This one turned out quite hefty chapter. I hope you like that.

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I am currently working on the chapter where students pick their hero names. I already got pretty good suggestion for Izuku's name from 3DPhantom but still uncertain especially on Hitoshi's name. Comment if you have any ideas that would fit them in this story.

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Proofread by 3DPhantom

Chapter 54: Beach Views and Promises

The car stopped outside the gate to Izuku's house. As soon as they got out of the car there were thuds, rustling and shouts coming from the yard.

"Get him! Ugh. Don't let go!" Hitoshi shouted.

"I am trying. Agh."

"Have to…! Have to get him down."

Izuku pushed the gate open and looked around. It wasn't difficult to find a mess of purple, red, and black waving in the air in one mess. Hitoshi and Tokoyami had managed to catch Eijiro, literally jumping on him, or at least hanging from his arms trying to pull him down. They were both bruised, with a big nasty one on Hitoshi's cheek, crass and dirt on both their shirts. Eijiro, despite two classmates hanging from him, was still standing. He looked so tense it was a miracle his quirk hadn't activated. He was pressing his lips together with a determined stare on his face as he took a step forward, trying to shake off his unwanted baggage. Hitoshi's and Tokoyami's feet occasionally left the ground in the struggle.

"Legs, get the legs!" Hitoshi shouted and twisted his own leg around Eijiro's, trying to trip him. That seemed to finally do the trick as Eijiro stumbled and lost his balance.

"Yes!" Hitoshi cheered. Eijiro bent his other leg and shifted his weight so he fell, but fell backwards.

"No!" Hitoshi's tone changed. "No, no, no, ughhh…."

He didn't appreciate being a pillow to soften Eijiro's landing as the redhead fell on his back.

"Heh, that was pretty good," Eijiro said and tried to move his arm to get up. "Hey?"

Despite the impact neither Hitoshi nor Tokoyami had let go of his arms and were squeezing onto them even harder than before, if that was possible. Eijiro started struggling to get off. He tried to elbow Hitoshi's stomach but without much space to gain momentum even he couldn't generate enough force to make such a determined opponent give up, even as roughed up as he already was.

"Just give up," Hitoshi demanded.

"No, I never give up. That's not manly," Eijiro declared and tensed again. Hitoshi's back actually rose off the ground briefly but he did not let go. Izuku couldn't help but chuckle at the battle of wills. Three heads turned towards him.

"I think you should give them this one Ei," Izuku told Eijiro. "Not sure which side I would bet on for an obstinate contest here, but it isn't the best use of our time."

"Oh, okay," Eijiro stopped struggling.

"Toshi, Tokoyami," Izuku said. Reluctantly the duo let go, though they seemed relieved when Eijiro got up, removing his weight from on top of them. He bounced up and immediately stretched a wide smile on his lips.

"That was great. I wish we could try again right away."

"Where do you get your energy from?" Izuku asked.

"Eh?" Eijiro looked confused, "food?"

Hitoshi, still laying on the ground, laughed until he started gasping.

"You must have eaten more than I realized then."

Eijiro offered his hands to help the two up. Tokoyami winced as he scrambled up.

"Is this how you train every weekend?"

"Pretty much," Hitoshi said and rubbed his cheek, grimacing as he did, "though I'm starting to feel Eijiro has been holding back on me more than I thought."

"Oh, eh," Eijiro muttered, "I tried to watch for the head and avoid throwing you too hard since we aren't at the beach yet."

"You can tell us about it during lunch. Everyone gets their full portion. Unless you think you can still keep going on your breakfast."

Hitoshi looked away, but Izuku caught the look of embarrassment before he did.

"Yeah, about that," Hitoshi muttered. "Remember yesterday when you told us not to eat too much before fights?"

"Yes."

"I… Well Eijiro might have punched the breakfast out of me. Also, we'll need to clean your yard a bit… over there." He waved his hand towards the other side of the front yard.

"Oh."

"I said I was sorry," Eijiro grumbled, head down.

"Don't be. I ate too much, and it isn't like I wasn't trying to do the same to you."

"Pretty sure I ate more than you," Eijiro snickered.

"Yes, but you seem to have an iron stomach," Hitoshi shot back, then shook his hand and muttered, "in more ways than one."

Izuku just shook his head and opened a food delivery app.

"Let's get inside and have a break while waiting for the food. Since Ei missed on getting seconds with yesterday's steak I think I'll go with that, but not too much."

"That is great," Eijiro said as they started walking to the door. "How did things go with you?"

Izuku took a moment to respond.

"It got... more complicated than I expected," he glanced at Tenya. "Seems we are dealing with more than one set of parents that could cause issues. Not everyone is as accepting as Toshi's parents."

Now Hitoshi too looked at Tenya, but after the first glance turned to stare at him again.

"Tenya," he said. "What is that poking from your arm?"

Tenya raised his arm, making the new engine exhaust more visible.

"They…" He lost his ability to speak after the first word.

"It's Tensei- I mean Ingenium's, quirk," Izuku said. "That's what he wanted me there for."

"I should have realized," Hitoshi nodded slightly. "So, at least your brother doesn't mind… well, Izuku."

"No, thankfully not," Tenya said.

"But your parents?" Hitoshi paused as Tenya's eyes got darker. "I see."

"That sucks," Eijiro verbalized their collective feelings. "People really keep hating on you Midobro."

"It's nothing surprising," Izuku said as he opened the door. "If anything, I've been unusually lucky with people I've met in the past few weeks and months. It would be unrealistic to expect that families of every decent person I meet would be just as good."

"Yeah," Eijiro said more quietly and looked down. Izuku got the message.

"Yours too?"

"Well, it hasn't been too bad, but they have been telling me to be careful ever since those reporters started talking about you as a quirk stealer, and I'm not sure they know I've trained with you specifically during these weekends, I might not have been too specific on that."

"My parents have also encouraged me to be careful," Tokoyami said, "but they also know how people can judge others based on their quirks."

"I hope they aren't causing you trouble," Izuku said. Dark Shadow popped out of Tokoyami's back.

"I told them you are cool. They are no problem."

Tokoyami sighed.

"He is telling the truth. Dark Shadow is so protective my parents stopped worrying when he accepted you being around me."

"They know Fumi is safe as long as he is with me."

"Which is always," Izuku added. He smiled a bit, "day and night with no sleep."

"That's right!" Dark Shadow declared. Tokoyami kept glancing between him and Izuku, confused at what he was missing. They gathered at the living room. Izuku retrieved and tossed Hitoshi and Tokoyami some disinfectant and salve to help with bruises and scratches. Then he sat next to Todoroki who was sitting quietly, staring at the turned off tv. He had his emotionless cold stare on his face, still refusing to show emotion or weakness.

Izuku looked at Eijiro who was stretching behind the sofa. Their eyes met and Izuku nodded toward their dual-coloured friend. Todoroki's head popped up as he suddenly found himself trapped between a rock and a hard place once again. At first he jolted a bit, leaning forward to get some more space, but eventually settled back against the backrest despite Izuku and Eijiro having left not much space. They sat there in silence for a moment as Todoroki settled down and Izuku was confident that Todoroki was feeling secure. Last thing Izuku wanted was for him to close up or lash out again, or get angry and demand to be left alone.

Thankfully Izuku had a secret weapon to counter that.

"Hey," Eijiro said, targeting Todoroki with his smile, "did you manage to meet your mom?"

Todoroki seemed to shrink between them, but at the same time managed to lean more on them.

"Yes. She still looks just like I remembered except… not so loud," Todoroki paused. "The place wasn't as bad as I thought it would be."

"That's great," Eijiro kept talking with contagious excitement. "I bet she was really happy to see you."

"Yes," Todoroki said. He stared forward for a long, silent moment.

His head dropped on his hands and he wailed as the mask shattered. Eijiro opened his mouth to say something but this time Izuku raised his hand to silence the redhead before putting it on Todoroki's back. Todoroki didn't as much as shake from the touch, which was progress. Izuku and Eijiro waited as Todoroki calmed down. Everyone else sat quietly and didn't interrupt.

"She was so happy. I… I should have… All these years we could have… all the time we lost."

"But you aren't losing anymore," Izuku said. "She's still there."

"Yes," Todoroki sniffed. "Thank you. Before I wasn't going to see her, maybe ever. I could have lost her and not even noticed."

"Possibly," Izuku said.

"All these years, I wish I could give them back to her."

"Yeah," Eijiro said, "that might be too much even for someone as strong as you."

"It is too much for anyone," Izuku corrected. "The real question is what you can do for her future."

"I, I want to get her out of that place. She isn't sick. She's just another victim of his."

"Then," Izuku said, "you have to tell people that."

Todoroki finally raised his head. Tears dotted the unburnt side of his face. Izuku met his eyes, trying to keep a stern gaze of his own.

"We already need to get you away from Endeavour, but to do that you will need to share what he has done. I could give them a glimpse of what he is really like, but I can't do the rest for you. I know you are hesitant especially in public, but if you can't do it for yourself, you should do it for your mother."

Todoroki drew a shaky breath. "I'll do it. I mean. I have to do it."

"You are still afraid of what Endeavour might do."

Todoroki nodded his head, struggling to say it out loud. Izuku squeezed his shoulder.

"Don't be. After yesterday he has to watch his every step to avoid staining his reputation any more, and I doubt he is welcome at UA either. Of course, you can stay here as long as you need to."

Todoroki nodded again. His hand gripped Eijiro's forearm. He seemed to really squeeze it like his life depended on it, but Eijiro didn't show any sign of discomfort. Izuku gave Todoroki a soft smile even if he couldn't compete with the redhead on the other side.

"If something goes wrong you can always stand behind Ei. It worked fine for me just yesterday."

Eijiro smirked.

"Yeah. No one gets hurt behind me. That is the kind of hero I want to be."

Eijiro's smile started slowly having the desired impact as Todoroki's lips tilted upwards.

"Must be already," he said and then got a darker look again. "I'm sorry."

"For what?" Eijiro asked.

"For being so rude at school all this time. It was easier to stay alone."

"Hey, that's okay. You've been having hard time and tried to manage it the only way you knew. You just needed someone to help you a bit even if you didn't ask. I heard Midobro was like that before, and now we're all here."

"I like it here."

"Heh, me too."

"Good. So you don't need to be afraid of anything," Izuku interrupted. "If you remember that you can do everything you need to, to be free."

Todoroki looked into the empty air again, but this time his face wasn't just a mask with a dark undertone. Izuku exchanged glances with Eijiro. The doorbell rang.

"That must be the food," Hitoshi commented.

"YEAH!" Eijiro shouted excitedly and raised his arms into the air. Todoroki shook, startled, and Izuku could hear a wave of heat coming from him, but it disappeared as soon as it happened. Then he was just smiling, looking at his excited classmate.

"You must have really gotten hungry after all that training," Todoroki commented as Izuku got up to head for the door.

"Yep, always do."

Izuku was happy to leave them chatting as he went to receive the food. Tenya, reliable as ever, showed up to help him carry it all inside. As they laid out the portions on the table Todoroki and Eijiro joined them, the latter salivating like Izuku after seeing their quirks in action. Izuku pushed a plate in front of him, taking a moment to enjoy the look of pure happiness. It was just as satisfying as giving Hitoshi a great cup of coffee. Dark Shadow stretched over the table to pick up Tokoyami's portion as Tenya and Hitoshi sat next to Izuku.

Izuku didn't start eating right away, instead looking around the table that had never been so full. Dark Shadow hovered over an annoyed Tokoyami, commenting about the food. Hitoshi couldn't help brushing his bruises even knowing it would hurt. Tenya scratched his new exhausts every few bites and Todoroki too was adjusting to the group. He took it upon himself to distribute the bottles of drinks that came with the food and, man, you couldn't get drinks that cold in any restaurant. The food itself was great and Eijiro's face got only brighter the moment he took the first bite. After taking his, Izuku understood why.

If Izuku had a quirk to stop the passage of time he might have used it right here.

Unfortunately he didn't have one, and all too soon the lunch was over. Eijiro leaned back and patted his stomach.

"Ah, that was good."

"Truly, there was nothing dark about the food," Tokoyami said. "May I ask what we are going to do next? There was talk about going to a beach?"

"Yes," Izuku confirmed, holding one finger up. "Many types of training we have done include at least the risk of falling on the ground hard enough that it can be dangerous, so we train at the beach to fall in the water instead, or at least soft sand. I would have broken a ton of bones if I tried to train using my jets here. The water resistance also makes moving in it more difficult, so some types of training are more efficient. There was a study… mutter mutter mutter." Izuku only shut up when Hitoshi elbowed him. "Anyway. We can get going as soon as you are ready."

"We don't have swimming trunks," Todoroki said, "didn't know I'd need them when going to the sports festival."

"Nope, unless Midobro already got some ready. I only brought my school uniform and these sports clothes."

"Well, no," Izuku said, "not yet."

A car trip and shopping stop later they arrived at the beach club. Tokoyami and Dark shadow stared at the place in awe. Todoroki just glanced around, then focused on Eijiro's explanation of all the training they could do there. He was too busy with his explanation to spot a pink figure lounging at the terrace with a view of the beach. They quickly got changed and went to the area separated for their use. The number of people on the beach had grown a bit since the first time they had come a few weeks earlier. Staff had to drive away some random beach goers that crossed the lines erected to mark their area.

"So what do you think?" Hitoshi asked the first timers.

"Most impressive," Tokoyami said.

"It's nice, even if there are more people than at our beach house," Todoroki said. "Are you… are you sure it is okay with all of them here?"

Izuku looked at the sand around their feet.

"I thought about that," Izuku said. "It might be safer to stay hidden, but I don't want to just lock you inside for an indefinite period of time. If we're lucky people seeing you okay and happy without him might help our case. Still, tell me if you are feeling uncomfortable and we'll get you out of sight to somewhere safe."

"It's okay. I'm happy here."

"Great," Eijiro said and stepped closer. "Wanna fight me in the water? Unless you had other plans?"

Eijiro looked at Izuku.

"No, I think that works fine. Just remember, no quirks. Wouldn't want to freeze people in the water, oh and Ei…"

"Yeah?"

"Remember this is meant to improve both your skills, not just toss people around. Todoroki has trained hard, but his usual style doesn't include close combat, so you'll be at an advantage."

"I already feel sorry for Todoroki," Hitoshi commented.

"You can change places with him if you want." Izuku smirked.

"No, no, I'm fine. Hey Tokoyami, wanna train with me?"

"You can teach him self-control using your quirk, but Dark Shadow needs to stay out of it."

"Okay," the quirk agreed. "The sun is too bright anyway."

They waded into the water to start their training, all except Izuku and Tenya. Izuku waited a moment in silence, watching as the others started sparring. Todoroki held his own better than Izuku had expected even though Eijiro still managed to claim the first win, making Todoroki drink sea water. A few meters away Hitoshi got to enjoy success he rarely got to taste as he pushed Tokoyami down. Finally Izuku decided he couldn't delay any longer.

"Are you ready to try them?" He asked.

"No," Tenya responded, "but do I have a choice?"

"Always, just as you did at the hospital, but you can help people better if you learn to use them."

"You are right of course."

"I try. It is probably best to train using it alone before trying to combine both of your quirks. You know better than me how your brother used the quirk."

"The basic concept is the same as with my engines. The difference is the location. They can provide thrust to move faster but aren't as well suited for straight running as mine. In exchange they are much more manoeuvrable. Tensei could easily hop up walls for example by controlling the direction of thrust. Though he still had a lot of trouble stopping or turning quickly when he got to speed."

"Seems to run in the family, Little T."

Tenya sighed.

It took less than a minute for him to fly head-first into the sea, but with a few more tries it was obvious that he at least wasn't as bad as Izuku had been with his jets. Now they took a dive about equally as often, that is until Izuku instructed Tenya to practise jumping and using the new quirk to extend his leap with just a short burst, like Izuku had already learned to do with his jets.

Gradually Tenya's leaps got a little steadier, though he still couldn't accurately control where he'd land with a giant splash. Later he and Izuku wadded out of the water at the same time following two such splashes.

"Would you like to try something else for a change?" Izuku asked.

"What are you thinking?"

"Punching. You already know how to use your original engines to launch more powerful kicks. You need to be a bit cautious, but I bet you could punch several times harder. Just… be careful so you don't end up like that drill guy from class B did fighting Ei."

"Umh... yes, I would prefer to avoid that. So I will simply punch air instead."

Izuku smirked.

"Probably safest to start like that, but that doesn't mean you couldn't utilize our resident unbreakable punching bag if we figure out how to keep your hand from breaking. It'll just help his own training."

"Are you talking about me?" Eijiro asked, having gotten out of the water next to them.

"Yes, how are you doing?" Izuku said.

"Fine, Todoroki is tougher than I thought even without his quirk. We just took a little break so he could go visit the bathroom."

"Punched his lunch out of him already?" Izuku teased. Eijiro stared back.

"Eh, no, I don't think so, I hope," he said and turned to look towards the club building. Izuku tapped his shoulder.

"Relax. I am just teasing you since Toshi is too busy to do it."

"Oh, heh," Eijiro shrugged, but still glanced towards the building, then did it for the third time.

"Hey, does that look like… Mina?"

Izuku tried to hide his smile as Eijiro finally noticed their classmate. She had really put the guest pass Izuku emailed her to good use, even though he had only just sent it that morning.

"Seems like her to me," Tenya commented. Eijiro was already waving his hand. Their pink classmate dove behind the railing of the terrace briefly, but had to recognize she had been seen. She got up, waved back, and walked to them. She was wearing a full body swimsuit that was one of the UA standard uniforms, with small binoculars hanging from her neck.

"Hey Mina," Eijiro greeted her, "what are you doing here? Did you come to train too?"

"No, heh, just enjoying a Saturday. Thought it would be nice to relax by the beach after yesterday. I mean the weather is nice and…"

"And you came to the same beach we did. What are the chances?"

"Hah, yes, who would have thought. I just thought this place has umh… nice views."

She was turning redder every second, at least on her face. It was quite impressive considering her natural tone.

"Oh, that's why you got those binoculars."

"Uh yes, I like to watch… the ships passing by."

For a moment Izuku thought about slapping Eijiro for how oblivious he was being. Then again Mina had also been a bit creepy watching like that for so long. Izuku wondered how things would have gone if Eijiro did the same to her, except he'd consider it too unmanly to act like that. Even now she was watching his face the minority of the time. Well, there was one way to reward and punish her at the same time.

"Hey," Izuku started, "since Todoroki is on a break why don't you two go at it for a few rounds? I doubt Eijiro is anywhere near needing a break."

"That's a great idea!" Eijiro declared and grabbed Mina's arm. "Come on, I'll explain in the water."

He started pulling her into the water.

"Hey Ei," Izuku called after them, "not sure how you've been raised, but don't even think about going easy on her because she's a girl. She deserves the best opponent she can get and it would not be manly to go any easier on her than anyone else."

"You're right. I promise to fight as well as I can."

"Make sure you do."

He kept dragging her into the water. Tenya stepped closer.

"She is…"

"Yes, she is. I just hope Ei understands it and they figure out their relationship before her peeping goes too far."

"Shouldn't we tell him?"

"Hmm, I don't think it is that critical, at least not right now. It would be better if he finds his own feelings."

"You want to pretend you didn't have a role in this."

Izuku shook his head. "I only traded beach access for a favour."

"And sent her to wrestle the guy she can't take her eyes off of, in a swim suit."

Izuku shrugged.

"It's just classmates training. If they find they enjoy it, that just makes the training better."

"I still feel it is inappropriate."

"Maybe, but wouldn't telling Eijiro about Mina's feelings be just the same, interfering in their relationship? She should tell him herself."

"I guess you are right," Tenya relented. "And you call Hitoshi an evil mastermind."

"I try to learn what I can from him. Seems Todoroki is coming back."

Their friend had just left the club building and was walking across the part of the beach open for other visitors. A few small groups of beachgoers had just arrived and heads turned as Todoroki passed them. Unfortunately it wasn't just girls. Several of the people seemed to be whispering to each other. At least two took their phones to take photos or video. Todoroki started walking faster. A tall young man with a large camera and long coat stepped out of the building behind him.

"Oh damn it," Izuku muttered, already on the move. "Ei! Get over here! Toshi and Tokoyami too!"

"Shoto Todoroki!" The obvious journalist called, if you had a loose definition of journalist. A paparazzi was the more accurate term. Unfortunately he reached Todoroki first, pushing his camera so close it seemed unlikely he'd get any good pictures. "Do you have comments about accusations made against your father yesterday? Why are you here after running away from home? Is this just teenage rebellion and when are you going back home?"

Todoroki's face had fallen into the same emotionless, cool stare he had always hidden behind as long as Izuku had known him. It couldn't hide the shaking in his otherwise calm voice.

"I am not going back. Leave me alone."

"Do you actually think you can stay on the run forever, or that the people that lured you away from your father can avoid the consequences? I am sure he'll be here as soon as the word reaches him that you are here."

Calling the man paparazzi was giving him way too much credit.

"No," Todoroki could barely form the word and the mask on his face was beginning to fracture. He took a step, trying to get away. The idiot with a camera reached out to grab his arm.

"What have these people done to you to make you act so nervous?"

A cold front of air hit Izuku as he got within a few meters of them. The skin of Todoroki's right arm was already developing frost, causing the idiot to let go. Jolting back, he finally looked around enough to see Izuku.

"Hey aren't you the…"

Izuku jumped between them, shoving on the man forcibly. He was tempted to practice a Judo throw on the man, but had enough sense left to understand that such a violent response to words would have just made things more difficult since there were witnesses. Even the push might cause trouble, but at least it was better than having the idiot be frozen to death. The idiot stumbled back several steps, but unfortunately avoided falling on his ass.

"He told you to leave him alone," Izuku said, his voice even colder than the air around them.

"You are, you are the quirk stealer," the idiot held up his camera, but didn't seem to be taking photographs. "What are you doing with the number two hero's son? Wasn't it enough to hurt the public's confidence with the false accusations you made? There is something more isn't there? Could it be you are planning to take his quirk?"

Izuku frowned. "So is that the narrative you're planning to fabricate? Not very original. A middle school bully did it more convincingly. Also, I am pretty sure photographing people is banned on this beach."

"Photographs," the idiot huffed, "what century are you living in? This is a live stream."

"So you are broadcasting your own shitty behaviour of harassing people?"

"You can try to distract people from the relevant, but the reality speaks for itself."

"The reality is that Endeavour is a domestic abuser," Izuku said, making sure to speak clearly towards the camera. If this idiot was going to give him a platform to speak on he would take it even though his audience couldn't be very large.

"There's only your word on that. Not exactly a basis for kidnapping."

"Kidnapping?" Izuku raised an eyebrow. He stepped out of the way of the camera and turned to gesture at Todoroki who… was standing crouched half behind Eijiro. Eijiro was standing, arm stretched in front of Todoroki like he was prepared to cover him from an attack. Tokoyami, Tenya, and Hitoshi stood next to them, focused on the man who would never get past them.

"Does he look like someone that has been kidnapped, someone held here against his will? How often do you find kidnapped people hanging out at a private beach club, or seeking protection from the people you are accusing of kidnapping? Seeking protection from your harassment, mind you."

"Umh, well you are…"

"Trying to help him with the trauma of a lifetime of abuse, of being treated like a weapon for his father's aspirations? You aren't helping. Your viewers should be ashamed for even giving you attention."

"You really expect people to believe that?"

"The reality speaks for itself," Izuku parroted back at him, "you only need to actually watch what he is doing. Not that your belief matters."

"And I am not here for you."

The man tried to move past Izuku, but Izuku moved sideways to block him. After a few moves back and forth they ended up staring at each other. Izuku raised one of his hands to chest level, squeezing it in a fist.

"What did I say about protection from your harassment? You aren't getting a step closer to him, but please try," he said. "Give me an excuse."

The lanky man stood much taller than Izuku, but other than that, there was really no question about who was stronger and who would get buried head-first in the sand if there was any physical confrontation. Something inside Izuku was screaming at him to do just that and more. As the camera slipped down from recording Izuku's face he even gave the idiot a confident threatening smirk, communicating just that without words.

Dad would have been so proud.

"You, you are threatening me."

"No, I'm telling you, you are not going to get to harass Todoroki anymore, and hiding behind a camera won't change that. If anything it might help warn others stupid enough to do that. Also, you are trespassing." Izuku glanced past the guy to the old butler of the club who just arrived with a security guard. The less than paparazzi huffed.

"Too bad for you. I paid to be here."

Izuku's smirk widened.

"That doesn't mean you get to do whatever you want."

"Midoriya-san, is there a problem?" The butler asked.

"Yes, this man is harassing my friend, not to mention all the school bully level accusations he's making, and streaming people on the beach without consent. Throw him out."

"Look who's talking quirk stealer. If anyone deserves to be thrown out, it's you," the man interrupted. Izuku gave him a tired stare.

"If you want to do that, you are more than welcome to try. I could use the warmup before taking on the redheaded guy over there."

"Any time, any place," Eijiro called out. Todoroki was still sheltering by him, but had moved a bit forward to stand by Eijiro's side. Izuku reached to grab the camera, just with two fingers to show he wasn't trying to steal it, and turned it to show the group.

"Note how Todoroki prefers to stay around them rather than anywhere near this guy, or his so-called father for that matter."

The idiot yanked his camera back.

"Let go of my camera you thief. See everyone. He tried to take my camera. To silence me."

The security guard moved to drag the idiot away, but he started struggling and a series of bony spikes pushed out of his forearm, stabbing the guard's arm. Getting away from the guard, the idiot tried to run away. Izuku crouched, ready to pounce and relent to the voice screaming at him to pound the idiot into the sand.

"Hey!" Hitoshi shouted. The idiot got so shocked he fell on his face. The impact broke the brainwashing. "Ha!" Hitoshi shouted.

"What, who?" The idiot's head twisted as he looked for the source of the sounds. His eyes glazed over and he stopped as the brainwashing took over again. Izuku's shoulders slumped as he realized he wouldn't get to bury the man. Maybe if Izuku 'accidentally' poked him with his foot just a little bit it would break the brainwashing.

He glanced at the camera laying on the sand next to the idiot.

"In case there is actually anyone watching someone like this man, know that he is fine, only temporarily brainwashed. Take a lesson from this. Don't go around harassing people with stupid accusations."

He turned around to face Hitoshi who had come closer.

"He's all yours."

Hitoshi nodded and stepped past Izuku.

"Get up," he commanded while Izuku walked to the rest of the group. He stopped in front of Todoroki who seemed uncharacteristically vulnerable.

"Are you okay?"

"Is he coming here?" Todoroki asked quietly.

"I fear he might," Izuku responded. Todoroki seemed to shrink, moving closer to Eijiro and Izuku. "That guy looked like the kind of person who'd contact him just to get a video of what happens."

Now Todoroki was constantly glancing around, looking for danger. His eyes kept stopping on people that were watching what was going on.

Izuku sighed. "I hate to say this, but we should cut our training short and go back."

"So, you are leaving?" Mina asked from behind the others.

"Sorry," Eijiro turned to speak to her. "It really isn't good for Todoroki to stay here if people are coming for him."

"I guess. I was pretty shocked by what I heard yesterday. I hope you'll be okay."

"Ei," Izuku interrupted, "make sure no one gets to him on the way to the dressing room. Don't worry about punching people's faces if you have to. I'll come soon. Have to take care of something first."

"Okay."

They left with Tokoyami, Tenya, and Hitoshi, who had told the brainwashed idiot to leave with the guard. Izuku turned to face the butler with the angry stare he had refused to show in front of the camera. He maintained a relative calmness in his voice, but it was a cold calm, the kind of voice his father might have used when threatening someone's life.

"Someone let that man know we were here, and others probably know by now. If you find anyone reported our presence to anyone outside the club, ban them for life and get me the names."

"Of course Midoriya-san. We already have rules about respecting club members' and visitors' privacy. We won't even need to return their membership dues."

"And make sure no paparazzi get in again. Ban anyone working in media if you have to."

"Yes, Midoriya-san."

Thankfully no one showed up in the time they took to change clothes and get to the car. In a few minutes they drove past the idiot now walking by the road. Izuku turned towards Hitoshi on the opposite side of the backseat as they passed the man.

"So what did you tell him to do?"

"Nothing special. With the stream and people seeing me brainwash him, I had to skip my first ten ideas. In the end I just had him show his ID to the security for them to alert the police and told him to walk home."

"How far is that?"

Hitoshi shrugged. "How should I know? I didn't ask and my quirk couldn't make him answer questions like that anyway."

"So, far."

"Do you mean my quirk or his home?"

"Hopefully both."

The drive back continued in silence for a long time after that. Todoroki even stopped glancing at the windows like Endeavour could have busted through the glass at any moment. Izuku focused on stopping himself from ranting or muttering about media. Later on Todoroki muttered something about their training to Eijiro.

"Hey, don't worry," Eijiro declared. "The beach is nice, but we can still train at Midobro's place. Just have to be a little more careful out of water, unless…"

Eijiro's eyes widened and Izuku could almost see a lightbulb turn on over his head.

"Hey, the pool in the basement is pretty big. What do you think Midobro?"

"You can try it in the evening," Izuku said. "It's not enough for flight training, but if you want to toss someone into it…"

"I am not sure that is wise," Tenya interrupted. "It goes against all fundamental pool safety practices."

"So does punching and kicking people, throwing them in the sea or jumping inhumanly far using a quirk that was just implanted into you. Anyway, it's a private pool, not a public one, so training rules would be more fitting than standard ones."

Tenya looked at Izuku for several seconds, hand slightly up like he was about to slash air in his usual robotic way, but couldn't counter Izuku's words. The car turned in front of Izuku's house and stopped. They got out.

"Speaking of punching, you said something about taking me on before? Wanna spar now?" Eijiro asked.

"No," Izuku responded.

"Oh, okay…"

"But I do need to punch something to let out steam after dealing with that guy."

"Oh, so what's the difference?"

Izuku shook his head, smiling. The others had comparable reactions. Izuku turned to face Eijiro, directly holding one fist up.

"Nothing. Make sure to use your quirk. I don't feel like holding back."

"Ooh, you did not just say that. Fine," Eijiro hardened his arms, punching them together, "but you have to use that new technique. Wouldn't want to break your fingers by accident."

"Technique? Oh, you mean this," Izuku lit his Dragon Blade and forced it to shrink and thicken around his fist.

"Yeah, the… what do you call it?"

Izuku blinked and looked at the blue shining flame-like mass around his fist.

"I haven't actually thought about that, maybe something like Fire Fist."

"I guess that is pretty descriptive, but it doesn't sound as cool as Dragon Blade."

"More like hot," Hitoshi commented and looked at Todoroki. "What do you think?"

"I don't know…" Todoroki muttered, "a Hell Fist."

"That… works, but…"

"It sounds like something Endeavour would do," Izuku said, "and people would just twist it the worst way in my case."

"Sorry," Todoroki muttered. Izuku was about to tell him to not be when he continued. "What about Dragon Fist? I don't think he has ever used a name like that."

"Hey that sounds coo- I mean hot," Eijiro agreed. "You should use that."

"Okay, Dragon Fist it is. You ready?" Izuku raised his fists in a fighting stance.

"Yeah," Eijiro mimicked his stance. Izuku's weight shifted ready to attack when Eijiro suddenly opened his fists and held his open hands in front of him.

"Wait, wait. We should change clothes first. I don't want to ruin this too."

They were all wearing their UA uniforms since, with the impromptu sleepover, the others had only brought those and their PE clothes the previous day. Izuku smiled.

"Probably smart. You already destroyed two sports shirts yesterday."

"You mean you destroyed one of them," Hitoshi interrupted. Eijiro scratched his head with one hand, pointing at Izuku with the other.

"He's not wrong."

They went inside and started to change, all of them. Izuku wasn't about to let the rest slack off. Then they scattered across the yard. This time Tenya trained with Todoroki as Izuku faced Eijiro next to the shattered boulder. He re-formed his newly named Dragon Fists.

"Ready?"

"Y… actually," Eijiro said and glanced towards Todoroki and Tenya, "can I ask you something?"

"Always."

"What happened at the beach, with that guy. The way you reacted, I felt something. I think it was the look in your eyes or something like that. Was it… what you talked about in the morning, you know, the switch?"

Izuku drew a deep breath and resisted looking towards their two-coloured friend.

"I think, kind of. He wasn't attacking anyone of us, not exactly, so it wasn't quite the same but… I wanted to hurt him for what he did, hurt him badly. You don't understand how close I got."

"So does that mean that Todoroki is also a 'switch' like me?"

"I… at least he is getting there."

"Okay, just wanted to make sure." Eijiro hardened and raised his arms in a defensive stance. Izuku just stood there, staring for a long moment.

"Ei, don't you mind what I just said?"

"Nope. It sounds bad, but I know you wouldn't do anything like that without a reason."

The complete trust in his voice made Izuku want to cry, but his dam held and he drew a deep breath instead.

"I wish I could be as confident of that," he paused. "Ei, if I ever go too far without a reason, promise you'll stop me."

Eijiro dropped his arms and undid his quirk.

"Hey, I don't think that's going to happen."

"Ei," Izuku pleaded.

"Okay," he gave Izuku the most calming look and smile yet, "I promise, but you have to also promise that if you feel you need to hit someone, you come to me first."

Eijiro pointed at himself with his thumb. Izuku sniffed and nodded.

"You can start now," Eijiro hardened again. Izuku charged. He packed his negative emotions into his fist, letting them shatter against hardened skin.