Things were going just too well for Izuku Midoriya. He had been going to UA for a good stretch of time, to the point where they were getting into more advanced lessons. His quirklessness was still a secret to all except his mentor Snipe, Aizawa, Present Mic, and Principal Nedzu. As his skills increased with his guns, there was little questioning that could be done. However, his luck had to run out eventually.

It was a normal day like any other at UA. Regular lessons, math, science, English, history, and then hero training at the end of the day. It was a comfortable routine to the point where Izuku had all but stopped fanboying over every pro hero he met while training. This time, they were meeting Plume. Plume was an espionage hero that mainly focused on infiltration and quick getaways. Their quirk was that they could control any gaseous particulates at will. This included smoke, fog, and steam. It was pretty neat, Izuku thought.

So when he was pitched up against Plume in a Villain VS Hero battle, Izuku was excited. In all areas, Plume was the perfect counter for his weapons. After all, he couldn't hit what he couldn't see. The only downside was that his special visor for his costume that allowed him to see heat signatures was still in development by Hatsume.

The whole class was in the USJ. It was an arena-style area with bleachers for spectators, but also the main control center for various obstacles. This was where most of the teachers sat until they were paired with a student to fight. Izuku stood in the center of the arena, waiting patiently for the start of the match.

"Good luck, Kid." Plume wished as they secured their gloves. "You're gonna need it!"

Izuku didn't take the taunting personally as he loaded his peashooter with a speedloader. He admits, he was showing off a bit with his speed as he loaded the rounds, spun the cylinder, and snapped it one-handed into the frame. His friends in the stands whistled and cheered for him.

"Alright, fighters ready." Aizawa drawled over the speakers. "Battle begins when the buzzer sounds."

Immediately after the words left Aizawa's mouth, the buzzer sounded. Plume threw down a smoke bomb at their feet, disappearing in a cloud of smoke. Taking a risk, Izuku fanned the hammer of his weapon, discharging all 6 shots at once into the origin of the smoke. There was a small plink noise as one of the rounds made contact with Plume's armor, but that was it.

Cursing, He snapped the cylinder open, used another speedloader, and snapped it back. It was as he was raising his arm to sweep the rapidly moving plume of smoke that he was suddenly punched right in the jaw. His head snapped to the side as pain bloomed on his cheek but rather than try to cover the wound on instinct, He reached his arm back and fired two shots into the smoke.

"Ah shit-" Plume cursed immediately as the smoke grew.

"Language," Aizawa called over the speakers. "There are children present." "Rich coming from you Shouta." Snipe snickered before the sound cut off.

Izuku didn't have time to laugh before he was engulfed in the plume of smoke. He reached up to cover his exposed mouth and nose leaving one had left to fire his weapon. But as his eyes started stinging, it wasn't much use. Holstering his weapon, Izuku ran and rolled out of the smoke into clean air. It was only as the smoke started approaching him again that he fired two more shots.

"Fuu-un-tastic shot, kid." Plume growled out in the smoke. "But the gloves are coming off."

Izuku took another shot that whizzed through the smoke harmlessly before there were four small explosion noises right behind him.

There was no other preamble before Izuku was once again engulfed. Covering his nose, he tried running to the edge but as soon as he found it he was right back in the center again. His eyes were already burning again and he wouldn't be able to work on shallow breaths. If he didn't take them down, he would have to surrender.

Taking a deep breath, Izuku started to shout. "Come on! Don't be a coward-" He was interrupted by a harsh cough. When trying to hold his breath again, his lungs rebelled. They needed aid. But with each full breath of air, his lungs started to itch. Several coughs followed as Izuku started to take potshots into the cloud to hopefully hit Plume and stop their control.

When his weapon click at the last bullet, He frantically started reloading. But with two hands reloading, his mouth and nose were left vulnerable. This feeling was one he hadn't had for a long time since he was released from the hospital at the start of his hero journey. But there was no more sludge in his lungs. So there was no reason he should be having such a bad reaction.

His heaving for breath soon turned into whooping gasps before all the smoke instantly dissipated around him. Clutching at the chest of his costume, Izuku dropped his weapon.

"Oh shit, kid are you okay?" Plume asked, coming to his side immediately. They guided Izuku to the ground which led to Izuku on his hands and knees gagging on nothing but his frantic breaths. "Fuck! Are you asthmatic?! Eraser, you put me up against the fucking asthmatic?!" Plume yelled up into the stands, all semblance of professionalism gone.

"Snipe's coming-"

Aizawa was cut off by a panicked southern drawl. "Imma comin', Bucko! Hold on!"

Izuku's hands clenched in the fake grass under him. He was trapping all the air under himself, so he flopped over on his side to hopefully catch fresher air. Plume's hand came up, frantically fanning his face which did wonders for his sudden sweating but not much for his struggling lungs.

"Hurry! The kid's turning blue, Damn it!"

Turning his head, Izuku saw Snipe running down the backs of the bleachers as fast as he could, miraculously not falling. And then suddenly there was a slope of ice. Todoroki. Izuku needed to thank him later as Snipe immediately jumped up and started sliding much faster down into the arena. At the bottom, he rolled out of his momentum but scrambled to Izuku's side.

Izuku was lifted into Snipe's lap as the man all but shoved the plastic nozzle of an inhaler in his mouth. Frantically wheezing, Izuku felt medicine coating the inside of his lungs and throat. While it soothed some of the itch, Izuku still had rattling coughs.

"Another puff, Bucko. Come on." Snipe goaded, pressing the plunger down once more before removing the inhaler altogether.

Izuku found himself being lifted to sit up straight. "Focus on breathing. Deep breaths in." Struggling, Izuku managed a shaky breath in.

"Good. Let it out slow as you can," Snipe said carefully, hand held on the inhaler as if it were a firearm.

This carried on for several minutes, Snipe offering another puff of the inhaler before Izuku found himself able to breathe consistently. It was at that time that Aizawa managed to meet them down in the arena and Plume found it suitable to tear into him. "Eraser, out of all the dumb, senseless plots you've had I can't believe you'd-" They shot up, immediately getting into Eraserhead's face, a finger pointed accusingly.

"Y'all stop it!" Snipe spat as he rubbed Izuku's back through every breath. "This ain't nobody's fault."

"Yeah?" Plume scoffed. "How do you figure?"

Snipe was silent as he capped the inhaler and slipped it into Izuku's hands. "He's not asthmatic. Or well, not diagnosed...with that."

"Then why do you have-" Plume's confusion was palpable as the other two adults sighed.

"Midoriya was attacked by a villain about a year before he got into UA," Aizawa spoke. "The villain was made out of sludge and when All Might captured him it left Midoriya's lungs full of fluid."

Snipe nodded, slowly standing and helping Izuku to stand on shaky legs. "Doctor prescribed an inhaler to help get the fluid out. But after a couple o' weeks, the fluid was 'sposed to be gone. He ain't had an asthma attack since."

"...But you expected it to happen? Or do you always just carry around an inhaler?" Plume looked as exhausted as Izuku felt.

Izuku felt Snipe shrug. "I got one from medical when I took him on as a student. Just in case."

Warmth bloomed in Izuku's chest at the thought of Snipe caring so much. Luckily, Snipe didn't force him to go up any stairs, rather he led him to a dugout right beside the arena and sat him down. "Imma get you some water, and you and I will just sit here till the end of class. If you feel any worse, we c'n go see Recovery Girl."

Izuku nodded with a smile. "'Kay." He said with a scratchy voice.

Snipe was true to his word as Izuku found himself sitting next to him for the final few battles, a cool bottle of water in his hands. Plume even came down to see him and make sure he was alright. They even commended him on his shots even through the fog. "Then again, I shouldn't expect any less from the son of Snipe." They winked as they ducked out of the dugout before either could correct them.

Neither resisted the term either as they sat in comfortable silence.