AN: Thanks for reading and leaving a review, everyone!

The second day of school started much better for Izuku. He walked to the station with Himiko, and their group of two became a group of four as they continued to UA, this time without any ominous warnings. They made it to their classroom without incident and the morning classes ended up mostly being introductory material. Finally, they were dismissed for lunch and the class made its way to the cafeteria.

After buying their meals, Izuku and Ochako found an empty table off to one side of the cafeteria and sat down. Soon they were joined by Iida and Sekigai, and the four settled in for lunch.

It was only when he heard his sister's voice did Izuku realized his mistake.

"I~"

"Zu~"

"Ku~"

"Kun~!"

The span of four syllables wasn't enough time to brace himself before he felt Himiko slam into him, wrapping her arms around him in a deep embrace. It took all of his reflexes and strength training to keep the both of them from crashing to the floor in a tangle of limbs, but Izuku knew Himiko wouldn't care if that was what happened.

"How's your first real day at UA so far?" Himiko asked, pulling back just far enough for him to see her far-too-wide fanged grin.

"H-hi Himi," Izuku said as he tried to recover. "It's been going okay."

"Good!" Himiko pulled away from her brother to look at the other three around the table. Smiling at Ochako, she gave the other girl a small wave. "Oh, Uraraka's here too! That means the rest of you must be Izu's new friends!"

"Yeah," Izuku said, trying to control his blush. "They're my classmates!"

Did she have to lay it on so thick?! Izuku mentally asked. He'd have to find a way to get back at her… later.

Standing up straight, she gave them a fanged smile – a genuine one, Izuku noted in relief. "Hi! I'm Himiko Midoriya, Izu's older sister. I'm a year ahead in Class 2-B. It's nice to meet you!"

"H-hi Midoriya," Ochako gave Himiko a broken smile as she looked at her nervously.

"You're…" Sekigai blinked, her eyes darting between Himiko and Izuku. "...not what I expected."

"I'm not?" Himiko asked with a faux-innocence as her smile turned predatory.

"Running. Ignoring personal space. Ignoring the safety of others!" Iida suddenly spoke up. "I can't believe an upperclassman at a school so prestigious would be so–"

He was cut off when Himiko burst out laughing. "Oh, if you think this is bad I can't wait for you to meet the rest of my friends."

"There's more?" Sekigai looked like she was being crushed by the revelation.

Izuku shot the poor girl a sympathetic glance. "Sakura isn't like this at all."

"Tomoe?" Himiko asked, pausing for a moment as she put the pieces together. "Oh! You must be Sekigai! Izu told me about you!"

"He did?" She asked hesitantly.

"Yep!" Himiko's smile once again turned genuine as she looked at her. "I'll have to introduce you later."

"And you're sure she's not like this?" Sekigai asked Izuku.

"I promise," He assured her before shooting his sister an annoyed glance. "Neither is Himi."

"Says you!" Himiko stuck her tongue out at her brother before turning towards Iida. "And that means you must be Iida."

"Indeed," Iida adjusted his glasses. "I am Tenya Iida. But how–"

"It was nice meeting you!" Himiko said, once again cutting him off. Turning toward her brother, she threw an arm around his shoulder and gave him an awkward sideways hug. "But I've gotta get back to my friends." Standing up, she shot one final glance at the other students. "I'm sure I'll be seeing you around!" She said with a predatory glint in her eyes.

Turning around she skipped away from the table, leaving one embarrassed brother and two very confused first years behind. Izuku watched as she returned to her group of friends. Of course, he spotted Habiki as he sat there with his phone out, recording the whole thing. When she sat down she gave him a playful smile before she turned her attention to her meal.

With a weary sigh, he turned around and picked up his chopsticks.

"I-is she always like that?" Sekigai asked nervously.

"No," Izuku admitted. "She's just playing it up today. Uraraka's seen what she's like normally."

Ochako blinked in surprise, her eyes going wide as she darted from Izuku to Himiko's table in the distance. Swallowing the bite of food she was eating, she looked at the others. "Y-yeah! She wasn't so… extreme when I met her."

"That's a relief," Sekigai sighed.

"Still!" Iida exclaimed. "I must question how someone like that managed to survive their first year here!"

"She can be kind of overwhelming," Izuku admitted as he grabbed a bite of food. "But I promise she's a great person! And…" Izuku turned toward Iida. "There's all types of people trying to be heroes, not just the stereotypical ones you see on television."

"I see," Iida adjusted his glasses as he looked at Himiko's table. "In that case, I will attempt to keep an open mind about things when I meet these other upperclassmen."

Breathing a small sigh of relief, Izuku took a bite of food as Ochako asked a question about their morning classes. Thankful for the topic change, the four descended into casual conversation as they continued the rest of their lunch uninterrupted.

When lunch was finished they returned to their homeroom. Anticipation filled the air as everyone was excited for their first Heroics class to begin, and nobody was more excited than Izuku. It certainly didn't help that he knew who their teacher was going to be.

Suddenly, twenty heads turned toward the door as they heard a muffled voice from behind it.

"I am… walking through the door normally!" The door slammed open to reveal the smiling form of All Might, dressed in his costume. "Good afternoon aspiring heroes! I Am Here! As your teacher!"

"Wow!"

"So Cool!"

"I can't believe All Might is our teacher!"

Quickly crossing the room, All Might stood behind the desk and seemed to fiddle with a couple of small squares of paper. Once he was set up properly, he looked up at the students. "Today we will be evaluating your skills against live opponents!" He held up his hand, revealing a small card with the word 'COMBAT' written across it in red letters.

"For this exercise, we will be holding mock two-on-two team battles. But before we begin!" He raised a small remote and pointed it at the wall. "You must look the part!" He pressed a button and hidden panels in the wall slid aside to reveal twenty cases that extended out of the wall. "We will reconvene in the training area, where we will conduct costume checks before we begin today's exercise."

Izuku couldn't keep the grin off his face as he stood up and followed his classmates to the wall, grabbing his case. Looking over, she saw Ochako was just as excited as they took off towards the changing rooms, ready to see how they looked.

Izuku held his helmet in his hand as he checked over his costume and verified everything was there when he heard Ochako's voice from behind him.

"Your costume looks amazing Dekkun!"

Turning around, Izuku saw Ochako and was momentarily stunned by how pretty she was in her costume. "T-Thanks Uraraka, your costume looks great too!"

Ochako wore a fitted tracksuit, much like his own, that clung close to her body. Unlike his green suit, hers was a blank-and-pink design of her own creation, with bubble-shaped gauntlets, a bulky belt designed to store equipment and apply pressure, and a pink choker around her neck. Finally to complete the look she wore two massively oversized boots. They were a pale pink with thick pink soles made out of a special shock-absorbent material Emily had shown her that both gave her stable footing on the ground and would cushion any landing she was forced to make after using her quirk on herself.

All-in-all Izuku found the design very fitting and very her.

"Thanks!" She smiled brightly at him. "I'm really happy with how it turned out! You and Song were lifesavers!"

"No fair!" Their invisible classmate, Hagakure, exclaimed as she walked up behind them. "Your costume's so cool and mine is…"

Izuku couldn't help but stare as he saw Hagakure's costume. The poor girl was wearing nothing but a pair of gloves and boots! He opened his mouth to speak but All Might was faster.

"Young Hagakure! Please tell me you are wearing an infused bodysuit that is adapted to your quirk right now."

"Infu- what's that?" The invisible girl asked, one of her gloves touching the spot where Izuku assumed her face would be.

"It is a recent technology, but extremely helpful for heroes in situations such as yours," All Might explained. "In simple terms, the company requires that you send them your hair, and then they process it into the base material for fabric, which can then be woven into a suit that works along with your quirk. In your case, it would be rendered invisible while still offering you the protection you will need in the field."

"Part of Himi's costume is made from the material," Izuku offered helpfully. "My sister, I mean! Her quirk destroys any normal clothing when she uses it, so she had a special body suit made that won't get destroyed."

"I wonder if that would work with my quirk?" Yaoyorozu speculated.

"I believe there is an easy test, Young Yaoyorozu," All Might pointed to her head. "Why don't you try producing something out of the back of your head, through your hair?"

Nodding, Yaoyorozu closed her eyes and concentrated. A moment later the assembled students saw a Russian nesting doll sitting on top of her head. Opening her eyes, she reached up and plucked it off, a bright smile on her face. "I've never thought to try that before."

"I hope you consider a costume change as well," All Might smiled at her. "Like Young Hagakure, your costume is impractical for field work where you will be dealing with many small cuts, scrapes, and burns that would be easily avoided by wearing a protective layer." He then pointed to the dictionary hanging off of her back. "However, no matter what you decide I must insist that that be replaced. You are one bad fall away from a serious injury, and it is a massive weak point for the enemy to exploit."

Yaoyorozu's cheeks heated up as she looked at the book. "I had always used this dictionary to practice at home, so I just assumed that it would be suitable for fieldwork."

"Don't worry," All Might assured her. "That is why we have these checks! To spot problems that you may have missed when submitting the designs. Now then, young Kirishima–"

"But I don't need a shirt when I have my quirk!" the fiery redhead said, activating his quirk and hardening his skin to demonstrate.

"That is a reasonable argument, but I would like to point out that you are wearing pants to protect your legs," All Might pointed to the baggy black pants. "Doesn't your upper half deserve similar protection?"

Kirishima put a finger on his lower lip as he thought about it before his face lit up. "Good point!" He slammed his fist into an open palm. "Do you think I could get some of this fabric to harden just like my quirk?"

"I do not know," All Might admitted. "But we can get it tested by a support company to find out!"

"Don't forget about me!" Toru exclaimed. "When can I get a suit made?!"

"We can speak to Power Loader as soon as class is dismissed," All Might said with a bright smile before his eyes found all of the other students. "That applies to all of you! If any of you come up with immediate changes for your costumes, you may join us after class. Now then, does anyone else have any questions?"

Seeing none, All Might waved the students on as he led them toward one of the school's training grounds.

Once they had arrived at the training ground, All Might explained to the students how the trials worked. After he was finished and answered any lingering questions, he had the students draw lots to determine the teams.

"Yes!" Ochako cheered when she pulled a numbered ball out of the box. Turning toward Izuku, she held it up. "We're partners, Dekkun!"

"That's great!" Izuku agreed, finding her enthusiasm infectious.

Enthusiasm was quickly lost the moment All Might drew their opponent.

"For our first round, Team Midoriya and Uraraka will be the heroes, attempting to disarm the bomb planted by the dastardly villains on Team Bakugo and Iida!" Their teacher announced as he held up two of the numbered balls in his hand.

Dropping them into a basket, he turned toward Bakuto and Iida. "Villains, you have ten minutes to set up and hide the bomb. Heroes," He turned towards Izuku and Ochako. "Here are the blueprints for the building, you have ten minutes to plan your mission."

Taking the blueprints, Izuku and Ochako walked over to a quiet alleyway and knelt.

"Good, finally a chance to punch that jerk!" Ochako exclaimed as Izuku laid out the map.

"You really don't like him, do you?" Izuku asked.

"I'm surprised you're letting him off so easily!" Ochako exclaimed. "After everything he's done to you."

Izuku gave her an awkward smile as he panicked internally. "I just he–" Izuku sighed and looked down. "It's… complicated. "

"I don't get what's so complicated," Ochako huffed and crossed her arms.

Izuku looked at the girl and felt his stomach sink. She was glaring at him and rightfully so. She was willing to fight on his behalf, and she seemed genuinely hurt that he was being so evasive about the whole thing.

But I can't tell her the real reason why!

Wracking his brain for a half-truth, Izuku finally started to speak softly. "It's because of All Might."

"All Might?" Ochako asked, a hint of skepticism in her voice.

"Mhm," Izuku nodded as he turned away from her. "At the start of school last year there was an attack and I… well, got All Might's attention. He sent someone to help me train and he's been keeping tabs on me."

"That's so– why aren't you proud of that?!" Ochako whisper-shouted at Izuku.

"I am," Izuku admitted. "But I don't want anyone to think I'm getting special attention. Especially Bakugo. He…" Izuku's eyes darted toward the building before he returned his gaze to his teammate. "So that's why I'm trying to downplay things. I just… don't want anyone to get the wrong idea."

"Dekkun…" Ochako stared at him, lowering her arms. "Is that why you were afraid to tell me?"

"A little, yeah," Izuku admitted.

"Well I don't," Ochako confirmed. "I've only known you for a few weeks, but I know you're not the type of person to just relax and rely on the success of others. I'm sure everyone would see that too! If Bakugo's head is so far up his ass that he can't see that, then fuck 'm."

Izuku stared at his classmate in awe. As he fought back happy tears, he gave her a warm smile. "Thank you. For believing in me, I mean!"

"Of course Dekkun! It's what friends are for," She matched his smile with one of her own before it morphed into a more serious expression. "But we can talk more later. For now, we've gotta figure out how to win this fight!"

"Right!" Izuku said, turning his attention back to the map. Pointing at the stairwell, he continued. "I can guarantee Bakugo is going to come straight for me. That means he'll probably be waiting for us in the stairwell. We can use that to our advantage…"

"Heroes, you may begin!" All Might announced over their earpieces.

Nodding together, Izuku and Ochako both secured their helmets and walked into the building. They cautiously made their way through the first floor, reaching the stairwell without incident. Quickly ascending to the second floor, they began making their way down the main hallway when they heard explosions.

"Where the fuck are you Deku?" Bakugo exclaimed from further down the hallway.

Izuku turned his head toward his teammate. "Go Uraraka!"

He watched Ochako's face harden behind her translucent mask before she gave him a single nod and broke off down a side hallway, taking a long way around. Turning his attention back toward where Bakugo was, he knew he only had seconds before he'd have to face his opponent.

Taking a steadying breath, he looked down at his gloves.

It's gonna be different this time.

You're no longer the quirkless Deku that he thinks you are. And…

His eyes drifted to the hallway that Ochako retreated down. I have people who believe in me!

Returning his attention to the hallway, he took a deep breath and yelled. "Kacchan, what's taking you so long? I thought you'd be here by now!"

His words hit home and seconds later Bakugo whipped around the corner, riding an explosion as he landed in front of him.

"Deku. You think you've got what it takes to be a hero? Now that you've got some weak quirk? You'll never be strong enough to be a top-ten hero! Let alone become the new number one! That'll be me!"

"You're wrong, Bakugo," Izuku stood up straight as he looked at his classmate. "I may be behind everyone, but I'm just getting started!"

"Don't make me laugh!" Bakugo snorted. "You're still the same as ever, and I'll prove it. DIE!"

Firing off an explosion, Bakugo launched himself forward. Tensing, Izuku watched his movements as he quickly approached. At the last possible moment, he deftly sidestepped his opponent's punch, reaching out to grab his gauntlet and using his momentum to slam him into the ground.

"You're too predictable. You always open with a right hook."

Calling upon One For All, Izuku wrapped his fist in its green glow as he responded with his own attack, hoping to land a disabling blow. But Bakugo was too fast and used a quick explosion to send himself sliding along the floor, causing the punch to hit the ground instead.

"See? You're too slow Deku!"

Izuku grimaced.

Crap! He must've noticed it takes me a moment to use One For All without hurting myself!

Once he was several meters away Bakugo changed directions, launching himself toward a wall where he kicked off and propelled himself forward, aiming another punch at Izuku. Izuku tensed up, ready to counter again, but this time when he sidestepped he saw Bakugo launch himself sideways before he felt his back burning from the force of an explosion.

"And learning your opponent's moves isn't anything special!"

Izuku stumbled forward, his costume keeping him safe but not enough to prevent the force of the blasts from shoving him around. Regaining his footing, he began jogging down the hallway.

Just gotta buy Uraraka a little more time…

"Get back here Deku!" Bakugo called from behind him before he heard a pair of explosions propelling his opponent forward. Looking around, he mentally reviewed the map.

A little further… and… Here!

Skidding to a halt, Izuku spun around and channeled One For All into his arms, ready to face his opponent. He saw the rage in Bakugo's eyes as he flew toward him, ready to strike another blow. Dropping into an impromptu combat stance, Izuku threw a right hook of his own.

Katsuki's eyes went wide as he tried to dodge, but Izuku had planned for it, opening up his fist and grabbing Katsuki's arm to redirect the explosion, sending him crashing into the wall and causing cracks to appear.

"Fuck–" Katsuki spat out. Eyes narrowing as he saw Izuku charging forward, he placed his palms against the wall and launched himself off, further weakening the already damaged wall.

"Thanks!" Izuku shouted as he folded his arms in front of him and crashed through the wall, causing a large hole to appear as he entered an office space.

"You–!" Katsuki growled as he turned around and followed him into the room. "Don't think you're getting away from me!"

Spinning around, Izuku dropped into a combat stance. "Who said I was running?"

"Grr, DIE!" Katsuki leaped into the air, firing off an explosion to propel himself forward.

Izuku held his arms up as One For All's power ran through them. Rather than try to counter, he simply blocked the blow, taking a step back to steady himself from the force of the impact.

"What was that? Giving up already?"

"Just waiting for my teammate," Izuku shot back.

Bakugo's eyes narrowed, then went wide for a moment as he spun around only to see Ochako standing there, holding a desk like an oversized club.

"This one's for Dekkun!" Ochako said as she hit Bakugo, the force of the blow enough to send him flying into a wall.

Izuku saw the grin on her face as her attack worked, before she charged forward, ready to hit their opponent a second time. Brandishing the table like a battering ram, she dove in for the killing blow…

…only for the table to shatter into countless splinters from an explosion, causing Ochako to slam ineffectively into Katsuki.

"That was cute, but you're not getting a second chance," Katsuki said before he fired another explosion, sending Ochako flying.

"Uraraka!" Izuku called out.

Stepping away from the wall, Katsuki spit on the ground. "Tch, of course you'd do something underhanded like that. Fine, no more games." He pulled the pin on his gauntlet, and Izuku suddenly smelled the distinct odor of his sweat in the air. "First I'll deal with her, then we'll finish this."

Eyes going wide, Izuku saw Ochako struggling to her feet.

She's not gonna be able to dodge that!

Charging forward, Izuku felt One For All surging through his legs and torso as he closed the distance in milliseconds. Wrapping his arms around Ochako, he saw the open door a mere meter away.

"Sorry, Uraraka," Izuku apologized as he shoved her through the safety of the exit.

And then he felt the heat of the explosion wash over him.

Ochako stumbled and fell to the ground, just in time to hear the massive explosion behind her as a wave of heat chased her out of the door.

"Dekkun!" Ochako cried out, quickly scrambling to her feet before she heard her earpiece blare to life.

"The trial is over, villains forfeit and the heroes win."

"What?!" She heard Katsuki exclaim from inside the room.

"Young Bakugo has caused too much structural damage to the building and ruined his own hideout," All Might continued to explain. "As a result, the villain team has failed the exam."

Tearing her helmet off, Ochako stomped into the room. "Serves you right!" She yelled at Katsuki. "After what you did to Dek…" She turned and saw the hole in the wall where the explosion impacted it. "...kun."

Rushing over to the hole, she saw Izuku lying on the ground unmoving. She felt her stomach protesting as she pressed a hand to herself, but she forced it down as she leaped out the window.

"R-release," Ochako said as she approached the ground, feeling her gravity suddenly come back as she landed, her soles absorbing the kinetic energy perfectly as she used her momentum to carry her forward until she reached her friend. "Dekkun!"

"I'm glad you're safe," Izuku said weakly as he tried to lift his head before it slumped back down on the ground.

With a sad sigh, Ochako carefully removed his helmet, confirming he had fallen unconscious. She didn't see any visible injuries from the explosion, but that didn't mean that he was okay. Once she heard their teacher confirm that medical bots were on their way, she sat there until they arrived to carry him to Recovery Girl's office.

After changing out of her costume, Himiko pulled her cell phone out of the locker and frowned.

1 Unread Message.

"Who's it from?" Atsuko asked curiously as she peaked over her friend's shoulder.

Swiping to unlock the screen, Himiko saw the name and frowned.

"Uraraka? Why would she…"

Tapping the message, she opened it and stiffened.

"Oww," Izuku said as he woke up, staring at the ceiling of the school Infirmary for a second time.

"I hope you don't plan on making this a regular thing," Recovery Girl said as she walked over to his bed.

"What happened?" Izuku asked as he pushed himself upright.

"You took your opponent's quirk head-on," Recovery Girl explained. "While it's a testament to your costume that you managed to avoid taking burns, you were still launched through a wall, out of the second story of a building, and landed about thirty meters away."

"That bad?" Izuku winced.

Recovery Girl shook her head. "I'm just glad you were wearing that helmet of yours. It probably saved you a lot more pain that I couldn't fix."

"I-I'll keep that in mind," Izuku sighed. "But you were able to fix everything?"

"This time," She confirmed. "You might not be so lucky next time."

"Ehe," Izuku rubbed the back of his head nervously.

"You're free to go back to class," The nurse said. "Since you've only been asleep for an hour. Probably want to drop your helmet off with Power Loader though." She gestured to his pile of support gear in the corner. "In its current state, I don't think it'll save you next time."

Katsuki saw All Might waiting for him outside of the teacher's office. Keeping a neutral expression he walked forward, refusing to show weakness. "You called for me?"

"Indeed I did, Young Bakugo. Come inside please," The hero said, gesturing toward the open door.

As he was led into the room he saw Aizawa sitting in front of a computer. Hearing them coming in, his homeroom teacher slowly spun around in his chair and lazily looked at his student.

"Did you give your Gauntlets to Power Loader?" Aizawa asked.

"Of course," Katsuki crossed his arms. "Although I don't understand why–"

"As of right now, you are barred from using them, until I say otherwise," Aizawa said.

"WHAT?!" Katsuki yelled.

"Your equipment is dangerous, and while we trust students' judgment in selecting their support gear, we expect them to be responsible with it." All Might said with uncharacteristic quietness. "You were lucky Young Midoriya's costume was designed the way it was. His injuries could have been even more extensive, and then…"

Katsuki paled at the implied threat. "I-it's not my fault! If he wants to be a hero he should be able to fight at that level!"

"That's not true," Aizawa crossed his arms. "And this leads to the second part of your punishment. As of today, you've been enrolled in Support Equipment Safe Usage and Ethics."

"What's that?" Katsuki asked, tilting his head slightly.

"It's a course taken by first-year Support Course students," All Might explained. "There just so happens to be a section that lines up with your free period."

"Why would I care about a course for Support students?"

"Because you clearly don't understand the proper use and application of force," Aizawa explained as he stood up. Picking up a book from his desk he held it out to Katsuki. "With a quirk such as yours, you need to be especially mindful of that."

"Proper use of force?" Katsuki glared at the book. "Who cares? It's not like I'm gonna fight weaklings and need to–"

"Young Bakugo," All Might cut him off. "You were there a year ago and saw me change the very weather with a punch. Do you remember that?"

"Of course I do," Katsuki replied. "No point in pretending otherwise."

"Do you think I use that much force against the common villains I fight?"

"Really? You expect me to believe you waste your time dealing with thieves and gangs?"

"I do," All Might confirmed. "And I would gravely injure, possibly even kill, those villains if I were to hit them with my full power. I have had to learn to control my strength and use it only when appropriate."

"And since you clearly need that lesson, that is why you've been enrolled in the course," Aizawa confirmed. "You will be graded as a support student and it will affect your class ranking accordingly. Only once you've proven that you have satisfactory control over your quirk will you be allowed to use your gauntlets again."

Katsuki growled and grabbed the book out of Aizawa's hand. "Fine, I'm going to ace this stupid class, and show you why I'm the best!"

After changing out of his costume and back into his uniform, Izuku took a quick detour to drop off the damaged pieces of his costume with Power Loader. When he was finally done, he returned to his homeroom. Taking a deep breath, he opened the door and saw his classmates as they reviewed the results from the Battle Trials.

Wait, not everyone.

"Where's Bakugo?" Izuku asked.

"All Might spoke to him after class, and then he left," Iida told him as he looked up from his desk. Ochako looked up from her position next to him and looked at Izuku with concern-filled eyes.

"That's just like him," Izuku sighed as he stepped into the room.

He didn't make it far before he was interrupted by another of his classmates.

"Uhhh. Midoriya? This is gonna sound kind of weird but why are you down there?" Denki asked as he pointed out the window.

Worried, Izuku rushed over to the window. Looking down at the school's entrance he saw what his electrical classmate was talking about. Katsuki was walking toward the gate with his bag slung over his shoulder – right toward Himiko.

Except Himiko was currently Transformed and looked exactly like him. And even from the distance, he could tell she was angry as she stood there with her arms crossed.

"Oh no."

AN: So I thought the rewrite would stick closer to the original, but then I got to this chapter and well... I hope you enjoyed the new version!