaraki's voice was low and almost gravelly when he spoke, "What makes Stain so much better than me? He was just destroying what he hated too. So why do people focus on him instead of me?"

Izumi was silent for a moment while she thought; Shigaraki's grip tightened on her neck, the vampire wincing briefly.

"Ow… I was thinking," she vocalized. "But you want to know what makes you different from Stain? His ideals. His goals. Stain killed heroes but he did it for his ideals. His version of 'justice'. Because he believed there are true heroes like All Might and those who are false heroes who do it for the money or fame. I don't agree with it just like I don't agree with you. But his ideals are understandable."

"Oh?"

"He hates society and those he sees as false heroes, but those he sees as true heroes like All Might are fine. Even if his methods are fucked up and his ideals are deluded, he sees what he's doing as something for the betterment of society. You? You just want to destroy everything you don't like without any plan to help society, right?"

Izumi noticed the crowd around them was thinning out drastically, the mall almost empty now.

"So, it's All Might's fault, huh?" Shigaraki finally said.

"Oi, Deku, what the hell are you doing?" Katsuki said as he walked up, still a decent gap between them.

"Oh, don't mind us, I'm just catching up with an old friend," Shigaraki lied.

"Bullshit, I know all of her friends and you ain't one of them."

"Bakugo, it's fine," Izumi said coldly, her eyes locking with his for a moment. "We're just… catching up."

She was hoping her words and not using his nickname would hopefully get him to know something was wrong. Instead, he was a mix of dumbstruck and suspicious, his eyes glancing at Shigaraki in the oversized hoodie.

"It's fine, Izumi. Your friend is concerned about you so I'll be going," Shigaraki said. His next words were quiet so only she could hear him, "Next time we meet is when I've decided to kill you and all your friends."

Shigaraki gave her an eerie smile before he walked off toward the entrance to the near-empty mall.

"Oi, who the hell do you think you are?" Katsuki growled at Shigaraki. He reached a hand out to grab the villain's shoulder and Izumi moved in an instant, tackling the blond to the ground. "Deku, what the fuck!?" Katsuki shouted at her.

Izumi ignored the blond and her eyes darted back to Shigaraki who wore an unsettling grin on his lips.

"You've gotten faster. I'll keep that in mind, Izumi."

Izumi's eyes met his for the first time since they had been chatting, red meeting red as they sized each other up. Izumi's hands shook at her sides from the sheer hatred and anger directed at her. She wanted to fight him, to stop him from hurting anyone else again… but she was terrified. Terrified that she wasn't strong enough to stop him by herself.

"I'll see you around, Izumi," Shigaraki said as he turned to walk off.

Katsuki's voice interrupted her thoughts, "Deku, who the fuck was that?"

Izumi glanced at Katsuki before going back to Shigaraki. "I will stop you, Shigaraki," she voiced. "No matter what."

"…Good luck."

He walked off and turned a corner ahead, Izumi finally letting out the breath she had been holding, the shaking in her hands finally slowing down.

"Fuck!" Izumi hissed.

Her eyes burned with tears; that was the second villain she had let escape when she could have done something. Her second failure as a hero.

"Izumi," Ochako said softly as she walked over. "Are you okay?"

"I'm… fine," she lied.

"Izumi. I can tell you're not. What's wrong? Did he hurt you?"

"I… I froze. I was so damn terrified staring him in the face that I just… couldn't even move. I feel… weak. Pathetic. Useless."

Izumi didn't notice a certain blond wince at those words or the glare Ochako gave him before she wrapped her arms around the vampire. Before long her other girlfriends joined their hug, glad that she was okay and informing her of such before the police arrived.

Izumi had to explain what had happened, getting pieces filled in by Momo about the evacuation. She had to answer various questions regarding the incident and she was just… drained. Shota and Nemuri showed up with Nezu and Toshinori in his hero form, gathering up the class to check on everyone and make sure everyone was still here.

God forbid someone gets kidnapped at the mall while shopping for a school trip.

After everything was said and done, the students were boarded on a U.A. bus while Izumi was held back by the teachers to talk to them for the moment. Nemuri gave her a soft smile to reassure her, though it didn't seem to be working.

"Problem Child, you said it was Shigaraki that was here, correct?" Shota asked her.

"It was. He had his hand around my throat and threatened to turn me into dust."

Toshinori looked rather downcast, "I'm sorry I wasn't here sooner, Midoriya-shoujo. I should have been here to stop him and protect you."

"No… I… I should have stopped him. I could have. I should have. But-"

"Just because you have a Provisional License doesn't mean you have to stop him, Izumi," Nemuri said softly. "You made the right call in not starting a fight with him."

Nemuri could tell Izumi was torn up about letting him go. After the werewolf(?) villain had escaped, it had bothered her for weeks. It probably still bothered her.

"But he's still out there! And now he could kill more people just because I was too damn afraid to stop him."

"Izumi-kun, Midnight is correct. You made the correct call. You didn't know if he was alone or had backup. For all you know, he could have been here with other villains waiting for you to try and make a move. Remember, you can't stop every villain every time. Even All Might can't do that."

"But I'm his successor!" she hissed. "And I have to be better than this!"

Nemuri frowned at that. It was hard to remember sometimes that Izumi was just a fifteen-year-old girl trying to fill the shoes of the Symbol of Peace. She had grown and accomplished a lot in a single semester, but she was still just a child in a lot of ways. Just trying to live up to expectations placed upon her.

Shota looked at her with worry as he spoke, "Midoriya, you're still training. It's our job as pros to stop him. You stayed calm and rational even when threatened with death. You saved lives by not panicking. That's the best outcome we can hope for."

"Shota is right, Izumi," Nemuri said to her, putting her hands on the vampire's shoulders. "We're going to stop him. Because you managed to stay calm and not escalate the situation, no one got hurt today. Okay? I'm proud of you."

"…You're right."

Nezu gave a small wave to the group, "We can talk more back at the campus if you like, Izumi-kun. The reporters are starting to arrive, and I would like to avoid you having to deal with their questions."

Izumi let out a small sigh and smiled at them, "Thank you, guys."

The greenette walked toward the bus and left the adults to themselves. Nemuri watched as Katsuki walked up to the greenette and said something to her before he got on to the bus ahead of her, Izumi following him on.

Notes:
I was debating on editing this more but since I have surgery Friday, I decided to go ahead and post it. Overall, I'm okay with this chapter, even if some parts feel a bit more rushed than usual. I hope you all enjoy our favorite vampire being more confident and showing how much Nemuri and Rumi are rubbing off on her.

Next time we're gonna get emotional with a long-overdue talk between two people. And finally setting things up for I-Island. I just like fluff too much to not add in chapters with less plot relevance. I'm also debating on just... going off the rails from canon soon since I've been discussing it with some friends but I'll have time to debate that some more while recovering.

As always, thank you for reading.
3 Belle

Chapter 28: Confrontation Notes:
Surprise! I survived surgery and was released a few days early and felt the urge to write. Any typos or things that seem off in this chapter I blame on lots of painkillers.

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text "De- Midoriya, can we talk when we get back to the dorms?"

That phrase was rolling around in Izumi's head and had been since they left the mall earlier. Katsuki Bakugo… wanted to talk? And he asked nicely. For what reason, Izumi wasn't even sure at this point. For tackling him to the ground and avoiding him getting turned to dust? Maybe.

They had just arrived back and were starting to head inside when Katsuki motioned for her to follow him, the vampire feeling unsure about how this conversation would go. She nodded and started to follow after him, a hand grabbing hers before she took two steps.

"Izumi, you don't have to-"

"Ochako, I'll be okay," the vampire assured her. "I promise."

"…If he lays a hand on you, I'm floating him into the sun."

"And if he does, I'll let you," Izumi said quietly, giving her a quick peck on the lips.

Izumi gave her a reassuring smile and a quick hand squeeze before she followed after the blond. She followed him down the path toward Ground Beta, the two of them staying silent for the trek. Uncomfortably silent. Finally, Katsuki stopped at the entrance to the training grounds and stared at it.

Katsuki clenched his hands beside him, "This… was where you beat me for the first time. No, that's not right. You've been beating me for fucking ever. Even now you're getting stronger while I'm just… failing constantly."

"What do you mean, failing constantly?"

"Just… fu- just listen. I failed my Provisional License. I failed my finals because I refused to work with fucking Half-and-Half. And I want you to show me why you're so much better than me… so fight me."

He failed his finals? I didn't hear about that.

Izumi stared at him for a few seconds before answering, "No. I'm not going to fight you, Kacchan. I don't have anything to prove to you anymore. Why would I? You and I both know we're not friends."

The silence that fell between them was suffocating. But Izumi watched as Kacchan's face went from anger to grief in a few seconds as he started shaking.

Izumi took a deep breath, "You treated me like shit for years, Kac- Bakugo. All I ever wanted was to be your friend, to be a hero, and what did you do? You bullied me until I wanted to kill myself! I was so close to just saying 'fuck it' and ending it so I wouldn't have to deal with the abuse that you and your 'friends' put me through!"

Katsuki was gritting his teeth as he listened to her vent her frustrations out about him. Everything she had ever repressed about her once-friend.

"I looked up to you! I wanted to be like you! Strong. Confident. Cool. But every time I tried to do anything, you pushed me back down. Called me weak. Pathetic. Useless. A deku. You tried so hard to break me and you almost did!" she screamed at him, tears staining her face. "And why? Because I didn't have a quirk? Something I had no control over? Something I was born without?

"And I've slowly realized that we stopped being friends ten years ago. That day you slapped my hand away was the day you ended our friendship. The day you started hating me for something I couldn't do anything about."

Her shoulders heaved from her breathing getting faster, several shuddered breaths threatening her with sobbing if she kept it up. Katsuki's face was shadowed by his hair as he spoke quietly.

"I never fucking hated you."

"Bullshit! You know exactly what you did to me. You tried to stop me from being a hero!"

"Dammit, Midoriya, I didn't want you to get hurt! You were quirkless and I was trying to protect you!"

Izumi moved and slammed a fist into Bakugo's cheek before he had even looked up, knocking him to his ass. "You don't get to claim you did it to keep me safe! You fucking tortured me for years! Don't you get that? The only ones I needed to be safe from were you and your cronies! But Katsuki fucking Bakugo can do no wrong! Everyone at Aldera said that as they watched you torment me for years! I still have some of the scars from your quirk, you asshole! So you don't get to stand there and pretend you cared about me when you told me to kill myself! You were the main reason I wanted to end everything!

"Do you know what I did that day that you told me to 'take a swan dive off a roof'!? I got attacked by that Sludge Villain, before you did! And after All Might saved me, I asked him if I could be a hero without a quirk. He told me that I couldn't! Just like you always had. I stood up on that roof for what seemed like hours staring down at the asphalt below. I was one step away from not being your fucking problem anymore!

"Do you have any idea what it feels like to feel that worthless? To have no friends because of something you can't control? To not even think I can be a hero because of something like that? To know that my own goddamn father left because I was born quirkless!?

"You'll never understand. You can't! Because you were just the asshole who tormented me for years until I wanted to give up on everything. A bully who thought he could be a hero because all our teachers did was suck your dick about how amazing your quirk is!"

Katsuki's eyes finally met hers from the ground but he wasn't angry this time, he looked disgusted with himself as tears rimmed his eyes. "I know! I know, I was! And I'm a shitty fucking person for how I treated you. I thought… I thought if I somehow broke your dream to be a hero, you'd be safe from danger. But I tormented you to do it.

"And that day I told you to kill yourself when that fucking Sludge Villain attacked me, I thought it was karma that I was going to die to that bastard for how I'd treated you!" he screamed. "And I wanted to take it back but… I couldn't. It was too late. I had already said those fucking words and there was no taking them back. And I should have apologized but my goddamn pride was the way.

"And I'm sorry for telling you that back then. Because it was a shitty thing to do and if you had," he choked on his words, "if you had, I'd never forgive myself."

Izumi stared at him after she heard the word 'sorry' and tried to find her voice, "I-"

"But ever since we got into U.A. you've been different, even before being a girl," Katsuki continued. "No… ever since All Might saved us from the Sludge Villain. You've gotten better and better and I'm just… I'm staying the same. But your damn quirk literally broke your bones! And it was painful to watch. But then you get a second quirk!"

Izumi's eyes widened at that when Katsuki continued, "Yeah, I know you have two quirks now. Your vampire shit and the other one. The one that's just like All Might's quirk."

Izumi felt her blood practically freeze in her veins as she stared at Katsuki, neither saying a word as tears stained each of their faces.

"I don't know how it's possible. I'm not as dumb as IcyHot who thinks All Might is your old man since I knew your old man before the bastard left. But you have the same quirk as All Might."

"Your point?" she said quietly.

"He gave you his quirk somehow," he said with a sniffle. "You 'got a quirk from someone else'. There's only one person whose quirk is similar so it had to come from him. He's even getting weaker! He's doing less hero work every day. I didn't notice at first but after the U.S.J. the stories of him doing hero work were getting less and less, and he would rush out of class as soon as we were done."

Izumi could feel the sweat on the back of her neck as she stared at him; things just got complicated.

"With today's events, I feel that our original plans for the summer camp should be changed," Nezu said to the room of teachers.

Vlad King sighed, "It's unfortunate but you're right. This leader of the League of Villains threatened Eraserhead's student directly in a public setting. What was it he said to her?"

"Izumi told me his exact words were "next time we meet is when I've decided to kill you and all your friends" when I spoke to her earlier," Nemuri said with her barely contained anger.

"I'm thankful she's unharmed," Shota said. "Some of our students would have panicked if a villain held them hostage like that."

"Physically unharmed," Toshinori correct. "She was rather distraught that she didn't stop him."

"She's still a student," Hizashi commented. "Does she think it's her job to stop every villain she meets right now?"

"I believe she feels she has to fill All Might's shoes now more than ever. And 'letting him escape' seemed to affect her quite a bit at the mall earlier," Nezu said calmly. "She seems to have taken him escaping from the mall as a personal failure."

"It's my fault for placing the burden on her of being my successor," Toshinori said quietly. "She feels she has the weight of the world on her shoulders as my retirement gets closer. I'm not saying she was the incorrect choice, far from it. If I had to choose a successor again, I would pick Midoriya-shoujo in a heartbeat. The issue is she's too young to feel that burden."

"Remind her that she's not you," Nemuri commented. "She's done a good job of not following exactly in your footsteps but she still sees herself as the girl who is going to have to shoulder all of Japan by herself once you retire. Even with all the support she has."

"Hound Dog, how have your sessions with her been going?" Nezu asked the man.

"Well enough. She tends to avoid certain topics as expected. She does gush about her girlfriends quite a bit. Or her work with Mirko. She's made a few… concerning comments about having to keep working harder than anyone so she doesn't fall behind."

"Her and Yaoyorozu both have their Provisional Licenses ahead of everyone else and they managed to pass against All Might during their finals," Shota commented. "Though, I guess growing up quirkless and feeling like you're playing catch-up won't just disappear, no matter your accomplishments."

A buzzing sound cut through the room over the intercom near Nezu before a voice came over it, "Oi, rat! Let me in! I need to talk to my kit and she's not answering her damn phone!"

"Mirko, I assure you that Izumi-kun is fine," Nezu said over the speaker. "You didn't need to come all the way here to check on her."

"But I am here. Now, let me in."

Nezu clicked his tongue and pressed a button, "Fine, do stay out of trouble on my campus, Mirko."

"Yeah, yeah."

The intercom clicked off and Nezu looked at the room, "Getting back to the issue at hand, what shall we do for the first-year's summer training camp?"

Toshinori looked at the room, "Well… we could move it to I-Island?"

The room was silent at that. Nemuri wasn't sure how exactly that would work but… it was an idea.

"How would you propose that work?" Vlad King asked. "I'm not against it, just… how do you plan to have an entire training camp on an island with restricted access?"

"The I-Expo is coming up and we can have the students there a week early for training," Toshinori suggested. "When I talked to Dave, he mentioned the security is extremely tight and no one would dare attack I-Island to get to our students."

"How do you expect to get 40 students, teachers, and pros to train them to the island?" Shota asked. "The security is crazy there."

"Well, Midoriya-shoujo already received full tickets to the I-Expo for all of 1-A, purely based on taking down Stain," he stated matter of factly.

"Wait, what? When did that happen? She's never mentioned that!" Nemuri argued.

"Because I never told her. I figured it would be a nice surprise if she could invite Ashido-shoujo and her mother back before she started dating the other girls. I have a pair of tickets as All Might, and I know most of you were also invited as U.A. faculty. Most pro heroes in the top 100 were invited as well."

Nezu's face split in a wide grin, "All Might, I have to admit, the idea is intriguing. Can we still get those four to join them for additional training?"

"Shino-" Shota stopped himself and cleared his throat, "Mandalay said they were all invited to I-Island as well. So… we need tickets for 1-B? And who all is going to the camp from the staff?"

"I can handle getting tickets for the I-Expo that we need," Nezu said with a hand wave. "The HPSC owes me a great deal after forcing the Sports Festival through. I'll work on the bureaucratic side of things to get permission for an extended stay for the camp."

A proximity sensor went off overhead, "Students in Ground Beta outside of authorized time."

The teachers all shared a look and Nemuri stood up, "I'll handle it. If I had to venture a guess…"

"It's Izumi-kun and Bakugo-kun. They're currently talking at the entrance," Nezu supplied. "So, Aizawa-kun, what do you want to do with your students if a fight breaks out?"

"Bakugo has been improving. Slightly. He still refuses to work with others. But he's less brash and aggressive."

Nezu turned a display on behind him and the sound clicked on.

Katsuki's voice came in first, "Dammit, Midoriya, I didn't want you to get hurt! I was trying to protect you!"

Nemuri had barely blinked before Izumi had moved, lightning crackling off her and Katsuki laying on his backside on-screen with a noticeable bruise forming.

"You don't get to claim you did it to keep me safe! You fucking tortured me for years! Don't you get that? The only ones I needed to be safe from were you and your cronies! But Katsuki fucking Bakugo can do no wrong! Everyone at Aldera said that as they watched you torment me for years! I still have some of the scars from your quirk, you asshole! So you don't get to stand there and pretend you cared about me when you told me to kill myself! You were the main reason I wanted to end everything!"

"I'm definitely talking with her after this," Nemuri muttered.

Izumi continued her tirade on screen, "Do you know what I did that day that you told me to 'take a swan dive off a roof'!? I got attacked by that Sludge Villain before you did! And after All Might saved me, I asked him if I could be a hero without a quirk. He told me that I couldn't! Just like you always had. I stood up on that roof for what seemed like hours staring down at the asphalt below. I was one step away from not being your fucking problem anymore!"

Yeah, watching time was over. Nemuri was on her feet and heading out the door to Ground Beta as fast as she could, the sound of several footsteps behind her.

Katsuki was looking at her with tears on his face, a sight Izumi never thought she would see. "You don't have to say if I'm right. I already know I am. You were one hundred percent quirkless growing up. Or you hid your quirk from me to hold it over my head. But… But we both know you wouldn't do that shit. Not with the kind of torture you had to endure if you wanted to hide it. Why couldn't you have just stopped wanting to be a hero!? You were powerless and wanted to do something dangerous!"

"Bakugo, the only thing I've ever wanted to do was be a hero. You know this. I wanted to save people with a smile like All Might. And I'm doing it. I've had a lot of help to get here… but I'm doing it. I pushed through all the bullshit you put me through to get here… But I didn't do it alone. I've had so much help to get to where I am. Midnight and Mirko have helped me overcome a lot of my hangups and issues when dealing with you. The self-esteem you tore apart daily. Mina helped me feel like I was worth something to anyone for the first time in my life. Even when All Might chose me, you know what I felt?

"I felt that it was a mistake. That I wasn't worth it because I was so goddamn worthless. But Mina didn't see me as that. She supported me and helped me build back up that self-esteem and confidence. She showed me that, boy or girl, I was never worthless. And the other girls do the same now. So, I wouldn't be where I am right now without help. But everyone has shown me that you were the one who was in the wrong about everything. That you bullying me and constantly knocking me down wasn't okay. It wasn't something a hero should ever do."

"I… I fucking get it. That damn mutt I have to talk to daily told me the same thing. That if I continue on the path I'm on, I can't be a hero. The hobo, Aizawa, he told me if I didn't show improvement by the end of the year he'd arrest me. And it feels so goddamn unfair that you get all the praise while I get treated like this! I'm supposed to be the best. That's what they always told me!" Katsuki screamed, his voice cracking through his emotion.

"But…" he continued. "I don't know what it was like for you. What I put you through. You say you felt powerless and beaten down but I don't understand that feeling because I'm not powerless. So…" He gritted his teeth and looked at her. "I want you to fight me. I want you to use your quirks and fight me and I'm not going to use mine."

Izumi stared at him for a moment and slowly blinked, "You… want to fight me… while you're effectively quirkless?"

"It's the only fucking way I can understand what you went through. I need you to fight me while I can't use my quirk so I can see how it feels to be powerless."

"…I still don't want to fight you," Izumi said as she turned to walk away.

"…Please."

Izumi froze mid-step at that one word. Katsuki had not only said sorry today, but he had also asked her to please fight him. Please. Her stomach lurched at what she was about to do since it wasn't heroic. There was nothing heroic about beating up a bully who wouldn't stand a chance.

"You want to fight me while I'm using my quirks at full strength against you fighting quirkless?" she said slowly.

"…That's what I said."

"And you know how that's going to end?"

He gritted his teeth slightly, "…I do."

Izumi turned around and took a slow breath, "Okay. Last chance to back out before our 'sparring' match."

"Should we go after them?" Ochako asked her girlfriends as they sat down. "I don't like the thought of Bakugo being alone with Izumi."

"I… don't know," Mina said quietly. "I don't trust Bakugo but… I know Izumi can handle herself. And if Bakugo picks a fight, won't he get expelled?"

"Probably," Himiko said. "Nemuri-chan said if he does anything to Izucchi to let her know and they'll take care of it."

Ochako frowned, "But… do you think he'd actually do anything?"

Kyoka thought for a moment, "I… don't know. He's been less… angry lately."

"I've noticed him being quite a bit more docile," Momo agreed. "He bullied her at her old school, right?"

"Yeah, she hasn't told you everything but… it wasn't good," Ochako said quietly. "I won't share the details since it's not really my place but you can ask her about it sometime. She'll share with you since she trusts you."

Momo frowned but nodded, "I won't push her to talk about it. Clearly, it wasn't good by the way you four act toward Bakugo-san now."

"I almost stabbed him on my first day of class," Himiko admitted darkly.

Ochako let out a sigh and looked to the door, "Still. I kind of want to follow them and see if something is wrong. I will not hesitate to fight Bakugo again."

Slam!

The girls stopped talking and looked toward the entrance to the dorms, the visage of Mirko silhouetted in the door frame where the door used to be. The rabbit hero was looking around the room with an overprotective look on her face.

"Where's Izumi?" the rabbit growled to the room before her eyes landed on the group of girls. "You lot! Where's your girlfriend?"

"Holy shit," Himiko muttered. "Is it possible to be terrified and aroused at the same time?"

Kyoka elbowed her slightly with a slight blush on her cheeks.

Ochako looked at the rabbit hero, "She went for a walk with… our classmate."

Mirko narrowed her eyes, "With who?"

"Our classmate Bakugo," Himiko said slowly.

Mirko clicked her tongue, "Which way did they go?"

Mina pointed down the path in the direction they left, the rabbit nodding and heading out without another word.

"…Did Mirko call Izumi by her given name?" Momo asked her girlfriends.

"I've heard Izumi call Mirko by her given name so I guess it makes sense?" Ochako said quietly.

"She also calls Midnight by name," Mina said with a teasing smile. "Because they've been getting close. And I don't know about you but that kind of excites me."

"Mina, can you and Himiko think without your hormones for a moment?" Kyoka said with a sigh. "Do we want to go track down Izumi and Baka-go or not?"

"I think if Mirko is going after them, she'll be fine," Mina said slowly. "And I trust Izumi. I know you all do too, even if you're worried about her." A chorus of affirmation responded to her as Mina lounged back on the couch, "Good. Then we'll be here when she gets back, ready for all the cuddles she needs."

Izumi readied her stance and coursed her quirk through her body, a feeling of strength and utter guilt permeating her body. She wasn't going to draw this out for some cathartic beat-down. Instead, she would end their 'fight' as fast as she could.

"What are you waiting fo-"

Katsuki didn't finish his sentence before the ground cracked under Izumi's feet and she had slammed a fist into his stomach, grabbing his shirt with her other hand before she slammed his back onto the ground. The pavement cracked from the impact before she placed a foot on his chest.

"That's what I felt like, everyday, for ten years," Izumi said coldly. "Helpless. Powerless."

Katsuki's response was to puke beside himself as Izumi took a step back; watching from this side of an assault was disgusting. She didn't feel any sort of catharsis for what she had done. No sense of relief or justice for basically shattering her childhood bully's pride.

Just a disgusting hollow feeling inside her chest that made her want to vomit.

It took a few moments for Katsuki to force himself to his feet, his entire body shaking from how hard she had hit him in the stomach and onto the pavement. She'd be surprised if she hadn't broken something of his.

"Every day," Katsuki muttered to himself as he wiped his mouth, shaking where he stood. "For what it's worth, I am sorry."

"I still don't forgive you," Izumi replied instantly. "Words only do so much for ten years of abuse. So, I don't forgive you."

"Then I'll earn your forgiveness," he coughed out, more bile landing beside him. "I'll prove that I mean it. And then I'll prove I can still be the best fucking hero."

Izumi stared at him for a moment before the faintest smile graced her lips, "I hope you can. I really do. Do you want help getting back to Recovery Girl or-"

"No, I'll do it. I fucking deserve far worse."

Izumi nodded and turned to walk out of Ground Beta, turning the corner to come face-to-face with Rumi.

"Rumi, I'm-"

The rabbit her did something Izumi never expected of her, pulling her into a tight hug, "I'm glad you're okay, kit. You wouldn't reply to my messages after I saw what happened and I got worried about ya."

Izumi giggled as she hugged the slightly shorter woman, "Worried about me? Who are you and what'd you do with the hero who kicks ass and gives shit to reporters?"

A soft punch in Izumi's shoulder was her reward for the snark; soft for Rumi at least. It was more like a normal punch.

"Shut up. So… overall, how are you? And don't fuckin' lie to me. I heard your conversation with blondie over there."

"…I feel like shit. Like a failure since I didn't stop Shigaraki today when I could have. I feel awful for what I did to Bakugo, even if he wanted to fight me without using his quirk. And I'm just… do the failures ever stop feeling so… mountainous? Like, every time a villain gets away, I feel more and more like I'm not cut out for this."

"Izumi. Stop. Villains are going to escape. People are going to get hurt or worse while you're trying to stop villains. We're not exactly in what you would call an easy job. And kit, you're fifteen. You wanna know what most fifteen-year-old girls do in their first year of hero school? They worry about passing their finals. Doing well in their rescue training. Work on learning to fight. Worry about boys or girls they want to date. They're not out trying to stop S-Rank villains who are out for them personally."

The rabbit put her hands on Izumi's shoulders and looked up at her slightly, "What I'm sayin' is that you're doing great. You're ahead of where anyone expects you to be."

Izumi barely noted the car that pulled up to the training ground and Recovery Girl getting out of the car with Nemuri and Shota. The doctor and her homeroom teacher headed toward Katsuki to check on him while Nemuri headed toward the rabbit hero and the vampire.

"You okay, Izumi?" the woman asked.

"You really should be checking on Bakugo. I'm… physically fine."

"What she means is that she feels like shit but she doesn't want to bother you with it," Rumi snarked. "But I'm sure you already know that. She talks about you quite a bit. Not as much as her girlfriends but she really looks up to you."

Izumi's face flushed as she avoided looking at Nemuri who merely cooed.

"Is that so? I didn't know I was that important to you, Izumi." Her teasing smile fell off before she pulled the girl into a hug, stroking her hair lightly, "And it's okay to not be okay. It's okay to be overwhelmed. To feel like you're stretching yourself thin. You have five girlfriends and you're working with the top female pro hero in Japan. No one would blame you if you needed a break."

Rumi's ears perked up, "Five? I thought you had four?"

"We added one more to our polycule. We already decided we wouldn't add more after her, so don't get your hopes up, Rumi," the vampire teased slightly.

"In your dreams, kit. You're way too young for me. Besides, you're… like a sister to me…" she said, trailing off with a slight blush.

Izumi's eyes pinpricked with tears, "Thanks, Rumi. I… definitely started to view you like an older sister. Or what I assumed an older sister would be like. I didn't have siblings and all that."

"Adorable," Nemuri said quietly. "Do you view me as a sister?"

"I…" Izumi stopped and blushed, looking away from Nemuri.

Nemuri's face split in a devious smile, "Or do you want me to be your mommy? Your mother is quite the looker. I don't mind being your second mom."

Izumi's face lit up bright red as she avoided looking at the older woman. Rumi and Nemuri both cackled at the blushing vampire, enjoying teasing her as much as they could. It made Izumi happy though; they had taken her mind off of the things that were bothering her. Things weren't settled with Katsuki but… they were heading in the right direction.

"Oi, nerd," said blond said as he got in the U.A. car. "I meant what I said. I'll prove that I'm a better person than I was and earn your forgiveness one way or another."

"I'll be waiting," Izumi said with a small smile.

"I'll see you at the dorms when you're done with those two. I… have something else I need to do before you get back."

Shota and Recovery Girl got in the car after him, Shota giving her a small nod with a slight smirk that said they would talk later about what had happened, but he didn't look mad. He'd still probably give her extra training or something for what she did if she had to guess.

"He's definitely changing," Nemuri commented as they started to walk back to campus while the car drove Katsuki, Shota, and Recovery Girl off. "Slowly, but still. I don't think he'll ever not be brash, but he's trying."

Izumi nodded, "I think Kirishima-san and Hound Dog have been doing a lot to help with that."

"Love can do weird things. But I think I'd bank more on the therapy than him getting laid," Rumi commented. "Speaking of, what about you and your girlfriends? Sealed the deal with any of them yet?"

"Rumi! What the hell kind of question is that?"

"You have five girlfriends. I'd say it's a perfectly valid question. I'd also like to meet them at some point."

Izumi thought for a moment, "How… about today? Just stop by for a few and have Nemuri 'supervise' so we don't break any rules."

Rumi shrugged, "Sure. My only plans were to make sure you were okay after the mall. So, getting back to your girlfriends, how do six girls even-"

"Not a fucking clue," Izumi said. "Do I look like a choreographer? I'd rather not talk about my sex life with you both, as boring as it is currently."

"She hasn't 'sealed the deal' with any of them yet," Nemuri added. "I'm surprised she hasn't burst with all those hormones she's dealing with, especially with how much I see Ashido and Toga tease her. The other three don't do it intentionally but I've noticed those extended stares at your girlfriends after they say something flirty."

"Nemuri, you forget I'm strong enough to throw you to the moon," Izumi said with an only slightly serious tone.

"But you'd miss me too much if you did that. Plus, who else would give you tips on pleasuring your girlfriends like I have?"

"The internet," Izumi deadpanned. "But you're right, I couldn't get rid of you. You're my best source of knowledge with how to tease my girlfriends too. Speaking of… I need some advice on… uh…" She trailed off as her cheeks tinged pink, scratching the back of her head.

Rumi quirked an eyebrow, "Spit it out, kit. I won't judge you if that's what you're worried about."

"N-No, I just wasn't sure how to ask without sounding… weird. How does one… take sexy selfies and nudes?"

The question hung in the air for a moment before Nemuri pulled Izumi into a side hug, "Awe, look at you. Growing up so fast! Next thing you'll be asking me how to choreograph an orgy. I'm so proud."

"I need an adult."

"I am an adult," Nemuri teased. "As far as advice, there's a plethora of things that can help. Better lighting, better angles. Learning what parts of yourself to accent."

"She's right. Anyone can take a picture of themself naked. But from the way you talk about your girlfriends, you're wanting to tease them a bit, not give the whole show," Rumi said with a devious smirk.

I'm actually having a conversation on taking nudes with Rumi and Nemuri, what a fucking day.

"Yeah… if that were what I wanted, I don't think I'd be having trouble. I've nearly forgotten to put on a shirt more times than I can count since being Izumi and it's not like we don't change together. But I'd like to tease them a bit…"

"Well, we can definitely help you figure out the best way to do that while we head back to the dorms."

Izumi smiled, happy to have these two as her female role models in her life, as weird as it might seem.

Notes:
So, while writing during my Oxycodone-induced thoughts, I realized that I actually hate using the hero name Deku for Izumi in this fic. It makes no sense for her since Ochako doesn't call her Deku anymore and after this chapter, it just feels kind of like a slap in the face to her as a person. So, I'm open to hero name suggestions to go retcon her hero name back when I first posted it until now. I've debated things like the Queen of the Vampires: Lilith, but it honestly sounds chuuni as heck and even in my drug and pain-induced haze, I'm not sure if that's a good idea. I've also debated names dealing with hope, perseverance, and vampires in general. Names are hard and I suck at them.

Himiko also needs a hero name as well since my two thoughts for her are Copy Cat or Vampire Hero: Carmilla. And I really want to just let Mina be Alien Queen because I don't like Pinky as much as Alien Queen. But maybe it's just the drugs. I

Aside from that, I hope this confrontation between Izumi and Bakugo was okay. I really wanted to show all the pent-up frustration with Bakugo that Izumi had and her coming to terms that they're not friends and telling him such. And having Bakugo talk about some of his own insecurities and reasons for doing things. I also changed his motivations slightly and wanted to address the suicide-baiting that is one of my biggest gripes with him that just never gets addressed. Originally, I debated doing a full-on fight, but Izumi's at somewhere north of 20% with OFA and canon Izuku barely lost to Bakugo with 8% so... I figured it'd be a slaughter either way.

Final thought while I'm rambling, but I removed the smut tag. Sorry if you were looking forward to me actually writing smut but I decided the closest to smut I'm getting is maybe some start of a scene and a cut to black style. I'm just not a smut writer and I'm not comfortable with it the more I write this fic and it's been making me anxious to keep writing as that inevitability will happen. Izumi and her girlfriends will still do their stuff and I'll keep doing some of the fanservice scenes, just no explicit sex scenes. Sorry!

Also, apologies for the rambling. I've been restless and my thoughts just poured out for once. As I always, thank you all for reading and I hope you're enjoying it.
3 Belle

One final edit: Special thanks to aceina for being the one to suggest how to handle Bakugo and Izumi in this chapter as well as countless other suggestions she's made. She's the best and you all should know that. 3

Chapter 29: The Razing of Aldera Junior High Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text Ochako was sitting in the common area with her girlfriends chatting happily about their upcoming summer camp. They were all packed and ready to leave tomorrow morning on their flight for a two-week trip. Apparently, they were heading to the I-Expo after their camp!

Izumi was scribbling in a notebook as she sat nearby, not actively chatting but chiming in when she could while staring at the paper ahead of her.

"Izumi, what are you writing? Quirk analysis?" Ochako finally asked. "You've been staring at your notebook like it's something really important."

"…Well, I've been thinking a lot lately after my confrontation with Bakugo… And I realized that I want to change my hero name."

"Wait, really?" Kyoka asked. "Already?"

"Well… Originally, I used Deku to partly prove that I wasn't the same person I was before, that Deku didn't mean worthless… but now it just feels… wrong. Ochako doesn't even call me Deku anymore, so using it as my hero name is just weird to me. But coming up with a new name is… difficult."

Ochako couldn't argue that. And now that she knew why Katsuki called her 'Deku', she didn't want to call her girlfriend that ever again, even for her hero name. She almost felt guilty for calling her that to begin with now, even if she did change the meaning of it.

"How many names do you have?" the brunette asked.

"So far? Twenty."

"…You have twenty different names that you're debating?" Mina gasped.

"Yeah. I just want something that makes sense and captures 'me'. And when I picked Deku, it was right before I turned into Izumi and a vampire. And I've worked with Mirko and come a long way since then."

"I still wish I could've been the Ridley Hero: Alien Queen," Mina pouted.

"But that could cause issues since it might come across as scary," Momo said gently. "Besides, isn't that copyrighted?"

"Well, technically it's not," Izumi said as she was still writing more names down. "Copyright laws fade over time, and technically it would be the Cameron Hero: Alien Queen if you wanted to be accurate to the movies."

All the girls stared at her and Izumi blushed slightly before scratching her cheeks, "I'm an otaku, what do you expect? When I was trying to figure out date ideas for Mina and I's first date, I learned pretty much everything I could about the Xenomorph universe…"

"You're adorable," Mina said with a blush. "And I love you for it."

Izumi smiled at that, "I will say, Pinky is cute. Though you could go with something different with a similar theme if you don't want to stick with Pinky. Nemuri did say we can change them later but doing it early is better before people associate you with that name forever." She paused for a moment before looking at Mina, "Something like Alien Hero: Queen. Or Acid Hero: Venus, maybe?"

"Venus?" Kyoka asked. "Why Venus?"

"Venus is known for having the most acidic rain in the solar system," Momo chimed in. "It makes sense."

Izumi's face split in a Cheshire grin, "Venus is also the Roman goddess of love and beauty. I think it's fitting."

Mina let out a squeak and turned a deep purple, "I-Izumi! I'm still not used to you being so… flirty all the time."

"Blame Nemuri for turning me into the next R18+ Hero," she joked.

Ochako felt a shiver run down her spine at that thought; it was mildly exciting to think about, even if she was joking.

…Hopefully.

"So," Kyoka said through her blush. "Any names you want to share?"

"…Not until I've given it more thought. I have too many names and I'm not set on picking one right now," Izumi said with a sigh. "But I need to before long. Maybe I'll think of it while we're at camp."

"I'm sure you'll think of a good name," Ochako said. "And if you want any help, you've got a group of us to bounce ideas off of."

"Of course," the vampire smiled, her fangs glistening in the light slightly. Ochako had noticed she almost always kept her red eyes and fangs lately; she wasn't sure why though. Izumi sat her pencil on her notebook, "I'm just… not sure I want to rush my decision or anything and-"

A quick knock at the door to the dorms stopped her mid-sentence, all of the girls turning toward the dorm entrance to see Nemuri standing with Inko next to her. Ochako took quick note of the fact that Inko looked like she had lost some weight since she had last seen the greenette woman.

"Izu- Midoriya, you have a visitor," the hero said with a smile, trying to cover her slip in front of Izumi's mother.

"Mom?" the vampire gasped. "What are you doing here?"

"My baby!" the woman shouted as she ran over and hugged Izumi in a vice-like hug, tears pouring out of her eyes. "Why didn't you ever tell me what you went through!?"

"What I- What?"

"A team of lawyers stopped by the house this morning and informed me of a settlement with Aldera Middle School. They brought a check for reparations for you and what you went through at the school."

"I… what?"

Nemuri sighed and picked up the remote, turning the television on to the first news station that was already playing the story.

"A local school, Aldera Junior High, was shut down today. There were investigations into cases of neglect, abuse, quirk discrimination, and complicity with illegal quirk usage at the school. Apparently, the amount of evidence mounted against the institution was enough for the institute's teaching accreditation to be revoked. Its principal, along with around fifteen teachers, were all arrested and charged with a variety of crimes. There are rumors that the school will be bought out and reinstitutionalized but those rumors are currently baseless. Furthermore-"

Ochako watched as Izumi blinked some tears from her eyes, the girl staring at the screen before looking at her mother, "I'm… I'm sorry. For not telling you. I didn't want you to worry about me."

"I'll always worry about you, Izumi," Inko sobbed. "You're my baby. It's my job to worry about you."

Ochako and the other girls watched the two greenettes hugging with small smiles on their lips, though Ochako saw Momo drinking her tea with a satisfied grin behind the cup.

No way. Momo is utterly terrifying.

"Oh, here," Inko said, pulling out a large envelope and handing it to Izumi. "I didn't open it yet. I wanted you to open it."

Izumi looked at the envelope and paused, pulling back from her mom for a moment. "Can you hold onto this for a moment?" she asked Inko.

Inko looked confused but nodded before Izumi turned around, walked over to Momo without hesitation…

And pulled her into a kiss that made Ochako blush.

After several moments of said gesture, and several blushes from Ochako, Kyoka, and Inko, with a teasing whistle from Himiko and a satisfied grin from Mina, the vampire pulled back and stared at Momo, speaking quietly but with the dorms rather quiet, they all could hear her.

"Thank you, Momo. You never had to go that far for me."

"Nonsense," Momo said with a faint pink dusting on her cheeks. "'Meddling when you don't need to is the essence of being a hero', right?"

Ochako's face split into a smile, the words All Might had said hundreds of times, the same words Izumi had said during her fight with Stain.

"Well, thank you," Izumi said softly, brushing a hand across Momo's cheek a few times.

"Ahem," Inko interrupted. "Izumi, dear… Who is this?"

The vampire turned around with the faintest blush, apparently not bothered much by the fact she had just shoved her tongue down Momo's throat in front of her mother. "Mom, this is Momo Yaoyorozu. She's one of our girlfriends," she explained.

"One of…" Inko stopped and looked around at all the girls sitting in the common room, all of them sitting rather close together. "You have… how many girlfriends?"

"Five. Mina and I added more girls after we were dating for a bit… You've already met Kyoka, Himiko, and Ochako. I've just been kind of busy and forgot to tell you when I started dating the other girls… Sorry."

"You're dating all of these lovely young ladies?"

"Yep," the vampire said without hesitation. "All of them. We're all dating each other. That probably seems weird to you, doesn't it?"

"Sweetie, polyamory is not a new concept for me. I'm just happy you have people who love and support you."

Mina asked the question on most of their minds, "Wait, you know about polyamory, Inko?"

"I was never polyamorous, it's just not a concept that ever seemed that strange to me. I support your relationships completely." Her attention turned to the girls, "Just know that if any of you hurt my baby, there will be hell to pay."

The girls all collectively felt terror shoot up their spines at that, never seeing Inko be threatening before.

The greenette mother shifted from a menacing aura to her normal bubbly one, "But enough about that. Izumi, you should open this."

The vampire broke from her stupor and nodded, taking the envelope from her mother and opening it. She slid out a stack of papers and stared at the top one for a moment, her jaw going slack.

"This… This is…"

Ochako was curious, craning to see what she was staring at, and saw the check on top. The amount on the check made her jaw drop.

That's so much money!

Kyoka was enjoying chatting with Inko after the whirlwind of emotions from the news of Izumi being bullied passed. Hitoshi, Toru, and Denki had wandered downstairs at some point and joined in the conversation, enjoying the chance to meet the cinnamon roll's mother.

Inko really was a sweet woman and would make a great mother-in-law one day.

Wait, where'd that thought come from!?

The punk girl blushed and sidled up next to Himiko while the greenette woman finished telling a story about their girlfriend, much to Izumi's embarrassment.

"And look at how cute she was as a kid, pretending to be All Might and saving me," Inko said with a large smile, showing them all a picture of a tiny Izumi — or was it Izuku when talking about her before? — striking a heroic pose in an All Might onesie. "She loved pretending to be All Might and save the day like that."

"Well, that's adorable," Ochako said. "How many All Might onesies did you have?"

Izumi blushed and looked away, unwilling to answer. Inko answered for her, "Oh, she has quite a few."

"Has?" Kyoka caught. "As in currently?"

"Mom, please…" Izumi begged.

Inko gave her an almost evil smile, "Consider this your punishment for not telling me about your girlfriends sooner."

Izumi could only groan, burying her face in Kyoka's shoulder, the punk girl blushing but rubbing Izumi's head gently. Kyoka liked it when Izumi picked her to hug and cuddle on; it made her feel safe and wanted.

Inko showed them all a picture from last year, Izumi when she was a boy in an All Might onesie, her U.A. letter in hand and crying her eyes out with a smile on her face.

"Izumi, I can't believe you have an All Might onesie still!" Mina giggled. "That's adorable."

"She has six."

Izumi groaned louder into Kyoka's shoulder; the punk girl could feel how warm the vampire's cheeks were. Himiko giggled and ran her fingers through Izumi's hair in front of Kyoka, clearly enjoying watching the vampire get teased again.

"Do you have those in your room, Midori?" Toru asked her.

"…No," she denied, not even lifting her face from its current burial grounds.

Hitoshi chuckled, "Are you sure about that? I'm sure Toga would be willing to find them if you're lying."

"Oh, for sure. I'll find them before long, Hitoshi-kun," Himiko said with a devious smirk.

Kyoka hugged the greenette vampire softly; even if she deserved to be teased, she was still her girlfriend.

"Next time I visit, I'll bring the photo albums," Inko said happily. "I have tons of embarrassing photos of Izumi growing up."

Denki chuckled at that, "I'm glad my mom hasn't come to visit. I feel for you, Midoriya."

"There are some really embarrassing photos," Himiko giggled. "While you all were doing your internships, Inko showed me a lot of them while I stayed with her."

"W-What?" Izumi choked out, finally looking up. "Mom… You didn't…"

"Of course I did, sweetie. It took me less than two minutes to figure out that Himiko here was head-over-heels for you and I figured it would be a fun bonding experience for us."

Izumi didn't have a response for that, instead remaining silent as her face glowed red. Inko continued to share embarrassing stories about Izumi growing up, the vampire not even protesting at this point while everyone else was enjoying the vampire's misery.

"Oh! Then there was the time I came home to Izumi trying on one of my dresses and heels, with makeup all over her face," Inko giggled. "She had lipstick all over her face and not just around her mouth."

"W-What?" Izumi stuttered. "I… don't remember that."

"You were so cute trying to be pretty." Inko's face split in a smile, "Here it is! You were probably five or six at the time but look at how cute you were."

Kyoka got a good look at the picture while sitting next to the vampire; she had to admit that Izumi was a very cute kid. And it was kind of adorable to see Izumi trying on a dress and heels, her makeup was done in a horrendous fashion, all before Izumi realized that's who she was.

"…Huh," Izumi muttered. "I guess that makes sense. I never really thought about it much until the day I ended up like this… Maybe I just repressed those thoughts and…" she trailed off into a mutterstorm that Kyoka couldn't keep up with.

"Are there any other incidents with Izumi doing things like that as a child?" Momo asked curiously. "The early signs of her being a girl, I mean."

Inko giggled, "Quite a few, thinking about it now. I caught her shaving her legs a few times in middle school. She had me paint her nails for her a lot when she was younger. Nothing that screamed she was a girl, since I know boys do things like that too, but looking back, they're small little signs that make sense."

"Do you have more of little Midori with makeup on?" Toru asked. "She was so cute!"

Himiko giggled, "There are a lot in the photo albums Inko showed me."

"Midoriya, can you do your makeup now? I don't think I've ever seen you wear makeup except on your date with Mina," Hitoshi commented.

Izumi shook her head, "No, not really. Ochako helped me with it for Mina and I's date. Which basically means she did it for me… And Mina did my makeup for fun one night. But I can't do it myself. I can paint my nails… kind of."

"We'll have to teach you sometime," Ochako said happily. "If you're interested, at least. I don't really think you need makeup."

"I'd still like the option to be able to look pretty for my dates with you girls. Without making one of you do it for me."

"I could also teach you, if you'd like," Nemuri chimed in. "Since I am pretty good at it. And I am a fairly good teacher, I've been told."

"I can teach you to paint your nails," Denki added. "I learned how to from my older sister and I paint my nails black sometimes for my hero costume. It's not too difficult."

"Thanks, everyone. Once training camp is over, we'll find some time," Izumi said with a large smile.

Kyoka noticed the smile on Inko's face at everyone supporting her daughter; there was a hint of sadness in her eyes, probably from the news earlier about what Izumi went through growing up.

Before long, Inko decided she would head home, saying bye to the girls and telling them all to come to visit her home after their camp.

"Do you want me to walk you to the station?" Izumi asked her mother.

"Oh, I'll be fine. Kayama-san said she would walk with me. Spend some time with your girlfriends. And give me a call sometime! I worry about you enough as is."

"S-Sorry, Mom… I'll try to do better about calling you. Love you."

"Love you too, sweetie!" the woman said, pulling Izumi into a hug before pulling back. She looked over at the other vampire, "And you as well, Himiko. Stay out of trouble."

"No promises, Okaachan," the blonde vampire teased back.

Kyoka couldn't help but gape at that, the vampire had zero qualms calling Inko like she would a mother-in-law or her own mother.

Inko pulled Himiko into a hug and whispered quietly, "Make sure my baby stays out of trouble. I know she at least listens to you girls."

"Of course," Himiko whispered back as she hugged the woman. "Izucchi is too important to us to let her be reckless."

"Good."

Inko pulled back and went through giving each of the other girls a hug to say goodbye with. It was nice to just be… accepted by the woman. She already felt like a member of the Midoriya family. That made Kyoka's cheeks burn even more, realizing it didn't sound so bad.

"It was nice to meet you three as well. I'm glad my baby girl has good friends on top of all her girlfriends."

"Midori's great," Toru agreed while waltzing over and giving her a hug. Sometimes Kyoka forgot that Toru was a very touch-oriented person. "It was nice to meet you, Mamadoriya," she said as she hugged her tight.

The two boys gave her a smile and waved as they said their goodbyes, not hugging the woman who seemed receptive to everyone's hugs.

With goodbyes out of the way, Inko walked out of the dorm with Nemuri; Kyoka could hear them chatting quietly as they exited.

"Inko, are you free this week?" Nemuri asked her. "I'd love to get coffee again."

"Of course, Nemuri. Aren't you going to be at the summer camp?"

"They're only sending a few teachers to the camp to prevent information leaking. I'm free all week long…"

Before Kyoka could hear more, the door closed and she wasn't looking to be that nosy.

Holy shit. Izumi's mom and Midnight? Should… Should I tell Izumi?

"You okay, Kyoka?" Izumi asked, poking the punk girl in the side lightly. "You seem distracted."

"A-Ah, sorry. Just thinking about our upcoming training camp. We're supposed to leave pretty early tomorrow."

"Six isn't that early…"

"Izucchi, not everyone wakes up at five in the morning to run," Himiko groaned. "Six is too early to function."

Momo looked at the blonde vampire, "Did you at least pack all your things for tomorrow?"

"Yeah… I made sure to get everything since I don't want to make you create anything while we're there. That's not fair to you."

Momo blushed slightly, "W-Well if you did forget anything on accident, we can fix it."

"You remembered your bathing suits, right?" Mina asked the girls. "If there's a chance to go swimming, we're going swimming!"

Izumi chuckled, "I think Mina just wants to see all of us in swimsuits. Who knew our girlfriend was a pervert?"

Mina's cheeks flushed at that, "Hush, you!"

"I bet Kaminari-kun and Hitoshi-kun wouldn't mind seeing all of us in swimsuits either," Himiko cackled.

"Don't drag me into this," Hitoshi groaned.

"And I've learned enough to keep my mouth shut," Denki said, hands raised ahead of him in mock surrender. "I've tried to tone down the perversion after realizing why girls think Mineta is so creepy."

"And we appreciate it, Spark Plug," Kyoka added. "Keep it that way and we'll get along fine."

"Compared to the start of the year, Kaminari-kun has made a lot of progress," Izumi chuckled. "How many times did you get shot down by girls in our class alone?"

"A lot," Denki admitted. "Pretty much all of the girls, now that I think about it."

"I remember Ochako just completely ignoring you when you asked her to get dinner," Mina cackled. "That was on like, day one of class."

Ochako blushed and rubbed the back of her hair, "I uh… already had my eyes on someone…"

"Oh? Who could that have been?" Mina, Himiko, and Izumi said in sync with each other.

"Oh god, there's three of them now," Kyoka gasped dramatically. "Momo, we have to run and hide. It's too late for Ochako."

Izumi grabbed Kyoka around the waist and pulled her close with a devious smile on her lips, "There's no escape, Kyoka. You're stuck with us."

"Momo, help."

Momo only chuckled at her, "You're on your own." Kyoka noticed the look on Momo's face, a small teasing smile that screamed "isn't this what you wanted? More physical interaction?" and Kyoka's eyes widened.

"Traitor!" Kyoka gasped.

Izumi giggled as she pulled Kyoka onto her lap, wrapping her arms around the punk girl's waist and hooking her chin over Kyoka's shoulder, pressing her lips to her cheek. "You signed up for this. You knew Mina and Himiko were like this."

"I didn't expect you to tease me like they do!" Kyoka hissed. "I can only handle so much!"

Izumi frowned and loosened her grip slightly as she spoke to just the punk girl at a whisper, "I can stop if you want. I don't want to make you uncomfortable, Kyoka."

"N-No, you don't have to stop…" she whispered. Kyoka grabbed Izumi's hands and pulled them around her waist like before as her cheeks tinged redder, her jacks twitching slightly. "I… fuck, why is this so embarrassing… I like it when you touch me and hold me like this… I'm just… not as forward as Himiko or Mina, so it embarrasses me. But… if you want to do more like this… and even other things in private… we can…"

Izumi hummed in response and tightened her hug slightly, resting her chin on Kyoka's shoulder again. Kyoka caught out of the corner of her eye that Izumi was smiling and glancing at Kyoka to make sure she wasn't lying, the purplette just relaxing slightly in her arms, her blush growing even bigger.

Dealing with the small amount of embarrassment and teasing is totally worth this.

Nezu frowned as he watched tonight's latest news story. Today was supposed to be a rather happy day since that abomination of a school was finally shut down, Izumi getting some recompense for everything she went through.

"Breaking news, another hero was found dead in an alleyway early this morning. This is the second hero killed in Tokyo in the last two weeks," the television announced.

"The hero, age nineteen, was recent U.A. graduate Chika Hoshino, also known by her hero name as Starburst. Police are doing what they can to investigate the murders but so far have no leads. The police urge heroes to-"

Nezu looked at Shota and Nemuri across the table from him, "Do we inform Izumi-kun?"

"No," Nemuri said instantly. "If there's a copycat… she doesn't need to know right now. Assuming she hasn't seen the news already and pieced it together."

Shota was silent for a moment, looking at a file in front of him while flipping through the pages. "The victims were both… eviscerated. These are definitely done by someone who follows the Hero Killer's agenda but not his methods by any means," he said as calmly as he could. "Even after Midoriya stopped the original Hero Killer, someone else just steps in to take his place."

He slid the folder to Nemuri who looked at it with a scowl on her face. She closed the folder before sliding it to Nezu. The chimera opened the folder and looked through the pictures of Chika's murder. It was a gruesome sight, seeing what humans could do to one another. The sheer amount of brutality that was delivered to a girl barely old enough to finish high school.

The words etched on the wall in her blood were clearly done more for theatricality and not because of this killer's mission.

"False Hero."

Mina was nervous as she knocked on Izumi's door, the pinkette having convinced the other girls to let her have some time with the vampire by herself tonight through various means of bribery.

The door opened and Izumi smiled at her, "Hey, Mina. Just you?"

"Yep! Just me. The other girls are um… staying in Momo's room," she said, a faint blush tinging her cheeks.

Izumi looked at her curiously before realization slowly crossed her face, her eyes widening slightly. "O-Oh. You… Are you sure?"

Mina nodded wordlessly at that, the vampire stepping aside to let the pinkette in before closing the door behind her, the distinct click of the door lock piercing the air.

"Mina," Izumi said softly. "Are you sure you want to do this?"

"Do you not want to?" Mina asked quietly. "I told you I'm ready when you are, and I know we were kind of 'if it happens, it happens', but I don't want to wait anymore. I want to do this."

Izumi sat down on the edge of her bed and patted the space next to her, Mina sitting down nervously.

"Izumi?" Mina said quietly. "Is something bothering you?"

Izumi gave her a weak smile, "Just… a lot on my mind lately. And it's just… weighing on me."

"Well, let's talk about it a little. I'm here for you, you know that, right? All of us are."

"I just… don't want you all to worry about me."

"Nuh-uh. None of that," Mina said sternly. "Izumi, you're selfless which makes you a great hero. And I really do love that about you. But sometimes you're too selfless. Taking care of yourself is just as important as protecting those you care about. So, what's wrong?"

"M-My blood cravings have gotten worse. A lot worse. Almost like a constant bloodthirst," she practically whispered. She took a breath and looked at Mina, the words just spilling out of her now, "Plus, I'm supposed to be All Might's successor, but I let Shigaraki go… That's the second villain that…" her voice trailed off. She swallowed hard and continued with her eyes glistening, "How can I be the next Symbol of Peace if I let a villain just… walk away? I just feel… I feel like I have the weight of the world on my shoulders and I don't know what to do. If I can't stop one villain… Do I deserve to be All Might's successor?" she finally choked out.

Mina pulled Izumi into a hug, the vampire burying her face in Mina's shoulder as she cried. "Izumi," Mina said softly. "You don't have to do everything alone. We're all going to be heroes together. We're here to support each other. And that includes you. You don't have to do it alone. You're not All Might.

"You have five girlfriends who love you to death. Midnight has practically adopted you. Mirko would murder anyone who tries to mess with you. So… lean on us. Let us help you carry your burdens.

"You say your bloodthirst is getting worse? Talk to Himiko; she might be able to relate or help you with resources to deal with it. I'm sure just having you go to her would show her how much you trust her, and all the girls trust and care about each other and would go through hell and back for each other.

"As far as being All Might's successor… You are the only choice, Izumi. But you're not All Might. And that's a good thing. You can be better than him, and we'll all be there every step of the way. Be something better than a Symbol of Peace. Just be you. Because you're the greatest hero I've ever met."

Izumi let out a shuddered sob and clung to Mina tighter. The pinkette had to admit this isn't how she expected things to go, but her girlfriend needed her and she was going to be her support for whatever she needed.

Izumi let out her emotions while Mina was silent, rubbing the vampire's back gently. The vampire continued to sob quietly for a while before calming down and relaxing in Mina's arms.

"After… After the summer camp, I wanna be honest with all the girls about everything going on," Izumi said quietly. "The bloodlust. The doubts and fears. Since we invited the other girls… they deserve to know just like you do."

"Telling me was a start," Mina said quietly. "And you're so strong, Izumi. But you are far from alone. Just remember that."

Izumi grabbed a tissue from her nightstand and wiped her face, getting rid of the tears and everything else from her face before her eyes met Mina's. She looked at the pinkette and smiled, pulling her close and pressing their foreheads together.

"…Thank you, Mina. You really did change my life for the better."

"That goes both ways. But I think even without me and the other girls, you would have been an amazing hero."

"That goes both ways," Izumi said softly. "You and the other girls are all amazing heroes. And… you're right. I should rely on you more. I trust all of you with my life, I should act like it."

Mina giggled softly, "You should. Do you want to get some sleep since we have an early day then?"

Izumi gave her a sultry smile, "Do you really want to sleep when we have alone time for the first time since the girls joined us?"

"I think I can sleep on the way to camp," Mina replied softly, kissing Izumi's cheek softly. She moved toward the vampire's lower neck and licked and suckled on the skin eagerly, relishing in the reversed role between the vampire and her for the moment; she pulled back and admired the hickey on the vampire's neck she had left. Mina looked at Izumi with a smirk, "I hope you don't mind losing some sleep before our training camp."

Izumi lunged for Mina's lips and forced the pinkette onto her back, the vampire ending between the pinkette's legs and on top of her. Mina was already excited, even though she was nervous about what they were going to do.

"I love you, Izumi," Mina whispered between their slow kisses.

Izumi pulled back and stared down at her with a soft smile, "I love you, too."

Notes:
A bit of fluff and some serious stuff for this chapter. I-Island starts in full next chapter but I wanted to do something slightly more light-hearted after the last two chapters were kind of heavy. I bounced a few ideas around for this chapter before settling on the points I touched on and I hope you all enjoy it.

I'm getting better on the recovery but I'm still sore, so chapters might be erratically posted for a while, but I'm also going to start posting random one-shots as I come up with them, all Izumi x Someone (and sometimes poly relationships) because I'm a yuri fiend.

As always, thank you for reading.
3 Belle

Chapter 30: Tropical Training Hell, Pt 1 Notes:
Hey, long time no see! We're back with the first chapter of the I-Island Training Camp! Before this chapter begins, I want to give special thanks to aceina for just being amazing and helping me with ideas and suggestions, along with motivation.

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text "Nezu, why'd you call me here?" Toshinori asked the cryptid ahead of him. "And couldn't it have waited until the morning?"

Nezu looked at Toshinori before shaking his head, "I'm afraid not, All Might. Do you remember that Noumu from the Hosu incident?"

"The one that Midoriya-shoujo… took down."

"That one, yes. The police ran a DNA test on the creature and finally got results from it."

"And?"

"To be blunt, those Noumu were once human," the chimera said seriously. "Humans that have been experimented on until they have more than one quirk."

"Human…" Toshinori muttered. "And you identified who it is?"

"First, look at this body and tell me what you see."

Nezu pulled out a folder of photos and tossed it across the desk to Toshinori, folding his paws in front of him as he waited. Toshinori furrowed his brow and opened the folder, looking through the pictures. It wasn't a pretty sight.

The Noumu had various scars over it's body, and the hole through it's skull from a knife being sent through it by Izumi. Toshinori had never tried to throw anything with One For All at higher percentages so seeing that she had basically created a bullet just by throwing something was… morbid to think about. His eyes continued looking but wasn't sure exactly what he was looking for.

"I see a creature covered in scars like it was tortured. Any identifiable marks?"

"None yet. This is who the Noumu was when they were still a person."

"Akai Tsubasa. Am I supposed to know who this is?"

"No, I wouldn't imagine you would. But what's interesting is the school he went to before he disappeared."

"Musutafu Primary School… Wait, wasn't that the same school that Midoriya-shoujo and Bakugou-shounen attended?"

"Indeed."

"Why does that matter, exactly?"

"It might not. But it's also interesting to note that this Noumu came from a missing child."

"…You're not planning on telling Midoriya-shoujo, are you?"

Nezu was silent for a moment as he folded his hands a few times, "I'm unsure. For once I'm not sure if informing her of the identity of this Noumu would do more harm than good."

"What good could ever come of it!?" Toshinori nearly shouted. "She already feels sick that she had to stop it. If she knew him, don't you think that would make her feel worse?"

"True. But there might be some information we can find by asking her if she knew the boy."

"I don't like it."

"If I'm being honest, I don't much like it either. But the police have no leads on the Noumu. They're the only connection we have to him. We're sure he's still out there, correct?"

"There's no other explanation for how the Noumu have multiple quirks. I can feel it, Nezu. He's still out there. And it's my mission to stop him so that Midoriya-shoujo doesn't have to."

"Then I'm afraid our only choice would be to ask Izumi-kun about Tsubasa-kun. Once they return from I-Island, we'll bring her and Bakugou-kun in to ask about Tsubasa-kun."

Toshinori let out a sigh, I'm sorry, Midoriya-shoujo. But we have to find All For One so I can put a stop to him once and for all.

"I can't believe we're flying to our training camp!" Toru gasped as she stared out the plane window. "It's so fancy!"

Himiko had to agree with Toru, they were on a private plane that U.A. owned. How much fancier could you get?

"I've never gotten to fly before," Himiko gasped. "This is so cool!"

"Where do you think we're going for our camp?" Toru asked. "They never told us."

Hitoshi chimed in, "I think that was the point. We weren't supposed to know where we're going."

"It's still too early for us to be leaving," Mina yawned. "I wanna sleep some more…"

Izumi pressed her lips to the pinkette's forehead gently. "Take a nap before we get there," she said quietly. "The others have the right idea."

Himiko looked over at Ochako who was asleep while pressed against a sleeping Momo, Kyouka cuddled into the ravenette's other side. The three girls weren't the only ones asleep on the flight; Shouta was at the front of the cabin with a blanket over his head while most of the other students also slept. The only ones currently awake were Izumi, Toru, Himiko, Hitoshi, and Mina. Even Iida was asleep!

The pinkette nodded slightly before cuddling up next to Izumi, wrapping her arms around the greenette's waist. Himiko tossed a blanket over the girl before sitting down on Izumi's other side and running her fingers through Mina's hair as the pinkette drifted off.

"So, Mina-chan's pretty exhausted today," Himiko said quietly. "Any reason for that, Izucchi?"

Her fellow vampire gave her a small smile, "Who knows?"

"Please? I wanna know how it was!"

"How what was?" Toru asked curiously. The invisible girl was quiet for a moment before she gasped, "Wait, Midori, you didn't!"

"What do you mean, Toru?" Izumi said with feigned ignorance.

Toru leaned in close so she wouldn't yell and wake the entire plane up. "You and Mina had sex!?" she hissed.

"And with that, I'm gonna get some sleep," Hitoshi commented. "I'm not ready for this conversation."

He pulled a pair of sound-canceling headphones that had cat ears on top of them over his head and a cat-themed sleep mask over his eyes, making himself comfortable with a blanket. Himiko couldn't help but giggle at her friend for his immediate withdrawal from the conversation.

"So, now that it's just us three… How was it, Izucchi?" Himiko asked quietly. "I wanna know all the details!"

"And that's not happening," Izumi replied teasingly.

"Well, at least answer this. Did you both actually…?" Toru asked. "You know…"

Izumi let out a sigh and kept her voice low, "Can we talk about this some other time? I would jump out of this plane if Mineta-kun overheard us because he wasn't asleep."

"Fiinnee," Himiko groaned, slumping back in her chair. "Later on then when it's just the girls, then."

"…That's fine, I guess. As long as Mina is okay with talking about whatever did or didn't happen."

"Good," Toru said quietly. "Because if you don't tell us, I'll ask Mina and get all the details, Midori."

Izumi rolled her eyes at that, "Uh huh. You two should get some more sleep."

"What about you, Midori? Aren't you tired from staying up all night long?"

Himiko had to chime in while pressing her body against Izumi's, careful not to wake up Mina, "Yeah, Izucchi. I figure you're probably exhausted after last night. Shouldn't you get some sleep too?"

"I will shortly. I wanted to get some bagged blood before I did. Getting kind of antsy."

"Well, I expect to hear all about how you treated my best friend last night," Toru teased quietly.

Izumi rolled her eyes, "Toru, go cuddle with your boy toy and get some more sleep."

The invisible girl let out a small squeak while remaining silent, shimmying over toward Hitoshi and leaning against him, judging by the outline of something indenting the blanket where her head would be. Hitoshi shifted for a second and tossed the blanket over Toru as well.

Himiko giggled quietly before she pressed up against Izumi snugly, "They're cute." She turned to face the greenette, admiring the freckles on Izumi's face as her red eyes stared back at Himiko's. "Do you want me to get you a blood bag, Izucchi? Or would you prefer something more fresh?"

Izumi shuddered slightly as she stared at Himiko, "I…" She paused for a moment and swallowed hard before continuing, "Himiko, do you get… really bad blood cravings?"

"What do you mean? I crave blood pretty consistently."

"I just… When I first manifested my vampire quirk, I drank blood pretty infrequently; once a week unless I got injured and taxed my regeneration… Now, I drink it daily and I never feel like I've had enough. Like, I could drink and drink and drink and never be satisfied. Do you… Is that something you've dealt with?"

Himiko looked at her girlfriend, the worry etched on the greenette's face. Izumi chewed on her lip slightly, her fangs drawing small drops of blood from her skin as she did.

"Yeah," Himiko said softly. She put a hand on Izumi's cheek gently, "I have. And I still do. Izucchi, it's just something we deal with because of our quirks. And it can be difficult but… you girls have all helped me a ton just by being supportive. And you all letting me drink your blood all the time. Just like you do. So don't worry too much, okay?"

"You know I can't just… not worry. That's not really who I am, Himiko."

"I know. But you're not alone dealing with this. I'm here. And you have all of the other girls too. And Hitoshi-kun, Toru-chan, and Denki-kun. Plus, Tenya-kun, Tsu-chan, Shouto-kun, and Fumikage-kun. And of course Nemuri-chan, Mirko, and Toshi, right? You have tons of people that are here for you, and people who care about you. Cause we love you. I love you, Izucchi."

Izumi gave her a soft smile and put her hand over Himiko's, gently rubbing the back of Himiko's hand with her thumb. "Thanks, Himiko," she said quietly. "I love you, too."

The greenette closed the distance to them and kissed Himiko softly, deeper and more passionate than Himiko was expecting but she wasn't going to complain. Himiko let the greenette dominate her tongue eagerly before they broke apart panting slightly.

"Tenya-kun would have a fit if he saw that," Himiko giggled. "Look at you, breaking rules and making out with me on the plane."

"Well, I can't help it when you look so cute all the time, Himiko."

"You're pretty cute yourself, Izucchi. " She paused for a second before bringing up the topic and gave Izumi a small smile, "U.A. has a blood quirk support group that we can go to together. I mean, if you want. I haven't gone yet, but Vlad King mentioned it to me after our finals. It might be helpful."

"That's… probably a good idea. Once the new semester starts, we can go together, okay?"

"I'll be honest, I'm kind of nervous about it since I don't want people to… well, judge me," Himiko said quietly. "But I think if you're with me, I'll be okay."

Izumi grabbed Himiko's hand gently and squeezed it, "And I'll be okay with you there."

Himiko rested her head on Izumi's shoulder, content to relax and drift off to sleep when several thoughts went through her head.

"Do you still want to drink my blood before I take a nap, Izucchi?"

"If you're okay with it…" Izumi said with a small blush.

"Why are you blushing about drinking my blood? You never get embarrassed about it anymore."

"Er… Mina and I found out she really likes biting. Like… really likes it."

Himiko's eyes widened, "Oh! So…"

Izumi averted her gaze slightly, "I uh… Might have thought about that when you offered to let me bite you…"

"Izucchi, you thought about me panting and moaning like you had Mina-chan last night?" she whispered into Izumi's ear. "Once we get some private time, we can make that happen."

Izumi swallowed hard, "H-Himiko…"

"But not now," Himiko said as she pulled back with a teasing grin. "If we want an audience later, we can do that, but not right now."

Izumi's face lit up before she pulled Himiko close, gentle yet firm in her guiding of the blonde. Izumi brushed her lips just barely over Himiko's before moving toward her neck. Himiko leaned to the side slightly with a smile on her lips as her girlfriend bit her, letting out a soft moan into Izumi's ear on purpose.

Himiko enjoyed the sensation plenty before Izumi broke away, finishing the gesture by kissing Himiko so she could taste her own blood.

"God, Izucchi," she panted. "That's not fair."

"Well, I have to keep you craving more," Izumi teased back. Her tone shifted to be slightly more serious as she smiled at the vampire, "And thank you, Himiko. For lots of things."

"Always, Izucchi."

"Are you planning on sleeping some more?"

"Yeah," Himiko said with a yawn. "I was already tired but now I'm even more tired since you drank my blood. I'm using you as a pillow, okay?"

Izumi gave her a smile, "Sure. Make yourself comfortable."

"All right, you lot," Shouta's voice cut across the plane. "We're finally here. Get out and stretch your legs before we leave the airport."

"Wait, where are we? Is this I-Island?" Denki shouted. "I thought we weren't coming here til after our training camp!"

Toru looked like she was pressed against the glass of the window again as her excitement bubbled over. "So cool!" she shouted. "Can we see the island now?"

The plane filled with murmurs from the other students about the camp now. Izumi was curious about how the camp would work on I-Island but kept quiet as she watched Shouta. Something about the 'stretch your legs' comment was bothering her but she couldn't figure out what.

"We're doing our training camp here?"

"How's that going to work?"

"Are we going to be staying in a hotel?"

Shouta finally raised his voice, "Enough! You're all wasting time. If you'd just get moving, you'd get your questions answered."

The students all filed out of the plane at that, the bright sunlight washing over them. Izumi glanced around to take in all the sights, the cities of I-Island off in the distance.

Way off in the distance.

We're on the outskirts of I-Island. But this runway wasn't on any map I've seen of I-Island before…

Izumi was looking around curiously at their surroundings, noticing mostly trees ahead of them with the cities behind them. The platform they stood on was made of dirt and earth that was compacted, but it wasn't the normal landing strips that Izumi knew were between the cities on the island.

"Fascinating," Momo said beside her. "An entirely man-made island that's dedicated to researching quirks and support items for heroes… I have to say, Izumi, I figured you would be thrilled to be here."

Izumi glanced around for a moment before giving Momo a weak smile, "I am. Something just feels… off. I don't know what it is."

Izumi was mulling over what was bothering her when Shouta spoke up, "Listen up. We're dividing you all into teams starting now. You'll all be working in your teams to find and capture…" Shouta paused to grumble for a second, "the dastardly villains known as the Wild, Wild Pussycats…"

Izumi could just feel how annoyed he was as he pulled out a cue card, the pink cat paper with the paw print in the middle screamed it wasn't something he would have on him normally.

"Somewhere on this island, you heroes will find the four members of the infamous gang of villains. Work with your teammates to track them down, fight off their henchmen, and…" he pinched the bridge of his nose, "put these cats in a cage once and for all."

The class had a murmur of chuckles cut through it at that, combined with Shouta's exasperated response to having to read the card.

Shouta groaned and crumpled the card in hand and looked at the class, "Enough of this. The cities are off-limits. You have to stick to the outer ring with your group. You need to find one of those four with your group's help or no food. How's that sound?"

"Awe, Eraserhead, you're no fun!" came a woman's voice from a television that had practically appeared there.

The class turned to the television where the Wild, Wild Pussycats were on the screen in 'villain outfits', which were basically their normal clothes but… darker. Like they decided to go goth for the day or something.

"You kids have to put a stop to us, and each of your groups will be tasked with capturing one of us!" Tiger growled to the group. The lone man of the group dwarfed the three women in size as his eyes seemed to scan the group through the television. "And remember, you're on a time limit. Fail, and it's bye-bye, kittens."

Shouta looked so done with today as he rubbed his temples ahead of the class. Izumi was trying so hard to resist the urge to burst into laughter at his exasperation, but she bit her tongue to not make him more agitated.

"Group one will be Uraraka, Bakugou, Toga, Kaminari, Kirishima, and Koda," their teacher said as he looked up. "Group two will be Ashido, Iida, Jiro, Asui, Shinso, and Sero. Group three will be Midoriya, Mineta, Aoyama, Shoji, and Ojiro. Last, group four will be Yaoyorozu, Hagakure, Todoroki, Tokoyami, and Sato."

Izumi quickly realized the two groups with five people had Momo and herself, the two with their provisional licenses. But the rest of the way they were divided up… she couldn't figure out exactly why the teams were built the way they were. Knowing Shouta, there was some sort of test within a test.

"Get in your groups and get ready," their teacher ordered them.

Izumi separated from her girlfriends reluctantly and stood near Yuga, Mezo, and Mashirao. She assumed Minoru was somewhere nearby, finally catching a glimpse of him hiding behind Mezo's legs while glancing in her direction. She spared a glance toward Himiko and Ochako, both of them near Katsuki while Himiko looked like she was going to stab him any second.

Izumi caught their attention, shooting them a sympathetic smile as the ground started to shake beneath their feet.

I guess we're starting.

And the world around her went dark.

"Where the hell are we?" Katsuki growled once the ground stopped shaking.

A voice echoed inside the heads of all the students at the same time.

"Welcome, kittens, to our play place! Do your best to escape our maze and find us before times up. If not, it will be paws-itively bad for you!"

"Cat puns? Really?" Ochako sighed. She stood up and looked around, "So, we're in a maze."

Himiko brushed the dirt off her skirt, "We're separated from the rest of our class, too."

"No shit, Bun Bitch," Katsuki barked.

"Baku-bitch, I will end you."

"Hey, let's not fight," Denki said, stepping between them with his hands raised. "We're on a time limit, right? We don't have time to murder each other in the…"

"Creepy murder maze?" Ochako offered.

"I was trying to avoid saying that with your girlfriend almost literally glaring daggers at Bakugou."

Eiko chimed in, "Murder isn't manly! So, which way do we go?"

Himiko looked around a few times. "There's… four different paths? How are we supposed to choose?" she said quietly.

All of the students looked around in the illuminated hallways before pointing in several different directions. "That way," they said.

Ochako and Himiko had pointed down one path, Eiko and Katsuki pointing another. Denki pointed down a third and Koji actually pointed down the fourth.

"Tch. You extras can go whichever way you want. This is the right way," Katsuki growled, starting to stomp off down the path.

"Do we follow him?" Ochako asked.

"I… don't know," Himiko said quietly. "I don't want to follow Baku-bitch anywhere, personally."

"Then… what? We split up?"

Denki tried to interject, "Guys, I don't think that's a good idea…"

Himiko wanted to stay as far away from Katsuki as possible, walking down a different path than Katsuki and Eiko had gone.

"This is going to be a nightmare," Denki groaned aloud.

Koji nodded and looked between the two groups before following after Katsuki and Eiko, Denki following Himiko and Ochako.

"This. Sucks," Mina groaned. "I'm not even awake yet…"

"Should have slept more last night, kero," Tsuyu stated. "Instead of staying up late playing games."

Mina's cheeks felt slightly warm when remembering what kept her up all night but wasn't privy to share that little tidbit with Tsuyu and the rest of the group right now.

"Ashido-kun, that's irresponsible! You should be well-rested for today," Iida scolded.

Kyouka groaned, "Dude, didn't you sleep on the plane, too? Cut her some slack."

"You all heard the creepy disembodied voice, right?" Hitoshi said with a faint blush. Mina saw him glance at her neck where she was sure a bite mark or a hickey was and his gaze shifted to look down one of the tunnels instead. "We have to find our way out of this maze. Let's do that instead of talking about the cumulative lack of sleep like logical people. Any suggestions for which way?"

Mina snorted slightly at Hitoshi suggesting they 'be logical', much like their homeroom teacher. It wouldn't surprise her if Shouta adopted the purple-haired kid before the year was out.

"Why not just pick one? Like, left hand on the wall and see where that takes us?" Sero suggested.

"Arbitrarily?" Iida gasped. "That's ridiculous!"

"What's your idea? Voting?" Kyouka asked in a flat tone.

"Kero, that could work."

The group stood in silence for a moment before Mina shrugged, "I mean, does anyone have any better ideas?"

The group did a vote for which path to take and finally made their decision.

"Looks like this way," Iida said. "We should stick together since we don't know what dangers are in the tunnels."

Mina poked the rocker, "Hey, Kyouka, can you do your thing and-"

"One sec," the punk girl interrupted. "We have incoming from both sides!"

Momo saw the stone move ahead of them and immediately went into battle mode. Her eyes darted behind them as well, the trees around them obscuring part of the creatures but not all of them.

"Todoroki-kun, can you handle the creatures approaching from behind us? Tokoyami-kun, Sato-kun, Hagakure-san, we need to push forward and take down those ahead of us."

Shouto looked at her for a moment before nodding, sending ice toward the golems behind them. Dark Shadow and Rikido both slammed into the ones in front of them to forge a path.

Momo made a staff and slammed it into one of the earth golems, the metal tearing through the dirt without much issue.

"Hey, Yaomomo?" Toru said beside her.

Momo hadn't realized the invisible girl was right next to her and nearly jumped at her voice, "Oh! What's wrong, Hagakure-san?"

"I just… would you mind help me learn to fight with weapons or something sometime? I'm not super strong like Midori, and I don't have a super-strong or useful quirk like you or Todoroki-kun… But I know I'll need to be able to fight somehow…"

"You want me to teach you?"

"Well, yeah. You're so skilled and the smartest girl in our class. If anyone could teach me, it'd be you."

"I just figured you'd ask someone like Izumi over myself. You two seem closer than the two of us."

"Yeah, but this way I can spend more time with you! Since you're also dating Mina, we should try and get along too, ya know? Mina's my best friend, after all!"

"I suppose we should. Would you care if I had Himiko join us? I believe she would also be beneficial for you, since she's rather skilled with knives and daggers which might be useful for you."

"Sure! After camp then?"

Momo gave her a smile and spun her staff in hand before thrusting it into the face of a smaller earth beast. "That works for me, Hagakure-san."

"Toru. All your girlfriends call me Toru already, Yaomomo."

"Yaoyorozu-san, they don't seem to be slowing down," Shouto said calmly. "They're trying to surround us constantly."

Fumikage nodded as Dark Shadow struggled in the sunlight between the trees. "Dark Shadow and I cannot fight as well in the light. My sincerest apologies."

"It's so bright, Fumi! I don't want to fight anymore…" Dark Shadow whined pitifully.

Momo created a katana for Toru and handed it to her, "Can you make do with this for now? We can actually teach you how once we're through this."

"Sure!"

Nemuri sat down across from Inko at a little cafe they had decided on for their date today.

The green-haired woman gave her a wide smile as she sat down, "It's good to see you, Nemuri."

"You as well, Inko. How have things been for you this week?"

"Work has been busy. But honestly, a little lonely. Since Izumi and Himiko moved out, having the house to myself feels weird."

"I'm sure. It's been an adjustment for them as well."

"Oh, I'm sure they're enjoying the freedom away from me. Izumi and I weren't terribly close before her transition and we were just patching things up before the dorms were implemented."

"I'm sorry, Inko. I'm glad you two have started working on your relationship, though. Izumi does care about you."

"I know. But I've made my own mistakes while she was growing up. But I didn't come here to complain. How do you think Izumi and the girls are doing at their training camp?"

Nemuri took a sip of her tea, enjoying the flavor of it before she replied. "They should have just gotten there not too long ago. I'm sure they're all doing fine."

"Mineta-kun, if you touch my ass one more time, scared or not, I'm using you as a projectile to take down the next beasts!" Izumi shouted. "Let go!"

"But Midoriya-san, I can't fight these giant beasts! What can I even do!?" the purple boy cried, still cowering behind her.

Izumi gritted her teeth and slammed a fist through another one of the earth beasts blocking their path.

"I'm sure you're right," Inko said. "But I've heard that U.A. tends to do things very 'Plus Ultra'."

"Only sometimes," Nemuri said with a smile. "Shouta may seem rough on the outside, but he really cares about his students. He pushes them hard, but he wants them to succeed. He wouldn't have them do something he didn't think they were capable of in the end."

"Dude, that one is huge!" Eiko shouted. "So manly!"

"Just means another one to crumble!" Katsuki laughed.

"What do you think happened to the others?"

"Who cares? If they want to not listen to me, their loss."

The two of them toppled the giant earth beast together, the kid with the rock-like following behind them anxiously. He hadn't spoken much which was fine; Katsuki didn't even remember his name.

"Wait," the boy finally said. "We're back where we started."

"The fuck do you mean?" Katsuki growled. "We've been going for like fifteen minutes."

"I sent out mice to scout…" the boy said nervously. "And they said this is where we started. They even marked it…"

Ahead of him, Katsuki caught sight of Bun Bitch, Round Face, and Dunce Face walking out of a path toward them.

"Where the fuck have you three been?" Katsuki shouted.

Bun Bitch looked over at him with a scowl, "Trying to figure out the way out of here. How did you find us? Decide to follow us finally?"

"We ended up back here," Eiko explained. "Koda-kun said this is where we all started according to his mice."

The rock-headed boy nodded furiously to confirm that.

"So… we've all been going in circles?" Dunce Face asked. "How!?"

"…Someone's quirk?" Ochako asked. "They're making us end up back here with a quirk. Would that be possible?"

"Probably… Izucchi would know better than us," Bun Bitch muttered. "So both of those paths loop back here. Where's left to look?"

"Um… We didn't try this path yet…" the shy boy interjected. He pointed down one of the paths and the group all looked down it together.

"Tch, fine. Let's just hurry the hell up. I won't be outdone by De- Midoriya," Katsuki growled. "Come on, extras!"

"So, do you have plans after this, Nemuri?" Inko asked. "Or are you free for the rest of the day?"

"I'm not teaching this week at all but I might patrol later in the week. Did you have something in mind, Inko?" Nemuri said with a faint smirk.

"I had a few things in mind, yes," the woman replied with her own smile. "If you're interested, of course."

"With you, Inko? Of course."

Notes:
Sorry for the delay, as usual, everyone. Work has me traveling a lot lately so writing has been a bit sparse. It won't be slowing down on that front for a while so my schedule might be a bit... sporadic for a while. Still, I hope you at least like this chapter a bit, since I had some fun with it.

As always, thanks for reading,
3 Belle

Chapter 31: Tropical Training Hell, Pt 2 Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text "I hope Izucchi is having more luck with the pervert than we are with Baku-bitch," Himiko grumbled.

She was already exhausted since they had been doing this exercise for several hours at this point, Himiko and Ochako not really talking to Katsuki the entire time. Denki kept trying to make peace between them with Eiko's help, but Himiko wasn't really interested.

"Oi! At least we're going the right way now, Bun-Bitch!" he yelled back to her. "No thanks to you!"

"In case you forgot, it wasn't thanks to you either," Ochako countered. "Kouda-kun was the one who got us on the right path."

"U-Um…" the timid boy said quietly. "A-Actually, the mice said… they said that the maze shifted once we left together… so, we uh…"

"Just fucking spit it out," Katsuki growled.

"Eep!"

"Nah, dude. Don't worry about him," Denki said with an easy smile. "Take your time, Kouda-kun."

"I um… I think all of the paths were um… wrong," Kouji finally said.

"What do you mean, Kouda-kun?" Ochako asked. "But we've made progress this time, right? Or are we going in circles?"

"No, no! We're making progress… I mean that my mice… they just… I think if we split up, we'd always end up back where we were…"

"They're forcing us to work together?" Eiko said aloud. "Sounds like something Aizawa-sensei would do."

Katsuki growled low before continuing down the hall, "As long as we're makin' progress." An elbow from Eiko landed in his ribs, "Shit. Fine… Rock Face, thanks or… whatever."

Himiko's eyes widened just slightly at his apology, but that didn't mean she liked Katsuki any more than she did before. He was still a huge piece of shit, in her opinion.

"Oh? Did the little kittens finally wander in the right direction?" came the growl of a man ahead of them. "Maybe you all should be focused on the villain ahead of you."

Himiko instantly crouched low at the sound of the 'villain', ready to pounce at a moment's notice. Ochako had already readied her stance next to her while the other four were poised to strike as well.

"Looks like we found our villain," Katsuki said with a feral grin. "Let's see if you all can keep up!"

"Why couldn't I end up in a group with more hot girls?" Minoru whined. "Instead I'm stuck with the psychopath! If only I could have been with Kaminari's group. He gets to stare at Uraraka, Toga, and Kirishima's hot bodies! Even if Toga is just as crazy as Midoriya…"

They had opted for a short break to catch their breaths, letting most of them catch their breaths. Still, Minoru's comments were grating on Izumi's nerves. She twitched in annoyance, her fists clenching so hard they drew blood that dripped onto the ground at her feet.

Minoru's words cut through the air again, "Or maybe Todoroki's team… Yaomomo's giant tits and even Hagakure's body in her outfit would be nice to stare at… Or being near Ashido and Asui's thick thighs… Even Jirou's flat chest would be better than dealing with this…"

The sound of rock cracking pierced the air as Izumi's fist buried itself in the ground next to her.

Sensing the tension, Mezou spoke up, "We shouldn't have much longer. I can hear birds chirping which means there's probably an exit to the surface."

"That's good," Izumi said, trying to calm herself down. "I'm getting pretty hungry at this point."

She didn't want to give herself resting bitch face from glaring at Minoru the entire day, but that was a struggle in itself at this point.

"Oh, maybe I can catch a peek at one of the Wild, Wild Pussycats!" Minoru said to himself. "They're hot too!"

Izumi took a deep breath to calm herself down.

Murder isn't heroic.

"Midoriya-san, couldn't you have basically done this all without us?" Mashirao asked her.

"Wait, what?" she asked, clearly confused at his question. At least it was a distraction from her urge to kill a grape.

"Oui. Mademoiselle seems leagues ahead of us," Yuga agreed. "You probably could have gone faster without us."

Izumi frowned at that, "I don't think that's true. I'm strong, sure, but you guys have amazing quirks. You're all the reason we've managed to get through this so smoothly."

"I still think your quirk is way stronger than mine," Mashirao sighed. "Mine's just… plain."

"I still think you have an amazing quirk, Ojiro-kun! Just because it's simple doesn't make it bad. You can do so much with a fifth limb, and it makes you formidable in a fight. You'll also be good at rescue work with it. Aoyama-kun's quirk is amazing because ranged quirks are rare as-is, and even with it's drawbacks you can do so much with it. Shouji-kun has a versatile quirk that can be used for reconnaissance or combat, which makes it really cool! I actually have a lot of ideas for you three with your quirks in my notebooks back with my stuff if you're interested?"

"You have notes on our quirks, mademoiselle?" Yuga asked.

"I figured everyone knew that's what my notebooks had in them. If you want, we can sit down sometime soon and figure out ways to use them you might not have thought of for your quirks."

Mashirao nodded, "That's… actually really nice of you, Midoriya-san. If you don't mind, I'd like to see what you have for me."

"As would I," Mezou said to her. "I'm always looking for new ways to utilize my quirk."

"Of course! Are you all rested up now so we can get through the rest of this?"

I wonder if there are hot springs…" Minoru muttered. "All the girls naked…"

Izumi stood up and grabbed the purple pervert by the scruff of his collar, "You've got a pretty one-track mind, Mineta-kun."

"You all should be more focused on the villains!" came a voice in their heads. "You're all pretty vulnerable right now."

Mezou looked down the hallway and created a mouth on one of his arms to get close to her. "Mandalay is down the hallway about fifty meters," he whispered. "Do we have a plan?"

Izumi looked down the hallway and then at the captive boy in her hand. "I have one idea. Plus, Mineta-kun will have to carry his weight this way," she said with a smirk.

Minoru looked up at her with fear in his eyes, "Midoriya-san, what are you-"

"Vampire-Grape Combo: Mineta-Bullet," she shouted, hurling Minoru down the hallway toward the 'villain'. "Use your quirk to bind her, Mineta-kun!"

Kyouka was having less fun with this than she imagined. Iida had tried to lecture Mina on public etiquette after the pinkette pecked Kyouka on the cheek in passing. That led to where they were now.

"Why's it matter so much, Iida-kun?" Mina argued.

What was most impressive was they were arguing while fighting golems. Mina ducked under one and drenched its legs in acid before Hitoshi wrapped its head in the capture tape and pulled it down, letting Tsuyu finish it with a kick.

"Because, Ashido-kun, PDA makes people uncomfortable!" Iida shouted back, slamming through a different earth beast.

"Iida, dude, I don't think it's that big a deal," Hanta said as he swung from the ceiling. "They're not hurting anyone."

Tsuyu used her tongue to grab Mina away from one of the earth monsters she hadn't seen, helping her avoid a nasty hit. "Besides, they're not the only ones in the school that do PDA, kero," she said.

Kyouka let out a sigh as she plugged her jacks into the ground. "We have four more approaching from the front. Two bipedal, one quadrupedal, one serpentine."

"That's beside the point!" Tenya shouted as he dodged the snake beast. "Because someone else breaks the rules doesn't make it okay to do it yourself!"

"Dude! Can you just drop it?"

"If it really bothers you that much," Mina said as she practically danced under an elephant-looking beast while splashing acid on its stomach. "We'll try to tone it down. Midnight-sensei and Aizawa-sensei don't seem to care, though. "As long as all parties consent, I don't give a damn what you kids do. Just know that if you start slacking because you were busy spending time with your girlfriends, I'll expel you straight away. That's the logical thing to do"," she said in as dry a tone as she could. "That's what Aizawa-sensei told me!"

Tenya looked so done with Mina today, keeping his mouth shut as he kicked through the golem Mina had softened with her acid.

"Jeez, you kittens are noisy!" came the voice of one of the 'villains'. "I'm paws-itive I could find you all without my quirk!"

Tsuyu wasted no time in pouncing toward the woman, Hanta, Mina, and Tenya following right after her. They were halfway to her when Kyouka heard rocks shuffling from above them.

"Guys, it's a trap!"

Momo was sure they were going the right way to find the Pussycats, but they had been going for far longer than she expected. Her fat reserves were rather depleted, and she didn't have anything to snack on. That meant no more large creations to help out or she'd be carried to the end.

"Are you doing okay, Yaoyorozu-san?" Shouto asked her, not breathing as heavily as she figured he would be after all this fighting.

"Fine. We've just been at this for a while."

"You look like you're on your last legs. You've been making quite a few creations, after all."

Momo's footing slipped for a second as she heard him, trying to regain her composure, "It's nothing. I can keep going."

"Yaoyorozu-san, you can take a break. No one would blame you at this point."

Shouto blasted another beast with his fire before hitting a second with his ice, keeping himself balanced while not overdoing things.

"I just have to keep pushing myself. Pushing past my limits," Momo finally said.

"Can I be blunt?"

"I don't see why not."

"If there's one thing I've learned recently, it's that relying on others isn't a bad thing. You and Midoriya both feel you have to lead at the front of the pack and take on more than anyone. That isn't necessarily bad, but you can rely on your classmates more than you do. You're stretching yourself thin, Yaoyorozu-san."

"You want me to just lead without helping out?"

"No, I think you can lead and contribute, but you have to trust the people you work with to do our parts. You and Midoriya have your provisional licenses, but that doesn't mean you both have to do everything yourselves. Trust us to do our parts as we trust you to lead us."

Momo mulled over his words for a moment before she looked around at her classmates who were handling things fine without her pushing herself to exhaustion. "You're right," she said to Shouto. She looked toward her classmates and then toward Shouto, "Todoroki-san, will you work with the others to push forward while I catch my breath? The golems seem to only be appearing from that direction now."

"Got it. We'll handle this."

"Hang on," Momo said. She created another blade and handed it to him, "Give this to Tokoyami-san. Dark Shadow and him fight less effectively in the daylight and we have at least an hour before Dark Shadow is back to normal. Until he can help more, this should aid Tokoyami-san."

"Dark Shadow is a she," Shouto said. "I'll let them know."

He sprinted toward their classmates with the newly created blade, Momo taking a chance to breathe finally. Honestly, that was probably the last thing she could create for a while with how exhausted she was. She just had to hope that-

"Paw-don me, but you all seem to be having fun destroying all my earth beasts!" came the voice of Pixie-Bob. "Un-fur-tunately for you all, I'll have to stop you, heroes!"

"You've gotta be kitten, right?" Toru giggled. "We're gonna take you down, villain!"

At least someone's enjoying themselves.

"Aren't you a-mew-sing! That won't be enough, though!" the 'villain' said, summoning many more golems.

Sunlight was the first sign of relief for Izumi and the others. That meant food was so close.

"Are you sure you're okay carrying Mandalay, Midoriya-san?" Mezou asked her. "I can carry all three of you if need be."

Izumi chuckled while Mandalay sighed from being slung over the greenette's shoulders. Minoru's quirk had caused Mandalay to get stuck to not only the ground that Izumi ripped up for the hero to leave, but also to Izumi's shoulder as she tried to free the hero from her bindings. It was un-fur-tunate. No, wait. Unfortunate. Damn cat puns.

"It's fine, Shouji-kun. Besides, I'm not eager to be anywhere near Mineta-kun right now," she said in reply.

"That's completely fair," Mashirao agreed. "After all of Mineta-kun's comments… I don't blame you."

"I feel like a rag doll," Mandalay complained. "I'm being carried by a student." The next words were muttered low so that only Izumi and Mezou could hear them, "Shouta is going to make fun of me for days for this."

Izumi let out a snort and Mezou suppressed a cough, trying not to laugh at what they heard.

"You heard nothing," Mandalay hissed.

Izumi shrugged, which just lifted Mandalay up and down slightly from on top of her shoulders. "I don't know what you're talking about," the vampire said slyly.

"Problem Child, what the hell?" came Shouta's voice as they entered the camp.

"It's not her fault," Mandalay sighed. "They captured me with that purple kid's quirk and then I couldn't get free, so she tried to help me get free and we got stuck like this."

Izumi glanced around, "Are Mina or Momo back? We could get one of them to help. Or somewhere to change?"

"Oh god, Mandalay!" Pixie-Bob was cackling as she saw them. She ran over to the group with a paw over her mouth, "That's amazing."

Ragdoll came over and joined them, "Huh. I was paws-itive I was named Ragdoll. Maybe we should switch names!"

"Yeah, yeah, laugh it up…" Mandalay groaned. "Midoriya, would you mind getting us somewhere we can change? Before everyone takes pictures of this…"

"A little late for that," Izumi muttered, catching Mina and Himiko with their phones pointed at the vampire while laughing.

"You can go get changed over there," Tiger said while pointing to the lodge. "I'd hurry back. Everyone's already started eating with you all."

"After all that, you get to relax tonight, but tomorrow the real training begins!" Ragdoll finished.

"Sure, just one question… Who's the kid that's glaring at me?" Izumi asked, pointing to a child with a red hat with horns.

"That's my nephew, Kota," Mandalay explained. "Kota, come say hi since you'll be spending the next week with them."

Kota walked over with a scowl on his face and looked up at Izumi, hands in his pockets the entire time. Izumi crouched down with Mandalay still on her shoulders and smiled at him, her fangs just barely peeking out.

"Nice to meet you, Kota-kun. I'm Izumi Midoriya from U.A.'s Hero Course," she said, offering him a hand while still balancing the hero carefully.

Kota responded by aiming a fist right at her boob which she caught with her hand before it made contact. Too many sucker punches in her spars with Rumi made her reflexes fairly sharp for unexpected attacks.

"Kota!" Mandalay scolded him. "You could've hurt her."

Izumi shook her head, "It's fine, Mandalay."

The boy stomped off with his hands in his pockets while muttering, "Stupid jerk hero wannabes…"

Wonder why he hates heroes?

Dinner went by quickly, Izumi catching up with everyone on their own experiences today. That just left one more thing for the first day of their training camp. She didn't want Minoru to be expelled, but she also knew that he had plenty of chances to turn his behavior around. Even Katsuki was trying to be a better person.

"Hey, Izumi, you okay?" Kyouka asked from beside her as the greenette stared a hole into the wall.

"Ah, yeah. Sorry. It's been a long day."

"Izucchi, aren't you embarrassed about seeing all of us naked?" Himiko teased. "Or has our vampire girlfriend turned into a succubus?"

Izumi's cheeks tinged red at her taunts, "You hush. I'm a cinnamon roll vampire, remember?"

Her girlfriends all blushed slightly when they looked at her, clearly not convinced. Izumi caught Kyouka looking between her and Mina, the punk girl's going an even deeper shade of red than anyone else's.

Oh. She probably heard most of what we did last night …

Toru walked into the open-air baths ahead of them before stopping and, presumably, turning back toward them, "Well, I'm ready to relax. Let's go!"

Izumi's eyes flitted around the room briefly, the breath practically sucking itself from her lungs at all the girls in nothing but towels. Mina's was higher than the other girls since she was using it to cover up Izumi's work, that much Izumi knew.

"Never really figured Mina for modesty," Ochako mumbled as they walked out as a group. "I figured you were kind of… "flaunt it if you've got it", you know?"

Izumi's eyes glanced at Mina's towel and her face felt even warmer picturing what was under the thin piece of fabric. Izumi adjusted her own towel as her face felt like it was on fire.

"Hey, I can be modest!" Mina pouted as she walked ahead of them. "Or are you just dying to see me naked, Ochako?" she teased the brunette.

Ochako let out a squeak at that as she sat down to wash herself off before they got in the bath, her face matching Mina's natural hue.

Izumi took the chance to take a step closer to Kyouka and whisper to her, "Uh… Sorry if you… overheard anything last night, Kyouka."

"I-It's fine," she stammered. "Downside to my quirk… You uh… both sounded like you enjoyed yourselves…"

There was a thick silence between them for a minute before Izumi sighed, "We didn't make you uncomfortable or anything, did we?"

"…No, I uh… It was kind of… hot…"

"O-Oh." Izumi was silent as she stared at her punk girlfriend, Kyouka's cheeks getting more red as she glanced down at Izumi's chest. Izumi scratched the back of her head nervously as her own blush deepened. "Are you… wanting to do something… like that…?" she asked in the most awkward way possible.

Kyouka's jacks started twitching as her face went red up to her ears. "Do you… want to do something like that… with me?" she said, barely above a whisper.

"Yes."

The purplette looked shocked by that, "Wait, really?"

"Why does that surprise you, Kyouka? You're beautiful and I love you. Why wouldn't I want to?"

"Wait… You… Did you say you love me?"

Izumi blinked, "Have… Have I not said that to you before? Damn, I'm a really shitty girlfriend… Yes, I love you, Kyouka."

Kyouka pulled Izumi's face down to meet hers, lips crashing together at the entrance to the baths in a brief but very passionate kiss.

"I love you, too," Kyouka said with a smile and a deep blush.

"Izucchi, if you both are done sucking face can you wash my hair for me?" Himiko said from the stool she was sitting on already, naked as the day she was born.

Even if the blush wouldn't leave her cheeks, Izumi gave her girlfriend a smile, "Sure."

"Ooh, do me too!" Mina chimed in.

Toru chimed in, "Didn't she already do- Ow! Mina!"

The pinkette's cheeks were a deep purple as she sat down and folded her arms, pretending she hadn't just smacked the invisible girl in the back of the head. "You deserved that," she pouted.

"I'll wash your hair too, Mina," Izumi said with an amused smile. "Anyone else want to join in since I'm feeling generous?"

That was how Izumi ended up washing all the girls in 1-A's hair for them. She wasn't surprised by her girlfriends, even if Momo was blushing up a storm, but Toru, Tsuyu, and Eiko were all fine with being pampered as well, it seemed. None of this helped Izumi's blush that was permanently on her face now, but she couldn't exactly complain. She volunteered for this.

"Dude, that was super relaxing," Eiko said with a content hum as she sank in the water. "You didn't have to offer to do that, Midoriya."

"I don't mind," Izumi said with a grin, lathering Toru's hair gently with shampoo. It was an interesting experience washing an invisible person's hair, but Izumi could feel its length and the slight wave of it as her fingers went through the locks.

"Midori, this is so nice," Toru said as she leaned back. "It's like a spa!"

Mina was pouting next to the two of them, "How did I end up last? I asked second!"

"You drew the last stick," Kyouka said with a shrug. "That's just how it goes, Mina."

Momo gave her a sympathetic smile, "Sorry, Mina."

"It's fine," Mina pouted some more. "Just means I get to enjoy Izumi's hands for longer."

Mina gave the vampire a coy smirk and a wink at that, the greenette getting a slightly deeper blush. If this kept up, she'd be like Himiko with a permanent blush on her face!

Toru stood up and gave Izumi a hug, or that's what it felt like since the girl was invisible and her towel was somewhere on the ground nearby. "Thanks, Midori! That was super relaxing!" she said in a bubbly tone.

Mina took that chance and sat down on the stool as she shed her towel, her back facing Izumi and the rest of the baths, "My turn!"

Izumi's eyes widened slightly as she bit her lip, having completely forgotten that her love bites weren't restricted to just Mina's front last night.

"Oh my."

"Woah."

"Holy shit."

"Oh wow."

"Kero, that's a lot of hickeys."

Izumi didn't look toward any of the other girls as she chuckled nervously, unable to form words.

Mina let out a nervous giggle as she rubbed the back of her head, her face slowly turning purple, "Forgot about those…"

"Uh… my bad…" Izumi muttered.

There was some sloshing of water before wet footsteps plodded toward them. "So…" Toru said next to them. "You had sex last night! I need all the details! What all did you do? How was it? Why do you have a bite mark on your butt?"

"Toru, slow down," Mina tried to interrupt, the deep purple on her cheeks practically a neon sign for her embarrassment right now. Izumi just started to lather up Mina's hair while the pinkette continued, "Yes, we had sex. It was great," she said with a breathy sigh.

"And the bite mark?" Ochako practically squeaked.

"Oh! Izumi wanted to, and I quote, "mark that delicious pink butt as mine"," Mina giggled.

Izumi chuckled nervously at that while lathering up Mina's hair, too embarrassed to look at any of the other girls in the bath. Luckily, or unluckily, the questions stopped there as everyone just stared at the greenette, their mental image of her being a cinnamon roll clearly being tarnished slightly.

Izumi finished washing Mina's hair and the pinkette returned the favor, washing Izumi's curly locks before they both slid into the bath with the other girls to relax, the soft murmur of random conversation filling the air.

"Hey, it's the 1-A girls!" came the voice of Setsuna from 1-B. "Looks like you all had the same idea of relaxing before tomorrow's training?"

"Ah, Tokage-san. Is it just you?" Momo asked. "Or are all the girls in 1-B here?"

"We're all here," Itsuka said from the doorway. "Set was just the first one out."

The greenette showed a wide toothy grin to everyone as she dropped her towel before sitting down, "I couldn't say no to the open-air baths. Plus, now I get more eye candy to stare at."

"Wait, wait, wait… Do you have your nipples pierced?" Kyouka blurted.

"So glad you noticed! I convinced my parents to let me get them done before I got to U.A! Oh, I'm Setsuna Tokage, by the way. Nice to meet you all!"

Izumi looked at the girl's admittedly attractive piercings, trying not to stare at them. She failed miserably.

"Hey, Izucchi!" Himiko chimed in. "Do you think Okaachan would let you get yours pierced? I think you'd look super hot with your nipples pierced."

"…There's no chance my mom would let me do that," Izumi laughed through her blush. "She would freak out at the idea."

"Kyouka-chan, what do you think?" Himiko said, sliding over toward the purplette. "Do you think Izucchi would look hot with piercings?"

"Well… Y-Yeah…" Kyouka said while she tapped her jacks together. "Definitely."

"I say go for it!" Setsuna chimed in. "Blondie's right, they'd be hot on you, Green Bean. Plus, we'd match!"

Mina nodded, "You totally should! Right, Ochako?"

Ochako was steaming from her ears as she overtly stared at Izumi's chest before her eyes snapped up, "I mean… I-If Izumi wants to… I think they'd look good…"

The 1-B girls slowly filed in and started washing themselves off, talking quietly amongst themselves. Several of them had small blushes from the conversation currently going on, not eager to join in.

"My mom would never let me. I'd have to wait until I was eighteen," Izumi argued.

"We'll ask her later!" Himiko said excitedly. "Are you really okay with getting them pierced?"

"I… can't lie. I think they're really hot…"

Momo giggled slightly, "Are you actually trying to become the next R18+ hero, Izumi?"

"…I can neither confirm nor deny that," she deadpanned.

Chuckles filled the air from the other girls at that. This kind of relaxing atmosphere was great to just spend time with the other girls and enjoy themselves. The fun came to a halt with a single voice.

"Guys!" the nasally voice came in from opposite the wall. "Just beyond this wall are all the girls from both classes!"

That silenced the chuckles from the girls instantly.

"I think the purple guy has a point," one of the guys from 1-B chimed in. "All of the girls in both classes are over there! We could see them in all their glory!"

"Do you think they know we can hear them?" the brunette from 1-B said quietly.

"Their lust has overtaken their common sense," the vine-haired girl replied with a frown. "They are but lost sheep in need of a shepherd."

"They're about to be hit with my giant fist," Itsuka growled.

"Someone has common sense!" Minoru yelled. "Just past this wall, my brother-in-arms!"

"Oi, Grape-Stain! Ero-Manga! If either of you fuckers even think about sneaking a peek at the girls, I'll blow your fucking heads off! Got it!?"

"Manly," Eiko whispered to herself at that.

"While I disagree with Bakugou-kun's choice of phrasing, I must agree with his protest of your actions, Mineta-kun! A hero student should act with more tact than that!" Tenya shouted.

"You're only saying that because you get to see Kirishima's amazing tits whenever you want, Bakugou!"

"Kero, Mineta-kun is dead," Tsuyu stated.

Toru spoke in a serious tone, "Rest in peace, pervert."

"You guys can't stop me!" the purple pervert shrieked. "I'm going to see the promised land!"

The distinct sound of Minoru's quirk popping off his head repeatedly could be heard, followed by the sound of explosions crackling.

"Almost there…" Minoru was raving. "I can almost-"

Boom!

A few seconds after the boom a splash was heard, followed by chaotic conversations from the other side of the wall.

"I fucking warned him," Katsuki barked. "That goes for the rest of you horny bastards! Anyone tries to even glance past that wall deals with me, got it!?"

Izumi chuckled slightly to herself before she spoke loud enough to talk over the wall, "Hey, Bakugou!"

"The fu- What?"

"…Thanks!"

Several of the girls chimed in their thanks as well, but the thing that Izumi noticed more than anything else was how happy Eiko looked. She gave Izumi a smile and a thumbs up which the greenette gave a small smile in return. It was the first of many actions to prove himself a better person than he was before, but it was a decent start.

"…Whatever," Katsuki grumbled.

"What a tsundere," Kyouka said loud enough for him to hear.

"What the hell did you call me!?"

Notes:
Hey guys, back again. Between traveling for work, other life stuff, and a general lack of motivation, this is later than I would have liked it to be. Still, better late than never, I guess?

I hope you all enjoyed the chapter. And happy Thanksgiving to anyone celebrating it.
3 Belle

not finished