"Midterms are coming up," Shinsou said as they walked through the campus gate. Izuku nodded, dread filling him. "I think I'll do ok."

"The practical is always tough. Last time, we had to deal with you," he joked, ignoring Izuku's glare. "Now that you're training with Mirko, they're going to be expecting more from you."

Izuku straightened. "I've only spent two weekends with her." "Yeah, but haven't you also been training with Bakugo?"

Izuku winced. His face and shoulder were still sore from being thrown into the ground so many times. "Don't remind me."

Shinsou grinned. "That bad, huh?"

Izuku bit the inside of his lip as he thought about the fight with Bakugo a few hours ago. "You're fucking weak!"

"I fucking know."

"Watch your fucking language, Deku!"

Izuku picked at the band-aid covering the burn on his cheek from the blast that followed.

"Neither of them are going easy on me. Plus, Aizawa's training and working out with All Might, I'm actually eating all my meals." Izuku relaxed when they turned the last corner, and the house came into view.

Home.

The word still sent a jolt through him every time he thought it. He hadn't said it out loud yet— wasn't sure if he ever would—but for the next two breaks and the dinner every few weeks, he would consider this place home.

He squinted, sure that Mic and Eri were in the front yard. "But I've been handling the effects of my quirk training better. I think the medication might have something to do with it."

"So, it's working?"

Izuku shrugged. They were only a few houses away now. "It's short-term. Just until I can get a handle on managing my emotions myself, but I think it's working."

Shinsou crouched down, arms opened wide for Eri who was running towards them. "That's good." "Hoshi!" Eri said, wrapping her arms around his neck. "I missed you!"

"I saw you just the other day," he said, returning the hug.

Eri pushed back, her face in a pout. "But you're my brother here." "Oh," Shinsou drawled. "Alright then, I missed you too."

"Zuzu!" Eri grasped his hand, pulling him down the street. "You have to see my project. Papa's been helping me all day!"

Izuku stumbled after her, barely managing to wave to Mic before he was dragged through the front door and down the hall to the main room.

He studied the model solar system, the styrofoam balls messily painted and hung from strings, the black box it sat in, flecked with white paint to look like stars, listening as Eri babbled out facts about the planets. She pointed to each one, her hands covered in chipping red, blue, and orange, a streak of black across her cheek.

"Eri, you're a mess," Aizawa said as he dropped his bag on the sofa.

"It's art, daddy!"

"It's art, Shota!" Mic said from the kitchen.

Izuku turned away, covering his mouth with his hand to smother his laugh as Aizawa's brow twitched in annoyance.

"Eri," he said sternly, "it's almost time for dinner. Go wash up."

Eri frowned down at her messy hands and huffed. Izuku watched her shuffled down the hall, grumbling to herself.

"Midoriya, help set the table."

Izuku scrambled off the floor, accepting the plates that Shinsou handed him. He set them around the table, and then took the food and sat that on the table too. It held such familiarity. He was becoming used to it. A cold rush filled his chest at the realization, wondering if this was the meaning of home. He watched Eri clammer into her seat, most of the paint scrubbed from her hands, the scowl Aizawa gave her, and then the dread-filled glare he sent Mic. He watched how Shinsou said something to Mic, the corner of his mouth tipped up in a rare smile that wasn't so rare here, and Mic laughed so hard his shoulders shook.

And just as Izuku felt himself begin to doubt, to think this won't last forever, it never does, Shinsou was in front of him, his smile slowly falling as worry creased in the corners of his eyes.

"You hungry?" he asked.

Izuku forced the lump in his throat down. "Yeah."

Shinsou looked at him with an amused expression. "Then quit sulking over here and sit down."

Izuku rolled his eyes and forced his feet to start moving. "I wasn't sulking."

As Shinsou sat down across from him, he smirked. "You always get this look on your face when you start getting stuck in your head," he said, jabbing an accusatory chopstick towards him.

"It's true," Aizawa grumbled, sipping his coffee. Izuku huffed, heat stinging across his cheeks.

"Yeah, you always look like this," Eri said, scrunching up her face with a blank expression.

Izuku felt his blush sting harder as Shinsou laughed and reached across the table to high-five her. He looked between the two a squeak of disbelief ripping out of him. "I did not come here to be attacked."

"You don't have a choice," Aizawa casually pointed out.

"Comes with the territory," Mic hummed thoughtfully, his signature grin in place.

Izuku let out a strangled, frustrated breath through his nose. "What territory?" He jumped when Eri poked him in the ribs, tender from when Bakugo nailed him with a kick.

"You're our family, Zuzu," she stated matter-of-factly. "Papa's right, you're too serious."

Izuku's jaw dropped. "I am not serious!" He shot a glare at Mic who raised his hands in innocence.

He heard Aizawa groan, too. "Todoroki is serious."

Shinsou shrugged. "Oh, yeah, definitely, but I've seen your color-coded schedule."

"It's a lot to keep track of," he defended, pushing his rice around sourly.

"You have it planned out to five-minute intervals."

Heat rushed across Izuku's cheeks again and he stared very deliberately down at his plate. "It's easier to schedule the train rides that way," he grumbled.

"Oh, speaking of, how is that going?" Mic asked, interjecting into the conversation. Izuku sighed, wanting to thank him.

"Great, I'm learning a lot from Mirko," he said and paused thoughtfully, then added, "and Kacchan."

Aizawa's brow furrowed. "Is that why I got a message from Denki about scorch marks on the roof?"

"Oh," Izuku said, wringing his fingers. "I may have teased Kacchan a bit much the other day." Izuku thought for a moment that Aizawa would get up and leave the table, but he stayed and just looked at Izuku with endless exhaustion.

He eventually turned to look across the table at Mic, exasperated. "Why is it always the problem children?"

Mic shrugged, sipping from his drink. "You collect them, Shota."

"Right," he grumbled in this mug. "Stop me next time, Hizashi."

"I absolutely not. Gives me an excuse to make more pancakes."

Izuku looked down at his lap to hide the smile that he couldn't stifle. Beside him, Eri giggled and under the table, Shinsou kicked his foot and a thought pressed into his mind.

You're stuck with us.

Izuku glared across the table but Shinsou pointedly ignored him. Izuku felt a mischievous spark flow through him and figured a little payback was in order. He reached into Shinou's mind, eating

the rest of his rice as if nothing was amiss, while he pulled a certain blonde to the forefront of Shinsou's thoughts with a string of words.

Shinsou had been listening to whatever Mic was saying to Eri when his face fell blank and glazed over with a bright red blush, breath hitching. Shinsou covered his mouth, glaring daggers at Izuku.

Izuku stared back, mouth twitching as he tried to hide the smile that threatened to give their interaction away.

You're dead.

Izuku cocked his head to the side, smiling sweetly. Looking forward to it, bro.

Izuku considered the wall of chips and snacks before him wondering how he'd gotten roped into the shopping trip. "What did Mina want again?"

Beside him, Shoji looked down at the list in one of his many hands and then back up to the rows of chips. "Pickle flavor. Two bags."

Izuku reached up and tossed them in the quickly filling cart. "I still can't believe you guys do so much shopping."

Shoji's eyes crinkled. "Did you not do this with your old class?"

"No, we spent the entire stipend on frozen food, and it was our homeroom teacher that bought it," Izuku explained, following behind Shoji as he pushed the cart further down the aisle. "We rarely cooked. Lots of frozen dinners and stuff, or we brought food back from the cafeteria."

Shoji stopped and grabbed a mess of snack items. "Mr. Aizawa used to do that, but then he said learn to manage money or starve." Shoji shrugged, frowning down at the list as he checked things off. "Iida and Yaoyouozu took on the responsibility first as class reps, but they only brought back six bags of carrots and every condiment imaginable." Izuku snickered as Shoji's shoulders slumped at the memory. "That was a hard week. Bakugo took over after that."

"How did you get stuck helping Bakugo?"

Shijo's eyes crinkled again as they turned down the frozen foods aisle. "I offered to help carry things. He begrudgingly accepted."

Izuku snorted. "Kaminari and Kirishima would probably get them kicked out if he brought them." "They did once."

Izuku barely stopped a laugh. "What do we need from here?"

"Five bags of shrimp, six boxes of waffles, and three bags of dumplings."

Izuku tossed them all into the cart hoping they'd have enough space left for everything else. Shoji seemed to notice his worry because he said, "All we have left to get is the ramen bowls." Izuku followed him and placed the packages of wrapped microwave-ready ramen on the bottom rack.

"You two done yet?"

Izuku looked back at Bakugo pushing his own cart full of fresh vegetables and meat. "Yep," Izuku said when Shoji checked the list once more and nodded.

"Great, I'm sick of this place."

Izuku watched the number on the screen rise with growing horror. They still had the other cart to get through. "Food costs this much?" he gasped, unable to comprehend why Bakugo and Shoji weren't freaking out.

Bakugo just frowned at him, arms crossed over his chest with a credit card in his hand. "You've never been shopping, have you?" He sighed when Izuku shook his head. "We have twenty-two people to feed every week. It's a lot of damn food."

Izuku squeaked as the bill gained a comma. The girl scanning their purchase smiled at him, amused. He thought he might pass out.

"The schools paying for it, so I don't know why you're freaking out."

Izuku zeroed in on the card Bakugo held up. "I just didn't realize it cost so much."

"You never went to the store with your parents?" Shoji asked, his multiple hands bagging the groceries rapidly. The other cashier who'd come to help just watched in amazement.

Izuku shook his head. "No, we had to stay home," he answered quietly.

"Then this must be a shock, but it's not normal," Shoji said, moving bags into the cart.

Izuku let a breath out at that and watched curiously as Bakugo inserted the card and the amount due dropped to zero. Bakugo thanked the girl quietly as she handed him the receipt. He folded up the long slip of paper carefully and put it in his pocket. "What?" he asked when he saw Izuku staring.

"So, you just put the card in there and it pays for it?" "Do you not know what a credit card is either?"

"I do, I've just never seen one used," Izuku huffed.

Bakugo sighed heavily again. "Yes, you put the card in, and it transfers the money owed." He started grabbing bags from the cart till his arms were full and then looked at Izuku expectantly. Izuku jumped, realizing he needed to help carry.

The store was only a few blocks from the dorms, but as the gate came into view, Izuku lost feeling in his fingers. He bit back his complaint, after all, Shoji and Bakugo were carrying way more bags than him.

Izuku was sitting at his bed, pen caught between his teeth as he tried to figure out where he'd gone wrong in his calculation. His thoughts were interrupted by a loud knocking on his door.

"Izuku!" Mina called.

He shoved off his notebook and pulled the door open. "What's up?"

"Come study with us," she said, grabbing his arm, begging. "I have snacks!"

Izuku sighed, glaring back at the study mess on his bed. He wasn't making progress alone anyway. "Sure, where at?"

"My room. Come or I'm dragging you," she warned, smiling sweetly as she walked away.

Izuku scooped up his books and study materials before following her down the hall. She held the door open for him. Kaminari and Kirishima were already there, sprawled out on her pink rug. Bakugo was sitting in her computer chair and, surprisingly, Shinsou sat on her bed feigning annoyance. Izuku smirked at him and received a heady glare in response.

"I don't know why I ever agree to help you idiots," Bakugo groaned, letting his head fall back. Mina grinned. "Because we're your idiots."

Bakugo snorted in response but didn't deny it.

Izuku took a seat next to Kirishima and set his books down.

"Oh great, I forgot to bring mine," Kiri said, picking up the calculus book and flipping open to the page Izuku had marked. "I was stunk on his one, too. Baku-bro"—Kiri handed the paper to Bakugo —"help."

Bakugo snatched the paper from his hands and studied the problem. "You confused this negative sign for subtraction," he said, circling the mistake. "Use the parentheses like you're supposed to, Kiri."

Kiri pouted as he took the paper back and gestured to Izuku. "That wasn't me, that was Izuku!"

Izuku gulped as Bakugo shifted his gaze to him. Red. It made his heart hammer in a different way, still embarrassed that he'd started thinking of Bakugo every time he began to feel a panic attack coming on.

"Dumbass," Bakugo half laughed, mouth turned up.

Izuku scowled down at the paper, burning right through it, trying to think of anything else. "Thanks," he grumbled and quickly amended his mistake.

"Alright," Mina said, ripping open a bag of pickle-flavored chips, "let's crush these mid-terms!"

A weak chorus of cheers sounded in response.

"That was pitiful," she said, crossing her arms. "Whatever. Let's start with Calc."

Izuku was working through a problem when what did you get for 42? entered his thoughts. He flipped back a page and answered 184.

I don't think that's right.

Izuku glared at Shinsou sitting on Mina's bed behind him. "Then why'd you ask?"

Shinsou raised a brow. "Because I forget you're an idiot."

Izuku flushed with anger as Shinsou smirked but restrained himself from using his quirk. "Ask Kacchan next time," he huffed, turning back to his paper to check his work.

"Did I miss something?" Mina asked, looking between them with a confused frown. "Shinsou didn't ask anything?"

Shinsou chuckled. "We figured out that we can use his ability to hear thoughts to communicate."

Mina gasped, springing forward. "I wanna try! How do you do it?"

He shrugged. "Just think something and he'll hear it."

She screwed her eyes shut; face scrunched in concentration. Izuku felt the thought press against him, warm and curious, and let it in. Can you hear me?

I can.

Her eyes popped open with a sound of surprise. "You can talk back?"

"No, I'm just pulling together a thought in your head," Izuku explained, tapping his temple.

"Wait, wait!" Mina said, extending her arms, palms out. "Is that how you two are always on another level of teamwork during combat training? Because you rarely talk to each other, but it's like you have a plan." She gasped when they nodded and looked away with a dawned-on expression. "That explains so much."

"Honestly, I'm surprised no one asked sooner," Shinsou said above them.

Izuku nodded in agreement. "But I think Mr. Aizawa is getting suspicious, especially after the other day," he muttered, thinking of the looks he and Shinsou received at dinner. Apparently, they weren't as inconspicuous as they thought.

"What happened the other day?" Kaminari asked.

Izuku grinned at him and was about to think up a lie when he received a kick to the head. "Ow!" he growled, glaring back at Shinsou.

Don't you dare.

"I wasn't going to, but now I'm reconsidering," he spat back, rubbing the bump on his head.

"You're doing it again!" Mina scoffed.

Kirishima fell back laughing. "Oh man, it must be good. I've never seen Shinsou with so much emotion."

"Do you idiots want to pass chemistry or not?"

They all snapped around to look at Bakguo and immediately pulled out the review. After a while, Mina gasped again, sitting straight up and turned to Izuku.

"I bet if you and Bakugo used that trick you'd be unbeatable as a team." Bakugo scoffed, "No way am I letting that nerd in my head."

Izuku leaned towards her, lowering his voice to an almost whisper, but still plenty loud enough to be heard, "I don't want in his head either."

She snickered. "How long are you two going to let this rivalry go on? You guys work well together, just accept it."

Kirishima patted Bakugo's knee solemnly. "We're working on it." "The hell we are, shitty hair."

Kiri faked a wince. "Oh, back to the old nickname, are we?" He grinned mischievously. "Did I hit a nerve?"

"You can fail for all I care," Bakugo growled through clenched teeth.

Izuku shivered at the hostility filling the room and eyed the door for escape. Mina and Kaminari were blocking his path, but he was pretty sure he could jump over them if he needed to—

"Earth to Izuku!"

He jumped, realizing Mina was waving a hand in front of his face. "Huh?"

"The next problem, silly."

"Ugh, my brain is fried," Kaminari whined, closing the book.

Kirishima yanked him up by the collar of his shirt. "No way. We have to beat Class B this time!"

Kaminari groaned. "I know, but I seriously just don't get it. The problems make no sense." He slapped the worksheet with a defeated sigh. "I've never scored higher than a D in chemistry anyway. It's no use."

"Well with that attitude it's not," Mina tutted, scooting closer to him. "There's gotta be a way you can understand it."

"Shinsou's great at chemistry," Izuku said casually. "He always helps me with my homework." He ignored the wave of hostility coming from behind him.

Kaminari perked up. "Wait, really?"

Shinsou shifted, glancing away. "I'm not terrible," he muttered and nearly jumped when Kaminari hopped on the bed and settled down beside him, leaning closer as he pointed out a particular problem giving him trouble.

I'm still mad at you.

Izuku smirked down at his paper. Sure, you are.

Tenth in the class wasn't bad. In fact, Izuku was quite proud given that he was behind on some of the material still. He relaxed in his chair feeling the weight of doing well lifted off. In front of him, Bakugo sulked, grumbling under his breath. He'd dropped to number two and Yaoyorozu took first, but apparently, they'd been stealing number one from each other every other semester.

The class settled down when Aizawa walked in.

"You have your practical today," he said as if any of them could forget. "Also, we will be going over the training camp this summer after the exam." He waited till the excited chatter quieted down. "Camp will begin the weekend after your internships start up again. If you want to change your mentor, you'll need to submit the appropriate documents, otherwise, you will continue with your last mentor. Any questions?" He ignored the hands that were raised. "No? Good, moving on. Your exam will be in Ground Gamma. You will be told more then. Do not be late."

With that he left, leaving the class to the rest of homeroom hour.

Izuku settled back in his chair about to put his earbuds in when Mina bound over to him.

"I wanna practice," she said eagerly, pulling over a chair to sit beside him. Izuku put his phone down. "Really?"

"Heck yeah, what if we're paired for the final?" She smiled then, a little shy. "Plus, it's really cool."

Well, what do you want to talk about? he asked, chuckling when she grabbed her head.

"I don't think I'll ever get used to that," she gushed and then closed her eyes. What's the deal with

you and Shinsou? You two are super close.

Izuku thought for a moment and then replied, I stayed with his parents over the last break. She blinked in surprise. You're staying with Mr. Aizawa?

You know?

She rolled her eyes and just gestured to Shinsou half asleep on his desk.

Izuku nodded, understanding. I thought they were related at first.

She laughed, slapping a hand over her mouth in a late attempt to stifle it. Oh god, if Todoroki finds out he'll lose his mind. When her giggles died down, she gave him a curious look. Why are you staying with Mr. Aizawa?

Izuku looked down. I haven't had parents since I was four, he replied slowly. It took a second for her to register the words and then she deflated, sinking into the chair like a weight had been placed on her.

Her mouth opened like she meant to reply, but then she shut it. That sucks. I'm sorry. Izuku shrugged. I don't really remember them. Only flashes and screams. He shivered. So, what's it like living with him?

He thought of the pancakes, and the room cleared out for him, and Eri, and that day Aizawa had found him outside UA, and how he looked forward to having dinner every couple of weeks with them, and how all of that felt like home.

Safe, he answered without really meaning to.

Izuku counted the capture net bombs in his belt as Aizawa explained how the exam would work.

"Two teams of five and two teams of six," he was explaining. "To pass, each team must defeat the villains."

Izuku looked at the cityscape. It felt like so long ago he'd joined Hatsume to play the villains. Now, he was one of the heroes. Warmth spread in his chest while Aizawa split them up, feeling a sense of pride. Izuku considered his group: Jirou, Ojiro, Koda, Bakugo, and Sero. They all had strong quirks. Whatever was planned for their test, Izuku was confident they would pass.

The gate opened up before them as the first group to go. "Begin," Aizawa said, as the gates closed.

Izuku turned towards the city, stomach-churning. Jirou knelt down and plugged her earphone jack into the ground. They waited in silence for a few minutes. Her mouth turned down and her eyes flicked up, searching the nearby buildings.

"Robots," she said, standing. "Lots of them. They're coming from the north." She stepped up closer to the front, talking to Bakugo, "But there are three people walking among them. They seemed to be staying put."

Bakugo narrowed his eyes at the northern expanse of buildings. His eyes cut to Izuku. "We just need to get Deku to see them. Right?"

Izuku nodded, feeling that determined spark flare again. "Right. If I can see them, I can stop them."

"Then this is what we'll do. Jirou and Koda, you two stay on recon." Bakugo motioned to Izuku and his belt. Izuku pulled out the earpieces and handed them to Jirou and Koda, quickly explaining how they work. "The four of us will handle the robots and villains."

"Sounds like a plan," Jirou grinned, fitting the earpiece in and Koda nodded beside her.

Izuku turned back to the buildings as something trembled. He shoved Sero to the side, quirk flaring open as a wave of thoughts flooded him. Izuku fell to the ground, clutching his shoulder where he'd been grazed, wincing as blood seeped through his fingers and soaked into the fabric of his suit. When he looked back to stop Snipe, he was gone.

Cursing under his breath, Izuku pulled out a strip of cloth from his belt and tied it around the wound. He kinda felt bad, knowing it was his fault for getting hit. He barked out a short, frustrated laugh. It'd just been meant to scare them, miss them entirely, but he'd acted without thinking and got in the way of the shot.

"Are you alright?" Jirou asked over her shoulder. She and Sero were standing in front of him so he could tend to the wound with some protection.

"I'm ok."

Izuku pulled the cloth tight with his teeth just as Bakugo toughed down. "He's gone," he snarled, eyes falling to the bandage. His lip curled back as he said, "We should move. Watch your backs."

They moved further into the city, Jirou warning them about incoming robots. When they tried to avoid them, they followed.

"Maybe they're being controlled," Izuku called, stepping back from the robots he'd just smashed. He landed a kick to one coming up from behind, grinning at the way the metal head caved in.

"By who though?" Jirou yelled back, dodging the attacks of a robot as she led it into a trap Sero had set.

"I bet it's fucking Nezu," Bakugo said, distorted by a blast. "That's Principal Nezu to you, Bakugo," a robot chirped.

Bakugo blasted it to scrap metal with a cocky grin. "Jirou, where are these pieces of shit coming from?"

"A building north of us. Nezu and someone else is in the basement," she said a moment later.

Izuku snapped his head to the right. "Someone's coming," he warned, dropping into a fighting stance. The others tensed and stepped forward. The moment they stepped out of the shadows, Izuku pressed into their mind and made them stop.

Midnight blinked, fingers slowly uncurling from her sleeve.

Izuku took his time weaving her thoughts, convincing her that the fight was over and to return to Aizawa with a report.

"Good job everyone!" she said, clapping her hands together with a proud smile. Then she turned and left in the direction of the entrance.

Izuku released a breath as he drew his quirk back in. He realized the others were staring at him. "What?" he asked, hoping they didn't notice how his cheeks began to burn.

Sero grinned. "Dude, that was sick. What is that now? One down, two to go?"

"Three," Jirou corrected, plugged into the ground again. "Three to go. Two haven't moved, but I think Snipe is headed back towards us." She stood, looking to the east. "I think this is where we should split."

Izuku jumped out of the way of more shots. They peppered around them, burying into the dirt at their feet.

"Are you sure that's wise?" Snipe asked, leveling his weapon at them.

"Go. Now," Bakugo said.

Izuku gave Jirou a pointed nod, tapping his ear and she nodded, turning to follow Koda.

"Move it, Deku!" Bakugo shoved him forward, pulling him around a corner as more shots landed near them. "What's his plan, Deku?"

Izuku pressed harder into the wall, feeling the cool surface against his head. "A trap of some sort. Something Principal Nezu set up." Bakugo glared at him, so Izuku said, "I didn't exactly have a lot of time."

"Whatever, we need to find Sero and Tail."

"Right," Izuku said, turning in the opposite direction until he was yanked back by the collar of his suit.

"Your self-sacrificing ass is staying with me," Bakugo bit out in a poor attempt to keep his voice down.

Izuku pulled free from his grasp. He wanted to argue, but it wasn't really the time, so he reached out with his quirk trying to locate Sero and Ojiro. Izuku grabbed Bakugo's arm when he sensed Snipe getting close and pulled him through the maze of buildings. Bakugo tugged his arm free and followed in a jog as Izuku took random turns and backtracked at times.

"Does it always take you this long?"

Izuku glared at Bakugo. "It's not as easy as it sounds," he grumbled. They were close. He was pretty sure Sero and Ojiro were coming towards them.

Their path was cut off by a swarm of robots. Izuku groaned. If he had to fight one more senseless

machine, he'd lose his mind. "Stupid. Hunks. Of. SCRAP METAL!" he bit out between punches and kicks. He stomped over the remains grumbling to himself about how Hatsume was going to have the best week of her life digging through mounds of robot parts courtesy of him.

He stopped when he heard a snicker behind him. "What?" he spat at Bakugo, but his vigor sputtered out when he saw Ojiro and Sero there laughing too. "Oh, cool, you found us," he muttered, brushing himself off and stepping out of the mess of robots.

"How could we not? We heard you complaining from two blocks away," Sero snickered behind his hand.

"Heard here, too," Jirou said, a smile evident in her voice.

Izuku scowled down at the walkie-talkie, feeling his cheeks burn. Snipe was coming, but he debated telling them, then reminded himself this was their midterm.

"You look ridiculous all pissed off," Bakugo said, wheezing from the laughing fit.

Izuku tried to be angry, tried to look annoyed, but Bakugo's cheeks were tinged pink, and he was smiling wide and unbidden, dragging a hand through his pale, blond hair with a shake of his head like he couldn't believe what he was seeing, and Izuku turned from them—from him.

"Glad I'm a source of entertainment," Izuku forced out of his tight throat and pointedly ignored how his stomach rolled. "Snipe is coming." He took off running, feeling the sudden urge to do so. He skidded to a stop when Snipe's thoughts shifted. A sense of foreboding filled him.

"What is it, Midoriya?"

Izuku looked at Ojiro. "I'm not sure. Snipe just. . .stopped. I think something's about to happen." A moment later, Jirou was shouting through the receiver to find shelter. Izuku looked at the ground as it began to shake. "An earthquake?" He lurched forward, the buildings around them trembling and breaking apart. Izuku barely got his footing to move out of the way of falling debris, struggling to take Ojiro's outstretched hand.

Bakugo and Sero worked together to catch and break apart the chunks of the building that fell.

"Shit," Bakugo said as the building wavered and topped to the side, giving Sero a frantic look that he seemed to understand because a split second later Izuku and Ojiro were wrapped in tape and flung forward.

Izuku felt the heat of the blast Bakugo let off as Sero pulled them into a safer area, giving him just a few extra seconds to do so. Izuku pushed himself up, watching in horror as the building completely collapsed. He screamed, "Kacchan!" but his voice was drowned out by another blast and the crash of rubble that followed. He relaxed as Bakugo rolled out of the fall near them.

"Shit," Bakugo said again, laying on his back, breathing hard. "Cementoss," Ojiro said.

"Another wave is coming," Jirou warned, "and you're two blocks away from Principal Nezu and Cementoss. Head north. Snipe still hasn't moved."

Izuku pushed himself to his knees, coughing as he breathed in the dusty air, and pulled Sero's tape off of him. "Thanks for the save," he said to Sero, still trying to calm his racing heart.

"Don't mention it," Sero muttered, waving him off. They all groaned when the ground began to shake again.

"Bakugo, I've got an idea!" Sero shot his tape up and it wrapped around a thick pipe. He used it to drag him and Ojiro—who hadn't removed the tape—upward and off the ground. "Cementoss can only manipulate concrete, so we'll be safer up here."

Izuku looked up at the pipe system that ran across a stretch of buildings. It was about twenty feet up. No way he could get up there with only his staff, not with the way the ground was moving. Maybe Sero would throw him some tape.

Bakugo yanked him up, holding him steady as the ground rolled under their feet. Distantly, Izuku was amazed at Bakugo's balance, but each thought sputtered out as Bakugo pressed a hand against his back, the heat of his palm soaking through the fabric of Izuku's suit. "You need to hold on!" he yelled over the crash of concrete, ducking instinctively as a chunk landed behind them.

Izuku fumbled with his hands, not sure what to hold on to, and settled on wrapping his arms around Bakugo's neck.

"Don't let go," Bakugo muttered, whispered, against Izuku's ear and Izuku gripped tighter, screwing his eyes shut, and tried not to think about how he could feel Bakugo's breath against his neck. His grip fumbled as Bakugo shot them into the air, gravity threatening to pull him down as pain shot up his injured arm. Reflexively, Izuku's legs shot up to grip Bakugo tighter as the threat of falling surged through him. He sighed with relief when they landed on the metal pipes, hurriedly moving away from Bakugo.

Around them, buildings crumbled leaving the city a barely recognizable pile of rubble. They all held their breath as the pipes shuttered and creaked, but they stayed standing.

Izuku shakily pulled the receiver to his mouth. "Jirou, Koda, are you guy's ok?" "We're ok," she responded, sounding a bit out of breath. "What about you guys?"

Izuku looked at Ojiro and Sero who gave feeble nods and then over to Bakugo who was laying on his back staring up at the sky but otherwise he looked fine. "Yeah. Yeah, we're ok. How far are we?"

"I think the building they're in collapsed," she said. "You're really close, it should be on your left. It was a smaller building. They're in the basement."

Izuku reached out with his quirk, searching for anything that would give him a hint in which pile of destruction they might be in. "I've got them," he said, springing to his feet. He ripped his staff free and used it to slide down a pipe to the ground, knowing the others would follow.

"Snipe is coming from behind," Jirou said and Izuku relayed the message to the others.

He skidded to a stop in front of a half-standing structure, metal twisting out of its crumbled walls. Izuku looked to his right with dread as six large robots approached them.

"We've got these guys," Sero said, shooting tape out to trap the robots. Ojiro stood beside him, tail raised and ready.

Bakugo cracked his fingers. "This is going to take a big blast."

Izuku pressed his hands over his ears, crouching down so the shockwave wouldn't knock him off his feet. Smoke curled around them, but the door to the basement was exposed. Izuku gave it a yank but the door was locked from the inside. He gritted his teeth in annoyance. "I just need to see them," he reminded lowly.

"'fraid I can't let ya do that," Snipe said. "This has gone on long enou—"

Izuku brought him to a stop, weaving a sturdy command to stay still. It would hold him for a while. Izuku reached into his belt and pulled out an accelerant goo bomb, throwing it at the door. "Blast it," he said, backing away and pulled out two more smoke bombs.

The door was ripped off its hinges and Izuku tossed the bombs in, jumping in after.

Disorientated by the smoke, Cementoss threw an unaimed punch. Izuku dodged it easily and brought him to a stop, then turned his sights on Nezu who smiled gleefully.

"I knew we made the right decision with you, Midoriya," he said. "We're all so proud." Izuku gulped and raised his staff suspiciously. "Is this you surrendering?"

Nezu's head tilted to the side, his smile feeling more like a wince. "I'm afraid Mr. Aizawa wants us to be stopped completely."

"Well then, sorry about this." Izuku gave a simple command, one he didn't even need to convince Nezu of. . .or should've, if it had worked. Izuku shook his head and tried again.

Nezu blinked patiently. "Is something wrong?"

"Uh. . ." Izuku said eloquently and then looked at Bakugo. "Get—Get Sero, please."

Bakugo scowled at him. "Just use your mind control."

"Oh yeah!" Izuku thumped his head. "Can't believe I didn't think to use my quirk! Silly me!" He turned from Bakugo and climbed up the ladder. "Sero!"

Sero looked up as he cut off the last strip of tape. "What's up?" "I need you to wrap up Principal Nezu."

Sero followed him into the basement, and something dawned on his face as he saw Nezu and he laughed. "Oh man, how did we miss that?"

It occurred to Bakugo too as he dragged a hand down his face. "He's a—"

"That is correct," Nezu cut off, willingly letting Sero wrap him up. "I am an animal. It would seem that Midoriya's quirk does not work on me."

A buzzer blared and Izuku dropped his control over Cementoss and Snipe when they exited the bunker. Snipe shook his head and grumbled out, "Well done."

Izuku watched in amazement as Cementoss returned the city to exactly how it looked before. "Move it, Deku."

Izuku stumbled forward from the kick to the ass. He glared back at Bakugo. "What are you in such a rush for?" he huffed.

Bakugo narrowed his eyes. "You're arm, dumb ass."

Izuku looked down at the bandage spotted with red. "Right."

When they arrived at the entrance, Izuku was dragged by Recovery Girl to a stool to sit on.

"I can't believe Izuku was actually shot," Uraraka said, looking at his arm as Recovery Girl unwrapped it.

"It was my fault," Izuku said, wincing as the wound was poked and cleaned. "I reacted before really thinking. I knew Snipe wasn't aiming to hurt us." Izuku stiffened when Aizawa paused in explaining to the second group the expectations of the exam and glared at him.

"The building's crumbling must've been really scary," Tsu said. "You guys saw everything?" Izuku asked.

Uraraka motioned to the screens built into the wall. "The exam is done differently each time, so it's not like we can prepare." She shrugged looking up at the screens. "I hate robots, too," she said solemnly, but Izuku knew she was teasing him by the way the corner of her mouth flickered up.