UA'S Immortal Teacher

by vamer

ok

UA's Immortal Teacher
MoonMonarchy

Published: 2023
Source: https/

Part 1

The street was empty as the short figure swiftly stepped out of the black car, which then disappeared into the distance. The only sound to be heard was the steady footsteps of the man. It was not long before he reached a door to a tall gray building, with a few windows letting out light. The man stopped in front of a door, pulling out a key and turning it in the doorknob. Bright lights blinked on with a flick of his hand.

The man walked through the apartment hallway, stopping at the mirror. In it, he saw his bright green eyes and hair, with 4 freckles on each cheek. He looked young like he could be in high school. Who knew he would live over 200 years.

He slipped off his shoes and put them away before dropping off the rest of his stuff. The apartment was already mostly stocked, so he didn't bring much with him. The bed was already made when he had gotten back so there was no need for that. Tired, he slipped into bed and was out almost immediately.

The next morning was peaceful, but he thought it was time to change that. Smirking, he decided to place a call to a certain chimera down at UA.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Nezu was encrypting the files to all of his blackmail when the phone rang. He paused and looked at the caller ID before answering. This was going to be interesting.

"Hello, Izuku-sensei."

"Hello, Nezu. Tell me, how is UA doing?"

"Perfectly fine. As I'm sure you know, the entrance exams are in just a few short days, so preparations are being made. Why is it you ask?" Nezu knew that his mentor never did anything without a reason, and that reason, more often than not, scared everyone.

"Oh well, I think my time traveling has come to an end and wanted to see if you had any use for one more teacher. I think it is time to start teaching the next generation of heroes once again."

This was certainly not how Nezu thought today would go, but he was pleasantly surprised for once. Izuku Midoriya, while not well known by the public, was one of the greatest minds in the world, maybe the best. His presence at UA would be invaluable.

"Of course we have room for you, in fact, I think we will have to bring back analysis. Nobody can teach it quite like you. And heroics would benefit from your input as well. You would be only be coming in at certain times for that, there's a new teacher."

"Great," Nezu heard Izuku laugh through the phone,"Would you like me there on the day of the entrance exams?"

The chimera smirked as he thought about the other teachers' reactions to their sensei appearing once again. Their reactions will be too funny to not take advantage of that.

"No need for that. Why don't you show up on the first day of classes instead? And don't alert anyone to your renewed status as a teacher quite yet."

"All right then." The amusement through Izuku's voice was palpable even through the phone. He figured out right away what Nezu was up to, and was obviously ready to play along.

"I am looking forward to having you teach here once more, sensei."

"As am I, Nezu."

The phone beeped as the call ended, and Nezu finally let out the cackle he had been holding in the entire conversation as his tea splashed precariously in his paw. This may be one of the most interesting years of UA yet.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Somewhere in the halls of UA...

Cementoss heard maniacal laughter as he walked the halls to Nezu's office. The hero paused before slowly backing away. As the laughter went on, you could hear his muttering,"Not today, not today, not today."

He could turn in these papers later... right now he just had to get as far away as possible for the chaos that inevitably followed that laugh.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

2 days after the entrance exam...

Aizawa had just gotten into his sleeping bag when the other teachers entered the staff room. He internally groaned as Mic and Midnight started jabbering about who knows what. Aizawa loved Mic, but honestly, the volume those two emitted when together was too much sometimes. And he was supposed to deal with a whole new class along with these two? He needed more coffee. Much, much more coffee.

He knew it was only a matter of time before they decided to force him into the conversation, and a few seconds later, this proved to be correct. Present Mic nudged him on his shoulder, and Aizawa knew he had to get up before-

"SHOTA!!!! COME LOOK AND SEE WHO'S IN OUR CLASSES!!!"

So. Much. Coffee.

He begrudgingly got to his feet while Mic and Midnight looked over the class lists. The enthusiastic energy of the two would have been infectious had it been anyone else. Midnight handed him his class list for the year as she went on about the joys of youth. Aizawa looked over the sheet of paper with fondness as he noticed his son's name among those on the list.

Hitoshi Shinso had been adopted by Aizawa and Present Mic years prior after an incident with a villain. It had attacked the apartment complex where the boy's family had lived, and sadly, they had not made it through the event. Aizawa and Mic had been two of the responding heroes sent. After Hitoshi's parents had died, they had found him under a pile of rubble, only 10 at the time. Somehow in the short time that the three met, Mic decided that he would be the perfect addition to their family, and so they adopted him. When they learned of his quirk and how he wanted to join UA, Aizawa immediately began training him for the entrance exam. The hard work had paid off.

"Huh, that's strange," Midnight stopped his train of thought as he looked up and saw her frowning down at the list of classes.

"What?"

"There's a class titled 'Analysis' here, but no teacher name. I thought they stopped teaching it after Izuku-sensei left. Who could even teach that as well as he did?"

There was a pause as they remembered their old sensei. The green-haired man had a talent for teaching but decided to travel to I-island before heading all over the world. He had been gone long enough that the younger generation had forgotten him, but those he taught could never. The man was one of the sharpest minds in the world, and they were all lucky that he was on their side.

"I'm not sure," Aizawa admitted. Nezu had his eccentricities and keeping information until the last possible moment was one of them. You could never know what would happen when the chimera was around.

The door swung open as the other teachers filed in, commenting on their new class schedules as well. When they all realized the added class to the list, they were similarly confused. After all, Izuku-sensei couldn't be back.

...Could he?

Part 2

Hitoshi Shinso walked past the gates of UA, having successfully dodged all the reporters and kids standing outside marveling at the giant school, home to students and heroes alike. Shinso was walking across the path when some kind of commotion involving an accidental quirk activation started near the doors of UA. Startled, Shinso's foot caught on one of the bricks. He starts to fall when, suddenly, a blur of green appears in front of him and grabs his arms.

"Careful now! Are you okay?" Shinso looked up to see a boy with green hair and freckles, who looked to be about 16. His face held a pleasant smile, with a friendly air to it.

"Yeah. Just got startled there for a second. Thanks."

"No problem. It's bad luck to fall on your first day, isn't it? What course are you in?"

"Hero course. Are you a second-year student?"

"No, but I'm sure I'll be seeing you around," The boy walked off with a mischievous and enigmatic grin as the bell rang, signifying you had 10 minutes to get to class. Shinso followed after a moment with a confused look on his face as he made his way to class 1-A. What a strange guy...

The doorway to class 1-A loomed in front of him as he prepared to enter. Even though his dads had taken him to UA before, he had always just waited in the staff room while they did whatever they were called in for, and there had never been students in the building. It was like a different world.

Taking a deep breath, he stepped through the door and finally entered the classroom. Looking around, he saw that some seats had already been filled. There was a dark blue-haired guy with glasses sitting towards the back with a stiff posture; a girl with dark hair worn in a ponytail and a dual-haired boy that looked a little like a peppermint sitting next to each other in the last row, and a blonde-haired boy in the front that looked... sparkly? He chose a seat towards the middle left of the class and closed his eyes as he waited for the rest to file in.

He must've fallen into some form of sleep, because when he came to again, there was a boy with blonde hair and an attitude the size of Japan sitting in front of him. He was growling at this girl with an enthusiastic personality and brown hair.

"Excuse me! I am Tenya Ida from Somei Private Academy and the way you are disrespecting your classmates is unacceptable! Please cease this behavior at once!"

"Like I care, you damn extra. Back off before I blow you to bits!"

"That is very unhero-like! Are you sure you're in the right place?"

As all the commotion was going on, Shinso saw his dad creeping through the doorway in that yellow sleeping bag that he never left the house without. No one was sure where he put it, and everyone- including Present Mic and Shinso- was too scared to ask.

The girl shrieked as she noticed the man on the floor, sucking on a juice packet. Shinso held back a smirk as his dad climbed out of the sleeping bag and spoke in a monotone voice.

"If you are here to socialize, get out. This is the hero course. It took you eight seconds to notice me and quiet down, and it's irrational to waste time. I'm your homeroom teacher, Shota Aizawa."

At these words, most of the class was in shock. After all, what kind of teacher comes to class in a sleeping bag, looking like a homeless man? Only Shinso was completely unperturbed, knowing his dad and all of his eccentricities at this point. While the class stood in shocked silence, Aizawa dug out gym uniforms from his bag and tossed them to the students.

"Change into these uniforms and head to the grounds."

"What about the entrance ceremony?" The brown-haired girl from earlier spoke up as she caught her uniform.

"UA is known for its freestyle education. That means teachers can decide what they want their students to do."

When they made their way onto the field, Aizawa told them about the quirk tests, and people spoke up saying it would be fun and...manly? Shinso knew what was coming as his dad smirked and said that the person to come in last would be expelled. Now they were serious.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Izuku watched from a tree as all of class 1-a did their tests. It was just like Aizawa to include a threat to get them to try their hardest. The thing was, though, if Aizawa didn't see any potential in the person who came in last place, Izuku had no doubt that his former student would expel them. That was just how he was.

Izuku watched with rapt attention as the students made their way through the eight events. They all pushed themselves as hard as they could, none of them wanting to get expelled. Of course, Izuku already knew that Aizawa wouldn't expel any of them. This test was about proving potential, and these kids had plenty of that. An excited feeling rose in his chest at the thought of teaching them this year.

One student caught his eye in particular. It was the boy from earlier who tripped. He appeared to have some kind of mental quirk, but he didn't let that stop him from doing well in the events, placing above average on each. In fact... some of the things he was doing reminded him of a certain sleep-deprived hero. A grin rose to his lips when he saw Aizawa tracking the boy as well, with a look of pride in his eyes.

When the events were over and the scores were revealed, the invisible girl was last. Then Aizawa revealed his rational deception. Naturally, the students were a bit upset, but Izuku was sure that the girl with the invisible quirk was relieved beyond measure.

Izuku silently hopped through the trees as he headed back to the main building. He dropped to the ground and rolled, not stopping once, and casually made his way back in. He was looking forward to watching their first heroics class. The more information he got about his new students, the better.

His phone buzzed with a text from Nezu; he wanted him to come to see him. Izuku changed course from his classroom and headed to his office. Since classes were in session there was no one else in the halls, and therefore no reason for Izuku to be stealthy.

His knuckles hit the door twice and Nezu called him in. The white chimera had his usual smile on when he greeted him.

"Ahh, Izuku-sensei! How has your first day back been?"

"Just fine, Nezu. Why is it you called me in here?"

Just as Izuku asked his question, the office door burst open, and a strong," I AM HERE," was heard. All Might looked over with his usual smile at Nezu, saying," Principal Nezu! What did you call me in for- oh crap."

"All Might! I do believe I told you that you would be co-teaching heroics with another teacher, didn't I? And how lucky we were to have it be Izuku-sensei!"

All Might's face paled.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

All Might couldn't believe it. Izuku-sensei was supposed to be traveling still, yet here he was, sitting right in front of him, sipping some of Nezu's tea with a smile on his face. It had been such a long time since he had seen his sensei, that he had forgotten how young he looked. If you hadn't known Izuku-sensei before, he would assume that he was a student here.

In his shock, All Might hadn't noticed the smoke appearing around his body, signifying the change back to his true form. However, Izuku-sensei didn't look shocked. Of course, he would know about his injury. He knew everything.

"Hello, Yagi," All Might sweatdropped at the knowing way he looked at him."I had heard about your injury. You can only do three hours now, correct?"

How did he even know that!? All Might had only told a few people, and he was sure that none of them would have told anyone, not even Izuku-sensei! Even Nezu looked a bit surprised.

No doubt seeing his bewildered look, Izuku-sensei chuckled and set down his tea."Don't worry, Yagi. No one else can find this information. I made sure of that."

Well, if that wasn't terrifying, he didn't know what was. Nobody was sure how Izuku-sensei could find out anything, and nobody was really sure they wanted to find out how their old teacher found these things. There are some things you just don't dig into. Even All Might knew that.

"Uh, thanks Izuku-sensei. So... you're teaching again?"

"Yes, indeed! Traveling was fun, but it has been such a long time since I was at UA. Plus, so many of my old students would be teaching right alongside me. Why would I pass up that opportunity?"

Now All Might was really scared. Izuku Midoriya was the best teacher he had ever seen, but the man was terrifying. He analyzed so quickly and accurately that if anyone who had ever met him didn't know better, they would say that is his quirk. He could pick out your strengths and weaknesses and somehow turn both against you. Not to mention he was so old he had seen a little bit of everything by now. Not to mention how he got when he was mad... The staff and students of UA were in for a rude awakening.

"Yes, Izuku-sensei called me just before the entrance exam to ask if we had a position open. I figured that was the perfect opportunity to get someone to help you with heroics. He was the natural choice."

"May I also assume, Yagi, that you are looking for someone to pass your quirk onto?"

All Might was done questioning the things that his old sensei did. At a certain point, he had become desensitized to the awe and shock that he felt after almost every sentence that Izuku said. Like how he didn't even taste blood anymore, he just assumed it was in his mouth at all times.

"Uh...yes...?"

"I would be delighted to help you find someone. From my observations so far, I would say that Togata Mirio is a prime candidate. He already is a very competent hero in training, and is already well versed in making a difficult to control quirk able to be used."

That was when Nezu spoke up." Yes, I would agree that Mirio would be a great candidate. However, that is not why I called you both here. I think that the matter of the first heroics class should be discussed between the two of you."

All Might was actually very relieved that Izuku-sensei was there to help him teach. The main reason he had come to the school was to find a student worthy of receiving his quirk. He had absolutely no experience teaching, and Izuku-sensei would be able to counteract that in classes.

"What an excellent idea, Nezu! What I was thinking is that I would sit back and observe the class, both to see their quirks and personalities in action, and also see Yagi's teaching style. Observing them will make my analysis class easier to teach if I can see what I am working with."

So Izuku-sensei wouldn't be helping him with his first heroics class. And he wasn't just staying away either. No, he was watching, trying to see where All Might went wrong, what wasn't planned out well, all the mistakes he made... and Izuku-sensei could see them all. He didn't miss anything. All Might was getting queasy just thinking about it, and this time he was sure it wasn't the stomach injury.

Izuku-sensei, sensing his distress, jumped in with," Don't worry, I'll be on comms if you need advice. After all, we are co-teaching heroics."

Izuku-sensei smiled his signature smile, a bright, cheerful smile that made him seem to glow from the inside out . Only those who had seen Izuku-sensei's bad side had learned to fear that smile and how quickly it could drop off his face. And the expression that was left when it did... All Might still had nightmares.

"Of course, Izuku-sensei. I look forward to co-teaching with you."

"And you as well, Yagi. Now, if you will excuse me, I have to go watch some first-years in Present Mic's class through the vents."

And with that not at all concerning statement, Izuku-sensei walked over to the vent entrance and used his gloved hands to pull himself up, gracefully entering the ventilation system with one more smile thrown over his shoulder.

All Might coughed into his hand, seeing blood come out. Is it concerning that he has gotten so used to it that he barely even notices it anymore?

"Well, I should prepare for my first class. If Izuku-sensei is watching it, I'm going to need as much time as I can get to plan." All Might stood up to leave, making space before he buffed up into his other form.

"Of course. And, All Might?"

"Yes, Principal Nezu?'

"Please do keep silent about Izuku-sensei's arrival," The chimera's smile was getting a little sadistic, and All Might sweatdropped again."We wouldn't want to spoil the surprise for anyone, now would we?"

"O-of course, Nezu."

All Might hurried out of the room as fast as he could, carefully shutting the door behind him. His heart thudded in his chest, his footsteps falling into the background as he tried to start planning his first lesson.

What just happened?

Part 3

Shinso walked toward All Might with the rest of class 1-a, all clad in their hero costumes. Shinso's was simple: a black stealth suit with gear around the waist, and a capture scarf like his dad's wrapped around his neck. He saw the kid that looked like a peppermint-Todoroki?- take note of the scarf and write something down in a notebook. Who knows what that was about.

The class gathered in front of some buildings, where All Might made his appearance at the head. He explained the exercise, and Shinso could've sworn that All Might kept nervously glancing at different points in his explanation like he was watching for something. He shrugged it off as jitters, this was All Might's first time at teaching, after all.

The students filed into a building with surveillance cameras as the first villain team, team D, headed into the building. Shinso was on team A, with the girl who had the zero-gravity quirk. He thought her name was Uraraka. They were going up against the explosion guy, Bakugo; and the guy with engine legs, Ida. He wasn't really sure how Ida would do as a villain; he seemed pretty uptight, but Bakugo seemed like he would do just fine. Shinso wasn't sure who hurt him, but the guy had issues.

Five minutes after the villain team entered, Shinso and Uraraka were sent in. The walls were bare as they made their way through the building, venturing carefully around the corners. They had previously discussed a plan to sneak Uraraka in since all they needed to do was touch the fake bomb. The Bakugo kid definitely seemed like the type to just charge in guns blazing, and Shinso could take him out with his quirk faster than he could cause damage.

Sure enough, not long after he and Uraraka split up, Bakugo charged at him with an angry expression on his face. Or that may have just been his default expression. Shinso wasn't sure.

The comms unit buzzed as Uraraka's voice came through in his ear." I found the weapon, Shinso! It's on the floor right above you and Bakugo. But Ida's guarding it pretty well. And also... monologuing to himself about getting into being a villain? I don't think I get sneak past him yet, he's pretty fast."

Shinso gritted his teeth as he dodged another explosion from Bakugo. The blasts were coming faster now, and with every attack he dodged Bakugo got even madder."Just stay hidden until you can find an opening. I'll deal with Bakugo."

Shinso ran to the side and got as much space between him and Bakugo as possible. He heard a giggle come through the comms unit. Uraraka?...

He caught his breath, and before Bakugo could attack him he asked him a question." Those explosions are weak! Are you even trying to hit me?"

Bakugo roared in anger as he prepared his attack." JUST WHO DO YOU THINK YOU'RE CALLING WEAK, EXTRA?!"

And there. With that answer, Bakugo's face went blank and he stopped preparing his attack. Shinso wiped some sweat from his brow as he prepared the capture tape. Wait..."Uraraka, hug the walls! I'm making an opening!"

He then waited for her affirmative and told Bakugo to fire off an attack at the ceiling. He then backed away as much as he could before the force destroyed the floor Uraraka, Ida, and the weapon were on. Before the dust had settled, All Might's voice boomed through the comm units that they all had," THE HERO TEAM WINNNNS!"

Shinso released Bakugo from his control as a bubbly Uraraka and defeated Ida came down, both looking disheveled. Bakugo blinked before looking around, his expression growing more and more infuriated by the second. His palms started to spark threateningly as he took anger-fueled steps toward Shinso. Luckily, All Might grabbed Bakugo's shoulder and got him to go back inside before Bakugo could act on his anger.

The class was gathered around All Might as the teams who had just battled, who just revealed Ida to be the MVP.

"Even though Ida was on the losing team , kero?" The girl with the frog quirk spoke up. She was crouched on the ground with a gloved finger held up to her mouth.

"That's right! Does anyone know why?" All Might was nervously glancing at the security cameras and different points in the room again. Why was he doing that?

"I do, All Might-sensei," The girl with the black hair pulled back into a ponytail spoke up." It's because Ida embraced the role of a villain the most, and caused the least damage. Bakugo didn't show good teamwork when he split off from his teammate and charged in with no communication between the two of them. He also used attacks that destroyed his surroundings. Shinso had a similar problem when he used Bakugo to destroy the floor above him. Using such destructive attacks indoors is foolish. And Uraraka lost focus halfway through when she giggled, giving away her position."

Wow. That girl was spot on. All Might looked a bit thrown when he tried to add something. He also got a few shades paler and continued to glance around the room. Seriously, what was that about?!

All Might started calling the next teams out, and first was team B with Todoroki and the guy with multiple arms, and team I with Hagakure and the tail guy. The guy with the tail- Ojiro?- looked a little uncomfortable as he watched Hagakure's gloves and boots fall down to the ground. Shinso guessed that made sense as it appeared that the invisible girl was now naked.

The match ended quickly, with Todoroki freezing everyone except his partner and just walking in and touching the weapon. He only used one side of his quirk, however. Was it only because he didn't need to use the other?

The rest of the matches went by quickly, with All Might looking a bit out of his depth the whole time. He thought he saw the #1 hero mumbling to himself when it was Yaoyorozu's match and he couldn't rely on her explanation to tell the class. Again, what was with the eye-darting thing?! Was All Might crazy or something?

Their heroics class took up the whole morning, and they only had one more class left before it was time to go home. Analysis. This one was different because not only did it not show the teacher, one of his dads said that this class had not been taught for a long time. Guess they'll just have to wait and see.

The classroom was pretty standard, with the same layout of desks as homeroom. There was a whiteboard in front, right behind the teacher's desk. A teacher that had yet to arrive. Since the classroom layout was the same as homeroom, everyone just went to the same desk that they had there. There was a low buzz of people talking as they waited for their teacher to arrive.

Suddenly, the door creaked open and a maybe 16-year-old walked in. He had green hair with freckles on his cheeks and- wait! That was the same boy that had stopped him from tripping yesterday! But what was he doing here?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Izuku smiled at the teenagers as he walked in. He was in his hero costume, which wasn't flashy or overly bulky, just dark pants with inconspicuous pockets, a black shirt with sleeves that went down to his wrists, and black fingerless gloves with bits of metal imbued. The metal was so that he could make his hits do quite a bit more damage, and so he would be able to block attacks from weapons.

Most of the class was staring at him with confusion and a couple with some form of agitation on their faces. He kept his smile on his face as he walked over to the whiteboard, writing in big letters: WELCOME TO ANALYSIS.

The class still seemed to be in a state of shock, so he just went to his desk and sat down, waiting for one of them to address him.

One of them recovered, and with strange choppy hand gestures stood. He looked a little like... oh yes. Tensei Ida's little brother, Tenya Ida.

"Excuse me, but I don't think I am clear on what you are doing here! You are surely too young to be our teacher!"

A small chuckle made its way through Izuku's lips. "I am indeed the teacher for Analysis. You may call me Izuku-sensei. And yes," he added when Ida opened his mouth again, "I do know that I look young, it's a side-effect of my quirk."

They had all mostly recovered, even if some of them still looked skeptical. The one he had stopped from falling at the entrance of UA had a dumbfounded look on his face still, though. Oh well. It was the best he could hope for that no student was shouting 'YEAHHHHHH, RIGHT' like in years past. Present Mic really was a loud one.

"So, for our first analysis class, you will be doing an analysis on me. I will let you ask three questions as a class about my quirk-"

Kaminari, cutting him off by raising his hand, asked," No offense, Izuku-sensei, but if you aren't as young as you look, how old are you?"

Izuku smiled at him, holding up a single finger, as he continued with his explanation."And, if you get close enough with your guesses," I will tell you how old I am, since that seems to be of interest to you."

The students, almost all of them intrigued by this, started talking amongst themselves animatedly. There were a few, Izuku could see, that were more indifferent to the subject: Bakugo, Shinso, and Todoroki among them. In the time he had spent watching them, he learned all their names and was glad he took the time to do so. It made things a lot easier for him to have them in class.

"Alright then, ask your first question whenever you're ready."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ida tried to get the class under control as they got up from their seats to talk to one another. Izuku-sensei... he knew he had heard that name before. Maybe Tensei had mentioned him? But even if Izuku-sensei was older than he looked, there was no way that he had taught his older brother. It was silly to be having those thoughts.

His classmates continued to be rambunctious despite his best efforts. At least none of them had...

"IZUKU-SENSEI!!! DOES YOUR QUIRK CHANGE ANYTHING PHYSICALLY?!"

...wasted one of their questions in their enthusiasm.

Something gleamed in Izuku-sensei's eyes, just for a moment, before it was gone and he answered Mina."Yes, Ashido. My Quirk alters my appearance in the sense that I will always look like a 16-year-old."

The entire class groaned as the pink-hued girl wasted one of their questions on something they already knew. The girl gave a sheepish smile before sitting back down. The whole class was now in even more of a tizzy as they tried to figure out what to ask their teacher with their remaining two questions.

Ida was desperately trying to make a plan to restore order. Then, he noticed the kid that had fought against Bakugo and won, standing to the side with a droll expression on his face. He was looking towards all the commotion and had evidently decided to not get involved. Surprisingly, Bakugo was also sitting to the side, albeit with his usual bad attitude.

The comments continued until Ida wasn't even sure who was saying what anymore.

"What a mad banquet of darkness."

"I bet it's something MANLY!!!"

"Why couldn't our teacher be a pretty girl...?"

That last comment was a little strange, but Ida couldn't tell who was saying anything with all this noise! Then, Ida remembered Uraraka, the girl with the floating quirk. Searching the group quickly, Ida found her and pulled her aside.

"Uraraka! This behavior of our classmates needs to stop at once! Could you possibly float me up with your quirk to get their attention?"

Nodding quickly, she tapped him on the shoulder, then he was floating upwards. Clapping his hands several times, he got the attention of his classmates almost immediately. He pushed his glasses up his nose as they were in danger of falling down.

"Please stop this behavior at once! We are UA students in the hero course, we should know to discuss things calmly as a group!"

As soon as Ida saw the other students looking contrite, he nodded to Uraraka and suddenly dropped. He landed soundly on his feet as everyone sat back down. Glancing over at Izuku-sensei, the man had a pleased look in his eyes as the class righted himself. Ida wasn't sure why the teacher hadn't stepped in sooner, but he had apparently gotten whatever he wanted out of his non-engagement.

The class then discussed what questions to ask in a more subdued manner, with the girl with the ponytail, Yaoyorozu, eventually having the idea to ask him what his quirk name was.

"Ahh, now that is the right sort of question to ask! Great job! My quirk is called Immortality, and I do believe that narrows down some questions to ask."

Immortality...? That could mean many things. It could mean that his teacher would always look sixteen, no matter how old he is, or it could mean he wasn't able to get injured, or it could mean...

The class was starting to get a bit louder again, and everyone had their own question to be asked. Ida assumed that they couldn't ask Izuku-sensei his specific age since that information was the prize for succeeding in this analysis, but Ida proposed they ask him if his quirk had anything to do with his actual age instead.

Izuku-sensei chuckled as the final question was asked."Yes, my quirk does have something to do with my age. Now, since that was the last question, who wants to take a crack at the first analysis?"

The class is silent as everyone tries to piece together the information given. Ida himself has some idea of what the teacher's quirk may be, but before he could speak up, Shinso answered.

"Your quirk makes you immortal. My guess is that you can live forever unless severely physically injured."

The class was silent as they processed this. Izuku-sensei still had his radiant grin on, which seemed to get even brighter as Shinso guessed what his quirk was. Living forever... Ida had assumed that he would be UA's youngest teacher, but now there was a very high chance he could be the oldest.

"Very good. Can anyone guess any other information on my quirk?"

Surprisingly, Bakugo was the one to speak next."Your quirk could have regenerative qualities."

Izuku nodded at him."Very good, Bakugo." To this, Bakugo responded with a sharp, ' tch'. Ida didn't know how he could be so rude to any teacher, let alone one standing right in front of him! Unbelievable.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Bakugo was over these losers. They were so busy yelling and shouting at each other that they weren't even focusing on the questions that needed to get asked. Four-eyes was getting visibly more frustrated as every single one of his stupid pleas to calm down was ignored. Tch. Some of these extras look like they only have one brain cell between them.

Then, surprisingly, four-eyes actually managed to get the whole class to quiet down, with the help of pink cheeks. Bakugo had already decided he wasn't going to participate in talking things over with the rest of the extras, but he was paying attention. Izuku-sensei was getting just a bit more pleased with every well-thought-out question suggested between those losers.

Glancing behind him, he saw that eye bags was also just watching. Thinking back to their previous battle, the purple-haired extra definitely had some kind of quirk that allowed him to take control of his opponent or whatever. The class asked their final question, and Bakugo wanted to laugh at the stupidly excited looks on their faces. Eye bags had apparently been paying attention as well because he actually made a not-idiotic guess.

These dumb extras. That could be not all of his quirk, in fact...

"Your quirk could have regenerative qualities."

Bakugo almost surprised himself when he spoke up. The way Izuku-sensei nodded at him, a quiet acknowledgment given instead of the overwhelming praise he had gotten used to throughout school was... different. He didn't know how else to respond so he just gave his usual, ' tch'. Izuku-sensei seemed to take it as an acceptable answer, even if four-eyes looks a bit indignant.

"Does anyone else have any more guesses? No? Then I suppose it's time to move on. While you all did very well on the last two questions, the first question wasted time. You went over information that you already had, and didn't have any communication with your team on how to use your shared resources, in this case, questions. It also took you too long to build any sort of real conveyance of ideas and theories."

At the word theories that half-and-half bastard perked up. He had been silent that whole conversation and that was what made him show the slightest resemblance to interest?! Tch.

"Your second question was your most informative out of the three. Learning one's quirk name can be very helpful, seeing as the quirk name is the shortest and most accurate description of a quirk. It may not give you the details, but it gives you a very good idea of what to expect from the individual, or individuals. The third question was to narrow down the information, which your final question did, to a certain extent. You could have narrowed it down a bit more, but you did clarify that it affected my actual age instead of just affecting what I looked like. Your guesses on my quirk based on this information were educated, even if they weren't entirely accurate."

While some of those extras wilted at those last three words, Izuku-sensei smiled reassuringly. He did that a lot, smile. Just why the hell was he so happy?!

"But often information is missing, or has inaccurate information. This is part of why you need to learn how to make your own analysis. This was very good, especially for our first class. Focusing on what might fall under the umbrella of one's quirk is a good stance to take, being prepared for the unexpected. Bakugo made a very good point when he said that my quirk could include regenerative qualities, something that isn't directly related to the name or information shared with you. It's always good to be looking for new information. The more information you have, the higher your chance of success."

Bakugo didn't get why they couldn't blow them up. Why waste time making an 'analysis' when you could just kill them and be done with it.

"As for what my quirk actually is, as you now know my quirk name is Immortality. I will live forever and recover from many wounds. I have recovered from otherwise fatal stab wounds, broken bones, and severe burns before without much medical attention. I stopped physically aging when I was sixteen, as you can all see."

"Wait, so we got close enough that you're gonna tell us your age?" The Pikachu-looking electric guy was the next extra to butt in. However, their new teacher didn't look the slightest bit perturbed at the interruption.

"Yes, I would say you did. I will be 222 this year. I have been a teacher here almost since it was opened, although I did take a break for almost a decade to travel the world. My hero name, because I do have a license, even if I make sure my name is kept out of the press, is Fumetsu, the Analyst hero."

While everyone sat there shocked, Izuku-sensei still just looked at all of them with that pleasant smile still on his face. The teacher glanced at a clock that sat up on the wall, his smile turning a bit rueful as he looked back at the class.

"Well, unfortunately, class is ending, so enjoy your lunch, and I'll see you next class."

Izuku-sensei walked out of the room, throwing a small wave over his shoulder as the door clicked shut. Nobody had gotten out of their seats yet or even moved. Then that bird brain spoke up.

"Revelry in the dark."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Aizawa was getting his 9th coffee of the day from the staff room with all the other teachers there. He had managed to squeeze in a nap that morning due to the problem children having that Analysis class- which he still hadn't found the teacher for- that made it so he was able to use his lunch for planning instead of a nap. He knew that this wouldn't last throughout the school year, however. His newest class of problem children were already showing signs of being troublesome. He sighed as he realized the loudest member of the UA staff was bouncing over to him.

"SHOTA!! What students are in your class this year?"

"A class full of headaches."

"AWWW! C'mon Sho, they can't be that bad!"

All Might, who was sitting over in the corner in his deflated form, came over and nodded. Previously, Aizawa had seen him looking over lesson notes in the form of flashcards- god he hoped he didn't actually use those in class, that was just sad- and glancing towards the door with quite a bit of fear on his face. Aizawa was too tired to question it.

"They destroyed the building on the first heroics match. Then the second group completely froze the next building. These kids are absolutely insane. Then there was-" All Might paled as he almost said the last sentence and spat out a mouthful of blood, absentmindedly dabbing it away with a handkerchief. That couldn't be healthy.

A squeak was heard and Aizawa turned to see the door open. Every other known teacher was here, so this must be the new Analysis teacher. All Might froze as he fearfully looked up, and Mic was staring at the door with such glee he was practically vibrating. The door opened and a student with green, bushy hair walked through, mumbling while looking over notes.

Wait... a new Analysis teacher yet to be named, a green-haired boy who looks like a student walking through the staff doors, Ectoplasm paling like he's seen this before... crap.

The entire room was thrown into shocked silence as their old sensei made his way to a chair and sat down, still mumbling with no apparent attention to his surroundings. His husband started to grip his hand, knuckles turning white as he stared wide-eyed at the seemingly innocent boy.

Nobody was prepared for this. Their teacher was supposed to be traveling around the world, not sitting next to them in the staff room. Aizawa didn't become a teacher until after Izuku-sensei had left to travel, and many of the other teachers didn't either, so only Recovery Girl, Nezu, and Ectoplasm had been on the staff while he was teaching. Ectoplasm, the only one out of the three here at the moment, looked like he was having some sort of flashback. He kept pinching himself as if he was unsure if this was some kind of dream-or nightmare.

While they kept staring at Izuku-sensei, he appeared to notice the change in the atmosphere and saw his previous students staring at him. Then he smiled that signature smile of his and threw his arms open wide.

"Oh... guess me and Nezu forgot to tell you all. I'm back!"

Aizawa should've taken that nap.

Part 4

After the staff had gaped a bit more at their old teacher, they had started to inquire as to where he had been, with an occasional 'NO WAY' and 'THAT'S RAD' thrown in there by the loudest staff member. Aizawa loved him to the ends of the earth, but why are peace and quiet such difficult concepts?

Their teacher was answering questions left and right, all with that smile on his face. Honestly, they were all lucky it was still on his face. When Izuku-sensei wasn't wearing his smile, things escalated fast. Aizawa still remembered the last time he had seen that smile drop off his sensei's face. Kids were crying in the halls, with Izuku-sensei looking down at them with such a disappointed face. And that was the best possible situation for when he dropped his smile.

"So! Class 1-a and 1-b appear to be fine new heroes-in-training! I met with them both either today or yesterday, and while both classes certainly have... odd little things about them, they have so much potential! 1-a even had a sufficient guess as to what my quirk is!"

Vlad King looked a little upset that his class didn't do as well as class 1-a apparently did, but he knew better than to voice such opinions around Iuku-sensei. Their old teacher didn't have favorites, and everyone in the room knew that. Honestly, Aizawa was a little unsure of how that was, there were definitely some that he knew were going to be less troublesome than others.

The bell rang, signifying lunch was over for students as well as teachers. Mic bounded to his feet and started to grab his things, rambling at a volume that only he can. Midnight was right there next to him, still saying something about youth and the joys of being surrounded by it.

Aizawa knew that he didn't have a class in the next hour, he had some time before 1-a took the vote for president and vice president, so he sat there with Izuku-sensei, knowing that his old teacher had something to say to him.

"So you still have the yellow sleeping bag, huh?"

"Never leave the house without it."

"I figured, you always used to be able to take naps anywhere, and I see that nothing has changed on that front. Though I do see the matching rings with Mic, so it appears that a development has been made there."

How did he- no. Nope. Not even going to question it. Sometimes you just had to accept that Izuku-sensei knew things.

"Yes. We have been married since two years after our graduation from UA."

"Congratulations! I always knew that you two would get together. It was honestly a little painful to watch, it was obvious to everyone except the two of you. I think Midnight almost started some kind of poll to bet on when you would start dating."

Aizawa felt the beginning of a blush start to creep up his neck, that was exactly what Midnight would do. He awkwardly shuffled to his feet to go teach that insufferable group of teenagers. They were either very loud, extremely quiet, and one was just... sparkly. That was the only word to describe him.

At least he got Shinso in his class. He wasn't sure what he would do to Vlad if he somehow got his dog-loving paws on his son. Something he was sure Nezu had taken into account when assigning students into classes.

His cell phone gave a ring, the caller ID showing Mic was calling him. He let out a sigh as he answered it. Either there was a bug in the classroom that Mic needed to be removed before his class's eardrums were blown out from him shrieking, or there was some other type of emergency.

"SHOTA! THERE'S A LOT OF PRESS OUT FRONT LOOKING FOR ALL MIGHT, BUT HE HAS USED UP HIS TIME FOR THE DAY AND CAN'T GO OUT! I NEED YOUR HELP FENDING THEM OFF!"

Aizawa knew that Mic had to scream, he could hear the shouted questions of the press over the phone, along with the alarm alerting them that someone had infiltrated the campus. He really didn't want to go out there, but he knew that Mic couldn't take them all on his own. He called the cops to remove them from the premises before heading out to deal with the rabid vultures that people call reporters. The green-haired man sitting next to him wished him luck as he headed out. Izuku-sensei couldn't go out to the press for various reasons, one of which being that he wanted to surprise all of his former students who were now pro heroes.

The press was practically tearing Mic apart, all demanding to have a comment on the fact that the number 1 hero was working there. Mic was repeating that he was not there that day, but they just wouldn't stop. They couldn't answer any of their questions because if they told them the smallest detail, then they would feel entitled to the whole story.

Mic was clearly getting frustrated with them because he leaned over to Aizawa and said that the press was technically trespassing and that the behavior could be considered villainous. He had to think about the suggestion to attack the press for a moment before he decided that waiting for the cops to come back was the best option. They couldn't take down the press, even with the unacceptable behavior of storming UA grounds.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ida couldn't believe how out of control this had gotten! Students panicked from the moment that the alarm had gone off, and now it was a massive stampede. Ida was pressed against a window, with Uraraka nearby, also caught in the giant sea of students. The teachers were clearly dealing with the press, and there was nobody to direct the other students to exit calmly and safely. It reminded him of the situation in Izuku-sensei's- wait.

Ida turned to Uraraka, seeing the girl struggling to not be forced along as everyone rushed away from the perceived attack. He gestured as wildly as he could to get her attention, his glasses askew from all the commotion.

"URARAKA! LIKE WE DID IN IZUKU-SENSEI'S CLASS! I NEED YOU TO FLOAT ME!"

She gave a wide-eyed look of understanding before pushing her way over as quickly as she could and tapping on his shoulder. His glasses fell off of his face as he was launched above the crowd. He saw the giant exit sign and used the engines on his legs to get over to it. This was sure to get everyone's attention!

"EVERYONE PLEASE CALM DOWN! THIS IS NO ATTACK, AND THERE IS NO REASON TO WORRY! IT IS JUST THE PRESS! THE SCHOOL OF UA IS A FINE INSTITUTION AND WE SHOULD ALL TREAT IT AS SUCH!!!"

Everyone looked up at him as he clung to a pipe above the exit sign. The atmosphere calmed down quickly as everyone processed his words. Students were looking guilty at how much they had panicked, and many of them were helping others up from where they had been thrown to the ground. Ida gave a nod to Uraraka and she pressed her fingers together, mumbling something. Wait- doesn't that mean that he's going to... Ida quickly felt himself drop and used his engines to slow the fall down, still landing with a loud thunk.

Ida saw the police cars arrive and the press sulked away as they were escorted off of school grounds. Ida didn't know exactly what happened, but it appeared that some quirk had destroyed the gates...

They arrived in homeroom not too long after, with Aizawa giving the announcement that it was just the press who had made it past the gates. He then went on to say that they had to choose a class president. Whoever becomes such must be an exemplar member of the class, and must show the rest of the world what it means to be a student at the prestigious school of-

"I nominate Ida. He really showed his leadership skills when he made sure that nobody was injured when the alarm went off." Uraraka cut into his thoughts.

"Yeah! Bro, that was so manly!"

"Tch, I guess if it had to be anyone, it would be four eyes."

"Yeah, that's a great idea, kero."

They conducted the ballet vote, and Ida had the most votes, while the girl Yaoyorozu had the second most votes. Ida stood at the front of the class and gave a short speech, pushing his glasses up his nose. He was sure that his brother would be proud of him.

The class started to buzz with excitement when Aizawa-sensei said that they would be heading to the USJ, which was not the Universal Studios of Japan, Kaminari. They would be going with Aizawa-sensei and All Might since he was their heroics teacher. Ida was still reprimanding them to keep the volume down as they exited the class, all talking with ideas about what the training would consist of. Kaminari still wasn't sure exactly where they were going. Oh boy.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Nezu and the rest of the teachers, sans All Might, gathered around the front gate- or what used to be the front gate. The gates were crumbling, several layers of disintegrated metal laying on the ground. Not a single face didn't have a serious expression.

"No ordinary reporter could have done this."

Nezu stood at the front, letting the words hang in the air as he took a step closer to the carnage. They were lucky that no student had gotten injured in the stampede that took place after the alarms went off. Nezu supposed that they had Tenya Ida to thank for that.

"I agree. Either some evildoer managed to slip in when the reporters swarmed, or they had a much more nefarious goal in mind."

Izuku-sensei had his signature smile missing for once as he studied the remains of the gate. The calculating light in his eyes was made all the more obvious when his grin wasn't in place. He stepped forward beside Nezu and leaned down to the dust on the ground.

"I would say that it is some quirk that causes a disintegration effect or something similar. Maybe through contact...? I can't make out the details of their quirk without seeing it in action. Right now this is just speculation."

Nezu nodded grimly. They would have to be even more vigilant going forward. Something about this situation seemed like it was more than just the press attacking. All they could do was hope that there wasn't some bigger battle ahead of them.

Part 5

Izuku walked out of the UA building and into the bus waiting out front. The bus had a different layout, so the seating was irregular. He made his way to the back of the bus and sat down, leaning back against the window. He pulls out his phone and sighs as he sees a news report of All Might stopping a villain on his morning commute.

He's going to use up all his time if he keeps that up. Yagi just doesn't know when to stop sometimes. And on the day that they were going to the USJ too...

He still had some time before the students were to board the bus, so he pulled out his laptop and started making a list of which zones the students of 1a would be most effective in, and which zones they would have more of a disadvantage in. He was pretty sure he started to mumble as he thought out all the possibilities for one student and typed them out. Obviously, he would have to challenge each student, but also make it so they could use their quirk to the fullest extent, so that would mean-

He heard some tapping and looked up to see a bus driver staring at him, faint fear written on his face as he started the bus up. That meant that the students would be arriving soon, so he put away the analysis of where they would be most effective. Wouldn't want them to get any ideas as to what exactly is going to happen!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Shinso followed his dad outside where the bus was waiting, along with the rest of class 1-a. The new class president was shouting at everyone to remain in a calm and orderly line, and to sit on the bus according to their student ID. He was also making those chopping gestures that Uraraka kept having to jump away from, in fear of getting hit.

The bus didn't have traditional seating, so Ida was disappointed that his seating chart wouldn't be put into motion. Shinso sighed, a habit that his papa said was just like his dad's, and tried to get as far away from the more chatty members of the class as possible. He came here to be a hero, not to make friends. He made his way as far back as he could and was-

He stopped. Sitting at the back of the bus was Izuku-sensei, smiling at him and his classmates as they entered the bus. What was he doing here? This was supposed to be just homeroom and heroics teachers, and a hero to guide them through the USJ. However, the chatty kids sat near the front, so sitting next to Izuku-sensei would almost guarantee he would not have to talk to them.

His dad looked like he made the same decision and sat across from the green-haired teacher and Shinso. His dad looked at Izuku-sensei with one eyebrow quirked, obviously asking why he was there, but Izuku-sensei just flashed him the same mysterious smile as the first time Shinso met him.

How did he do that? One look from his dad and even the most hardened criminals usually confess to whatever they did immediately. And, yeah, that sounds cool. But when you're his kid? It's not fun at all. Needless to say, his respect for his new teacher increased quite a bit after that interaction.

The bus traveled for a while, with all the others practically jumping over themselves to shout at each other. They all had their hero costumes on, and some of them were just strange. The one with the fire and ice quirk- Todoroki- had the left half of his body covered with ice, with a glowing red eye. And he was pretty sure that Hagakure was only wearing boots and gloves, just like at their first heroics class. Does she not get cold...?

As they were walking towards the giant building Shinso assumed was the USJ, he saw Bakugo shooting off sparks from his hands a second before he demonstrated the extent of his anger issues to the guy with the rock quirk. He winced as Kirishima used his quirk to avoid the blast.

When they arrived in the building, all the students of class 1-a sucked in a shocked gasp. The building seemed bigger on the inside than it did on the outside, with several different sections, one of them even appearing to be a lake.

"Welcome to the USJ! Here, every disaster and accident that you can imagine is displayed. I built this facility myself, and I call it the Unforeseen Situation Joint!"

The new voice was someone who looked as though they were a pro hero, with a bulky sort of space suit, making it hard to see what gender they may be. Behind him, Shinso could hear Uraraka whispering.

"That's the Space hero, Thirteen! She's a hero who specializes in rescue hero work, and she is so cool!" Uraraka was slightly vibrating out of excitement at this point, and a concerned Yaoyorozu placed a hand on her shoulder in case she started to float.

Turning his attention back to Thirteen and his dad, he could make out a part of their conversation.

"Where's All Might? I thought he was supposed to be meeting us here."

"It seems that he -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --. -- -- -- -- break room."

"How illogical." Shinso could see his dad sighing and glaring a bit before seeming to realize that someone was missing. He glanced around for a second before looking at Thirteen and smirked a bit.

Shinso knew that smirk. It was the smirk he had before something bad happened to someone else that his dad found absolutely hilarious. One time his papa had been working on some paperwork in the living room and a bug had started to crawl on his jacket. His dad had noticed this, and instead of quietly removing the bug so his husband wouldn't freak out, he pulled out a camera and asked him to turn around. When his papa saw the spider creeping on his jacket he was so scared that he screamed at max volume. Luckily, his dad had been prepared for this and canceled his quirk before any of their eardrums could burst. His papa had not been happy when he saw his dad chuckling over the video.

"Hello, Thirteen! Truly an impressive training ground that you have built. I am looking forward to seeing you teach."

Thirteen froze. At first, Shinso thought that Todoroki had frozen her in place, she was so still. Very slowly, she turned around and saw Izuku-sensei standing there with a luminous smile. If Thirteen could pale, Shinso was sure that she would've. He had absolutely no idea why the pro hero found one of the happiest looking teachers he had ever met so terrifying, but she seemed to have forgotten everything she was going to say.

"I-Izuku-sensei! I didn't see your name on the list of students and teachers supposed to come today. W-what are you doing here?"

"Well, I decided it was time to come back to teaching at UA, and I technically do co-teach heroics with All Might. I thought this would be a good first exercise to do since there would be plenty of students in different zones and All Might is new to teaching. Unfortunately, he seems to be unable to make it."

Thirteen nodded a little shakily before turning back to the class and continuing. Shinso had no idea what that little interaction was about, but suffice it to say that it aroused his curiosity.

"Well... before we start I have a few points to make. I'm sure at least a few of you are aware of my quirk, Black Hole. Black Hole can suck in and tear apart anything. And while I have used it to save many people from all sorts of disasters, my power could easily kill. There are probably many of you that have similar abilities."

Shinso had gotten this speech before. All of his previous teachers had made sure to impress on him that his quirk was dangerous, and had looked at him with suspicion due to his quirk more than once. The kids at his school had picked up on this behavior and had started calling his quirk 'villainous', and 'freaky'. That was part of why he wanted to become a hero. He wanted to prove them wrong, and show just how perfect his quirk was for hero work.

"Quirk usage is regulated for this reason, and while this has kept the system stable, we must never forget that all it takes is for one wrong move with an uncontrollable quirk for people to die. You've already learned your own hidden potential, and the danger that your quirks can inflict, but here I want to give you a different experience. Like how to use your quirks to save lives. Today's training is not about how to harm others, today you're learning how to help them."

The students took a second to process this before Ida started clapping and shouting 'BRAVO' with- was that tears in his eyes? Uraraka's eyes were shining with excitement again and Yaoyorozu's hand on her shoulder was needed as she slightly lifted off of the ground.

"Alright, first we'll-"

His dad didn't get to finish his sentence before some swirling dark mist appeared down in a different zone. He saw his dad's eyes widen in alarm before he shouted for Thirteen to protect the students. Shinso felt his heart beat faster as he was ushered back, tilting his head up to try and catch a better look of what was going on. He saw his dad place his goggles over his eyes, obviously preparing for some sort of fight.

"Is this part of the exercise?! Like the robots they had at the entrance exam?" Kirishima, who was farther back and couldn't see the figures emerging, asked.

"No, these are villains." His dad was glaring down at them, and Izuku-sensei had moved to stand at his side.

The villain at the front, who appeared to be the leader, peered up at them with clear agitation. Now that he was stepping a bit closer, Shinso could see that he had hands all over himself. Never mind Todoroki's hero costume being strange, that was the creepiest costume Shinso had ever seen. Where does he even get those?! Shinso was sure he didn't want to know. The guy got even stranger as he started scratching at his neck.

"Where's All Might? All Might was supposed to be here! It said so in the schedule that we received! Eraserhead and Thirteen are here, and some students!' the villain paused his mini tantrum as a dark smile started to appear on his face, lips cracking as they were apparently in desperate need of chapstick.

"If All Might won't appear, then we'll just have to start killing students until he does. I wonder how many dead bodies it will take...?"

The villains were pouring through the mist, at least 75 that Shinso could see. Given that Thirteen had pushed the students back so his dad and Izuku-sensei stood at the front with the students far behind them, it was very likely that there were more. Izuku-sensei and his dad stood at the ready, both in fighting stances. Shinso knew that his dad's combat skills were excellent, but even he couldn't fend off that many villains at once. He didn't know the extent of Izuku-sensei's fighting skills, but given his stance, he had experience at the very least. He didn't have a quirk that would help him in combat, so he must be like his dad, fighting quirkless.

As he was told to run with Thirteen, he felt something change in the air, like a menacing presence had appeared. Risking a glance back, he saw Izuku-sensei turn slightly to the side, and his breath caught in his throat as he saw the expression on his teacher's face. The normally bright and cheerful teacher had one of the most terrifying glares that Shinso had ever seen. The darkness in his eyes as he stared at the villains would send fear into any soul, no matter how powerful. It was a thousand times worse than his dad's glares had ever been. That must be why he wasn't perturbed by how his dad looked at him on the bus.

His dad and Izuku-sensei both rushed towards the villains, with Thirteen making sure that none of them got close as Kaminari tried to contact someone for help. The students watched in varying degrees of horror as their teachers were about to meet the villains head-on.

"I know that Aizawa-sensei is, like, really strong, but Izuku-sensei's quirk isn't really suited for battle. Is he going to be alright?" Mina, the pink girl with the horns, asked in a worried tone.

Shinso was barely able to stop himself from rolling his eyes at her question. Just because your quirk wasn't big and flashy didn't mean you weren't good at combat skills. It wasn't your quirk that made you powerful in a fight. Sure, it helped and it was an advantage most of the time, but if you didn't work at your skills then having a strong quirk didn't matter one bit.

And Shinso was sure that Izuku-sensei could become dangerous. That look in his eyes... it was like he already knew 20 different ways to murder you, but was just thinking about the method that would cause you the most physical and psychological harm before he proceeded with any action.

The students held their breaths as his dad's scarf wrapped around the first villain, throwing them to the side and into another villain, setting off a domino effect that sent several villains to the ground. Shinso frowned when he noticed that Izuku-sensei had somehow disappeared when his father had done that move. Glancing around for a second, he looked for Izuku-sensei. His eyes widened when he spotted the green-haired teacher engaging with several villains at once in hand-to-hand combat... and what he saw almost made him feel bad for them.

Izuku-sensei was a killing machine. His face held this determined sort of rage, features cast in a dark light as he pummeled each of the villains. Whether it was an elbow into their side, a kick to the back of the knee and then the nose, or a choke slam to the ground, Izuku-sensei took out the villains as quickly and brutally as possible. Shinso realized that he had seen this fighting style before. His dad had him learn the different fighting styles, and he was almost positive that this was Krav Maga. That fighting style was one of the most lethal styles Shinso had ever seen because it did not matter what you did to your opponent, as long as you caused significant damage.

The other students had apparently spotted Izuku-sensei, too, because some of their faces took on an even more horrified expression at the growing pile of bodies lying at his feet. Izuku-sensei drove his knee into his attacker's stomach one, two, three times before twisting his arm until it was at an angle that Shinso was pretty sure it wasn't supposed to be at, then throwing him back onto another villain.

"Dude... Izuku-sensei is like, scarily manly." Kirishima was whispering to Sero, the guy with tape dispensers for elbows.

Before Sero could respond, Thirteen shouted for them to run towards the doors as fast as they could. Communications were obviously disrupted, and now their best chance for backup was to run and get it themselves. The large doors to the exit were getting closer, but before the students could reach them, the same swirling dark purple mist from before appeared. There was a somewhat humanoid shape near the middle of the mist, probably some villain with a transportation quirk.

"You're not going anywhere..."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Izuku chopped a villain in the neck before whirling around and doing an attack sequence of hitting the back of the knee, then the ribs, and finally throwing a knee to the villain's face. It seemed like no matter how many villains he and Aizawa took down, there were always more to take the fallen's place. They were appearing so quickly that Izuku's analysis skills were having a hard time keeping up.

Heteromorphic quirk- Aizawa's quirk doesn't work on them. Attack the weak points at locations... fingernails turn into metal, mostly slashing. Approach from behind and hit his back then... has bandages wrapped around the face, use them to gain control... has spikes down back, attack from the front to be most effective and... mutation quirk, exploit weakness created from irregular body shape, most likely a blind spot toward the back...

Izuku's mind was going a mile a minute as he took down villains right and left. However, it hadn't escaped his notice that the leader and the strange creature that didn't look quite sentient were hanging behind, the former getting more frustrated by the second as he mumbled about things being not fair. He also heard the man in desperate need of some chapstick telling the one with some sort of transportation quirk to stop the students.

As soon as he heard this he lunged forward, using one of the villain's faces as a stepping stone to try and make it to the villain in time. Just as he hit the ground, rolling to take the sting of the impact away, the villain vanished. Izuku could only hope that the students and Thirteen would be able to handle it on their own.

Now that he was closer to the leader, he could hear the muttering more clearly. Apparently, they were a part of the League of Villains, something that sounded vaguely familiar to some sort of game Izuku had heard about, and their goal was to kill All Might. The creature standing next to him- Nomu, he called it- could apparently match the strength of All Might at his best.

Aizawa jumped forward and landed a punch on the leader's face, and Izuku took advantage of the villains rushing towards him to weave through them, landing punches and kicks in the areas that would inflict the most damage as quickly as he could. In no time, they were all lying on the ground, groaning in pain, a few of them actually sobbing.

This made the man who had just been punched very angry, apparently. He tore at his neck with his hands and screamed in pure rage. He was a man-child, who threw giant tantrums when things didn't go his way. He glared at Izuku, evidently deciding it was his fault, before screeching,"NOMU, ATTACK!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ida watched helplessly as the villain appeared in front of them, blocking their path forward. The mists seemed to stretch up as it loomed over them in a menacing manner. The villain had explained who they were and that their goal was to kill All Might. He was also surprisingly polite about it, like he wasn't planning on killing them. Bakugo and Kirishima made their move after the villain had his spiel, using their quirks to try and attack.

Thirteen warned them, but it was too late as the mists blanketed them until all they could see was darkness. Ida heard the yells and shouts of his classmates as they tried to find one another. Then, almost as suddenly as the darkness had appeared, it was gone, and so were several of Ida's fellow classmates.

The villain most likely had a transportation quirk and all Ida could do was hope that they were safe, and that villains hadn't overtaken them yet. Thirteen whirled to face where the slightly humanoid shape was and pointed his hand at them, obviously preparing to activate his quirk. Just as he did though, the mist villain created some kind of portal that threw Thirteen's attack right back at him, tearing away a large part of his costume near the back.

Ida saw that Uraraka was practically frozen in fear, but she still turned to him and yelled," RUN IDA! GO GET HELP, YOU'RE THE FASTEST ON HERE!"

He couldn't just abandon his classmates in their time of need! If he ran away, then they could get hurt! It was his duty as class president to make sure that all members of the classroom were safe, and right now he was failing horribly. What would Tensei do...?

Uraraka cast a desperate glance at him, and he realized just how much they needed him to do this. He had to be the one to save his classmates, by running to get more teachers that could help fight the villains. This was how he could help his class out to the best of his ability.

Taking in a deep breath, Ida powered up his engines and darted forward, past the enemy's line of defense. He sped along as quickly as he neared the door, throwing it open as quickly as possible as he raced to get the teachers. He could only hope that he would make it in time.

Part 6

Shinso crashed into the water, barely managing to suck in a gasp of air before he went under. Turning around, he let out a slight scream as he saw a villain with some kind of aquatic quirk swimming toward him. His quirk doesn't work when he can't speak, so he had no way to defend himself as the villain got closer.

Just before the villain could reach him, something wrapped around his waist and he was pulled out of the water and into the air. Glancing down, he saw the Asui had grabbed Mineta and was pulling him out of the water and onto the boat, where Shinso landed a second later.

"Thanks... Asui..." Shinso was panting, water dripping down from his hair to hit the ground. Looking down the side of the boat, he could see a ring of villains surrounding them, all with aquatic quirks.

"Call me Tsuyu."

"It looks like they know our schedule... they said that they knew All Might was supposed to be here, so they probably used the media rush yesterday to somehow get the information."

His grape-looking classmate visibly paled at these words, little tears appearing in his eyes. Shinso wasn't sure how this guy made it into the hero course.

"N-no! Can't we just wait for All Might to show up and beat him? There's no way he'll lose. I DON'T WANNA DIEEEEE!!!"

That was just pathetic...

"I'm not so sure, kero. They must've figured out a way to kill him because this seems really well thought out. They wouldn't come here with such a detailed plan with no way to kill All Might, kero."

At this, Mineta started shaking violently with fear."NOOOOOOOOOOO!!! I DON'T WANNA DIE!!! I DON'T WANNA DIEEEEEEEE!!! I HAVEN'T EVEN TOUCHED YOARYOROZU'S PERFECT BOOBS YET!!!"

Oh god. Now Shinso really wasn't sure how this guy made it into the hero course. Being scared was perfectly logical, but tearing up at the thought of it was just stupid. Then there were his comments about boobs. He was a little pervert. A grape pervert. That was it, he decided. From now on, Shinso would always view Mineta as the grapevert.

The grapevert turned to him and started to tug on his sleeve, causing Shinso to look down with disgust at his fellow classmate. He was furiously wiping at his tears as he got Shinso's attention.

"HOW CAN WE FIGHT THEM?? IF THEY CAN KILL ALL MIGHT THEN WHAT CHANCE DO WE HAVE??!! WE'RE GONNA DIEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!"

That was annoying as all heck. At least his papa was being positive when he was this loud. Being forced to listen to the grapevert whine about how he doesn't want to die was getting annoying.

Tuning him out for a moment, Shinso thought about the situation.

"Hey, As- Tsuyu. The guys down there all have aquatic quirks, right? They knew about the different zones, so why did they send you to the flood zone?"

"Yes, kero. Now that I think about it, they must not know about our quirks. The heat zone would've been the best counter for me, my skin would get too dry, kero."

"We should exploit that then. Our only chance is to take advantage of the fact that they don't know what our quirks are. Gra- Mineta what is your quirk?"

The boy pulled out one of his hairballs and stuck it to the wall, pushing on it as he did so. "My quirk allows me to take off the balls in my hair and makes them stick anywhere. They bounce right back off of me, though."

Shinso was silent for a moment as he tried to think how that could be useful in the present situation. Shinso didn't call any quirk weak because every single quirk has its uses, so he knew that it could have some use in the present situation.

The grapevert, however, took his and Tsuyu's silence the wrong way and started sniveling again. He was crying and shouting about how they were all going to die again, and Shinso just wanted to pop him in the face, just so he would shut up.

Suddenly, the boat rocked violently and they were all thrown down as it appeared to capsize. Mineta was now wailing, and being the grapevert he is, threw his hairballs to the villains.

"Why would you do that?" Shinso hissed as they hung on to the railing, the boat tipping down ever further. "Now they know your quirk!"

They didn't have time for that however, the boat was sinking fast. Shinso had to think and come up with a plan on the fly to take out the villains and he wasn't sure what to do.

That's when it hit him. His quirk was useful in this situation. His dad had always warned him not to become too reliant on it, given that in some cases, like when he was underwater, his quirk didn't work. But right now...

"HEY FISHBRAINS," Shinso shouted as loudly as he possibly could, fully channeling his dad's spirit, "WHY DON'T YOU COME UP HERE AND ATTACK?"

"BECAUSE YOU LITTLE-"

And bam. Shinso had him. The only thing left to do was...

"ATTACK EVERYONE WITHOUT GETTING CLOSE TO THEM!"

Shinso couldn't let him be hit before they were given enough time to get out of there and back to his dad and the others. If he was hit, then Shinso's brainwashing wouldn't work on him anymore. Luckily, Shinso saw that he had more of a long-range quirk when he was shooing away Mineta's balls.

"RUN!! NOW!!"

Tsuyu nodded before grabbing the grapevert and throwing him over her shoulder, then grabbing Shinso with her tongue and jumping off the boat, just a few seconds before it would've gone under. With the villains all distracted with fighting each other, they were given the chance to get away, hitting the water a safe distance away. Tsuyu snapped her tongue back into her mouth, drawing Shinso closer to her and Mineta.

Speaking of... the grapevert was currently resting his cheek on Tsuyu's chest and mumbling about surprisingly good boobs. Shinso was disgusted and was just about to follow through on his earlier plan to punch him before Tsuyu grabbed him by the back of the neck and held him underwater. She wasn't even making a big deal out of it, just asking where they should go next.

Scanning their surroundings, Shinso caught sight of where his dad and Izuku-sensei had been earlier, fighting those villains. He grimaced before deciding to head there. While it may be dangerous to head where they knew villains would be, they also knew that the misty villain was blocking the exit, and the safest place for them right now would be with his dad. They just had to get there.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kirishima and Bakugo were just finishing up with the last of the villains in the zone they had been thrown into. He didn't get how Bakugo found it so easy to just pummel villains into the ground and then call them a bunch of mooks afterward. Kirishima didn't even know what that meant! There was no denying it, Bakugo was supremely manly.

"We should go help the others now. We did just fine, but there are others whose quirks aren't as great with fighting as us!"

"If that's what you want, Shitty hair. I'm going to go beat that warp guy to a pulp!"

"HUH?? You can't do that, normal attacks don't work on him!"

Kirishima couldn't believe that Bakugo wanted to do the same thing they had done before. It hadn't worked, and wasn't the definition of insanity doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result? Surprisingly, Bakugo actually had a not entirely violent thought process behind that idea.

"He's how those punks are getting around. Take out him, and those extras have nowhere to run!"

Suddenly, a villain runs up behind Bakugo with some sort of knife, but before Kirishima could warn him, Bakugo fires off an explosion behind him. He actually seemed to be pretty calm as he blasted the villain, though. Calmer than Kirishima had usually seen him. He actually looked kind of- nope. Not now.

"Idiots. If they're sending a bunch of ones like this, then we have nothing to worry about."

"Right. You seem a lot calmer than usual, Bakugo."

"SAY THAT AGAIN!! I'M ALWAYS CALM, SHITTY HAIR!!"

"Right, yeah... why don't we see if we can go back to where Aizawa-sensei was? The warp villain might not be in the same place, for all we know, everyone got warped away."

" Tch. Whatever, shitty hair."

Bakugo went with Kirishima, both heading in what they thought was the general direction of where their senseis were. Kirishima thought back to what he saw before they ran away from where their teachers were fighting. The look on Izuku-sensei's face when he snapped that one villain's arm was... scary. It was hard to come to terms with the difference between the smiling teacher that always seemed happy and the one who was throwing villains to the ground left and right.

As they ran past the flood zone, they saw Shinso, Asui, and Mineta racing to where they last saw their senseis. Mineta was struggling to keep up with his tiny legs, but the others didn't seem too inclined to help him. However, he didn't miss the dirty look that Shinso threw at him, so he could only assume that Mineta did something.

The two groups converged, and without a word kept running forward. Asui was doing more of a hopping motion, which made her go faster than Kirishima would initially assume. They all wanted to get back as quickly as possible because they weren't sure if someone had been able to get past that villain and get help, so for the foreseeable future, they were on their own.

They neared the starting place of the fight and gasped at what they saw. Izuku-sensei had pulled out some sort of pen that crackled with electricity and was shoving the end that was crackling into villains, who were surrounding him from all sides. The look on his face sent a shiver of fear down Kirishima's spine. So manly...

Meanwhile, Aizawa-sensei seemed to be fighting some sort of bird thing that had the brain exposed. His arm was hanging at a weird angle and seemed to be moving funny. His eyes were more bloodshot than usual, and he appeared to be fighting the urge to blink.

Shinso looked desolate as he gazed upon their teacher. Kirishima didn't feel much better. Their teacher was obviously struggling, but they knew that they would only be in the way if they attempted to fight. Even Bakugo was holding back, gritting his teeth as appeared to push down the urge to explode something.

Just then, Aizawa-sensei blinked, he didn't look like he could keep his eyes open any longer. The strange creature quickly took the upper hand, grabbing Aizawa's face and hitting it against the ground. Shinso shouted out, gaining the attention of the villains, who quickly turned their attention to the students.

Izuku-sensei grabbed several of the larger villains and stabbed them with his electric pen, holding it there until they were crackling with energy. He then shoved them towards the others, taking down almost all of them. He rushed toward the creature that had been fighting Aizawa-sensei, hitting him from the side and forcing him to let their teacher go.

But one villain had snuck past Izuku-sensei's line of defense and reached out towards Asui's face. Kirishima's eyes widened in horror as his hand got closer, seeing as the villain had destroyed something with just his hands earlier. His heart beat louder as he tried to get his limbs to move, feeling them grow heavier.

No... not again. Not like with Mina... have to be manly...

But when the villain touched Asui's face, nothing happened. Kirishima looked past them to see Aizawa-sensei looking towards them, blood running down his face. The villain snarled before jumping back, almost into the same warp villain from before.

"I sent most of them to different zones, Shigaraki. However, one of the students managed to get past me. It won't be long until backup arrives."

"ARGGHHHH!!! NOOOOO!!! I WAS SUPPOSED TO DEFEAT THE BOSS!!!"

Finally... backup...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

All Might couldn't help but worry as he dialed Aizawa's number again. Normally it would at least go to voicemail, but the call just wouldn't connect. Same problem with Izuku-sensei and Thirteen. All Might just couldn't shake the awful feeling that something was wrong.

He coughed up some blood before standing up and putting on his buff form. He could at least find Nezu and see if he knew what the problem was. The chimera had cautioned him against going to the USJ earlier, along with a lecture about proper hair care, but he at least had to check if his new students were alright.

The principal was outside, looking at the spot for the new fake city they were building. They had to make sure it was up to code so students could feel accomplished when they inevitably tore it apart.

However, on his way there he ran into young Ida, who was looking quite troubled. Wasn't he supposed to be at the USJ with his other classmates? All Might was even more worried about this by the second.

"All Might... villains... attacked... injured... need... help...!"

The panic that surged through All Might as Ida panted out his message was worse than when he saw Izuku-sensei again. He didn't have much time left... but he had to save his students!

"You did very well, Young Ida! Go fetch the other teachers while I go and get to the USJ!"

Ida nodded before racing off again, heading in the direction of the classrooms. All Might summoned up his strength before jumping off the ground and rushing off toward the USJ. The wind roared through his ears as he pushed himself to the absolute max. He couldn't let his students get hurt because he had been foolish enough to use all of his time for the day on his morning commute!

Seeing the USJ building, he decided it would take too much time to go through the doors. Bracing himself, he crashed through one of the giant windows that surrounded the USJ. Glass shattered and fell down as All Might thudded to the ground, losing his smile and glaring at the villains who had attacked his students.

"FEAR NOT! I AM HERE!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Izuku ran towards his students as All Might appeared. He looked to be the Nomu thing's main target, so he gathered up Aizawa and raced towards the exit, shouting for his students to follow. The rest of the pro heroes burst through the door, Present Mic's eyes filling with anger as he saw his husband.

Izuku passed him off so they could give him medical care, and turned back to the villains. Snipe and the other heroes were taking care of the smaller-level villains, so he turned his attention back to the leader and the Nomu.

Judging by the fact that All Might punches weren't having almost any effect, he had to think that the Nomu had some sort of shock absorption quirk. But he also seemed to have a strength augmentation quirk, so it was either some kind of quirk that both skills fell under the umbrella of, or this 'Nomu' had multiple quirks...

Izuku shut his brain down before it went into overdrive analyzing this quirk. If the Nomu had shock absorption then punches wouldn't do much damage... but if he could injure it in some other way... the brain was hanging out, maybe...

A plan formed in his mind as he rushed forward towards where All Might was breathing heavily as he stepped back from the Nomu. To anyone else, it would've looked like All Might was trying to talk to the villain, but Izuku knew what he was really trying to do.

He was trying to buy time.

He had already gone past his limit, and this Nomu looked like it was specifically made to beat him. His punches weren't having much effect, so he had to try to focus on holding him off until another hero showed up.

Izuku narrowed his eyes and pushed his legs even faster, trying to get to the Nomu before it could land another hit on All Might. He slammed into the Nomu, hearing a crack as he did so, and pulled out a knife from one of the pockets on his hero costume. He gritted his teeth as he stabbed the knife down into the exposed brain of the Nomu, holding it there for a second before brutally shoving it down again, and again, and again. The brain was mutilated before he stopped.

Stepping away from the now dead Nomu, he saw that the villains had left, likely through the quirk of that warping villain. His students were staring at him with awed and horrified eyes, likely seeing how he killed the Nomu. Yeah... they probably needed therapy.

Turning back to All Might, he saw that the former student had started smoking, meaning he was about to change into his skeleton-like form. He looked over at Cementoss before gesturing to All Might. The stone hero paused a second before understanding and sent up a wall in front of the #1 hero, ensuring he could let go of his buff form.

Izuku started to walk over to the other teachers and students, where Recovery Girl was asking if anyone was hurt. Other than a few cuts and bruises they all seemed okay, but when Izuku looked at his own arm he let out a sheepish laugh.

"Oh... I seem to have broken my arm somehow?"

The students all stared at him while most of the teachers facepalmed. Izuku was notorious for breaking bones and not remembering how he did so. Recovery Girl just rolled her eyes and gestured him over before kissing him on the forearm. He felt a wave of tiredness wash over him as the slight pain in his arm ebbed away.

The injury would heal on its own at a slightly accelerated rate due to his quirk, but Izuku really wasn't interested in walking around with a broken arm. His quirk was most useful in situations where blood loss or some other injury would be fatal. His quirk didn't stop him from getting hurt, but it did stop him from dying.

He yawned and started to lean against Snipe, blinking away the desire to shut his eyes. The students all looked at him a bit worried, obviously concerned as to how he broke his arm and didn't know how.

"Don't worry, this is normal. Definitely not the first time that Izuku-sensei has gotten hurt. He'll be fine."

This didn't appear to entirely relieve the worries of the class, but Izuku had lived through a lot worse than one broken arm. He was sure that he would break even more bones in the days to come. The class stared at him wide-eyed as he pushed off of Snipe and started to whistle to himself, showing the other teachers where the knocked-out villains were located. They all gazed at the broken bones and singed hair of the villains before their eyes landed on the mutilated form of the 'Nomu'. Izuku wasn't sure what it was, but he had a feeling that it wasn't good in the slightest.

Part 7

Aizawa woke up to the steady beating of a heart monitor. He blearily opened his eyes, widening them when he realized he was in the hospital. He didn't realize what he had done to get in the hospital, so he thought back. It was all fuzzy in his mind until he started to remember. The USJ... villains...

He bolted upwards, hissing at the pain in his... well... everything. The heart monitor started to beat more rapidly as he glanced around. He felt a hand close around his wrist and his gaze turned to Mic, who had his hair down. He looked relieved that Aizawa had woken up.

"Are the students okay?!"

Aizawa couldn't ask about anything else until he was sure that his students were okay. They were only on their third day of the hero course, so while they had plenty of potential, this was a villain attack. The possibility that they had gotten injured was high.

"Yes, they're all fine. There was nothing worse than a few cuts and bruises. You got the brunt of the injuries."

That's when Aizawa noticed the bandages covering almost every part of his body. He looked like some sort of sleep-deprived mummy. The bandages were all over his face, covering everything but his eyes. He didn't know how he didn't notice this immediately.

"Your arms were broken, and your head was slammed into the ground one or two times. There won't be any permanent damage, but the doctor recommends that you take some time to rest. Classes were canceled for today, to make sure all the students were okay."

Well, at least that was something. Aizawa was sure that if Izuku-sensei hadn't been there he would've been hurt a lot worse. Speaking of Izuku-sensei...

"What about Izuku-sensei? I saw him lunge toward that thing they called 'Nomu'."

Present Mic's face looked like he was looking at something in his mind, shuddering a bit at whatever he remembered. Knowing Izuku-sensei, that could be a good or bad thing. It was honestly a coin flip.

"Yeah.. uh... Izuku-sensei's fine. The uh... Nomu isn't."

Now that was terrifying. When Aizawa was fighting the Nomu, he was barely able to keep up when he was canceling its quirk... or quirks. He wasn't sure how Izuku-sensei was able to beat the Nomu since when he had started to fight it the villain leader had said that it had shock absorption. He said that even All Might's punches wouldn't have much effect. Whatever Izuku-sensei had done, he was sure it was brutal.

Hearing the door creak, they both turned their heads in the direction of the noise. Shinso was standing there, holding a hospital coffee in his hands. When he saw that Aizawa was awake he rushed over to the seat next to Mic as fast as he could. The coffee cup was set down on the table next to the two visitors, forgotten in the moment.

"Dad! Why are you sitting up? You should be lying down!"

Shinso was obviously distraught over his dad's bandaged state if he was willing to forget coffee. Aizawa and Shinso lived off of coffee. Sometimes at 3 in the morning, they would find themselves in the kitchen, making a pot of coffee. His husband didn't know how they functioned on so little sleep. Whenever he asked, Aizawa's answer was always, 'multiple naps'. Shinso was always suspiciously silent.

He was snapped out of his thoughts by Shinso gently pressing down on his shoulders to lay him back in bed. He sighed, only flinching slightly as he did so. Mic and Shinso then spent the next several minutes fussing over him, hitting the call button to send a nurse in as they did so.

Honestly, Aizawa wasn't even hurt that bad. So what if the nurse said he had multiple fractured ribs, that his arms were broken, and that parts of his cheekbones had split...

Okay, so maybe he wasn't at his absolute best, but that was no reason to treat him like a broken doll. Even if he had been tossed around like a ragdoll. He grimaced at the memory. Yeah... definitely not his best day...

It turned out that while his head had been damaged a bit when the Nomu had smashed it to the ground, it wasn't as bad as they had initially thought. He didn't have any brain damage, though one more hit to the face and he might have. Even though he would make a full recovery, the doctor made sure to lament on the fact that he was to take it easy.

Pfff...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Shinso sat at his desk, silently watching Ida tell everyone to sit down. He didn't seem to realize that he was the only one standing up. Shinso was almost grinning at the class president's actions before the door opened. The whole class seemed to stand at attention while they waited for the assumed substitute teacher to come in. Shinso should've known the person who walked in was his dad.

Of course, he wouldn't listen to the medical advice of multiple doctors. Of course, he would just walk into class looking like a mummy. Shinso should've been used to this. Once, when he had been stabbed on patrol, his dad just walked into the house, pressing a dirty rag onto his shoulder. He had walked into the bathroom, grabbed basic first aid supplies, and stitched up the wound in his shoulder himself. His dad's husband on the other hand... had almost passed out when he saw him patching himself up.

"Glad to see that you are doing well, sensei! But... uh... should you really be up and moving? You seemed pretty banged up."

"My welfare isn't important. Your fight is far from over."

"NOT MORE VILLAINS!!!"

Half of the class was freaking out, truly distraught over the mere thought of another incident like that happening. And truthfully, Shinso wasn't that far from freaking out himself. Seeing his dad's face slammed to the ground like that... he didn't want to think about what might've happened had Izuku-sensei not been there. The grapevert was in tears.

"The UA Sports Festival is fast approaching."

Oh, thank All Might. It was something normal. They were all expecting to be sent off to another training facility, where they would most likely be on their guard and jump at the slightest noise. Yeah... there was definitely some trauma there.

The class was so relieved, that they immediately moved on to their teacher's bandaged state. Kirishima was telling Kaminari how awesome their teacher was, with... those were the manliest tears he had ever seen. How does one even make their tears manly? Kaminari just looked at him with this expression that told Shinso he had almost no idea what everyone was talking about half the time. It was actually kinda cute... no. Not now, brain.

While everyone was gushing about how cool Aizawa was, Shinso was resisting the urge to glare at his dad. The doctor definitely hadn't advised him to be back to teaching that day, in fact, Shinso was pretty sure he was told to be resting until after the Sports Festival. Just wait until he tells his papa...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Nezu, along with the other teachers, was sitting in the conference room of UA. Detective Tsukauchi was standing at the center of the room, giving them what the police have found on the USJ incident. Most of the teachers were tense, and a few were not present, like Aizawa.

"We couldn't find any information on the lead villain, but interviewing the captured villains has led us to believe he uses the alias 'Shigaraki". His quirk doesn't appear to be registered, and the same with the warping villain. We did an examination on the Nomu, and it definitely wasn't human, but beyond that, we have no idea."

"We better find out fast. Who knows when those villains will have licked their wounds and returned to fight."

Nezu had to agree with Snipe. Finding more about these villains was of the highest importance. Izuku-sensei had taught them that the more information they had, the higher their chance of success was. And Nezu didn't think that this fight was something that they could afford to lose.

All Might mumbled something under his breath, and Nezu could tell that he had thought of something.

"What is it, All Might?"

"Nothing about this attack feels normal. It was especially daring, and not just in the meticulous planning. That leader... He was acting like a spoilt child, bragging about his new toy, the thing he called 'Nomu'. He even started to throw a tantrum when things didn't go his way."

"Yes, it was foolish in a battle of quirks to almost immediately reveal the quirk of your opponent." Izuku-sensei had chimed in, his smile turning a bit more thoughtful as he mulled it over, "He also opted to mostly stay out of the battle, except for when he tried to attack the students. He let the Nomu do the work in trying to kill All Might for him."

"What does that even matter!? He's a villain who attacked UA students, one way or another!"

Nezu saw Izuku-sensei sigh and press his fingers to the bridge of his nose. He never had been able to teach Vlad why information gathering was so important. The pro hero just didn't quite take to Izuku-sensei's lessons.

"We rounded up 127 villains total. They were just thugs but... the question is why there were so many of them. This Shigaraki seems more like a man-child than anything else, so why would so many of them follow him?"

Nezu sighed, pressing his paws to the table."Unfortunately, a lot of villains are drawn to that sort of pure evil. His ideology may be flawed, but that doesn't stop others from following him. In a way, he's a little like our students, he has potential but he obviously didn't have a good mentor."

The teachers were all silent after this. Nezu didn't blame them. Something like this was hard to think about, the fact that their students could turn out like this if they don't have the proper resources to help them. There's a reason why quirk counseling and the like exists, and Nezu wasn't sure if this villain got anything of the sort.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ida was still slightly embarrassed about earlier as Aizawa-sensei finished explaining the Sports Festival. He should've realized that he was the only one standing, but he just fully expected some of the louder members of the class, like Kaminari and Bakugo, to be more rambunctious, especially after the events at the USJ. He supposes it is to their credit that they were waiting for class to begin silently. In fact, he should endeavor to do the same!

Most of the other students, and Ida to a certain degree, had a hard time focusing in their later classes, all thinking about the Sports Festival. They only had three chances to be scouted by pro heroes while they were at UA, and this coming festival was their first shot. He was trembling with excitement as they walked towards lunch, slightly scaring Uraraka.

"Uhhh... Ida, you okay?"

"Of course! I am just anticipating the chance to add our names to the ranks of heroes! I am in remarkably high spirits!"

Ida noticed that Shinso, the boy with purple hair, slinking off towards lunch alone. It seems that Uraraka did too because she immediately flounced over to him and asked him to eat lunch with them. Ida truly admired her ability to make friends in any situation, and was pleased when Shinso said yes.

The trio headed down to the lunchroom amongst the rest of their class, hearing them all buzz about the Sports Festival. Ida was starting to notice that Kirishima used the word 'manly' in almost every compliment or admonishment that he used. Was he attempting to start a catchphrase even before his hero career had been launched? If so, Ida respected the initiative that he had!

Ida, Uraraka, and Shinso had gotten their meal and sat down. Noticing that Shinso appeared to be a bit uncomfortable, Ida decided to start the conversation.

"Uraraka, you know that I want to become a pro hero because I admire my brother, but why do you wish to become one?"

Uraraka blushed slightly before answering," Money. I know it seems a bit base, and it's definitely not as noble as your motivations..."

Ida moved his hands wildly as he cut in," No, not at all! There is nothing wrong with wishing to support oneself! You were just thinking practically about your future!"

Shinso appeared to be a bit taken aback by Ida's rapid hand movements, leaning back slightly. Uraraka, used to his enthusiasm by now, just shrugged before continuing.

"My family runs a construction company, but business has never been very good, and we're pretty poor. I wanted to help them out when I was younger, but they told me that they would prefer to see me follow my own dreams. I want to be a hero so I can support them, and make sure that they are comfortable."

Ida started to clap, he just couldn't help himself. How could she say that her motives were not as noble as his when they were clearly selfless in nature! Wanting to help her parents was truly a noble goal, and was clearly the action of a hero.

"What about you Shinso? Why do you want to become a hero?"

Shinso looked at them a bit warily, like he was mulling something over in his mind. Ida wasn't really sure what he was thinking, both he and Todoroki were a bit more unshakable. Although, judging by the eyebags that Shinso was sporting, he was just too tired to react most of the time.

"My quirk wasn't really suited for hero work at first glance, so when I was younger a lot of people told me that I couldn't become a hero. They also called my quirk dangerous and said I was more likely to end up a villain. Even my own parents weren't really sure what to do with me. I want to become a hero to prove them wrong."

Well, that was a bit heavier than Ida was expecting. He had never really seen quirk discrimination in action, but he had heard about it. He couldn't imagine what it was like to be told you couldn't be a hero every day. It was truly encouraging to see that Shinso had managed to become a hero anyway, ignoring the malintent words of his former classmates.

"Oh, yeah! What is your quirk? We couldn't really see what was happening in the fight you had against Bakugo, and we were all kinda curious."

Shinso seemed to hesitate for a moment, something Ida was sure he picked up from everyone discriminating against him due to his quirk. His tired eyes looked at them a second longer before he sighed.

"My quirk name is Brainwash. If someone answers a question that I ask, they have to follow my commands."

He had a slight glare as they took in that information. Ida was still shocked at how people could discriminate against him for something that he couldn't control. It was truly deplorable that they had made it to where Shinso almost expected that people would have negative intentions toward him due to his quirk.

"Well, that seems perfect for hero work! You could end hostage negotiations right as they start! That is such an awesome quirk!"

"Indeed! I am not one to speak ill of people, but your classmates must have been of below-average intelligence to say you could not become a hero."

Shinso just stared at them for a moment, like he was gauging their reactions to see if they were telling the truth. And, for possibly the first time since they had invited him over, he relaxed. It wasn't a big change, but Ida could see the tension drain a bit out of his shoulders, his posture straightening a bit like he wasn't consciously trying to make himself smaller anymore.

The rest of the lunch period went by in a blur, and they learned quite a bit about their new companion. While he had lived with his birth parents up until he was 10, when they were both killed in a villain attack, luckily, Shinso had been adopted by some of the people involved in the incident. Ida wasn't sure why Shinso seemed to not want to name exactly who adopted him, but from what Ida could tell, they were very nice people.

A loud laugh was heard over where some of their classmates were sitting. Looking over to the source, Ida sees Kirishima and Kaminari laughing together while Bakugo is glaring at them. As Ida turns back to the table, he sees Shinso looking over towards them as well, except he has a slight blush on his face as his eyes track the blonde. Uraraka notices this as well, and looks between Shinso and Kaminari, wiggling her eyebrows at Ida.

Thankfully, before he was expected to reply the bell rang. He could see Uraraka's eyes narrowing slightly in excitement as she continued to glance between the two. He's not really sure what is going on in her mind, but he will assume that she has her classmates' best interests at heart.

They walk down the halls toward the Analysis classroom, and Ida is reminded of the look on Izuku-sensei's face before he ran to get help. He didn't know that their usually sunny teacher could have shadows like that on his face. Some of the other students seem a bit more nervous than he did, so he has to wonder just what they saw after he ran. Ida had missed the fight between All Might and the Nomu, so maybe it had something to do with that? Whatever it was, it couldn't have been that bad.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Izuku stared at the ceiling, waiting for the end of lunch bell to ring. His arm had been all fixed up, Recovery Girl had seen to that, with no small amount of exasperation. To be fair, it was far from her first time patching him up, and most of the time he was completely oblivious to the injuries until someone asked. He's had multiple broken bones that he didn't even realize were hurt until someone asked or pointed it out. It's a good thing he has regenerative qualities to his quirk because otherwise, his arms might've lost full function from being broken so often.

He's snapped out of his thoughts by the bell. The hallways didn't take long to be filled with students, bringing a low clamor of voices with them. He didn't have to wait long before the first few of his students began to trickle in, almost all averting their eyes. The few that weren't avoiding eye contact were those that were not present for the Nomu's demise. Ida, in particular, seemed to have no problem whatsoever with facing the head of the room with his head held high. A few other students were able to do so as well, but most were looking towards the walls or floor.

Izuku had already prepared for the possibility of them being a little wary of him. After all, that kind of violence was only really displayed to the work-study students, and even then not to the level that they had seen. It was natural to be thrown off after such a traumatic experience.

"Well, hello! I did have a bit of a lesson plan for the day, but why don't we do that next class and instead go over the events of the USJ?" At this, most of the students locked their eyes on him.

"So, to start with, I know that our field trip didn't exactly go as planned, so we will be doing rescue training later in the year. You all did well when forced to fight against actual villains, and I thank you for not panicking in the face of danger." The students sat up a bit taller at the praise, sans Ida who didn't look like he could sit up any straighter. Bakugo was also still slouching, glaring resentfully at the floor.

Izuku internally sighed a bit as he looked at the blonde, still continuing with his explanation of what they needed to know about the USJ attack. He really was going to have to try and fix the kid's anger issues. He reminded him a bit of Monoma from class 1-b. The two blondes both seemed loath to admit that anyone was better than them. Except, where Monoma's issues were only directed at class 1-a, Bakugo seemed to think that everyone was looking down on him. It wasn't a very healthy mindset to have, so hopefully, in his time at UA, he'll grow past that attitude.

"Well, I think that covers the bases of the issue, does anyone have any questions? I can promise I will tell you as much as I can, but some of the incident is still classified."

The students were silent for several moments, all waiting to see if someone else would ask the first question. The silence was just starting to get a bit awkward when Asui spoke up.

"What was that thing that Shigaraki called 'Nomu'? When Aizawa-sensei was fighting it, even canceling its quirk didn't have much effect, kero."

"The Nomu... to be honest, we aren't really sure what it is. From what we can tell, it had multiple quirks, and whatever this Nomu is, it's clearly not human. It seems to have been bioengineered for the specific purpose of taking All Might down. Good question, Asui."

"Call me Tsu, kero."

Since the first question had been asked, others started to ask their own. Some of them were geared towards the well-being of Thirteen, and others were asking what happened to the villains after the police had caught them. They were all pretty standard until Ida asked what happened to the Nomu.

Izuku could feel the eyes glued on him as he grimaced a bit, deciding just what to tell the students. All of them had seen him fight the villains, and some of them had seen what he did to the Nomu, so there was really no reason for him to keep quiet.

"Well, Ida, since the Nomu was bioengineered to beat All Might, who usually relies on the physical strength that his quirk provides him, the shock absorption it had almost totally negated the force behind his punches. However, shock absorption does not stop a knife from being lodged in your brain."

Ida went a bit pale at those words, letting his glasses slip down his nose a little in his shock. "The exposed brain was one of the only defects in its creation. They were more prepared for All Might, Aizawa, and Thirteen, who were all on the schedule for the USJ. They assumed that both Aizawa and Thirteen would be kept busy either fighting villains or defending you, while All Might would be struggling with the Nomu. So they specifically designed it to be able to defeat All Might while the villains overwhelmed Aizawa and the warp gate villain took care of Thirteen."

He kept his benevolent expression on, viewing their expressions carefully. The questions seemed to have stopped, his last implication forcing the silence, but Shinso asked, "What exactly happened to your arm? We didn't see it get broken but Recovery Girl still had to heal you."

Of course, Shinso would be the one to ask that. He was just like Aizawa, skipping past the awkward air in the room and jumping to what he needed to know. Even if Shinso hadn't been using his dad's techniques, Izuku could've guessed they were related just from their mannerisms. Their eyebags even matched.

'Well...ah... I don't actually know?"

Shinso just looked at him with the most deadpan expression while the others looked at him with disbelief.

"Um...sensei? How do you not know how your arm broke?" Uraraka was looking at him with concerned confusion, which several other students mirrored.

"Ah... I didn't feel it snap?" Now the students were just looking at him with exasperation. This wasn't the first time that something like this happened. Aizawa and Mic's class had asked him questions for almost half an hour, all of them snickering as they did so. Even Aizawa was smirking at him.

Izuku glanced toward the clock, thanking whatever deity was ruling over this insane world that it was almost time for class to end. He clapped loudly, stopping Mina just as she was starting to ask another question.

"Well! Let's just... move away from that topic. If any of you need to talk about the events of the USJ, feel free to come by. Have a nice day and I'll see you next class."

The bell rang right as he finished, not leaving them any time to ask anymore questions. A few of the students looked a bit disappointed as they left, which made him really glad that the class was over. High schoolers can be mean.

He really was saved by the bell.

Part 8

Uraraka was chatting with Ida, waiting for the bell to ring. Aizawa-sensei told them to spend the last 5 minutes of class however they like, unless it involved being noisy or making explosions. He was looking directly at Bakugo when he said that, and the blonde just gave a sharp ' tch' before leaning back farther in his seat. However, despite his unfriendly demeanor, it wasn't long before Kaminari, Sero, and Kirishima flocked over to him. No matter how much he protested against the company, she saw his expression soften a bit when the redhead slung an arm around his shoulder.

The long brrring of the school bell cut through the chatter of the class. Chairs squeaked against the floor as everyone hurried to pack up, grabbing their bags and heading toward the door. The door was shoved open, but the students of class 1-a didn't make it past the doorway. A crowd of students had gathered in the hallway, blocking their way out. Uraraka didn't have a good feeling about this...

"What's going on?!"

The class of 1-a was all looking out the door nervously, chattering amongst themselves. Bakugo pushed his way through his fellow classmates to the front, glaring as he did so

" Tch. Makes sense those extras would swarm toward our class, with the villain attack and all."

Uraraka was anxiously tracking Bakugo with her eyes as he finally shoved his way to the front. He stared down the other students with one of the most sour expressions that Uraraka had ever seen. But she was starting to think that was just his face?

"No point in just standing around. Move aside, cannon fodder."

OH MY ALL MIGHT!!!

She knew that Bakugo had more of a... difficult personality... but wasn't calling them cannon fodder going a bit too far? The rest of the class thought so as well, with Ida standing there with the horrified expression she had ever seen on his face.

"BAKUGO!!! Can we PLEASE refrain from calling others cannon fodder?!"

The unfamiliar students were growing more agitated, coming closer to their class. Uraraka noticed Shinso standing farther back with an even more unreadable look on his face than usual. Her attention was thrown back when the newcomers spoke.

"So this is class 1-a, huh? I expected more from those who are in the top hero class. Those of us who didn't make it into the hero course got stuck in the other tracks, but we have a way in through the sports festival. If we perform well, we get moved up, but the opposite goes for you."

Uraraka wanted to leave the classroom, but the flood of students in front of her prevented her from doing so. They were all looking at them with some form of resentment, which probably had something to do with what one of them said earlier about not getting into the hero course.

This crazy looking guy with white hair and a ripped physique stepped forward, right next to where the other newcomer was. He didn't seem like the others. He didn't have such a resentful air to him. The gleam in his eyes was intense.

"HEY! 1-a! I'm from the hero class next door. I heard you guys fought villains, and maybe at first I came here to see if I could find out more, but right now all I can see is this arrogant bastard! Don't make fools of us in the hero course!"

The guy walked away, with Ida and Uraraka standing up straighter at his words. She was really starting to feel the pressure now. The rest of the class, save a few, had stressed looks on their faces too, all of them obviously taking his words to heart. Bakugo just scoffed, something that made Ida's eye twitch. Shinso still had his unreadable expression on, but his shoulders seemed a little tighter, and his hands clenched slightly. It worried Uraraka a little.

Bakugo watched those in front of the door for a moment longer before walking forward and shoving his way past. The ones toward the back started to get the message and stood aside before they were shoved aside like those in front of them.

Once he was gone, and the students had dispersed, class 1-a stood there looking out the door, none of them showing any intent to move.

" Wow... Bakubro is so straight-forward and manly..."

The spiky red-haired boy practically had stars in his eyes as he stared in the direction Bakugo walked off to. Uraraka felt her eyes narrow as she makes a mental note of that. It looks like Shinso has a crush on Kaminari, and now she's almost positive that Kirishima has a crush on Bakugo. Now she just had to get the two couples together...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next few weeks passed quickly, for both Izuku and his students. He had seen the visit to class 1-a himself, watching from one of the vents. He had memorized the building schematics years ago, even before Nezu was principal. The other teachers knew that he went in the vents, but the students were entirely ignorant. And that was just the way he liked it.

All the students had been training hard. It seems that the unexpected visit had lit a fire in class 1-a. He had been observing quite a few heroics classes, only interjecting at a few places. He tried to let All Might teach as much as possible, but he inwardly cringed everytime he saw those flashcards.

All Might had also had the talk with Mirio Togata about One For All, revealing his true form and giving the third-year student the rundown of his quirk. The third-year furrowed his brow for about a millisecond before having his face brighten up and accepting. Izuku only revealed himself in the room once All Might suggested giving the blonde boy his quirk right before the third year Sports Festival. Having a difficult to sontrol new quirk that was supposed to be kept secret at an event that was broadcasted nationwide... not a good idea. He honestly wasn't sure how All Mgiht has kept his secret this long.

They had agreed to have Mirio accept the quirk after the Festival, giving him time to adjust before throwing him in front of dozens of cameras. Nighteye would also be able to help him, as he had been around All Might for quite some time and Mirio was currently doing work studies with the hero. Since All Might was starting to finally accept the idea of retiring and passing along his quirk, the fight between the two had ended.

Now the day of the first year Sports Festival was here. It was stressful for everyone, even students who were not in the hero course. A student that he knew to be in General Studies was puking into a trash can.

Midnight had volunteered to oversee the matches along with Cementoss, and Present Mic was doing commentary. In fact, he had almost begged to be in charge of commentary. The man had a love for flair, that was for sure. Izuku wasn't sure how, but he had even gotten Aizawa to comment along with him. The man was still wrapped in bandages from head to toe, so it makes sense that he would want to avoid the public eye. Someone might assume he had some kind of mummy quirk.

Izuku himself was standing off to the side towards the stands. Just for fun, inbeween matches he's going to walk around towards former students that are patrolling around the Sports Festival and see if they recognize him. SO far he had been disappointed.

"HELLO TO THOSE WATCHING!!! IN THE HERO COURSES, THERE'S CLASS 1-A AND 1-B!!! IN THE GENERAL STUDIES COURSE WE HAVE CLASSES C, D, AND E. AND FINALLY, WE HAVE THE SUPPORT COURSE STUDENTS IN CLASSES F, G, AND H!!! CAN I GET A YEAH?!"

The audience burst out into cheers, but not many yelled 'YEAH' like Present Mic had told them to. Izuku could see that the hero was visibly disappointed up in the commentators box. His husband just rolled his eyes next to him, barely shown by the bandages.

His eyes tracked Bakugo as he was called up to give his athlete's oath, walking with that terrible posture. Izuku could only hope against hope that Bakugo wouldn't do something stupid, like practically declare war on the other-

And Bakugo has just declared war on the other classes. Izuku can only sigh. That boy is going to need some serious strategy lessons if he wants to make it. The strength of your quirk can only get you so far in this world, and that is a lesson that the egotistical blonde needs to learn sooner rather than later.

"WELL... NOW IT'S TIME FOR THE FIRST ROUND, THE OBSTACLE COURSE! STUDENTS GET READY AND GO BEYOND..."

" PLUS ULTRA!!!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Shinso stood at the ready, waiting for the light to turn green so he could speed ahead. He knew that he couldn't use his quirk in the first round, not if he wanted to have the element of surprise on his hands when he went up against other students later. So for the first round, he was on his own.

His eyes raked over the other students, noticing how the hero students stood with more confidence than the other two courses, some of which looked like they were about to puke. If he hadn't made it in through the entrance exam, this Sports Festival was going to be his biggest bet to get in. This is why he understood where the Gen Ed students were coming from when they swarmed their class earlier. That could have easily been him.

The traffic lights above let out a 'ding!', and all the students rushed forward. Shinso ended up boosting himself up and running over the backs over other competitors, bypassing over those who were stuck at the gate.A few yelled at him, but he was gone before they could blink.

Todoroki had shot himself forward using his ice, simultaneously freezing his opponents in place and stopping others from getting through. Shinso pushed himself as hard as he could, breath sawing in and out of his lungs, leaving a burning sensation behind. He risked a glance back and saw his classmates pushing past the barriers of students and ice. A few other students made it past as well, including those from the general course and the support course.

A few students attempted to attack Todoroki, bypassing Shinso as they did so. Before any of them could land any attacks, however, they were smacked aside by the zero-ponters from the entrance exam. Shinso felt his blood run cold as he stared up at the daunting metal monsters, Even Todoroki stopped, having never seen one before as he was a recommendation student.

Todoroki made a sudden movement that almost seemed to be aimed at the ground. He glared up at the robots with cold eyes that almost seemed to be burning with hatred, sending his ice to spike up over the bodies.

" Can't disappoint dear old dad now, can I?"

Before Shinso could fully process Todoroki's muttered statement the dual-haired boy charged forward, and Shinso did his best to follow in his icy wake. He saw hairline fractures appear at the feet of the robots and sped up as fast as he could, legs burning. Moments later, the robots came crashing down.

Ice shards shattered behind him, some reaching his legs. He hissed as the cold burn hit his calves. Others were screaming behind him, narrowly avoiding being crushed. And they were only in the first portion of the rounds...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Aizawa doesn't know why he let his husband talk him into this. With all the noise, even he would have a hard time taking a nap. Mic didn't even really need him there, and he wasn't sure if Mic only wanted him there to make sure he wasn't going to try and take off his bandages. Honestly, he's fine. The bones are barely even fractured anymore!

He watched with mild interest as the zero-pointers appeared. It was all pretty standard for the first-years until ice covered every single robot. He leaned forward in his seat, watching with a modicum more interest as they all came crashing down.

Most of the students managed to dodge the crushing weight of the machines, but it looked like a few had gotten caught. The entire arena was silent for a moment before two students tore through the metal. He breathed a sigh of relief as one of the students was Kirishima. The other student was a white-haired guy who looked to have almost the exact same quirk as Kirishima. Cousins, maybe?

Then, while everyone was trying to figure out who was Kirishima and who was TestsuTetsu, Bakugo vaulted over their heads. Aizawa had started to tune out Mic, giving the students all of his attention now. He now was adding his commentary in almond with Mic's, albeit monotonously. Yaoyorozu had even made some sort of cannon.

The other students had started to gain ground now, but Todoroki, Bakugo, and his son still maintained their lead. Hitoshi had fallen back a bit from the two, and Todoroki was just finishing the obstacle that the other students had just arrived at. A support course student blasted through using some sort of gadget, calling it 'baby'. Just what is Majima teaching those kids?

Whatever he was doing, at least those students were moving. Those idiots from his class were just standing there, looking down into the pitch-black abyss below them. Pffft. Like UA didn't have a net waiting there in case some student fell. The school was rich, but even they couldn't pay for all of those lawsuits.

The other students were making their way past the first course, with Todoroki still miles ahead of them. The crowd was beginning to whisper about him and how he was the son of the number two hero. Aizawa couldn't be sure from such a large distance, but as those comments started to circulate, Todoroki's face tightened in... disgust?

The minefield had just been breached, and now Mic was screeching about how they weren't 'lethal' or something like that. Aizawa rolled his eyes. He started to scan the crowd a bit more since the minefield was designed to be a slow and tedious process. When Aizawa had asked about a similar obstacle when he was at UA, Izuku-sensei had just shrugged and said 'crowd pleaser'.

Speaking of Izuku-sensei... he squinted down at the sidelines, recalling the green-haired teacher saying something about blending in with the crowd. He had been searching for several minutes and hadn't seen a single trace of the man. Oh well. If Izuku-sensei didn't want to be found, he wouldn't be.

He dutifully turned his attention back to the event when Mic tapped on his shoulder. The student were making it through quickly now, and Hitoshi had been staying in the middle of the pack, carefully stepping where other students stepped. Todoroki and Bakugo were now in a neck-to-neck race, with Bakugo looking unhinged as he screamed what Aizawa could only assume to be 'DIIEEEEEE' as Todoroki kept the cool glare on his face.

Todoroki sent a burst of ice out, sliding past Bakugo and crossing the finish line less than a second befre Bakugo did. The rest of the studentsffiled through, his son staying towards the middle of the 42. Smart, not giving your opponents the most accurate measure of your abilities until the last possible moment. Yeah, that was his son.

As the last student crossed the finish line, Aizawa couldn't help but glance down at the crowd once more. Izuku-sensei didn't usually stay so removed from his students unless he had a good reason. So just what was his former teacher doing...?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Izuku crossed to a dark corner of the arena, smoothly slipping into the shadows. He had a bad gut feeling about something, and he had been alive long enough to trust that feeling. He pulled out his laptop, sitting down on an extra unneeded chair. Something was happening outside of the UA Sports Festival, that much he was sure of.

Pulling up maps and news simultaneously, he cross-checked local stories and locations with added traffic buildup or other strange things, such as a surplus of heroes, or a deficit of them. Only a few locations popped up: the area near UA, that was due to the Sports Festival; Tokyo, they always had bad traffic; and...Hosu!

He quickly checked the news reports for that area. The hero-killer, Stain, had already gravely injured one hero from that area, and he was known to strike several times in one area. He pulled up the hero locations, quickly logging in to access the trackers.

There was Manual, but he was near two other heroes; Edgeshot, but he was in a fight with a different villain who Izuku assumed had been trying to take advantage of the distraction caused by the focus on the Sports Festival; and then there was Ingenium. He was alone, patrolling near some backalley's. His team was farther out, staying near the public's eye.

That must be it...

He accessed Ingenium's comms unit and dialed him, focusing intently on the soft glow of his screen. With each added ring he seemed his vision seemed to narrow until he couldn't see anything but the call icon. Then, suddenly, the ring stopped.

' This is Ingenium.'

Part 9

Tensei had been searching for a speedster, planning on cutting him off through the alley's as his team blocked the main road. He had just made a right turn, cutting through what would have been many unnecessary streets when his comms unit rang. Did his team intercept the speedster early...?

Slowing his boosters a tad, he lifted his hand up and accepted the call. The comms units were only used between heroes, so whatever the problem might be, he was sure it was important. Unless it was Midnight. You can never be sure what she is calling for.

"This is Ingenium."

The line had a slow buzz in the background, and Tensei could hear steady breaths coming through the other side. His boosters slowed just a tad more as he waited for his caller's response.

' Hello, Ida.'

Tensei's boosters stopped completely. That voice... it couldn't be. But at the same time he was sure it was. His former teacher had left... so why was he calling him?

"Uh-tha-. Izuku-sensei...? Just-ah-why are you c-calling?"

'You are in Hosu, correct?'

Just what was he getting at?

"Yeah, me and my team are chasing a speedster. Why do you ask?"

'You are aware that the hero-killer is still in Hosu?'

He really wasn't liking where this was going...

"Yeah... he attacked Jinx last week. What is going on?"

'Check the alley's around you carefully . You are separated from other heroes currently and striking now fits his timeline.'

Tensei felt his breath coming a bit faster as he checked around the alley's around him, stopping his suit from creaking and clanging as best as he could. Izuku-sensei was still on the line, staying silent as Tensei made his rounds.

He was about to give the all-clear when he caught something from the corner of his eye. A figure holding two swords and wearing a mask shifted in a close by alley. He slowly breathed out and kept his voice low as he reported back to his former teacher.

"Found him. I don''t think i can back away without him noticing me, and I can't turn as well in these tight-corner alley's. What is your take on the situation?"

'Stay hidden as long as you can. I'm calling for backup. They'll be there as soon as they can.'

He slowly moved to a crouch, being careful his suit didn't reflect any light. He needed to stay out of sight as long as...!

He burst backward as Stain took a 'stab' at him. God, Tensei, this is no time for humor! He narrowly avoided the strike, and his mind went blank for a moment. He snapped back into reality as Stain's second sword came into play. His breathing was coming faster now, as he dodged strike after strike from the man who had made it his mission to target heroes.

He couldn't maneuver well in this alley, his usually helpful suit being more of a hindrance as he jumped back to the wall. The sword came down, tearing through his armor and striking his side, causing a deep wound. He pushed off the wall just as the second sword came down where his head would've been.

He was backing up, about to try and run back to put more space between them when his limbs seized up. He fell limply to the ground, armor making a loud crash. He strained his muscles, but he couldn't move an inch. His eyes darted up and saw Stain lifting his swords, preparing for the final strike.

I'm... sorry... Tenya...

Suddenly, a bright light blared from the side, distracting Stain. Whatever he saw made him hiss and bolt back through the alley's, quickly disappearing from Tensei's line of sight. Several figures made their way over, and he quickly identified them as members of his team. A buzz came through his comms.

'You good? I got reinforcements as fast as I could.'

"Yeah... thanks..."

It wasn't until he was being loaded into the ambulance for his injuries that he realized that Izuku-sensei never told him how he knew to call. Whatever the reason, he was glad that he did. That could've gone a lot worse...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Shinso stood awkwardly to the side as the second event was announced. Others from his class were running to make their teams, but Shinso wasn't really sure what to do. He was planning on not using his quirk until they were on the one-on-one battles, but he needed to pass this event if he was to do so.

His hands were fisted in his pockets, scanning his fellow students to try and find a team member. What he didn't expect was for a potential team member to approach him. Uraraka walked up to him with that bubbly smile on her face, waving her hands excitedly.

"Hey, Shinso! Want to team up?"

"Yeah. That would work."

The two continued to glance around, looking for a potential third team member. They would've asked Ida, but he seemed to want to team up with someone else as to not rely on them. Shinso could respect that.

Suddenly, a hand grabbed Shins's shoulder, startling him. He whirled around, hands instinctively going in defensive positions. In front of him was a pink-haired girl who had goggled on her head. She also seemed to be covered with gadgets, leading Shinso to the assumption that she was in the support course.

"HIYA!!! I'm Mei Hatsume, from the support course! You made it through without using your quirk in the first event, so you'd be the perfect person to try out my babies! Everyone will see just how effective my babies are!"

Well... while her word choice was a bit confusing, she did have gadgets that they could use. And nobody else could use the gadgets since only support course students had them. And she was upfront about her reasons for joining them, which was something that Shinso appreciated.

"Sure... what uh, what gear do you have?"

The over-flux of information that followed had Shinso's eyebrows raising. He only understood about half of that, but it sounded useful. They decided that they would use both Uraraka's quirk and Mei's jet-pack and boots to stay in the air. After all, the rules only said that the rider couldn't touch the ground, not that they couldn't leave the ground.

Just before the match started, Tokoyami approached them. Tokoyami met Shinso's inquisitive eyes with a solemn gaze. His quirk, Dark Shadow, chittered behind him, eye glinting.

"Hello, Shinso. I have come with a request to join your team."

"Uh-sure. If you don't mind me asking, why?"

"Your inner darkness calls to my own."

Shinso wasn't entirely sure what that meant, but he guessed he would take it as a compliment.

They now had a solid team. They could use Uraraka's quirk and Mei's gadget to float, and Dark Shadow could defend the points that they had already secured. All they had to do was steal a few more headbands and stay out of the others way and they would be set a spot in the third event.

Shinso was the rider, so he carefully clambered up to sit on the others. He wasn't going to use his quirk unless it was absolutely necessary or no one would notice him using it. His quirk was his ace in the hole.

As soon as the match started they flew up into the air. They had to avoid teams like Bakugo's, who lunged toward the others first chance that they got. Todoroki was a target, with him having the ten million points. Finding a place to land was going to be a struggle since the other teams seemed to be waiting for that opportunity.

That was where Dark Shadow came in. The inky-black quirk darted down and sliced at the other competitors, clearing an area for them to touch ground. Uraraka could only hold them all up for so long, and Mei's gadgets couldn't support all that weight. While they were on the ground they lunged at some other teams, successfully stealing their headbands.

Suddenly, something zipped by Shinso's face, causing him to suck in a shocked gasp of air. He saw Ojiro and his teammates turn back for another grab at their headbands and made a split second decision.

His team got in close, and Shinso made sure no one was watching or listening before asking Ojiro a question and taking control of him through his quirk. He gave him the instructions to veer away from the others, effectively taking that team out of the running because they had a team member actively working against them. And nobody would think to give Ojiro a hard push, so he wouldn't be able to break out. He just hoped that nobody would figure out what his quirk was that didn't already know.

The timer was ticking down, and they could see Bakugo getting more frustrated with each failed attempt to get Todoroki's points with a birds eye view. He was starting to launch himself even more precariously, getting closer to touching the ground with each failed endeavor. They had managed to snatch a few more bands while everyone was distracted either joining Bakugo in getting the headband, or running away from Bakugo and his sparking palms.

The time only had a minute left now, and it was pure chaos around them. They had just taken off to the skies once more when Todoroki unleashed a massive ice glacier. It was so tall that it grazed their feet, conveniently giving them something to stand on. The glacier was blocking their view, so they couldn't see what exactly was going on, but Shinso had a pretty good idea from Bakugo's angry screams that it was in Todoroki's favor.

The clock buzzed, and the team jumped down from the glacier onto the arena, setting Shinso down as they did so. His feet wobbled for just a moment before he righted himself, off balance from the almost constant weightlessness. He turned his attention to the scoreboard, eyes widening when he saw their placement.

Apparently they had snatched more headbands than he originally thought, leaving them second to only Todoroki, who had managed to hold onto the ten million points using his glacier attack. Bakugo was left with third, and the angry blonde was boiling with anger. He locked eyes with Shinso, and he swore that in that moment he saw fiery explosions raining down on the entire arena, with Bakugo right at the center. Needless to say, he broke eye contact as soon as possible.

Todoroki gave him a considering glance, eyes as unreadable as ever. His right side seemed to have the slightest bit of frost on it, probably from his major attack earlier. Shinso startled when he felt tapping on his shoulder. Uraraka eyes were glittering with excitement and pride. Mei had just walked away after she had collected her 'babies', mumbling to herself as she did so. And Tokoyami just stood there, surveying the rest of their classmates.

"Alright students, it is time for a lunch break! When we come back, the first four teams will be competing in the final round and those who couldn't make it will watch from the stands. Good job everybody!"

Shinso was about to follow the others out when he was stopped by Todoroki. His fellow classmate's mask was firmly in place, so he just stood there confused. Even stranger was how Todoroki asked Shinso to follow him, leading them to a secluded tunnel-like area. Just what did he want...?

Part 10

Todoroki leaned against the rough stone wall, facing Shinso directly. In the cavalry match, he had used his flames to defend against Bakugo, forgetting his oath in that split second. His left side had flared up instinctively, and he was sure that his father had noticed the mistake. But even though he was angry there was something he needed to ask the purple-haired boy. There were just too many similarities to overlook...

"Shinso, are you Aizawa's illegitimate child or something?"

Todoroki heard a strangled wheezing sound and looked at Shinso with a bit of concern. He was staring at him with wide eyes and a pale face.

" What."

"Are you Aizawa's secret love child?"

"What... what makes you even think that?"

"You both display irregular sleep patterns, use quirkless combat techniques, have mental quirks, and you both always have cat hair on your shirt."

Shinso paused and looked at him, obviously freaked out. Todoroki didn't understand why he was reacting this way. It was either a yes or a no, so why was he taking so long to properly answer? He looked like he was thinking something through, relaxing a bit after a moment or two.

"No. I am not Aizawa's secret love child."

"Oh..."

He was so sure that he was right, and Shinso's reaction was a bit suspicious. He decided he would have to conduct more research and ask again when he had more proof of the secret love child theory. Just as he was walking away, planning to do just that, Shinso spoke up.

"Oh, by the way, why don't you use your fire side? You're not really giving this tournament your all."

Should he...? Might as well.

"Have you ever heard of quirk marriages? They're an old concept, and now they're outlawed, but when the phenomenon of quirks first started people would go into arranged marriages to create a child with a strong quirk. My father, Endeavor, married my mother for that exact purpose, in the hopes of creating a child that could surpass All Might because he never could. In my memories, my mother was constantly crying, and she told me she couldn't stand to see the right side of me right before pouring boiling water over my face."

Shinso's face was horrified, eyes wide and mouth slightly agape. Even his eyebags had paled a bit as he listened to Todoroki speak. He saw the purple-haired boy's eyes shift to the burn surrounding his eye, then quickly looked to the ceiling.

"Oh..."

"That is why I will never use his quirk. I will prove to him that I don't need it to rise to the top, and I will deny him any victory."

With that final statement, Todoroki pushed off the wall and started to make his way toward where everyone was eating, leaving Shinso standing there. What he didn't see was the figure standing at the end of the tunnel, listening to every word.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Izuku walked over to the bleachers with long, swift strides. He planned to watch the final event with the hero students, chaperoning them along with Snipe and Ectoplasm. The two teachers stayed near the back of the section, but Izuku chose to sit with the students, partly because he didn't want the cameras to catch him sitting with the other teachers and he knew that he could pass as a student, and partly because he would be able to observe the reactions of the students more accurately when he was amongst them.

The first match was about to start, so the two students designated to compete, Shiozaki and Honenuki were both in their separate prep rooms. They were both in class 1-b, so they hadn't had quite the experience that class 1-a did. Izuku had still watched their first lesson in the Heroics class, so he knew they had potential, as Aizawa would say. Now they just had to show that potential to the rest of the world.

Present Mic's voice blasted through the stadium, drawing contestants and viewers out of their conversations. He proceeded to announce the two contestants in the match, practically blowing out his poor husband's eardrums as he did so. No wonder he was always so tired...

The students were watching the rounds carefully, looking for any weaknesses they might be able to exploit if they were to go up against them. And while the students were watching as diligently as they could, there was a certain level of attention that only Izuku could display. He saw every twitch the two students made, every small eye movement, and every time they prepared to use their quirks.

The two were fighting as best as they could, but it was clear that Shiozaki would win. Honenuki's quirk had many applications, but it couldn't work on living things. All Shiozaki had to do was snare him once and-

It's over. The vines had gently dropped him outside of the match area, leaving Shiozaki the winner. She clasped her hands together and looked up at the sky, muttering something Izuku couldn't make out even with his lip-reading skills.

The first match had gotten the audience properly fired up, all waiting to see which students would be fighting next. Pro heroes were in the stands, carefully observing the students and their quirks to see just who would work best with them. Even the pro heroes who were patrolling had stopped and done so. Izuku felt a small frown tug at his lips when he saw that. Sloppy...

The two walked off the field, with Shiozaki advancing to the next round. The next two contestants, Todoroki and Sero, were quickly called to the arena. The two walked forward, with Sero appearing to have a nervous sweat while Todoroki calmly stood in place. Sero made a valiant effort to swing Todoroki out of the ring, but Todoroki unleashed a massive attack of ice, encasing the black-haired boy completely. It was obvious the match was over.

Izuku saw Todoroki's face as he melted Sero out of the glacier, paying close attention to the burning regret in the boy's eyes as he activated his left side. His mind flashed back to what Todoroki had said to Shinso after the cavalry round, a spark of anger blaring as he thought about Endeavor. When he had taught the pro hero along with All Might, he was angry, but it was never to this degree. He must have gotten worse in the time he spent constantly trying to surpass All Might. He wondered how the hot-headed hero would feel when he found out about All Might's retirement.

The next two competitors, Shinso and Kaminari, had a ten-minute break before their match would start. They had made their way to the prep rooms, and their classmates were buzzing with excitement in their wake.

Very few knew what Shinso's quirk was, so they were all theorizing about what it may be. Izuku noticed that Todoroki was much more apt to participate in activities when the word 'theory' was involved. He would have to find out more on the subject later though because Uraraka was being slightly concerning. She had walked over to Mina, and appeared to be negotiating some sort of deal. Tokoyami was watching over the affair with a foreboding expression on his face, looking up once before going back to his seat.

Mina and Uraraka, after shaking hands, made their way to the front of the section, big smirks on their faces. Izuku really wasn't sure what just happened, which was a rare occurrence for him, but he was sure it was going to be entertaining.

The ten minutes had passed, and now the two 1-a students entered the arena. Kaminari had a determined look on his face, while Shinso's eyebags were just a tad less noticeable. This was going to be an interesting match for sure.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Shinso stepped onto the match field, facing Kaminari directly. He didn't have his capture weapon with him since the hero course wasn't permitted to bring support gear, and it really wasn't too smart to get close to Kaminari, so he was going to have to use his quirk. He usually wouldn't mind, but his quirk was pretty reliant on the fact that nobody knew how it worked, so in an arena where everyone could see him and exactly how it worked? Not the ideal environment.

Kaminari was standing in front of him, with the cutest face he had ever seen. It was a combination of nervous and determined, and it made him look absolutely adorable and-

Crap. Not the time to be having a gay crisis. Must. Stay. Focused. He took a deep breath and looked at his opponent again, hearing the match countdown begin. He had to end this fast before Kaminari hit him with his finishing move, that big discharge of electricity. If he got hit with that, it would be game over for him.

"Hey, Kaminari, how are you?"

"I'm just-"

It may seem a bit stupid, but asking people the questions that they automatically answer is the best move. They don't think of why their opponent is asking them something in the middle of a fight and instead reply on reflex. Asking someone how they are or what time it is are the best questions since they get asked that almost every day.

"Walk out of the arena."

Kaminari turned around and walked straight- god he hoped not- out of the circle, wearing the blank expression that people had when they were brainwashed by him. As Kaminari turned, Shinso could see the streak of black that ran through his otherwise blonde hair in a shape like a lightning bolt. Cute.

Shinso noticed a slightly fond look on his face and quickly schooled his features. He didn't think that anybody had noticed, but you never knew. If his papa had noticed, the teasing would never stop. A shiver ran down his back just thinking about it.

After they had announced him the winner, Shinso made his way off the field, relinquishing his hold on Kaminari as he did so. The blonde just looked around and blinked for a second before hearing Present Mic speaking about how Shinso was the winner. He looked a little dejected, but he still made his way over to Shinso and shook his hand. He felt a little zap as their fingers touched, and he was pretty sure it wasn't just Kaminari's quirk.

His face and ears started to heat up a bit and he quickly spun and walked back to the seats, leaving Kaminari standing there with a slightly confused expression. He sat down next to where Izku-sensei was sitting, directly behind Uraraka and Mina. He saw these devious looks on their faces as he passed, and it scared him a little.

The next match was Ida and Mei, and he wasn't sure what was going on when Ida walked out wearing some of Mei's gear. Once he saw Mei's triumphant face he knew that this wouldn't end well for Ida. Next to him, Izuku-sensei was utterly fixated on the match below them.

The match that followed had to be the strangest one yet. Mei was basically using Ida as a walking commercial for her 'babies'. When she finally let Ida go, the dark-haired boy was practically traumatized, having a haunted look in his eyes as he was announced to be the winner of the match.

Ida came over to sit beside him, still trembling a bit. Izuku-sensei had turned his attention back to where the next match would take place, fingers twitching a bit like they were looking for something. To be honest, it was a little unnerving.

The next two contestants were called and Shinso prepared to watch the match. He wanted to improve as much as possible, so even if he didn't have the chance to battle against them today, he would do his best to make sure he wouldn't lose in the future.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Aizawa watched the matches from the speaker box, still doing his best to tune out Present Mic. He had added in some commentary here or there when it was clear the audience just wasn't getting how much work these students had put in, but for the most part, he stayed silent.

His phone dinged, and he glanced down to see a message from Izuku-sensei. It was detailing the Stain situation with Ingenium that had just taken place, and it recommended him to go talk to Ida about the situation. His brother would be all right, but due to the cut that Stain made he would be out of commission for a month or two. They thought it best to tell Ida as soon as possible, even if he was in the matches. It would be a while before Ida next match would start, so now was the best time to tell him.

Aizawa sighed before pushing to his feet, ignoring Mic's bewildered look. He hoped that this wouldn't mess up his student's match in the next round. However, all pro heroes had to work under stressful situations, no matter what was going on around them they always had to do their best. It was his job as their teacher to prepare them for this.

He walked over to the bleachers where his students were sitting, getting quite a few strange looks as he did so. He even heard two audience members speculate that he had a mummy quirk. He was standing behind his students, but he didn't want to take Ida away in front of everyone. Izuku-sensei, probably sensing this, made eye contact with Ida and looked over to where Aizawa was standing. Ida was confused but made his way over to his mummified teacher. They walked to one of the more secluded sections of the stadium, both silent as they did so.

"Aizawa-sensei! Is there something that needs my attention as the class president?"

"No, this is about your brother. You've heard of the hero-killer, Stain, right? He attacked your brother just a short while ago. He will be fine, but he won't be able to do hero work for a few months. Your family wanted to let you know."

Over the course of his explanation, Ida's face had darkened quite a bit, his glasses leaving a shine that hid his eyes. He was obviously upset, but Aizawa was too uncomfortable with emotions to try and comfort him. That was Mic's strong suit, not his.

"I-I see. Thank you for letting me know."

The boy spun around on his heels, almost robot-like in precision. His steps came down just a bit heavier than before he had heard the news. Aizawa paused a moment before turning around and heading back to where his husband was commentating. His student would be just fine, and it was entirely possible that he had misread that dark gleam in his eyes...

He had missed Ashido's and Kuroiro's match entirely, but the pink-tinted student had won due to the lack of shadows. There weren't any clouds in the sky, so all she had to do was block off his escape routes with acid and slowly push him out of the ring.

Next up was Tokoyami's and Yaoyorozu's match. He watched with a slight grimace on his face as the female student was quickly pushed out of the ring by Dark Shadow. She didn't have a chance to properly showcase her quirk and all the applications it could have, and she also looked really crushed after the match had ended. Her self-confidence had obviously taken a blow.

Then it was Kirishima and Tetsutetsu. The two looked almost the exact same, both of them yelling about manliness. It was a brutal match, with the two of them just taking turns punching each other. It had to be decided with an arm-wresting match, which Kirishima had barely won.

The final match of the third round would be Uraraka vs Bakugo. He wasn't sure exactly what that match would look like, but the both of them were obviously going to give it their all. They would have to see what the audience thought of Bakugo's personality, though, especially after his single-minded approach to the 10 million points during the cavalry battle. Ugh, Aizawa was tired just thinking about it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Izuku watched the final two contestants of the first round step out onto the arena, the two staring directly at each other with a single-minded focus. The second the match started, Bakugo sent an explosion her way, forcing her to dodge to the side if she wanted to avoid being hit. However, Izuku did see that she kept low to the ground the entire time, and she seemed to have a larger goal in mind than just dodging.

After a while, the audience started to boo Bakugo, saying that he should stop toying with her. It was ridiculous. He hoped for their sake that whoever had started the heckling wasn't a former student of his, because if they were...

The audience was completely oblivious to Uraraka's plan, something that was disappointing considering the fact that they should be able to see the rubble floating above the match. Uraraka obviously had a strategy in mind to beat Bakugo, but the audience were idiots. Izuku had to repress a smirk when Aizawa finally shut them up. The moment that all of the rubble fell down Izuku could see slight shock on Bakugo's face before it set into determination, letting out a massive explosion that destroyed every piece of debris in the air.

Uraraka struggled to her feet, panting, with her stance exhausted from the relentless speed of the match. Bakugo was a bit worn-out too, chest moving slightly faster than usual. It looked like they were going to continue right where they left off before Uraraka took a single step and collapsed, Mic announcing Bakugo as the winner.

The audience cheered just a bit less than usual, something that the blonde-haired boy seemed to ignore. Izuku watched as Uraraka was taken to Recovery Girl, stirring slightly as she was moved. Mic was announcing a slight break before the second round would start, those who had moved on to the second round preparing for their next opponent.

Looking over the next rounds of contestants, Izuku knew that he had made the right choice to come back to UA this year. He could already see just how interesting this year would be...

Part 11

Ida's hands clenched in his pockets, still reeling over the news Aizawa-sensei had delivered to him. His brother was his hero. He wanted to follow in his footsteps and be like him, helping out in whatever way he could. Granted, his brother was nowhere near as injured as he could have been from that encounter, but Stain had stabbed him in a vital enough area that he would be doing some physical therapy in the next few months to regain his strength.

He knew that wanting revenge was wrong, but he couldn't help the feeling of intense hate and loathing that was washing over him in waves. HIs brother didn't deserve any of that, but Stain still attacked him. Ida wasn't sure what he would do if he had the chance to go after Stain, but judging by how he was feeling now, it would be nothing good.

A flash of green caught his eye as Izuku-sensei leaned down to see the match a bit better. The first two contestants were just now walking onto the field, both stopping at the edge as they waited for Midnight to start the match. In all honesty, Ida already knew who was going to win. Shiozaki may have a powerful quirk, but judging by the giant attacks Todoroki had been pulling off thus far, she wouldn't last a minute.

Just as he had predicted, the match barely lasted thirty seconds. Shiozaki had attacked with her vines as quickly as possible, likely knowing her odds of winning if she didn't hurry. Todoroki just sent shards of ice to tear through her plants, finishing with a smaller version of his final attack on Sero.

Ida heard slight mumbling and turned in the direction of the sound. Izuku-sensei's hands were twitching a bit and his eyes were both focused and far away from the match in front of him. It was... a little unnerving if Ida was being honest. Snipe-sensei and Ectoplasm-sensei were both staring worriedly at the green-haired teacher. When Izuku-sensei's hands started to twitch a bit more frequently, and Ida was about to get someone to see if he would be all right, Ectoplasm walked up with a pencil and notebook in hand, carefully slipping them into Izuku-sensei's still twitching fingers.

Ida watched in amazement as his teacher didn't seem to even notice the new addition, the pencil moving rapidly as he took scribbled notes. The mumbling grew a bit louder, Ida barely making out some parts.

" Vines could easily catch fire... does she feel them or... can she send out an unlimited amount of them, or does it stop somewhere? Do they work in the same way as normal plants or... does photosynthesis happen..."

Was that what was going through his teacher's mind constantly? No wonder he was so good at analysis; he never stopped thinking about it. And honestly, it was a bit scary that one of his first thoughts had been how easy they could catch on fire and if she could feel them. He's starting to get why everyone was so uneasy around their new teacher after the USJ incident now.

As they were cleaning up the remnants of Todoroki's last ice attack, Ida headed down to prepare for his next match. As he stretched, he couldn't get the attack on his brother out of his head. It was like it was on constant replay, a never ending loop inside his brain. And it didn't stop as he made it to the field. In fact, it almost made it worse.

Shinso was standing directly in front of him, his lips slightly pursed. Ida knew that all he had to do was not answer and he wouldn't be taken control of like Kaminari had been. As Midnight raised her whip to start the match, his heart pounded.

A sharp crack! sounded through the arena, and Ida didn't waste a single second. He lunged forward as fast as his engines would take him, preparing to shove Shinso out of the ring as quickly as possible. However, he had to swerve quickly to avoid throwing himself out when Shinso dodged by rolling to the side. By the time he was fully turned around Shinso was back on his feet, staring at him with eyes narrowed. This wasn't going to be as easy as he thought.

Shinso took the offensive, keeping low to the ground as he ran towards Ida. His eyes widened as the purple-haired boy got closer, preparing to strike at the back of hte knee. Ida barely managed to get away in time, once again narrowly avoiding throwing himself out of the ring. He didn't even have time to catch a breath before Shinos was at it again, leaving Ida no time to launch a counter-attack of his own.

The match continued like this, with Shinso pushing Ida closer to the edge with every lunge he made. Ida's heart was thundering even louder now, and every move became a struggle to stay on balance. He thought he saw an opening to get closer to the center of the ring, but the second he moved, Shinso was there, finally managing to push him out.

Ida felt like time was moving in slow motion as he caught himself before he fell to the ground, glasses balancing precariously on the bridge of his nose. Looking behind him, he could see that Shinso was also panting, heading hanging low with is hands on his knees. The two shook hands while Present Mic announced that Shinso was the winner.

As he made his way back to the stands, he looked at Izuku-sensei, who nodded. At least now that the matches were over for him he could go see his brother. It was almost a relief, to be honest.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ida walked down the halls of the hospital alone after seeing his brother, face now set in a dark shadow. Seeing the damage done to his brother made the burning hatred grow a bit stronger, and now he didn't know what to do with it. All he truly knew was, if he got the chance to hurt the hero killer, he would take it in a heartbeat.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Izuku continued to watch the matches with rapt attention, barely noticing the new addition of pencils and paper in his hands. The motions of writing down what he observed was instinctual now, after filling hundreds of notebooks in the course of his long life. He had entire bookshelves filled with his analysis, and it was an unusual day when he didn't find something to add to them.

His eyes avidly tracked the match between Bakugo and Kirishima. It was a bit brutal, with Bakugo sending explosion after explosion into the red-haired boy. It was a match of pure offense and defense, with Bakugo not giving Kirishima any space in between hits for recovery. It wasn't until Kirishima's skin started to crack that he was pushed out of the ring by Bakugo's biggest explosion yet.

The blonde boy stared straight at Kirishima with what anyone else might ahve thought was anger. However, Izuku could see the slight gleam of respect in the explosive teen's eyes. Kirishima was obviously a bit upset, but he also was gazing at Bakugo with admiration. Looking down, he saw Mina whisper something to Uraraka, which had the brunette squinting down at the match and nodding. Could this have something to do with the deal they had made earlier?

The next round of the event would start in ten minutes, giving the students proper time to prepare themselves for what could be their last fight. Who won these two matches would determine who would battle in the final, and all those who had made it this far were completely focused on the task at hand.

Izuku could see Shinso staring at Aizawa and Present Mic, likely thinking about how Aizawa had won the Sports Festival in his first year. He smiled slightly, remembering that year. Aizawa hadn't been in the hero exam initially, having an ill-suited quirk for the entrance exam. He was able to transfer classes due to his exceptional skill shown in the Sports Festival, causing him to be in Izuku's class. His former student really hadn't changed at all, right down to the yellow sleeping bag that he would use even as a student.

Izuku was shaken out of his thoughts when he saw Endeavor crossing over to the direction Todoroki's prep room was in. His mouth was set in a firm line as he followed the hot-headed hero through the halls. The number two hero still hadn't seen him yet when All Might jumped out behind Endeavor and in front of Izuku.

The green-haired teacher quickly pressed himself against the corner of a turn, deciding to listen to the two hero's conversation before proceeding further. What he heard from Endeavor didn't exactly fill his heart with the warm fuzzies. It sounded like All Might was complimenting Endeavor on Todoroki, and when the ever-burning hero responded, it wasn't exactly the warmest of thanks. In fact, he didn't think that it was thanks at all.

When All Might had given up on having a conversation with Endeavor and walked away, passing straight by Izuku without any indication of having seen him, Izuku walked up behind Endeavor, crossing his arms and narrowing his eyes. Him and his former student were about to have a chat...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Endeavor huffed as he turned away from All Might, the other hero finally catching the hint and walking away. Why would All Might think that he would want to talk about things over tea? He scoffed and was about to turn the corner to where his son was getting ready for his next match when he felt some sort of presence behind him.

Turning around with a sharp remark already on the tip of his tongue, he stopped completely when he saw the green hair and the short figure of his previous teacher, Izuku-sensei. His blood ran cold for a split second as he stared wide-eyed at his previous teacher. This was not what he was expecting today.

"Hello, Todoroki."

It had been a long time since someone had called him something other than his hero name. He hadn't been in Izuku-sensei's class for many years, but he still remembered just how terrifying his old teacher could be. In fact, even though he had long left the school, he had heard a story about his old teacher, from when his son's homeroom teacher was still at the school. Apparently, kids had been crying in the halls, with Izuku-sensei just looking at them disappointed. So he knew that the teacher hadn't lost his edge since he had last seen him.

"Izuku-sensei. Just what are you doing back in Japan?"

The green-haired man's smile was sharp enough to cut glass, eyes glinting dangerously. Whenever Izuku-sensei's face made that expression, it always sent a shiver of fear down Endeavor's spine. His former teacher almost always had that glowing smile on his face, sure, but that smile was one of the most deceptive he had ever seen. Izuku-sensei always had some sort of trick up his sleeve.

"I came back to teach at UA. I see you never got over your little one-sided competition with All Might in the time I was traveling, however."

Endeavor flinched a bit at the cold tone in his teacher's voice. Izuku-sensei just cut through all of the pleasantries and got to exactly what he was thinking. The hot-headed hero could see that this conversation wouldn't exactly end well for him. He was in for a rude awakening.

"Well-it's not-that's not-"

"But it is. Your petty little rivalry is only active on your side and you know it. At this point it's like your biggest goal is to beat All Might, not to be the best hero that you can be. A little rivalry is good, but only when both sides are using it to their advantage and using it to fuel themselves. The best rivalry is one that helps the two become the best versions of themselves, and this is not that. You've been dragging others into this feud you have with All Might, and after only a short while back I can see that this is affecting nobody positively. I'm disappointed in you, Todoroki."

Izuku-sensei was staring directly into Endeavor's eyes by the time he was done speaking, dark green orbs staring into his own. Those words rang inside the hero's head, ' I'm disappointed in you, Todoroki.". Shame washed over him in waves as he realized the validity of Izuku-sensei's words. He really hadn't been considering anyone or anything once he started in pursuit of that one goal, the one that he failed at time and time again.

"I- you're right."

Izuku-sensei continued to look over him with the same critical gaze, finding every little chink in Endeavor's armor. This was just more proof behind the fact that he already knew; his old teacher was terrifying.

"It's good that you admit it. How are you going to change? You don't have to give up your competitive spirit with All Might, all you have to do is make sure it is healthy."

With that final statement, Izuku-sensei walked away, leaving Endeavor alone with his thoughts. He really had been blind to all the damage he was doing to those around him, focusing only on that one goal. He glanced in the direction of his son before sighing and walking away. He had some thinking to do before he did anything else.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Shinso breathed deep, steady breaths in and out as he walked up to the center of the arena. If he won this next round, he would be in the finals, but he would first have to beat Tododroki, which would be no easy task. The half-and-half teen was currently staring stoically at his from across the field, meeting his eyes with an icy precision. Standing across the field from him, his mind was focusing even more intently on what Todoroki had said to him after the cavalry battle.

The fact that he didn't use his left side bothered Shinso quite a bit. He had been bullied for the majority of his life because of his quirk, and there Todoroki was with the perfect quirk that he refuses to use. They were two very different problems, but they both had similar solutions. For Shinso, it was the realization that his quirk didn't influence who he was or who he would be. He thinks that Todoroki needs to realize something along those same lines.

The match began, and Shinso immediately sprang into action. Just because he wanted to help Todoroki doesn't mean that he didn't want to win this match. He kept low to the ground, preparing for the attempted giant ice spike that would end this match on the first attack. When it finally came, Shinso could see the path that would allow him to doge, jumping up and over the ice like a hurdle.

He caught Todoroki's eye for a second, seeing the minute gleam of annoyance before it was smothered by his fellow classmate. Shinso needed to end this quick because if he didn't Todoroki would completely overwhelm him with his attacks.

"Hey, Todoroki! Do you think you can beat me only using your right side?"

Shinso could see his mouth open, then snap shut abruptly, no doubt remembering his first round with Kaminari. Winning had just got a whole lot harder now that someone had caught on to the nature of his quirk.

His breath was now sawing in and out of his lungs as he dodged every spike of ice Todoroki sent his way. The other teen made sure that Shinso never got the chance to counter-attack, always leaving him on the defensive. Just as he thought that this would be it, Shinos saw the state of Todoroki's left side. There was frost covering parts of his skin, leading Shinso to believe that he was nearing his limit. Frustration roared through his body as he thought of the fact that Todoroki wouldn't be this bad if he would just use his left side. It was his quirk, wasn't it?! Wait...

"Todoroki! You do know that it is your quirk, not his?!"

He saw his fellow classmate's eyes widen for a moment, before settling back into the expressionless state he usually lived in. However, Shinso thought he saw just the smallest spark of something light up the other teen's eyes. He grinned as Todoroki's left side started to light up with flames, seeing the brilliant red flames race across the arena, heading straight for him. He may have just orchestrated his own defeat, but he couldn't help but be glad, even as Present Mic announced his defeat.

They had to send him to Recovery Girl for minor burns, but it was nothing too serious. He had made it to third place in the Sports Festival, something that his younger self could never have seen himself doing. A sigh made his way past his lips as he closed his eyes, slightly tired from the power of Recovery Girl's quirk. He indistinctly heard his papa announce the next match, Bakugo against Tokoyami, as he drifted off, warding away the slight feeling of disappointment hovering in the edges of his mind.

Part 12

Izuku sat through the entirety of Shinso's and Todoroki's match, not quite hearing the words that Shinso shouted across to Todoroki, but what he did see was the small, brief, glowing light of happiness in Todoroki's eyes as he blasted a stream of fire across the arena. The audience around him burst into cheers and applause, only fading into an excited murmur when the two boys left the arena.

Bakugo and Tokoyami had left the arena a few minutes ago to prepare for their match, the blonde's eyes narrowed dangerously, while both Tokoyami and Dark Shadow were quiet and serene in the face of their next match. Knowing what he did about both Tokoyami and Bakugo's quirks, he had to say that the explosive teen had a higher chance of winning. That is if he could figure out Tokoyami's weakness in time.

The two students walked onto the match ground, both waiting for the call to start the round. When it finally came, Bakugo didn't waste a single second. He dove straight at Tokoyami, sending explosion after explosion at him, not giving Tokoyami a moment to catch his breath. Dark Shadow had gone on the complete defensive, not being able to counter due to the quirk's weakness. It seemed that Bakugo hadn't quite figured out his advantage, however, because he remained cautious in the off moment that his explosions faltered for a brief moment.

As time went on, Izuku could see Bakugo starting to catch on to this fact, pressing his attacks a bit more. In a split second, Izuku saw the dawning light of understanding appear in Bakugo's eyes, right before the blonde pulled off an attack that covered the entire arena in a cloud of thick smoke, leaving the audience clueless as to what was going on. When it finally cleared, Izuku could make out two shapes, Bakugo and Tokoyami, with Bakugo holding Tokoyami down, the clear winner of the match.

The audience was now even more excited, with the final match being just around the corner. Izuku leaned back in his seat, watching the students around him with a razor-sharp eye, catching every minute expression flitting across their faces. Many of them looked a bit taken aback, given that Tokoyami had seemed like the perfect attacker and defender. Bakugo might have looked like he just slung attacks at the other student, but Izuku could tell that he had figured out Tokoyami's weakness. The usually loud and angry blonde thought more than one would initially assume.

The final match began, and the two competitors immediately sent giant attacks after each other, obviously planning to end the match as fast as possible. Todoroki was still only using his right side, building back up whatever barrier he had broken down in his last match against Shinso. There were quite a few opportunities that the red and white-haired boy had to use his left side, but he held back. The second Bakugo noticed this, he started attacking with even more fervor, yelling about how Todoroki better not be looking down on him.

There was one moment where Bakugo was in the air for just a few moments too long, and this was the perfect opening for Todoroki, who almost used his left side, but hesitated at the last possible second, essentially forfeiting the match with his decision to hold back. Izuku watched with a tad of disappointment in his new student as the match ended with Bakugo on top of Todoroki, screaming at him for holding back. Apparently, the angry teen wanted to do it again, and this time he would make sure that Todoroki didn't hold back. He also said a few other choice words, but Izuku didn't usually condone that sort of language.

Glancing up, Izuku could see Endeavor watching his son with an inscrutable expression on his face, obviously deep in thought. The time for the award ceremony arrived, with Tokoyami and Shinso standing on the third-place spots, Todoroki on the second-place stand, and Bakugo chained up on the tallest platform. The blonde was practically feral, having to be chained up or he would attack Todoroki again, determined to 'finish' their fight. Multitudes of pro heroes in the stands weren't very pleased with that action, murmuring amongst themselves.

In a way, Izuku mused, it was an admirable quality to be determined to finish every fight to the fullest degree, only accepting the best from yourself and your opponent, whoever that may be. It could be detrimental if he did this in an actual fight, however, so Izuku hoped that with time the teachers of UA could shape that mindset into something just a bit healthier, both for the blonde... and whoever happened to currently be in his line of fire.

When All Might came to give the metals, the audience let out one of the biggest cheers Izuku had ever heard, giving a standing ovation for the mere presence of the #1 hero. In his peripheral vision, he saw Endeavor begin to roll his eyes, then paused a minute. Izuku's attention turned back to where the awards were being handed out, chuckling a bit when he noticed All Might have a bit of a hard time giving Bakugo his. He ended up just placing the gold metal between Bakugo's jaws, awkwardly patting Bakugo on the back as he did so.

With that final event, the audience finally began to disperse, all slowly tapering off towards the exits. Families of students in all the courses ran up to congratulate their children, no matter how far they had gotten through the rounds. One student in class 1-b was ranting about how next year class 1-b would do much better than 1-a and they would finally prove themselves superior. His maniacal laugh kept growing in volume before a girl from his class chopped the back of his neck. Maybe another teacher would have been dismayed at the ready display of violence among peers, but all Izuku thought was that she had wonderful form. Truly excellent execution of the martial arts attack.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Best Jeanist was sitting in the stands, observing the matches along with many other pro heroes, seeing if there were any students that he was interested in offering a place to in the internships that UA had coming up. That was a huge part of the Sports Festival, after all. Hero course students needed to have a chance to put themselves out there, giving them the best opportunity to have a successful hero career. No student, in particular, stood out to him until he saw an angry blonde named Bakugo.

While his presentation could use some work, he had a very high skill set and was determined to finish each and every match with no less than complete victory. It was an admirable quality to have, and Best Jeanist saw a lot of potential inside of him if he would just be a bit... better put together, let's call it.

He could see it now: the hairstyle; the clothing; the stage makeup. Best Jeanist saw an untapped well of potential inside of that student, but he also saw someone he could teach about the importance of presentation. Being powerful was all well and good, but if you wanted to be a truly successful limelight hero then you had to pay attention to how others perceived you. It was important to have someone teach you that.

His mind wandered to when he was at UA, and the teachers he had there. Ectoplasm was still teaching there, as well as Nezu and Recovery Girl, but to his knowledge, the rest of the staff was only a few years old, most of them being in their early thirties. If Izuku-sensei hadn't left to travel, he too would have been included in that list.

Best Jeanist shivered a bit as he remembered the seemingly pleasant teacher he had. Sure, he was a great guy and an absolutely wonderful teacher, but he was most likely the scariest teacher UA had ever had on staff. It was an odd day when someone's blood didn't run cold from a seemingly off-the-cuff remark from the green-haired teacher. And when he got angry... it was like someone flipped all the light switches off in Japan from how dark it got. The light from his smile was more luminous than anybody realized until it disappeared completely.

When the time for the awards ceremony came up, Best Jeanist turned his attention to the top four contestants, lips quirking with amusement at the sight of the winner of the Sports Festival. However, while it may have been amusing, it was also a bit concerning. It was right there that Best Jeanist made the final decision to offer an internship to the boy. It was time for him to give Bakugo a whole new look.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Shinso walked into the 1-a classroom two days after the Sports Festival, still a bit traumatized from how many people tried to talk to him on his way there. Sure, the first time you heard 'good effort' you were a bit happy, but after hearing that so many times in one day he just wanted to walk straight back into his house and not speak to anyone for the rest of the day. At least the school had given them two days off to rest instead of him going to school when it was still the first thing on everyone's minds. Now that would have been a nightmare.

The rest of the class was chattering about the Sports Festival and how people had complimented them on their ways to school as well. Shinso sighed and sat down in his usual place behind Bakugo, ignoring his classmates around him until he spotted Ida. The news had covered the attack on his brother by Stain, and they had included the injury Ingenium had taken. Apparently, he wouldn't be able to resume his hero work until his injury was healed.

Shinso could already see the effect that this was having on Ida. His usually uptight and diligent teen hadn't stopped anyone from walking around the classroom, and his tie was just a bit askew. He was still sitting up perfectly straight in his chair, he just didn't seem as actively engaged in the classroom affairs as usual. Even when his dad finally walked in, Ida didn't quiet down his rowdy classmates. It was a bit concerning, like if Bakugo was suddenly quiet for an entire day.

Speaking of his dad, he was finally able to take his bandages off, but he was pretty sure that Recovery Girl wasn't very pleased with that particular decision. In fact, he was almost certain that she specifically told him to wait another week before taking them off. Something told him that he would pay for that a bit later when Recovery Girl found out what he did.

"Alright class. Today's hero informatics period is a bit different. You will be choosing your hero codenames."

The class erupted into cheers and applause, honestly overreacting a bit as far as Shinso was concerned. He didn't even have a clue of what his hero name should be, so he wasn't all that excited to make a decision so soon. His hero name couldn't be something that broadcasted what his quirk was, since his quirk depended on the fact that opponents are caught off-guard. There was a bit less pressure since he planned on being an underground hero like his dad, so not that many people would end up hearing his hero name.

His dad's hair flew up and his eyes glowed red as he quieted the excited students, sighing a bit as he did so. The light coming off of his eyes brought Shinso's attention to the scar lying just beneath his eye, the one that he got from the Nomu at the USJ incident. It wasn't a large scar, or one that would immediately draw your attention usually, but Shinso was having trouble not looking at it.

"That's enough. The decision to choose your hero names now is related to draft nominations, something that I have mentioned before in class. The Sports Festival is the first chance pro's had to see you in action, so I'll show you the recommendation results."

The difference in the results was ridiculous. Todoroki had well over 4,000 recommendations, while Uraraka only had 20. Shinso was around the middle, with about 600 nominations, but there were many students in their class who didn't get any nominations at all. The sparkly one was still sulking about it, mumbling something about not recognizing 'star power' or something else equally ridiculous.

"With that settled, whether you were scouted or not, you will now all have the chance to work alongside pros for one week."

Again, the class burst into cheers, quieting down only when his dad pulled out the signature move of using his quirk, making him seem even more scary than usual.

"You may have already experienced more than most have, but it is still beneficial to work alongside the pros. And remember, while your hero names will not be set in stone just yet, you will pick something appropriate, or else you will know true hell."

The previously pumped class quieted a bit at the terrifying tone of their teacher, some gulping and sliding down farther into their seats. Mineta appeared to be the most upset, lip curling a bit as he glared down towards the floor.

The door burst open, revealing Midnight all clad in her hero gear. Her leather whip was held firmly in her hand as she entered the classroom, pushing her glasses up slightly. She made sure to tell them that the name that they ended up choosing could very well become their hero name far into the future. It was a bit of a frightening concept that what they did their first quarter of the hero course could have that big of an impact on their future lives.

"If anyone has any ideas for names, come up to the front and tell the class!"

The first one to go was Aoyama (the sparkly one) and he wanted to have a whole sentence as his hero name. Midnight got him to shorten it, but it was still a bit ridiculous. Next was Mina, and she wanted to be named after an alien queen from some sort of movie sequel. Midnight shut that suggestion down quickly.

Next were the less weird names, but as more and more students went to the front and declared their names, it was like all of the ideas disappeared from his mind. He had no idea what he wanted his hero name to be. It wasn't like he thought about it when he was younger like a lot of his classmates had. When he was younger he didn't think that he would ever be able to become a hero, and Shinso always planned for the realistic.

Ida was like Todoroki, and just chose his name, but there was a more somber air than Ida usually had when he walked up front. He looked like he was struggling with an internal decision, and at the moment, Shinso could definitely relate to that. Soon, it was only him and Bakugo who had not chosen a name yet. The other boy had kept trying variations of 'King Explosion Murder', but was shot down every time.

"Well... if you two don't know what your hero names will be just yet, think about it for the rest of the class period. There is nothing saying that you have to come up with it right now, but just make sure you keep think through the decision and-"

Midnight was cut off by the door opening once more, Izuku-sensei walking through with his ever-present grin. Midnight eyes widened a bit and she coughed, pressing a bit of her weight onto a nearby chair. It was actually pretty funny to see. The green-haired teacher seemed to be able to strike fear into the hearts of all of their teachers.

"Hello! Ah, I see you have started to pick your hero names! It looks like everyone has chosen except you two, so do you have an idea already in mind, or are you completely unsure?"

Bakugo scoffed and rolled his eyes away but Shinso shrugged, looking towards the left wall."I haven't really thought about it."

"Well, then what do you want from your hero name?"

By this time the rest of the class had started to gush about their new hero names, some a bit disappointed as well, like Mina. Izuku-sensei had moved closer to his desk and spoke to him individually.

"I guess... I don't want it to be something that broadcasts what exactly my quirk is. I want to be an underground hero, so it doesn't matter quite as much to me, if I'm being honest."

"Yes, not immediately telling opponents what your quirk is will be beneficial in your case. And not caring quite as much about your hero name is perfectly fine. In fact, Aizawa had his name chosen out by Present Mic, because he just didn't care. That's how he wound up with Eraserhead. If you really don't care that much, try to choose maybe a pun. It'll be like an inside joke only you know."

Shinso had to suppress a small snort at that. He knew that his dad didn't care much about what he was called, but to go so far as to have somebody else pick out your hero name and just go with the first suggestion they said sounded... exactly like him. It was a bit relieving to know that his dad was in a similar situation to him.

"What about... Intestate?"

"Hmm... it sounds good and doesn't immediately give away your quirk. What made you choose it?"

"Well, you said to choose something that was something like an inside joke for me, and intestate means to die without a will. It's up to the jury to decide what to do with them and their assets."

Izuku-sensei let out a soft chuckle, the sound springing cheerfully around the room. A couple of classmates closer to him stopped talking and looked over at the two of them, pausing slightly before going back to their separate conversations. Izuku-sensei motioned him to the front, giving him the sign as he did so.

The class turned their attention to the front, right where Shinso was standing. His dad was directly behind him, curled up in his bright yellow sleeping bag. Taking a deep breath, Shinso held up the sign to where everyone could see it.

"I'm going to be Intestate, the Voiceless Hero."

Part 13

Aizawa clambered out of his sleeping bag towards the end of class, snatching some sheets off of his desk as he stood facing the problem children that all the other teachers called students. It was a bit unexpected for Izuku-sensei to pop in, but he was glad that his son was able to come up with a name due to the newly returned teacher's help.

Midnight had scampered out soon after Izuku-sensei came in, likely trying to stay as far away from his observing gaze as she can get for as long as possible. It may not seem like it, but Izuku-sensei was always watching, always analyzing, finding your strengths and weaknesses so he could exploit them both. Aizawa was pretty sure he wasn't even doing it consciously, it was just constantly running through his mind. That may be the most unnerving part, actually.

His students hadn't quite figured that out yet, all they had seen was the dark light in his eyes when he got angry, and even that was only for a second. It wasn't even until his second year that Aizawa figured out how terrifying his teacher was. He had ended up transferring over to the hero course in his second year, so he didn't have Izuku-sensei's class until all the other students had already known him for a year. They had seemed to think that he was a bit eccentric, but they had no idea just how calculating he truly was.

When they all found out, it was on the same day. That day just might be burned into Aizawa's mind forever. That incident had made him see his teacher in a different light, one that caused darkened shadows to stretch out across his thoughts. He quickly shoved the memory out of his mind before he delved too deeply into that thought train.

He distributed the sheets of paper to his students quickly, trying to take the least amount of time on that particular part of this activity as possible. This next decision his students had to make was not one to be made with minimal thought process, so it was important to make sure they had the most amount of time possible for the next part of this activity.

"Those papers I just handed out were personally selected agencies from those of you were were drafted, and to those of you who weren't, there are forty agencies from around the country willing and able to take on interns at this time. You don't want to rush this decision of who you pick, so be meticulous about it. Come back tomorrow with your decisions on who you want to intern with."

With that, he zipped his sleeping bag back up and ignored the jibber-jabbering of the students. Izuku-sensei was still there, offering advice to those who were having a harder time picking their internship. He wasn't actually going to sleep right now, he was just going to listen. After all, he had gotten a full two hours of sleep last night. That was on the high end of the sleeping spectrum for him.

He could hear students declaring their internships out to the class, and smirked fondly when he heard Shinso planning to go with Edgeshot. The pro hero was a good choice for one who was aspiring to become an underground hero due to his mysterious nature. It was a well thought out and logical decision. And wasn't that the highest praise that one could give?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

All Might was scribbling down notes on flashcards for his next heroics class when there came a knock at the door. He quickly placed his 'Teaching for Dummies' book in his desk drawer before calling whoever it was in. He saw a brilliant smile and blonde hair zip past the doorway and land straight into the chair in front of him.

Young Togata had received his quirk soon after the third-year Sports Festival had ended, heeding Izuku-sensei's warning about timing. They had done a single training session with the quirk, and with the first punch his young protege had ended up breaking all the bones in his arm. All Might wasn't quite sure what to do with that problem since he hadn't had the same struggles when he first used One For All.

He had ended up having to call the only other person who came close to scaring him as much as his green-haired teacher did: Gran Torino. The older man had seen not one but two users of All For One, so it was likely that he would have some insight on how to help Young Togata regulate his use of the quirk. Of course, just because he called him didn't mean that it didn't take him several tries to work up the courage to do so.

It was decided that Young Togata would take a week off at Nighteye's agency while the first-year internships were going on to train with Torino. As much as the retired hero scared All Might, he had to accept that this was probably the best course of action for Togata to learn how to control his new quirk.

"Well, okey-dokey. I guess I'll go to see this person who has you absolutely terrified! Man, the future is bleak." It was a bit concerning how the boy laughed when he said that last bit, sounding like he was telling the funniest story ever. He could see how Nighteye thought that he would make a great successor. He himself had quickly come to agree. Young Togata would go a long way in the hero world, of that he was sure.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Izuku walked in disguise to the station, following his students into the subway, being discreet with his movements. He knew that others considered it strange that he was constantly viewing others to collect more information, but that sentiment just confused him. It was natural to want to know more about enemies and allies alike, and you should use every tool at your disposal, after all.

He was currently sitting directly across from Shinso, Ida, and Todoroki. The three were on their way to Hosu, going to the heroes Edgeshot, Manual, and Endeavor. It was slightly suspicious that Ida was going to Hosu city to intern when he had gotten invites with higher prospects. It was highly likely that he was going to try and go after the hero killer at some point in the week, something that Izuku was going to do his best to prevent. However, he knew that it was impossible for him to be there every second, so he was glad that there were others there to help the young teen if he got in trouble.

The train slowed to a stop, dooring hissing as they opened. Izuku stepped out, pretending to check a map while he waited for a sufficient distance to separate him and his students, blending in with the crowd. He ducked into the alleyways, nimbly climbing to the rooftops when he was out of sight. No one quite thought to look up when they were being careful of people following them, something that he would take advantage of every chance he got.

The students split up near a corner, and Izuku made the decision to follow Shinso. Todoroki was interning with Endeavor, who was known for his constantly on the move tactics, and that would give Izuku a higher chance of being spotted. Manual was dealing with mostly crowd control today, so Ida would be under his constant attention. Edgeshot however... he hadn't seen that former student in a long time. He had been in the year before Midnight, along with Best Jeanist. It would definitely be interesting to see if the 'ninja' hero would be able to find out where he was hiding.

He crouched down, looking over the ledge of the building. Edgeshot and Shinso had walked up to one another and began discussing what he would be doing in the internships. It was amusing to see the two of them interact, given that they both had a dry sort of wit on their hands. Shinso was quite obviously pleased with the choice to intern with the hero that had a more secretive nature than most, being able to stay in the shadows a bit more until an incident happened.

Once he had watched the two for a bit, he swiftly stepped off in the direction of Ida and Manual, feet thudding softly against the brick of the buildings. The pair was standing and taking incident reports from a few eyewitnesses in a series of mugging attempts. Izuku smiled as he watched Ida intently listen to Manual describing the process and steps that they had to follow. Not many heroes realized that not only was being able to fight villains important, but filing paperwork was as well. There was always some report to write, or information to gather, and many discounted that and didn't quite grasp the amount of work you had to put in.

Manual was a good hero to work with for this reason. He managed to do both incident control and filed his own reports, while quite a few heroes left the paperwork to their sidekicks. However, Izuku could see how Ida always seemed to be glancing off towards the alleyways, maybe not even conscious of these movements. Now, Izuku was even more certain that if Ida got the chance, he would go after the hero killer with no hesitation.

Jumping across the rooftops a bit faster now, he followed the stream of smoke from one incident to the next, tracking the trail that Endeavor had left. The hero was going a bit slower than usual, allowing his intern time to catch up in between the brief battles. The two didn't talk except to shout warnings, and Todoroki's gaze was cooler than usual when he did have to look at his father. It appeared that the two hadn't talked yet after Izuku's discussion with Endeavor, something that would hopefully change soon.

The next few days passed in a whirlwind, with Edgeshot showing Shinso how to get through the smaller spaces as fast as possible, while maintaining the ability to sneak up on your opponent. The two were silent most of the time, apart from a minor correction or direction. Shinso was steadily making progress in his parkour skills, and there were quite a few times where Izuku had to quickly duck out of sight from the two.

He also kept up with Manual, but there hadn't been any problems with that pair. Ida hadn't tried to sneak away yet, but the glances had become more frequent. It seemed that Manual had caught on to the boy's train of thought, and was now watching him a bit more constantly to be sure that Ida hadn't taken off. Todoroki and his father were still following the same pace, not quite completely in sync as they dashed around Hosu.

It was the second to last day of the internships when Izuku started to get that same weird feeling in his gut that he did when Ingenium was attacked. That day, he watched the three students diligently, also tracking the movement of anything suspicious in the city. It was almost evening when he finally spotted a black portal, similar to the one at the USJ, on a more remote rooftop with three figures walking out of it.

Izuku crouched down behind a vent system, regulating his breathing and listening intently. He could only make out bits and pieces, but it was enough to be sufficiently worried.

"I... reform... town. ... sacrifices... needed."

"Hero... title... great... feats. ... continue... work."

That was Stain. And from the inky black portal, he could tell that the League of Villains was also there. Those two working in tandem... Now that was a thought that Izuku wished wasn't there. At least there were other pro heroes there in Hosu and there weren't only three, like at the USJ.

He was just about to follow Stain when several more figures started to spill out of the portal, almost looking like... crap.

There were a trio of Nomu's, all looking just as dangerous, if not more, than the Nomu at the USJ. Before Izuku could even throw a knife, Shigaraki and whoever was with him stepped back through the portal, leaving the Nomu to jump down. Izuku leaped down the building, rolling when he hit the ground. The panic had already set in on the unsuspecting civilains, all screaming and running away from the carnage left in the Nomu's wake.

He raced through the streets, yelling for civilians to evacuate the area as he passed. Black smoke swirled through the air, letting out smothering fumes that clogged his nose. He ducked under shrapnel and leapt across chasms in the streets, pushing his legs as fast as they could go. He zipped by other heroes helping with the evacuation efforts, like Manual. He was relieved to see that Ida was there, given Stain's presence in Hosu currently. He would just have to hope that it stayed that way.

Izuku skidded to a stop, analyzing the scene in front of him. Endeavor and Edgeshot were currently battling the Nomu, and barely managing to contain them. Reinforcements were on route, bring several more heroes into the fold. In the meantime, Izuku stepped toward one of the Nomu and dodged it's first hit, twirling underneath the claw-shaped fist. He pulled out a knife, loding it as far into the creature's back as he could. It didn't do quite as much damage as he would've liked, but they seemed to be weaker than the one that attacked at the USJ.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Edgeshot about to be flanked by a Nomu in his blindspot. He gabbed his electric pen and dove across the pavement, rolling to absorb the impact. There was a brief look of shock in Edgeshot's eyes right before he turned on the crackling electricity and hit the Nomu right in the center of its chest, dodging again when it swiped at him, narrowly avoiding hitting large shards of broken glass lying next to a ruined building.

He was up in an instant, running towards Endeavor and kicking the Nomu square in what he presumed was its chest. It caught it off balance, allotting them a moment before the next attack came. Izuku glanced behind him, noticing the absence of Shinso, with Todoroki standing off to the side and looking like he wanted to jump into the battle. The fact that Shinso was gone was like a sign that something was wrong, and that thought made Izuku grit his teeth.

Even though he was tempted to go after his student, he stayed with the other two heroes until support showed up. The moment it did, he ran off into the alleyways, having the feeling that this had something to do with Stain and Ida. He climbed up and got a birds-eye-view of the back alleys, allowing him to pass by faster and find out whatever was going on. He just hoped that it wasn't as bad as he thought it would be...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Shigaraki had planned this attack out meticulously, fueled on the bitter memory of his defeat at the USJ. He had lost the strongest Nomu they had in that attack, but this time he released three of the Nomu, so even if they weren't as powerful as the first, they would do immense damage on Hosu if they ran unchecked. The fact that they had teamed up with Stain on this chafed at him, however.

The so-called 'hero killer' was an admirer of All Might's, something that Shigaraki would have killed him for if Kurogiri hadn't been around to talk him out of it. Stain wasn't fond of him either, calling his methods 'cruel' and 'overly violent'. The man and his ideologies were annoying, and Shigaraki hated annoying things. He would never have worked with Stain if Kurogiri hadn't said that it would be beneficial to do so, all they had to do was make sure that Stain wasn't aware of their attempt on the life of All Might or he would become too difficult to control.

They had transported back to the base, and were currently watching the live coverage of the attack, with Shigaraki cackling every time a building came down. There was a bowl of popcorn on the table in front of him that he ignored. It was completely forgotten as he watched the heroes struggle to contain the Nomus while evacuating the citizens. It was just Endeavor and Edgeshot battling the Nomus, which meant htat he was going to win-

"NO!!! NO, NO, NO! THAT STUPID NPC!!!"

Just as the Nomus were about to take down Edgeshot, the same hero from the USJ hit it with some sort of electric power. Was that his quirk? He was livid with rage as he watched the three heroes hold off the trio of Nomu's, panting with every blow they landed.

CRASH

The popcorn bowl and it's contents scattered across the floor with the absence of the table they had been sitting on. Shigaraki had lost control and touched the table with all five fingers, causing the disintegrating effect to take place. Dust blew across the floor, covering the popcorn in a fine dusting.

Just who did that NPC think he was?! He didn't even look that old, more like a UA student, so just why was he so experienced with fighting? He wasn't on the roster for the USJ either, not being a listed student or teacher. His hands clenched with all-encompassing anger as his vision narrowed down to a point, with the green-haired nuisance at the center.

He now had a new goal besides killing All Might: killing this freckled annoyance.

Part 14

Edgeshot walked along the more shadowed part of the sidewalk with his purple-haired intern to his right. He was glad he had extended the offer for an internship to the hero student; he was certainly a good fit for Edgeshot's style. The kid already knew how to blend into the shadows, he knew some basics of parkour, and he knew how to stay silent on patrols while civilians flocked them. Although... he actually wasn't sure if that was so much as a decision he made, or just his usual state of being.

The kid's chosen hero name was hilarious, too. Just a tad dark, with the added bonus of concealing ones quirk from both the public and villains. Shinso had mentioned something about one of his teachers helping him pick it out, but that was a bit confusing since he was pretty sure that 'Eraserhead' wouldn't come up with something quite that clever. After all, he hadn't even chosen his own name, just chosen the first name that someone suggested to him. Actually, just thinking about the other pro hero made him realize just how similar he and Shinso seemed to be...

They both had this bleary expression on their faces that one can only get after a short nap that ended just a bit too soon, but they both had it on constantly. Not to mention their hero costumes, since they both had that same capture scarf ingrained into their fighting styles and aesthetics. Could they be distantly related or something along those lines...?

"Shinso. Let's take a shortcut through this alleyway. It's important to practice parkour at every chance you get so it becomes an integral part of your reflexes and you don't have to think about it."

The boy just nodded, matching Edgeshot's swift pace as they disappeared into the darkened alleyway. They followed a twisting route that Edgeshot only remembered because one time on a chase, he had gotten lost in the alleyways and ended up going in the complete opposite direction of where he was supposed to be. The mirth in Ingenium's eyes was so embarrassing that now he made sure he knew all the alleyway routes before even stepping foot in a city.

They exited around the center of the city, Edgeshot noting how it was about to start getting dark out. The days had started to get a bit shorter, and Shinso was to be patrolling with him until early evening that day. It had been fairly peaceful, with only a few purse-snatchers, and one robbery at a small bank. Everything had died down a little in Hosu since the attack on Ingenium, given that most villains knew that the heroes were on high alert in the city now. But there were always a few who completely disregarded common sense and just went for it.

Edgeshot was just about to recommend that they start heading back towards his agency when he heard screams coming from behind them. He whirled around, preparing to shapeshift his arms into blades, as he stepped in front of Shinso. A large plume of smoke started to billow out above a building, along with the distinct sound of rubble crashing to the ground.

"Shinso! Stay behind me and do your best to remain outside of whatever we find over there! Make sure there are no citizens left trapped by whatever is happening!"

Shinso nodded, no words on his part needed as they sprinted toward the destruction, bracing themselves for whatever they might find. And what Edgeshot saw... was absolutely horrifying.

There was a trio of... he didn't even know what to call them causing as much damage as possible to their surroundings. The citizens looked like they were already in the process of being evacuated by several of the lower-rank heroes, but that meant that Endeavor was left to fight the three of them alone. And the #2 hero... wasn't exactly winning.

He was barely able to keep them at bay, his fire focused more on distracting them and drawing attention away from the civilians than actually being able to do any damage. And whatever hits he did land didn't seem to be having much of an effect at all, the creatures not even flinching as the red-hot flames roared towards them, engulfing them in their grasp.

"Shinso, stay back. Do not engage, this is far more dangerous than your internships were supposed to be. I need you to stay out of danger right now, do you understand?"

Shinso nodded grimly at him, backing far away from where the two sides were fighting. It appeared that Endeavor's intern was also near that area, and the two stood next to each other, watching the battle warily, focusing intently on the gruesome scene in front of them. Edgeshot couldn't keep his attention on them for long, however, he had to dive straight into the fray to help defend against the Nomu's.

He was holding his own against a single one, but he had forgotten to watch his sides. One of the hell-raising creatures had peeled away from Endeavor's attacks and had approached him from the side, Edgeshot's eyes widening in shock just before a balck-and-green blur zipped in from the side, appearing out of nowhere. The figure held a grey pen in its hands, driving it into the chest of the Nomu and zapping it with crackling electricity, successfully stopping the Nomu in its tracks.

There was a brief moment where time seemed to slow down, allowing him to clearly view the dark figure in front of him. The dark figure... with fluffy green hair covering his head.

Edgeshot didn't even have time to be shocked because the first Nomu launched another strike at him, with him only managing to dodge because he turned into a sharp, thin blade. His hands became weapons, and he threw himself into his next attack, not giving himself time to think about all his questions surrounding Izuku-sensei's reappearance.

It was a constant struggle as they bought time, the three just barely managing to contain the three beasts. When other heroes showed up, Edgeshot would have sighed in relief had he not been otherwise occupied with trying to pin one of the things. With the help of their fellow pro heroes, they were able to stop the three long enough for Endeavor to burn them to a crisp. It smelled like a mixture of crayons that had been left in the sun too long, and rotten eggs that had been left in the pantry for 6 months. Edgeshot was glad he had his mask on, because the smell was not going away any time soon.

Turning around, he saw that Izuku-sensei had disappeared, leaving Edgeshot to question whether he had even been there in the first place. His eyes strayed over to where his intern was, or rather, where his intern was supposed to be. He panicked for a moment before cutting his eyes over to where Endeavor's intern was looking over at him and nodding at him in a reassuring way. Well...

"Endeavor. Well done on the deep fry. But, was it just me or did Izuku-sensei jump in for a minute there?"

"Yes. Apparently he's back to teaching at UA."

At least he's not going crazy. But the fact that Izuku-sensei was back did make him a bit nervous. Their old teacher had a way of making you feel like you were constantly under a microscope, every move cataloged and judged in a split second. He had almost forgotten just how terrifying and anxiety-inducing that was.

Since their quirks were not as effective against the Nomu's as Endeavor's was, they had to make sure that nobody was trapped under the rubble of the fallen buildings, so the next step was meticulously combing through every square foot of the destruction, an arduous and tedious task that would take up a chunk of time. While he sliced through blocked doorways, his mind wandered to how quickly his teacher had disappeared. Just where did the man go?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Shinso stood back from the fight against the three creatures like the one that had attacked the USJ- the Nomu. Todoroki was right next to him, his eyes tracking his father with the most extreme focus that Shinso had ever seen. The fight wasn't going in their mentors' favor until Izuku-sensei-of all people- leapt into the battle, stunning one of the Nomu's with the same electric pen he had used at the USJ.

Shinso was going to stay in the spot that he had dashed to when the fight had first started, but out of the corner of his eye he saw Ida, running into the alleyways of the city without a moment's hesitation. That couldn't be good...

Sparing one glance behind him, he sighed and chased after his class president, leaving Todoroki standing behind him with the most bewildered expression he had ever seen from the boy. Which actually wasn't saying much, since Todoroki always kept a pretty straight face, but the fact that he looked surprised at all was a bit of an accomplishment.

He streaked through the alley, barely managing to keep up with his classmate in the dim lighting. The sky was rapidly fading into darkness now, with only a peek of the sun shining through cracks in between the buildings. Edgeshot would be fine with him running this way, right? After all, he did tell him to stay out of the fight, so this could be a logical conclusion to come to... and now he was starting to sound like his dad. Just great.

" Dang it, Ida. Couldn't... just... choose to stay in... place. Noooo... just... had... to get me to... follow you."

Shinso finally stopped, having lost sight of Ida for a moment. After looking around and finding nothing, he almost went back to where he thought Edgeshot was when an enraged yell erupted from the alleyway to his left. Yeah, no way was he lucky enough to have that not be Ida.

Jumping over a low fence, Shinso came face-to-face with the scene before him. A pro hero named Native was slumped to the ground, not even twitching even though his entire torso was covered with blood. Ida, too, was limp on the pavement, face tensing as though he was trying to get up but couldn't.

"Shinso, no! Go, this is not your battle to fight. You have to get out of here!"

Stain turned and saw Shinso, eyes narrowing down to reptilian-like slits. His katana was dripping dark red blood, screeching painfully on the ground as the criminal took a few steps forward. His heart was caught in his chest, and he couldn't seem to shove out the question that would end this all. The aura surrounding Stain was bloodthirsty and sickening, filling every single cell in his body with fear.

"Hmm, another one? Yes, follow your friend's advice and run. I only hurt those who are false heroes, only in it for the fame and money of the job. He tried to enact revenge on me for what happened to his brother. Not a very hero-like goal, is it?"

Shinso realized he was out of his depth, and fumbled around blindly on his phone behind his back. All he could do was send his most recent contact his location, hoping that Todoroki would be able to make the connection that he was in trouble and needed his assistance. All he could do was keep Stain occupied until then.

His foot made a half-step back, losing more ground as Stain approached him slowly, tracking his every movement with his eyes, like he was some sort of prey and Stain was the predator. And to him, he supposed that they were prey. The hero killer's prey were heroes, and they weren't even full-fledged heroes, just helpless cocoons trying to become butterflies.

"Shinso, go!"

"You know that I can't do that, Ida."

Shinso gathered up all of his courage and stared up into the hero killer's eyes, seeing the almost hidden bloodlust buried not far under the surface of the gleaming orbs. He could do this, he could do this...

"What makes you the judge between a true hero and a fake one?"

There. That should get him to talk. Like his dad always said, people always wanted to talk about themselves, their ideologies, and their interests. And once you they started talking, they wouldn't stop. It was why they had to be careful what they asked his papa, since Present Mic was quite possibly the chattiest person in Japan.

But it appeared the time for talking was over, as the hero just kept advancing on him with those slow, methodological steps, eyes never leaving his. Shinso wasn't sure if Todoroki had even realized what the text meant, let alone get there in time to help. This was the end of the line for-

Out of nowhere, a boot came down hard on Stain's face, bringing forth a snarl of fury from the dangerous criminal. Shinso could only watch in amazement as Izuku-sensei dodged blow after blow, doing almost a dance as he avoided the sharp blades. The green-haired man kicked the villain square in the chest, using the momentum to spring into a flawless backflip that left him standing right in front of Shinso, not even out of breath.

"Shinso, I need you to get Native and Ida out of this alley. Stay with them, I'll take care of Stain." Shinso couldn't see Izuku-sensei's face, but he could feel the crushing pressure exuding from his teacher, an aura even more bloodthirsty than Stain's. The villain froze for a second, allowing Shinso to grab Ida and awkwardly half-carry, half-drag him farther away from the fight. When he managed that task, he went back for Native, being cautious of the hero's wounds. "And Ida, you really should not go after dangerous criminals, especially not for revenge. This is something that will have consequences later."

He was just straightening back up when he felt a shocking pain spring through his back, the area feeling like it was on fire. All he saw before his limbs went numb and he tumbled to the ground was Stain licking his blood off of the weapon. I'm not sure what disturbs me more, the fact that we are in this situation or him licking blood off of a dirty blade. That is just disgusting...

Izuku-sensei didn't glance back to where the three were stationed, but something told Shinso that he knew exactly what happened, and was already analyzing the action to the extent of his abilities. As Shinso tried to watch the fight despite the awkward positioning of his neck, he heard footsteps approaching rapidly from behind, solid thuds hitting one after another, until they stopped directly behind him.

"Shinso, why would you send me a- oh."

"Todoroki, stay back. The three of us can't move right now, but I think that Izuku-sensei has this handled. Though, if you could maybe sit me up a bit and stop the bleeding, that would be appreciated." Shinso couldn't stop the slightly sarcastic edge to that statement, it was just how his voice was.

Todoroki got him and the others leaning against a wall after sufficiently bandaging the wound to the best of his ability, standing in front of them protectively while the standoff continued in front of them. Izuku-sensei had pulled out a knife and was using it to deflect one blade while deftly dodging the other. It was almost beautiful to watch, in a twisted sort of way. It was like they were dancing, whirling around to counter attack and leaping over one anothers attacks. The three UA students were entranced by the constant motion, focused solely on what was happening in front of them.

Izuku-sensei suddenly disrupted the rhythm to the fight by springing backwards and grabbing hold of one of the pipes lining the building, hoisting himself up above Stain. His teacher was only up there a second before he dropped down, using the backs of his knees to hook around Stain's neck, flipping the criminal over and disarming him of his blades in one smooth motion.

Izuku-sensei stood over Stain with one of the most intimidating expressions that Shinso had ever seen, looking down on the criminal with cool rage set in every one of his features. It was a direct juxtaposition from his usual smiling state, one that Shinso was still coming to terms with. It was hard to believe that their teacher could do things like this when he was walking into their classroom with a radiant grin and a ready laugh. He was honestly unsure on whether or not their teacher was the literal sun with how bright his smile was. They might have to get sunglasses some time so they wouldn't blind themselves in class.

Shinso was able to start moving just as Izuku-sensei flipped his dagger around so he was holding the blade and the pommel was facing outward, knocking Stain on the head hard enough that the soon-to-be convict passed out instantly. Ouch...

He tried to pull himself to his feet, standing on shaky legs while Todoroki steadied him as best as he could. Ida was also just now starting to move, looking up at the sky with a deep look of remorse on his face, likely beating himself up about going after Stain and failing. Honestly, Shinso thought he deserved to feel a little bit bad. Yeah, he was angry and probably didn't know what to do with those feelings, but it just wasn't logical to go after the hero killer on your own, and it wasn't smart to seek revenge in the first place. There must have been a moment where instead of this, Ida thought, well, maybe it isn't the best idea to go after the hero killer. Maybe I should talk about my feelings instead of attempting murder?

Izuku-sensei paused a moment before turning around, this time with a sharp grin that seemed to have more edges than curves in place. Scary. "Well, is everyone alright? We should probably patch up Shinso, Ida, and Native's wounds at least a little before getting them to an ambulance, and it doesn't look like you were hurt, Todoroki."

"No, Izuku-sensei. I arrived near the end of the fight. How did he manage to paralyze them? Is that his quirk?"

"Yes, I suspect that his quirk has something to do with the blood he ingests. He was only able to paralyze Shinso after he licked the blade, and since I didn't get cut he wasn't able to stop me like he stopped the others. It is also likely that there is a time limit related to the type of blood he ingests, since Shinso and Ida were both released at the same time even though Ida was cut well before Shinso. Ida's blood type is A, and Shinso's is type O. However, regarding your injuries, I still think it would be a good idea to get you checked out, even if you don't think you got injured. You can never be too safe when someone is piercing you with the same weapon that they lick. It's just not sanitary." Shinso gave a little shudder in agreement, feeling his stomach turn at the thought of who else's blood might've been on that sword.

Izuku grabbed some rope from around the alleyway and tied Stain up tightly, looping the knot several times. Shinso was currently trying to avoid the thought that their teacher knew their blood types off the top of his head. It was just going to be filed under the category of reasons to fear his new teacher. That list was actually getting way longer than Shinso thought it would...

The five made their way onto the main street, running into some heroes who called for an ambulance, but due to the chaos the Nomu had caused the roads were a bit backed up. The ambulance wouldn't be there for another few minutes, so it was lucky that nobody's injuries were severe enough that they needed immediate professional medical attention. Everything was going well, that was until the Nomu grabbed Izuku-sensei out of the sky.

"IZUKU-SENSEI!!!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Stain thought he had everything under control. The so-called 'hero' Native was lying down with a gash in his side, fully immobilized with no chance of escape. Then that student had shown up and been a real thorn in his side, trying to seek revenge on the behalf of his brother, the pro hero Ingenium. The kid had been no problem to take down, except his arrival spawned another one of those fakes, a purple-haired kid that hadn't been able to speak when he first arrived. When he put so much effort into asking a question, Stain had figured it was best not to respond to the kid. Even that would have been easy to take care of, barely a fly in his peripheral vision, until that green-haired menace showed up.

He looked young, like another one of those brats masquerading as heroes, but he knew what he was doing, too. Those weren't the actions of someone who was still a student, no, those were the actions of a full-fledged hero. It was satisfying to cross blades with him, and Stain was almost impressed when he beat him. Maybe All Might wasn't the only true hero left out there...

And he accurately guessed his quirk after seeing it in action once, even his weakness about blood type. He thought he heard the kid call the guy 'Izuku-sensei', but his ears were still ringing and that couldn't be it. It just wasn't possible that this sixteen-year-old looking kid was a teacher. Even if he looked young for his age, nobody looked that young for their age. It just wasn't plausible.

Though he had no clue what his age was, Stain still knew that he was a true hero at heart, even chiding the one seeking revenge while protecting him. He had inserted himself into a situation he didn't need to be in, all in the name of helping others. All Might was still the greatest true hero, of course, but maybe he wasn't the only true hero anymore.

So when he regained consciousness, he didn't struggle that much, preferring to stay quiet and let them assume he was still knocked out. That was, until one of those flying freaks swooped in from the sky, throwing the one with the separate hair colors into the wall, Stain hearing a crack as he made the impact. The 'Nomus' had been crafted by those petty villains that Stain had met with, the two formulating a plan to cause as much damage to Hosu as possible. He hated working with villains that were fueled by petty motivations, not to mention the fact that the so-called 'leader' of this group hated All Might. The partnership just wasn't going to work out.

So when he saw the Nomu grab the man who had stopped him in the alleyway, he broke out of his chains with no hesitation, grabbing a hidden blade around his waist and jumping into action immediately. The other fakes couldn't stop him as he pushed into the air, raising his blade high to cut through the legs that were holding the green-haired guy down so he couldn't move, effectively rendering him like a doll, unable to stop anything happening around him.

"All... in the sake... of a better society..."

Stain took a single step towards the 'heroes' that appeared to be frozen in fear. They couldn't stop him from escaping, and they couldn't stop him now. "I will... kill... all of you fakes..."

Stain felt a stabbing pain in his chest, something that he had apparently not registered earlier, likely due to shock from his wounds. He couldn't stop the blackness from creeping into his vision, not even falling over as he lost consciousness entirely, giving in to the pain. The green-haired man was getting up himself, seeming to ignore or even just not notice the unnatural angle of his arm, which was twisted at the elbow until it was facing outward. A true hero...

Part 15

Izuku stared at the TV hanging on the familiar white walls of the hospital, feeling a bit sullen. The news reporter was discussing the events that happened at Hosu, and when they described the Nomu taking off with him, they said he was 'likely a student, perhaps fifteen or so years old'. He was not fifteen! He could understand calling him seventeen, or even sixteen, but fifteen? That was just being mean. Luckily, they hadn't gotten a good view of his face, so it was unlikely anyone had identified him based on that little scene.

A knock sounded at his doorway, and he clicked off the TV, still wearing a slight scowl even as the report was turned off. There was a nurse pushing a wheelchair with an old student of his inside of it, Tensei Ida. He was looking well for someone who had been stabbed in the side less than a month ago, if you were looking past the wheelchair, of course.

"Izuku-sensei! I just wanted to come and say thank you in person for what you did when Stain attacked me since I heard you were in the hospital for... what exactly?"

Izuku sucked his cheek in a bit before answering, a bit begrudgingly since Tensei had been one of his biggest hecklers apart from Present Mic, back when they were in his class. "Well, I had a very severely broken arm, as well as a dislocated shoulder."

"And how long did it take you to notice?"

"Less than ten minutes." Izuku was a bit proud when he said that. It wasn't every day that he noticed an injury in less than at least an hour.

"And were you the one to point it out or was it another hero?"

"That is beside the point." Tensei raised an eyebrow so Izuku reluctantly responded, "It was your brother."

Tensei's head snapped up when Izuku made that statement, and Izuku realized that the news station hadn't revealed who was involved in Stain's most recent, and last, attack. He had no idea that his brother had sought out the dangerous criminal who had attacked him in the name of revenge.

"What do you mean my brother noticed?! Wasn't he supposed to be away from UA on his internships? What was he involved in that could have resulted in an injury like this?"

"... You heard about Stain being taken down, right?"

"Yeah," Tensei's eyes twinkled for a moment in mirth. "They called you a 15-year-old student. It was hilarious. Wait..."

"Yes, Tenya apparently decided that the best course of action was to take Stain out, even though he had virtually no training and was not authorized to harm villains in the first place." Izuku's voice was wry and sarcastic, clearly displaying the fact that he was not pleased with his student.

"Well, crap." The pro hero was silent for a moment before glancing up and looking into Izuku's eyes, catching onto the lack of a smile on his old teacher's face. He was almost wary of the man's reaction, something that Izuku didn't quite understand. After all, it wasn't like he was ever something to be frightened of. Maybe past students did stutter around him and gazed at him with shock and a bit of fear, but that had to be for a different reason. Who was he to be someone to be scared of?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tensei tracked Izuku-sensei's face, looking for even the tiniest hint of anger. He had never seen his old teacher truly mad, but he didn't need to be mad to be scary. Even Aizawa never came close to being as frightening as their green-haired former teacher, and he had heard that there was an entire class of expelled students who jumped every time they heard the man's name. Izuku-sensei didn't need to try to be intimidating, he just was.

"Are you... angry at him?"

Izuku-sensei looked at him with a thoughtful expression on his face, pondering the question. It didn't take him long before he answered. "No, I'm not mad. I think I'm just... disappointed."

And that was it. Tensei's heart dropped down to his stomach, sucking in a sharp gasp of air that felt like fire on the way down. The last time Izuku-sensei had said that he was disappointed, Tensei had been in his second year, and there was a new student in his class. It was the first day of the school year, and the other students were still a bit sour about the guy from the general studies course who had beaten them all at the Sports Festival and transferred over. God, he still had nightmares about that class period.

Up until that point, the students had seen Izuku-sensei as the happiest teacher in UA, the one who tried not to assign homework on weekends, who never got upset, and who was always agreeable to talk about something other than the classwork if there was time. That all changed that day...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tensei sat down in his seat next to the guy with the voice quirk, Yamada. Sure, he was a bit loud at times, but he couldn't really control that and otherwise, he was a totally awesome dude to hang out with. The other students filed in, talking about what they did while school was out as they waited for Izuku-sensei to arrive, sitting wherever. The new student was sitting behind them, so Tensei decided to introduce himself, and fully expected Yamada to insert himself into the conversation. It wasn't even a question, he was just sure he would do it.

The new guy didn't look like he was that interested, with an expression both bored and tired, his long black locks falling over his face to cover his eyes. It didn't necessarily look like he wanted conversation, but maybe he was just shy? Ah, whatever. He would just go for it.

"Hi! I'm Tensei Ida, and my quirk is Engine. You're the guy who beat us at the Sports Festival last year, right? Ai-something?"

Yamada chose that moment to jump in, turning around fully in his seat. "YEAH! You're Aizawa! Right?!"

The guy's tired eyes shifted up towards him, sighing as he answered. "Yeah. I'm Shota Aizawa. Who are you?"

When Aizawa's eyes shifted up, staring his friend directly in the eye, Yamada's face went very pink in the cheeks, eyes rocketing up to the ceiling as he muttered, " Not as straight as I thought I was..."

"What?"

"I mean, I'm Hizashi Yamada! My quirk is Voice! Nice to meet you!"

Well, that was certainly not what he was expecting out of that interaction, but it was certainly amusing. The two didn't seem like they would be friends, and Aizawa even specifically said that he was not looking for friends, but in the time before Izuku-sensei entered the classroom, Yamada got Aizawa to chat almost non-stop. Granted, he was doing most of the talking, but the other guy wasn't ignoring him, which was more than Tensei thought that his loudmouth classmate would get him to do.

The door shifted open, squeaking as Izuku-sensei walked through the door. Tensei saw Aizawa's slightly confused expression when the green-haired teacher sat down at the desk and remembered that their teacher didn't exactly look like a teacher. You ended up getting used to his youthful appearance after a while, but it was always a shock when you saw him for the first time.

Their teacher was smiling his usual glowing smile that seemed to be brighter than the sun, facing all of them and waiting for the noise to die down a bit. When it did, he started to speak. "Well, welcome back, students. I hope you are all ready for your second year to begin, because we are going to dive right back into quirk analysis today. But before we do that, we do have a new student, Shota Aizawa. You might know him from the Sports Festival last year when he came in first place," The class was silent after that statement, a bit of resentment still there. Tensei almost did a double-take when he thought his teacher had a slight smirk on, but it vanished before he could blink, leaving him to conclude he had imagined it. Izuku-sensei continued, "Since today's class period will be focused on analyzing your classmates quirks in greater detail, I will ask you to tell the rest of the class your quirk, Aizawa. Some of them may know it already if they faced you in the final round, but we want to be able to accurately make predictions about what we can and can't do. The more we learn about each other, the more we learn about ourselves."

Aizawa had this sour expression on his face and he looked down at the table sullenly, muttering something unintelligible under his breath before answering. "My quirk is Erasure. It allows me to nullify the quirk of the user by looking at them. It does give me dry eye, though."

There was a beat of silence, Izuku-sensei looking like he was a little kid on Christmas and opening his mouth, probably to ask a question, before Tensei heard some kid mutter something from behind him, a dismissive whisper that Tensei didn't think they were supposed to hear.

" What a villainous quirk."

Aizawa's shoulders hunched down even further, and his mouth set into a firm line, but Tensei was much more concerned with Izuku-sensei's reaction. Their teacher lost his smile almost instantly, head snapping to who had made the utterance with razor-sharp precision, gaze piercing him like a lance. His eyes were blazing, and the pressure in the room made it hard to breath. Izuku-sensei's voice was the most venomous tone Tensei had ever heard when he hissed, " What did you just say, Aihara?"

Tensei couldn't bring himself to look away from their teacher, but he knew that Aihara was as pale as a sheet right now. How could he not be, with such a terrifying image in front of them? Not to say that he didn't deserve it, of course. It's horrible that a fellow classmate of his would judge someone only based on their quirk. Truly despicable.

"Now that is one of the most idiotic things I have ever heard anyone say, and it's truly ridiculous that you haven't managed to learn from your first year here. You should know by now that a quirk doesn't make a villain, the person does. And even if we do follow your logic that there are 'villainous' quirks, what makes you think yours is heroic? What tells you if a quirk is made for a villain or a hero? Your own quirk, Claws, could be used for evil just as much as any other. You could tear a person's eye out, or even disembowel others with it. It is just pathetic that you think that this is even a sound train of thought, and I can't even say if I have taught you anything right now." Izuku-sensei had his lip curled, and his hands clenched on the edges of his desk. Tensei had to admit, he was honestly terrified right now.

"W-well, even if it's not a villainous quirk, it's a weak one! He can only cancel out other people's quirk. He can't do anything for himself!"

CRACK. Izuku-sensei's chair hit the wall as he shot to his feet, breathing deeply as if trying to calm himself. This was definitely a different picture of his teacher than the one he had painted in the last year. And why, why, did that guy keep talking? Couldn't he see that not only was he wrong, that this was going to end very badly for him?

"There are no such things as weak quirks! Some might have greater weaknesses than others, and some might be more applicable to situations, but I never want to hear a SINGLE student in this classroom call any quirk weak again! Every quirk has it's weaknesses, and yours is no different. Not only is your quirk rendered useless if someone tears out your fingernails, you have no backup plan to fall on when your quirk doesn't work. You assume it will always be there to save you, but guess what? It won't. You are utterly dependent on your quirk, and during the Sports Festival last year, you lost because you couldn't do anything when Aizawa erased your quirk. You didn't even learn from your mistakes and try to improve, you just decided to call the person who beat you weak. What does that make you?"

By the end of his passion-filled speech, the class was shaking in their seats, all gulping nervously when their teacher suggested tearing out his fingernails to stop him. Tensei had always known his teacher was a genius when it came to quirks and analyzing things, but he never imagined that the green-haired man would put it into practice like this. After this class period, he never wanted to get on his teacher's bad side. Ever.

Izuku-sensei continued to lecture and horrify almost every single person in the room, and by the end there were students in tears, because Izuku-sensei focused on minute details from every single training session they had ever had, and instead of using his normal method of gently leading you towards the realization of where you went wrong, he looked you directly in the eye and instead told you what could've happened had you continued to dowhat you were doing. A lot of the scenarios ended in death or mutilation, the teacher focusing on those who had thrown bitter stares at Aizawa in the beginning of class, or nodded in agreement when that idiot was spewing nonsense. Tensei almost would've felt bad for them if they hadn't deserved it.

Aizawa, who hadn't seen Izuku-sensei's more sunny side, was in a state of extreme confusion, glancing around in bewilderment as students broke down in front of his eyes. Yamada himself was silent, a true feat that not many could accomplish, and was inching back towards the new arrival, likely not even aware that he was doing it. Tensei was scooting back himself, trying to escape the notice of their sharp-eyed teacher as best as he could. The three ended up right next to each other, with Yamada and Tensei on either side of Aizawa. They could only watch and wait for the aftermath to happen, all desperate not to get involved.

" So... how often does this happen?" Aizawa muttered, the movement of his lips barely noticeable as he was slumped down in his chair, arms crossed tightly over his chest.

"Well-uh- this is a first. Izuku-sensei is usually much more, uh, cheerful. We've never really seen him like this before." Tensei mumbled, eyes tracking the path of carnage left in his teacher's wake, trying not to laugh when he turned around and saw Aihara trembling like a leaf in his seat, barely managing to look at the youthful man standing to the front.

"Wait, so he has never been like this before? Then why is everyone so terrified of him right now?"

"Probably because Izuku-sensei has been alive longer than almost any other being on the planet and has taught every single hero to pass through UA since it opened. He also taught Nezu, and is the best quirk analyzer in the world. He's usually so cheerful that I don't think any of us suspected that he could be so scary..." Tensei still couldn't believe it himself, even after seeing the horrifying action itself, it was almost just too much to wrap his head around. Maybe this is why Ectoplasm-sensei always gulps whenever Izuku-sensei walks into a room.

"What do you mean the oldest? He cannot be more than 20 at the absolute max. He literally looks like he should be in our grade right now."

"Oh- his quirk is called immortality. We're pretty sure he's over 200 years old, but nobody has ever really asked him. He's dropped a few hints, like he's been alive since the pre-quirk era, but we haven't really discussed it beyond that."

Aizawa just looked at Tensei with raised eyebrows, clearly disbelieving. Yamada nodded empathetically on the other side of Aizawa, eyes wide in earnestness. Right as his cheeks started to go red when Aizawa glanced at him, the bell rang, saving his idiotic friend from the embarrassment. Their teacher had one last statement to make before they left the classroom, ' I'm not even mad anymore, just... disappointed."

Students filed out into the halls, all eerily quiet. The whole class period had been wasted from that one guy's stupidity, and they hadn't even gotten to the activity that Izuku-sensei had wanted them to do. Not only that, but Tensei was pretty sure that he would never look at his teacher the same way ever again. Blazing green eyes and snarling lips would haunt his memory every time he looked at Izuku-sensei for a long time, if not forever.

Even if they didn't get to the activity in class, this may just have been the most informative lesson Tensei has ever had in that class. Now to make sure I never see that ever again...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tensei shivered as he remembered the day that Aizawa had come into their classroom, the word 'disappointing' coming from Izuku-sensei's mouth might be just a bit triggering for him. That incident might have inspired more PTSD in Tensei than all of his hero incidents combined. Even including the Stain situation. It was that terrifying.

"You all right there, Ida? It looks like you were in your own world there for a moment." Izuku-sensei looked like a puppy dog, with his head tilted to the side and a slight frown tugging at his lips. It was so hard to conjure the image of him being scary when he was like this. Sometimes he just came to the conclusion that he had imagined it all, but then Izuku-sensei would say something that made him go sheet-white. He honestly thought that one of the scariest things about Izuku-sensei wasn't his analysis skills or how he could follow you for days without you having a clue, it was how he managed to look completely innocent while he was doing these things. Not only that, but Tensei was starting to realize that his teacher just did not realize how scary he was. How, he wasn't sure.

"Yes, I'm completely fine. Where is Tenya now?"

Izuku-sensei's eyes twinkled for a moment and a seemingly innocent smile tugged at the corners of his lips, clearly up to something. Tensei was a bit wary, and that feeling didn't alleviate in the slightest when Izuku-sensei started to speak. "Oh, he is okay, don't worry about that, though I do think him and the other students involved need to learn a little lesson. Just because things were alright this time doesn't mean they will be in the future."

Tensei had no idea what his former teacher was up to, but the doctors said that stress wasn't good for you when you were supposed to be healing, so he would just let it go this time. Sometimes, you just had to accept that Izuku-sensei was going to do a thing and that thing would scare you. All of them had that lesson at least once, now it was his brother and his classmate's turn...

Part 16

Shinso opened his eyes to a large white room, groaning as he tried to sit up, pain flaring in his back. A pair of hands helped him up, pulling gently under his arms until he was in an upright position. When he saw Todoroki sitting in the bed across from him, both arms bandaged up, and Ida standing next to him, likely being the one who helped him, he remembered the events of the internships. I need coffee...

"Shinso! Is your back feeling better? The doctors healed it as best they could, but they said you would likely be experiencing some pain in the next few days." Ida was clearly worried, with a strong undertone of guilt lying in his words. Good, he should feel guilty. Don't attack dangerous criminals, Ida. For someone who is so by-the-book, you sure can break the rules at the exact times you shouldn't.

A few popping noises could be heard as he stretched, going as far as he could until he felt the strain on his back. The pain wasn't as bad as he had initially thought, just very sore. "Yeah, I'll be fine. What about you guys? Todoroki, you looked pretty bad when you got thrown into that wall by the Nomu."

"I'm fine. There were a few cracked ribs, and a few bones in my arms were broken, but they were able to reverse the damage easily enough. I was nowhere near as bad shape as you were." Todoroki was sitting up straight, posture as perfect as ever. Shinso winced at the thought of sitting like that in his current state.

"Yeah, who knew getting stabbed hurts? Guess I can check that off my bucket list." Shinso's voice was as sarcastic as ever, a dry edge so sharp that even Todoroki would understand that he wasn't being serious.

"Why would getting stabbed be on your bucket list?"

Nevermind. At first, Shinso thought that Todoroki had to be joking; he was so clueless about when people were using sarcasm or being serious. But no, his classmate is just that oblivious. It was refreshing, in a way, but sometimes Shinso wanted to facepalm so hard.

Ida cleared his throat, his eyes finding the ground as he looked away from the two of them. Speaking somberly, he said, "I apologize for my actions. It was not very hero-like of me at all, and I should not have acted in such a manner." His gaze slid up and found Shinso's, not seeming to even be looking at him, more like some far off vision. "We-we got lucky that Izuku-sensei found us. You both could've been seriously hurt if it wasn't for him. I... I was foolish to think I could go after the hero killer myself, and I almost got not only myself but you both killed as well."

Shinso felt the cold, dead thing most usually call a heart twist a little at the sight of the self-loathing in Ida's eyes. He forgave him, but he wasn't going to forget that this incident happened. No, he was going to bring it up almost every chance he got, making sure to lament on the fact that Ida attempted murder. In fact... why don't they call themselves the murder squad? It would be adorable to see the expression on Kaminari's face when he tried to understand what they were-no. Bad Shinso.

While Shinso was having a mental battle with himself, the door swing open, revealing three figures standing just outside. The hero that Ida did his mentorship with was there, as well as Edgeshot and this... dog guy?

"Well, if it isn't the wounded warriors." Shinso huffed out a breath of air at the thick sarcasm present in Edgeshot's voice, the hero obviously not impressed with the three troublesome young students. Shinso did catch the slightest bit of relief in his mentor's voice, however, when he saw that the purple-haired boy was fine. If you ignored the extensive bandages covering his torso, that is. If he was going to use the word 'fine' without lying, he should probably come up with a different definition in the future...

"First of all, we would like to express our relief that the three of you are okay, despite your numerous injuries. Fighting the hero killer is no joke, and you need to understand that you got extremely lucky. Honestly, we're shocked that one of you isn't dead right now." The dog...whatever said. His nose was lifted, sniffing whatever lay underneath that hospital smell. "My name is Kenji Tsuragamae, and I am the chief of police in Hosu. We want to discuss your actions of last night."

Uh oh. A foreboding sense washed over Shinso, leaving a churning feeling deep in his gut. Shinso wasn't quite sure, since he hadn't exactly looked over this law, but they just may have broken the vigilante law, stating that all those using their quirks to try and inflict damage on a villain must have a hero license. The only reason that he knew this was because his dad grumbled about vigilantes and how annoying they could be at least twice a month, having dealt with them a lot in his job as an underground hero. They had all at least gone there with the intent to attack, and had all interfered in one way or another. Todoroki might have gotten off scott free, but Shinso was sure that his...friend... would have gone full throttle if given the chance. Now it was time to see what the consequences would be...

"You three do realize that you attempted to attack a villain through use of your quirk without a hero license, right? Not is that dangerous to yourselves, it is against the law, and there will have to be some kind of repercussion for your actions."

Todoroki's scowl darkened the room, and while it was nowhere near as scary as Izuku-sensei's, he was no slouch in the gloomy territory. Don't, Todoroki, we might get off with a warning or something similar, but don't do anything that could get us into further trouble. I need you guys to use some sense here!

"So what, we were just supposed to sit back and let people get hurt?" Oh great. Thank you so much, Todoroki. That was exactly what we needed right here, when we have already broken laws. Just great.

"The law must be upheld, and you three are no exception. However, there is no need for this to impact your future." The hero looked down his nose at them, holding them in suspension for his next words. Todoroki was still simmering a bit, but he seemed to have backed it up a notch. Whew...

"You have two options right now. First, you can tell the public and be applauded for managing to hold off the hero killer and save a hero's life. You won't be able to avoid punishment in this case, however. The second option is that your involvement in this event is left out. Nobody will know what you did, and we will cover his capture with the attakc on Hosu earlier, saying that heroes across the city caught him. I think we can agree on option two?"

The three students nodded, all looking down at their hands in silence, stewing in a bit of guilt for their actions. The police chief and Manual walked out, after lightly scolding Ida on his actions. Shinso walked up to Edgeshot, struggling just a tad with keeping his torso upright when dropping off the bed to the floor. He met the hero's indiscernible eyes, bringing his own blank expression to the table.

"I thought I told you to stay out of danger?"

"Well, you also said to stay back, and I went pretty much in the opposite direction. So really, I was doing exactly what you told me to do." Shinso couldn't help but smirk a bit as he glanced up to his mentor's eyes, which might not have been the best course of action had it been anyone but Edgeshot. The hero just smirked right back at him, and nodded once before exiting the room, following the others.

There was silence for a moment before Ida exhaled deeply. "Okay. I thought we were going to get in way more trouble than that from the way he was talking at first. I honestly can't believe we got off that easy."

The trio of troublemakers had to stay a few more hours in the hospital before going home, the doctors making sure that there was nothing else that they needed to look at before letting them out of their line of sight. Shinso breathed a sigh of relief when they were finally allowed to leave, passing a familiar green-haired man in the hallway.

Wait.

Izuku-sensei was standing in the shadows of the hallway, winking at Shinso with glittering green eyes that seemed a bit too pleased with himself. His arm was in a sling, Shinso remembering that Ida had pointed out the broken limb before they were sent to the hospital. But the way Izuku-sensei was standing... it was almost like he was waiting for someone to come by. Just another question to add to the list about Izuku-sensei.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

30 minutes before the heroes entered the hospital room...

Izuku stepped around orderlies and rolling beds as he made his way through the busy hospital, staying to the sides to pass by more quickly. He had been debating with himself with how to handle what the students did with Stain, and he decided a lecture just wasn't good enough. Yes, he was still going lecture them, he was just going to use other methods to get them to consider their actions in greater detail as well.

Edgeshot and Manual were sitting on a bench several feet away from the entrance of the room, likely waiting for the police chief of Hosu to show up before entering the room. He flashed a toothy grin before subtly sneaking over there, staying out of their line of sight for as long as possible while also maintaining a normal way of walking, not crouching down as it appeared much more suspicious than anything else would.

It was Edgeshot who noticed him first, the ninja-like hero choking on his cup of coffee and sputtering a bit. Manual wasn't too far behind him, taking a concerned glance at his fellow hero before following the direction of Edgeshot's shaking finger to where Izuku was innocently standing, only smirking on the inside of his mind. The latter hero wasn't a student of his, but he had seen him around at the attack on Hosu, arriving as they were carrying Stain's unconscious body away. Izuku, at the time, didn't exactly look like the sunniest person in the world, with a few bloodstains and tears donning his black hero costume, making him look like... just a really battered sixteen year-old. He really wished that he at least looked like he wasn't in high school anymore. He once had an officer of the law walk up to him and tell him that he should be in school that day. It had been embarrassing when he had to show the man his hero license, then go through the trouble of making sure it was real at the station. Those were several hours of his life that he would never get back.

The younger hero looked pretty confused, at one point even shifting his eyes to behind Izuku to see if there was someone else that he should be looking at. He internally rolled his eyes before approaching the two, walking with a confident stride. Edgeshot's eyes were a bit wide above his mask, the hero coughing a bit before speaking.

"Hello, Izuku-sensei. It... well, it's certainly surprising to see you here. You were at the incident last night, right?" The hero smirked a bit, then asked, "So, how long did it take you to realize you were injured this time?"

Izuku narrowed his eyes, glancing away a bit contemptuously. It was so frustrating that everyone had learned that he was just the tiniest bit annoyed whenever they started needling him about it, so of course they decided to do it every chance they got. It was a habit that he had never been able to break when they were students, much to his displeasure.

"Hmph. You are here for the students involved in the Stain incident, right?" Their eyes widened a bit in surprise, before Edgeshot just breathed out a chuckle, Manual glancing between the two of them a bit surprised.

"Wait, how do you know that? Why is he calling a sixteen-year-old sensei? Who are you?" Manual was looking just a bit frustrated, obviously having more questions than he had answers. Honestly, he was just looking lost.

"Oh, I did forget to introduce you. Manual, this is Izuku-sensei, my teacher from my UA days. And no, he is not a sixteen-year-old, it's just a side effect from his quirk." Manual still looked confused, but dropped the subject when the chief of police rounded the corner towards them.

The dog-man checked his phone when he stopped, Izuku seeing he was looking at a news channel going over the Hosu events. They didn't know all the details yet, and Izuku knew that meant that the chief of police would try and keep the students out of it as much as possible, and while he did agree with that, they couldn't get off just scott free.

The police chief and Izuku chatted for a moment, both having met each other before, which made things a lot easier on Izuku so he didn't have to get past the original skeptisism that everyone had towards him at first. They finally came to discuss the students options, since he was their teacher at UA and was permitted to know about things concerning the students medical and legal status, due to the agreement they signed with UA at the beginning of the year.

"I see no problem with that, and I'm sure that the students will agree to that, but," Here Izuku smirked a bit, Manual giving him a surprised side-eye at the devious look on his face, "Make sure they sweat a bit before you offer them that option... it'll be good for them."

Sure, maybe that wasn't the nicest choice to make, but he did have their best interests in mind. This would help them learn to make better decisions in the future, something that they obviously needed if recent events were to be believed. And if it just so happened that it was amusing to him, too... well, nobody really had to know that.

He walked down the hallway until he found a shadowed corner where he could stand and wait to see his students before they left, while fulfilling the requirements that he had to 'stay in the hospital until further notice'. He was pretty sure that Recovery Girl had somehow communicated with the nurses and told them to say that, because one broken bone was no reason to stay in the hospital this long. It was already mostly healed due to his accelerated healing status. This was Recovery Girl's passively angry way of getting him to begin noticing when his bones are broken. He was almost tempted to break more bones, just out of spite. But he wouldn't do that...

It wasn't until later that night that he was allowed to leave, and when he got to his apartment videos of the hero killer were already going viral, talking about his ideology and 'accomplishments'. People seemed to admire him, all talking about his life story in the comments, and how he wasn't wrong with his ideas. There seemed to be a magnetic effect on others when someone completely convinced in what they thought they knew showed up. First it was All Might, who inspired others with his smile, then it was Stain, who tore through the ranks of heroes in the name of his ideals. Noth were very different, yet had a similar effect on those around them.

Classes would not start again until the day after tomorrow, due to the last day of internships for students who weren't involved in trying to attack a dangerous criminal. Those students still had to heal from injuries and think about what they had done. And it had better not be with pride.

He was reading over the quirks of new villains that had been captured in his absence, and those who had escaped or caused some sort of problem that heroes adn officers had caught on to, making sure that he was fully aware if one of them broke out and he happened to stumble upon them. He was just getting to this guy who could make you tell the truth when his phone rang, the caller ID showing that it was Snipe who was calling.

"Hello, this is Izuku Midoriya."

'Izuku-sensei! I know it is a bit later at night than what you would usually be called at, but I wanted to ask if you would do me a favor.'

"Please go on."

'Yeah! So, in my history class we are about to go over the pre-quirk era, and I figured that it would be best to have the only guy who was there talk about it. It would be just class 1-a in the hour that you don't have class, and if you could go that would be rockin'.'

The pre-quirk era... he hadn't thought about that time in his life for a while. It was years and years ago, a distant time that had long ended. Not many thought about it, or really ahd any inkling for what it was like before quirks dominated everybody's life. However... maybe it would be good for the new generation to learn about this. After all, what good was the past if nobody learned from it?

"Sure. That is the class period that is longer due to the general studies day, right?" The hero course had their one week of internships and the general studies course had their week where they went to several places across the city and learned about future career paths. Those days were extended for all the other students due to having more than a third of their students gone, having more teachers to teach the courses for a prolonged amount of time.

'Alright! Thanks for this, Izuku-sensei! See ya then.'

Izuku put away the files, too lost in thought to do anything else. Honestly, he wasn't quite sure how he was going to talk about the pre-quirk era, or even if they would truly understand that with all of its differences, in some ways they still hadn't grown at all. And for him... he didn't know how he would talk about it. It was a long time ago for him, and it wasn't the happiest time in his life exactly. I guess I just start with the facts, then see if they have any questions... It was going to be an interesting class, to say the least.

Part 17

Aizawa slinked into the class, most of the students already there. It wasn't that he wasn't there on time, he just didn't feel the need to walk into class before he needed to. He spent hours with those kids, he didn't need to spend a second longer than necessary. Nobody had the energy for that, least of all him. His kid was okay, but some of them were really high-strung, to the point where he thought that they were just eating sugar whenever he wasn't looking at them. Well, aside from Sato. At least he had a reason to be eating sugar.

He took attendance drolly, laying down in his sleeping bag while he waited for Snipe to show up. They were doing history in their homerooms because of the messed-up scheduling of the week. So not only did he have to stay in there for the lesson, he had to do this all week. Why did he agree to teach again?

Kaminari made a comment about the hero killer that had Shinso and Todoroki wincing a bit, his son rolling his eyes when he looked at the blonde. Then when he seemed to realize what he had said a second later he started to apologize to the boy with glasses, and his son looked at him with an exasperated form of fondness. Well, that is a bit telling...

Snipe burst into the classroom, but the door didn't shut behind him. Instead, a hand held it open as he stepped through, revealing Izuku-sensei. Just what was he doing here?

"Well hello, class 1-a! As you all know, the schedule is going to be a bit weird for the next few days, so not only will we be staying here for the duration of the class, we will have a longer class period than usual. We'll be going into the pre-quirk era, and may I just remind you all to make sure and pay attention, as the exams are coming up and there will be a penalty if you fail, to be discussed later with your homeroom teacher. Izuku-sensei will be here in this class period, and he will be speaking about the pre-quirk era, as he is the only guy left that was alive during that time. Give him your full attention, please."

Well, Aizawa did have to say that he was impressed. Having another teacher doing all the teaching for you, now THAT was a fine idea. If only he would've thought about that before he had to do all the work of making the personalized lists of heroes to intern with. That was time-consuming, and that time was time that he could've spent sleeping.

"Alright. I figured that to begin with we would go over what was in the textbook, then I can add on a bit from there, and then we will open the floor to questions." The green-haired teacher didn't quite have the same smile that he usually did. Sure, it was there, but it was as prominent or luminescent as usual. Interesting...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Shinso watched their teacher with a slight frown on his face, noting the difference with how Izuku-sensei usually displayed himself. He wasn't nervous, but it was almost like he was lost in a bad train of thought that carried with him in his words. It was pretty concerning.

"The pre-quirk era was very different from the world we live in today. The most obvious difference, of course, is the fact that there were no meta-humans, and so there were no heroes. They had other means of law enforcement, if you would turn to page 146, please."

They read through how police officers were much more prominent, and how there was a whole lot less property damage. Everything almost seemed... simpler, in a way. You didn't have beings with superstrength who could take out a city block by themselves using their bare hands, but you also didn't have heroes to keep the peace. Instead of heroes, the idols were rock stars or actresses, the figures that didn't have quite as much influence now that there was All Might. It was pretty interesting to see contrasting the two time eras were like they were two entirely different worlds. And not only that, he learned that Izuku-sensei was engaging even in history. He knew that he was good from the analysis class already, but it was impressive to see him keep even Kaminari's attention whilst talking about history. The blonde boy was staring so intently at the teacher, it was so adorable and-no. Focus on history, Shinso.

"And that is what the world was like before quirks appeared. Now, this isn't technically a part of the book, so you can close it for the time being. However, this is something that I think is very important that most people tend to skip over. The road between the appearance of quirks and when we finally got the legal system set up was a rocky one, and nobody seems to mention it anymore. The most important part of the past is learning from it to improve your future." Izuku-sensei took a calming, steadying breath before continuing, his eyes glancing at the ceiling for a brief moment.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"I'm sure you all know the story about how the first quirk appeared, with the girl with the glowing skin. What is usually omitted in the stories is how hard it was for kids with quirks back then. Nowadays, almost everyone has a quirk, and those who don't are usually part of the older generation. That was the quirk population 200 years ago, with only a small fraction of the population possessing one. They- we were discriminated against, with only one kid in each class having a quirk if that. It was an awful time for those who had quirks. Many kids would be abandoned or bullied because of it, especially if they had physical changes. Once there was 40% of the population, laws got passed that made things fairer, and over time those with quirks became the majority, and now it's the quirk less that are discriminated against, But that is a subject for a different day." This may have been harder than he thought it would be... "It is a whole lot better now than it was, that is for sure. Now, if anyone has any questions?"

Yaoyorozu slowly raised her hand, not looking very confident ever since the Sports Festival. "You said it was especially bad for those who had physical changes, but... what about those who had quirks like yours? Did they even know sometimes?"

Izuku sighed, dredging up the uncomfortable memories of his past, trying to find the best way to answer the question.

What the hell is wrong with you, freak?

Look at the guy who doesn't age, what are you, some sort of freak of nature?

Unnatural.

Wrong.

Freak.

Shaking himself out of his stupor, he answered Yaoyorozu. "No, sometimes people didn't know they had a quirk and went the duration of their lives living without one. As for those whose quirks weren't directly noticeable, well... for me, I had no idea until I was past junior high. There was an incident where I got a gash down the side of my arm and it ended up knitting itself back together right before our eyes. It wasn't until I was out of school that I discovered that I wouldn't age, and it took a lot of trial and error before I found out exactly what my quirk was. Once the system of quirk doctors was established, almost everyone went and checked, but at the time, we were all pretty much on our own in terms of figuring out if we had a quirk or what it was." This was the first time he had really discussed the pre-quirk era, at least in the last century. Everyone really took for granted how everything had changed, a lot of it for the better. Of course, now you had quirk discrimination, but that was a topic for current events and what was wrong with the world now.

Another student raised their hand, and this time it was Uraraka. The brunette was hesitant, lips twisted to the side in a quizzical nature. He nodded at her, hands folding behind him, almost touching the whiteboard. "I-Izuku-sensei? What were the kids who didn't have quirks like to the kids that did, like you? What was school like for you?"

"They were afraid of us. We were like aliens to them, beings that didn't make sense to them and they couldn't explain us, so they feared us instead. When the gash down my arm knitted itself back together, most of my classmates either totally ignored me or did their best to make school miserable. I was the only kid with a quirk in the entire school, and... well, kids can be cruel."

He could almost feel the sting from when one of his upperclassmen pushed him into a pile of broken glass, laughing as the blood pooled on the ground. Let's see you heal from that, greenie. It had taken him an hour before all of the deep cuts completely sealed up, and when he got home his mother either wasn't paying enough attention to see the dried blood or smell the metallic scent, or she just didn't care. The first chance he got, he bolted out of that town, leaving to go train in martial arts, as well as get multiple degrees. At least, that's what it says officially, and that's what he told everyone. But he really didn't have time to think about that right now.

He shot a furtive glance at the clock, deciding that they would have one more question before they moved on to how the hero commission was formed. It seemed like everyone was thinking a bit, and none of them raised their hands. He was just about to move on when he saw Bakugo's hand up, the boy looking resentful and sullen. Izuku shot him a quick smile, urging the stubborn boy on.

" Tch. So even though the quirkless people were weak the ones with quirks were picked on? Even though they're pretty much useless?"

'Well, first, I would like to say that that way of thinking is wrong. It's not a healthy mindset to take, and it's not correct. Nothing makes quirkless people weak, trust me. And yes, we were the ones in the minority 200 years ago. Now we don't think about that time, but I do think it is important to remember the past."

Bakugo grunted, but it was better than his usual scoff. He was obviously starting to rethink his stance on others being weak. And yes, when he first discovered the boy's distaste for anything appearing weak, he was a bit frustrated. But then he realized that it was just another unhealthy mindset that this era encouraged. Bakugo believed he had to be the strongest because he had a strong quirk, trying to make sure that nobody ever looked down on him. He did respect others and their strengths, as they all saw in his match against Uraraka. Even when the audience was booing him, he didn't hesitate to give his opponent his best, giving all he had to win. This was the only reason that he hadn't chewed him out already.

Others were noticing the boy's growth as well. Ida, even having noticed his slight disrespect of an authority figure, didn't scold him, instead choosing to sigh deeply while pushing up his glasses. Kirishima was also looking proud of his classmate, giving him a wide smile that displayed as much of his sharp teeth as his face would allow. There was also a red blush staining the boy's cheeks, but Izuku didn't like to collect gossip about his students, even if he did think that their adolescence was amusing at times. Plus, he could just listen to Uraraka and Mina gushing about it through the vents.

He moved on from the questions and led them into the next part of the lesson, talking about how the hero commission was formed and adding his own commentary in from time to time, like how all the quirked individuals came together to create the hero commission, yes, but there were a few who didn't agree with what they planned to do, still bitter from the past and how they were treated. Those individuals became the first villains that the hero commission tracked down.

The class was so attentive that they finished early with the lesson, the class peppering him with questions about the hero commission. What was the first president of the hero commission like? (much better than any president we have had since). How did the non-quirked government respond to the commission starting? (sorry, that's classified). Were the girls who were in the hero commission hot? (he chose not to answer that one, while giving Mineta a warning). Izuku left with 10 minutes left in the class period, heading back to his classroom feeling just a bit more exhausted than he usually was at the end of teaching a class. Maybe he should hack into the commission's surveillance videos, just to cheer him up. He was actually a bit disturbed by their horrible security. Maybe he should just change the codes, or he could...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Shinso watched Izuku-sensei leave the room, noting his toned-down smile as he did so. That obviously wasn't quite as easy for his teacher as he made it seem. And after hearing about what the history books usually skipped over in the pre-quirk era, Shinso could understand why. While his mind was occupied, his gaze wandered over to Kaminari, his blonde hair strongly contrasting the black bolt streaking down the side of his head. He had never been able to find out if it was natural or not, and he didn't exactly know how to ask. Because, you know, talking to others. Yuck...

His dad had been paying attention the entire time, despite the fact that he was laying down in the corner. Shinso had been around his dad enough to know that he didn't just ignore what Izuku-sensei told him so he could sleep. Sure, he would maybe do that to another teacher, like if Snipe-sensei was teaching the subject, but once Izuku-sensei started talking about the adjusting period when quirks first started appearing, he had everyone hooked. Kaminari had been staring intently at their green-haired teacher, his brow scrunched a bit, which Shinso was definitely not watching. Nope.

And while Shinso was trying to shove Kaminari out of his mind, a spot he had seemed to occupy quite frequently these days, the energetic blonde was heading in his direction, Mina trailing behind him, who was looking frighteningly excited, shaking in her exuberance. His mind went blank for a moment, eyes growing wider and wider as the boy and his friend approached. What was he supposed to say? Do? Dang these social concepts!

Then the blonde was in front of him, looking down a bit at Shinso's slightly hunched-over form. He had a friendly smile on, and Shinso thought that it made the boy look absolutely stunning. He had to mentally shake himself to focus on what he was saying.

"Hey, you're Shinso, right? Ever since you beat me in the Sports Festival I've been wondering what your quirk was, because I just do not remember anything between when the match started and when it ended." He looked a bit hopeful, and for the love of All Might why did he have to be so adorable?

"Yeah. When I asked you a question, I used my quirk 'Brainwash' to, well, brainwash you. It just makes you follow my directions until I release the effect or you are jolted out of it." He was almost tempted to tag on a 'sorry', but he reminded himself that he was, in fact, not sorry and he shouldn't be. Kaminari's eyes widened a bit before he grinned even wider, making Shinso's heart thump in his chest. He was so glad that his expression was usually so blank because otherwise, he would've been redder than a tomato right now. There might have been a pink tint to them already.

Mina backed off when the two of them started to chat further, looking proud of herself as she bounced back to Uraraka. The bell for homeroom rang, but nobody in the class moved from where they were, knowing that Aizawa would wait until the end of class to do anything so he could get max shut-eye. He did see his dad peep out of his sleeping bag, giving him the side-eye that told him they would be having a conversation about this later.

Shinso started to get why his dad chose his papa now that he was talking to Kaminari. They might be energetic and excitable, but it was a good offset to Aizawa's and Shinso's natural tendency to be monotone and anti-social. They needed them to pull them out of their shells, to make sure that they weren't just avoiding everyone around them... not that Shinso has ever had dreams where it was just him and nobody else was around him and everything was quiet and... focus on the conversation, Shinso.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kirishima watched Izuku-sensei walk out the door, bolting over to where Bakugo was as fast as he could. Sero was talking with some of the others, and Mina was telling a blushing Kaminari to go talk to Shinso and to be confident when he did it. You go, bro. Bakugo was silent for once, obviously deep in thought about what Izuku-sensei had taught them earlier. But Kirishima was worried that Bakugo might be more irritable than usual if he was allowed to stew on this too long. So he did the natural thing and stood just out of arms reach, jarring the blonde boy from his train of thought. "Hey, Bakubro!" Kirishima leaned down as if to give him a hug.

"Hah- what are you doing, shitty hair?" Ah, he called him shitty hair. Maybe if it was anyone else Kirishima would have been offended, but he had just come to accept it as a term of endearment from his friend. Some people just weren't the best at expressing themselves, so it was good to pick and choose your battles. And Bakubro really was not as bad as others thought he was. Maybe he could be irritable and did not remember anyone's names, but he was also willing to give his respect to his classmates and did care about them. He did see the blonde boy clench his jaw when he caught sight of a slight burn on Kirishima's shoulder from the USJ attack. He was really just a big softy under-

WHACK. Kirishima blinked in surprise as Bakugo smacked a packet into his face, glaring at the red-headed teen. "Bakugo! That almost hit me in the eye!"

Bakugo glared up at him, red eyes glinting from the light through the window. "Maybe it wouldn't have if you were paying attention, idiot."

Well. That wasn't the nicest thing to- wait! Bakugo was upset he spaced out for a second. Awww, that was actually kind of cute. Bakubro was just so manly. He really did care. Kirishima grinned mischievously, making Bakugo give him a suspicious look. They chatted for a long time, mostly with Kirishima carrying the conversation and smoothing things over whenever Bakugo started to get sparky, making sure his classmate didn't blow up the entire classroom.

Though, just because Bakugo was a bit volatile didn't mean he wasn't fun to be around. Kirishima had a feeling he was extremely loyal, and that he was an awesome friend to have. He had a combative personality, that's all. And he wasn't even as... blowy-uppy?-today. He had been a bit more silent than usual since Izuku-sensei's lesson, and Kirishima was proud of him for it. He was obviously rethinking several things that contributed to an unhealthy outlook, and hearing about the pre-quirk gave him some insight.

The entire class was still talking or doing something else when Aizaawa-sensei walked to the front of the room. Their teacher was watching Kaminari and Shinso, a small scowl present on his face. Kirishima looked over at the pair, not really seeing anything to warrant their teacher's displeasure. The pair was just sitting there, and Kirishima was delighted to see that Kaminari was finally talking to Shinso. Mina had been trying to get their mutual friend to talk to the guy he lost to in the Sports Festival ever since it happened, and it appeared Kaminari had finally managed to go do it. He wasn't even blushing like before. So manly.

"That's enough, class. Go to your seats now. We have something to discuss before you leave for the day."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Aizawa stared directly at Kaminari as the boy headed back to his seat. He wasn't trying to be scary, per se, but he just couldn't help being at least a little intimidating. He never claimed to be a saint, after all. The blonde boy didn't seem to notice his teacher's gaze, grinning a bit to himself. That made him worry a bit. What if he had lost his edge? Just to be sure, he narrowed his eyes at Mina and was relieved when she looked around nervously. Still got it.

"I'm sure that all of you are aware of the fact that summer break is approaching. But I'm not sure that you are all even capable of sitting still for that long. Luckily for you, we will be going to a summer break forest lodge." The class exploded into excited chatter and yelling, Aizawa not even flinching since he lived with Present Mic. He sighed as he activated his quirk, gaining the class's attention once more. "However, should any of you fail the end-of-term classes, you will be stuck in remedial classes for the duration of the summer break."

Now the class was a bit scared. Their worried shouts and panicked faces were like music to Aizawa's ears. The kids that were lower in the class were all talking about not studying, and those that were high enough not to be too worried were all thinking about the practical part of the exam. But they all assumed it would be robots. Ha. Izuku-sensei recommended that they change that this year, for diversity. He was pretty sure he saw a slightly sadistic glint in his former teacher's eyes too. These kids had no idea what hell they were just about to go through...

Part 18

Izuku let class 1-b out, casually listening to their conversations as they passed. Monoma was on his usual rant about how they would show up class 1-a this time, and Kendo hit him on the back of the neck, saying that she would ask an upperclassman for pointers on what the practical exam might have on it. Now, that was not a bad idea, and any other time he might have commended Kendo on using her resources like that, but this was not any other time. This time, the information would not do her any good.

He had a conversation with Nezu, and they both agreed that the end-of-term practical exam should change this year, so students could be more prepared going forward. They had all started to see the signs, and they knew that things would not be getting easier from here on out. It was best to make sure that they could handle anything that the future threw at them, no matter how dangerous or frightening that event may be. It was now that the training truly began getting serious.

This practical exam would consist of a pair of students going up against a single teacher, one that they were matched badly against. Izuku had already been thinking about who would do the worst against who, and he had a very good idea of who he wanted to pair up together. Not only would this be a reasonable challenge for the students, it would also teach them to work together with heroes that didn't exactly have quirks that perfectly countered the villain, showing them to think outside of the box and that you couldn't just turn away from a difficult situation because 'you didn't have the best quirk'.

Finals in his own class were a bit easier, at least in his opinion. He wanted them to feel like the Analysis class was something that would help them in the future since they would only be hurting themselves if they didn't view it as such, so he chose something that would compile the knowledge of what they had already learned and show them how when it was put together it would help them. This year he was having them make an analysis of a gadget that would help them and be something they could work with. It was something that was very hard to fail, as he had practically spoon-fed them answers the entire time they had been in his class, so it was really just a formality. And for those who had a particularly good idea that was original, he would send some drafts over to Power Loader so they could add them to their hero costumes. He heard that there was a new student in his class that was driving the poor support teacher insane with all of her wild ideas and the explosions that went on while executing these ideas. Having a solid idea in place would be good for him.

Izuku stretched his arms, pushing to his feet and exiting the classroom. He never used the full lunch period to eat or plan, so he had some free time. Yesterday he climbed through the vents to All Might's office and listened to the seasoned hero tell Mirio Togata all about All For One, listening to every word. He had left a few things out, but he was glad that his former student was being honest and thinking about this somewhat logically, making sure that his new protege knew the details of what he had accepted. He grinned as All Might called him 'my boy', fully settling into the dad figure role he had assigned himself.

Hmm... maybe today he would test infiltration tactics and where the school was permeable. With all these villain attacks going on, they had to be sure that the school remained a safe place for the students to learn. He heaved himself up into the vent, sneezing a bit at the buildup of dust in there. First, he needed to check the entrance points accessible from the front gates, then he wanted to check the support course's defenses, they did have a lot of highly dangerous weapons in there so...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kaminari stared hard at the sheet of equations in front of him, not understanding a single number. They seemed like maybe they could make sense at first, but then he stared harder and it started to seem like it was made in a different language. Then coded into a cipher and were finally locked in a crypt deep underground. Mina was struggling just as much as he was, and they were both supposed to be meeting with Yaoyorozu and some others from the class to study. Finals were fast approaching, and Kaminari really didn't want to fail. Sure, maybe he wasn't the smartest guy, but he knew that he could do well as a hero, and he was determined to try as hard as he could to make that happen.

Kaminari shot a glance at the clock, sighing in relief when he realized it was finally time to go and meet the others. He didn't understand anything in front of him, and at this point it was useless to try the same thing again. Yaoyorozu and the others were good at this sort of thing, and they could probably explain it to him in a way he understands. RIght now it made less sense than gibbberish.

He grabbed his bag, hurrying to the train station to get a ride to Yaoyorozu's house. Loud yells and shouts pierced the air, little children off from school straining against the hands of their parents. He felt like he could finally breath properly again when he stepped off the train, jogging up the concrete steps.

It only took him a minute to get to Yaoyorozu's house from there, adn it took his breath away. It was huge, with large pillars and intricate framework covering the front of the mansion. There was even a pond sputtering out a steady stream of clear water, the statue in the form of All Might in his signature pose. Hedges were trimmed to perfection and there wasn't a single weed in sight amongst the flowers. His eyes were still wide when he made it to the front door, gaping for a moment before he knocked.

Yaoyorozu answered with Ida, Mina, Sero, and a few others in the background. Kirishima had decided to study with Bakugo instead, and Kaminari just wasn't sure that was the greatest idea. Yeah, their friend had good grades, but his teaching methods... those could probably use some work.

"Hello Kaminari! We haven't started to study quite yet, we're just waiting for one other person to show before we do. In fact, he said he should be here any minut-"

DING DONG.

So that's what the doorbell sounded like from the inside. It was a deep, steady sound that resounded around the large room, making it all the way to the high ceiling. The others had started to move into a room that was probably larger than some houses, except it was only their dining room. Kaminari paused for a second, hovering near the door as a black car pulled up, and it was only a moment before the door opened.

He didn't see inside for more than an instant, but he did see a black-haired man sitting in the front seat, the messy hair reminding him a bit of his teacher's. All of that was forgotten the second the student stepped out of the car, though. Shinso rolled his purple eyes before nodding and pushing the door shut. Kaminari felt his face heat up a bit and he spun on his heel and rushed to the others, trying to avoid Shinso seeing his face.

He sent a slightly panicked look in Mina's direction, and hte pink girl just grinned innocently before shrugging, the smile morphing into something a bit more smug. Ida was lecturing the three of them on getting out their stuff so they could begin immediately as soon as Yaoyorozu was ready. He took a deep breath, and steeled himself as the door opened.'

"Hey guys! I'm so glad all of you could make it, and since we don't have all day to work on studying, we'll start right away. I'll start with math, since a lot of people seem to be having trouble in that subject, and we'll move on from there."

Ida jumped to his feet, moving his arms around rapidly. "Yes! And feel free to ask me or Yaoyorozu any questions that you have. This study session is for you, after all."

Kaminari set his math papers on the table, and tried to listen to what Ida was telling him, but Shinso was sitting just two chairs to the left in front of him, and his purple hair kept catching Kaminari's eye. He finally just gave up on ignoring him of his own accord and squinted one eye, effectively blocking him from his sight. He was just starting to the assignment, actually managing to do one himself. The group collectively moved on, and a few people had to go home. Now it was just him, Yaoyorozu, Ida, Mina, and Shinso.

They had all moved closer, and now Shinso was sitting right next to him, hands bumping occasionally. Mina widened her eyes right where he could see her, and repeated glanced between the two of them. " Somebody's smitten..." He shook his head and widened his eyes at her, and they ended up having some sort of a staring contest. His eye was dry and he felt this cold burn, Mina's eyes watering as she stared him down. Shinso glanced up at them sighing when he saw them both with red eyes.

He rummaged through his bad, pulling out a small bottle labeled 'Optase Dry Eye Intense Drops'. The bottle clunked on the table, shocking both Kaminari and Mina, causing the two of them to blink. "Put those in. How long were you guys doing that? I feel like I saw you do that like 10 minutes ago, which just isn't good for you." The two shrugged sheepishly.

Kaminari looked at the eyedrops with a frown etched across his face, looking up at Shinso hfter the liquid had dropped into his eye and ran down his face a bit, making it look like he had been crying. "Why do you have these? They look like the brand that Mr. Aizawa uses whenever he has to shut us all up with his quirk too much in one class period."

Shinso's eyes popped out wider than Kaminari's and Mina's, stuttering and mumbling a bit as if searching for the right answer. Now, Kaminari wasn't the smartest guy, but he was pretty sure it didn't take someone this long to answer that question. "Well-ah. They're-well. My... my dad uses them! Sometimes he forgets and I bring them with me because he gets grumpy if he doesn't have them." The teen eyed them carefully, watching for... something. Kaminari didn't know what yet.

"That is truly commendable, Shinso! How thoughtful of you to carry those around so your father is left comfortable. But we will all have to be going soon, so we should wrap up this last section."

They worked quietly, focusing intently on their assignments. One thing he appreciated about Izuku-sensei was not only did he have an awesome teaching style that helped everyone learn, he didn't hand out assignments, and if he did they were always something like reading an article to better understand how certain things work. And usually Kaminari would've found that boring, but he actually learned a lot and the articles actually had useful information that he could understand. He wasn't sure what they were doing in finals, but for once in his life he was certain he could pass.

The time came for all of them to go, and they saw the same black car that dropped Shinso off waiting out front, front window rolled down. A different guy was in the front of the car this time, one with long blonde hair and glasses. Kaminari knew he had seen him somewhere before, but he just didn't know where. The guy opened his mouth to speak, but Shinso snapped a quick glance at him, full of warning. The guy winced and nodded before rolling the window back up, flashing a thumbs up at them.

"Well, bye." Shinso stood there, hovering like he wasn't quite sure to go for the handshake or hug. Kaminari helped him out by holding up his hand for a fistbump, Shinso reluctantly accepting.

"See ya later, alligator!"

"Don't get run over."

...He was going to take that as Shinso's own special way of saying goodbye. As Kaminari walked to the station, he chuckled a bit at his new friend. It was honestly adorable how socially awkward he was. And he seemed to be pretty introverted, only really hanging out with Ida and Uraraka, sometimes with Todoroki. Although the two of them didn't really exchange that many words. It was more like they sat there for a long time and gave each other a nod when they had to go. And, no. Kaminari was not constantly watching him. It was more like whenever he had a free second he just glanced over... and then he didn't look away for a long time.

...Yeah. Mina was right. He was smitten.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kirishima chewed on the end of his pencil as he sat down at the outdoor picnic table. Bakugo was sitting next to him, glaring down at the book that Kirishima just didn't understand. The rest of the self-proclaimed 'Bakusquad' had chosen to go to Yaoyorozu. Something about... being afraid Bakugo would blow them up? He wouldn't. At least he was pretty sure he wouldn't...

A sharp snap cracked through the air, the broken ends of a pencil clattering on the wood table. Kirishima sighed before getting out another from his bag. He had this bad habit of chewing his pencils, which honestly wouldn't have been too bad if he didn't have such sharp teeth. He went through toothbrushes like crazy too. His mom had to buy them in bulk.

Bakugo shot a glare at Kirishima, red eyes boring through his skull. Kirishima shot a happy grin at him before turning his attention back to the problem in front of him, squinting to see if that would make it any more understandable. It didn't.

Bakugo lost his patience, which took longer than Kirishima thought it would. The impulsive blonde slammed his hand onto the book in front of Kirishima, the loud crack making Kirishima jump back slightly. He steadily met Bakugo's eyes, taking in his flared nostrils and clenched jaw. His eyes weren't quite blazing yet, so Kirishima knew he wasn't actually mad or anything. He just didn't know how to express his emotions, which was why Kirishima had to almost trick him into doing this. It wasn't too hard. All Kirishima did was sigh and say that he guessed he would have to go with the others since there was nobody with as much skill to teach him. Implying Bakugo couldn't do something was an amazing way to get him to do whatever it is that you wanted him to do.

"The hell do you think you're doing, shitty hair? You're supposed to subtract from both sides, and x does equal y because of the congruent line's formula, and there is no squaring so why the hell is there a square root symbol on your answer?!" How was that supposed to make sense?!

Kirishima smiled sheepishly, shrugging his shoulders as best as he could without hitting his loud classmate in the nose. Actually... Bakugo was really close. Like, really close. He could feel the brushes of air hitting his neck as Bakugo leaned down to fix the equation, stiffening a bit when the blonde's arm brushed his. He could barely focus on what his friend was doing, trying to not lean back into him.

"Oi, shitty hair. You listening?" Bakugo pulled back and narrowed his eyes, Kirishima nodding emphatically before Bakugo sensed anything more behind his slightly panicked eyes. Bakugo kept his gaze trained on him for a few moments longer, then thankfully looked down to where he was reading one of the articles that Izuku-sensei recommended they try. Their teacher hadn't made the reading mandatory, since he knew that there were many classes that they had to study in for finals, but he had recommended it for those of them who wanted a deeper understanding.

A lot of the time in Izuku-sensei's class they would read interesting articles, not long, boring ones like in other classes, then discuss it together, almost all students chiming in to add something. Even Todoroki contributed to the conversations they had, albeit a bit uninterested. It was easy to learn and it was a great class since Kirishima actually learned things that he could apply in real hero work. Unlike math, which he didn't think was that important at all.

The study session went on for a bit longer, his head pounding at the sheer amount of information he was forced to take in. Bakugo had been relentless, not giving him a single break as he beat in the quadratics and distance formulas, his loud shouts drawing stares from others at the park. It wasn't until nightfall that Kirishima finally left, those little sleeps forming in his eyes as he yawned. Well, I might be exhausted, he thought as he climbed into bed after ruining yet another one of his toothbrushes, but at least I'm prepared...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Aizawa entered the classroom, stopping in surprise after he crossed the threshold. His class must have been impersonated... or had their tongues torn out, because... they were actually quiet for once. Kaminari and Mina, two of the biggest talkers in the class, were both looking over notes, and a few of their classmates gathered around them.

His eyes narrowed into thin slits when he noticed Shinso looking over Kaminari's shoulder, appearing to correct him on something. Kaminari looked slightly frustrated, and just before everyone headed back to their own seats, Aizawa saw Shinso pat Kaminari awkwardly on the shoulder, then turning away with a bright red blush. Dang it. I owe Mic 20 bucks.

He and his husband had made a bet that Shinso would either express his emotions in the most awkward way possible like Mic did, or he would hide it and have barely any idea himself that he liked someone, like Aizawa. Both Aizawa and Mic had bet that their son would be most like themselves, with Mic being so weirdly awkward in high school that Aizawa half-wondered if he was all right in the head. Meanwhile, Aizawa buried his feelings so deep inside that it took the combined efforts of Nemuri and Tensei to get him to express himself. It was only a small dent in his pride that he lost that bet.

"It's exam day. I want you in your seats and sitting with just a pencil. The exam will take 1 hour for each class you have, and I will pass out the sheets for each class. No talking, and if you have to use the bathroom do it now."

Aizawa settled in for the next several hours of watching his students try and struggle through grueling tests that would test their knowledge in every possible way, seeing the panic on their faces... yeah. This was going to be fun.

Part 19

Shinso exited the classroom with a small sigh, not quite looking forward to the fact that they were allowed to talk again. He thrived on the silence that went on during the tests, and now everyone was going to be a chatterbox. He was almost tempted to ask some of them questions and then just leave them there when they responded to him. But that wasn't a very ethical use of his quirk... probably.

Shinso was still pondering when he felt an arm sling over his shoulder, causing him to reach for where his hidden knife would be if he was wearing his hero costume. Luckily, it was just Kirishima with his 'manly' bro hug. And no, that was not Shinso's own words. Kirishima said that himself- without any prompting whatsoever, he might add.

"Bro! Those tests were so freaking hard. I'm so glad that we're doing the practical and just battling the robots that we faced at the practical exam now." Shinso shrugged off Kirishima's hold as subtly as he could, taking a step back and reclaiming his personal space. The red-haired boy didn't seem to even notice, continuing to jabber on,a constant grin on his face. If Shinso smiled that much, he was pretty sure that the muscles around his mouth would tear and break.

"Man, Kendo was really nice to tell us that this exam would be us against the robots. Though that one kid Monoma didn't seem that happy... hey! There's... a lot of teachers over here... nine of them?" Shinso glanced over, following Kirishima's confused gaze to where the teacher's were standing, seeing both of his dad's there, along with most of the other staff. Why are there so many people there if it was just going to be a test with the robots?

"Hello students. This is the practical exam, so if you want to go to the training camp, you better not fail. I'm sure at least some of you asked around to see what the exam would be, but-"

"YEAH! It's going to be robots, isn't it! LIke in the entrance exam!" His dad sent a frustrated glare over to his classmates that interrupted him, opening his mouth to answer when... Nezu?

"Not quite! It has been decided that a revision must be made, due to various circumstances and a suggestion from our staff!" Why did Shinso have such a bad feeling about this? "Now, you students will be pairing up... against us teachers! You have already been paired up considering multiple factors, including your grades, friendships, and battle moves!"

Wait. Why did they know who was friends with who? Sure, they could always just look in class, but that wasn't always accurate, and some were just quieter, like him and Todoroki, so who knew enough about their friendships to even make that decision? Who would...

A figure stepped out of the shadows, hiding in plain sight beneath a tree. Slow and measured steps marked his path out to the stone path, revealing Izuku-sensei. Their teacher had his usual smile on, which was more like a given at this point, but there was something... different in his eyes. A delighted glint that seemed almost sadistic in nature was hiding in his bright green orbs, nothing else in his expression giving it away. Shinso felt a shiver run down his spine, not quite sure why it was there until Izuku-sensei's smile widened so his teeth were somewhat bared, revealing the slightly pointed ends that gleamed under the sun.

...It was a bit unnerving.

"Your partners are as follows: Koda and Jiro against Present Mic; Ashido and Kaminari against Nezu; Kirishima and Sato against Cementoss; Hagakure and Shoji against Snipe; Yaoyorozu and Todoroki against Eraserhead; Ojiro and Ida against Power Loader; Asui and Tokoyami against Ectoplasm; Sero and Mineta against Midnight; Uraraka and Aoyama against Thirteen; and finally, Bakugo and Shinso against All Might." What. The. What.

Izuku-sensei smiled reassuringly at him and his freaked out classmates, likely seeing the not-so-hidden edge of panic present in all of their faces. "Don't worry, teachers will hold back, we couldn't really grade you if you just got beat up, after all. However, remember, your teachers are no pushovers, so make sure to give it your all if you want to pass."

All right. All right. This is going to be just fine. There is absolutely no reason why Shinso can't just work together with the most temperamental guy in his class to go up against the #1 hero who is considered the greatest hero of all time. Yup. This was going to be so fine.

Shinso glanced over to Bakugo, who was pointedly looking away from him, as if he couldn't be bothered to pay attention to the person he would be working with. Oh, yeah. Shinso could already tell that their teamwork would be just great. Like they were practically in each other's minds. Oh, joy.

"You will only have thirty minutes to either win by slapping this pair of handcuffs onto your opponent or by escaping the stage. When you are done, you will either go to Recovery Girl to be treated or join Izuku-sensei in watching the rest of the matches." Nezu got this dangerous look in his eyes that was nowhere near as concealed as izuku-sensei's, letting his paws clap together as he said, "Let's begin!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Izuku sat down at the chair in front of the monitors, focusing on the dim blue light of the screen in the darkened room. It was just him and Recovery Girl in there, with her having no students to treat yet. Once she did, if the injuries were minor enough the students would join them in the room. If they were more serious, they would stay on a cot in another room while they waited for the matches to end.

The monitors started to click on, each of the ten showing a different team on it. The cameras were attached to drones that were programmed to fly above where the students were and try to catch as much of the action as possible without being damaged. Power Loader had made them in secret, out of fear that his most unruly student yet would add lasers or some other unneeded and dangerous feature to them. It was a valid concern. Once when Izuku was watching the class through the vents, he saw the pink-haired student make an impressive bit of gear in less than five minutes, then try to add plasma rays to it. The machine would've actually worked, a great feat for a first-year, had she not added the last feature, making it unstable and causing it to explode on the spot. The girl definitely had some talent... she just perhaps needed to lessen the frequency of her 'babies', as she called them, exploding. Honestly, just a minor setback.

Izuku leaned back in his chair, fingers itching for something to write with. Whenever he saw something that he loved to analyze, like quirks, he immediately wanted one of his notebooks to record the new information down on. He was trying to break the habit as he had realized the possibility of a villain or some other nefarious doer finding his archive of information and doing great harm with it. He had his house equipped with great security, obviously, but when he had been traveling he noticed just how easily others could get a hold of the notebooks before he could stop them. Therefore, it was much safer to just keep the information in his head. Of course, sometimes when he got really focused he ignored everything around him, and when he finally stopped analyzing he would find a pen and paper in his hand. He suspected that some of his former students gave it to him when he got in that mindset, having seen him scribble away for hours at end when he had taught them. It was honestly quite nice that they remembered.

The students started to enter their separate battle zones, each bracing themselves for the fight ahead. Present Mic walked right past Jiro and Koda, gesturing to himself and laughing, likely saying something about how he was on a whole new level. He had done that quite a bit to the first-years when he became a third-year. It got to the point where Aizawa would get so fed up with his exuberant spirit that he would just get up and walk away, leaving his friend at the time to chase after him. Izuku had watched with amusement as this had all gone on, contemplating whether or not to place a bet in Midnight's pool for when they would get together. Unfortunately, he had decided that it was perhaps not the best stance for a teacher to take to be betting on their student's relationships. Which was really quite a shame, as he would have totally won if he had entered. He was only off on when their wedding would be by two weeks, according to Tensei when Izuku had chatted with him at the hospital.

Jiro just raised a single brow at her teacher, obviously unimpressed, and Izuku didn't bother to conceal his snicker as the loud blonde pouted and stomped off to the starting position. Recovery Girl just sent an exasperated glance his way before shifting her gaze back to the students, watching for any injuries they might receive so she can be ready by the time they get there to treat them. She should probably get some supplies prepared for slightly damaged eardrums, since Present Mic's whole thing was being loud enough to burst them. Obviously he wouldn't go that far, but he had to put up a good fight otherwise it would be meaningless for the students to even be doing this as their practical exam.

Present Mic started his loud cacophony of sound almost right away, blocking the exit so they were either forced to give up or forced to hold their ears until their time ran out. Izuku had paired up these two on purpose, since Jiro was going to be overly sensitive to the sound as well as not going to be able to do much against it, and Koda wouldn't have that many animals to work with due to them all being scared of all the yelling from Present Mic. They were all paired up like this, going against a teacher that their quirks are not as effective against so they are forced to formulate strategic plans to beat them rather than just relying on the force of their quirk.

Jiro tried her best to use her quirk for defense, but there was only so much she could do. Finally, she got Koda to use the bugs and... oh that is hilarious. Most people didn't know this, but Present Mic had a huge fear of bugs. They kept it out of the press and interviews because of villains getting that information, but Izuku still giggled whenever he thought back to the last time he taught at UA and Present Mic found a beetle in his desk, courtesy of Tensei. They were lucky that they had Recovery Girl, or everyone's eardrums would still be busted. He was glad his students used something other than brute strength to win.

Speaking of brute strength... Izuku changed the object of his focus to Kirishima's and Sato's monitor, screwing up his mouth to the side as he saw their plan. They appeared to just be barreling straight at all the concrete, not doing anything but relying on brute strength to try and break through. He could already see that the two powerhouses would fail, since Cementoss wasn't even tiring and they were already panting from exertion. They had no chance of winning if they were just going to break down the walls as their teacher placed new ones. They didn't even seem to realize that their strategy was wrong, still trying the same thing over, and over, and over again. That would be something they would have to work on...

A plume of smoke coming from one of the monitor screens caught his eye, and he saw Bakugo fire off a massive explosion that didn't seem to be doing much of anything against their opponent. Izuku sighed, hoping that those two that he had matched up would work past their individual hold ups so they could win the match together. The reason that he had placed those two against All Might was Bakugo needed someone that he couldn't overpower with brute strength, so he would have to resort to other means to win. He would also have to look past himself and incorporate Shinso into his plans, since he would need his fellow classmate to win. Shinso was going up against All Might with Bakugo because he also needed someone with a great amount of physical strength. And since All Might already knew his quirk, he would have to use his brain to figure out how to get him to answer, since fighting was out of the cards for him.

Izuku could already tell that the two teammates weren't getting along that well, Bakugo charging in at every half opportunity and Shinso just dodging, not even trying to use his quirk since All Might knew what it was already. If he wanted to win, Shinso was going to have to realize that even if someone knew what his quirk was, it didn't mean that they weren't going to fall for the trick. The purple-haired boy did have the common sense to stay back, not even trying to delude himself with the possibility that he could go toe-to-toe with All Might in a physical fight. If All Might didn't know what Shinso's quirk was, there was a high chance that this fight would have been done already and they would have won, but he can't always have that guarantee. There will most definitely be situations in the future where his opponent already knows his quirk, and the purpose of these exams were to prepare them for the future, so he had to take into account every single way to victory that didn't just rely on the element of surprise. He had to be able to adapt to the situation in front of him.

Uraraka and Aoyama were racing away from Thirteen, both of their quirks being essentially useless against the core nature of his quirk. The light from Aoyama's navel laser would just be absorbed by the Black Hole, and you really didn't want to go zero gravity and make it easier for the quirk to suck you in. They had to get close, but they couldn't get close with the dangerous Black Hole nearby. Aoyama wasn't doing too well running, panting and losing his footing rather easily. Uraraka was doing better, but not by too much. They would have to come up with a different plan if they really wanted to win. They finally got stuck gripping onto an iron railing, holding on despite the immense strength of the Black Hole.

They appeared to be able to hold on longer than he had initially suspected, but Izuku could tell that they were tiring. Aoyama turned his head towards Uraraka in a way that Izuku found slightly strange. It wasn't like Aoyama was trying to be creepy or anything like that, just that he was very direct and seemed to have sparkles in his eyes at all times. Izuku could just barely read his lips as he shouted to Uraraka.

' You know, I saw Kaminari and Shinso hugging right before this match started. You and Mina have been talking about that, oui?'

Uraraka let go of the bars in shock and what appeared to be joy, and Izuku lurched forward and gripped the table as she plummeted towards the Black Hole. Luckily, Thirteen shut his quirk off before Uraraka could be killed by the dangerous destructive power of the quirk. Uraraka was still plunging towards Thirteen, but she quickly turned the situation to her advantage and used Martial Arts to restain and capture her teacher. Aoyama dropped down and walked towards the building with Uraraka bugging him for details the entire time. He might have to listen to those...

Tsuyu and Tokoyami were going for the route of escape, Dark Shadow throwing the frog girl high into the air, her long pink tongue flying out and wrapping around Tokoyami at the apex of the arc. They both landed several stories up, immediately making a break for the exit. Ectoplasm caught them in his line of sight and starting adding clones into existance, sending them to block the path of the two students. Tokoyami had been chosen to battle Ectoplasm due to his long-range combat skills. Ectoplasm was a short-range attacker, so all he had to do was dodge Dark Shadow and then make a break for Tokoyami. It would've worked if Tsuyu hadn't been there to slingshot her fellow classmate away, continuing to run as fast as they possible could.

As more and more clones appeared to block their path, Tokoyami started to get more overwhelmed by the sheer number. And this was why Tsuyu had been chosen by Izuku. Not only was she excellent in providing support for her teammate, she had a level-headedness that was reassuring and good for emotional support. During the USJ, he had noticed that the team who had been at the lake had been able to stay focused and make it back to where he had been fighting quickly, despite Shinso's emotional attachment to his father weighing on his mind. They had been able to stay clear-headed even as they faced down villains, and after he had surveilled them further, he had to conclude that his fellow green-haired student had played a major role in that. If the two wanted to win, they would have to utilize every skill that they had.

They made it to where the real Ectoplasm was waiting, and Izuku watched with fascination when the giant clone appeared. The two were then trapped, and Dark Shadow lunged for the exit. He couldn't make it past Ectoplasm, though, and was soon recalled to the two. Izuku frowned when he noticed Tokoyami looking pointedly away from Tsuyu, and leaned back in shock as... gah. That was a shocking turn of events, and the fact that her quirk let's her do that is incredible, and could she do more and-

Recovery Girl tapped him on the shoulder when he started to mumble rapidly, drawing him back into the world of the living and away from the intriguing area of quirks. He quickly looked to the next team.

Yaoyorozu and Todoroki appeared to have the beginning of a plan, Yaoyorozu making some sort of doll with her quirk. Smart. The second Aizawa drew close, they would be able to tell. However, he could see this glimmer of... something in Yaoyorozu's eyes. He had noticed that she hadn't been anywhere near as confident as she once was after her defeat at the Sports Festival. She hadn't really gotten the chance to showcase her abilities there, Dark Shadow taking her out quickly so she wouldn't have time to plan. He had placed her with Todoroki because not only did he rely heavily on his quirk, making him a perfect candidate to go against Aizawa, she seemed to hold him in high regard.

She obviously viewed him as a powerful and intelligent companion, which wasn't wrong, but he wanted her to realize just how powerful and intelligent she could be. Once the dolls had stopped, Todoroki yelled at her to run while he tried and at least delayed their teacher. Izuku leaned in as he watched the expression of doubt flit across her face, disappointed as she turned and followed Todoroki's order. Aizawa had also caught onto her hesitation, saying something unintelligible through the monitors to Todoroki before racing after her.

Izuku watched with rapt focus as Aizawa's scarf closed around his student's wrist, the fabric tightening quickly. However, it seemed that Aizawa had either forgotten to erase Yaoyorozu's quirk... or he wanted to give her a chance to make her own plan. He still wasn't sure which when his student raced back to where her teammate was restrained by the scarf. She didn't look as confident as she should've been until Todoroki said something to her, and then when his former students flew in from above to take them down, he bumped in to some flash grenades, resulting in a bright white flash of light that caused both Recovery Girl and Izuku to look away from the screen. Now that is exactly what he wanted to see.

The two burst past him, and talked for a moment while they...

"TURN THE DRONE AROUND!!! TURN IT AROUND!!!"

In the camera's objective of getting around the ice to have the best view, it forgot to factor in how to look away when it was needed. Izuku covered his eyes, just as Todoroki had averted his gaze when Yaoyorozu was making... he would just find out later. Recovery Girl patted him on the shoulder when it was safe to look up, and he did so fearfully, half-expecting there to be even more nudity. Yes, he may have killed a lot of people in his extended warranty on Earth, but that didn't mean that his innocent side had gone away. In fact, it may be just as strong as it ever was.

Their plan went off almost seamlessly, the only problem being a split second where something was held up. Izuku knew that Aizawa saw it, and he nodded approvedly when his former student let the trap catch him. If the ywent all-out against the students, none of them would pass and this whole thing would be an exam they were destined to fail, which wasn't the objective at all. Yaoyorozu's plan had been brilliant, using shape-memory metal to restrain their teacher. Now that just might have gotten her confidence back.

He turned his attention past the two teams that had just passed, practically at the same time, and towards Hagakure and Shoji against Snipe. What caught his attention the most was the cloud of dust surrounding the arena. This didn't bother the drone of course, it had been hooked up with the best vision technology they had. Izuku could make out the large form of Shoji holding all of his arms up, appearing to surrender. However, what he didn't see was Hagakure.

Well, they never saw Hagakure, but this was a situation where Snipe should at least know where she is if he is going to let his guard down. Straining his eyes, Izuku could jsut barely make out the figure of Hagakure in the dust, the particles revealing where she was. He couldn't continue to make out her shape when she moved, btu he didn't need to since she just slapped the cuffs on their opponent. But... oh dear.

Snipe was profusely apologizing to Hagakure, having- uh- not seen her invisible form and... accidentally... er- yeah. Izuku knew that Snipe would never do that on purpose, ever, and of course anyone could've and would've made the same mistake but... that's embarassing. Shoji looked distinctly uncomfortable, and Izuku didn't blame him. He was feeling the second-hand embarassment, and he wasn't really anywhere near the source of it.

"HAGAKURE AND SHOJI HAVE PASSED THE EXAM. PLEASE PROCEED TO GET MEDICAl TREATMENT IF NECESSARY."

The two students, along with Snipe, made their way back to the monitoring room, where they would observe the last battle with the rest of their classmates along with Izuku and Recovery Girl. When Hagakure entered the room and stood behind Izuku, he immediately flinched and looked as far away from her as he possibly could without seeming rude. He just felt so awkward around both her and Yaoyorozu, whom he had also been avoiding ever since she came in with Todoroki. They had both probably noticed his discomfort by now. In fact, quite a few of the students were sending him inquisitive glances that he pretended to not see. It was better that way. But he couldn't think about that right now. His focus returned to the last monitor in front of him that could actually have an interesting outcome, with only 18 minutes left on the clock.

Part 20

Shinso ducked behind a brick wall, panting heavily from the exertion. While he was no slouch in physical combat, he was nowhere near insane enough to think that he could beat All Might. Bakugo was just barely managing to hold him off, and he had a quirk that allowed him to have a strong offense and maneuverability. Shinso's quirk did work best in situations that caught his opponents off guard, but since All Might knew his quirk already, that option was almost completely off the table. And there was another problem, since Bakugo was trying the same thing over and over again without listening to Shinso when he tried to get him to formulate a plan. If they kept on like this, they would run out of time before they escaped or cuffed All Might.

Bakugo finally let out an explosion so large that it sent all kinds of rubble and smoke flying everywhere, giving them the perfect opportunity to regroup and form an actual plan. His hot-headed teammate, however, was obviously trying to get back to All Might and put into action some incredibly unlikely to work scheme. Shinso had to grab his arm and partially drag him away from the section and into a secluded building.

"Just what do you think you're doing, eyebags? You think that I can't do it?!" Bakugo had this enraged flare to his nostrils that made Shinso want to take at least one step back, just so he would be out of the direct line of fire. However, he did have a job to do, and he would pass this exam if it was the last thing he did. I really hope this isn't the last thing I do...

"No, I do not think you can do it. At least not the way you're doing it right now. This is All Might we're talking about. The #1 hero. Symbol of peace. If we're going to be him, we need a well thought out plan that isn't just hitting him over and over again while nothing happens. There is a chance that we might have to give up on getting the cuffs on him and focus on escaping through the gate."

Now Bakugo was even angrier. "No way in hell I'm giving up. We're oing to kick the crap out of All Might. That is the only way I'll accept victory."

"Well, then we need a plan." Shinso thought for a moment, mind racing as fast as it could. What would Izuku-sensei do...?

Shinso's mind flashed back to a week ago, when they were doing an assignment in Analysis on what would be the toughest opponent they would face and how they could overcome that. While the others were all pondering, Shinso immediately knew what opponent would be the most difficult for him, but he wasn't really sure on how to get past that difficulty. Izuku-sensei had walked over, and discussed with him a moment on what to do in that situation.

"Izuku-sensei? I know what my weakness is, but I don't really know how to overcome that. I mean, if someone knows my quirk that pretty much makes it ineffective against them, hence why my hero name is something that doesn't give it away. I can't beat them if they are physically stronger than I am."

Izuku-sensei had smiled, leaning against the desk with his arms hanging at his sides. " But just because people know what your quirk is, does that mean that they won't answer you? At any point in the fight?"

"They obviously wouldn't. If they know what my quirk is then they have a clear counter. There is just no way around it."

"Really? There hasn't ever been a time where you have answered a question without thinking about it, or even answered a question with a question unintentionally?"

Shinso remembered pausing and thinking it over before he realized Izuku-sensei was right. Just because somebody had greater physical strength and prior knowledge of what his quirk was doesn't mean that it is the end of the road for him. He just had to think of what the best solution is.

Bakugo elbowed him in the side, the blunt edge of pain snapping Shinso back to their current surroundings. He estimated that they had maybe another minute before All Might found them again and started beating the crap out of them once more. If they really wanted to win this, they would have to come up with a plan. And fast.

"Bakugo, I know that you want to beat All Might by using the tactics that already have not worked, but I think our best chance is something a little more sneaky. We also want our plan to place us near the escape, so even if we can't beat All Might in the time constraints, we can get out of there. You good with that?" Shinso really didn't care, but he supposed communication was important.

Bakugo glared at him just a tad more frustration than his expression usually had, obviously mad that someone else was telling him what to do but not arguing. Shinso allowed himself one moment to think before a plan popped into his mind. It was a long shot... but it was likely their only way to win.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

All Might finally broke out of the rubble that was holding him down, wrenching his ankle free with one last mighty tug. He surveyed his surrounding with a critical eye, fully aware that the two students could come out at any time and try to use a surprise attack on him. That was, after all, the purple-haired boy's specialty. It was almost a little cruel for Izuku-sensei to have him attack someone that was so much physically stronger than him while his quirk was completely ineffective. He was already holding back quite a bit, using both weights and just dialing back his strength and speed in general. There was also the fact that he just was not as powerful as he used to be, especially since he had started the transfer of One for All to Young Togata, having less and less time in his muscle form every day.

All Might turned just in time to see a large explosion hurtling toward him from behind, leaving him almost no time to react. Bracing himself, he took the attack head on, feeling the overwhelming heat wash over him before the think black cloud of smoke appeared, blocking his line of sight. Bakugo wasted no time, immediately jumping in and sending several small-scale blasts directly at his face.

Did he really think that would best him? All he had to do was dodge to the side and land yet another counterblow, hitting his student directly in the gut. When Bakugo was launched into a building pretty far back, All Might had to consider if he had maybe gone a bit too far. Wait, what was the school's policy on hitting their students again?

...Eh. It was probably fine.

The battle continued like that for some time, with Bakugo attempting to relentlessly attack and All Might beating him back consistently. He was starting to feel the strain, though. It was a good thing that this match was only thirty minutes, because otherwise he might've lost just due to the fact that he would change back. And Izuku-sensei would have been really disappointed with him if he showed his true form to a bunch of first-years because of a final exam. The last time Izuku-sensei said he was disappointed...well, suffice it to say it was an experience that he would not like repeated.

He grabbed Bakugo by the arm and threw him into a pile of- wait that wasn't glass, right?! He had to pause for a second as Bakugo crashed into the- thankfully- glass-free ground.

It was harder holding back than he had initially thought, and he probably should not be throwing his student into piles that have a chance of having sharp objects clustered inside. All Might had to remind himself to use only less than 25% of his power, that last attack had a little more oomph than he intended. Bakugo snarled as he got back up to his feet, fully enrapturing what All Might imagined a feral pomeranian would look like. Yes, that was something that Aizawa had grumbled in the staff room to Present Mic, but All Might couldn't help but listen in. It was a perfect comparison, and if Bakugo was a pomeranian, Shinso was some sort of cat, like his black-haired father.

Wait.

Where was Shinso? He hadn't appeared in the past two minutes he had been fighting Bakugo, and he hadn't heard the buzzer announce that they had escaped and won, so-

BOOM. Bakugo's explosion hit him in the leg, forcing him down to his knee for a moment. But even if it was just for a moment, that was all it took for the blonde to start raining hits down upon him, not giving the hero a second to breathe. It wasn't like the hits were doing that much damage. At this point, Bakugo was starting to run on fumes, his attacks becoming smaller and smaller with every passing second. All Might turned and held him up by the arm, preparing to toss the boy as far as he could while dialing back his strength, and that was when the voice called out.

"ALL MIGHT!!! WILL YOU SAVE ME?!?"

He couldn't control it; the response was instinctual. He turned and gave his bright, muscly grin to whoever called out, his eyes widening but his voice not stopping as he saw who it was. "Of course, for I AM HERE!"

Bakugo hung limply in his arm as All Might froze, mind screaming but body not moving, a prisoner in his own body. Through unblinking, unfocused eyes he saw Shinso walking smugly over, a smirk firmly in place. The silver cuffs dangled from his hand, light glinting off of them. All Might couldn't do anything to stop him when he snapped them into place, effectively winning the match and passing the exam.

Shinso glanced over to where Bakugo was in serious danger of having an outburst if he was left there any longer. All Might had a sinking feeling in his gut when Shinso slowly looked back over to him and smirked once again, looking like a mirror image of his father when he was about to do something that many would consider sadistic. The purple-haired boy grabbed the other half of the cuffs All Might was hooked up to, and shook the metal roughly, sending a jolt up All Might's body and giving back control of his limbs.

The problem with that was when he was given muscle control again, his arms immediately stopped working, dropping Bakugo unceremoniously onto the ground. The boy had a twitching eye and opened his mouth, probably to yell something, before being cut off by the arrival of Izuku-sensei.

"Well done, to the both of you! Shinso, I'm glad you figured out how to use your quirk in a situation where your opponent already knows what it is. And Bakugo, great job working collaboratively on a team and allowing your teammate time to put in place a plan that isn't just pure violence and has a strategy attached. I know that you were already capable of doing this, but others need to know that as well." Izuku-sensei's smile turned a little less happy and a bit more... foreboding. "Both of you go up to where Recovery Girl and the rest of your classmates are waiting, I need to have a word with All Might right now."

Shinso turned a curious look back at them before following Bakugo, who had stomped out at the first opportunity he got. All Might's heart sank deep into his chest as he met Izuku-sensei's eyes, reading the only slightly concealed disaproval in them. Why couldn't he have been knocked out instead of having to deal with the scariest teacher he had ever had...?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Recovery Girl watched in exasperation as All Might showcased his complete inability to hold back, throwing Bakugo into what very well could've been a pile of metal. She had been pleased with the lack of serious injuries that this practical exam had had, but now her hopes had been completely dashed. When she first accepted a job at UA, never in her wildest dreams could she have predicted just how insane this place would be. The amount of injuries that these students sustained was enough to keep a small hospital busy, and every single course had them, regardless if they were training to become heroes or not.

The support course had explosions going off at least twice a month, and that was before Mei had gotten here. Now they were a daily occurence, and all she kept wondering was how Power Loader hadn't managed to stop her yet. She would have to have a talk with him later about that. The health and wellbeing of the students came first, after all.

Then there was the general studies course. Those students should not be getting hurt as often as they do. Whether it is a freak accident with a classmate's quirk that causes loud sneezes coupled with a quirk that, when surprised, causes temporary color change for those around them, surprising the kid that makes paper turn pointy, or just a student goofing off and somehow managing to get a pencil stuck in their hand, something always seemed to happen. And the business course, who were admittedly a lot less accident prone than all of the others, who came in with constant papercuts- only a few of which were caused by the general support students- and colds caused by staying up too late looking at statistics, not getting the proper amount of rest required for students of their age.

Don't even get her started on the hero course. None of them grasp the concept of holding back, they actively seek out trouble, are actually taught to disregard their injuries to help others, and they don't know how to take proper care of themselves. She couldn't count how many times each of the hero students had ended up in her office just this year. Once, almost half of class 1-a had ended up in her office all at once because of a training exercise that All Might did. Luckily, she got Izuku-sensei to speak to the blonde oaf about it before class 1-b met the same fate.

And Izuku-sensei was in a league of his own. It wasn't even surprising anymore when he got hurt, just exasperating. And the fact that he didn't know he got hurt until someone pointed out how his arm was supposed to be facing the otherway, or how they didn't think arrows were supposed to stick out of shoulders, that was just ridiculous. How does one even do that? How did he get such a high pain tolerance? No mattter how curious she is, she knows that she probably will not like the answer.

Izuku-sensei had actually been the one to convince her to work at UA, along with principal Nezu. It had been before even All Might and Endeavor had gone there, back when she was still working at a hospital. The two teachers had been searching for someone to treat the injuries that their hero course had kept sustaining. Apparently, it was taking serious time out of their schedule to keep going to hospitals to take care of the minor burns and cuts that had been dealt by training accidents. With a hero school, you were bound to get some injuries, so Nezu had been looking for a capable nurse to take care of the students when they were injured.

She could still remember exactly what had happened that day, and the ultimate reason that she decided to go to UA instead of continuing her current work at the hospital. And Izuku-sensei had played no small part in that decision.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Recovery Girl washed her hands, scrubbing out after looking after some patients for the day. Her quirk, Recovery, was extremely valuable for healing others, being able to speed up the process enough that the injury could sometimes be healed in mere seconds. She had been working at this current hospital ever since she graduated from a hero school in the west that specialized in making heroes that could heal others in the field of battle. There weren't very many of those nowadays, so she devoted her skills in helping others in the hospital. It was a very rewarding job.

She grabbed her bag and started to walk out, waving to the receptionist as she passed. Or tried to pass.

"Ah! Chiyo, don't leave just yet! There are these guys who want to talk to you, something about UA, I think? One of them looks like he can't be much older than a second-year student, and the other is a... mouse... bear... something? Anyway, he is the principal of the school. They're waiting for you in the office to the left. Tell me how it goes!"

Recovery Girl just stood there for a moment, not really sure what to make of the situation. She cautiously made her way to the office, not scared or anything like that, but rather apprehensive of what she would find there. What business would the principal of UA and his student have with her anyway? It wasn't like she had done anything with heroes and villains ever in her life. Well, she would occasionally heal a hero who ended up at this hospital, but something tells her that is not what this was about.

She reached the solid oak door, not pausing to take a breath before knocking. Whatever they had to say, better to hear it quickly. There was no point in sitting around, worrying or trying to come up with possibilities for what might happen when she could just open the door and find out.

A thump marked the door hitting the wall, shiny yellow doorknob making contact with the stopper. Two people turned around, a young boy with green hair and bright eyes, and this... mouse-bear-thing. The receptionist couldn't have said it better if she had tried.

She already knew the principal of UA, so she took the few seconds before they spoke to look at the younger of the two. It was true, he didn't look like anything more than a student, appearing much too young to be anything but that. His practically glowing green eyes studied her right back, and she was struck with the sense that he was older than he appeared, an old soul trapped in a young body.

Whatever the case, she still had to figure out why they were there. She stood there awkwardly until the principal of the school spoke up, whiskers twitching in what she thought was excitement. "Hello! I'm Nezu, the principal of UA! Please feel free to take a seat right there in front of the desk. The hospital was kind enough to let us use this office while we talked to you."

Recovery Girl eyed him a bit as she slid into the comfortable chair, sinking into the leather. The green-haired enigma was sitting right next to her with an amicable smile, feet crossed at the ankle. She let her bag clunk to the ground, setting her hands somewhat nervously on her lap. "Yes, about that. What did you wish to speak with me about? I'm pretty sure I haven't done anything recently that would merit UA's principal and... student... meeting with me."

The young guy sitting next to her slumped down and pouted a bit, seeming put-off about something. The principal in front of her chuckled when he glanced over at his counterpart, amusing gleaming in his beady black eyes. "Ah, nothing that you have done. We came to speak with you about joining UA, as a member of the staff." Recovery Girl's eyebrows shot up in shock, mouth dropping just the slightest bit. "It has come to our attention that our students are getting hurt a bit too much, and we need an in-house nurse to help them. We have been looking over staff records in several hospitals, and we think you would be the best fit."

Recovery Girl had yet to say anything. She was- well, shock was too little a word for what she was feeling right now. When she woke up this morning, this was not the plan she had in mind for the day. And she really wasn't sure that she wanted to leave the hospital to go and work at a school. The work she did here was great, and she didn't think that she could leave that, at least not yet. She told Nezu as much, not really paying attention to the student beside her at this point.

That's why she was slightly startled when he spoke up, voice sounding like sunshine, just really bright and optimistic. "You don't want to leave the hospital because you feel like you are doing the best work you can here."

That was surprisingly insightful for someone who looks like they are sixteen. And... he wasn't wrong. She just didn't feel like the good she could do at the school could measure up to the good she was doing now, at the hospital. She nodded slightly, not really expecting the conversation to go any further than that.

But she was proven wrong when the teen's eyes lit up and he leaned forward, hands rising from his lap to clasp together on the desk. "But you can do just as much good there as you do here! You do amazing work here, that's true, but you can do so much more at UA. It is where the next generation of heroes is being taught, and you have the opportunity to help them all grow and flourish and become the pillars of society that we need. It is so important that we help the young minds of today make the future of tomorrow better. Helping those students at UA is going to help so many people. You will still be healing them, but please, consider doing it at UA, where we could really use your amazing skill and expertise."

Dang. Recovery Girl found it hard to not agree with that, in part because of the sound logic in which the speech was based on, but also because of the passion and emotion that the boy said it with. You could see just how much he believed in what he was saying, voice just bursting with the need to say everything on his mind. That, more than anything else, was what truly won her over.

"...I'll do it. When do you want me to start?"

"The beginning of next week, if that suits you! We already have everything you'll need there, so don't worry about that. Welcome to the UA staff!" The... whatever, was rubbing his paws together excitedly, pulling out a briefcase and passing some papers over to her. "These are all the papers that we need to make this official. If you would just sign here, here, and here, after reading through of course."

Recovery Girl gave the papers a cursory glance, already having made up her mind to sign them. She still had one question to ask before she left, however. "If you are the principal of UA, then who is he? Did you really need to bring a student along with you?"

The green-haired boy pouted again, and Nezu gave a chilling laugh. "No, no, no! That is Izuku Midoriya, UA"s oldest staff member. He has a quirk that lets him live forever, and I brought him because not only did he have a few things he wanted to ask you, he is also likely the person you are going to be treating the most." This made the... fellow teacher? grumble even more, glancing away resentfully before perking right back up, staring at Recovery Girl with an intensity that might have been frightening under different circumstances.

"Yes, that is part of the reason I came here! I have a few questions to ask you about your quirk!" Out of nowhere, a notebook appeared in his hands, pencil held at the ready as he asked question after question, getting even more animated with every answer provided. He asked questions that she hadn't even thought of yet, and was firing them off of the top of his head. She ended up staying there almost an hour more than necessary, and the discussion continued when she started at the school that monday. She started calling him Izuku-sensei, just like everyone else in the school. It was the beginning of a beautiful era.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Recovery Girl smiled at the memory, watching through the cameras as Izuku-sensei walked at a brisk pace towards All Might. Their teacher had told him to hold back, not to throw students into piles of rubble without checking what was there first. That was a good way to give Recovery Girl more work than they needed to.

The door swung open, letting Shinso and Bakugo in. SHe directed the blonde towards a cot, where she checked to make sure there were no broken bones, then kissed him once on the cheek and healed him. The students all breathed a sigh of relief when the aggressive member of their class didn't yell once before passing out, his body needing energy to heal itself.

"Um, Recovery Girl?" Hagakure's glove moved up in the air, the only way to tell that she was raising her hand. "Why was Izuku-sensei acting so weird before he left? He wouldn't really look at me or Yaoyorozu."

Reovery Girl snorted a bit, and a few eyes widened when they looked over at her, obviously surprised by the response. "Ha. Well, Izuku-sensei may be over two centuries old, but he is still one of the most innocent people I know at heart."

The class still looked confused, so she tried to elaborate. "When you and Yaoyorozu were battling your teachers, there were a few moments that the cameras caught that made him a bit... uncomfortable." The teens furrowed their brows as they tried to figure it out, thinking back to their battle simulations. The only reason that Recovery Girl found this okay to share in front of everyone was she knew that the girls did not care at all about that. They just viewed it as a way to make their quirks work, Hagakure especially. And that was a great mindset to have, but Izuku-sensei... he was just too innocent.

"Oh! You mean when I was making the alloy to beat Aizawa-sensei?" Recovery Girl nodded, still stifling a giggle. Izuku-sensei face when he saw that was just... there were no words. He was just so innocent and pure at heart that when someone made a dirty joke, he took it completely serious, not having any clue that there was any hidden meaning to the joke. Basically, he was the exact opposite of Mineta.

"Yes, Izuku-sensei is just... I'm not quite sure how to describe this. Wait, another hero actually told me this story. There was once a raid on a villain organization, and Izuku-sensei was participating, as well as several other heroes. It was your older brother who told me this, Ida, but apparently there was this one villain who saw Izuku-sensei and just made it her mission to throw in as many dirty jokes as possible in the fight." The students were a bit puzzled, not really sure where this story was going or what it was supposed to show. "And Izuku-sensei had absolutely no idea. Tensei said he was practically dying laughing because this women told some of the most raunchy, most adult jokes ever that made even him uncomfortable, and Ida, you know what your brother is like."

The class stared at Ida in shock as he bowed his head. "Yes, it is true, my brother does enjoy the most... interesting of jokes. I can see how Present Mic and him are friends."

Recovery Girl rolled her eyes and nodded, continuing on. "He was dying laughing not only because of the jokes, but at the fact that Izuku-sensei would just answer them truthfully. Her quirk had to do with... something about getting stronger off of the shock of others, and she had apparently learned all of those jokes so she could beat anyone in a fight. It turns out that Izuku-sensei was the perfect person to counter her, because he had no idea whatsoever that she meant anything other than what she said on the surface level."

Uraraka giggles, and then the entire class started laughing, especially those who had seen him at the USJ, because the image was in such stark contrast that it was absolutely ridiculous. The class was still practically in tears when Izuku-sensei walked through the door, a sheepish All Might in tow. "Is everyone all right in here?"

Mineta smiled creepily, then opened his mouth and said, "Hey, Izuku-sensei, I have a question for you."

Izuku-sensei smiled and nodded to him. "Why did the squirrel swim on its back?"

"Hmm. Well I don't see what this has to do with the exam that we just did, but I would have to say that if this squirrel was injured, they would have to float across on their back. Is that right?"

The class just stared at Izuku-sensei with amusement, just waiting for the punchline of the joke that Mineta had already told all of them a thousand times over. Sero and Mina were looking at Izuku-sensei with disbelieving expressions, so Recovery Girl was going to guess that they thought he would get the joke once the punchline was told, but they would just have to watch. "No, it's to keep their nuts dry."

Izuku-sensei's forehead tensed as he thought about it, and the entire class leaned in, even Ida curious to see what their teacher would say. About half of them looked like they thought he would get it, and the other half looked like they were having the time of their lives, Jirou even recording the moment on her phone.

"Huh." All eyes were on Izuku-sensei as he started to answer, focusing on the teacher with baited breath. "I suppose that would make sense. Some squirrels may have developed the survival instinct to not let their food source get wet and moldy. They need it for the winter. But just what was the point of that question?" Izuku-sensei's face was confused, looking at the rest of them as they all completely lost it. Even Recovery Girl was chuckling, stopping once to cough. "Seriously, guys. What was that question supposed to mean?"

Only one person in the class, besides Todoroki, managed to stop laughing long enough to tell him. "Revelry in the dark."

That just confused him even more. It was like looking at a lost puppy. Recovery girl heard several of the girls 'aww' at the expression on his face, like he was the cutest thing in the world.

...She would have to get Jirou to send her those videos later.

Part 21

Shinso slinked into the kitchen, the smell of fresh coffee drawing him like a moth to a flame. He had insomnia just like his dad, so he was up until well past when he was supposed to be asleep, barely getting enough sleep to function properly for the day. So really, it was just like his usual. He got out his custom made mug that his papa had given him for his birthday that said, 'Some things are better left alone... like me'. His dad had one that was similar saying, 'The more people I meet, the more I understand serial killers'. He had a lot of fun picking at Shinso and his dad for their introverted ways. It was also sweet that he got them customized coffee mugs, though.

His papa was standing at the stove making pancakes, the soft sizzle as more batter hit the pan reaching Shinso's ears. Behind him, his dad slid into the chair, holding onto his coffee cup like it was the last thing tethering him to the mortal plane. His papa whistled as he dropped two plates down in front of them, ever the morning person. Shinso sighed as he bit into one of the pancakes, him and his dad not saying anything until they have had at least one large cup of their coffee. Once they did, it was still silent, it was just now his papa knew they weren't going to outright ignore him if he asked them anything.

"So! How did you sleep, Hitoshi?" Shinso just glared at him, his eye bags becoming even more clear in the soft kitchen lighting. Present Mic coughed, not even bothering to ask his husband. Honestly, he should really have learned by now: never ask an insomniac how their night went and expect a positive response.

"Ahem. So you have your class trip to the mall in a week, right? Is there anything you need before you go to the training camp?"

"Just a new duffel bag and probably some bug spray. I already have a sleeping bag and everything else I need." Shinso closed his eyes for a moment, not really paying attention to what he just said.

But his dad did catch something. "Isn't that sleeping bag the one that's pretty much the same as mine?"

"Yeah, Hitoshi. You said you didn't want your classmates to know that your dad was your teacher, so wouldn't having almost the exact same sleeping bag as your dad be a dead giveaway? I'm pretty sure they've seen that sleeping bag more than his actual body." His dad's hair flew up and he glared at his papa, but that didn't faze the blonde-haired man at all. No, he just reached over and played with one of the floating strands, smiling. Blegh. Shinso had to look away. Ew, affection.

Shinso had ended up in class 1-a instead of 1-b for one reason and one reason alone: Vlad King is a dog person. And no, that is not the full story, but it summarizes why it started pretty well. Principal Nezu decided that since the random draw for who would be in which class placed Shinso in class 1-a, he could be allowed to switch over to 1-b if he didn't want to be in the same class as his dad. Shinso and his dad had shared one look, and in that look they agreed almost telepathically that hiding their relation was much better than being stuck in the classroom of a dog-lover. And not just any dog-lover, Vlad King. Shinso is not even sure why there seems to be a rivalry between his dad and the poor-color-schemed teacher, but he decided it was much simpler to just not be in that class.

Shinso looked up and saw his dad smirking, then looked over at his papa and saw the look of apprehension on his face. Shinso turned back to his dad with a smirk of his own, Mic burying his face in his hands and whispering, " There is no stopping them, just let it be Mic, let it be."

"Hitoshi, the main reason you didn't want your class to know I was your father right away is that you didn't want to have to deal with the annoyance of having them be jerks about it. Now that you know them, would you say that anyone other than Mineta would do that?" Shinso shook his head, not really getting where he was going with this. "Then why don't we have a little fun? You said Todoroki already asked if you were my," Now his dad sighed, "Secret love child, so why don't we take advantage of the fact that they are already suspicious and mess with them?"

Now he was speaking Shinso's language. Messing with people was something that him and his dad would always enjoy doing together. Others might call their actions cruel, sadistic even, but they- okay, they might be slightly right. But there was no greater pleasure in life than successfully tricking someone with a logical ruse.

"...What, you thought I would say no?" Aizawa and Shinso smirked at one another across the table before clearing their plates. It was decided that Shinso would bring his usual sleeping bag to the camp, and they would see who noticed. They would also drop little hints here and there as long as it took until they finally got it. It would be good practice to test just how observant his classmates were.

...Plus, it's just fun.

"And Hitoshi," his dad looked him directly in the eye, a little mischievous twinkle appearing, "Is one of the reasons you would be okay with everyone knowing about you being our son because you want to tell Kaminari?"

Present Mic perked right up, staring at him with raised eyebrows and an expression that was much too excitable for this early in the morning. "HITOSHI! Is that true? Do you liiiikkkkkkeeeeee him?"

"I-no-that's. UGHHHHHH. Maybe."

His dad touched his shoulder, making him look up from where his eyes were glued to the floor, praying for death. "Hitoshi. What is our number one rule?"

"Don't have crushes on loud blondes."

"And what did you do?"

"I got a crush on a loud blonde."

His papa just looked at his dad with an offended expression as Shinso bolted from the room, trying to escape that situation as quickly as possible. He could stomach a lot of things, but he couldn't stomach this trainwreck.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kaminari walked down the hall with Kirishima and Mina, heading out to lunch after another baffling math class. He had passed the written finals, but him and Mina couldn't beat Principal Nezu in the practical exam. He swears that he could hear the distinct tones of maniacal laughter across the fake city, even through the crashing booms of asphalt raining down on them.

Kirishima and Sero hadn't passed their practicals either, so it was lucky for almost the whole Bakusquad, as they had dubbed themselves, that Aizawa-sensei ahd been lyi- doing a logical ruse when he said that they wouldn't be going to the training camp. The only one who had passed in their group was Bakugo, who went against All Might with Shinso.

Shinso. The purple-haired guy was one of the most incredible that Kaminari had ever met. He was really quiet and didn't seem all that interested in what you were saying at first, but he was actually really funny and paid attention to whatever you told him. Once, Kaminari was rambling on about whatever was on his mind at that given moment, and a week later Shinso remembered one little thing that Kaminari had said during that long run-on thought and mentioned it. It wasn't every day that someone really listened to Kaminari when he was rambling on, especially someone who was so smart. Bakugo usually just yelled at him and Kirishima when they had a conversation that he didn't understand. But Kaminari didn't take that personally. Bakugo yelled at everyone, especially if you said he had anger issues.

Mina and Kaminari would never make that mistake again. Ever.

Speaking of Mina, Kaminari owed her one ever since she pushed him to talk to Shinso after that one history class they had with Izuku-sensei. He had been trying to work up the nerve to talk to him ever since the Sports Festival, where Shinso beat him just by asking a question. It was over before he knew it, and he didn't know how he did it. He usually would've gone and asked him almost immediately, Kaminari never usually had trouble talking to people, but this time felt different for some reason. Plus, he seemed so unapproachable since he didn't really say much, and he was just... different. But in a good way.

Mina grabbed his shoulder and whirled him around, pointing frantically at three figures in the hall next to them. Kaminari was yanked back around the corner, peeking out as well as he could. He was still confused when Mina hissed in his ear, " Look! That's Aizawa-sensei and Mic-sensei with Shinso!" Now he saw what she was talking about. Maybe it wasn't that big of a deal that the three of them were together, but even Present Mic didn't randomly hug people. And Aizawa-sensei was looking significantly less done with life than usual.

" Now that is worthy of the notebook," A voice commented behind him. Kaminari and Mina jumped about a mile high in the air and looked back with wide eyes. Todoroki stood directly behind them, watching the same scene they were with a considering expression. A notebook was pulled out, the 'half-and-half's', as Bakugo called him, pen moving at light speed. Kaminari took several uneasy steps away from his classmate, stumbling over someone in his haste to get away.

"Sorry, I just- oh hey, Shinso!" Kaminari brought an embarrassed hand to his neck, rubbing at the blackened strands of his hair. And no, he did not dye his hair. The mark appeared when his quirk first manifested, an now people kept asking if he was someone called 'Harry Potter', then snickering. He's pretty sure it's some pre-quirk era reference, but he never really bothered to check. "So-uh. Whatcha' doin'?"

Shinso side-eyed him before answering, "Nothing much. What were you doing that has Mina cowering behind that locker?"

"Nothing much."

"Why is Todoroki watching me with a downright creepy expression that says he's going to find out all my secrets and expose me?"

"Actually, that one confuses me too." The two fell into a steady rhythm walking down the hallway together, trying in vain to ignore Mina snapping photos behind them. It was no easy task, especially when she started squealing at a frequency that would shatter glass. He has seldom seen Shinso walk so fast.

They reached the cafeteria and hesitated, both of them lingering longer than was really necessary. "Guess I'll see you after lunch then?"

Shinso's face turned an adorable shade of pink, muttering a, "Yeah, see you." He was still looking over at the lavender-haired boy when Kirishima slung an arm around his shoulder, asking him what he thought was more manly, sleeveless shirts or shirtless sleeves. Bakugo also caused property damage when Mina pointed out how touchy Kirishima was. Kaminari wasn't quite sure what she meant by that, but Bakugo seemed to get it, judging by his bright red face.

Sometimes he wondered how much Mina really pushed them into.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Shinso stepped into the crowded mall with the rest of class 1-a, slightly flinching away from all of the noise and commotion. He usually wouldn't have gone when it was so... peoply, but Ida had insisted that it was imperative to their class bonds to do this sort of activity together. That sounded a bit ridiculous to Shinso, but he would just go along with it. After all, you don't argue with Ida when he is making concrete plans that relate to their success as heroes. No one wants that to happen.

"Since we all appear to need different things, we will split up! Find people with commonalities on their list, then stick together. If something happens, call me, and I will call Izuku-sensei, or someone else, depending on the severity of the situation. We will meet back here in two hours." Ida turned to go with Tsuyu, but paused and looked over his shoulder. "And if someone could keep Bakugo from swearing at small children, that would be much appreciated."

"WHAT'S THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN, YOU-" Bakugo cut off when Kirishima gave him a look, gesturing to all the kids around them. The blonde snarled before stomping off in a huff, Kirishima chasing after him with the rest of the Bakusquad on their heels. Shinso caught himself smiling fondly at Kaminari, right before the blonde ran face first into an open clear door.

Uraraka tugged on his arm, startling him. "Hey, Shinso! You need bug spray too, right? We should go together," Now her face looked a bit darker and teasing, "unless you would rather go with Kaminari?"

"I-shut up. Let's go." They walked among the masses, dodging little kids and the poor parents chasing after them. Ida was with the two of them as well, having to get his own duffel bag and since that was the stop on the way to the bug spray, the three went together. Uraraka waited patiently while the two boys quickly selected their bags and checked out, teasing and poking at the two along the way.

Shinso just got the first brand of bug spray he saw, not really caring about the difference, but Ida and Uraraka were calculating which of the spray bottles was most effective and the cheapest. Shinso really did not want to do math or anything like that, so he just checked out and sat down at a bench right outside the store, resting his eyes. He was just starting to get into that lovely space where you weren't sleeping but you weren't awake either when an arm was thrown over his shoulder.

He snapped back alert, head whipping to where the stranger was at his side. A black hoodie obscured his face, but the sight of pale blue hair caught Shinso's eye. He was about to jump to his feet when the strangers hand came around his throat, a loose grip that seemed far more sinister than it first appeared. "I can't believe that we would meet again here, of all places. Must be fate or something."

The guy from the USJ! Shinso decided to play along with the guy, who was obviously insane if he ewas doing this in such a crowded place. "You're the guy from the USJ, aren't you? Sorry, I didn't recognize you at first without all your extra hands."

Shigaraki growled, his hold tightening on four of the fingers around Shinso's neck. He saw the crazed look in the villain's eyes and decided to maybe not antagonize him. There were a lot of civilians here, and he had no way of knowing when Ida and Uraraka would be done in the store. Uraraka would do anything in the pursuit of the best deal, even waste twenty minutes on a single bottle of bug spray. But maybe since Ida was with her he would get her to... yeah. He better buy some time.

"I have a question for you, so it really is lucky that I ran into you. And just so you know, don't try anything, like asking me questions and putting me under your quirk's control, because I will not hesitate to start eliminating these NPCs at random the second you even attempt it. You are not the final boss here." Great. Now he couldn't do anything to stop him. His disintegrating quirk made it so he couldn't fight back physically, and he couldn't do anything with his quirk because other people would get hurt. Man, this sucks.

He was forced to just sit there and listen to the insane rambling of Shigaraki, going on about how Stain wasn't that different from him, and how people should be paying attention him and not the hero killer. Shinso responded only when necessary, always looking at the exit of the store for when Uraraka and Ida would come out. At some points he responded to Shigaraki in more of an honest fashion, doing his best to not get killed by the crazy villain. Cold sweat was running down his neck and his palms the sweatiest they had ever been by the time the door to the store opened again.

He hissed out a breath of relief when he saw Uraraka walking out with her bug spray, trying to signal her wildly with his eyes, heart beating heavily as she finally noticed him and waved while bouncing over. When she got closer she saw the supposed stranger next to him and slowed down, eyeing him cautiously. He saw the exact moment realization washed over her and she stopped completely, face turning sheet white and hands grasping the white bag tightly. Ida similarly stoped behind her, eyes widening before he spun around and lunged for his phone, barking an unheard word at Uraraka and racing off.

Uraraka walked towards them, steps stuttering and hands shaking. "Shinso. I-I-I think we have to go now. W-we have to go meet up with the others. They m-might get worried if we don't show up on time." Shigaraki growled under his breath before finally releasing Shinso from his grasp and fading away into the crowd as quickly as he could.

Uraraka burst toward him, grabbing his hands and dragging him to where Ida was waiting, phone in hand. "Who did you call? We can't go after Shigaraki, as you know, Ida, but someone else could."

"I called Izuku-sensei. He was the one I was instructed to call if something went wrong, though I do not think they suspected something of this magnitude would happen. He said to hang in there and he would be there as soon as he could. I only hope that he gets here in time."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Izuku tossed the keys to Aizawa, throwing open the passenger door and slamming it shut as soon as he was inside. Aizawa similarly rushed in, twisting the keys and starting the engine before the door was even closed. Izuku ripped open his laptop, fingers flying across the keyboard as he pulled up the security footage from the mall.

They were lucky that Ida had thought to call them so quickly, but that quick thinking in a crisis is why he was elected class president. And Izuku preferred to think of his decision to attack Stain as a momentary lapse in judgement that continued on for a week. That sounded better than he had been planning to attack someone for a week out of anger. Much better in legal situations.

Tired squealed as they pulled out of the parking lot, Izuku hurriedly buckling himself in when he realized he had forgotten. He typed in the verification codes and gained access to the cameras quickly, searching for the figure in the black hoodie that Ida had mentioned. He paused for a second when he saw Uraraka, Ida, and Shinso gathered together outside of a store, no figure in sight. "Alright, change of plans. You go to Shinso, Ida, and Uraraka. They're alright, but I know we would both feel better if we watched them until the police showed up."

"And what will you be doing?"

Izuku pushed open the door, pausing when he said, "Finding Shigaraki."

The mall was crowded, too many civilians to evacuate. His eyes darted around, gaze snagging on whatever black hoodies he found. Reasoning it out, he figured that Shigaraki would both get away from where he cornered Shinso, but he would also be somewhere where he could get away at a moments notice. He obviously wasn't planning to run into any of the students, so he was not going to have an elaborate escape plan, more like he would just call their teleporter and get out of there.

He looked at a map on the wall for a moment, quickly eliminating the locations Shigaraki couldn't be. No to the food court, maybe near the clothing stores, not near the ice cream stands... there!

On the map, there was one area where Shigaraki was most likely going to be. He could survey who arrived, but keep his options open for escape. He was on the roof, where Kurogiri could get him at any time with no issue of civilians interfering.

Izuku memorized the map, filing it into his memory, then kicked off and raced through the mall, dodging children and teenagers. Several strangers gave him weird looks before shaking it off, likely thinking he was some kid late to meet his friends. Sometimes looking like a teenager really came in handy when you were trying to not scare civilians.

He threw open the heavy metal door, cold wind slapping him in the face. Shigaraki was standing near the edge of the roof, looking out. He turned around when Izuku appeared, chapped lips smirking, splitting apart and drawing blood. Maybe I should give him some chapstick...?

"Hello, Shigaraki. I don't suppose you are just going to give yourself up?"

"Nice try, you NPC. You might think you are at my level, but you are going to need to do some serious farming if you want to beat me." What was with the gamer terms?

"You aren't going to win this. You failed at the USJ and at Hosu. Whatever you're planning next, that's going to fail too."

Shigaraki growled, glancing down at his phone and smugly smirking when he looked back up. "Ha. You have no idea what we are planning. All Might will fall, and this society along with him. This cutscene is over."

A black portal opened up, the swirling dark purple encasing Shigaraki and moving him away. But this conversation had told Izuku all he needed to know. The League of Villains was obviously planning something related to the training camp, judging by his interactions with the students and how he insisted that All Might would fall, which did have the assumption that they would attack the school again. He would have to talk to Nezu about moving the camp, and about All Might's involvement there...

Part 22

Izuku stepped out of the bus with Aizawa, meeting the Wild Wild Pussycats out on the ledge. He watched in confusion as they sucked in a gasp of air and looked at him, gripping one another by their paws. He even checked behind him, but there wasn't anything that would merit them being scared. Maybe they were just surprised he was back. Yes, that made sense.

The students were stretching, shaking out their asleep limbs, and yawning, tired from the long bus ride. That wouldn't last for long. What Aizawa had planned would wake them up in no time.

"Students, these are the Wild Wild Pussycats. They are a four-member team that specializes in mountain rescue." He felt himself getting more and more excited as he talked about their career, the side of him that followed his old student's careers nonstop coming out to play. "They have been active for-" Claws dug into the skin of his arm, one of the members of the team looking up at him with a forced smile that was a bit scary. Maybe he just wouldn't finish that sentence...

"ANYWAY. This land is all ours, so you can use your quirks without fear of legal repercussions. The lodgings you will be staying at are over there, at the foot of that mountain." Some of the students started to back up, seeing where this was going.

"Hmmm. It's 9:30 right now, sooo, I would say 12:00 at the earliest, wouldn't you say, Aizawa?" Izuku's old student smirked, looking at the students, his son in particular, with a ruthless smile. The kids all tried to make a break for it and get back to the bus, but they were too late. The ground rumbled and tore down beneath them, sending the students in a landslide toward the forest.

They watched them fall, wincing when they hit the ground with very distinct thuds. A couple of moments passed before they started to trudge along the path, bitter grumbles disappearing into the woodland. Izuku was sure of one thing: they would not be making it back before 12:30.

Aizawa, Mandalay, and Pixie-Bob hopped into the bus, looking at Izuku expectantly when he paused. He was looking off into the forest, not really focusing on anything in particular. Yes, they had changed the location for the training camp and told All Might he couldn't go for security reasons, but Izuku couldn't shake this anxious feeling. It might be best to follow the students through the forest and make sure they were safe. He wouldn't stop the dirt monsters that he knew Pixie-Bob had summoned, because that would defeat the purpose of them trekking through there. But if he just tailed them, discreetly...

"Go on ahead. I think I'll watch the students and see how they choose to overcome the difficulties in getting to the lodges. It will be informative to see how they handle working together as a class and point out the weaknesses they have that the final exam didn't. I'll meet you there."

Mandalay shrugged, clicking the button to close the bus doors, the mechanical squeaking covering the whoosh of air as Izuku sailed down to the forest ground. He rolled into a standing position smoothly, keeping himself in constant motion. It didn't take anything more than a few hops to get to the top of the towering treetops, leaping through them with ease. It didn't take long to catch up with his students. They weren't really making much progress. It was actually kind of painful to watch.

The students were not doing as well as he would've hoped. A few of them, namely Mineta, were just running around panicking, barely managing to dodge the giant dirt monsters as they sprung up along the path. It was more tedious than he had originally thought to go as slowly as they were going. At one point, he was forced to just sit there and lean back, sighing and looking down at his watch. He definitely needed to work on their directional skills later in the year. They almost doubled back at several points in their 'hike.'

When they were only a few minutes out, Izuku left them in the dust so he would be there before them. He had made sure they got there safely and gained all the information he needed from them. He was on the top of the highest branch of a tree, letting the harsh wind hit his face, keeping his balance right up until the moment he jumped, flying through the air. His green hair rushed up above his forehead, the fluffy locks whizzing in the afternoon breeze.

Six heads turned as he hit the ground, jaws dropping when he brushed himself off with no pause. A small boy was there, standing off to the side with a brooding expression and crossed arms. It was like looking at a little tiny teenager going through one of the very many phases. Impressive, really, that he managed to pull it off. Izuku had never really gone through a teenager phase. There was a lot going on in the world at that time, with quirks appearing and a lot of unrest in the world at large. His mother and father had never looked at him differently when his quirk presented itself, but... he could tell they weren't that comfortable with it. His teenage years were better spent researching every paper he could find on quirks and logging down observations he had noticed about himself. A lot of priorities that other people had weren't even in his mind. It was just the way it was. And he didn't regret it at all.

But this kid... he looked familiar, in a way. When Izuku met the kid's eyes for just a brief moment, it was like a trace of something he had known before, but it just wasn't coming to his mind at the moment. He couldn't stay quiet for too long, though. There had been more than a few students in his earlier years of teaching that had told him that his intense focus was unnerving. Apparently, people thought it was weird when you just stared directly at them without saying anything. Yes, it had been a surprising revelation for him too.

"They'll be here soon. I must say, I'm a little surprised that it took them as long as it did to get past the dirt monsters. They did well on the practicals working with one other person, but when it is the whole class some of them just become, frankly, completely useless." Aizawa grimly nodded, making note of something on a clipboard. The kid just rolled his eyes and scoffed, slouching away to the wall. "But on the bright side I now know what they need for their individualized training more than ever. I actually got the formula from an old government tactic from the pre-quirk era, even before I was born, of using both their strengths and weaknesses against them, but in this case we are not torturing them for information, we are improving their abilities."

Mandalay gave him the side-eye, coughing slightly under her breath. "Uh- Izuku-sensei, did you just say you were-" Aizawa shook his head. "Nevermind. If you have that all figured out, would you go and help Vlad King with class 1-b? Aizawa refuses to go near the man and while they are better behaved and less accident-prone than I've heard class 1-a is, I think the new environment has them a little too excited. And while I don't mind seeing Vlad King squirm a little-" Aizawa smirked, "I would prefer it if there were no incidents tonight."

"Got it. I'm sure that they're fine, but Vlad does deserve to have a bit of a rest before giving those that didn't pass the finals remedial class." Izuku walked off towards the section of the building Mandalay pointed to, assuming that it was where class 1-b would be stationed. He hadn't spent quite as much time with 1-b, as class 1-a seemed to be having a constant crisis, but he found them to be great heroes in the making, even if they had been taking a more traditional approach to the school as opposed to class 1-a. That might be a benefit, as different viewpoints are very valuable. It just wouldn't do to have the next generation of heroes only have one approach to how they do things. Your experiences shape how you go about things in the future, and Izuku has always thought that only doing things one way was rather boring.

But enough on that subject. It's time to see what class 1-b is up to...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Monoma darted around their teacher, who clearly didn't have a clue on how to stop them. They were currently engaged in a pillow fight that was as extreme as you got. Even Kendo was getting into it, throwing pillow after pillow at her fellow classmates, even going so far as too enlarge her hand, using her quirk. Even the big sister of class 1-b would join in on fooling around occasionally. Monoma hadn't even gotten chopped on the back of the neck today.

Feathers exploded when Kamakiri accidentally activated his quirk and impaled one of the pillows, soft white tufts falling onto the ground like snow. But that wasn't when the chaos reached its peak point, no, that would be when Tetsutetsu hardened his body, for some reason believing that the feathers would hurt him. Once that happened, everything went down the drain, fellow classmates running rampant and Vlad King forced to jump behind a couch at one point to avoid being hit by one of Fukidashi's onomatopoeia's.

Monoma was about to copy Kuroiro's quirk and hide in the shadows somewhere when the door swung open, freezing all the students in their tracks. All heads turned to see Izuku-sensei at the door, eyes surveying the mayhem in the room. The nicest teacher they have ever had blinked, then shut the door behind him. The students all winced when they heard the oak door thud solidly against the frame, not knowing what Izuku-sensei would do. Granted, they might be a bit more worried if it was any other teacher, but Izuku-sensei was just this bright ray of sunshine that never stopped shining down on them. They just couldn't imagine him being scary the way that some of the other teachers were when they were frustrated with them.

"Ahm. Where is Vlad King?"

"Right here," A muffled voice came from behind the couch, a single pale hand rising from underneath it. Apparently, a student had smacked into it and sent it toppling over their teacher. He could've gotten out from under it, but he had decided that it was safer under there than where he was undefended from all sides.

Izuku-sensei walked over, and before anyone could offer to help, lifted the couch with little to no effort whatsoever. He set the piece of large furniture to the side and Kendo rushed to offer a hand to Vlad King. A normal sized hand.

Izuku-sensei turned to them, opening his mouth to speak when a slowly descending feather landed on his nose. The cutest and most non-threatening sneeze Monoma had ever heard echoed around the room, sounding a bit like how he imagined a kitten would sneeze. He had to place a hand around his mouth to cover up his snicker from Kendo. It was a miracle he hadn't been smacked on the back of the neck today, and he was trying to keep it that way. This was the longest he had ever gone without passing out from Kendo hitting him. He might be able to set a new record!

" Choo! Ah- what are all of you doing in here? It looks like some sort of poultry massacre went on. You shouldn't wear yourselves out right now. Believe me when I say that tomorrow will not be easy by any means. Plus, Vlad King can't deal with all of you at once!" Most of the students hung their heads in shame, thoroughly chastised. Ha! Class 1-a couldn't be this repentant if they tried. Yet another way that 1-b is better than 1-a.

"Vlad, why don't you go and see the Wild, Wild Pussycats and check on dinner. I'll watch them and make sure the room is cleaned up." Their homeroon teacher gave Izuku-sensei a nervous look, but he still opened the door and made it out of there as fast as he could. That happened a lot, Vlad King giving Izuku-sensei nervous looks but still doing what he was told to do at the speed of light. Actually... almost all of Monoma's teachers did that, including All Might.

It was probably just that they were terrified of his disappointed stare. Class 1-b had been on the experiencing end of Izuku-sensei's most effective weapon once, and that day was marked on their calenders as the day the sun died. You know when your puppy loses it's favorite toy and it's desolate for the rest of the day? It was a thousand times worse than that. They hadn't paid attention in heroics before rushing in, and some of them had gotten mildly injured. All Might left the scolding to Izuku-sensei, quickly slipping out before he heard what Izuku-sensei said. Now Monoma wishes he could have done that too.

"All right... I want all of you to not use your quirks when you clean this up, partly because I don't want you to make the mess worse, and partly because you deserve to do this without your quirks. I'm going to guess that this started as a pillow fight that quickly spiraled out of control?" The students nodded contritely, "And this is why we have common sense. So we don't make clearly reckless and rash decisions. Do we need to revisit our talk in heroics?"

NO! Anything but that! Monoma would rather get smacked by Kendo three times a day all week than hear that again. It wasn't that Izuku-sensei's talks weren't filled with concern, it was rather that they were filled with concern that was the problem. He... Monoma can't even think about it without feeling guilty for making their teacher so... so... dispirited. The class had made a pact to always listen to their green-haired teacher after that. It just wasn't worth the risk.

"And that is the last feather!" Kendo announced, putting away the hand vacuum she had found in one of the closets. "We are officially done! Nice job, everyone!" Izuku-sensei smiled at them, rising from his place on the couch gracefully. He did that absolutely adorable sneeze again, and this time Monoma wasn't the only person who had to suppress a snicker at the kitten sneeze. Even Kendo was hiding a grin behind a regular sized hand.

"I'm both glad and impressed that you were able to clean this up so quickly. In fact, I think this is very much like cleaning up after a villain attack. Just because you will be heroes doesn't mean that your job is just going to be constant fighting. That is only a portion of the job. The other major parts are paperwork and the cleanup from fights. This is great practice for your future." Izuku flashed them a thumbs-up, looking like that one family member trying to be overly supportive and enthusiastic. It would look weird on anyone else, but on Izuku-sensei it just looked right.

"All right! Dinner is ready, tonight the Wild, Wild Pussycats are making it, but tomorrow it will be up to the two classes of students to cook your own dinner. Another very vital life skill that you should all learn." That was Izuku-sensei, finding a way to turn everything into a lesson.

Wait.

Two classes of students? They were one class, but... class 1-a! Ohhhhh, this was going to be amazing. Finally, the chance to show class 1-a how much better class 1-b was. They might not have made the top three at the Sports Festival, but now was their time to shine. Nobody would stand in their way! They would show class 1-a up with their culinary expertise even though none of them had any!

Kendo pulled him back by his arm as Izuku-sensei left, shutting the door softly behind him. As soon as the door was closed, Monoma pulled free and jumped up on the sofa, spreading his arms and looking around the room at his classmates, a slightly insane laugh bubbling up in his throat. "HAHAHA! Now is our chance to prove it to class 1-a how much better we are than them! We will be shown to be superior and they will finally-" Monoma felt a powerful hit to his neck and his legs buckled as everything went black. He later found out he had landed face-first on the sofa and had still been dazed at dinner, so he hadn't gotten the chance to prove it to class 1-a yet, but come tomorrow they would all see just how awesome class 1-b is.

When he woke up, all he could think was that he had broken his streak.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Izuku quirked an eyebrow as he left his place at the door, where he had been listening to what class 1-b said when he left. It wasn't anything he hadn't heard before, honestly. Although Monoma's recovery time seemed to be getting faster each time Kendo hit him. That might be an asset in the future if he was ever to be hit in that one specific place in a fight. Always look on the bright side.

Class 1-a was practically dead, all of them leaning against one another for support while eating. Mineta was too tired to be a perv, and that setting always seemed to be on with him. But that wasn't what really held his interest, no, that would be the boy that Mandalay had stationed above the baths when Aizawa had told her about Mineta's more... concerning tendencies. He would have to ask about that later, when there wasn't so many students around.

Part 23

Shinso leaned back in the farthest corner of the water, trying to avoid as much of the conversation as he possibly could. He never really understood why people would talk while they were bathing. In Shinso's opinion, this was one of the most uncomfortable situations one can be found in. Why would they go out of their way to talk to one another? It was crazy.

And what was even more disgusting was Mineta. The little grapevert was staring at the giant dividing wall between the boys and the girls, and Shinso really didn't want to know what was going on inside his head. If he ever did find out, he swears he would drown his brain in as much bleach as he could get his hands on.

Now Ida had noticed Mineta salivating over the tall wall, and Shinso could tell that a serious scolding was incoming. He smirked in the shadows and sank down even further into the warm water. If nothing else, this would be entertaining to watch. You might never want to have to deal with the annoyance of Ida lecturing you, but seeing others have to cope with his well-intentioned rants was hilarious. At least in Shinso's opinion.

"Mineta! What are you doing? This is no way to treat the girls of our classroom. Why would you disrespect them and yourself by choosing to do something like this? Do you truly believe that these are the actions of a true hero? This is just disgusting and degrading, and it is becoming much too believable that you would engage in this sort of activity. What use is it to you to do this sort of behavior? What do you gain by doing this? Do you have that low of an opinion of yourself?" While Ida was ranting non-stop about Mineta's inappropriate behavior, Mineta had been becoming even more engrossed with the wall, and was starting to move closer.

Ida's eyes got comically large as Mineta pulled off the purple balls from his head and raised them to the wall, quickly scaling the tall structure. Alright, so this may have been amusing when Mineta wasn't actually doing anything, but now he should really be stopped. Right when he neared the top of the wall, the same little kid from before that had punched Bakugo in the crotch, then walked away while Kirishima held the angry blonde back, was there. He looked down at Mineta before shoving him down, making Shinso snort at the horrified expression on Mineta's face.

No one stopped and helped Mineta when he hit the ground. If he was going to do that, then nobody was going to raise a finger. Kaminari even looked down at him and said, "Not cool bro, not cool at all." Kaminari's hair was a whole lot less spiky when it was wet, and the black bolt was practically gone. And it was rare you got to see him actually look mad, but he was glaring down at Mineta a bit, probably because Mina was on the other side of the wall. Those two had a weird... sibling sort of relationship? All of the Bakusquad did, really. Except for Bakugo and Kirishima. Those two had something else going on that nobody really wanted to interfere with. They weren't eager to die.

Looking back up at the kid, Shinso saw his face turn incredibly pink and his eyes widen as far as they could go, before he fainted and started to drop down. Shinso's heart pounded as the kid dropped to the ground, several people calling out to grab him. It was one thing to let Mineta hit the ground, but none of them were going to let a kid fall down. Shinso knew he wasn't going to make it in time, he was too far away. He could only watch as the kid got closer to the ground, then closer, and closer, until...

Shoji caught him, deftly grabbing him with his many hands. The entire pool let out a sigh of relief and sunk down an inch farther. The kid was passed out, but that was probably from the shock of falling so quickly. Even so, they hould probably take him to Mandalay to be checked out.

"I'll take him." Shinso would do whatever he could to get out of here as quickly as possible. He was tired, and the last thing he wanted was to spend more time with the others. He liked them, don't get him wrong, but he just couldn't spend all day with them without getting worn out from the constant interaction. He would take whatever chance he got to be alone. Again, nothing personal there.

He got up from the water and quickly wrapped a towel around himself, taking the kid from Shoji and exiting quickly. When he left, he thought he heard Bakugo tell Kaminari to 'shut his mouth before he killed them all with electricity, dumbass." Whatever that meant.

It was just a short jog over to get Mandalay and get the kid checked out. A kid whose name was apparently Kota. "Thank you so much for bringing him over here. We had him over there because we heard that there was a student in your class that was... a little too interested in girls." Yup, that was Mineta in the nicest terms you could use. "It looks like he was just shocked from the fall. He'll be fine." Mandalay sighed, looking down at Kota sadly. "He's actually my nephew, but ever since my sister and her husband died doing hero work I've looked after him. I don't think he really likes us all that much, but he acts that way around all heroes. He's just a kid, and when his parents died he saw hero work as the thing that took them away from him. You heard him call you guys 'wannabes' earlier. He just... hasn't been the same since."

Shinso didn't know what to say to that. How does one respond when someone tells you something like that? Sure, he lost his parents when he was younger too, but not as young as Kota had to have been. He had at least understood what was happening whan his parents died, and why it had happened, but Kota must have been too young to understand anything behind his parents death. The confusion of what had happened and why, mixed with the anger and loss... Shinso probably would've ended up hating heroes too.

He was saved from having to respond by Izuku-sensei, who appeared in the doorway in a flash. Sometimes it seemed their teacher was everywhere at once, even though Shinso knew logically that the theory couldn't be true. But when Mina and Kaminari suggest something enough, it gets in your head and makes you wonder too. No wonder Bakugo was always so mad. Though Shinso has heard that the anger issues are a recurring problem that started before UA. so they might just continue to trigger him.

"Shinso! The others told me that you were probably still over here. Thanks for taking Kota over here, it was truly kind of you to do so. Though I do recommend going to bed as soon as possible, tomorrow will be a grueling experience for all of you, and sleep is necessary to do these things well." Izuku-sensei smiled at him as he held open the door, indicating for Shinso to pass through. But Izuku-sensei didn't follow him, only waved before the door was shut once more.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Izuku shut the door behind him and turned to Mandalay, his grin fading slightly. He had orginally come here to talk about his individual plans for each of the students, but he had heard his student and paused at the doorway. Yes, he eavesdropped a lot, but it was a tool that came through for him time and time again. Some might say it was wrong to spy on people so much, but information gathering was key to making any decision. He couldn't have done half the things he had if he hadn't gained the information he had today. And one of those information gathering tactics was listening at doorways.

"Kota's parents... they were the duo Waterhose, right? They went to school at around the same time as the four of you. They were killed by the villain Muscular, if I remember correctly. I saw the news report while I was on I-island." Mandalay didn't do much more than nod at him, her gaze still fixed on the sleeping boy on the couch. It was clear she herself hadn't quite worked through her sister's death either, too focused on helping Kota and her hero work. "From what I heard, they took out one of his eyes. They were always good students."

Maybe he didn't exactly know why he said that, but loss had always been hard to deal with. Even if he went through it hundreds, if not thousands of times through the years. Every connection he made he knew that the person would die long before he did. It didn't get easier over time, probably getting harder with every person that he lost. He still wasn't entirely sure why he had left UA for so long, at most it was planned to be a year or two of a trip. It turned into an escape from those he knew, a way to just... be at peace for a few years. The few years turned into a decade before he knew it, time slipping like sand in between his fingers. He didn't realize it for a while, but when he did he immediately booked a flight for Japan and called Nezu.

It didn't really matter why he said it, because he left the room right after that. He would just talk to Tiger and the others about what the individualized plans would be. Sometimes you couldn't guide others through their thought process, you just had to strike a match on some dry leaves and let the fire spread on its own. You can't always help as much as you want to. It's a lesson that takes a long time to learn, but one that is necessary in the long scheme of things.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dabi leaned back in the old wooden chair, directing his gaze away from where Toga was sharpening her knives. She was... strange, but not entirely in a bad way. You definitely didn't want to be her current obsession, that was for sure. He did sometimes feel bad for those she had her eyes set on. It usually didn't end well for them.

This whole group was strange, actually, but like Toga, they weren't entirely bad strange. They were a little ragtag group of people who didn't necessarily like each other and were just tolerating one another until their goals were accomplished. Dabi stretched out his hands in front of him, feeling the slight tension on the staples that rested at the seams of his skin. When they were first put in, they felt completely foreign and out of place, but now they felt like a- ha- second skin. Yes, he was awful.

The hideout they had always smelled like smoke, even before Dabi got there. Everything started to smell like smoke when it was around him. The solution to that problem would be to stop setting things on fire, but where's the fun in that? If you weren't setting things on fire then you weren't really living.

"That sounds wonderful!... Go throw yourself off a bridge." And there was Twice. The guy was confusing as heck, always contradicting himself and having completely different views seconds apart from one another. The guy could copy things, very useful, but he could only copy two things at once unless it was himself. Which he refused to do because of, 'personal reasons'. Not even going to try and dive into the unresolved trauma obviously lurking there. He had enough of his own, thank you.

Dabi and Toga had both arrived on the same day, and the first thing he thought when he talked to their 'leader', Shigaraki, was that he was a childish dimwit who obviously was not the real person in charge. Yeah, he might seem to be, but there was no way that someone as immature as that would come up with all the plans and ideas that this group had. It just wasn't possible. There had to be somebody else pulling the strings from behind the curtain.

Shigaraki did have a babysitter, though. His name is Kurogiri, and as far as Dabi can tell, he is a pool of dark purple mist. He's obviously the voice of reason here, and he always seemed slightly out of place in the environment, like it just wasn't natural for him to be there. There was also something... off about him, something strange that he just couldn't put his finger on.

Toga and him weren't the only new recruits. Twice, the copying guy, had joined just before them, apparently having been scouted for the usefulness of his quirk. There was also Spinner, this Lizard guy that was only a few years younger than Dabi. There was also Magne, this lady who could magnetize people based on whether they were male or female. She was pretty sensitive about how her pronouns were used, which was understandable and the league always tried to make sure that they were using them correctly. Those who didn't just to be rude were how 20 of her 29 attempted murders started, and one of her three murders. People really just keep making the same mistakes. Then there was this guy that insisted on being called 'Mr. Compress'. He definitely had a flair for the dramatic, and he could store things inside of marbles. Which was pretty cool, but what was really annoying was his stage flair. Not everything needs to be a production, Compress.

"Side characters! Get over here so we can review the plan." This guy played way too many video games if that was how he talked with people.

Dabi rolled his eyes and pushed to his feet, throwing his hands into his pockets and walking lankily towards the room that they did their 'meetings' in. It was really just a slightly larger than average room with a table or two and some seating. There was actually nothing special about it, Shigaraki just felt the need to make it seem like it had a set purpose. Like Dabi said before, he was a child.

Toga flounced over, knife dangling carelessly from her fingertips. She always seemed to have one either in her hand, or within reach. When Kurogiri first took them to meet Shigaraki, Dabi distinctly remembered Toga licking her knife and then giggling. He actually thought that she was more mature than Shigaraki most of the time. The trick was to avoid her so the few times you did see ehr it was bearable. He kept that same philosophy with everyone. Made it so he didn't burn them alive.

"This is Moonfish, Mustard, and Muscular. Dabi, when we attack the NPC's training camp they will be placed under your command in the Vanguard Action Squad. Don't screw up." Dabi rolled his eyes again. "Now, the plan is that Dabi will set the forest on fire while Magne and Spinner fight and distract those cat bots. The rest of you position yourselves around the forest and take care of whatever students you find. Twice, I specifically want you to create a clone of Dabi and distract that annoying homeroom teacher. When he inevitably pushes it past it's limits it'll make the stupid NCP confused about Dabi's acutal quirk. Any questions?" Shigaraki didn't even pause before getting up and heading to where Dabi assumed his video game station was. "Great. I will disintegrate you if you dare to mess this up."

Once Kurogiri left to 'go make a call', pretty much everything took a spiral. Spinner started ranting about Stain's ideology and how absolutely amazing it was. Dabi agreed, but there was a certain point where everyone needed to shut up. Not many learned that lesson in time for Dabi to stop restraining himself and just give in to the urge to burn them alive.

"SHUT UP!!!... Please, go on." There was Twice's usual confusing spiel that seemed to have two parts.

"Heyyyy... can I have a little of your blood?" Toga, trying to gain everyone's blood.

"Flesh..." And that was... he was going to guess that was Moonfish. And that he liked flesh.

"DABI! Tell Mustard to stop being such a jerk and give me his blood!" Of course she would try and drag him into this. Because why wouldn't they?

"Don't care." Toga pouted and went over to Twice and started to have two different conversations at once with him. She had stopped asking for his blood a while back, when he threatened to burn her entire stash of blood up. They shared a sort of mutual respect after that.

"Dabi! Would you like to see a magicc trick?" Ugh. Compress.

"Sure." Mr. Compress smiled and almost turned away to do his trick, but not before Dabi continued with, "This is the part where you disappear, right?"

Dabi turned and pulled a chair to the corner of the room, slumping down in the shadows. He smirked as the chaos carried out around him, leaning back and watching it unfold. His usual smirk made its way onto his face when Magne told Muscular that he might want to consider not skipping leg day, because he was starting to look like one of those bobbleheads that can't support themselves from the waist down.

The league might be a chaotic group of idiots, but it was a chaotic group of idiots that never failed to entertain him. He didn't always think so, but ever since he joined they had been slowly growing on him, like fungus on an old man's toe. When he originally joined, he was just there because he heard on the street about an organization that teamed up with Stain. He agreed with Stain's philosophy for many reasons, most of them relating to the fact that their society was broken in so many ways. But the really big reason was that he hated his father. He hated him so much that for a long time after he left home, his one reason for living was the desire to kill him. He wanted to make him pay for everything that he ever did to him and his family.

Shoto getting hurt by his mother when she had her breakdown, Natsuo and Fuyumi being ignored, it was all his fault. He chose to use them in the pursuit of his own desires. They weren't even people to him, not really, just tools to be used so he could beat All Might. And the second they weren't useful to him anymore, he threw them away, just an inconvenience that doesn't amount to anything in his eyes. Dabi just wanted to make him burn, to engulf him in blue flames that wouldn't leave anything behind except ashes. He would deserve it, no real hero would treat their families the way he treated them.

He honestly just thought that the second he accomplished his goal of killing Endeavor, he would just... stop. There wouldn't be any point to continue living once he was dead, no reason to continue this charade called life. Dabi was just an empty husk that had a singular purpose that kept him alive, and the moment that was gone, so was he.

But the league... he still definitely wants to kill his father, but maybe now he'll exist after he's gone. After all, there were always still people to burn alive, people to annoy, and evil agendas that needed to be furthered. And yes, the league helped him see that, the dimwits that they were. Somehow their childish and immature energy was... infectious or something like that. Obviously he wasn't infected to the point where he was like them, but enough that he could see the value of living once more.

Part 24

Izuku watched with a hidden smile as his students struggled through the tasks he had given them. Those with more physical quirks were doing physical training, like Todoroki regulating two different temperatures at once, and Bakugo keeping small-scale explosions going for as long as he could. Those with mental quirks, like Shinso, were doing tasks that required stretching their minds and really giving them headaches. Well, that was today, anyway. Tomorrow he was planning on having Shinso keep someone under his control for as long as he could and then giving them more and more complex orders.

Much to their credit, the students were all trying hard and doing the tasks laid out for them, no matter how difficult they were. Uraraka's training was just about to get him sick, with all the constant spinning and quick stops and starts. It was helping her, though. If she could have a tolerance for the sickness when she used her quirk, then a huge block with using her quirk would be lifted. And that was what this training camp was all about. These kids may have made huge leaps and bounds with their strategizing and how they structured their movements, but in terms of their quirks they had barely made any progress. Which was to be expected. The kids had already improved so much, this would just really stretch the skills they already had until the rubber band broke and they got past those limits they had.

It was so rewarding to see it happen, like shoving your baby chicks out of the nest and watching them fly at the last possible second. "Shinso, you can stop that exercise now and play chess with me. Opening different pathways in your brain will help you adapt better and retain things with much more clarity. It will be a huge boon to you in the long run if you gain these skills now." Shinso nodded, flipping himself upright from the tree branch, where he had been letting the blood flow to his head to get used to the headachy feeling that came when he used his quirk in large quantities.

Izuku set up the board, laying the pieces out with a satisfying plonk. Shinso sat across from him with an apprehensive look on his face. Izuku smirked internally, knowing he could win in just a few moves if he chose to, but what really needed to happen here was Shinso having the mental strain of facing an opponent at his level, so all he had to do was match Shinso and keep the match going as long as he could. Simple.

They ended up playing for the rest of the training period, and Shinso didn't win a single time. Which was also by design. His student was forced to do the same action each time and give it his all, even though he kept failing over and over again. And Izuku really couldn't teach anything without inadvertently passing along a life lesson. One time he tried to get himself to stop, and... he's still not entirely surrey what happened that day, but there were a lot of flames.

It started to get dark outside, and that's when the Pussycats called them inside to eat. Except the students had to make the meal this time. Izuku walked over to a seat and watched them work, Bakugo barking orders at everyone who would listen, and some that wouldn't listen. The classmates that wouldn't listen Bakugo made listen.

He heard a slight squeak from beside him, and he turned to see Kota next to him, watching the heroes-in-training disdainfully. Which made a whole lot more sense now that Izuku knew who his parents were. It had been a sad day for all who knew them when the Waterhose duo died. But it must have been terrible for Kota.

Izuku had been told that the kid ran away often, Mandalay never knowing where he went, so he made sure not to draw attention to the fact that Kota was sitting there. Instead, he leaned back and grew comfortable in the silence, trusting that if the boy wanted to talk, he would. And for a long time he didn't, just glaring sullenly into the direction of his students. The kid definitely had his death glare down.

Right as Izuku was beginning to doubt that the kid would talk and that wasn't why he had sat down, the boy started to grumble out a question. "All the other adults love to show off their quirks, what's yours anyway?" A bit rude, but Izuku could tell that he was just uncomfortable asking him. Which made sense if he usually relied on adults either bragging about their quirks or using them in front of him to tell what they were. And Izuku couldn't really do the former if he didn't want the boy to have a very traumatizing experience in which he proves he can't die. He already learned his lesson on that one. No showing kids that stabbing yourself in the heart doesn't do anything.

...In his defense, that was 100 years ago. Things were different then.

And the kid was mean. A real jerk, to be honest.

"Well, I can't really show off my quirk because it's not something you can see." Except for that one kid. "It's called Immortality, and what it does is... well, basically I can't die. I can still get hurt, but the wound won't be fatal." It used to hurt when he was younger, too, but once he got injured enough he built up this insane pain tolerance that made it so he barely felt any injury. You could rip off his arm and he would take a minute to realize it was gone. Although, he assumes it would eventually grow back since his fingers have before. Took a while, though.

"Whatever. Just because you can't show your quirk off doesn't mean you're any different from the rest of them." He sent his glare straight at Izuku this time and hopped off the bench, not looking back as he exited the room. This was obviously one of his 'disappearing acts' that Mandalay and the others mentioned. Although, he does think he knows where the kid is going...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ida swung his arms around, doing his best to direct his classmates to where they would be most helpful in the kitchen. Though Bakugo seemed to know what he was doing in this area. The way he chopped with the knife was a bit frightening, Ida didn't know that you could chop vegetables with so much rage.

"Bakugo, that is so manly you can cut those vegetables so quickly." Kirishima thought everything the spiky blonde- in both appearance and demeanor- did was 'manly'. He might have heard that word out of Kirishima's mouth more than any other. For a while Ida thought it was the only describing word he knew.

"Hey Todoroki, do you mind handing that pot to me? It's right by the stove." Uraraka was on the other side of the space they were using to cook, and quite a few students were blocking her way. Their peppermint-haired classmate nodded once and moved to grab the pot, but froze when a high pitched whistling sound pierced their ears. It wasn't that much of a shock to the rest of the class since it wasn't that loud, but Todoroki started to inch back from where the stove and pots were.

Following his gaze, Ida could see that he wasn't looking at the pots or the stove, rather, he was looking at the singular teapot sitting innocently on the stove. Why would he do that? It was just a teapot, there was nothing scary about it. And even if the teapot were filled with poison he wouldn't have to touch it to get the item Uraraka had asked for.

Just as Ida was about to suggest he could get the pot in question, Todoroki started to slowly slide over, eyeing the kettle as if it would come alive and jump at him. The dual-haired boy edged around the stove and reached out as far as he could to grip the pots handle. Then he backed up, never once taking his eyes off of that 'dangerous' piece of metal. When he finally handed the pot over to Uraraka, he let out a deep breath and leaned against the counter, acting like he just came out of a near death encounter. He didn't react this way when they ended things with Stain, though he only arrived at the tail end of that fight. Everyone other than Izuku-sensei didn't do much, Ida just got beat up before Shinso arrived. That night... definitely not one of his bright spots. If Izuku-sensei hadn't shown up then... well, things would have gone a lot worse.

But Todoroki raced in, only stopping with an, ' oh' when he first saw Stain and Izuku-sensei. But there was a reason he was called the best in the class. There was very little doubt in Ida's mind that Todoroki wouldn't have jumped in the moment after that if Izuku-sensei hadn't been there.

And to think, the guy that had been ready to face Stain was now eyeing a steaming tea kettle suspiciously.

The rest of dinner was made quickly, albeit with a few more instances of Bakugo screaming at 'insufferable losers who can't cook for crap'. There were also other words thrown around, but they weren't the... most polite of words. Even by Bakugo's standards. Ida doesn't even really want to think about the language he used.

The strong aroma of spices and ginger fill the air, kids practically stapeding to eat. Some of the... less cautious members of his class were shoveling food in their mouths so quickly Ida wondered if they were actually chewing. Kaminari ended up closing his eyes for just a second and hit himself in the face with his food, hand holding the utensil completely missing the mark.

The food ended up running down his cheek, and beside Ida Shinso snorted, looking at the blonde boy with a fond expression. Ida shifted his eyes back to his food uncomfortably, having heard Uraraka and Mina conspire about ways to force the two together. He was going to do his best to let the two do their own thing and stay out of it. To be honest, it just really made him uncomfortable to even think about intruding in that sort of thing.

But Uraraka and Mina were shameless in their pursuit of getting the two together. All Ida could do was hope he was never caught in their matchmaking crosshairs.

From the corner of his eye, Ida caught Izuku-sensei walking with a steaming plate of food, angling towards the outer door. Why would he be going outside at this time? Ida saw him eat his dinner beforehand, so he wasn't sure why he had the plate of food.

The other teachers sitting around the far table obviously didn't know either, given that they were staring off at the green-haired man with curiosity. None of them made any moves to go after him, likely deciding to just let Izuku-sensei be. They didn't question him that much, Ida had discovered, just trusted him to give them the information for why he did the things he did.

Either that or they were all too scared to ask. It was a fifty-fifty chance.

Whatever Izuku-sensei did, it didn't take long. He came back right before dinner was over, the plate no longer in his hands. There was a slight furrow between his brows, but it didn't look like he was worried. When he noticed Ida's gaze, he smiled his bright, beaming smile. A couple of the class 1-b kids flipped sunglasses out of their pockets with crisp, practiced movements and pulled them over their eyes. They had obviously done that before...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Shinso walked alongside Ida and Uraraka as the two classes made their way to where they would be sleeping for the duration of the camp. There were a fwe member of class 1-a that had to stay behind to take remedial classes, like Kaminari and Mina, but they would be back later that night. Or morning. It all depended on how mean his dad was feeling that day.

"Mineta, that is the wrong side of the dorms! Do not-! Come back here!" And Ida left to go wrangle Mineta back to where he was supposed to be, away from the girls' side of the dorms. All the other students were too tired to notice much of anything, but Shinso really hoped they wouldn't be to tired to see step one of the plan that he and his dad had worked out...

Well. It wasn't so much a plan as dropping hints at increasing frequency until a majority of the class had figured it out. His dad said it was a good way to test their instincts and investigative skills, but he was pretty sure his dad just got bored and wanted to stir the pot. He was also pretty sure that his papa had added Midnight in the loop and the spiky-haired woman was now running a betting pool to see who would figure it out the fastest.

Shinso knew he had to get in on that, because he was pretty sure Todoroki had already caught on to his trail- he hadn't really hidden the fact that he suspected them. He could make some serious cash if he played the odds right.

Uraraka waved goodbye and skipped off to the girls' side of the dorms, walking around a pouting Mineta being dragged back by their class dad. Kaminari had come up with that name for Ida earlier when they were all taking a break on Tiger's orders, which his actual dad had begrudgingly agreed to when he saw how exhausted they all were. When Bakugo continued to train, saying 'like he was so weak he needed a break. Tch' Ida ended up grabbing him by the arms and tugging him over and proceeded to lecture him on the importance of taking care of yourself and allowing yourself time for breaks that you obviously needed.

Mina had immediately agreed with Kaminari, adding that if Ida was the class dad then Yaoyorozu was the class mom. The black-haired girl actually got misty-eyed after they made the comparison. Ida had been more serious about his new nickname, stating the multitude of reasons it would not work, both on logical ground and just grasping for straws at reasons he wasn't their dad. This was the only time Shinso had ever seen Mina win an argument against Ida.

The room had beds laid out not too far from one another, and Shinso chose one by the corner where there weren't many other people present. Everyone was rolling out their sleeping bags, and Shinso couldn't help but smirk as he snapped his lavender-colored one open. But it wasn't the color that made him smirk, no... it was the fact that it was the same make as their teacher's bag. And by now everyone knew exactly what that bag looked like. Not a day went by that their teacher didn't pull it out to take a power nap in class.

And at first, Shinso was disappointed. There weren't any sudden gasps or people staring at him like he was an unknown specimen. Nobody had even turned their heads around to see him.

That was until Todoroki. His peppermint-haired classmate narrowed his eyes at Shinso, looking directly at the sleeping bag he was lying on next. You could practically see the lightbulb go off on top of his head when he figured it out, smug gaze meeting Shinso's levely.

He could already tell there were going to be quite a few, 'I knew it's' in his future'.

But nobody else noticed. They were either too busy causing trouble, wrangling the classmates that were causing trouble, or... why was Tokoyami leaning over a candle and lighting it before immediately putting it out? Was this a ritual he did every night before bed? Why? Shinso is not really sure he wants the answers to these questions.

Ida shut the lights off, having finally gotten everyone into their separate spots and made them stay there. In another life, he would've made a great preschool teacher, and it was kind of sad that their class was almost indistinguishable from toddlers. One of them even squeaked a little when the lights went out, and from the direction of the noise it was either Bakugo or Kirishima.

If only he had proof that it was Bakugo. Would've made great blackmail material.

Shinso placed his pillow above his ear, and tuned out the giggles that made getting to sleep impossible. Eventually they quieted down, and usually Shinso had terrible insomnia, which is why he depended on coffee so much, but the day had really been tiring. Training your quirk was not as fun as they made it out to be. His head was pounding and his legs hurt from hanging upside down for so long.

So he was relieved when instead of the usual four hours just lying in bed, he instead felt the blackness reach over him like a blanket, shrouding his consciousness in a peaceful quietude. If this is what being under the control of his quirk was like, he didn't know why people complained about it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kaminari groaned when he had to get up at the crack of dawn, his eyes burning from the early light. Him and the other four remedial studies students were up until two in the morning the previous night, the teachers drilling them in all sorts of different scenarios and terms until they were all crying in despair.

So they got less than four hours of sleep that night, and now they had to do the same grueling training that they did the day before. He wanted to go running back to his house just thinking about it.

Mr. Aizawa didn't give them any slack, making them run a lap around the clearing before they started on their individual exercises. Shinso was walking beside him, still looking like he woke up from a three-month coma even after everyone else started to perk up.

"Ugh. Does this mean I have to hang upside down on the tree again?" Kaminari looked over at Shinso and- oh god. That was... oh god. It was the most beautiful and adorable and cute and... gah.

Shinso was... pouting. Kaminari... where was a camera when you needed one? Kaminari had never felt so short-circuited in his life, even when his limit was way lower and he zapped himself everyday. His brain was fried, you can knock on the door but no one will answer, leave a message at the tone because he wasn't there.

And then as soon as the pout started, it stopped, and Kaminari was left in a world that was poutless. He was left standing there as the class continued forward, mouth open and eyes wide. He might have stayed there forever if Mina hadn't doubled back and grabbed him by the arm.

This day was off to a great start. He didn't see how anything could mess it up.

Part 25

Todoroki struggled through regulating the temperature of the water, both sides of his quirk straining in the regulation. It would be easier to just go all-out and boil and freeze the liquid, but that's not what Izuku-sensei instructed him to do. He was supposed to be focusing on the nuance with his quirk and getting precision with the temperature control down. Which was actually harder than just making a glacier that encompasses a huge area. Especially when he was using both sides.

It was a good thing he started to use his fire quirk again, because he had a feeling that Izuku-sensei would have made him do this exercise whether he was rejecting his quirk or not. He's not sure what gives him that impression. His teacher has been one of the nicest people that he has ever known, and he didn't seem like the type to be so relentless, but there was this gleam in his eyes that Todoroki caught during the Stain incident.

He was pretty sure Shinso and Ida hadn't caught it since they were both injured at the time, but Izuku-sensei looked like he was willing to kill in that moment. And that makes sense. He was there to protect them, and it was only natural that he would go to such lengths to do so. But... there was this cold, unforgiving edge that sharpened all of his features, casting him in a merciless light. He seemed like he could do anything in that moment.

And Todoroki hadn't seen a hint of it since. He had no other reason that his teacher would be the one to pull him out of the bubbling resentment he had been buried under before. There was just this feeling that he got that told him izuku-sensei could do a whole lot more than they assumed, that he had a stubborn streak in him a mile wide. And there was his caring streak that the students saw everyday. If Izuku-sensei was sure that using his quirk was the best choice for him, there would be no way that he would let Todoroki avoid using it. There would be some way his teacher would find to have him use his quirk.

They had been training for hours on end now, Tiger finally calling a break when the sun hit its highest point in the sky. This time Izuku-sensei and Aizawa went back to the loge and did something there for the remedial class that night while the four Wild, Wild Pussycats stayed with them. They weren't really doing much, just talking amongst the four of them while they all ate lunch. But there had been something that Todoroki had been meaning to ask them.

"Where did you come up with the idea for the individual exercises? They seem really specialized to each student." The four pro heroes froze, three of them looking away towards the trees and the fourth looking at Todoroki with a deer-in-headlights expression. One of them even started to whistle.

"Oh. You know how detailed Izuku-sensei can be. We really just followed his instructions to help you all with his exercises." So Izuku-sensei was the one who had come up with all of this. It did make sense, the analysis teacher would no doubt know exactly what they should be doing to improve their quirks. It was pretty much his job to know a quirks potential and how to achieve that potential.

But Todoroki's conspiracy theory sense was tingling. There was something more that they weren't telling him, and just like he would eventually prove that Shinso was Mr. Aizawa's secret love child, he would get to the bottom of this. All he had to do was ask a few more questions and see how they sweated... Everyone did this, right? This was normal?

"How did he come up with these exercises?" The guy pro hero froze and literally bent so far back using his quirk that Todoroki couldn't see his face anymore. None of the others were answering him, so he would just have to show them that he would ask questions until he got the answers he wanted.

"Well-maybe... maybe you don't necessarily want to know." Todoroki narrowed his eyes. "Trust me, you don't want to know."

Hmmm. he was going to keep pressing, but the four members of the veteran team walked away, probably doing something that Uraraka called a 'social cue'. He thinks that he understands the concept, but he just didn't catch when they were happening or which cue it was. Shinso said it wasn't a problem and that he would be able to function perfectly fine as a hero without them. Then Uraraka said that him and Todoroki were a bit too similar for their own good.

Hmph. Speaking of Shinso, it's now time ot grill him further about his parentage. He had only picked up a few new pieces of evidence since he confronted Shinso, and that was the incident with him and their two teachers and the sleeping bag last night. Now, the sleeping bag on its own was not anything special, but when coupled with all the other evidence he had picked up it was practically a flashing sign saying: I am Aizawa-sensei's secret love child.

And he had denied it the first time he asked, but now that Todoroki had caught the scent he wasn't letting go until he got the answers he wanted. He would not give up unless he got solid evidence to prove that Shinso was not Aizawa's secret love child. And now Todoroki was almost positive that that evidence does not exist.

"Shinso. I noticed you have a similar sleeping bag to Mr. Aizawa. Where did you get it?

"Probably the same place he did as they are the same sleeping bag in different colors. What does that have to do with anything, Todoroki?" Shinso raised an eyebrow at him, dodging the question and turning around to continue his conversation with Kaminari, who was looking between the two of them with an unsure expression. He might not be the brightest bulb, but he was no idiot, especially in social situations. The blonde obviously knew something was up between the two teens, but for once he elected to stay quiet and listen to what they were saying.

"I will ask you again, are you Mr. Aizawa's secret love child? The evidence is too much for you to deny now." Kaminari's mouth dropped open and he snapped his head to Shinso, waiting just as much as Todoroki was for his answer.

"Didn't I tell you at the Sports Festival that I was not Mr. Aizawa's secret love child, Todoroki?" There was that strange wording again... like he was telling the truth and lying at the same time.

"Are you in any way related to Aizawa-sensei outside of our classroom?" Shinso opened his mouth, then closed it, looking directly at Todoroki the entire time. Now that was the most obvious sign that something was wrong Todoroki had gotten thus far. He would get Shinso to admit that he had a relationship with Aizawa (and possibly Present Mic too) that extended outside of school barriers. No matter what he had to do.

He wasn't above a little waterboarding, but he would exhaust all other options first.

"Shinso, answer me right-"

"All right, kits! Time to get back at it!" Hmm. You win this battle, Shinso, but you will not win the war.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Izuku pressed his back against the hard bark of the tree and watched as the students sluggishly made their way through the exercises. Quite a few of them had thrown up, most notably Uraraka, who had thrown up four times in the last two days. He was already seeing the progress they were making, however. It had only been two days and at least two week's worth of work had been accomplished. He could alread tell they would all make great heroes. Even Mineta.

A sharp, piercing trill of a whistle cut through the air, catching the attention of all the students. Ragdoll let it drop from her fingertips, the shiny piece of metal hitting the grass with a soft thunk. He wasn't really sure why she let it go when Pixie Bob just picked it up when they all left. Maybe it was some sort of routine they had worked out for capturing the attention of teens who would rather be blowing up- sorry- stopping buildings from blowing up than listening to people tell them what to do.

Everyone had their different methods; Aizawa activated his quirk and glared; Midnight struck a pose; Present Mic yelled; and Izuku usually kept them interested by... actually, he doesn't quite remember what he does. They just usually watched him and all he had to do was mention something random and shocking every once in a while to keep it that way.

They ate dinner quickly, but that was nowhere near the end of the night. No, tonight they had something special planned for the students. Well, most of them. They couldn't let the remedial students have too much fun.

"All right, kits! Get into pairs in your own class quickly. We're going to be doing something we like to call 'fear night'. What is going to happen is class 1-b will hide in the forest, in pairs, while pairs of 1-a will walk through. Class 1-b is going to try and scare the class 1-a students as much as possible, without anything physical happening, while 1-a does their best to not scream. This is one of those activities where it will be more fun than the training you have been doing thus far."

Students immediately started to pair up, and Izuku could hear a whispered conversation between Kaminari and Mina. " Go over and do it! Come on, it's not that hard. All you have to do is walk over and offer to be partners with him. Don't be a wuss, Kaminari!" Izuku raised his eyebrows as Kaminari walked over to the purple-haired boy, only to be stopped in his tracks by Aizawa. Izuku already knew what was coming.

"Nope. You are going to be doing remedial lessons while they are doing the activity."

"WHAT! COME ON, THE FIRST FUN THING WE DO ALL DAY, AND WE CAN'T EVEN DO IT?"

"Maybe you should have thought about that before you failed your final exams," Ooh. Izuku had heard about this. That was a textbook ' dad answer'. He had overheard Shinso and Uraraka grumbling about it in his class earlier that month, and he had to search it up since Ida reprimanded them for talking in class before they could explain it further. This was his first time seeing the phrase in action.

It was pretty effective. He understands why it is such a weapon to be feared for children.

Since they had an odd number of students in class 1-a, due to the remedial students leaving, Shinso ended up going lone wolf. He didn't seem to mind, though. If anything, he looked happy that he wouldn't have to deal with another human being while in the forest.

Monoma was cackling wildly, raving about how class 1-a would finally be put in their place and be proved inferior to class 1-b- even though he too was a remedial student. And as Vlad King walked off with the remedial students, he could see a slight smirk donning the lips of the blood hero. Seems someone was playing favorites.

Class 1-b went to go hide along the path, and in just a few minutes the first pair of students would be sent out. Surprisingly, Bakugo and Todoroki ended up partnering together, due to Bakugo losing Kirishima as his partner. Now that would be interesting. Those two together were more likely to scare class 1-b than the other way around. He could see the pair ignoring whatever scheme the other class had and just continuing on with whatever argument they were having in that moment. It might be a bit of an underwhelming experience for them if 1-b didn't have something good planned.

Spotting movement from the corner of his eye, he caught Kota walking away with his hands fisted deep in his pockets. The black-haired boy didn't seem to care one lick what the two hero classes were doing, kicking a stray rock as he passed it. He was heading in the direction of the cave that Izuku had found him in the previous night, so he could only assume that Mandalay didn't know where he was going.

"Aren't you going to stay and watch them? There's no reason to go so soon."

"Bah. Why would I want to watch a buncha hero-wannabes get scared in the woods? All they want is to show off their quirks, so it doesn't even matter."

And that's when Izuku could tell they were about to delve into the same discussion they had gotten into the previous night, about what heroes were really after and why his parents had to do what they did. They didn't get anywhere then, and they wouldn't make any progress now, so Izuku let the kid walk away without another word.

Right now he had to pay attention to the students and make sure they didn't need to schedule any more sessions with Hound Dog than they were already planning on. These kids had enough trauma from the USJ without giving their school rivals chances to psychologically damage them further. UA had the budget for it, but they didn't want to have to put all of their hero course students in therapy that could be avoided.

Now all that was left to do was sit and wait for the pairs to go in and watch as class 1-b did their best to scare the everloving crap out of 1-a. Tiger was already grinning ear to ear at the thought of it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Bakugo stomped down the dirt path, Todoroki right next to him. It was pissing him the hell off that the Icyhot idiot was walking side by side with him. Like they're the same. Pfff. Bakugo is so much better than any of these crappy extras, and you can't prove him otherwise. Mostly because he won't listen to a word you say, but also because he's better.

He's still furious with the loser walking next to him for throwing the final match of the Sports Festival. He had the perfect chance to use his flames and attack Bakugo right back, maybe even come close to winning (but Bakugo won't admit that) and instead he chose to give up. He freaking held back. Like Bakugo was someone lesser that he could win against half-assed. He was looking down on him, and Bakugo wanted to kill him for that.

Though, for now they had to 'work together', as Izuku-sensei put it. Like Bakugo wasn't strong enough on his own to overcome whatever obstacles were thrown in his way. He doesn't need freaking support from those who were lesser than him. And the idea that he couldn't handle this forest trip on his own made him want to set fire to the lodges. He didn't need Icy Hot to make it through a bunch of b-list heroes who couldn't scare even a single mouse if they tried. There was a reason they called them class 1-b, and that was because they weren't as good as 1-a. Or more specifically, him.

They didn't get a single person in the top three for the Sports Festival and now they wanted them to 'learn from each other' and 'see it as a chance to help your future colleagues'. Well, he was calling bullcrap. There was no reason that he couldn't learn on his own without any of those extras around. He came to be taught by pro-heroes, not future cannon fodder.

Which was apparently a term he couldn't use. Kirishima had forbidden him from using it on accounts that it was, 'way too harsh and not manly at all'. That Shitty-haired extra. There was no reason in the world that Bakugo should feel... fond... when he though of the dyed-red. There was no reason that he should view him any different than any of the other extras in his grade, but he did.

He couldn't even really explain it. There was just this feeling that took over whenever he was around, a levity no matter what the situation. And when he smiled, it was like the baby shark song come to life, a cheerful tune that was always there in your head forever, no matter how hard you tried to forget it. Not that Bakugo would ever try to forget Kirishima. He was a jerk about a lot of things, but he could never do that.

It wasn't until Bakugo had helped Kirishima study that he realized just what his feeling were. The moment when he leaned down over Kirishima's shoulder and corrected him was one of the tensest moments in his life. And he was barely saved from a slime monster a few months before UA (All Might had saved him).

The way Kirishima chewed on his pencil, the way his eyes grew large and confused whenever there were too many numbers in one place, the way he looked at Bakugo, like he would always be there...

"Bakugo, are you okay? Your lips appear to be spasming."

"HAH?! BACK OFF YOU LITTLE HALF-AND-HALF F-"

"Bakugo. I don't think we want to alert them to our location. It gives them more time to prepare."

"PAH! Like those extras can scare me. They probably look like decorations from the dollar store. Dumb extras."

Just then, something whizzed past his face, but Bakugo ignored it in favor of his current argument with Todoroki. Like hell he was losing to him in anything, least of all an argument in which he knew he was right. And class 1-b wouldn't ever be scary to someone like him, ever. He was better than them and he didn't need to prove it.

But it would be fun if he did.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Yanagi popped her head out from behind the bush, annoyed that they hadn't even noticed her flying objects all around them. They hadn't even turned their heads! Her quirk was practically made for this exercise. It was literally called Poltergeist! And that means that it's supposed to scare people. Huff.

She would just have to hope that the others in her class would have better luck scaring those two than she did. Monoma just doubled down whenever class 1-a beat them, and she really didn't want him to have any more head injuries than he already did.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Todoroki didn't understand why Bakugo was getting so angry. All he was doing was asking if he was okay. Usually people would describe what was happening to Bakugo's lips as a smile, but the spiky blonde didn't smile unless someone was in pain, so Todoroki just assumed he was in some sort of pain. But then Bakugo started to call names and deny everything, and Todoroki must admit that he might have egged him on a bit from there.

It was amusing seeing Bakugo get so flustered and angry at the same time, and Uraraka had taught Todoroki how to playfully poke fun at others. She had mentioned not to bring up childhood or current trauma, however. Said it 'might be going a bit too far'. So no tea kettle stories then.

Bakugo just started to let out an impressive string of curse words when something changed in the air. It was like the forest went quiet, like everything there had just left, leaving only silence in their wake. Todoroki and Bakugo looked around for a moment, assuming that class 1-b was doing something that was designed to spook them.

They ended up not finding anything, and when Bakugo looked at Todoroki the teen just shrugged. Maybe that was it. Maybe Bakugo was right and class 1-b didn't have anything special or scary planned. Guess this was just going to be a leisurely stroll through the forest.

And that's when the world burst into flames.

Part 26

Dabi stood at the edge of the forest and fed the fire, letting the blue encompass the entirety of the forest edge. They spiraled into magnificent columns in the dark night sky, setting the world ablaze with light and heat. He let a small spark dance around his fingers, his eyes absorbing the brilliance of the destructive element. He could stay in this moment forever, never moving forward or going back, stuck in one place in time.

He could have been standing there minutes or hours, just watching the flames that he created. He never got to let them loose on this sort of scale, not in a long time, so just the chance to do something like this would be worth it on its own. But that wasn't all that this attack was about. This was them proving to the hero students that nowhere was safe for them... while getting a few new recruits on the way.

They were here for two students specifically: the angry blonde that had come in first place and his younger brother, Shoto. The winner of the Sports Festival had been Shigaraki's idea, the kid seemed so angry and talented that their 'glorious' leader assumed that he would be able to persuade him onto their side. Something about how 'team turns' happen all the time and you only had to do a 'recruitment sequence' for it to happen.

And Shoto had been his idea. He had gotten Shigaraki to agree to it because his younger brother was so talented, but he didn't tell them the real reason he wanted the white-and-red-haired teen on their side. The truth was, he did miss his family members. All except that piece of flaming garbage, that was. He figured if he could get his younger brother to join them then he would have a way to know how Fuyumi and Natsuo were doing. It had been a long time since he had seen any of them, and working with his little brother to destroy their father did sound fun to him.

All they had to do was take those students using Mr. Compress' quirk, then they made their quick getaway using Kurogiri. They already had plans for the teacher's, so they wouldn't stop them this time. The homeroom teachers would be back teaching the dumb kids that failed the exams, and the four kitty-cats would be so focused on protecting the students in front of them that they wouldn't focus on the kids in the forest. All they had to do was seal off the areas and nothing could stop them.

Shigaraki had made sure to highlight that fact when he dropped them all off, saying, " There's no way even you lesser party members could screw this up." He claimed there was something more important he needed to do, and he didn't have to waste his time going after a bunch of high school brats. Then he attempted to throw a table when Toga suggested he was afraid that the guy from the USJ would show up again. But because Kurogiri 'kid-proofed the tables, it didn't go anywhere. It just ended up disintegrating when their 'fearless leader' realized he couldn't throw it into the air.

But as Dabi watched the fire flicker in the dark night sky, he felt a smidge of doubt start to creep its way into his mind. This was going a little farther than he had originally thought, and he definitely didn't want to hurt his little brother. He didn't exactly care one way or another for his classmates, but it wasn't like he wanted to hurt them. All he wanted was a world where there were true heroes, not this scum that crawled from the sewers of hell.

But if he had to hurt others to get that world, he would. He had forsaken all other bonds and given up his previous life a long time ago. The little boy who wanted nothing but his father's approval was long gone, and all that was left was Dabi. The boy who was born out of anger and pain. The boy who walked through the fire with sizzling skin, who ignored the burn marks left all over him. The boy who wouldn't let anyone or anything get in his way.

Dabi pushed away his reservations and let the fire blaze higher, letting it dance playfully through the trees and feeling the wave of heat wash over him. There was no point in looking back now. He had made the decision and now he would stick with it. He would see this through.

And above all, he would see Endeavor burn.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Shinso leaned against one of the solid oak trees, watching the rest of his classmates from a distance. At this point, a few of the pairs had ventured out into the forest and a couple of distant, echoey screams could be heard over the treetops. None had come from Todoroki and Bakugo, though, so one could assume that Bakugo had picked a fight and they were now completely ignoring whatever it was that they were supposed to be walking through a forest of terror. Bet that messed with class 1-b. Ha.

He was going to be one of the last to go, so he was really just chilling. A few of the Wild, Wild Pussycats had popcorn out and were laughing when some of the more obnoxious screams, like Aoyama's, burst through the air. Seriously, that kid had a scream that was so high pitched Shinso was shocked they could even hear it, and it wavered like he was singing opera, too. That scream should be registered as a support weapon, because it could do some serious damage.

Another pair disappeared into the forest, the small clearing getting just a tad quieter as more and more students walked away. You could now hear the crickets softly chirping, the wind lightly ruffling through the trees, smell the burning wood from all around the forest-

Wait, smell the burning wood from all around the forest?!

Shinso head darted up, nostrils flared and eyes wide as he surveyed the blue flames swirling in the distance, clearly not supposed to be there. The four Wild, Wild Pussycats tossed their popcorn to the ground, immediately at the ready for whatever disaster was about to befall them.

"STUDENTS! STAY BEHIND US! THIS IS NOT A PART OF FEAR NIGHT!" Another student- he wasn't really looking to see who- grabbed him by the arm and pulled him over to where they were all stationed behind the teachers, as requested. A few of them were back-to-back, everyone at the defensive. They knew they couldn't do anything now, because if this was really a villain attack they couldn't attack unless given explicit orders by their instructors.

And that probably wasn't going to happen, given that they knew about what had happened with Stain. Aizawa had given him the evil eye when he came back from the hospital that day, and Shinso knew, even if he didn't directly say it, that if he ever did something like that again he would be in deep trouble. Like the kind of deep trouble that got people killed.

So, they would do what their supervisors told them to. They wouldn't be reckless and mindlessly attack whatever villain came at them. Him, Todoroki and Ida would show them that they had learned, and that they understood what the consequences of their actions would have been if Izuku-sensei hadn't shown up.

Speaking of Izuku-sensei...

Their green-headed teacher was taking a head count, gaze scanning over them quickly. There was a cold, clinical sharpness in his eyes, like he was calculating every data set, every possibility that could arise. In that moment, Shinso could barely see a trace of his teacher who had always had a twinkle in his eye, like he was his own star. Instead, all he could see was a dark, shrew shadow that enveloped him, the dark side of the moon that you never saw.

And then, just like that, it was gone. Their teacher turned away from them and made his way over to the rest of the heroes, something dangling from the tips of his fingers. It was glinting against the sparks that danced from beyond the treetops, so Shinso could only assume it was some sort of metal, maybe the knife he used when battling Stain. From the way things were right now, it was starting to look like he would need it.

Several figures began to emerge from the corners of the clearing, some carrying enormous weapons with them. There was a blade set on what seemed to be hundreds of other blades, all dangerously sharpened. They were helpless to do anything but watch as their teachers started to engage in combat, dodging blows and dealing with the villains.

Shinso could just barely make out some of the shouted words, straining to hear over the whistling wind. "You think all you have to do is stop us? We're only a small faction of the Vanguard Action Squad! There is nothing you can do to stop us now, so it's better to just give up while you still can. Don't think we'll hesitate to kill you."

Shinso could barely breathe as the villains did their best to eradicate the teachers, his hands clenched tight at his sides. Nothing I can do, he had to remind himself when a knife was thrown way too close for comfort. All he could do was be an observer, someone standing silently at the side.

...He didn't like it.

He saw Izuku-sensei running straight to Mandalay, throwing a few shouted words at her that were unable to be heard over the rushing of blood in Shinso's head. No amount of hanging upside down would be enough to stop the pounding in his head. He was starting to feel nauseous. He had no idea where his dad was, or any of the students that were in the remedial classes. And there was no chance that the students in the forest were safe. At least one of the students would have come running back to the teachers if they had been able to do so.

So that meant that there was something stopping them from exiting the forest. Or worse.

He didn't really want to think about what worse was.

Right now, he just had to focus on watching their teachers and making sure that no one jumped in, making sure to keep an eye on everything that was happening in case it became important later. Just don't let anyone out of your si- hey, where was Izuku-sensei going?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Izuku readied his stance and focused his gaze on the attackers in front of him. This definitely wasn't on the schedule plan, but you always had to adapt to unforeseen situations. There was just no way around it, you were going to run into things like that. What marked you as capable wasn't how you did in controlled scenarios, it was how you did in the scenarios that you couldn't control. The ways in which you were outmaneuvered or outmatched. That is where you could prove how far you've come.

And these situations were coming much sooner than they could have anticipated for the students. He hadn't prepared them as much as he wished he could have, but something told him that wouldn't stop them from succeeding. They were a promising bunch, and he had high hopes for them. Just as he had high hopes for Mic's and AIzawa's class.

But he couldn't think about that right now. He had to make sure the students and everyone else there made it out okay. The remedial students were with Vlad and Aizawa, so they weren't his immediate concern, but nobody had heard from or seen the students in the forest since it caught on fire. The Wild, Wild Pussycats were able to look after everyone here, they were an accomplished hero team, after all. But that still left one person unaccounted for.

Kota.

He had wandered off earlier, assumedly to his hideout near the caves. He was lucky that he had figured out where the kid was going last night; it made this part much easier. Mandalay had told him earlier that she had no idea where he went, however. It was clear that the beads of sweat on her forehead were not just from the fight. She was worried.

The villain with the large, pointy weapon swung at him, the steel glinting in the moonlight. For its bulk it was moving quickly, swishing through the air with speed. He had no choice but to push off the ground as hard as he could, his feet barely missing one of the steel edges.

For a moment, he saw the battlefield clearly, how the students stood at the ready, how the villains were holding them back from going anywhere, how the four-member team was keeping the situation contained. The villains were obviously trying to distract them from something else they were doing, a larger plan at work. Staying here wouldn't do any good. They had no idea how many villains there were or what their goal of attacking was. He had to get to the root of this, and soon. If he didn't, there was no hope of stopping them.

But first he had to make sure that Kota was alright. He didn't have any training, and he was alone right now. Well, Izuku hoped he was alone.

The alternative wasn't great to think about.

As far as he knew, he was the only one that knew where Kota's hideaway was. Mandalay was worried sick right now, and it was showing. She kept glancing out to the forest or getting distracted, and that just couldn't happen right now.

He hit the ground rolling, skidding to a stop right before he hit a tree head-on. Whew. That was close. Dashing to where Mandalay was dodging the giant weapon he jumped over earlier, he shouted, "Mandalay! I know where Kota is, and I can get to him. Just keep the students safe, I'll be back as soon as I can!"

The villain caught him sprinting towards the tree line and tried to head him off before he could get away. However, Izuku was prepared for this exact scenario and slid forward, completely bypassing the attempt to stop him. The grass brushed his cheek roughly, ear almost flat against the ground. Dirt was clinging to his hair, the forest floor torn apart when the weapon hit the ground right where he was just a moment ago. And then he was off, footsteps hitting rapidly one after another, breath kept even and controlled even as his heart beat erratically in his chest.

Make it in time... gotta make it in time... you can't save everyone, but you can save him... this won't be another of those situations... just got to make it in time...

Focus. Keep a clear head. Don't panic.

The rock was rough against his fingertips when his hand slapped the cliff side. It would take too long to go around, so he would just have to climb up. Hand after hand, foot after foot. That was all there was too it.

He liked the complex simplicity in rock climbing. You had to plan out your movements carefully so you wouldn't get stuck, had to train relentlessly to be able to pull of techniques that would require more dexterity and strength than you thought anything could. But at the same time, it was just step by step. You just had to focus on the next movement, the next push, just the small progress you could make right then. It was in opposition with itself, and that is the basic layout of everything. The next small step in your marathon.

...Also, whenever he did it he got strangely introspective. Definitely not the first monologue he's done while climbing a cliff side.

His hand slid over the top of the wall, burning slightly because of how high and rough the rock of the cliff was. But it was worth it to get there quickly. If he had gone the long route that was at a low incline he would've never made it in the time he did. Speed was of the essence, and he had no time to waste.

He quickly rounded the corner, ready for whatever might be waiting for him there. The first thing he saw was Kota, with his back pressed as far as it could go against the wall, eyes filled with fear. Tears were slipping down his face, and his breath was coming in quick patches of air.

And that's when he saw the villain. His huge, bulky figure was towering over Izuku in his short height. He had a mechanical eye that was piercing, devoid from all light. It was wrapped around by a scar that covered almost half of his face, slicing up his cheek and into his forehead.

"Well, looks like I'll be having more fun tonight then I thought! Now I get to kill two kids! So why don't we just cut to the chase and you can stand still there, huh? Or you can try to fight me and lose, shorty." Wait...

What did he just call me?!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mandalay darted to the side and tried to rake her claws against one of the villains faces, having to jump back when they swung at her. She had already sent out a broadcast to the other teachers about what was going on, as well as telling the students not to panic, so there wasn't anything else she could do but hold them off.

And that tore something deep inside of her to stay away even though she knew there were other students out there that could be... no, probably were in danger. But she couldn't leave the others here alone. They were at a disadvantage. The villains knew their quirks but they had no idea what theirs were. They were on the defensive here, and they were playing right into the villains' hands.

And that wasn't even mentioning Kota. She had no idea where her nephew had run off to. He was gone, and it was her fault. She should've tried harder, made more of an effort to find out where he went. He could die and it would be all her fault.

She had already lost his parents. She wasn't sure she could handle losing him too.

No, she had to remind herself, I'm not going to lose him. Izuku-sensei knows where he is. Izuku-sensei can handle it. As long as Izuku-sensei is with him he's going to be okay.

...Please, be okay.

Please...

Hey! First of all, thank you to everyone who is reading this story, I really appreciate it. This is my first fanfic, and I've really enjoyed writing it and seeing your comments. I just cross-posted this on ao3, so if anyone prefers to read it there I have the same username. I also wanted to ask if anyone had any feedback for me, preferably constructive. I really want to make sure this is fun to read and I would love any comments you have.

Thank you!

Part 27

Izuku looked up at the towering villain in front of him, eyes narrowing down to a single point. He was just called shorty. And yeah, he knew he was short, but it's not like he wants to have it brought up all the time! Why was that always the first thing that villains said to him? It was either some insult about his height or calling his greenie or asking if he needed to get back to school. There was nothing creative there at all. If you were going to throw insults, at least put some effort into it.

He leapt in front of where Kota was cowering on the floor, edging himself backwards and increasing the space between the two. The kid was insensible, trembling like a leaf and gasping for air, eyes darting around frantically. He was mumbling something underneath his breath, but Izuku couldn't hear it until he was almost heel to heel with the kid.

" Mom... Dad... no, no, no..." Izuku's eyes flew wide open from their narrowed state, and he really looked at the villain in front of him. He couldn't believe that he hadn't seen this before. He must have been getting sloppy, because the man in front of him was the man who killed the Waterhose duo. When they all got back, he would have to go through his usual schedule of spending at least an hour a day looking through old cases and villain profiles. There was no excuse for this.

"Aw, c'mon kid. You can't seriously think that you're gonna beat me, do ya? You're still a child, and a pretty puny one at that. Give up now and I'll promise to make it hurt less when I kill you."

...Well, that wasn't good negotiating tactics at all.

"Kota, the first chance you get I want you to run down to the main building. Don't stop, and don't look back. Everything is going to be just fine." Izuku didn't risk taking his eyes off of the man in front of him, knees bent and ready to spring forward should he have to. Kota gave a large sniffle in response and mumbled a low 'yes', breathing calming down as he tried to push himself to his feet.

"Hey kid, make sure not to go far. As much as I love to chase down my prey, I've got other things to do tonight and I would hate to waste time chasing down little brats. It's so much more fun to just bash their skulls in." Muscular grinned, and his singular good eye twinked sadistically. It made Izuku sick to his stomach.

He'd held off from addressing the villain directly, but he was starting to see no way around it. This man obviously wanted a fight, and Izuku was buying time so Kota could get as far away as possible without seeing the fight. His students had a therapist on school grounds. Kota did not, though it would probably benefit him greatly.

"Kota, remember what I said. The first chance you get, run." Izuku looked directly into Muscular's eye and took a single step forward, keeping his hands at his side. The police files that were on Muscular said that he could grow muscles that made him physically stronger, sometimes even growing outside of his skin if there were too many of them to be contained inside of his body.

"You are the villain Muscular, correct?"

"Ha! Even little pipsqueaks like you have heard of me, huh? We'll see if I can make the news again tonight, won't we?" Muscular took a threatening step forward, smile growing wider until he realized his opponent hadn't moved back an inch. Frustration bloomed on his face at the refusal to bend to his will.

"I'm going to have to ask you to leave. As I'm sure you-"

"HAHAHAHAHA!!! That's a good one, kid! But to be cracking jokes at a time like this... someone's trying to go out with a bang." Did everything he said revolve around them not being able to beat them or killing them himself? Villains were so repetitive. There's a reason I needed that holiday...

"So you're not going to leave?" Muscular flashed his teeth and cracked his knuckles, chuckling at Izuku. "Very well. Kota, may I suggest you leave now?"

Before Muscular could move an inch, Izuku burst forward and swung his right fist forward, catching him off guard. Then, while he was still reeling from the sudden attack, he swept his leg forward right to the back of the knee. Okay, great, now he's on the ground. This is the part where you run, Kota!

Luckily, he didn't need to shout it out and the kid was already scrambling down the rocky and uneven pathway. Izuku couldn't be sure what sort of situation he was sending the kid into, but anywhere had to be better than right here. This was one of his weak points, going up against someone who is multiple times stronger than he is. If it comes down to a battle of brute strength like the kind Muscular has, 9 out of 10 times he would lose. However, he makes sure he always finds a way to get that 1 in ten chance.

"You little punk! Nevermind about just killing you, I'm going to make sure you suffer." Muscular swung his fist right at Izuku's face, wind whistling right past Izuku's ears when he was barely able to dodge it. Much faster than he should be with that much body mass... add that into your calculations. He had to find out more about Muscular's ability before he could whip out any of his tricks hidden up his sleeve. The police report hadn't included much more information than his muscles can grow and he's strong. That just wasn't going to fly here.

In the next few minutes, not only did Izuku have to dodge Muscular's fast-flying fists, but he also had to avoid the rubble that was flying in all directions. He didn't have room to go without running out of space now, so he supposed it was about time to start his counterattack...

Izuku pulled out a length of wire from one of the utility pouches he had hanging by his waist, and he waited for Muscular's next punch to come. When the fist was only a few inches from his face, he swung the corded wire out in front of him and wrapped in around Muscular's wrist, using his own momentum against him to slam him into the rock wall. The jagged rock sliced at his skin and made several small cuts all around his arm, but that didn't stop the villain for long. He was already forming new muscles all over the top part of his body, even more than he'd had when he first started out.

"You think that's going to stop me? This is going to be more fun than I thought..." Before Izuku had the chance to even blink, Muscular's fist came flying towards him and hit him right in the gut, sending him flying backwards. He heard a distinct crack come from his hand and looked down to see three of the fingers on his left hand broken, but everything else was fine. He'd had much worse before, that was nothing to him.

He discarded the now broken wire and looked Muscular right in the eye. He would prefer for this not to end in bloodshed, but there was a reason he sent Kota away. If Muscular refused to surrender then he would have no choice but to use the most extreme methods. It was never his first choice, but somehow it always ended up being his last.

The villain in fornt of him growled, glaring with death in his eyes. It only took him a few thundering step before he reached Izuku, throwing a flurry of blows the second he did. Izuku had to dodge all of them, having no time to put some space between him and Muscular or counterattack. And just when he thought he could roll back, a fist came crashing into his shoulder, then another to his side. He flew backwards into the rock wall once more, this time whatever damage there was probably being more severe than a couple of broken fingers.

There was a small ringing in his ears when he lifted his head from the ground dazedly. His eyes could barely focus on one point, but he could see the blurry figure of the villain walking towards him slowly. "Well, why don't you ask me to surrender again, Greenie? C'mon, make this more fun. And don't look so glum. You never stood a chance anyway. I'm surprised you even got the kid away, though I'll just find and kill him later." C'mon, limbs, work! "I don't want to waste too much time on you, since you're not on my list, but I'm certainly not going to leave you alive after what a pain in the ass you've been."

List... they had a reason for coming here. 'You're not on the list' means that there are people on the list, likely students. They must be trying to either take out students... or recruit them. Now I really need to get out of here. Mandalay and the others need to know this immediately.

"Speaking of, where is the student known as 'Bakugo'? I've got orders to retrieve him, and I really don't want to waste time looking for the snot-nosed brat."

Izuku spotted a red stain on the gray rock out of the corner of his eye, and he wondered where he had gotten hurt. He didn't feel much of anything whenever he was stabbed, or worse. Maybe that would have concerned him at any age below 30, but that had been a long time ago. Now, it was just a subject that was mildly embarrassing after he broke upwards of five bones and someone had to tell him that before he noticed.

No... that's not my blood. It's Muscular's, from when he smashed into the stone before. There was a surprising amount of it for small cuts, and when Izuku looked at Muscular again he got an idea. An idea he was really glad he sent Kota away before he executed said idea. Things were going to get pretty bloody...

He roughly pushed to his feet, wavering more than he probably should have. He forced his eyes to refocus on the silhouette in front of him, fingers carefully gripping the smooth handle of his knife. Every single sense of his came alive, and the world seemed to move in slow motion when Muscular raised his fist for the final blow...

And fell to the ground, fingers desperately pressing on the wound that covered his entire torso. Blood was spilling out and staining the villain's hands, choked gasps filling the air. The single eye left looked down at the dripping knife dangling from his fingers, then looked right into Izuku's eyes, shocked and disbelieving.

"I'm sorry to have had to do this, but you have left me with no choice. I will not allow any of my students to be hurt if I can stop it."

"You... BASTARD!!! It doesn't matter that you have a knife, that won't do you any good when I break every bone in your body!!!" Muscular rallied what was clearly the last of his strength and summoned so many muscles that his figure practically blocked the entire forest from view. Everything was a blur when he came rushing towards Izuku with murder in his eyes.

SNAP.

CRACK.

SHHKKK.

Silence swept over the forest like a blanket for just a moment, each second seeming to last an hour. Blood soaked the ground, and both of the figures were panting heavily... until one of them stopped.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Aizawa slammed the door shut behind him and scanned the forest, scarf already in hand. The previously silent forest was now full of sound, the crackling of flames, the deep whoosh of the wind, the slight tremble of the ground. The fire and trembling of the ground was what concerned him the most. It was also what would have tipped him off had Mandalay's transmission not gone through.

Apparently, they had the situation all under control there, but there were students still unaccounted for in the forest. Vlad was taking care of the remedial studies students are making sure that they didn't do anything stupid, and Aizawa was supposed to go see who was causing the fires and stop them. You couldn't exactly get out of the forest while there were flames blocking your path.

He could sitll remember what he was doing the second he got the transmission, totally unaware of what a crap turn things had just taken.

"Kaminari, do you have an answer for what this hero team up strategy is called?"

"...Does it have something to do with the color blue?"

"...No, no it does not. Can anyone else answer this question that is imperitve you all of you passing and getting your hero license? Satou?"

"HA!!! So much for being superior, class 1-a. You are no better than class 1-b, in fact class 1-b is better that you! And now everyone knows it too!!!" That was annoying.

"Your class isn't very good at this, are they Aizawa?" Stupid dog-lover. Vlad was taking way too much enjoyment out of the failure of his students. Made Aizawa want to punch him, honestly. And then bury his body where no one could find it...

"ATTENTION!!!" Everyone's heads jerked up when the announcement came blaring through in their brains, clear yet staticy at the same time. From the note of distress that he could pick up on AIzawa could tell this wasn't going to be good. What had his class done this time...?

"THERE HAS BEEN A VILLAIN BREACH. WE HAVE MANY STUDENTS UNACCOUNTED FOR IN THE FOREST AND THERE ARE FLAMES SURROUNDING THE FOREST. WE'VE GOT THE SITUATION UNDER CONTROL IN THE CLEARING BUT WE NEED TO FIND OUT WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE FLAMES AND STOP THEM QUICKLY, OTHERWISE IT'S GOING TO BE A WHOLE LOT HARDER TO STOP THEM. ANY STUDENTS HEARING THIS, I WANT TO MAKE MYSELF VERY CLEAR THAT UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES, UNTIL YOU ARE GIVEN INSTRUCTIONS BY ANY OF YOUR TEACHERS, ARE YOU TO ENGAGE WITH THE VILLAINS. THERE IS TOO MUCH RISK INVOLVED. STAY TOGETHER AND STAY SAFE!"

...Oh crap.

Him and Vlad had agreed that he should be the one to confront the villain, or villains, causing the fire since he was able to erase their quirk. Unfortunately, he had no idea where this villain would be. He supposes it would be too much to ask for the villain to just come out and-

" Boo."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kendo gasped for air, barreling out of the poison gas area with Tetsutetsu right next to her. The two had been waiting for some more class 1-a students when the flames and the gas started. Now they had no idea what to do. They had heard nothing from their teachers, and they hadn't seen any other students. Kendo could only hope that the rest of them were okay, and that nothing bad had happened to them.

She just couldn't help herself from worrying about them. They always jokingly called her the 'class mom' or 'class big sister', and sometimes that did annoy her, but she also thought it was really sweet of them to think of her in that way. If any of them got hurt she wasn't sure what she would do with herself. They were like siblings to her, and she loved their little class dynamic.

"Kendo! What do we do? Should we find the others, or go find the teachers?" Tetsutetsu's skin was half hardened, a slight steel shine coming from it. But that didn't stop his brow from creasing in worry, or the nervous sheen coming off his skin. If anything, it made the second one worse.

"Okay... chances are there are villains in the forest. One of them is probably making the poison gas that's stopping us right now. What if we-"

Kendo was cut off by someone bursting out of the foliage, gas masks in hand. Yaoyorozu practically threw two of them at the class 1-b students, eyes wide and determined. "Put these on! I'm going to try and find as many of us as I can and make sure that nobody gets hurt by the gas. The gas masks aren't going to be 100% effective since I didn't have the exact chemical makeups of everything I needed, so do your best to stay away from it still. Be careful out there!"

And just like that, she was gone again, taking a few of class 1-a with her. Kendo really respected Yaoyorozu, as both a friend and a rival. She had a totally awesome quirk, and she was smart and competent. She was really glad that the black-haired beauty was her fellow class president in the hero course. They hadn't had that many interactions, but the few they had had left Kendo impressed. She had to admit, even if their hero internships hadn't gone as planned or been as eventful as expected, it was still a lot of fun to do that commercial with Yaoyorozu.

But most of all, she really wanted to surpass her. Like she said before, Yaoyorozu was going to be a really smart and capable hero in the future, and she was the benchmark that Kendo wanted to set for herself. And if Yaoyorozu was going around the forest and searching for other students, then the least Kendo could do was make it easier on her.

"...Alright. So, Tetsutetsu. I think I've got a plan... or at least the makings of one. If Yaoyorozu and the others are out searching for more people, they'll have a better time of it if we take care of the villain that's distributing the gas right now. See where it gets thicker over there? That's where they're going to be. It'll be easier now that we have these gas masks. You in?"

"Heck yeah! Let's go be manly!" Oh jeez... not with the manly's again. I'm so glad we didn't get two of them in one class. I love Tetsutetsu, but there is a thing as too much manliness... and the two of them together would reach it.

Putting on the mask and venturing further in, Kendo still hoped that everyone was alright. At least now she could do her best to make sure that she was making things at least the smallest bit safer for them. That was her duty of being class president, after all. Setting an example and making sure that she held herself to the same standards that she held to her fellow classmates.

Speaking of fellow classmates, she really hoped that Monoma wasn't just making fun of class 1-a and how they didn't know how to handle themselves in their second villain attack.

...Oh, who was she kidding.

He definitely was.

Part 28

Aizawa's eyes widened and he jumped straight up, right over the villain's attack. The same blue flames that he saw all around the forest coursed under him, so he assumed this was the villain he was looking for. His long black hair flew into his face, blocking his vision for just a moment. He really hated when that happened, but at the same time he really didn't want to cut it. Maybe he would try tying it back sometime...

His fingers gripped the side of the building, catching himself in a higher position, able to see the newcomer without difficulty. He had black hair that swept over his forehead, and shockingly bright blue eyes. But those weren't his most interesting feature by a long shot. No, that would be the patches of purple skin that were attatched to his body by shiny silver staples.

"Wow, you are a pro... didn't think you'd be able to evade that quickly." The villain raised a hand towards Aizawa, obviously going to try his little fire trick again.

"Nice try, but that won't work." He threw his scarf down to wrap around the villain's upper body, tightening it quickly. Now it was time for a move he'd had to do time and time again...

Aizawa yanked the villain up while he dropped down, bending his leg while maintaining his balance. He braced himself for impact, the next second smashing his knee into the villain's face. His scarf loosened enough for Aizawa to spin the villain around once, slamming him facedown into the ground. He grabbed the the black-haired man's left arm, and kept a tight hold of the back of his neck.

"Alright. How many of you are there and what are you doing here? Don't make me ask twice."

"Ha. Why would I tell you tha-!" CRACK.

"Becuase if you don't, I'll break your right arm next. Then I'll break your legs, but that would just be a hassle for everyone. Let's do this rationally."

"Awww... did I get under your skin, Aizawa? C'mon, you don't really think I'm going to tell you everything that easy, do you?" Now you're getting on my nerves...

Just as he was about to snap his right arm, a huge explosion spiraled upward in the air. And it wasn't blue, like the flames were. This was something different, something that left debris falling from the sky in huge piles. And he wasn't sure why, but he had a feeling this had something to do with Izuku-sensei. How many broken bones do you have this time...

That alone would've shocked Aizawa, but then four of his students burst out of the woods, looking haggard and distressed. In his surprise, the villain managed to get free and kick him backwards, kicking him as hard as he could. Aizawa had to roll with the impact to make sure that he would recover before the villain got to his students.

But it appeared that he didn't really need to do that. When he yanked the scarf back towards him, it went without a fight, the villain simply melting away. What in the... so the fire wasn't his quirk...?

The slimey, gooey substance just dissolved into nothing, leaving no trace that the villain was ever there in the first place. It wasn't the most disgusting thing that he had seen in his time as a hero, but it certainly wasn't pleasant to watch. How did he make the flames if that wasn't his quirk? I should have kept a tighter hold on him...

"Mr. Aizawa!" The four students ran up to him with terror-filled expressions, just barely stopping short of crashing into him. They looked relatively okay, just a few minor scratches and bruises that weren't rationally caused by villains. If the villains had gotten their hands on them, they most likely would have had much worse wounds than that.

Ida... Koda... Ojiro... Mineta... and Shinso!

Oh well. Good thing everyone was okay... he guesses. Although, now that he knew Shinso was okay he needed to know if the others were as well. Who knows what those kids were getting up to right now. He was starting to think they were a magnet for trouble at this rate. One villain instance could be seen as an outlier, two a coincidence, three an extremely unlikely chain of events, but four? I need more sleep...

"Get inside right now! Vlad is in there, along with the remedial students. I don't want to see you out of there unless there is an amazingly good reason for it. If you do, I will immediately expel you from class 1-a, but not before making you run 500 laps around the entire school!" Ah, there we go... an unreasonable ultimatum. If anything will make them listen, it's that.

He took off into the forest, feet pounding against the forest floor in a steady rhythm. First, he had to sweep the forest for any other students that were trying to get back to the main building. They likely were getting lost in the dark forest, unable to find their way through the thick foliage. Once he was sure there weren't any others left, he might go to the Wild, Wild Pussycats and collect the studetns there. Although it looks like they were safe for the time being, at least.

Something zoomed at him from the corner of his vision, so he readied his scarf and whipped his head around to where the figure was. Alright... just one solid punch to the head and keep going... wait!

...Oh god. I almost punched Izuku-sensei and a child.

"Izuku-sensei!" Wait... his arms were practically mangled, and with the amount of blood on his shirt he couldn't be moving as fast as he was... just what did he do this time? "Are... are you sure you should be running around right now? Where is the blood coming from?"

"What blood? Oh... that's not mine. Probably. And it's definitely not his. But I need you to take him back to the main building with the other students. I have to get to Mandalay as fast as I can." Izuku-sensei set the little boy down on the ground gently, making sure he was stable enough to stand on his own. "They have targets. I know for sure that they're going to try and get Bakugo, but I'm sure that they want other students as well. It's less likely that they will try and go after the class 1-b students since they have had less interactions with them, but we still need to get to them. The most likely possibility is that they're going after the winners of the Sports Festival, either to take them out or to try and recruit them. If Mandalay knows, then she can blast out instructions to the students so they know what's going on."

The green-haired hero started to turn around, obviously planning to go and fight even while his entire upper body was broken into splinters. Agh... I hope I don't regret this...

"Izuku-sensei, wait. Tell Mandalay to tell the students that they can use their quirks to defend themselves against the villains. I don't want to see any of them dead or in trouble because they had to use force to defend themselves. I'll deal with the fallout later."

Izuku-sensei nodded, quickly disappearing into the darkness of the forest. Soon all that was left was him and Kota, the latter holding on to his leg with a surprisingly tight grip. He was staring off where Izuku-sensei had disappeared with eyes filled with light and awe, quite a bit of the anger and resentment from before gone. Izuku-sensei did have that effect on people.

I really hope I didn't make the wrong decision...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Izuku swung himself up a tree branch, completely bypassing the obvious trap beneath him. He had found quite a few of those, but it didn't matter much to him. They weren't lethal, and they would only be a pain to get out of since they wasted so much time. He didn't have much of that to spare.

He had told Mandalay what to tell the students, as well as Aizawa's message to the students. Tiger had told him that most of the students would be in this direction, specifically Bakugo and Todoroki. He had told them to keep a close eye on Shinso, since those who were in the first three slots of the Sports Festival were going to be under heightened scrutiny. Though Todoroki and Bakugo were likely in greater danger than those in the third place.

It was going to take a lot of work to comb these forests, and he really couldn't tackle any more villains than he already did. He knew for sure that he had to get to Bakugo, and there were likely others that were being targeted. If he did have the chance to capture one of the villains alive and conscious, then he could maybe extract some information out of them. But again, he didn't really have time for that.

Bursting through another clump of trees, he ran face-first into darkness. And not just any darkness, this was darkness shaped like a claw. A claw that he had seen many times during hero training. Tokoyami...

Rolling to the side, Izuku crashed into Shoji, who was preparing to jump out of some bushes. Throwing a finger in a shush motion in front of his mouth, Izuku ushered him further backwards, out of Tokoyami's line of sight. Something had happened to trigger Tokoyami's quirk, and Izuku needed to find out what.

Once they were safely behind a tree, Izuku turned to Shoji, asking, "That was Tokoyami, wasn't it? What happened?"

"There was a villain who caught us unawares. I took the hit," He gestured to one of the copies of his mouth-arms, mangled at the end, "but it made his quirk go out of control. No matter what he tried to do, he couldn't stop Dark Shadow from rampaging. I don't think you'll be able to make it through here without getting him under control."

They were both silent for a moment as Izuku considered this predicament. He couldn't leave one of his students like this, not in good conscience, but he also didn't have time to talk him down. Bakugo and the others were in more and more danger every second they were left alone for the villains to grab. And he couldn't spend too long thinking about this either. That would have the same results as spending the time talking Tokoyami down, but without any of the benefits that came with it.

"Um... Izuku-sensei? What happened to your arms? Are... are you sure you should be running around right now?" Oh... I had almost forgotten about that...

"Ah... right. That. Don't worry about it. I've done more with worse. This is nothing compared to what I've had in the past." Shoji still looked concerned, but he let Izuku think on the situation, staying quiet despite his obvious misgivings. Tokoyami is stronger in the dark, but he has less control over Dark Shadow... that must've played a role in this. So if I can find a decent source of...

Got it.

"Alright Shoji. I've got an idea, and I need your help to carry it out. If we pull this off, we can help Tokoyami and your other classmates at the same time." Shoji nodded, his eyes never leaving Izuku's face.

"We've got to get to Bakugo, I'm assuming you heard the announcement that went out earlier? But we also can't let Tokoyami continue on like this. So we're going to kill two birds with one stone..."

Without actually killing Tokoyami.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Bakugo roared in frustration, hands sending multiple explosions out at once, all heading straight toward the villain in the sky. His teeth were embedded in the ground, the increased length holding him suspended in the air. And his teeth weren't just keeping him out of reach; they were also jagged weapons that kept them running and evading.

Todoroki sent up a giant ice glacier wall to try and stop the attacks from getting through, bit it also made it so Bakugo couldn't send any attacks of his own. "WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING, ICYHOT?!"

"Bakugo, we can't just send off larger and larger attacks! The forest is going to catch on fire if you keep doing this, and then we don't know if our classmates will be alright." Pff. Icyhot bastard. Bakugo growled at him, rolling his eyes even though he knew his fellow classmate was right. But he couldn't let the half-and-half bastard know that.

Then, out of nowhere, a storm of black appeared, tearing into the villain's metal teeth with vigor. A few of them even snapped at the first contact, which was more than Todoroki and Bakugo had managed to do while defending themselves from the onslaught. The darkness was raging all around them, and then two figures burst out of the black.

"BAKUGO! TODOROKI! I NEED YOU TO GIVE US SOME LIGHT! NOW!!!"

You didn't need to tell him twice. Bakugo let out one of the biggest explosions that he had ever made to this day. Todoroki did the same, brilliant red flames rocketing through the air and colliding with Bakugo's explosion. He had to do better than him, so Bakugo added one more explosion just to make it clear that he was #1 there.

The darkness stopped swirling around them, and for a moment all you could hear was the villain who had been holding himself up by his teeth groaning. Both of the figures that emerged from the depths of the forest let out a sigh of relief.

What the hell just happened?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Uraraka clutched her bloody arm with one hand, standing defensively next to Tsu with huge, gasping breaths filling her chest.. The villain in front of them looked very young, probably right around their age. Her blonde hair was tied up into two buns on the sides of her head, and there was some kind of mask covering her face, shaped like teeth. There were canisters, hooked to tubes which led to the bottom part of her mask. The most frightening part of her getup was the knife hanging from her fingers, twirlng gently.

" Hahaha... not deep enough... not enough blood..." The villain was talking to herself, humming under her breath. There was a faint blush staining her face as she looked down at the red dripping from the metal of her knife. It was unsettling in a way that Uraraka couldn't quite explain.

She had appeared from nowhere, easily catching them unawares as they tried to find a way out of this part of the forest without running into the flames or poison gas. Tsu had barely been able to pull her out of the way in time, but the knife had still nicked her. The sting was still there, burning solidly in place. When the blonde villain had first cut into her skin, she giggled like you would when someone said something funny. Uraraka had probably giggled that way before.

"Hiiii... you're both sooo cute. You must be Uraraka," she said, pointing directly at her, "And you're Asui. And my name's Toga!"

"We're at a disadvantage... they probably know us already from the Sports Festival, kero." Tsu was keeping her stance, never taking her eyes off of the figure in front of them.

"Awww... even though you look adorable with blood on you, there's just not enough. Usually when I cut someone there's enough to slurp it alllll out, but this time there's not." Her eyes shifted up to meet Uraraka's terror-filled ones. "So I'm going to stab you again."

She lunged forward, knife glinting dangerously even in the darkened forest. Uraraka felt her limbs seize up in fear, frozen in place while the villain charged at her with a sick grin on her face. Her knife would have sunk right into Uraraka's stomach if Tsu didn't pull her out of the way in time. Granted, it was by wrapping her tongue around Uraraka's waist, which was a little gross, but it was much more preferable than being stabbed by a psycho.

"Thanks, Tsu!" She gasped out, feet slapping against the ground as she tried to keep her balance.

The girl turned and did this little pout, like they were being unreasonable and mean when they stopped her from stabbing them. Then she smiled and looked right at Tsu, shifting her attention from Uraraka. "Oooh, your name's Tsu? That is so cute. I'm going to call you Tsu too!"

"Please don't, kero. Only my friends get to call me Tsu." Tsu jumped out of the way when Toga took a swipe at her, still giggling like it was all some sort of game.

"You mean we're friends? Yay! I'm so glad I get to be friends with you!" The look in her eyes was maniacal, almost completely detached from reality. And with the way she was talking, it was like she thought this was some kind of game that they agreed to play together. And then she insisted they were friends, even while she was trying to stab them. It was really unnerving.

Uraraka's eyes widened when she managed to pin Tsu to a tree, the fear in her classmates' eyes spurring her into action. Leaping forward, she dodged the knife that came flying towards her face, the knowledge Gunhead gave to her immediately appearing into her brain. Alright... against an opponent wielding a short blade, you spin, grab the wrist and the back of the neck, then apply force. And... boom.

Toga was face-down on the ground, still grinning with her fangs poking out. She wasn't at all upset by losing, or at least it didn't look like she was. Her eyes held that insane glimmer that made Uraraka want to run away as fast as she could. But she knew that she could do it, that she had to do it if she wanted to be a hero and help her parents.

"Tsu, restrain her hands with your tongue!"

"Gotcha, Ochaco, kero."

"Hahaha... you are so cute Ochaco... I think we're alike in a lot of ways. Do you like anyone? Because I do. I love guys that reek of blood, and I want to be just like them... do you want to be like who you're crushing on?" What is she talking about?

Uraraka felt a sharp, piercing pain in her leg, and she looked down to see a needle stuck in her leg. " Suck... suck... suck... so good..."

She could barely feel the blood leaving her body, but at the same time terror zinged through her veins. She couldn't move; she couldn't do anything without letting Toga go free. But then something caught the villain's eye, and she pushed Uraraka away from her and spring to her feet.

"Hmm... there are more of you now, and I don't want to die... soooooo... See you next time Ochoco and Tsu... hee hee."

Part 29

Todoroki stood in place as his teacher rushed to his injured classmate, watching the green-haired man practically teleport over there in his worry. Uraraka had been hurt in both her arm, and it seemed her leg, though neither of the wounds seemed to be very serious in nature. She would be all right.

"Uraraka, Tsu! Are either of you in any pain? I need to know now if you have any serious wounds that aren't easily visible." All the students eyed their teacher with disbelief. It wasn't that they didn't believe he cared, it was more like they were exasperated with the fact that he was showing so much concern over a little cut and a bruise or two when his arms were practically in pieces.

Did he not even feel it? Todoroki was starting to think that his teacher had been involved in some strange and dangerous things in the past if he was showing apathy to wounds of this severity. Whatever he did in the past, it made his pain tolerance so high that he showed no care or attention to broken bones, and when he had killed the Nomu bakc at the USJ he was completely unperturbed by the brutality he was forced to deal out. There was no way he was just born being able to do that with no remorse. That was a trait that you only got once you lived through some stuff. And given the fact that Izuku-sensei had lived through over 200 hundred years, he had probably seen some stuff.

"Yeah, Izuku-sensei, we're fine. Are you fine though? It doesn't seem like you should be running arou-. Well. It doesn't seem like you should be moving when your arm is like that. Aren't you afraid you'll make it worse?" Uraraka had worked past her disbelief and was now concerned for their teacher, being the kind and thoughtful person that she was. At first he thought that she was slightly off her rocker, but then he just found out that she and Iida were just like that. The two had completely taken Shinso and him under their wing and were now helping them navigate social situations. And that was no easy commitment to make. Not by a long shot.

"Hmm? Oh yes. I'll be just fine. No reason to worry at all. Right now we need to get back to the others and help them, and keep an eye out for any of the other students who were sent into the forest. We haven't run into any of them, and I'm beginning to get worried. Well, we're past beginning, but we really need to get Bakugo out of here right now. If you heard the broadcast, then you know that the villains are after him and he should stay away from all of the fighting." Izuku-sensei had fished some bandages out of one of his pouches during the conversation, and was neatly and efficiently wrapping Uraraka's wounds. The gauze stretched just a little, enough that it was effective in stopping the blood from leaking out.

"Izuku-sensei, I don't see Bakugo. Is he supposed to be with you?"

Todoroki felt himself pale and quickly turned to look behind himself. And Uraraka was right, nobody was there. That meant that either Bakugo had run right back into the action, completely ignoring them when they said to stay safe, or that he had been taken while they were distracted. Judging from the lack of cursing, he was going to go with the latter. Bakugo wouldn't dare disobey Izuku-sensei. The disappointed puppy stare would do him in.

"Looking for this...?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Yaoyorozu dodged as the gigantic Nomu thundered behind her, sending some of her fellow hero course students flying. She had met a few of class 1-b in the forest, as well as some of class 1-a, and together they had been distributing the gas masks that weren't really needed anymore. The gas had cleared away, but they stuck together. And she was glad they did, because she doesn't think that she could handle a villain like this on her own.

Her hair had flown down from its usual high ponytail, and it was flying haphazardly around her face. Several strands had torn on the forest around her, and she just knew it was going to be a pain to brush it all out again. She would be lucky if her mother didn't insist on her taking an impromptu trip to the hairdresser right after this trip was over. That is, if they survived...

Awase was gasping for air beside her, footsteps uncoordinated and stumbling. Neither of them had been prepared for the Nomu to specifically target them, but it would be a whole lot worse if they split up. If they did that, then one of them would surely be caught and then have nobody to back them up. Staying together was the safe option.

The Nomu was terrifying, though. It was different from the one at the USJ and the trio from the Hosu city debacle. This once was huge, taller than even All Might, and it had no problem finding its way in the darkened forest, suggesting it had some kind of vision addition that allowed it to see in the dark, or at least something similar to that.

But she didn't have time to ponder over that. Izuku-sensei might be able to come up with analyses and seemingly unrelated observations in the heat of battle, but she couldn't. She was no idiot, she had realized that, but when the adrenaline was pumping through her body and her hands were shaking from the weight of knowing whatever decision she made next could doom or save them all, she didn't do as well. She could still make amazing plans, she just wasn't as good as when she was in the classroom. There was a huge difference between the classroom simulations they had and the real world.

The difference between life and death.

But there was no time to dwell on that. The Nomu had blades that looked like chainsaws spinning on his back, attached by things that seemed like they were somewhat close to arms. It was gaining on them fast, and soon it had its blade pressed right up to Awase's neck. He had thrown Yaoyorozu forward in an attempt to save her from the Nomu, but she knew the second that the Nomu's target was exterminated it would target her and there was nothing anyone could do to stop it. But that didn't stop her from trying.

She poured all of her concentration into making ropes and things to tie the Nomu down, determined to make sure Awase and the others would be okay. She had to make sure they were going to be okay. But she didn't even get the chance to start making the ropes before the Nomu paused and just walked away. They were all left panting and on the ground, just relieved to be alive right now.

"W-what just happened? Why did it walk away?" Awase stuttered out, stumbling to his feet. Yaoyorozu just sat there for a moment, trying desperately to catch her breath. This was not how the training camp was supposed to be done. But it seemed pretty on par for her class.

"Maybe it was called back? Do you think they accomplished whatever goal they came here for?" At first she was relieved, but now all she felt was apprehension. What did they do...? Bakugo! I have to do something...

"Awase! I need you to run there as fast as you can and put this on him. He won't notice you, he's too single-minded for that. Hurry!" Awase looked confused, but he still rolled to his feet and dashed off after the Nomu, the tracker sitting squarely in his hand.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Shinso hung back as a silent observer while some of his classmates clamered to be able to go and help those who were still in the forest. Kirishima and Mina especially were advocating to go and fight the villains that he saw earlier. Apparently, from Mandalay's transmission, Ragdoll was missing and the students who were trapped were given permission to defend themselves against any attack. Shinso wasn't necessarily surprised that his dad had ordered that, he knew that the black-haired man thought that they had at least some potential, and his parental side wouldn't allow them to get hurt. But his rational side knew that he wasn't going to be able to get there in time, so he gave them the power to fight back. It was very like him.

The class 1-b teacher, Vlad King, had to guard the doors so no students snuck out into danger. His dad had always mentioned Vlad King with a sour expression, like just thinking about the man made his skin crawl. Once, right before he was supposed to be enrolled at UA, he had heard his dad talking to his papa, and it was something among the lines of, 'That rat better not put my son in a class with that dog-lover. I would rather die than see that happen". It wasn't often that his papa was the one to sigh in exasperation, but that was precisely the case that time.

And Vlad King didn't seem too fond of his father either. They kept glaring at each other over dinner, and there was this one time when Izuku-sensei left the table for just a moment, and the two practically growled at one another. He would've laughed had the situation not been so tense.

But in all honesty, the hero was pretty competent. He looked prepared for whatever would come through that door, and he also looked prepared for what would try to get out through that door.

Too bad the problem didn't come through the door.

The wall right next to the door was smashed open, like whoever had done it was taunting them with their inability to not cause property damage. Vlad king threw himself at them, barely shoving them out of the way in time to avoid the debris. Shinso coughed roughly when he was thrown right on top of Monoma, the kid being more bony than he looked under that inferiority complex he wore like a second skin.

"Get off, you 1-a egoist!" Monoma was lying face down on the floor, did he even know who he was talking to? He was pretty sure the blonde would say the same thing to anyone in class 1-a, even if they were Yaoyorozu, who was likely the most calm and understanding person there was. Only an idiot would call her an egoist, and Monoma was starting to fit the bill.

"Hey, don't be mean to Shinso! He didn't do anything wrong. You're just being a jerk because-" Kaminari was cut off from his rant by Mina, who quickly slapped a hand over his mouth to stop him. Pity. Shinso would've liked to hear what he had to say.

But while they were squabbling and trying to get back up into a somewhat comfortable seated position, Vlad King was battling the same villain that his dad had already defeated. Up close, Shinso could clearly see the staples that were present all over his face, holding his skin together in uneven patches. Something must have happened to him to mark him up that badly.

Shinso doesn't really care about that right now, though. All he was concerned with was how class 1-b's teacher was doing his best to beat the villain in front of them with his w=own blood. It was somehow both concerning and awesome to watch, like a river of red that would never stop flowing. It was mesmerizing.

...His dad might kill him if he knew that he thought that about the so-called, 'dog-lover'. He could be pretty petty when he wanted to be. Or when he didn't want to be. Though Shinso completely agreed with him that it was ridiculous to prefer dogs over cats. It was a point of pride for them.

The fight didn't take as long as Shinso thought it would. In less than three seconds, Vlad King had gathered his blood and pinned Dabi to the wall, effectively stopping all of his movement. The villain couldn't move an inch, and they all hesitantly went to where the room wasn't totally destroyed.

Kaminari leaned in from beside him, saying, "That was kinda anticlimatic. I totally thought that would go on longer. Didn't you?"

"...Yeah, yeah I did."

For some reason, Mina was watching the two of them with an excited smile. She shot a thumbs-up at Kaminari, and then the blonde blushed so much his face was almost as pink as hers. Then he mumbled a, 'bye' and practically ran back to Mina, the two whispering furiously. Mina started to do this thing where she tried to push Kaminari somewhere, and maybe Shinso could've investigated further and found out what that was all about, but he was way too tired for that. He just sat down and closed his eyes, hoping that everyone would be okay.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Izuku and the others all whirled around to where the taunting had come from, squinting their eyes in the dark. The figure in front of them had a mask on that made it look like he had a huge, sharp grin on his face. In his hand was several marbles, shining gently even though they couldn't make out where the new villain's hand began and where the marbles began. Were those sequins on his gloves?

The guy was dressed in a black cape, his entire outfit indicating a showy, flashy performance. He's standing at alert on the treetop, though he would like for us to think otherwise... and he's interacting with us to control the situation, instead of letting us discover him... he's waiting for something. Izuku wasn't smiling anymore when he noted all of this, minding shifting into the entirely calculating section that he usually tried to avoid falling into completely when teaching his students.

That section of his brain saw only the best outcome for what he wanted to accomplish, focusing entirely at the goal at hand and all the ways he could do it. That section had been forged by many years of harrowing tasks and situations that he didn't think he could ever complete or survive. Now, he didn't have as much need for it once the world settled down a little. It was slightly nostalgic to be using it again.

He got both Bakugo and Tokoyami without making a sound... I didn't even notice him. I'm guessing his quirk might have something to do with that, like how he has them without them fighting him, and how they seem to be out of sight. They must be in those marbles he's holding. If we grab those, then we get them back.

"Give Bakugo and Tokoyami back. Now." His students all turned their heads and looked at him, goosebumps appearing all over their skin from his frosty tone. Todoroki pulled out a notebook to write something down, but Izuku was too focused on what was happening around them to decipher what he was writing down from the motions his hands were making. But in the back of his mind he did wonder.

"No, I don't think we will. You don't own them do you? Let them make their own choices about joining us. You heroes are all the same... egoists." Thinking back to the contracts that everyone in the hero course signed before being enrolled, technically they did have at least some ownership over their students. But it wasn't that much! They only had partial guardianship and the ability to blacklist them from ever getting a hero license, but Izuku was pretty sure that not many of the families read the fine print before signing. After all, who really reads the terms and conditions?

"That doesn't matter. You are taking them against their will. And attacking us. Which is illegal." The villain just laughed, nimbly jumping a tree back from them. Now Izuku was 100% positive that he was just buying time until he could get away. He couldn't wait any longer to act.

Without breaking eye contact, he darted forward and pushed himself off of one of the trees, lunging at the marbles in his hand. But the villain vanished right before his eyes, likely pulling of some kind of magic trick like his cape and general asthetic suggested. That didn't matter though, since Izuku was only planning on being the diversion so his students could grab their fellow classmates out of the man's hand.

When the man reappeared, they were ready. All it took was Uraraka slapping Tsu on the back, sending the girl into the air and in a position to grab the marbles out of the villain's hand using her long tongue. Izuku landed on the ground right before his student did, all of her classmates rushing to her, wasting no time.

Tsu opened her hand shakily, showing...

A single marble, not the two they were hoping for.

Izuku snapped his head back up, staring at the villain who was laughing at them so much that he must have had tears in his eyes. They all watched in frustration when the man tossed up another marble in the air, catching it with ease.

"HA! A good plan, but it didn't do what you wanted it to. You still don't have one of your precious students. But congrats on getting one of them! You can keep him. This is the one we were really after. And I do apologize about the deception, but I am a magician after all. And you were a wonderful audience, very interactive, but I'm afraid I have to go. But don't worry! You'll see us again very soon. Mr. Compress, out."

With that mic drop he left, leaping through the treetops, black cape flying in the wind. Izuku didn't waste a second going after him, arms hanging limply at his sides. Leaves smacked into his face and twigs tore at his ankles, but he barely felt it. His attention was narrowed to a single point, the rest of the world passing by in a blur. C'mon, just gotta get there in time... gotta get there in time.

Todoroki was right behind him, as well as Shoji. He could hear their heavy footsteps pounding against the forest floor, slightly unsteady at the pace they were going. He could barely keep the so-called Mr. Compress in his line of sight, but he pushed himself until his legs burned.

They were coming up on what Izuku was guessing was a meeting point. It had a small clearing just off the edge of the path, and it was accessible by all the locations that had villains sighted. He had made sure to memorize the layout of the forest and all the surrounding areas before they arrived. There had been too many similar situations to this one for him to not do all of this preparation. Sometimes the worst punishment of failing was how you carried it with you for the rest of your life. And Izuku had lived a very long life.

With one last burst, he jumped up at the same time his students did, landing on all sides of the villain, trying to cut off his method of escape. From this new position, they could see all of the villains spread out in front of them, all waiting for the objective that Izuku assumed was Bakugo.

There were two figures that Izuku could make out the clearest, one with A mask covering his entire face, and one with patches of deep purple skin held together by silver staples. The latter of the two met his eyes for a moment, shockingly blue, glittering slightly. They reminded him a bit of someone else's eyes, just in how bright they were. It was a standoff, both of them refusing to look away, not giving up on their goals.

Then the villain raised his right hand to shoulder level, breaking eye contact at last. "Compress, dodge." The ' or else' was unspoken.

Blue flames roared towards them, forcing them to scatter or be burned. Izuku had little to no time to roll to the side, his back smacking against a tree root. It certainly wasn't pleasant, but it was better than the alternative. Those flames looked like they would cause third-degree burns, and those were a pain to recover from.

Todoroki sent a giant wave of ice out to counter the fire, catching a few of the villains where they stood. But not Compress. No, the magician seemed to be very crafty, just when you though you had him he twirled away with showmanship. Nothing seemed to faze him that badly, everything being just another performance for him.

Shoji slid forward on the ice, barreling straight into Compress and knocking the marble out of his hand. Izuku flinched when it hit the ground, relieved that it didn't harm Bakugo in some way. HIs quirk is so interesting! Are the marbles a product of what happens to the people inside, or do you need the marble first? We'll find out when we get Tokoyami and Bakugo out of there, but I almost want to just pause this whole thing and ask him a couple of questions. Who knows, maybe...

Stop. Think about this later.

The marble rolled right past Izuku's feet, and he dove for it, ignoring the cold burn and the way his fingers were pointing. It was a good thing Todoroki was there, since he wasn't really sure how much maneuverability he had in his hands right now. He didn't feel anything, but he saw even the villains flinch when they looked at his arms. Except for the one who smiled and giggled at him. Which actually made him a bit uncomfortable...

"Bakugo! Wait... this isn't the right marble!!!" Izuku whirled around to face the villain again, Todoroki's frustrated growl tipping him off to something being wrong. Compress just laughed at them, peeling his mask off to the side and opening his mouth. He still couldn't make out any facial features since the man had another simple black mask under the first. Wow. He was really dedicated to being a show-off.

"Oh! You didn't think that I actually kept him in the same place after you got the first one, did you. Everyone knows that when a magician lets you see one motion," he paused, being much more dramatic than this situation called for, "they're really trying to conceal another."

Of course. When he tossed the marble up in the air to prove to them they didn't get both, he must've added a fake in place. Izuku clenched his hands, angry that he didn't see anything. He really was a good magician. But magic wasn't going to do him any good now that they knew the trick.

One of the female villains had cut herself free from the ice, and she was now skipping over to him, a manic smile plastered in place. She looked to be right around his students' ages, but it was clear that this wasn't her first time engaging in behavior like this. The villain's hand held the weapon like it was an extension of herself, a friend when the rest of the world had turned its back away.

"Oooh. You look soo good covered in all that blood. And you're definitely injured... but you would look better with a few new wounds covering your body. You know what they say... there can never be too much blood!" I've never heard anyone say that...

She took a stab at him, her knife-

Oh no.

Oh no.

I just made a pun in a time of crisis! What have Tensei Iida and Midnight done to me? It wasn't even a good pun, it was cheesy and lame! What have I become?

He was vulnerable in the wake of his inner crisis at hand, but she couldn't get too close to him. A blinding light burst forward and went straight to Compress, and it would've hit him right in the mask if Compress hadn't jumped up for some reason. Instead, it hit him right at the corner of his boot, eliciting a bloodcurdling scream from the villain. It was surprisingly high-pitched, and he thought he heard the villain with the flames chuckle under his breath. Huh.

"MY TOE!!! OH, MY POOR TOE!!! WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT? WHAT KIND OF MONSTER DOES THAT TO ANOTHER HUMAN BEING?! OH, JUST KILL ME, WOULD YOU? GOD THE PAAIIIIINNNNNN!!!!!" Compress shrieked.

"Shut up, drama queen. You have a- hey!" The scarred villain growled.

When Compress's toe was stubbed, he had let go of the marble and it cracked against the hard ice. Bakugo ended up on the ground, looking in all directions in confusion. It became a race to see who would get to him first, them or the villains. And maybe they would have won if a giant purple portal hadn't opened up out of nowhere.

Well, that explained how the villains were getting out of there. Bakugo was grabbed by one of them and yanked backwards, the stapled villain throwing them the middle finger on his way out. All that was left was Bakugo, who was struggling against the villains and their hold on him.

And maybe Izuku did know that it was hopeless to get there in time. But that didn't stop him from rushing forward. It didn't stop him from jumping. It didn't stop him from looking in the villains eyes with a desperate determination.

And it didn't stop him from collapsing when he failed.

Part 30

Shinso looked up at the bright florescent lights of the hospital, sighing. Some of his classmates had been injured by the gas, and there had been a few others with injuries the hospital had to take care of. They had been given the option to go home, but none of them did. They needed to be together as a class after this sort of thing. Both class 1-a and class 1-b.

Monoma hadn't even been belittling them lately. He was just sitting outside Kendo and Tetsutetsu's room looking forlorn. When Iida had gone up to him and told him who was there, he didn't even say anything bad about class 1-a. All he did was press his face up against the window and stared wide-eyed and scared into the room. That might have been the first time Shinso felt bad for him, even though he had been chopped on the neck several times in front of him before.

The nurses and doctors said that everyone there was going to be alright. When they had asked about their teachers, all the doctors there shared a look and said that everyone except Izuku--sensei was fine. They also said that their teachers would need to tell them a few things about the incident later, but they were currently dealing with some of the fallout from the situation.

Recovery Girl had also dropped by, but she said it was best that she didn't heal anyone there since they didn't have the energy for it. They would have to rely on good old-fashioned rest to get them feeling better. Nobody had really gotten much sleep that night, all waiting to hear more about what had happened to Bakugo. Because as much as the angry guy made them all want to punch him, he was a fellow classmate and they did care about him.

Especially the self-proclaimed 'Bakusquad'. They had taken all of this the hardest. Usually they were the ones prancing around and talking to people, but now they just sat down together and stayed quiet. It was hard for Shinso to see Kaminari like that, and he didn't know how to cheer him up. He had never been good with people, and he never really viewed it as a problem before. But now he really wanted to be able to make Kaminari laugh, just so he didn't look so sad again. What is this... I'm not entirely sure I like it. I don't think...

"Hitoshi Shinso?" Shinso looked up to see one of the nurses holding a clipboard and staring at the line of students. He hesitantly raised his hand, not quite sure what she was going to say. "Your father says he needs to see you. He's waiting in room 43."

Shinso nodded and got up to leave, ignoring the questioning faces of his classmates. Todoroki in particular was boring his eyes into Shinso. He could even feel them on him when he turned the corner. His friend was definitely single-minded, that was for sure.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kaminari stared off in the direction that Shinso had gone, trying to see who he was going to. Well, he knew that Shinso was going to see his dad, but he didn't know who that was yet. Whenever he had asked, Shinso had gotten evasive. It was starting to be suspicious, and he kept seeing Todoroki take out a notebook whenever the subject was brought up.

Bakugo had- no. He had to distract himself. It sucked whenever his thoughts started to go down that path, and he had to stop himself. Mina and Sero were trying to make sure that Kirishima was okay, since Mina had known Kirishima since middle school and Sero's tape can be used as a tissue. Kirishima hadn't needed it yet, but they were going to be prepared for anything. It was a way to distract themselves from Bakugo's kidnapping, too.

But that wasn't working for Kaminari. He had been distracting himself by looking at Shinso's hair, and how fluffy it was, but now Shinso was gone. And above that, he was curious about why he was gone. Why didn't his dad just come and talk to him in front of them? Or, if he couldn't do that, why didn't he at least come get him instead of sending a nurse out? Something was fishy here.

Well, might as well do something to pass the time...

He approached Todoroki nervously, not really sure how the dual-haired boy would react to his offer. It was a little unorthodox, after all...

"Hey, um, Todoroki." His fellow teen raised his head and looked at him with an inquisitive expression. "I know you want to find out more about Shinso's dad, and I do too, so... what do you say we peek in the room and see if we can find out who he is?"

"You mean we would engage in morally ambiguous actions in the pursuit of getting the information we want?" Kaminari hesitated, not really sure what to say in response to that.

"Well, yeah?" Todoroki nodded slowly, looking thoughtfully at the ceiling. Well, it looks like he was out, so-

"Alright. I just wanted to know. Nothing else has worked, so this is the next obvious choice. It's actually less morally ambiguous than my other plan, so I'm down for this."

As concerning as that was, if Todoroki was willing to go with him, Kaminari wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth. They both stood up and followed in the direction Shinso had gone, staying to the sides so they didn't get in the way of any health professionals. Kaminari almost took a wrong turn around a corner, going in the exact opposite direction he was supposed to, but Todoroki grabbed him by the elbow and yanked him to where they were supposed to be going.

Kaminari stifled a sneeze as they crept past doors in the hallway. 39, 40, 41, 42, 43... 43! He grabbed Todoroki by the shoulder and gestured wildlyto the sign next to the doorway, for some reason not speaking. It felt like they were doing something wrong even though he knew that there weren't any rules against it. Like they were on some sort of spy mission where the enemy was expecting them and they had to get in without being noticed. He probably needs to stop watching so many spy movies.

Raising their heads to the small window in the door, they tried to make it so they could both see at the same time. It was a bit awkward, since they were pressed ear to ear, but it worked. Both of their inner eyes just barely fit inside of the window's perimeter.

And then Kaminari immediately fell back while Todoroki pressed his entire face against the glass. Because what he saw there... it wasn't... it shouldn't be...

Wow, okay.

What he saw there was... Aizawa. And Shinso. Hugging. And no one else.

Yeah...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Izuku stared at the white wall, ignoring the vibrant 'get well' flowers sitting beside him. He didn't want them, and since Nezu was the one who sent them they were likely sent ironically. His apprentice had a certain liking to things like that, and some of that may have been Izuku's fault. He had shown Nezu how to do pranks decades ago, and the chimera had taken the new knowledge in a direction that was not how Izuku originally showed it to him.

Or maybe the principal had sent the flowers with perfectly innocent intentions. You never knew with Nezu.

A nurse came past the door, then doubled back and poked her head in when she realized Izuku was sitting upright. She grabbed the clipboard sitting on a table next to him, and began asking him some basic questions to make sure that he didn't have a concussion or anything like that. A few of them were quite pointed, too, asking him at what point he noticed he had the injuries he did, and what his reasoning was to keep going despite those injuries.

"I... I mean... I did notice them. Just not right away! And-"

The nurse cut him off, looking familiar to someone he had met before. "Both of your arms are broken so badly I'm surprised you can still move them at this point. If your quirk didn't help out with the repair I'm certain that you would not have the use of your arms right now." She sighed, flipping the papers on the clipboard shut. "I guess some things never change, huh? You would think after all this time you would learn how to keep your bones intact."

Looking down at her name tag, Izuku figured out why she looked familiar to him. The name 'Shio' was the name of a nurse who he had kept coming to (much to her dismay) for almost fifty years. He recalled her telling him about a daughter who had just finished school right before he left to go around the world. She would always nag at him to be more aware of himself and stop getting injured so often, or she would tell her daughter every embarrassing story of him she had. Shio had said that if he kept getting himself injured then he would definitely be meeting her daughter.

...He hated it when people made correct predictions about when he would end up in the hospital. It never reflected well on him.

"Ah... yeah... I mean... Hey! At least I was the one who noticed this time!"

"Right, you just didn't care. You do realize that's almost worse, don't you?" Nurse Shio raised her eyebrows at him before sighing, turning away from his sheepish expression. "Well, Recovery Girl said we're not supposed to let you out of this hospital bed unless another hero comes to pick you up, so be prepared to be here a while." Humph.

"But you do have a couple of visitors that aren't heroes. At least, not yet." She opened the door and almost all of his students crowded into the room. He was glad it was so big, otherwise there was no way they were all going to fit in there. Apparently, several of the hospital officials voted for him to have his own private room. They said that it would be easier for everyone to find whenever he ended up there. All of them were snickering when they said it, too.

"Izuku-sensei!" That was Uraraka, pushing to the front of the room. He could see a small white bandage on one of her upper arms, but she didn't seem to have any difficulty moving it. There were a few faces that he didn't see, but for the most part all of his first-year students were there. "Are you okay? The doctors said that you were going to be just fine, but we were all so worried... You just collapsed on the ground, and your arms weren't facing the right direction..." She looked back up at him, her eyes glimmering with a bit of... amusement? What was funny? "Although the nurses tell me that I shouldn't have been so concerned since they're that way more often than they're facing the right way."

Those nurses...

A lot of the students were looking downcast, which was completely normal after what they had just gone through. Honestly, he would have been concerned if they were all peppy after an event like that. He really wished that they hadn't had to go through all of that in their first year of the hero course, or really ever, but some things you couldn't control. You could try and stop the flow of the river, even try to change the direction, but you would always be swept away by the current. He still hadn't completely learned that lesson... He probably never would.

"Thanks to all of you for coming... but where are your missing classmates? Are they-"

Todoroki burst into the room, panting slightly. His eyes held the manic glint of a man proven right, so he was much more animated than usual. Izuku could tell that for some of his students it was unsettling, because they were edging away from the dual-haired boy. It wasn't everyday that Shoto Todoroki showed any emotion whatsoever.

"I was right! You all said I was crazy and grasping on straws, but I was right!" He laughed, still slightly out of breath, "Shinso is Aizawa-sensei's secret love child. Me and Kaminari saw it with our own eyes!"

Iida spoke up to ask Todoroki a hesitant question, "W-why are you so certain that's so, Todoroki? What exactly did you see?"

"You know when Shinso left because his dad called him into a room?" Everyone nodded. "Well, I went to that room and saw Shinso and Aizawa-sensei there. And nobody else. That combined with all of the other evidence I've compiled means that there is no doubt."

Everyone still wasn't looking entirely convinced, but the moment of silence was interrupted by Kaminari bursting into the room. "Todoroki! I don't think we should tell them if Shinso didn't say it was okay. Just wait a moment, oka-"

He noticed everyone in the room. "Hahaha... April Fools?"

Uraraka quickly turned to Izuku, shaking her head at Todoroki. "Wait- Izuku-sensei, wouldn't you know if Shinso and Aizawa-sensei were related?"

"Yes. I would"

"Are they?"

Izuku frowned and looked around the room, looking at all of the individual confused faces. "Wait, was that supposed to be a secret? I thought everyone knew that. It wasn't like they did anything drastic to hide it." Like try to get a decent nights rest to destroy the eyebags...

Todoroki looked at him like he had just killed his puppy. Apparently, it had not occured to the boy to ask any of the staff members, just to keep pestering Shinso about it until he either slipped up, or got so annoyed that he just told him. In fact, the boy almost looked like he had lost his purpose. That was, until he perked up and dug his notebook titled 'theories' out of his bag and turned to Tokoyami. "Are you related to the pro hero Hawks in any way?"

Tokoyami looked up at the sky like he was praying for help. When none came he turned to Todoroki, who was waiting expectantly, and said, "No, I am not related to Hawks in any way, shape, or form."

"Are you sure? Because there could have been some sort of adoption scenario that you weren't aware of, or you could have gotten amnesia over this one very specific thing, or-"

Dark Shadow hid behind Tokoyami, as best as the quirk could. Tokoyami ended up consoling it while edging away from Todoroki, muttering, "This is not a revelry in the dark."

Several more members of each class wished him well, and a few of them even dropped off a 'get well' card. Then the room started to clear out, the last of his students offering a wave as they closed the door. Soon he was left alone with just his thoughts, and they weren't very nice. All he could think about was Bakugo's eyes as he was dragged through the portal, the usual anger and resentment shadowed by a soul-shattering fear.

It killed Izuku to see one of his students like that. To see anyone like that, really. He always had this need to throw himself into whatever danger was there, to do whatever it took to help that person. At some point down the road he stopped caring about what would happen to himself. Maybe he viewed it as already having a good life. Maybe it had something to do with everything that had ever happened to him. But he would give his life a thousand times over if it meant saving even just one person.

And he didn't save that one person.

It was his fault his student was in this mess. He should have paid more attention that night, done more than just change the training location. He couid've had more heroes there, he could've made sure that the students were supervised at all times instead of leeting them go into the woods alone, he could've-

He startled when someone tapped him on the shoulder, looking up to see Aizawa's solemn face. The pro hero also seemed to be a bit concerned that he was spacing out, but he didn't bring it up. Instead, he sat down heavily in one of the chairs next to the bed and sighed, looking even more exhausted than usual. He was in a fresh set of clothes, not that they were any different, but they didn't smell like smoke, so Izuku assumed that Present Mic had come by and dropped some off for him. Those two really were such a cute couple.

"We've made some advancement on the case, and I think you'd want to know about it. The information we were able to provide on the case made it so we found their hideout. We've planned a rescue, scheduled to be at the same time as a press conference we're having. This will hopefully distract the villains long enough for us to take down their base of operations. Me, Vlad, and Nezu will answer their questions since we were the only ones that were properly documented to be there. You however, have the chance to go and join one of the two teams we've assembled to save Bakugo. One of the teams will be going to the main hideout that we found, the one where they are likely holding Bakugo, and the other team will be going to a second location we found where we suspect they are manufacturing their Nomus. Either of these would be helpful if you were there-"

"I'll go with the first team. They only had one Nomu at the forest, so I'm going to guess that there was only one that was ready to be put into action. This means that they will likely just be destroying that facility while the fighting takes place at the other one. Bakugo is also likely to be held at their main base. But I'm assuming you've already figured all of that out." Aizawa nodded, studying his teacher's face carefully. "Then I'm going to need the police files on all of the known villains we have so far. I've already looked over several of them, but getting one last glance-over and seeing the others would be beneficial." Aizawa nodded once more, and started to leave the room.

But then he stopped, turned around, and stared directly into his teacher's eyes. His mouth started to open, like he was going to ask a question, but he apparently thought better of it and shook his head. This was obviously hard on his former student as well. Aizawa always had been the type to suffer in silence. If he didn't want to talk about something, then you would have more luck freezing hell than getting him to do so. If they had more time, Izuku would've forced him to go see Hound Dog right now, but as it stands they have more important things to worry about. Though Hound Dog will be getting some visitors very soon.

He ripped the IV line out of his arm, heaving himself unsteadily to his feet. Nobody said that the nurses had to know Aizawa didn't exactly tell him to leave right this second. And it wasn't really lying if they just made an assumption and he didn't correct them. It was a... misdirection. Yeah. It was a misdirection, and therefore not wrong. At least in theory...

But he didn't have time to consider that question right now. He needed to look aat those files and all of the information for the hideout they were at. This time, there would be no mistakes. He would not allow himself another slip-up.

Part 31

Shinso watched as Kirishima directed Todoroki and Iida toward the courtyard of the hospital. The redhead- probably fake if he was being honest- had been acting strangely earlier, so he decided to follow him. You don't just switch from practically inconsolable to determined in so short of a time unless there was a change in circumstances. And he turned out to be right; his fellow classmate was planning a rescue mission for Bakugo.

He hadn't heard the finer details, but what he did catch was that they were all meeting Yaoyorozu because she had the thing that made it so they would be able to rescue him. Kirishima had apparently recruited Todoroki for the cause since he was so strong, but Iida had wormed his way in to 'keep an eye on them'. However, Shinso didn't entirely trust this since Iida was the one who had been trying to commit murder. His friend had more pent-up anger than his stick-up-the-butt exterior would've suggested.

Yaoyorozu was already there, standing deep in thought with something in her hand. She looked really concerned and conflicted, which made him even more suspicious as to what they were planning. If the class mom was concerned, then that meant it wasn't entirely safe or legal.

"Yaoyorozu! What are we waiting for? We've got to go save Bakugo right now! A bro doesn't leave a bro hanging!" Kirishima looked ready to run in and fight as many villains as there were in the forest. Which was incredibly misguided. His dad had always taught him that if you need to fight someone on their turf and are outnumbered, you don't go in without at least a loose plan. There's always room for improvising, but you cannot just go in blind. He already went against that advice once and the hero killer would've killed him had Izuku-sensei not been there.

"What do you think you're doing?" All four guilty parties swung around to face him, eyes wide with panic. "You cannot think that this is a good plan. What, are you going to just charge in there and hope everything works out for the better? Name one example where that strategy has worked."

"It may not be a concrete plan, but we have to rescue Bakubro!" Kirishima turned to leave again, but this time Iida was the one to stop him.

"Shinso is right, Kirishima. We can't rush into this. I did that once already and people almost died because of it. I told you that I was coming with you to make sure you didn't do anything reckless, and that is why I am telling you to wait a moment and think about what you have to do. The pros are already going to be there, so we can't get in their way. And we can't use our quirks to fight them. That would be vigilantism, and it's not going to help in this situation. All we are going to do is get to Bakugo and get him out without doing any damage." Okay. So Iida had learned from his experiences. That's good.

Yaoyorozu spoke up next. "That was exactly what I was thinking. We should use disguises so we are able to get there without much trouble, and we have to be discreet until the last moment. And no using our quirks to harm them for sure. That has clear and explicit laws against it." As he and Iida had found out the hard way.

"And I'm coming with you." The group nodded, and Shinso could feel Todoroki's eyes on him. But not in the same way as before. It was more like he was curious about something other than the suspicions he had voiced time and time again. It was... unsettling. Like he was aware of it but it didn't matter. Strange.

"I placed a tracker on the Nomu, so we know where to go. We have to stay out of the hero's way, and we still have to avoid the public. After the Sports Festival, we became very recognizable, and it would be bad if anyone saw us up and about right after Bakugo was taken. UA is under a lot of scrutiny right now, and there would be a lot of attention and questions that we don't want."

They all nodded and headed off where Yaoyorozu was directing them. It felt strange sneaking through the huge crowds, trying to keep out of sight while also trying not to appear suspicious. Even though they weren't technically doing anything illegal, it still felt like they were. And Shinso totally knew that he was getting grounded the second he got home, but it was worth it to make sure Iida didn't try and murder anyone again. It would be so annoying to elect a new class president.

Yaoyorozu ended up leading them to this clothing store where she made them try on a bunch of different outfits. She seemed to be having almost too much fun with it, telling them they needed to 'act the part'. And for Shinso that meant he had to show more expression on his face. Apparently, 'insomniac who doesn't care' wasn't the look that she was going for. And while it was annoying to be forced to smile and actually stretch his facial muscles for once, it was all worth it when she told Iida he had to act like a pervert. The disgust on his face was priceless.

And it was hilarious to see him thinking about how a pervert would act and then just deciding to emulate Mineta. He tried the grabby hand motion that Mineta tried to pull sometimes, and he did it completely wrong. Yeah... he wasn't going to fool anyone. Which was a good thing, under normal circumstances.

"Okay. Now where do we go, Yaoyorozu?"

"I have the location of the Nomu in this tracker, so we just have to remember to try and stay out of sight. And out of the heroes' way. We're not going to mess up his rescue, we are here just in case we need to be."

Shinso piped in, "And whatever you do, make sure that Aizawa-sensei never finds out that you were just going to go in guns blazing at first. Trust me, getting your arm torn off by wild dogs would be better than that."

Todoroki looked sideways at him, and all his other classmates looked away. Kirishima tried to pretend to whistle, but failed miserably. "Well, you would know that better than anyone Shinso. After all, he is your dad."

Oh crap.

"Todoroki, I don't know how many times I have to tell you, I am not Aizawa-sensei's secret love child. I'm not lying."

Todoroki had the gleam of victory in his eyes. "I know you are not Aizawa-sensei's secret love child. However, you are his child." Shinso opened his mouth to argue. "And don't bother trying to deny it. Izuku-sensei already confirmed it because he didn't know it was supposed to be a secret."

Oh, dang it. We totally forgot to tell Izuku-sensei not to spill the beans. We just thought that since he wasn't told at first like the other teachers we wouldn't have to bring it up. That was probably our first mistake; you should never assume that Izuku-sensei won't find something out. And he can be so oblivious to others' confusion that he didn't see he wasn't supposed to tell the others if they asked. At least it was just Todoroki and not-

"Yeah, sorry Shinso. Todoroki burst in to tell both class 1-a and 1-b he was right. I think Kaminari was there too, but he wanted to wait and make sure you were okay with everyone knowing first. He seemed a little worried about you."

Well, there goes playing with them a bit before they find out- wait! Kaminari was worried about me? He wanted to make sure I was okay with them knowing before Todoroki shared with everyone? He wanted to respect my privacy... oh god I am so screwed because I think he is the cutest person to ever exist. Dad was right, we do have a type and it's loud blondes.

"Uh... yeah. So, Aizawa-sensei is my adoptive dad. Iida, I think I told you and Uraraka that I was adopted at lunch once. Are you... upset that I didn't tell you?" Shinso looked hesitantly at his friend. He hadn't had very many of those in the past, so he was actually really scared of losing him right now. He hadn't expected to really like anyone in the hero courses, so it hadn't bothered him before that he was going to be essentially lying, but now he was going to have to see if there were any consequences for his actions.

"Of course not! It's perfectly reasonable that you kept your relationship with our teacher secret. Nobody can really blame you for that. Are you upset that Todoroki told all of us?"

Shinso thought about that for a moment. Was he upset that they had found out? He knew that he was going to tell them eventually, but he thought he would have more time to prepare for that. But at the same time, he felt really... comfortable having everyone know. It felt like a huge weight had come off of his shoulders. And as for the little game he and his dad had been playing, he saw Todoroki scribbling 'Secret Parent #2' in there with a question mark, so there was still some fun to be had on that front.

"No, I'm not upset at all. Maybe a bit embarrassed that you guys know now, and kinda dreading everyone's reactions when you get back, but it's not like I expected it to stay secret forever. I just... didn't really want it to be you're first impression of me." He offered that last bit hesitantly.

"Good! I am glad that we did not overstep any boundaries you were not comfortable with! It would have been truly remiss of me, as your class representative, to let any personal information of yours be spread around the classroom if you did not wish it to be so!" There were the choppy hand gestures again...

"Ah... sure." Shinso awkwardly cleared his throat.

They weaved through the crowd, making their way to the location Yaoyorozu had pulled up. But they did stop when their teachers appeared on a giant live television in front of them. Reporters were asking them questions about the attack on the training camp, and the crowd wasn't happy with UA. They were making it out to be like they were the ones to blame for what happened, even though they had done their best to keep them safe. It wasn't fair.

'What will you do to prevent things like this from happening again? Are changes going to be made? Can parents trust you with their children anymore?'

'Of course changes are going to be made to ensure that this never happens again. We will increase security around the enitirity of UA, and we won't have another training camp like that happen again. And parents will always be able to trust us with their children. Right now we face a dark time, but UA has always made its students their top priority, and that will never change. We are doing everything that we can to make sure this never happens again.'

'Right. But one of your students has already been hurt by UA's incompetence. And we have heard rumors that the villain group in question kidnapped him to have him join their side. Do you think that this could happen?'

'No. I simply cannot see a situation where Bakugo would join them. He-'

'At the Sports Festival he seemed to demonstrate pretty brutal and cruel behavior. What makes you think he wouldn't do this for the villains? Bakugo had to be restrained so he wouldn't attack anyone when he received his medal at the festival. Are you absolutely certain he doesn't have the seeds of villainy in him?'

Shinso glanced, concerned, over to where Kirishima was standing next to him. The redhead was clenching his jaw and tightening his fists, obviously agitated with what the media was insinuating about Bakugo. Yaoyorozu grabbed his arm and shook her head twice, signaling to keep his cool if they wanted to be able to rescue Bakugo. He nodded back, but still looked angrily at the giant screen in front of them.

Shinso wasn't worried though. He knew his dad, and he knew that he would never stand for someone saying one of his students is a villain. Or about to become one. When his dad says that he thinks someone has potential, he means it. And that meant that he believed in you. Shinso knew better than anyone else how amazing his dad was when it came to defending those he believed in.

'That does not mean that Bakugo will ever listen to what they have to say. He may be angry, but the reason he was in particularly rare form during the Sports Festival was because he saw his win as an empty one. He believed that his opponents held back and that meant he lashed out. None of that means he will be a villain. He is also fiercely stubborn and loyal. Nothing would convince him to join the villain side in a million years.'

The reporter cleared his throat, obviously anxious to move on to the next question. Kirishima squared his shoulders and exhaled deeply, and Shinso thought he heard his fellow classmate whisper, 'So manly, Aizawa-sensei'. But maybe that was just the wind.

...The wind didn't usually say manly.

Todoroki gestured for them to continue following Yaoyorozu. They couldn't let themselves get caught up in what the reporters were asking right now. For all they knew, the League of Villains was killing Bakugo right now. Which wasn't nice to think about, but it was the kick in the pants they needed right now. Iida had to practically hold Kirishima back from running.

Before they could turn the corner onto the street that would lead them to their destination, Yaoyorozu stopped and turned around. "Remember, we aren't going to be of any use if we get into the hero's way, and we can't use our quirks to hurt anyone. If we have to use them it's going to be for evasive maneuvers. Are we clear?"

All of them looked at each other and nodded. "Yeah, crystal."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Izuku checked to make sure he had all the things he needed in his pouches for the fourth time, since the first three checks didn't quite seem to be enough. There were heroes scattered all around the room, all preparing to go and raid the League of Villains hideout. There were several of his old students there, as well as some newer heroes that he had only heard about. And reviewed some footage of them and their exploits while he was away. It always paid to keep up with the latest news in heroes. Sometimes the information could save your life.

And this time he would make sure it would save Bakugo's life. All the heroes here had one priority that reigned above all the others, and that was saving his student. They would capture and take out as many villains as they could, but they would not let it interfere with the rescue of his student.

Tsukauchi hustled in, waving a slip of paper in the air rapidly. The white sheet rippled and waved, and all eyes were on it, right up until the point where they sped out the door. Now that they had their warrant they could charge right into the League of Villains' base. They would have to be careful and try to take out Kurogiri first since he would be the one to get them away, so they had Kamui Woods for that. Restraining the villains first was the tactic they were going to be using. Less casualties and a higher chance of success that way.

All Might led the way while Izuku strayed toward the back of the pack. He needed time to get a look at what was happening before he would be entirely effective.

"Izuku-sensei, are you-" His former student cut himself off when he looked into his eyes. Whatever he saw made him set his jaw further and nod, speeding up to be in the middle of the crowd. Izuku saw Kamui woods glance back at him, gesturing towards All Might respectfully. All Might paled, and whatever he said got Kamui to stop looking towards him.

The streets had been relatively cleared out, as many civilians as they could get cleared away from the area. Of course, they couldn't notify the League that something was happening so it had to be done very carefully. Some areas had been closed down for 'maintenance', and others had construction workers pretending to do things. They had to make sure nothing went wrong while executing their plan.

Because if they did, Bakugo could die. And Izuku would not let that happen. Not now, or at any point in the near future.

Part 32

Bakugo thrashed violently against the chains they had him in, snarling at the weak losers who thought that they could just take him and damn the consequences. He was going to beat them all to a pulp and then set their bodies on fire, but first he had to get out of these goddamn chains.

They were heavy, and covered practically his whole torso. The weight on his chest was a constant reminder that he couldn't get away, that he wasn't good enough to avoid this situation. For the first time in his life, Bakugo felt completely and utterly helpless.

Not that he was going to let these extras know that. A few of them were always watching him, keeping track of how he consistently tried to get out. There was a girl in the corner playing with knives, twirling them and giggling. Most of them were in the other room, talking about some sort of press conference UA was having and how they were going to get torn apart when it finally started.

And then there was this guy with patches of violently purple skin staring at him. Honestly, he felt more dangerous than the girl who was giggling about blood did. Bakugo had made eye contact with him once, and the burning pits of his eyes practically bore through his soul. Not only that, he kept an eagle eye watch over him. He was pretty sure nothing escaped his captor's eye.

The blonde chick with the knives pranced toward him, plopping down on the seat across from him. Her eyes were wide and manic, but there was also a slightly innocent air around her, like she thought what she was doing was completely normal.

"Helllooooo... I'm Toga! And I know you're Bakugo! I talked to some of your classmates, and I thought they were sooooooo cute! Do you think any of your classmates are cute?" She didn't pause to let him answer, not that he was going to, and instead just leaned in. "But there is one that I think is absolutely adorable. He looked so good covered in blood, and I bet his blood tasted good, too." What? "Do you think you know him? He had this green hair, and almost all of his bones in his arms were broken. And he didn't even care... so cool... I bet he wouldn't care if I just had a little of his blood," she giggled.

Alright, he wasn't sure before, but now that she mentioned broken bones he knew it was definitely Izuku-sensei. She thought he was a classmate of his, and he didn't correct her. He didn't know enough about her to know how she would react, and something told him she wouldn't be too upset if she saw some more of his blood.

"What's his name? I really want to get closer to him... if I had some of his blood I could be exactly like him! Do you have any of his blood? Wait! What's his name? C'mon tell me! Tell me!" She leaned in even further, the manic grin on her face stretching even wider.

"Like I'll tell you, crazy!" He pulled his face as far away from her as he could, his head hitting the back of the cold metal chair. But she just kept creeping closer, her sharp fangs coming into closer view. His breath came faster and sharper as her knife raised, the bloodlust on her face practically seeping out of her pores. He really thought she was going to slash his cheek until a screeching noise came from the corner of the room.

"Toga, remember, you can't hurt him. Shigaraki, in all of his beautiful crustiness, said so. And you know how he is when he doesn't get what he wants." Toga turned to him with a pout, flouncing backwards onto a stool.

"Fine. But only if I get to hear the pretty green one's name!" The scarred villain gestured at Bakugo expectantly, like he didn't have any choice but to answer. And he supposed he didn't, but if it was up to him the black-haired man would be even more charred than he already was. Damn extras...

"His name is Izuku Midoriya. Now get the hell away from me." He knew his teacher could handle himself, and he was pretty sure that the crafty man wouldn't be able to find that quickly, with just a name to go off of. But he was still really creeped out when the girl sighed and fell backwards, clutching her knife in two hands. The silver metal was held tightly to her chest, and her blush got even brighter. Oh god... she doesn't even know he's like 200 years older than her...

"Oooh... His name is Izuku... I think I'm gonna call him Izu-chan, so we'll grow even closer! Thank you soooooo much, you little angry Pomeranian!"

And with that, she pranced away, disappearing out one of the doors. It was a different room than the one that all the other villains were in, and he had no idea where it led. He woke up tied to the chair, a whole lotta ugly mugs hovering over him. They said they would let him 'cool down' and would propose an offer to him in a minute. Whatever they were going to be selling, he wasn't buying it. No chance in hell.

"All Might, she's crazy," Bakugo whispered, tugging once more on the chains. At this point he was sure he wasn't going to be getting out, but he still couldn't help struggling. He was never going to go out without a fight, so he was going to give these villains as much trouble as he possibly could. He had never heard anyone say he wasn't difficult, and this was going to be no different.

"Yeah, she is. And so are the rest of us." The guy who had the blue flames in the fight was carefully observing him from a chair. Apparently, now that Toga was gone he was going to keep a closer eye on him. Tch... "So I really suggest not being difficult. It won't end well for you."

"Whatever. Go die." The villain chuckled and rolled his eyes, looking completely amused by Bakugo's statement. Who does he think he is...? Bakugo gritted his teeth and pulled at the chains again, feeling the need to yell in frustration when they didn't move an inch. The way they were set up, he had no chance of getting out by using his quirk. He didn't have the reinforcements from his hero costume, so all that would do was hurt his wrists.

"Ha. Nice sentiment, but I'll pass. I've got a couple things to do first. But, man, you really are an angry kid. We all saw the Sports Festival footage, but who knew that one of the renowned class 1-a brats was such a little shit." He smirked when Bakugo tried to lunge at him through the chains and was cut short.

"The hell are you on about, you second-rate burnt toast?! I'm gonna kill you!!!" Bakugo spat out curses while the man just watched him, like he was looking down on him. Bakugo hated it when people looked down on him. It made him want to bash their skulls in and then cackle about it for years to come.

He finally calmed down and sat back against the chair, still glaring at the roasted idiot in front of him. The other villains still hadn't shown up yet, so he assumed the crusty one was making some sort of plan. He thought he heard him mention that he wanted Bakugo to listen to them when he had just woken up, but he still didn't know what shit they were going to try and pull. God, this was frustrating.

' No! NO! NO!!! You have got to be kidding me!!! I just got to that item drop, and then this total noob comes up from behind?! I'm going to disintegrate him the first chance I get! Just as soon as I kill this stupid NPC! You'll regret the day you crossed me, DougsForDays69! Just you wait!"

Bakugo slid his eyes over to where Dabi was rolling his. If he wasn't mistaken, that was Shigaraki yelling, and it didn't sound like it was at a person. At least not one that was there with him. It sounded like one of those online games that you played with other players, either collaboratively or competitively. And he just got killed. Ha. Dumbass.

" God, he is such a child," Dabi muttered, turning away from the door. ' You'd think that one of the most wanted villains in Japan would be more grown-up, but he still acts like a little kid who didn't get the toy he wanted. So immature... I kinda want to burn him alive."

Huh. That's funny. Bakugo also wanted to burn him alive, just like the asshole in front of him apparently did. Except Bakugo was pretty sure that the villain in front of him had already burned people alive. He just had this look in his eyes. Like he was always dancing on the edge of crazy, but not in the same way the blonde freak was. More like... he was biding his time and then he would inflict as much harm as he wanted on you while laughing, disregarding any consequences. It creeped him the hell out.

Bakugo shifted his gaze to the floor, ignoring the villain muttering in front of him. He didn't stop struggling with the chains, though. Everyone had always called him way too difficult, and said that he had way too much pent-up aggression, but if there was ever a time to piss someone off as much as you could, now was it. He just had to make sure he didn't go too far overboard and make them kill him.

Easy. Only an extra could fail at this. And Bakugo was no extra.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dabi stretched back as far as he could in his chair, watching the little hero-in-training strain against his chains to no avail. The others had stuck him with 'babysitting' duty, since Spinner was apparently building some kind of memorial shrine to Stain right now and Compress had already dealt with the kid once today. And they all knew they couldn't leave Toga alone with him if they wanted to do anything except kill him.

The kid was still glaring at him as hard as he could. But that didn't bother Dabi at all. No, he just yawned and smirked, like he knew the kid was no threat. Which he wasn't. Nothing that little pipsqueak did could get him out right now, and they all knew it. It was almost admirable to see how the kid struggled despite all that, though. A big fighting spirit.

That's part of why Shigaraki said he would be good to their cause. He was angry, and he seemed to be open to more... effective methods than the ones the heroes tended to use. The kid had a powerful quirk, and he could potentially provide them with information regarding the heroes and UA, not to mention All Might. He personally thought the kid would never switch over, but Shigaraki didn't listen to anyone except the stange man he called 'sensei'.

And on the topic of the strange man Shigaraki called sensei, their oh so glorious leader had been dropping hints that the man would show up in person soon. So far, all they had seen was a screen and a distorted voice, doing nothing more than talking to Kurogiri and Shigaraki on occasion. The way they talked about him made him think that he was much more powerful than any of them could imagine. Either that or they were in a cult.

...Eh. Wouldn't have been the weirdest thing he had done in the past few years. At least he could cross joining a cult off of his bucket list.

Speaking of Shigaraki, the man and the rest of their little crew emerged from the other dingy room that made up this makeshift base. Kurogiri was holding their boss' gaming controller, presumably the only thing that made him actually do his job. If Kurogiri wasn't there, not only would nothing get done in terms of planning, but they would also never get Crusty to leave his room. He would be too busy on his online RPG games to care about anything. Or whatever the hell he was doing in there.

"Well, if it isn't the little hero wannabe." Then there was a pause that was very clearly practiced. "Unless you don't want to be anymore."

"The hell are you on about, you crusty-ass weakling?! If you're gonna say something, just say it. Unless the leader of a big bad villain group is too chicken?"

...Wow. Dabi admired that even as the kid was completely at their mercy and could very well die if he didn't do what they said, he was still being as insulting as he could. That was what had drawn them to him in the first place, as well as his obvious strength. All they had to do was convince the kid that he would be better if he didn't have to subscribe to the guidelines the heroes forced upon him.

"Listen kid, all we're saying is that your talents are being wasted with the heroes. And you know that. You have to hold back constantly, there are all these rules you have to follow telling you to do things that just aren't in your nature. And at the end of the day, what do they do for you? It's not like you're getting too much out of this deal. You know there would be a hundred others who they could replace you with the second you place a toe out of line. Don't you want to be able to do what you want to do, to not conform to their ideas of what you should be?"

"Ha, thanks but no thanks, you asshole. I'm not interested in joining your League of Losers."

Shigaraki clenched his fists and smiled this horrible, creepy smile. It was like he was trying his best to not disintegrate the kid where he sat. He gestured over to Compress, and the man who didn't destroy things with a single touch grabbed the TV remote and switched it over to a channel. Dabi watched with rapt interest as the principal of UA and the teacher of 1-a came onto the screen, the latter actually looking like he isn't a hobo for once. The rat-bear-thing principal doesn't look too uncomfortable, but the teacher looks like he would rather be anywhere else right now.

His slicked-down black hair was tied into a ponytail, and Dabi saw Shigaraki blink a few times. Everyone knew he had a bit of a celebrity crush on Eraserhead, and Dabi was so going to mess with him later for this. He was literally clearing his throat and looking away while a drop of sweat made its way down his forehead. God, he was going to give him so much shit for this.

"Just watch and see how much these heroes trust you. They know we came to recruit you, so let's see just how eager they are to guarantee that you won't turn on them. Face it kid, you are nothing to them, and you always will be."

Damn. Shigaraki was going hard right out of the gate. But that was exactly what they needed with this kid. Subtly pushing him towards his own conclusions wouldn't work here. The kid wouldn't know subtle if it his him on the ass. They needed to do a frontal attack, the only thing the kid would understand. And that meant showing him exactly what they were talking about. It was actually really lucky that UA was having a press conference right now. Very convenient.

The audio finally came through on the old TV that had seen better days, crackling a bit. The first voice they heard was the reporters.

'All right. So you say you're going to make changes, but how can you account for what has already happened? Are you going to try to do anything to fix this?'

'A situation of this magnitude has no excuse, and all we can do is try to be better going into the future. As we've already said, we will be making changes to ensure this will never happen again.'

"Ugh," Shigaraki muttered, "That's not what I'm looking for. I thought they would still be talking about it. Nevermind, Compress, restart the mission."

"What?"

"Rewind to the part we were watching before," Kurogiri translated. "Remember, we stopped it right before we heard the answer to the question."

"Oh-right."

'Right. But one of your students has already been hurt by UA's incompetence. And we have heard rumors that the villain group in question kidnapped him to have him join their side. Do you think that this could happen?'

'No. I simply cannot see a situation where Bakugo would join them. He-'

'At the Sports Festival he seemed to demonstrate pretty brutal and cruel behavior. What makes you think he wouldn't do this for the villains? Bakugo had to be restrained so he wouldn't attack anyone when he received his medal at the festival. Are you absolutely certain he doesn't have the seeds of villainy in him?'

Ha. And there we go. Now Bakugo would see exactly what they were talking about. He would-

'That does not mean that Bakugo will ever listen to what they have to say. He may be angry, but the reason he was in particularly rare form during the Sports Festival was because he saw his win as an empty one. He believed that his opponents held back and that meant he lashed out. None of that means he will be a villain. He is also fiercely stubborn and loyal. Nothing would convince him to join the villain side in a million years.'

...Well, shit. That wasn't supposed to happen.

"HA! You thought that would sway me over to your sides?! You really thought that was going to work? You are bigger losers than I thought you would be. And I thought you all were pretty big losers."

Little shit.

Shigaraki growled and stalked forward, opening his hand menacingly. Which wouldn't have been so daunting if it had been anyone else, but he could disintegrate you with a single touch, as long as all his fingers were touching you.

Kurogiri floated in front of him and shook his misty head, making Shigaraki back off, albeit angrily. But the most concerning part was that the kid wouldn't shut his mouth. It was honestly impressive that he didn't read the room and just stop digging this hole he had himself in. It was like the kid had no self-preservation skills. How was he not dead yet?

"Okay, how about we release you and then you try and listen to us? Will you at least try to listen then?"

Dabi sighed as he undid the chains, backing off quickly when the kid shot to his feet. Sparks immediately began shooting off of the kid in a shooting star pattern. He responded in kind with his fire blanketing him, flames licking at the side of his head. He hated doing what his father did with his flames covering him, but sometimes it was necessary for intimidation purposes.

"Alright- calm down young man. You should-"

"SHUT UP OLD MAN!!"

"-Shigaraki, are you sure this is a good idea? Sure, he's angry, but right now that anger is directed at us. I don't like it when anger is directed at me. Attention, sure. Anger? No."

Dabi rolled his eyes at the drama kind in front of him. Compress loved to play it up for the audience, but what that usually meant was that he became whiny as all hell. Just look what happened when someone hit his toe. He cried about that all night. It was embarrassing to look at.

The kid was backed up and looked like some sort of feral animal, his spiky hair looking like a cat's would when they were upset. His was growling like one of those yappy little dogs, though.

Dabi was just about to put the kid back into chains because he looked like he was going to blow his top when there came three solid knocks from the door.

"Pizza Delivery!"

The entire league looked at each other and shrugged, nobody having any idea who ordered the pizza. Dabi went to go grab the kid by the arm so he wouldn't try and make a break for it.

And that's when the wall burst into shreds.

Part 33

Izuku waited off at a safe distance from the designated 'crash space'. The plan was to get through the wall with All Might smashing through the concrete. Then all the others would restrain the villains before they could fight back and potentially harm Bakugo in the crossfire. As it is, they couldn't wait another minute before rescuing the student. Otherwise they might find a safer way to do the infiltration.

All Might approached the abandoned building as silently as the big man could, footsteps only making gentle thumps on the uneven ground. Every hero around them was at the ready, all serious for what was about to happen. If everything was going according to plan, the villains wouldn't be thinking of a counter-attack right now because of the press conference. And even if they were preparing for a quick comeback, they wouldn't assume it was happening so quickly. It was only with the help of an anonymous tip that they were able to do this, after all.

All Might paused right before the exterior door and took a deep beath before knocking. Three resounding pounds rattled the door, and everyone held their breath as All Might called out, 'Pizza Delivery!'

...Wait. What? Of all the things to say... why? It's not even punny.

And then he charged straight at the wall, sending bricks flying everywhere. After that, things seemed to move in fast motion, everyone rushing in at once with guns a blazing. As soon as All Might smashed that wall, Kamui Woods did his signature move and took the villains out of commission. A few of them tried to fight back, but Gran Torino quickly put a stop to that. The older hero darted from wall to wall, nothing but stunned villains left in his wake.

"THERE IS NO ESCAPE FOR YOU NOW, LEAGUE OF VILLAINS! WHY, YOU ASK? BECAUSE... WE ARE HERE!" Well, there was his signature catch phrase. Modified a bit so it was grammatically correct, of course. The plan had gone well so far, but there was always going to be something that went wrong. Those who were against them would always find a way to do harm, in this case breaking out of their restraints.

If they did, Endeavor was waiting outside, a fact that he wasn't too pleased with. Something about, and don't quote him on this, 'That blonde oaf shouldn't get to charge in while I'm stuck waiting here on the sidelines. Humph.' With major emphasis on the humph. Now Izuku was going to get his student out of here before anything else happened to him. Which seems very likely, considering his students' track record.

"No... no no no. NO! You aren't going to beat me here! I don't have my powerups, and the boss fight isn't supposed to happen yet! Sensei said I was going to win the fight, and Sensei doesn't lie. You are all dirty cheaters! Where are my Nomu?! WHERE ARE THEY?! KUROGIRI!!!"

"HA, HA, HA! You lost this one, Tomura Shigaraki, because you forgot one crucial thing... our rage. You will never beat heroes when we are all together and fighting for one goal, united. You will never take one of our own again!" All Might's rousing speech had the villain Spinner practically in tears, looking like he would clap if he could move. "And now you have to tell me, Shigaraki, where is he? Where is your boss right now?"

Black sludge roared like a river into the room, the sticky substance completely coating them. Outside, he could hear the shocked yells and panic, but he was more focused on the giant, hulking beasts that were bursting out of the sludge. The Nomu were back.

Nothing about the situation made sense. Kurogiri was out cold, Edgeshot had seen to that, and it wasn't like they could just appear out of nowhere. And Mount Lady and the others were taking care of the storage facility right now, or at least that was the plan.

Izuku whipped out a corded wire from his pocket and quickly wrapped it around the Nomu closest to him, narrowly avoiding being smacked to the side by another. The space was much too crowded already, and it was getting worse every second they stood there.

Izuku felt more than saw the flames behind them, as Endeavor jumped into action. The rest of the heroes had been forced to let the villains go in order to take care of the Nomu that were charging like there was no tomorrow. Or at least, like there wasn't going to be a tomorrow for them.

A giant rebar shuddered and suddenly dropped right above him, and he had no time to think as his body moved instinctively, rolling to the side. A police officer raced right past him, calling into the radio desperately for Best Jeanist to reply. Izuku felt his heart drop into his stomach when there was no response, scrambling to his feet quickly. Something had gone horribly wrong, that much was for sure. And he was almost completely sure that whatever had gone off the rails began at the Nomu factory.

He took off in a flash, taking out whatever Nomu he could on his way. It seemed they weren't focused on him, preferring to cause as much chaos as thye could. They also were going after Kamui Woods, presumably to free the League of Villains from his grasp. Endeavor was holding his own against the brainless husks, but there were so many of them everyone was overwhelmed. And how they got there still confused him. Kurogiri was out, I'm sure of that, so how did they manage to appear out of nowhere like that? It doesn't make sense. And there's still this... foreboding feeling I have, something familiar that feels just out of reach.

The feeling got even worse the closer he got to his destination, squeezing his chest like a boa constructor. All Might was in the sky, in and out of sight in barely a moment. Izuku knew he couldn't make it there as quickly as his student, very few could, but he still pushed himself harder all the same. Something was off, he just knew it. They had forgotten something very important, something that would make all the puzzle pieces come together. Right now they only had the corner pieces, and everything else was scattered around. The picture was incomplete, and he needed to finish the puzzle.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

All Might tried to shake off the Nomu hanging on his back, doing their absolute best to take him down. He was doing fine until one of them snagged something and they went down. His cheek raked painfully on the ground, but he ignored the sting in favor of taking care of the Nomu quickly. Except... there weren't just two of them now. The black sludge was over here too, oozing pitifully in his peripheral vision.

He snarled his signature smile, and went after them with a fiery passion. He knew that All For One was the one behind the League of Villains, and he was not going to let him get away a second time. His old nemesis just had to be waiting for him, waiting for the chance to finally end this like they both desired. All Might may not be at the strength level he was six years ago, but he was no fragile little flower.

This time, All For One was going away for real.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Izuku sprinted through the destroyed city. With every few feet he traveled, everything became just that much more wrecked. Entire walls were torn down, and shattered glass was scattered everywhere. Luckily, there didn't appear to be any civilians at the scene, so there was a chance no one had been hurt by the attack that did all of this. At least, he really hoped no one had been hurt.

Izuku stopped dead in his tracks, horror bubbling up inside of him. This level of destruction... he thought the buildings leading up to this were bad, but he couldn't even make out were the buildings had been. As far as he could see, they had been vaporized, nothing but dust left in their wake. There wasn't much in the air, but Izuku could feel it choking him nonetheless.

All For One was standing at the top of the utterly decimated hill, the broken heroes lying at this feet. They looked like they were still alive, but their hero suits had been torn to shreds, and Mount Lady had shrunk down to her ordinary form, a clear sign of quirk exhaustion. Best Jeanist's sleeves were missing, and there was a clear crater in the ground. It looked like Best Jeanist had pulled his comrades to safety using his quirk. It was likely the only reason they weren't all dead.

Not that that would last long if Izuku didn't step in soon. All For One had on a life support mask, likely something that was a result of his fight with All Might. Even if he hadn't died, at least he had been weakened from the fight. All right, that's good... this would be a lot harder if he was still in his previous condition. Now there's more weaknesses I can exploit, more chances to take him down for good this time. Which is something I should have done a long time ago...

Izuku glared up at the man, anger rocketing through his blood. But that blood soon ran cold when he saw who was standing next to All For One. Why is Bakugo here? He was supposed to be where all the police and heroes were, not standing right next to the most dangerous man in the world! I'm starting to think that Aizawa was right when he called them all problem children!

His mind raced a mile a minute and he scrambled to find a way to get to Bakugo before All For One could do anything to him. But he couldn't find a way. At least, he couldn't think of a plan to do anything alone. He just wouldn't be able to get to Bakugo while making sure that All For One didn't hurt him before he got to his student.

Where was All Might? Izuku knew he had seen him fly over in this direction, and there was no way he hadn't seen the widespread destruction. It was practically a bullseye that signaled, ' Hey! Big, bad villains here! Please come defeat us!'

But... All Might had looked bigger than usual when he was flying over... Almost like there were other passengers with him. Thinking through all of the possibilities, it was highly probable that All Might had gotten derailed on his way here by Nomu. Given how many of them there were, there was no way that a few of them wouldn't have tried to hitch a ride. He was on his own until reinforcements arrived.

Which meant... he was going to have to buy time.

Izuku took a deep breath before stepping out of the shadows and into the light. All For One didn't make a single motion to indicate he noticed him, but Bakugo did. His student's eyes darted towards him with urgency, and Izuku could see the fear and anger in his eyes. He assumed his student got there from the same black sludge that the Nomus used to get there. All For One was using him as bait. He always had been.

"It's been a minute, Izuku Midoriya," All For One still didn't turn to look at him, but he made it clear he knew exactly where he was. Probably another quirk he stole, Izuku thought with a small measure of anger. He chose to remain silent, though he took another step forward, motioning gently for Bakugo to back away. "What, not going to say anything? And here I thought we were old friends."

Bakugo froze and looked at Izuku. He refused to look at his student, keeping his gaze trained on All For One instead. He could practically feel the smugness dripping off of him, the satisfaction of seeing his ultimate plan come into fruition. Izuku hadn't wanted to punch someone in the face- or where his face used to be- this much in a long time.

"No. And we haven't been 'old friends' for a very long time. And you know that," The villain finally turned around, hands clasped behind his back like he was some kind of business man. "So why do you keep insisting that we are every time we meet? I think I've made where we stand pretty clear."

All For One laughed a deep, throaty laugh, one that spoke to the level of amusement he was getting out of this interaction. He always did enjoy toying with others...

"Oh, come on. You can't just wave away history like ours that quickly," All For One replied. "We've been through much too much for that to ever happen, Izuku."

Izuku.

Nobody had called him that in a long time. It was either 'Midoriya' or 'Izuku-sensei', because he hated the formalities as he got older. Why should it matter if students called him Midoriya-sensei or Izuku-sensei? The only difference was that one of the names had three syllables and the other had four.

But just Izuku? It had likely been over a hundred years since somebody had called him just by his first name. And he's the one who probably said it last...

Izuku's voice turned cold in an instant. "You do not get to call me that anymore. That right was lost a long time ago, and you know that."

Izuku could tell that All For One loved he got a reaction out of him. Even if he couldn't see that man's smirk, he could feel it. He cursed himself a little inside for rising to the bait, but he just couldn't help it. Every time he saw All For One he got so angry, like all of their past grievances and grudges came to the surface in one moment. And he admitted that he could get petty at times. But he absolutely refused to endanger his student based on his past with this man, so he was going to try and talk to this loathsome worm for as long as it took.

"Hmm... fine, if that's what you want, Izuku." He gritted his teeth, trying not to rise to the bait. "And here I thought you'd be happy to see me. We used to be so close. Whatever did change?"

"Probably the fact that you're a psychopath." Izuku let a small amount of snarkiness slip out there, the wryness hanging there like a bad smell.

All For One chuckled. "Well, someone woke up with an attitude. Haven't you missed me? It's been so long, after all. When was the last time we saw one another? Five decades? Six?"

"I don't know. I haven't kept track, because I thought you were dead. How did you get around that, by the way?" Izuku tried to keep his tone conversational, but inside his blood was rushing with a mix of fear and anger. There were very few people that Izuku feared, but this man definitely made the list. "I was sure you weren't coming back this time."

"Ohh, disappointed you, did I? That hurts... but, to answer your question, I almost did die this time. Luckily, I have a doctor set aside for these sorts of situations. He was also the one who helped design the Nomu." All For One gestured to where they were laying crumpled on the ground, most of them dead by the heroes hands before the villain showed up. "Wonderful, aren't they? Getting the materials to make them was such a hassle, but it paid off in the end, wouldn't you say?"

Izuku opened his mouth, ready to respond, but something about All For One's tone threw him off. Materials... Something about the way he said that sent shivers down his spine.

"...What do you mean, materials?"

"Oh, you know, this and that, here and there," All For One responded, delighted. "But do you want to know what the base ingredient is?" He didn't wait for a reply before continuing. "Let's just say... I'm the only reason we can make them."

Izuku's brow furrowed in confusion, trying to figure out what the still-chuckling man meant by that. It only took him a moment before the dawning horror of realization came over him. He... I might be sick...

"What the hell?" Bakugo had still been backing away from the two of them, albeit slowly, but he stopped when he heard Izuku's tone and words. And Izuku didn't entirely blame him for that. " What is wrong with you? What the hell is wrong with you?"

His hands were shaking, he wasn't sure with what. There was only one reason why All For One would be needed to make them, and it revolted Izuku down to his core. No wonder the Nomu seem to have multiple quirks... that sick bastard.

"You're surprised? Good. I didn't think anything could do that to you anymore. At least I've accomplished one of the things on my to-do list for today." As All For One kept talking, Izuku felt like he zoned out for a moment, the blood rushing like a river in his ears drowning everything out. His hands were clenched into tight fists, and he could feel his nails digging into his skin, making deep indents.

He tuned in just in time to hear All For One's next words. "But speaking of that to-do list, I think It's time to cross off another item." Even if he couldn't see anything beyond that mask, Izuku could tell that the man was focusing on something behind him, and when he turned around he saw All Might. Good... I wasn't sure how much longer I could talk to him...

In a flash, Izuku rushed to Bakugo, grabbing his student by the arm and tossing him backwards from the fight. He turned around before he saw him hit the ground, but he knew that the spiky blonde would be okay. He had made sure to toss him as gently as he could, and did it well away from where the central area of where they would be fighting was. He might have a few bruises, but he wouldn't be dead.

All Might lunged towards to villain with incredible speed, and Izuku jumped out of the way as his punch landed. The air pressure blew Izuku back several meters, and he just barely caught himself, gripping on to the ledge with all the strength he had. His fingers burned, but he managed to keep hold. Glancing over, he saw that Bakugo had managed to steady himself against one of the only walls that was still intact. The other heroes were alongside him, and he could only assume that those of them who could still move had dragged themselves and their comrades away from the action.

When the pressure had finally cleared, both figures were still standing. All For One's arm had increased in size, not unlike the way All Might did it when he activated his quirk. Only the muscles in one arm had increased, leaving him looking very lopsided. He had caught All Might's fist in his hand, and was curling the captured limb backwards.

Luckily, All Might shook his fist free and jumped back, going for another hit. But before he could manage that, All For One went for an attack of his own, hitting All Might squarely in the chest. The hero flew backwards into the crater, but Izuku knew that he was still fine. It would take more than that to keep him down.

But the fact that All For One was managing to keep up with All Might hit wasn't the thing that caught his attention the most right now. No, that would be the villains who came out of the black portal and were making their way towards his student. His student who didn't have any pro heroes nearby.

How do I... he might be able to hold them off for a few moments, but there's no way he can beat them. For one, there are too many, and they are at an objectively higher skill level than he is. The only advantage we might have here is that they don't want to injure him. If they were going to kill him, All For One would have done it before I arrived. I need a plan... one that doesn't involve interfering with All Might's fight with All For One. I can't get Bakugo more entangled in this situation.

His mind was flashing through hundreds of different plans, each of them being discarded just as quickly. Either they had a fatal design flaw that made the plan inoperable, or they caused something bad to happen, like gave one of the villains the chance to get away with Bakugo.

And he didn't have time to think. The longer he waited, the lower chances of success. This wouldn't be a problem if there wasn't a fight going on right next to them between two of the most powerful men in the world, because then he would be able to handle the villains on his own. He knew their quirks, and he knew the best counter to all of them. Maybe if I... no, that would put Bakugo too close to All For One. At least they don't have Kurogiri right now, but now I know that All For One can make portals himself. There are so many variables it's almost impossible to create the best scenario. But this is what I'm good at. This is what I do.

...So the best possible course of action would be to take out Magne and Dabi first. Shigaraki has a range limit, and Toga does as well. Spinner can be dealt with easily as long as I can see his next move coming, and I just need to dodge Mr. Compress' marbles until I can knock him out... Bakugo should be able to keep away from them long enough to get away... Gah... I don't like how many if's this relies on. All For One could also throw a wrench into things. But I don't have much of a choice at this point...

Just as he was about to rush forward, he caught something out of the corner of his eye. At first all he saw was the movement, and he worried that more Nomu had gotten through. But when he turned fully, he saw five things, and none of them were thoughtless creatures.

One of them was a redhead, another was a sleep-deprived minizawa, another was an almost-murderer, a dual-haired kid with trauma, and the final was a girl with spiky black hair pulled back into a ponytail.

What are they doing here?!

Part 34

"Oh shit," Shinso muttered as their green-haired teacher looked right at them. He narrowed his eyes, and changed direction immediately, quickly switching gears and making his way towards them. Shinso heard Kirishima nervously grinding his teeth- which was a weird tic for someone with such sharpened incisors, he must not be nervous that often if they aren't at least a little filed down at this point- and he knew that they were either going to do what they came there to do, or they were going to end up in so much trouble they would become heroes before they got off of his bad list.

...Personally, Shinso was hoping for the former.

"What are you doing here? You have no idea what you have just tried to get in the middle of and this is just too dangerous for students! What were you thinking?" Izuku-sensei was looking directly at them when he said that, but Shinso got the impression his attention wasn't completely focused on them. He kept leaning one side to the next whenever there was a loud noise, like he was preparing to act against it in the blink of an eye.

Shinso rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "We-uh- that is to say, we just..." Shinso wilted a little under Izuku-sensei's critical eye.

"I asked them to come with me." Kirishima spoke up suddenly, "We weren't going to get in the way of the heroes, we promise, we were just going to try and save Bakugo. We weren't even going to attack the villains! I just... We just couldn't stand by and do nothing when we knew he was in danger." He hung his neck down low, bowing slightly to his teacher in respect. Yaoyorozu and Iida did the same, but Todoroki didn't move. The stoic teen was being silent, as usual, and had a defiant gleam in his eye.

Izuku-sensei's eyes softened, and he pinched the bridge of his nose, looking about a hundred years older. And logically, Shinso knew that his teacher was much older than he appeared. But it was still such a sharp contrast to his usual bright-eyed look, the sparkle in his eye and spring in his step. It... actually made Shinso a little sad to see his teacher like that.

"...Fine. Usually I would never let you do this, and understand that the only reason I am not escorting you back behind the police barricade right now is because not only do I not have the opportunity to do so, but I do need you for what I'm planning." All of their heads darted up, and they glanced at each other with incredulous expressions. Okay... so maybe not as much trouble as I thought...

"And that is not to say there won't be repercussions for this later!" Well... there goes that idea... "But for now, I'm going to need you to follow my directions exactly." Yaoyorozu, Iida, and Kirishima all nodded enthusiastically, but Shinso and Todoroki saved their energy and just nodded once. Why are they so excitable... how do they do that with their faces without their muscles hurting?

"Good. Now, listen very carefully..."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Izuku ran straight at the villains, racing past where All Might was holding off All For One. He had given the instructions to his students, and now it was up to them to carry them out. But they were a capable bunch, and he was sure that they would be able to do it.

"Just give up already, kid! You can't keep this up forever!" Twice shouted over all of the commotion. "No, run while you still can! You still have a chance!"

"SHUT UP, TWICE!"

"Don't tell Twice to shut up! He's sensitive." Toga giggled as she slashed with her knife. They were certainly... a chaotic group of individuals. But that didn't detract from how dangerous they were at all. It just made them extremely amusing to watch. When they weren't trying to kidnap people, that is.

"YOU SHUT UP, BOSS! I didn't mean that! YES I DID!" Twice turned and looked back to where Izuku was rushing towards them at top speed. "Uh, boss! There's another child running over here!"

Why do they keep calling me a child... I get that they're not supposed to be nice, but there's a line.

"What?!" Shigaraki looked away from Bakugo, directly into Izuku's eyes. He could barely see the villain squint behind his hand-mask, but he did see the moment of realization take him over.

Shigaraki howled in anger and scratched at his neck furiously, barely managing to avoid drawing his own blood. He ran straight at Izuku, hands stretched out wide before him. Okay... stopping... now!

Izuku stopped dead in his tracks before jumping to the side, effectively cutting Shigaraki away from the rest of them. Okay... good. Now Dabi or anyone else with long range quirks can't attack me without having the risk of their boss being caught in the crossfire. Toga and Spinner might have proved to be a problem, but I know that Bakugo can keep them busy long enough for the plan to be put into place. He's come a long way since the beginning of the year, and I have every confidence that he can handle himself. He's made it this far, after all.

"So we meet again, mini-boss! I didn't realize that this would be a multiple fight arc, but this time you won't get away!" Shigaraki wiggled his fingers in a way that was probably supposed to be threatening, but instead looked like he way trying to wave to someone from across a crowded room. "What, are you not going to say anything? You must not have been programmed with dialogue when this level was prepared. Ah, well. It will just make it easier to kill you if I don't have to wait for you to monologue."

Who do you think has been talking this entire time, me or you?

He leaned backwards and dodged swipe after swipe, doing his best to draw the other villains' attention away from Bakugo and towards himself. He could tell that Shigaraki was getting frustrated because he was scratching his neck harder and harder, a thin trail of blood dripping down his throat. Huh, that's odd... the blood is darker and thicker than it should be, likely pointing to dehydration. Considering his quirk relies on destroying things and turning them into dust, this means that the intricacies of his quirk likely works by breaking the hydrogen bonds that hold things together. The effects this would have on his body make sense since the dehydration effect would leave his body with less water than it should have, accounting for his broken skin and darkened blood. I wonder what I could do to...

Izuku was forced to roll to the side, throwing his shoulder down hard onto the torn-up pavement. He gritted his teeth and pushed up before he even stopped spinning, staying on defense until the disorienting effect wore off.

"Yes! Confusion debuff! Now it's time to go for the speed advantage!" Izuku instinctively jumped to the side when a dry hand came into view. The world had finally stopped spinning, and he had successfully led Shigaraki away from the rest of his entourage. Bakugo had managed to space himself away from the rest of the villains now that there was one less criminal boxing him in.

"NOW!" Izuku shouted with as much volume as he could muster. "DO IT NOW!"

An inaudible roar grinded against the broken ground as a giant ramp of ice rose with startling speed. Five of his students zipped up high into the sky, arcing into the air with terrified and exhilarated expressions. Yaoyorozu had made ropes that kept them together even when hurtling through the stratosphere. Shinso's face even had a little bit of life in it, opposed to his usual half-dead state.

"HEY BAKUGO, WHERE ARE WE?" Shinso's voice could be heard over the clamor of the battlefield.

"HAH!? SHUT UP!!!"

"GRAB KIRISHIMA'S HAND WHEN HE REACHES OUT!" They couldn't be sure that Bakugo wouldn't succumb to his never-ending pride and ignore the help that was being offered. So, instead they chose to take advantage of Shinso's quirk and make sure that he got the help he needed. But there was still a chance that the villains could get to Bakugo before they could save him.

Time moved in small flashes, like one of those old movie tapes, as Kirishima floated right over Bakugo. Their red eyes reflected off one another, catching the little snatches of ligth still left. And then Bakugo stretched his arm forward, and their hands clasped one another's.

Time sped right back up after that, and Bakugo's eyes opened almost comically wide as Kirishima tossed him upwards. Izuku barely waited to see if Shinso caught him like he was supposed to. Instead, he used Shigaraki's and the other villains' loss of attention to kick the light blue-haired man child back into his subordinates and race back to where All Might was having to hold back against All For One so he didn't hit the students or hurt them with the sheer power of his hits.

Okay... phase 1 complete. Now all that needs to happen is... and they're already on it. Good.

He had signaled the other heroes their locations through the comms, and they were now showing up. Only a few were there right now, but that wasn't too unexpected given how many Nomu had been there. Gran Torino was the first on the scene, likely due to his speed quirk.

They were actually starting to beat the villains back, but then one of those dark purple portals appeared and the villains started to be siphoned in. The villains didn't look like they were expecting it either, Shigaraki's bright red eyes widening in shock. He scrambled to stay out of the portal and keep fighting, screaming to stop so he could, 'kill these stupid NPCs where they stood like the little rats they are'.

"NO SENSEI, NO! I DON'T WANNA GO! I WANT TO KILL THEM RIGHT NOW! I WANT TO HELP YOU DESTROY ALL MIGHT!" Shigaraki screamed at All For One desperately.

"You're going to continue this war, Shigaraki. I have every faith that you can handle it, but this isn't the fight for you to show them your true potential. No," All For One turned directly to Izuku, "This is a battle that is a long time in the making."

The League was then gone, leaving no one but All For One and all the other heroes. Though Izuku knew that this couldn't be the end of it. There was no way that this was all he was going to do. He always had some underhanded trick up his sleeve.

Gran Torino and Izuku burst forward, heading straight for where the two powerhouses were duking it out. But then the radio buzzed, the signal for additional backup incoming. Izuku nodded the older hero away, an unspoken assurance passing between the two of them that Izuku would guarantee that All Might made it out alive. All For One was doing his best to isolate All Might from the rest of them by causing enough disturbances that their forces were spread too thin, but Izuku refused to let him control the crisis as he saw fit. Nothing was going to stop him from finally putting All For One behind bars.

All For One dodged out of the way of one of All Might's punches, his surprising dexterity likely coming from another stolen quirk. Izuku knew that he couldn't do it the last time they had met.

A lot had changed since the last time they met.

All Might was thrown backwards, smashing through several walls with sickening crunches. Izuku could tell that he was wearing down. Even All Might couldn't hold up under the relentless barrage of punches All For One was throwing at him. And with All Might's already weakened state... the man didn't have a stomach and he coughed up blood constantly. After this, Izuku doubted his student would ever be able to do hero work again.

Izuku wasn't even thinking, his body just instinctively moved. The second he saw an opening, he ran in without a second thought, his focus entirely on the madman in front of him. Look for the openings in his defense... you can't even think of matching him in strength, but if I can find just one weak spot I can stop him. Or at least weaken him enough for All Might to take care of him. Just one weakness... just one...

He darted to the side and threw the hard part of his elbow into the inside of his his. It was almost like he was dancing, pivoting around on his heel while he watched all the movements around him with an eagle eye. The cool steel of his electric pen heated up under his touch as he made it crackle to life, not giving All For One the chance to look at it before slamming it into his side with even more force than he attacked the USJ Nomu with.

The high voltage electricity sizzled and hissed against All For One's skin, but the man hardly flinched. In fact, instead of screaming like most people would when they were exposed to 50,000 volts of electricity, (the pen made by yours truly) he laughed, long and deep.

And then he gripped Izuku around the neck and held him up high, taking advantage of his short stature. His feet dangled above the ground, and he gasped for air with already wheezing breaths. His grip was tight, not quite restricting all airflow, but making it very hard to get enough oxygen to make his brain work at the speed he needed it to.

"Really? You thought that would work? I'm disappointed, Izuku. I know it's been a while since we last saw each other, but I didn't think you'd have gotten this foolish in the time we've been apart." All For One kept that same grip around his throat, neither loosening nor tightening.

Izuku had just enough airway passage to say, "And you haven't changed one bit. You're still the same cruel, heartless jerk you were the last time we saw each other."

All For One growled under his breath, quickly and quietly reigning himself in. "That wasn't the opinion you held when we first met. Do you remember that? Of course you do," He carried on without waiting for a response. "When things were awful and people viewed us as lesser just because we were different than they were? We were of the same mindset then, and you didn't think I was a 'cruel, heartless jerk' did you?"

His tone grew wistful, and his grip loosened just he slightest bit. "Things were so much simpler then, weren't they? Almost makes you wish you could go back a century or two."

"Of course you would say that, your empire was at its all-time high at that point. No one was there to oppose you, and so you ran rampant without a care, hurting others as you pleased. Only you would want to go back then," Izuku scoffed.

"You say it like it's such a bad thing, like I didn't solve problems. Maybe-"

Izuku cut him off. "You caused more problems than you solved and you know it. Your methods were too brutal, and you didn't care who got hurt so long as you got what you wanted. Who even knows if you weren't lying to me about your goals in the first place, manipulating me like you do with everyone else." Izuku felt white-hot rage boil up in him, and he spat out, "Does the boy who calls you 'sensei' even know what you really want? Or are you just using him like another one of your chess pieces in this sick game. We both know that you don't even believe what you're saying. You're a tyrant, pure and simple."

All For One tightened his grip on his throat, and his tone was full of cold fury when he said, "I hoped that you would finally see reason, but I don't have the time to convince you. This is the end of the road for you, Izuku." His grip tightened even further, and he snarled out, "Let's see if this kills you, shall we?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kirishima watched in growing dread as Izuku-sensei battled the masked villain with startling intensity. And the redhead knew that Izuku-sensei had said he couldn't die, but from where Kirishima stood, it sure looked like he was about to. All Might himself was getting beat up. And Izuku-sensei had never really clarified how far his quirk would go to protect him, or if it had a limit at all.

There's actually a lot we don't know about Izuku-sensei, Kirishima realized. All we really know is his hero name and what his quirk is called, and only a few details of his quirk. We also know his age, but we know nothing about why he left the school, why he started working there, or anything about his history with the villain over there. I've never seen him so angry, even at the USJ attack.

"Do you think Izuku-sensei's going to be okay?" Iida asked worriedly. They were all standing desolately on a nearby roof that Izuku-sensei had directed them to. Yaoyorozu was checking out Bakugo and making sure he didn't have any serious injuries. She created gauze for the small scratches that he did have, carefully covering the angry red skin.

Kirishima would have been right next to him, but both Bakugo and Yaoyorozu had snapped and told him to stop hovering over them, and while that was normal for Bakugo, it wasn't for Yaoyorozu. If Yaoyorozu snapped at you, you did exactly what she told you to do with no questions asked. No one wanted to see the class mom get angry. No one.

"Iida, I'm sure he'll be fine." Shinso said unassuredly. He was scratching the back of his neck anxiously, something Kirishima had come to recognize as a nervous tic. He was also pacing back and forth apprehensively, practically wearing grooves in the stone. Todoroki was just watching over the battle with hands clenched tightly on the railing. Kirishima completely understood the feeling, but he also knew that they would be breaking their promise to Iida, Yaoyorozu, and Shinso if they did. Shinso was already watching them suspiciously, like he knew what they were thinking and was prepared to stop them at any moment. And All Might knows that Iida could knock someone out with those hand gestures of his.

"I don't know," Todoroki spoke up unexpectedly. "He's a great teacher and is very strong in his own way, but All Might is having trouble beating this villain. And it's not looking good for him right now." They all grimaced and turned back to where the fight was happening, looking at the ruined battlefield. There was a news crew that was filming from a helicopter in the sky, but it wasn't directed at them and Kirishima doubted that it had caught any footage of them. It was completely focused on the villain and the heroes he was attacking.

"Are you guys sure that we shouldn't jump in?" Kirishima hesitantly asked. "What if it's the best choice, even if Izuku-sensei told us not to?"

Shinso snapped his head towards him faster than Kirishima thought the boy could move, eyes narrowing into dangerous little slits. Now that Kirishima knew that Aizawa was Shinso's dad, a lot more things made sense about his sarcastic classmate. Like his always sleep-deprived state and how he knew how to use Aizawa's capture weapon. At first he had discarded it, sure that it was a coincidence, but now that they had been told it couldn't be more obvious.

"Are you crazy?! Not only did you promise us that you wouldn't do that, but can you imagine what Izuku-sensei would do? He told us that we had to stay here after we got Bakugo, and he told us that we had to follow his directions exactly or we wouldn't like the consequences. We're in enough trouble as it is, and who's to say that we won't make it even worse by interfering? Let's be honest here: we don't stand a chance against that guy. None of us do, alone or together. Face it, we can't do anything but watch and hope that this all turns out okay."

They all fell silent, looking over the railing at the fight below. And then they all gasped in horror as they saw Izuku-sensei dangling helplessly from the villain's hand, the tall man easily keeping their teacher off of the ground. They could feel his murderous intent from over here, and All Might was nowhere to be seen. From where they all stood, it looked like the masked villain was going to kill their beloved green-headed teacher.

"DAMN IT! WHY CAN'T WE JUST GO DOWN THERE RIGHT NOW?!" Bakugo shouted, lunging downwards. Kirishima caught one of his hands and Iida caught the other, the two hauling back the blonde boy together. Yaoyorozu quickly made some handcuffs and slapped them to Bakugo's wrist and the railing with a solid clink. The boy looked at them with murder in his eyes, but none of them budged.

"Bakubro, we can't let you do that! We literally just got you back!" Kirishima locked eyes with him, looking into the deep red pleadingly. "Please, please, just let the pros handle this. We- I don't want to lose you again."

Neither of them looked away, not until Bakugo scoffed and glared down at the ground, breaking the tension that had settled over the small group. Kirishima knew that his cheeks were stained red, but he didn't care as long as Bakugo wasn't going to go charging off to fight the villains.

Shinso coughed pointedly, drawing their attention to where he was pointing below. "Yeah, so that's great and all, but does anyone know what Izuku-sensei's doing?"

Wait, what was Izuku-sensei doing?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Izuku kicked at All For One's side, not having any affect at all on the villain. The jerk kept talking conversationally with him as he completely cut off the blood flow to his brain, going on about what quirks he had used so far and what each of them did. And the man knew that Izuku couldn't process all the new information properly. He was purposefully taunting him with interesting new information, like the sadist he was.

"Really? Have you really run out of options? You have to know that kicking me won't actually do anything. You're not a powerhouse and you know it. You have no hope of beating me, not this time."

But while Izuku was kicking his side, he was also carefully undoing one of the straps on his pouches and squeezing his hand around the leather pommel of his knife. Then, while he was talking he carefully made an incision on one of the tubes that was hanging from the back of All For One's mask. A small hiss of air made its way out of the black straw, just another noise to fade into the background of the battlefield.

But those noises were all starting to blur together for Izuku, melding and mashing simultaneously. Then they were fading, dripping into a soft cadence that was in and out of focus. Blackness was starting to creep in, intruding at the edges of his vision. Welp, guess I'm going to be out for a while.

Then he was smacked to the side, body falling limply to the ground while his lungs took huge gasps of air. As soon as he realized that he wasn't in All For One's grasp anymore, he rolled to the side, getting as much distance as he could from the villain.

His knees were slightly shaky when he stood, wobbling unsteadily before stabilizing. All Might was standing before him, his former student matching All For One head on, both of them fighting for the upper hand. But something was very different about the man. Instead of his whole body being as bulked out as it always was, only his right arm had the crazy muscles.

And that's when Izuku was sure that his student was never going to be able to do his work as the Symbol of Peace ever again. He would always be considered the hero, but there was no way that he would be able to continue as he had been. It was only a matter of time, and they all knew it. All Might's time as an active hero had an expiration date clearly marked, the process was just sped up a bit. But they both knew they had to make it to the end of the fight, and they had to win it. The consequences of losing were too great to allow.

Alright, alright... inventory. I don't have my electric pen anymore, or my main knife. I've got the throwing stars, but I doubt those will do any damage to him. I've got ropes, but there's nothing I can do with them right now. I have no way of matching them in strength... I could maybe use... no, that wouldn't work. I'm sure he has some sort of regeneration quirk if he equipped the Nomu with one. But the regeneration is probably working in overtime because of his injuries... there must be a limit...

All Might was panting heavily, but there was determination blazing like fire in his eyes. He wasn't going to give up until he won, or he was dead.

And then Izuku had an idea. A bold, dangerous, absolutely crazy plan that was definitely going to get him lectured by Recovery Girl and likely the rest of the staff at the hospital.

It just might work.

Part 35

All Might fought to hold his head up high, feeling the exhaustion and pain wash over him in waves. They crashed down on him one after another, and he struggled to stand up under their onslaught. Everything was moving in flashes, little snatches of light his ruined eyes barely caught. His muscles trembled and shook under the enormous pressure of his nemesis in front of him. He didn't have the strength left to keep his entire body in his puffed-up state, so he was relying on a single arm.

Getting blasted back through several concrete walls had hurt. A lot. But then he saw Izuku-sensei being held up by his neck, and he rushed right back into action. There wasn't even a moment of hesitation involved. And, yeah, maybe Izuku-sensei wouldn't have died, but it was a knee-jerk reaction to run in there as fast as he could. Besides, it couldn't have been comfortable to be in that position.

At least Young Bakugo was safely out of harms way and he could now attack without holding back. All For One was starting to show the same signs of strain that he was, but All Might knew the villain was nowhere near done. He had been listing off the quirks he used with every hit, dozens of strength-enhancing quirks in total. And the man had to have some resilience quirks as well, otherwise he wouldn't have held up under half of the hits that he did.

Two thin strips of metal whirled past his face with startling speed, sinking into All For One's skin with a satisfying thunk. They were embedded deep into the skin of his other arm, and All For One bellowed in pain. All Might quickly seized his advantage and landed a powerful hit to his stomach, knocking the villain just as far back as he had been punched.

But unlike All Might, All For One was able to get up before the hero had the chance to land more blows. Except he didn't go straight for All Might. Instead, he ran right past him, gone in the blink of an eye. Speed augmentation too... The villain was going straight for Izuku-sensei with murderous rage, but All Might couldn't tell why. His old teacher wasn't doing anything much of importance, just smirking like he knew something they didn't.

And then All Might started to understand why his mortal enemy charged. If he was fighting against Izuku-sensei and his teacher made that face, he wouldn't wait for the green-haired man to systematically destroy him; he would take him out while he still could. And it was starting to look like Izuku-sensei and All For One knew each other prior to this event, something that Izuku-sensei hadn't bothered to mention beforehand.

Though it does make sense, All Might thought as he raced after the two, they are both so old that it would honestly be shocking if they hadn't met each other. Maybe I should have realized that they knew each other earlier... this is really reminding me of the first time I saw Izuku-sensei and Gran Torino together outside of work. I really didn't like the dressing-down Torino gave me after I asked if they knew each other... He used several words I don't think were appropriate and were in fact very mean.

All Might was pretty confident Izuku-sensei would dodge to the side like he usually did, rolling out of the way like All For One was a charging bull. But that's not what happened at all. No, instead Izuku-sensei just watched the man come after him with a calm patience that concerned All Might considering that there was a villain of untold power running straight at him. What is he doing?!

All Might watched in powerless horror as All For One's fist came down and made a sickening crunch when it crushed Izuku-sensei's form into the broken concrete. All of his muscles tensed, standing completely numb. His eyes couldn't move from the two of them, and through the haze of numbness red-hot rage coursed through his entire body like electricity. And, just for a moment, it fueled him and he felt like he did the last time he fought All For One, the death of his mentor clear on his mind.

He felt his arm start to bulk up again, reinvigorated by his absolute fury on the behalf of everyone the villain had ever hurt. All For One was standing up, smugness practically radiating from him. The super-villain stepped over Izuku-sensei's still body, showing no consideration for the other man.

But the green-haired man wasn't lying completely motionless, All Might realized when Izuku-sensei stabbed a clear syringe into All For One's leg with vicious speed and accuracy. How did he even do that? His arm is so broken... I don't think that the elbow is supposed to pointing in that direction...

There was a large boom as the only still-upright building next to them came crumbling down, and All Might raced over to where Izuku-sensei was lying prone on the ground. He powered himself up for one last push of strength, and just barely managed to get there in time for the concrete to come tumbling down in terrifyingly large chunks.

He stood over Izuku-sensei, making sure his teacher wasn't crushed by the rocks. And he supposed, by proxy, All For One was protected as well, but he wouldn't go out of his way to save the man.

What? Nobody ever said he couldn't be petty.

When the dust cleared, All Might stood barely standing. The little spark he had kept kindling inside of himself was gone, the last few embers dying down. But All For One was beaten. Finally, the villain was out of commission, and he would be put in a place where he couldn't hurt anyone anymore. He had finally accomplished his mission.

Shaking, he raised his fist in victory towards the sky, calling out in the most booming voice he could muster, "Now it's your turn!" Hopefully Young Togata would understand what that meant, and not the news stations that were hovering above them with incredulity. Izuku-sensei was still lying down, and All Might stumbled over to him with unsteady limbs.

"Are you okay?!" His limbs were twisted in a way that made All Might sick to his stomach (If he still had one) and there wasn't any doubt in his mind that Izuku-sensei wasn't getting up because he couldn't. How he wasn't screaming in pain right now was beyond him. His face did look paler than usual, a sickly complexion that made it clear the wounds were taking their toll on him. And if Izuku-sensei looked like he was in pain, that meant that it was really bad.

"Yup," Izuku-sensei breathed out, pained. "Nothing a day or two of bed rest won't fix."

A day or two? This is worse than Aizawa was after the USJ!

"What did you inject him with?"

"Just a simple tranquilizer. Honestly, it probably wouldn't have affected him like it did if I hadn't cut some of the tubes to his medical equipment." When did he... of course he did.

All Might opened his mouth hesitantly to ask a question about how the two were so familiar with one another, but he was cut off before he could say anything by other heroes and EMTs flooding the scene. They quickly ran over to All For One, snapping quirk-cancelling cuffs on him with urgency. Izuku-sensei was swiftly put on a stretcher, several of the professionals carefully supporting the shattered bones.

All Might finally allowed himself to slump down when he was safely inside the van, alone. The sigh he let out was both one of overwhelming relief, and relentless sorrow. Yes, All For One was going to finally be put behind bars, but in doing so All Might had effectively ended any chance of him working as a hero again. He knew his time had been numbered, but he was still trying to cling to that like a lifeline. And now it was gone.

Plus, Young Bakugo had been put in the line of fire because of him. He had been the one All For One was targeting, and Bakugo paid for his failure to take care of him six years ago. It was his negligence that caused Bakugo to be put through something like this, his fault that all of his students had been put through this.

To his horror, a tear started to slip down his cheek, then another, and another, and another. It was a silent cry, not the huge, gasping sobs that one might expect. Because while he might have succeeded in one area, he had completely failed in another.

His time as the Symbol of Peace was over.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Shinso paused at his bedroom door, hovering his hand hesitantly over the doorknob. Last night, police officers had escorted them back to the hospital where his dad and the other teachers had been waiting. He gave the entire class that was aware of the operation a lecture, glaring specifically at the five who had gone. Bakugo was at the hospital too, the doctors and nurses doing what Yaoyorozu couldn't. Eventually, people had been sent home with their parents or retired to their room if they had to stay overnight.

Meanwhile, Shinso hadn't gone home until both of his dads had finished up with all the paperwork. And then the ride home had been so silent, the tension palpable in the air. Even his papa hadn't said anything, and that made things scary. Usually Aizawa was the one who stayed silent and waited for you to crack, but when Present Mic wasn't speaking you knew you were in trouble.

He had tried to talk to them when they got back to their apartment, but they simply shook their heads and told him they would talk about it in the morning. And while Shinso was definitely dreading that conversation, that might have been the best night of sleep he had gotten in a long while. He was so exhausted that he was out the moment his head hit the pillow, falling into a deep slumber without dreams.

But now it was time for the dreaded talk. Rationally, he knew that they weren't going to do anything that wasn't fair considering the circumstances. They had always been open and just whenever he did something that was wrong, but he had a feeling that this time was going to be a whole lot worse than usual. Not only had his dad warned him not to do anything like that again after the Stain incident, he had kept what he and the others were planning a secret and ended up seeing the worst villain in the known world.

They were already waiting for him when he rounded the corner, his dad leaning against the counter with his signature coffee mug and his papa sitting at the kitchen table.

"Sit." His dad's tone left no room for argument, not that Shinso would have attempted it anyway. There was already a steaming cup of coffee at his usual seat, and he gratefully dove for it. There was nothing better than coffee. Not even cats.

"Do you have any idea what you almost did?" And they were diving right into it. Great. Aizawa had even set down his coffee mug, which meant this was going to be one of those 'serious' conversations. His dad didn't put down his coffee for just anything. "You could have been seriously injured, or even worse. Why couldn't you just trust that the pro heroes had it handled and left it to us?"

Shinso shrank down in his seat, hunching his shoulders inward. "Little listener, you had no idea what you were jumping into there. You are still a student. Just because you're training to be a hero doesn't mean you are right now. And while we are relieved that you are okay, it doesn't mean that there won't be consequences for this." His papa was staring at him with the eyes that made students feel bad when they didn't do their english homework.

"I-I'm sorry. I shouldn't have kept it from you, and I shouldn't have just rushed in even though I knew that it had a very high possibility of being dangerous." He hung his head down low.

"We're not going to ground you, or take away anything, but know you are on extremely thin ice." Shinso was pleasantly relieved, even if he still gulped a little at his dad's tone. He thought this was going to be much worse. Then he saw his dad's small smirk. Something's not right here... what am I missing?

His papa caught sight of his suspicious expression and giggled a bit. They didn't offer any explanation besides that, but they both seemed very smug. LIke they knew something he didn't. It was very unsettling.

"School is canceled for the next two days, as a rest period for both the teachers and the students. Then we'll be starting right back up as usual." As usual as we can be...

"Well," his papa butted in, "Not necessarily as usual. Nezu has made a new policy in light of recent events. From now on students and teachers will be living at dorms in UA. Each class will have their own separate building, and there will be both a room for each student and a common room for the class as a whole. UA is tightening its security immensely."

Wow. That was going to be a huge change. Maybe not so much for him as other students, since he was still going to be seeing his parents every day. The biggest change for him was going to be living with so many people at once. And he wouldn't be able to spend as much time around his cats. Wait... I'm going to be living with everyone in class 1-a, which means that I am going to be spending every waking moment with some of the noisiest people I have ever met. Including Kaminari... gahhhhhhhh.

His dad crossed over to the living room, and it was only then that Shinso noticed he was still dressed formally like he was yesterday for the press conference. It was really strange to see his hair pulled back. He actually looked like a professional for once.

"Which means that I have to go to each of our students' houses and get their parents approval with All Might." Smart. Not many would say no to the Symbol of Peace, even in his current state. "If you don't hear from me in a while, assume that it was so annoying I threw myself off a bridge."

"Do you mean spending the day with All Might or dealing with parents all day?" Papa asked, amused.

"Pick one," his dad grumbled as he walked out the front door.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Izuku stared at the wall, like he had been for the past several hours. A screen in the corner of the room was on a news channel, but he tuned it out. Every station in Japan was saying the same thing: the Symbol of Peace is gone. Some of them had mentioned Bakugo's safe return, but it hadn't been the focus. Everyone was reeling from the bombshells that had been dropped, like the fact there was a centuries old villain who was behind a good deal of the incidents of late.

All For One... at least he's finally behind bars. Izuku still felt sick whenever he thought about how he suspected the Nomus were made. And how the rest of the League had escaped, free to carry on their fight to another day. Also, Shigaraki's schemes had increased in complexity ever since the USJ. He couldn't have accomplished what he did at the training camp if he was still using the same mindset as he had in his first attack. Somewhere along the line, Shigaraki had evolved.

At least his students were okay. Bakugo had made it out of the incident with only a few minor wounds, and the five students who had taken it upon themselves to jump into the fight. Honestly... they might have had good intentions, but they had no idea what they were jumping into, no plan, and no way of getting away if they needed to. Not that I think they would without saving Bakugo. They're much too stubborn for that. The whole class won't stop until they've accomplished whatever they've put their minds to. I just wish it wasn't something so inane.

His phone buzzed beside him on the table, notifications showing Aizawa had sent him a message confirming they had gotten the parents onboard with the new dorm system. It sounded like a few parents had needed more convincing than others, but Izuku bet All Might just smiled at them and they signed the consent form. No one could deny the ailing Symbol of Peace anything.

"Izuku Midoriya?" He turned his head to the door and saw the same nurse from after the Training Camp come in. She was subdued, she had saved most of the lecturing for that morning while five other nurses gave him the disapproving eye as they listed his injuries. Apparently, he had broken almost his entire body, with just his spine, a few ribs, and his head saved from splintering into pieces. Their exact words were, 'we would almost be impressed if we weren't so exasperated. It's nothing short of a medical wonder you are still alive.' Don't I know it...

"You're being cleared to go back to UA in an hour. It sounds like one of the staff members will drive you there." Good. I'll have to meet with Nezu. And Recovery Girl's probably not going to let me teach for another few days, just out of spite. It might be a good idea, though. I did tell All Might I would take a few days of bed rest...

School would be back in session tomorrow, so they were getting the final touches of the dorms done now. UA would be the only place he knew that could repurpose and construct several new building in just three days. He had helped Nezu plan dozens upon dozens of different plans almost two decades ago, just in case something happened and they had to react to the situation quickly. And this is why we have contingencies. Because sometimes, there is a kidnapping which turns into an event which has consequences that ripple throughout the entire country. Happens all the time.

...I've become much too desensitized if this is my reaction to a catastrophic event that includes one of the people from my past I hoped to never see again. I should really get around to contacting that therapist sometime.

Maybe it'll be his New Year's resolution. That'll guarantee he does it. Everyone completes their New Year's resolutions.

...Meh. He has all the time in the world.

Part 36

Aizawa stifled a yawn as he led his students out to where their first training session back would be held. A couple of the other teachers wanted to give the students more time to settle in, but both All Might and Aizawa had agreed that it was only logical to have everything go back to somewhat normal. One of the few things they agreed on.

The students had already moved into the dorms, and while it was a big change to make, they were still in school. Plus, everything just crumbled down around them. It would be better for them to have some sense of normalcy while everything else was adjusting. Nezu had even agreed with them.

All Might wasn't able to retain his muscled form for more than a few seconds at a time now, and both of his arms were still in slings. Aizawa couldn't help but feel a brief twinge of pity for the man. Everyone knows that All Might is a workaholic, and Aizawa can just sense the tension coming off of the man now that he can't do his job. It was like second-hand stress, and Aizawa had enough of that on his own.

"Wait here," he droned on. "All Might is getting the last and most essential part of the lesson today. He'll be here any minute."

His back thudded against the tree he was leaning on, and he watched his students with an eagle-eye. If there was ever a group of kids who could get into trouble in less than five minutes, they would be it. You couldn't leave them unsupervised for a second.

"Aizawa-sensei?" Uraraka ventured. "Are you staying? N-not that you shouldn't or anything! It's just that you don't usually supervise our hero training classes that often." Yes. I much prefer to spend the time sleeping instead.

They were all looking at him with expectant eyes, but he offered only a shrug in return. Most of them gave up after that, but Aizawa saw Hitoshi giving him a suspicious glance and knew he caught something was up. Hah. Nice try. You're not getting anything out of me. You'll have to suffer along with the rest of them.

...Maybe Hizashi was right when he called him a sadist. No, definitely right.

And usually he would be sleeping during this time, but he wouldn't miss this for the world. It was one of the only times that he thought All Might actually did well with how he planned the lesson. Usually he would see him making flashcards in the teacher lounge, something that Hitoshi confirmed he actually used when he taught their class. The Symbol of Peace may have many talents, but teaching did not appear to be one of them.

He let the kids do their thing, fading comfortably into the background. The class had split up into their seperate little 'factions'; the self-proclaimed 'Bakusquad'; the quieter kids that Aizawa appreciated more and more each day; HItoshi and his friends; and everyone else just milling in between them all.

Speaking of Bakugo and his friends, Aizawa could tell they were treading carefully around the blonde after his ordeal in Kamino. They weren't jumping all over him like they usually did, and they weren't being quite as pushy. Bakugo himself was acting much more... toned-down wasn't quite it, more like he was a simmering pot that was getting ready to boil over. When they were releasing him from the hospital, Aizawa had tried to approach him about seeing Hound Dog, but he had reacted so violently to even the thought of it the subject hadn't been brought up again.

'Bakugo, what you went through is horrible, and it is completely okay if you feel like you need to work through this. That's why we recommend you start counseling with Hound Dog. He's a completely licensed professional, and-'

'Like hell I'm seeing that second-rate mutt! I'm not weak, and I don't need to go 'talk through my feelings' or some shit. I don't give a crap, so I don't have to go to therapy. It's for the weak, and I'm not weak.'

After that, his palms were sparking dangerously and his parents were arriving, so Aizawa had to drop the subject. The reunion with Bakugo and his mother had been... interesting. He could definitely see where Bakugo got his wild temperament from. The two practically had the same barking tone.

"Hey, Todoroki, you good?" Aizawa was a shameless eavesdropper. He was pretty sure he learned it from Izuku-sensei in high school, because the man let it slip more than once how he got his information. After that, students were always a little more careful what they let get out in range of the vents.

"Hmm? Oh, yes Uraraka, I'm fine."

"You sure? Because we understand that you were really invested in your theory involving Mr. Aizawa and Shinso, and now that it's over-"

"You mean now that I've been proven right," Todoroki interrupted with a satisfied smile.

"Now that you've been proven right, we understand that you might be a little... sad that you don't have that theory anymore."

"What? No, there's so much more to find out. Like who else is Shinso's parent. He said he had two before, so Aizawa-sensei must have some sort of partner, and I'm determined to find out who it is." Well, this had taken a turn Aizawa wasn't entirely comfortable with.

Hitoshi apparently felt the same, because he said, "Let's not. We're fine with you knowing about our relationship, but I'm not sure if my dad is comfortable with you knowing who his partner is."

Iida hurriedly jumped in. "Yes! We should do our best to not interfere with our teacher's privacy, Todoroki! It would be truly remiss of us if we forced them into something they were not comfortable with, like Shinso said!"

Aizawa thought about it for a moment. They didn't get to mess with his class as much as they would've preferred, so this was almost like a do-over. Plus, he was pretty sure they would never guess that Hizashi was his husband. He's already said that he can't stand loud things, so they would probably immediately rule out the loudest staff member. And Hizashi would be fine with his students knowing. It was Aizawa that never really felt comfortable with any attention on him whatsoever.

"Do whatever you want, problem children. I'm not so sloppy as to allow you to find out anything I don't want you to know."

Four pairs of surprised eyes cut to where they clearly forgot about him questioningly. He raised one eyebrow but didn't offer anything further beyond that. They could do with it what they wanted.

Because this time, he was going to have his fun psychologically screwing with his students. That was what they get for breaking the rules and going rogue.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Izuku trailed behind All Might with confusion, tapping his hand gently against his side. His former student had approached him just ten minutes ago and told him that he had a new lesson plan for 1-a today. He would have been a little nervous at how secretive All Might was behaving, but the man said he had cleared it with Nezu, so there had to be a good reason he wasn't telling him.

Plus, Izuku could tell the blonde needed this right now. He had just had everything torn down around him, and it clear he was feeling a little displaced. Izuku hadn't missed the students giving them the side-eye in the hall as they passed. They all averted their gaze immediately, like they were ashamed they had been looking. And he saw his student pretend not to notice, but he couldn't' hide his slight flinch with every extra pair of eyes on him.

"Are you going to tell me what your lesson plan is?" Izuku prodded, trying to lighten the mood while also gaining some information about what they were going to be doing.

"No. Nezu told me he would, and I quote, 'find every secret I've ever had and out them on every social media platform there is if I even tried.' I'm not even sure if he meant the ones that were a matter of national security, but I don't want to risk it."

Well, if Nezu said it was okay then- Waiiit a second.

He pushed open the door for All Might, and the man stepped through gratefully. There had been a slight moment of awkwardness when they remembered he can't really open doors with two broken arms. They were out of the slings and he could move them, but putting additional strain on them was another thing. The sun hit Izuku full-force in the face, bright rays beating down on him.

All Might was clearly leading him towards the training grounds, and as they got closer Izuku started to see some of the other teachers hanging around. But when they saw him, they all did their best to not make eye contact. The entirety of class 1-a was milling around aimlessly in their hero costumes. They all gradually looked towards the two approaching figures, their eyes quickly panning away when they saw All Might's injuries.

All except for those who had gone to Kamino in an attempt to rescue Bakugo. Those students were looking at him with worried eyes, gaze straying to where he had been held up in the air by All For One. The bruising was gone, Recovery Girl and the other doctors had made sure of that, but it was obviously a traumatic memory for them. He smiled reassuring at them. Even though he had no idea what was going on.

"All Might? I-I mean..." Kirishima trailed off. "Uh, what are we going to do?"

Everyone, including Izuku, looked towards All Might. The man rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, clearing his throat a couple times. But all that led to was him coughing out several spats of blood into a hankerchief. Almost every single student flinched toward him, but All Might just held up a hand and waved them away.

"Ah- I'm fine. I'll move on to explaining the exercise for today. Since I won't be able to fully participate in your lessons for, uh, obvious reasons, Izuku-sensei will be the one engaging with you."

"I am?" Several of the students looked at him with raised eyebrows. "Ah- I mean, I am."

"Since Izuku-sensei is already an accomplished pro hero, and he doesn't have any handicaps like we did in the final exam, he will be fighting several of you at once. Usually, I would have you observe each other, but I think that would be slightly unfair to the first team to go. So instead, one team will wait where they can't see what's going on while the other battles Izuku-sensei," All Might nervously finished his explanation, wringing his hands together.

Huh. I'm proud of him, actually. I would be a good opponent for them to learn how to work together against, since I excel in finding out an opponents' weaknesses and findnig out how to turn them against each other. And not giving them the opportunity to see the other team in action gives them an impartial view of how they did, without comparing themselves to their classmates. I might have them view security tapes later, to see exactly what they did right and wrong, but this is some solid reasoning. I just hope he put as much effort into choosing the teams.

"All Might-sensei! If it is not presumptuous of me to ask, who will our teammates be for this exercise?" Iida threw out the question in his usual manner, full of polite pushiness.

"Ah! Those were chosen at random." Well, you couldn't get everything. At least he had put more thought into this than the exercise at the beginning of the year. Growth was good. "You will be divided into two teams of ten."

"Pah! You think it'll take ten of us to beat only one of him? How weak do you think we are?" All Might didn't seem to know how to respond to that, mouth gaping open and closed. Bakugo was back to how he had been at the beginning of the year, before the considerable progress he had made while actually competing for once with his fellow classmates. He had taken a huge step backward after his recent traumatic experience with the Leage of Villains, and they would need to get him into therapy, preferably soon. But Aizawa had told him how his student had reacted when he had even mentioned the subject, and if his knee-jerk reaction was that violent, they weren't going to be able to help him at all right now, especially if they pushed him into it. You didn't work with teenagers for such a long time without recognzing that they were like wild animals backed into a corner whenever you made them do anything they didn't like to do. And when animals are backed into a corner, they lash out.

And Bakugo was more animalistic than most of his classmates could ever be. Izuku actually saw him snarl at people on a regular basis.

"Uh... how about I just tell you the two teams?" All Might didn't wait for them to answer before pulling out a crumpled piece of paper carefully. There were a few names scribbled on each side, and Izuku winced a bit at his handwriting. There was a reason no one ever complimented All Might on his paperwork. "Tsu; Ojiro; Jirou; Ashido; Kirishima; Tokoyami; Kaminari; Shinso; Yaoyorozu, and Uraraka; You're all on the first team that will be fighting against Izuku-sensei. The second team to go will consist of Todoroki; Sato; Mineta; Koda; Aoyama; Hagakure; Bakugo; Iida; Shoji, and Sero."

Hmm.. okay. This is a lot more even than it could have been. And there is a little wisdom in letting them adjust to who is on their team randomly, as it does mirror some of the disaster relief scenarios they are doubtless to see in their time as heroes. Though something tells me that wasn't what All Might was thinking about when he made this exercise. But hey, progress is progress, right?

The two teams separated, ten students on each side of the field. All Might waited for them to settle down before continuing with his instructions. "Great. There won't be a time limit for each fight, instead it will end whenever one side surrenders or is deemed unfit to continue by the teachers observing the battle. The students who are not currently fighting Izuku-sensei will be waiting with Recovery Girl in a different location. There will be a short interval between the two practice matches, and then we'll review the tapes as a whole. Team one will go first. Please make your way down onto ground Beta."

Izuku was already on his way down there, hopping down the steps with practiced ease. He was glad he always wore his hero costume when he was on school grounds, otherwise All Might's lack of warning would have been more of a hassle. It was surprising that so many of the other teachers had come out to watch the matches, but most of them could give their students a study period or some easy assignment and not have to worry about them causing trouble. That was a trait specific to the hero couse alone.

Izuku felt a smile creep up his lips, excited at the prospect of being able to partake in a training session with his students like this. He hadn't taught heroics before this, just Analysis, but with All Might's inexperience in teaching they hadn't wanted to risk just giving him his own class. Who knows what would happen if they did that. So this would be the first time he was an active participant in one of the mock battles, instead of just taking notes so he could tell his students how to improve their abilities later on.

This was going to be fun.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Recovery Girl? Why wasn't Izuku-sensei one of our opponents in the final exam?" Hagakure inquired, the invisible girl trailing behind the nurse at the front of the group. Not that you could really tell, since she was invisible.

"Who gives a shit? It's not like it changes anything. We're still going to win this dumb exercise." Iida internally sighed at his classmate, having long given up on restricting his foul language usage. Plus, they were all trying to give Bakugo some space after his recent traumatic experience. The entire class had agreed to cut him some slack as he adjusted back into the schedule of things. Well, as they all adjusted.

The dorms were going to be new for everyone, including the teachers. The entire school had tightened up security, and while it was good they were reacting appropriately to the threat, Iida was a bit saddened he wouldn't be able to spend as much time with his family anymore. Though maybe it would be a bit nice to get away from his mother, at least for a little while...

After the... Stain incident she had become a bit overbearing, on not just Tensei, but him as well. And after the second Stain incident, she had become the definition of a helicopter parent. But even though she had misgivings about him being away from home, she still agreed to let him live in the dorms. Although, he does feel bad for his older brother. Now he was the sole focus of her over-protectiveness.

Ah, well. It was really just karmic retribution from when Tensei did his best to embarrass him in front of his future teachers as a child. As soon as he found out that Aizawa had even a chance of being his teacher, he made it his mission to have Iida do the most mortifying things in front of his friends. He's not sure if Aizawa-sensei remembered everything that happened when he came over, but he just thanks his lucky stars that his teacher hasn't brought it up.

"Bakugo, language. And there are two reasons why Izuku-sensei wasn't one of the teachers conducting the exams. The first reason is that we already had enough teachers to do the exams. The-"

"But we've seen Izuku-sensei fight before, and he was really good at it! Wouldn't it have been more fair for the team who went against All Might to go against someone that was less, well, overpowered?" Iida opened his mouth to reprimand his fellow classmate for interrupting a teacher, and a senior member of the staff at that! But then he saw Recovery Girl roll her eyes a little and he knew that he would just be interrupting her if he tried to speak then.

"And that brings me to the second reason," Recovery Girl continued. "We decided it would be best if Izuku-sensei just observed the final exams. We wanted to give you kids a chance at passing, after all."

This time it was Iida who asked the question. "Why would we not be able to pass if Izuku-sensei was the one conducting the exam? It's not different from any other teacher doing it, is it? Bakugo and Shinso even went up against All Might." Bakugo rolled his eyes.

Recovery titters, a short, nervous laugh that felt out of place on the elderly woman. "Not exactly... All Might may have a few struggles with knowing when to hold back, but Izuku-sensei can take it to a whole new level... In a different way." Bakugo snorted, and the rest of the class did look a bit disbelieving, but Iida wasn't so sure. Izuku-sensei could be one of the warmest, nicest people in the world, but Iida had seen the look in his eyes when he was fighting both Stain and the villain at Kamino. It was terrifying; the cold, calculating intellect hiding behind viridian orbs.

"Like he even knows how to go overboard," Bakugo scoffed. "If he had replaced All Might in the final exams then we would have beaten him, no doubt."

Recovery Girl smiled at him, but it was strained. Bakugo had been acting more and more out of sorts, and Iida knows someone will have to step in soon. He also knows that it shouldn't be him. As much as it kills him to let his classmate go around disrespecting fellow students and parents alike, he wasn't the right person to do so. He might have more authority than the other students in his classroom, but that didn't mean that Bakugo recognized it. He would have to leave that to the adults.

"Don't get smart with me, young man! Instead, I suggest you all make a decent plan for once the first team is done, because you'll need it. I'm not going to weigh in, because that would be unfair to the other team, but just know you're going to have to have a well-thought out game plan if you want to even have a chance of beating him."

Now that they had a healthy dose of fear installed into their young bodies, the entire group dragged Bakugo over to where they were going to strategize. But not before he tried to attack Aoyama for being 'too much'. But when they finally got him to sit down, he actually provided real insight into how they could beat Izuku-sensei.

They just might have a chance.

Part 37

Endeavor dropped down into his office chair, sitting down for perhaps the first time that day. Ever since he had become the new #1 hero, he had been working almost twice as much, barely stopping to eat or sleep. The flames that were his signature part of his hero costume flickered out as he sighed, a deep exhale that rattled deep in his chest.

Until now, he had usually come home for dinner with the few family members that still ate with him, but now he didn't even have time to complete the drive back to his house, let alone stop for anything once he was there. He had only seen Shoto, Natsuo, and Fuyumi once since the fateful fight between All For One and All Might.

And he kept having to ask himself if he was really happy with his new spot as the number 1 hero. Ever since that night, he had gotten everything he ever thought he wanted, but it felt empty somehow. He had finally surpassed All Might, but it wasn't because he had become better or done more, but because All Might had grown weaker. Even as he grew weaker, he still kept his spot at the top of the hero rankings. And that stung. It stung that even as All Might decreased in strength, he was still better than Endeavor had ever been.

So, no. He wasn't happy. He was angry. And he didn't even know what he was angry at. Was it All Might, for being better than him the entire time? Or was it All For One, for robbing him of the pleasure of beating All Might?

Or was it himself, for being so incompetent that he couldn't even manage to beat someone who didn't have a stomach? How could he accept the position knowing that he would never measure up to All Might? He felt like a failure.

Because how could he look his children in the eyes, knowing everything he had put them through, when he hadn't managed to finish his goals? He had always told them that they were the ones that were going to have to surpass his rival, that they had a responsibility to finish what he started. And then Touya had...

"Endeavor, sir," his head shot up to see one of his sidekicks standing just inside the door hesitantly, like he wasn't sure if he was supposed to interrupt or not. "The last batch of paperwork from yesterday was completed. All we need is your signature."

Endeavor groaned lightly, rubbing a hand roughly over his face. He waved his hand forward, and the other man dropped a small stack of faded white papers onto his desk. The worst part of being a hero has to be the paperwork. There would be no way to get all of this done if I didn't have a whole squad of interns dedicated to it.

He dutifully signed the paperwork, making sure to cross all the t's and dot all of the i's. Every single incident report for the past day was in there, and he realized he could barely remember some of them. He had been so caught up in his inner crisis with the new #1 hero position that he had been acting on auto-pilot all day, taking out lower-level villains with little to no fuss.

Foolish, Endeavor thought, how can you claim to be the best hero if you can't even pay attention to your surroundings while on patrol? While All Might and Izuku-sensei were battling him, all you did was stand back and take care of the Nomu like the rest of them.

Logically, he knew that fighting against All For One wouldn't have been a good idea since he could steal his quirk, but he couldn't help but feel resentful. Izuku-sensei had been able to stay, and when he asked why All For One hadn't taken his quirk like he did Ragdoll's, he had immediately changed the subject. It wasn't even a subtle subject change. He literally went, ' So... uh, do you like soccer?' Then he winced and pretended to fall asleep.

Then the nurses had gotten panicked and thought there were adverse reactions to his injuries, and Endeavor had never gotten his question answered. He is really bad at lying for someone who has so many secrets...

A crackling, mechanical sound whirred throughout the room, cluing Endeavor in to the transmitter sitting on the desk. ' Endeavor! We've got a villain whose hair turns into metallic spikes that never stop growing heading directly towards Clarmount Street! Are you able to respond?'

"Yes," he grumbled. "I'll be there in T-minus 1 minute."

He reignited his flames and barged down the hallways, gesturing to Burnin' and one of his other sidekicks. Guess I won't be making it home today either...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Shinso gripped the edge of the scarf with tense fingers, standing as still as he could on the field. They had been given a few minutes to strategize before the real battle began, to make things fair for both teams. They had finished with their rough plan just a few seconds ago, and now there was only one minute left before they started the battle.

Objectively, Shinso knew that this was a low risk situation, with no real impact on anything of importance. But then there was this creeping voice in his head that told him everything depended on this one fight, that he'll never be truly successful unless he does well here. Around him, his classmates were similarly antsy, Kirishima breathing deep breaths in and out. Tokoyami appeared to be praying, his eyes closed and Dark Shadow swirling around him in a circular motion. Jirou was as cool as ever, leaning against Yaoyorozu and twiddling with her earlobes.

Mina could be seen comforting Kirishima, letting him know that no matter what Monoma said, the fact remains that his shirtless sleeves were very manly, and nothing could change that. ' Thanks Mina! That is so manly of you to say!'

Shinso was pretty sure the entire class would have PTSD of the word 'manly' for as long as they were around Kirishima. According to the redhead, it was a noun, a verb, and an adjective. But he wasn't entirely sure if Kirishima understood what a noun was, so that one could be taken with a grain of salt, though. The other two made at least a little sense.

"Uh... hey, Shinso." Shinso turned around and saw Kaminari awkwardly standing behind him, rubbing the back of his neck like Shinso does when he's nervous about something. "You, ah, ready?"

"I think so. There's not much for me to do in terms of my quirk; Izuku-sensei would never answer a question of mine in that sort of setting. But I have been getting better at my capture weapon, so I think I can at least do more than I could a year ago. I would have been completely useless back then."

Kaminari waved his hands frantically in front of him, blurting out, "I'm sure that's not true! You're a whole lot better than I am. At least when you use your quirk you don't become completely useless like I do." He averted his gaze to the side and cleared his throat. "I can't do much of anything when I short-circuit."

Shinso eyed him cautiously, noticing how the other boy kept his eyes away from the rest of his classmates. He quickly cleared his throat and muttered, "Well, I wouldn't say that. Izuku-sensei has been telling you ways to fight without hitting your limit, right? Plus, it's not like you're useless. When I was younger, I used to refuse to learn how to fight without using my quirk. You just have to learn how to adapt."

"Yeah.. yeah. Yeah! That makes sense! And Izuku-sensei has been showing me how to be more aware with my output, so now I can do more than one attack without shorting out," Kaminari gushed. His moment of self-doubt had obviously been beaten back, and now he was back to his regular cheerful self. The blonde even went so far as to sling an arm over his shoulder, holding him in close as Shinso's face heated up.

He half-heartedly shoved the blonde away, clearing his throat loudly. Luckily, Izuku-sensei was making his way towards them, walking leisurely on the field. If you just looked at his body language, then you wouldn't be able to tell they were about to have a mock fight. But, if you looked into the viridian depths of his eyes, you could see a spark flickering dangerously.

"Right... we got this... there's only one of him and, like," Kaminari paused to do a quick head count. "Ten of us. How hard could this be?" Why did he have to do a headcount...

"Let me know when to start, All Might?" Izuku-sensei questioned, hand resting gently on his hip bone. Why is he standing so casually, Shinso thought, while the rest of us are so tense it feels like there are pigeons in our stomachs?

"All right... START!" All Might bellowed, voice crackling over the speakers, his declaration booming all across the training ground.

The students all lunged forward as one, activating their quirks. Uraraka and Ojiro were at the front of the pack, being the close-range fighters among them. Shinso wasn't far behind them, though, and he had a front row seat as Izuku-sensei ducked below Uraraka's fist and, without a moment's hesitation, shot his fist out and hit her straight in the stomach before she could react. Then, without missing a beat, he danced around Uraraka's falling form and swept his leg out towards Ojiro, kicking the boy in the back of the knee.

And as Izuku-sensei righted himself, several things seemed to happen all at once. He could see the green hair of his teacher falling down on his forehead and darkening his eyes. His lips were set in a snarl, inhuman vexation clear on his face. It was terrifying, and Shinso couldn't get his limbs to work right when Izuku-sensei met his eyes.

Mina and Kirishima took the fallen two's place and trapped Izuku-sensei, one waiting on either side of him. Kirishima already had his skin hardened, little pieces sticking out like jagged rocks. Well, at least we know for sure Izuku-sensei won't be able to punch him. Probably.

Ashido's arms were drenched in acid, smelling both sickly sweet and horribly sour all at once. Little bits of steam were rising from where it dripped on the ground, sizzling gently when it hit the dirt. They slowly boxed him in, and the rest of the class stood on guard as the radius surrounding Izuku-sensei got smaller and smaller.

Something doesn't feel right.

"Wait!"

Izuku-sensei suddenly spun around, and Shinso's two classmates panicked and swung wildly. But their teacher just ducked and shuffled to the side, allowing the two to lunge forward at each other.

"Gah!" Mina yelped, waving her arms to try and get rid of the acid before she made the inevitable crash with Kirishima. Similarly, Kirishima deactivated his quirk, skin softening down to how it was normally. The two collided in a bear hug, grasping each other tightly and gasping for air. "Woah... we're not dead!"

Shinso winced as Izuku-sensei made contact with their backs, pushing the two in a solid shove right into their recovering classmates. The following thud made the entire team recoil back, groans of pain filling the air.

"Tsu, Shinso, GO!" Yaoyorozu yelled from the side where she was making something using her quirk. They had planned two different contingencies, and their Vice President's materials was the first of the two. It was starting to look like they were going to need it...

Instead of waiting for them to go on the offensive, Izuku-sensei pounced at them, teeth slightly bared in a way unlike the teacher they usually knew. Tsu's pink tongue darted out, the green girl launched in the air by Dark Shadow. Shinso crept along the outskirts, waiting to see exactly where Tsu's tongue would hit before making his move.

Got it. She's aiming for the torso, and coming along his right side, so he'll probably dodge... that way!

Shinso swung his capture scarf out the way his dad taught him to, controlling it by the wrist and the little sensors caught in the fabric that were influenced by the wavelengths of his brain. His dad's scarf wasn't the exact same, since his quirk had a minor effect that caused his hair to flow upwards and affected his scarf in a similar way. The black-haired teacher had never told him exactly how it worked, and had in fact huffed every time the subject came up. Shinso once tried to get him to spill the beans by asking if he even knew how it worked, and what followed had been one of the most grueling training sessions of his life.

After that, he got the memo. Learn when to stop and back away...

Despite knowing that Yaoyorozu's plan and contingencies were good, Shinso was still surprised when he felt Izuku-sensei's weight fold into his scarf, one of his arms tied to his waist. Shinso barely noticed the way the fabric strained against the man, the fibers pulling tight as they contained him.

"Jirou, now!" Shinso shouted towards the dark purple-haired girl. She nodded, jamming her earlobes into the ground like he heard she did in her fight against his papa. The dirt rumbled and roared underneath him, and he barely managed to stay upright even with two feet planted firmly on the ground.

Alright... now that Jirou was making the ground unsteady, Izuku-sensei would have no choice but to fall back into his capture weapon completely, then Dark Shadow and Tokoyami would step in and make a cage of darkness to trap their teacher in. Yaoyorozu had come up with the plan when they first got onto the field, but she also made contingencies as well, just in case something went wrong.

'Remember, Izuku-sensei may not seem like it all the time, but he is an accomplished hero that has been around longer than All Might. Chances are, he's come across situations similar to this he's had to get out of. And obviously, he survived... Probably. So that's why I'll be making a backup plan, just in case the first few sets of problems we throw at him aren't enough," Yaoyorozu paused, looking thoughtful. "And Kaminari, we need you to stay back in case it becomes necessary for you to wipe Izuku-sensei out in a blast. I would try not to immediately since that would also render us helpless, but if an opportunity comes and you see it as a good way out, take the chance.'

Guess they wouldn't be needing either of those plans, though! Shinso looked up for a moment, trying to calm his beating heart. And then he saw his dad smirking in the stands. His cold, sadistic, and impatient father was smirking right at him, and that's when he knew something was about to go horribly wrong.

A strident tearing noise could be heard in the moment of silence, and Shinso jerked his head to see Izuku-sensei wielding a knife in his free hand, tearing into the scarf and cleanly severing it. Time moved in slow motion as he fell towards the ground, the force from his tug sending him back once the tension was released. Izuku-sensei gripped the torn-off piece of capture weapon in one hand, the fraying strands gently gliding in the wind.

Dark Shadow was still lunging towards Izuku-sensei, though her flashing eyes widened when she saw he was no longer immobilized by the scarf. Izuku-sensei hoisted his hand above his hand, a metal object gleaming in between his fingers. He flicked some sort of switch, and then Shinso's eyes were burning.

"What was that?!"

"I don't know!"

"I'm not sure what that was, but it wasn't very manly! Or it was really manly! I'm very confused right now!" Yeah. That's Kirishima.

"DO I DO IT NOW?" Kaminari screeched.

Shinso's blood froze over and he was one of many that shouted back, "KAMINARI, NO!!!"

When there was no burst of electricity, they all heaved a sigh of relief. It rattled out of his chest haphazardly, and that was when he realized he was on the ground. It must have happened sometime between the flash and Kaminari's panicked question. His eyes still burned like someone had tried to gouge them out, but at least he could see again.

"Yaoyorozu!" Uraraka yelped. "What should I-"

Shinso managed to lift his head just in time to see Yaoyorozu's arms tied behind her back using the leftover shreds from his capture weapon. Discarded cords and- wait. When had Yaoyorozu mentioned she would be making grenades? And what looked to be the beginning of a cannon. And not one of the tiny cannons, no. This was the beginnings of a full-fledged, military grade war machine.

Where would she even find the schematics to make these?!

"Izuku-sensei! What are you doing?!" Mina squawked. Their teacher was pulling the pins off of the grenade handles, the soft click sending waves of panic down his spine. Why on earth would he activate the grenades, Shinso wondered, he already took care of Yaoyorozu, so why would he risk setting off an explosion? I know I heard my dad and papa joking about it, but he might actually be crazy!

Kirishima hardened, covering his fallen comrades from the perceived blast. Shinso couldn't seem to close his eyes shut, instead watching in horror as the pins fell down, and then Izuku-sensei threw the small projectiles into the barrel of the cannon, and they made a muffled, deafening BOOM of the explosion. It wasn't all that different from when Bakugo got mad in heroics training, actually.

Why would he set them off if he was just going to get rid of them? They didn't do him any good, set or unset... but they could've assisted us! He doesn't know if we knew what to do with them, and so he took care of our resources before we could stop him. And he used it to his advantage to ensure Kirishima, Ojiro, Uraraka, and Mina wouldn't attack. They would have recovered by now if he hadn't shocked them and gotten them entangled with each other again. For All Might's sake, Ojiro's tail is somehow both below and above Kirishima! Although, it definitely isn't as bad as it could be for us. With that cold-hearted gleam in his eyes, I'm just glad he didn't throw them. It looked like he thought about it for a moment too...

"Alright, Kaminari! NOW!" Shinso shouted in place of Yaoyorozu, trying to roll up from where he had gotten tangled in the remaining pieces of his capture weapon. Somehow, it had been wrapped around his legs and one of his hands, and he couldn't seem to shimmy out of it. Just under his eyelid, he caught his dad snickering down at him, and he glared as best as he could from the position. And the worst part was, his papa was snickering too, which meant it was really embarrassing to see. I'm going to be hearing about this for a while...

"Gotcha!" Kaminari chirped, pushing the shades of his hero costume higher up his nose. "But, you guys are probably going to be caught in the-"

"JUST DO IT, KAMINARI!"

Shinso watched in awe as the yellow sparks took over the entire field, static electricity present in every breath he took. He could feel the energy all around him, even once it wasn't visible anymore. The close-range fighters, Jirou, and Tokoyami had been caught in the blast, and while they weren't injured badly since they were on the outskirts, it was incredibly unlikely they would be getting up any time soon. Uraraka even had drool dripping from the side of her mouth. Mina was hugging her like one of his cat plushies in her sleep.

"I did it? I did it! I haven't shorted out!" Kaminari blurted out, turning towards Shinso, one of the only two classmates still conscious. At least, he's pretty sure that's why Kaminari turned to him. "Did you see that Shinso? I went just under my limit, and my brain can still think! Well, it thinks like normal me, but that's still a whole lot better than whey me!"

"Kaminari?"

"Yeah, Izuku-sensei?" Kaminari replied off-hand. Then his eyes widened.

"A little word of advice? Before you use as much electricity as you can, try confirming that your opponent doesn't have an electric-resistant suit." Izuku-sensei held the same silver pen he always used out in one hand, and touched Kaminari's arm with it. Shinso's heart skipped a beat for a moment, remembering what it did to the Nomu at the USJ. That pen had the power to completely fry someone's brain, and Kaminari had already let so much power circulate through his body.

But there wasn't much of anything. No sparks, no giant sizzling noise, no drama. All that happened was Kaminari putting his thumbs up and giggling like he does when he overused his quirk.

Izuku-sensei turned to the only remaining free member of their team that had managed to avoid the lightning attack, Tsu. His head tilted towards the side, letting the dark green locks obscure his face. All that was left to see was his eyes, staring at you through cold, hard depths.

"I-I surrender, kero," Tsu croaked out, bowing in respect to Izuku-sensei. Their green-haired teacher of mass destruction just took a deep breath, and when he let it out his bright, sunny smile was back on his face. He stepped lightly over to where Yaoyorozu was sitting, gently helping the girl out of her bonds. Meanwhile, Tsu walked over to Shinso and somehow managed to unknot the fabric with a single twist. Sorcerer...

"Team one, if you will please make your way off of the training grounds. The mock fight has been recorded and you will likely go over it in your Analysis class later tomorrow. We ask you to not say anything to your classmates on the second team until they are done with their fight, and instead make your way over to Recovery Girl to treat any injuries you might have." All Might's voice crackled to life again once more over the loudspeaker. It was a whole lot less lively than when his papa announced something, but at least he wasn't asking the losing team to scream, 'YEAH!', like he did at the Sports Festival. Which nobody ended up doing.

Shinso was pretty sure he saw him crying into his pillow later that night.

Shinso groaned as he pulled himself to his feet, feeling the beginnings of a bruise creep up his legs. His eyes mournfully traced the tattered remains of his scarf, and even though he knew he had several spares back at his dorm, he still felt the urge to throw it some sort of ceremony, to have some sort of recognition for helping him block out the world and avoid socialization with others by hiding his face. We've been through some rough loudmouths- I mean, times together, buddy.

Kaminari was spinning around in a circle dazedly, a lopsided grin on his face. The blonde didn't look like he knew what was going on right now, and he looked just a little high. " Wheyyyyy!!!!"

Shinso chuckled under his breath, ignoring the raised eyebrow from Tsu next to him. He reached out and grasped Kaminari's shoulders, gently leading him towards the exit. The blonde's collarbone was surprisingly delicate, and he had to stop the blush from crawling up the back of his neck. His mouth felt drier than it should be.

"You all did very well!" Izuku-sensei exclaimed, fingers fiddling with the electric pen Shinso was terrified of. "Though we will go over some of the mistakes you all made, I would just like to suggest that while attacking in pairs and having backups can be a valid strategy, it doesn't work that well when the person, or people, you are fighting know your weaknesses. They were easily manipulated against you in a group setting, and since you didn't attack as one you weren't able to overwhelm me." Izuku-sensei put the silver pen away, then added on, "I'll give more individualized comments later, but that is the overview."

Shinso nodded grimly, a little embarrassed at how quickly half of their class failed. He knew that they were only first-years, and that it wasn't very plausible for them to be able to defeat a full-fledged pro hero right away, but he was still disappointed. And dreading the training his dad was going to make the class do after watching that.

As they exited out of the arena-esque grounds and entered into the freshly air-conditioned building, Shinso saw the other team head in. Bakugo was at the front of the group, looking overconfident and arrogant. There was a shocking amount of anger and loathing present in his eyes, like there had been at the beginning of the year.

Why do I feel like this won't end well...?

Part 38

Bakugo stormed onto the field, scowling at anyone who dared to try and meet his eyes. The half-and-half bastard was walking right behind him, finally listening to him for once. I'm going to become number one. You're all just stepping stones in my path.

The entire class had been treating him like he was some kind of baby ever since the Kamino Ward incident, and All Might's shocking secret. Asking him if he was okay, if he needed to talk to someone, if he needed anything from them. He needed for them to leave him the hell alone! Why would he want to talk with those losers when he needed to train and become stronger so he would never have to be so weak in the face of those villains again?!

Half-and-half sped up his strides until he was right next to Bakugo, looking at him with that ridiculously empty expression of his. "Bakugo, remember the plan. We have to-"

"Shut the hell up, Icyhot!" Bakugo snapped. "I don't give a flying crap about your shit plan! I don't need any of you to beat him, and I never will!"

Office Depot and Four-eyes both threw worried looks at each other, but wisely decided to remain silent. Purple Pervert was just pouting that the only girl on their team was the one he couldn't see. Bakugo wanted to punch that little piece of shit right in his sniveling face, like his mother should have done the second she saw the little pervert.

Like hell Bakugo was going to do the stupid plan they made up. Half-and-half and him were supposed to draw Izuku-sensei's attention away from the rest of their team by working together using Bakugo's explosions to add more force to Icyhot's ice. Then the rest of their team would take him out from the other side by using Hagakure's invisibility to trip him up using subtle movements while Four-eyes, Office Depot, and Pervert used their quirks to block off all exits. Then Sugar Rush, Six-arms, and Fake French could come in and take him down.

They kept going on about how they would only win if they used 'teamwork', and had a 'common mind'. Bakugo called bullshit on that. There was no way that they needed all of them to beat Izuku-sensei. Maybe the rest of those extras had to work together to do it, but he could take care of him alone. He didn't need anyone else, and he never would.

"Team two, are you ready to begin?" The assortment of students nodded, taking a rough battle stance as they waited for Izuku-sensei to appear. "Then in one, two, three... begin!"

Izuku-sensei took light steps out of the tunnel, hands clasped gently behind his back. Bakugo immediately snarled and ran at him, explosions sparking carelessly on his fingers. The audible pops and cracks filled the match area, wind whistling past his anger-filled face as he got closer and closer to his teacher.

Right as he was about to collide with the man, Izuku-sensei darted to the side, and with a startling amount of footwork, arrived right behind Bakugo and kicked him directly in the back. It sent the blonde flying forward, and he couldn't stop himself from falling face-first into the dirt. He screamed wordlessly in rage, and then immediately regretted it when dust got in his mouth.

Icyhot had taken his place, sending small chunks of ice flying towards their teacher. He was having almost no trouble evading, at one point even jumping on top of the cool shards and lunging at Half-and-half. The stupid loser's eyes widened before he scrambled out of the way. Bakugo would have never let Izuku-sensei get the best of him like that, so early in the fight...

Shut up.

"Bakugo, get back there!" Invisible Tape shouted, inadvertently giving away her position behind their teacher. There was a little eep! as Izuku-sensei swiftly reacted, sweeping his leg at seemingly thin air. Judging by the solid thump that followed, Invisible Girl had taken a tumble.

Well, whatever. I didn't need her anyway. I don't need any of them!

"Merde! We must move forward with the plan, mon amie!" What the hell is he even saying? Bakugo's not even sure he's really french. Not that he cares enough to ask.

The team that was supposed to close Izuku-sensei in all scrambled to get into place. And that's when Bakugo rocketed himself back into the action. Like hell he was letting them have all the glory! He was going to be the one to beat their teacher, not anyone else.

Little infernos burst off of his hand, propelling him haphazardly into the sky. His cheeks felt like they were about to fall off of his face when he barreled back down. He might have been a little too hasty in aiming where he was going to end up though, because instead of hitting Izuku-sensei, he fell right into Icyhot.

"WHAT THE HELL, ICYHOT?! GET THE HELL OFF OF ME!"

"Bakugo. You're on me." Dumb bitch.

"WHATEVER. LIKE I GIVE A SHIT, YOU USELESS PIECE OF CRAP!" Bakugo was doing his best to struggle off of Todoroki, but their hero costumes had somehow gotten intertangled and the buttons that Bakugo didn't even know existed were stuck together.

'Bakubro! Follow the plan, man!" School Supplies was twisting his tape around Mineta's purple balls,- and now Bakugo wants to throw up just thinking about that- the sticky binding substance wrapping around the area they were closing off. Iida had grabbed his other elbow dispenser from Office Depot's creepy-as-hell elbow and was now going the opposite direction so their efficiency was increased and they could block off all exits faster.

"SHUT THE HELL UP, FREAK!" Bakugo roared right back at him. Like hell he was going to listen to some shitty extra that hadn't even passed his finals and had to let the little sniveling grape do it for him. What a pathetic little-

"Bakugo! Stay out of the way," Sugar Rush shouted at him. Honestly, he had no idea what his real name is, just like half of the class, but he didn't really care either. "You're gonna mess-"

"MESS WHAT?!" How dare he! Bakugo wasn't going to mess anything up! He wasn't going to do it again! He could do everything by himself, and he didn't need anyone there for him. He wasn't going to need anyone ever again.

He ran at Izuku-sensei, having to jump over Half-and-half to do so. But their teacher had no problem easily parrying his hits, dodging and evading with all the grace of a panther. He even looked Bakugo right in the eye before he twisted his arm behind his back and threw him forward into the tape barrier Office Depot and the others had set up.

He struggled angrily, trying to peel the sticky tethers off of himself while Izuku-sensei was mercilessly taking care of Quiet and Tentacles, taking advantage of the fact that Quiet didn't have any animals in close proximity and Tentacles wouldn't hurt his friend. It was almost barbaric in the way he used Quiet as a sort of human shield, every time Six-arms got close enough to hit him he somehow maneuvered himself so Looks-like-a-rock- not his best insulting nickname, he knows- was always in between them. Bakugo might have laughed at the panic in his eyes if he hadn't been so angry.

At what, he wasn't sure, but he did know he was angry. He was always angry.

He screamed out a wordless cry of rage as he finally tore the tape off of himself, and in the process destroyed the little blockade. He could do this on his own. He wasn't going to rely on some shitty extras to do what he should be able to do on his own. Nobody was better than him. He had to be the best.

"BAKUGO! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" Four-eyes screeched at him. "THIS IS NOT VERY HEROIC BEHAVIOR!"

Maybe he should have paid more attention to where he was going, because as soon as he lost focus to gape at Bakugo, Izuku-sensei tripped him. Their class president ended up skidding across the ground, face dragging painfully. He ended up slamming into both Sugar Rush and Six-arms from where Izuku-sensei had cornered them. Quiet was on the other end up of the area, but Bakugo's flailing around had thrown the entire blockade out of whack and now he was stuck in the displaced tape.

"STAY THE HELL OUT OF MY WAY!" How many times did he have to tell them? It's not his fault they can't follow the simplest of instructions. It's their own fault for being too weak to handle the problem on their own.

Bakugo landed right next to Izuku-sensei this time, right where he wanted. He attacked with all the speed and strength he had, sending forth a flurry of explosions that even Izuku-sensei struggled to keep up with. But so did his classmates. No one could get close, not even Sparkly with his navel laser's far reach.

"You think you can beat ten of us at once? How pathetic do you think we are?" Bakugo snarled at Izuku-sensei's annoying, relaxed face. There wasn't even a drop of sweat dripping down his cheek, and Bakugo was covered in it.

Though that wasn't exactly a good thing for his teacher.

"I didn't say that," Izuku-sensei replied. There was a devilish twinkle in his eyes that was usually only seen on Nezu, if the rumors are to be believed. "But, you're not exactly disproving that claim, are you?"

What the hell was that? There was no way his mild-mannered teacher just spit out that level of sass. And then he took advantage of Bakugo's shock by grabbing his right hook out of the air and sending him flying towards the remaining few members of his loser teammates.

He crashed right into Small Fry, the little bitch scrabbling at his back like that would do anything. Bakugo was just pissed. He was tired of Izuku-sensei throwing him around like he was some dog's chew toy. He didn't care that half of his entire class was screaming at him to stop, he was going to do this his way.

Crashing into the Purple Pervert seemed like the final straw for the rest of his team. They ended up barreling into Croissant, who screamed, "J'ai besoin d'aide! J'ai besoin d'aide!" ( I need help! I need help!)

He does know that none of them speak french, right?

Bakugo doesn't care what he was saying anyway, because Office Depot was getting in his way. The black-haired nuisance was approaching him like one would a spooked animal, carefully and with purpose. "Bakugo. I'm going to be very honest with you. I have no idea what you're thinking right now, but I do know that what you're doing isn't working. You need to calm down and think about this rationally, because ignoring us and just doing it your way is unsuccessful."

"Like hell I'm doing that!" Bakugo wasn't going to listen to this shit anymore. He shoved Sero away, unintentionally pushing him into where Small Fry was making the final trap for Izuku-sensei using his quirk balls. Every time Office Depot kicked or struggled he was just caught even more. Soon all that was visible was his head, expression fully conveying his displeasure.

Not that Bakugo gave a shit about that. At this point, there wasn't anyone left besides Bakugo left standing to fight Izuku-sensei. His chest was heaving, and he was pretty sure his pupils were blown wide in his complete and utter rage. And maybe he wasn't actually mad at his teacher, but the green-haired man was the only thing in sight he could direct it towards.

And everyone says deflection is a completely great and healthy tool to have at your disposal, so it was okay.

He finally landed a hit on Izuku-sensei, but it didn't do any clear damage at all. Bakugo wasn't even completely sure that his teacher hadn't let him land that hit. And the thought that he was going easy on him made him angry. Incredibly, inexplicably angry. Is this what that pre-quirk era superhero the hulk felt like all the time?

"STOP GOING EASY ON ME, YOU BASTARD!"

Four-eyes gasped from where he was trapped under Six-arms, obviously scandalized that Bakugo would have so little respect for his teacher, even in a mock battle. "Bakugo! You should never, under any circumstances, call a teacher such a name! How do you-"

Izuku-sensei cut the class president off. "Are you sure? Do you really want for me to do that?"

A large part of Bakugo wanted to scream yes and throw himself at his teacher again, but something in his teacher's eyes made him pause. The manic glint glimmering deep within the depths of his emerald orbs made something deep inside of him curl up and want to die. His footsteps stuttered, but he steeled himself and kept staring right at the green-haired man. He had never quite known when to stop, and there was no way he was admitting that this might be too much for him.

" Bring it."

"Fine. But remember, you asked for this." Bakugo didn't even have time to take a breath. In a split second, he had been hit in at least five different places, all of them causing him significant pain. And it didn't stop there, either. Bakugo was easily flipped over the dangerous man's shoulder, breath whooshing out of his chest when he made contact with the ground.

He groaned, but that didn't stop Izuku-sensei from grabbing his right foot, and proceeded to swing him around like he was a cart on some sort of roller coaster. He could feel Izuku-sensei's fingers digging into his ankle, and he knew that the only reason he wouldn't have dark bruises later was that his hero costume had protection to prevent that sort of thing.

And Bakugo thought that might be the most humiliating and frustrating moment of the fight so far, but he was wrong. That moment would have to be when Izuku-sensei let go and he flew so far back he hit the edge of the area designated for fighting. His body rolled across the ground again and again, and he couldn't move when the spinning finally stopped. A low groan made its way out of his throat, and he had to clamp down on his mouth to stop himself from throwing up.

God. Where did Izuku-sensei get that much strength? He looks like he works a phone line, not like he can throw someone over 15 feet!

The same stuttering crackle that was present at the beginning of the round could be heard again, and then All Might's disgruntled voice bounded across the arena. ' Um... is anyone fit enough to fight? If not, then Izuku-sensei wins the match." Bakugo started to try and pull himself to his feet, just barely managing to get his knees under him. ' And Young Bakugo, I'm pulling you out. You may think you are physically able to fight, but we're calling this good. We have no intention of injuring any of you during this exercise, and you're straying dangerously close to overdoing it, if you haven't crossed that line already.'

Bakugo wanted to scream. They had no right to tell him when to stop! They couldn't- he wasn't going to let them- AGGHHHH!!!

Office Depot tried to reach down and help Bakugo up, and for some reason he just snapped. He slapped his fellow classmate's hand away, and all he could think was that he was looking down on him. Nobody looks down on me. I'm better, I have to be better.

"Get the absolute fuck away from me!" Bakugo bellowed. "I don't need your shitty help, and I never will!"

He was panting faster and faster as he scrambled to his feet, and he even though he was breathing fast he couldn't seem to get enough air. It was like it was getting stuck in his trachea, not even making it to his lungs. Maybe that's why they were burning?

"Woah, Bakugo, are you okay? Do I need to get-"

"Shut up! Just shut up," Bakugo hissed out. Izuku-sensei was untangling his classmates from all the tape, and they couldn't be seen by all of the observing teachers or the security cameras set up everywhere, so at least he didn't have a huge audience to witness this. Why does everything feel so close and dark? "Of course I'm fine! You think I'm weak or something? I don't need you!"

Office Depot backed off, though he still wouldn't leave Bakugo alone. He just watched him with this worried expression that pinched his eyebrows together. "I don't think you're weak, Bakugo. That's not it at all! I just think you've been through something horrible and that you shouldn't be alone right now," Office Depot took a deep breath in and looked Bakugo directly in the eyes. His wide, panic-stricken eyes. "If you don't want to talk to me, then would you prefer I go get someone else? L-like... maybe Kirishima?"

Bakugo's head rocketed up. "Don't you dare drag Shitty Hair into this! I don't need that idiot all over my business! Just leave me alone!"

Soy Sauce actually left him alone now, albeit accompanied by a pained nod. Bakugo was finally alone, like he deserved to be.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hawks dropped down in the chair, careful of his bright red wings behind him. It was beyond painful whenever they got bent the wrong way, like stubbing your toe on hardwood. It didn't really inconvenience him when he was fighting against villains, only in normal, everyday life. It was incredibly frustrating.

But, hey! All worth it to save people. He had to be useful, after all. Maybe his wings could be a frustration sometimes, but at the end of the day he saved people because of them. He didn't know who he would be without his quirk. Maybe it didn't completely define him, but he couldn't imagine losing one of his wings anymore than a person could imagine losing their hands. They were literally attached to him.

Plus, that sounds like it would hurt. A lot.

"Hawks, thank you for coming in on such short notice," his supervisor said. She began laying out several files on the desk between them. He yawned behind one of his hands, but watched with rapt interest as photos of the League of Villains were shown.

His supervisor cut right to the chase, lacing her fingers together and staring straight into his eyes. "We have a new assignment for you. I know it hasn't been that long since your last one, but this is very important. It has been classified a matter of national security and it is of the utmost importance we get started on this immediately."

Hawks stopped pretending to be disinterested, knowing that it wouldn't fool her for a second. It might work on everyone else, but not her. Akari Shima was the best supervisor he had ever had; an intuitive and sharp woman. There had been quite a few people watching over him before her, but now that they had gotten into their groove he knew she was the best person he could have doing this job. He respected her immensely, maybe even more so than the president of the hero commission.

"Alright, you've piqued my interest. What exactly do you need me to do, and how does it tie into the League of Villains?"

"I was just about to get into that. We've had sightings of several League members hanging out around the Nakatomi district, but we haven't been able to get close because of the risk factor. After the Kamino Ward incident, it became painfully clear that we didn't have enough information and people got hurt because of it," Shima sighed, tucking her dark black hair behind her ear. "And there's so much more to their operation that we need to have evidence for to be able to convict them of those crimes. It's a big mess, honestly. We haven't alerted most of the higher level heroes because they would muck everything up and compromise the entire operation. It's a security level Black, so-"

"Right, right, that makes sense. But you still haven't told me what you need done," Hawks interjected, internally smirking at her exasperated expression. He practically lived for this. It just gave him so much delight to stir the pot like that.

"I was just getting to that," Shima gritted out. "What we need you to do is infiltrate the League and get us the information we need. You'll be deep undercover, and since we can't do anything to jeopardize this op, you'll have a lot of leeway in how you go about this. Obviously, there will be limits, but that's never been a problem for you before. We plan for you to make first contact in in the next week, preferably on or after Wednesday."

Hawks couldn't say he was completely surprised, but he definitely hadn't walked into this room expecting that bombshell. "Uhh... okay."

""Right," she replied sarcastically, "Just okay? How eloquent."

Hawks flashed her his signature grin. "Aw, that's just how I am. Anything I need to do beforehand?"

"No. You'll be going in under the cover of respecting Stain and his ideals, so maybe look up his spiel on how all heroes are false and such. You'll continue with your normal work, but whatever you need to do to keep the charade up, you have permission to do. Use your own judgement for what is okay, of course, but you will have almost complete autonomy of the operation."

"Gotcha'," Hawks said, glancing up to check the clock. "Well, I gotta fly. I've got patrol, as you know, but I will be ready to go by Wednesday. See ya'."

He opened the balcony door with a flourish and pushed off of the railing with a powerful flap of his wings. The first moment he was up in the air was as amazing as it was every time, the weightless feeling taking him over and giving him shivers up his spine.

So I'm going to be infiltrating the League of Villains, huh... Well, if nothing else it's sure to be interesting. I might have to take some time off patrol though, so I better make this one count. I need to be helping people by doing this.

Surveying the land below him, he could see a civilian with a mutation quirk threatening others with a gun. He sent some feathers down to handle the problem and then reassured the victims with his grin. All Might wasn't the only one who smiled so people would be less afraid.

The rest of his patrol went by just as usual, with him resolving some conflicts before they even start by using his feathers. It wasn't until the end of his patrol that things got a little strange.

He had just set down to give his wings a brief break since a few of his feathers had been burned by a villain and while he could still fly, it was a lot more work. The alleyway he had landed in was dim and quite aways away from the main road, with only a few doors lining the sides.

"Man," he whistled under his breath, "What a day."

"Oh really, Birdie?" His eyes widened imperceptibly, and he did his best to act nonchalant when he turned around to see who had spoken. The voice was deep and a bit raspy, with a teasing sound that was surprisingly rough. He could only make out the outline of the stranger, but he caught the brief glints of metal lining the stranger's body.

Okay, either this person has a whole lot of piercings, or I've made contact with the League of Villain's already. Yay me?

"Ah, hey there! And, uh, the name's Hawks, not Birdie." He awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck, trying to figure out how to play this.

"Yeah, I know." He didn't offer anything beyond that. So someone's a little snarky. Hmm. This could be fun. "And I also know that you've been making some inquiries today about where you would find someone with certain ideals."

Okay, that bait worked faster than I thought it would. Or hoped it would. I really need to find out more about what he wants before I start with the operation. This is going to be tricky...

"Okay, so maybe I did," he eyed the still-hidden man carefully, concealing his eagle gaze behind his tinted glasses. "What about it is so interesting?"

"Hmm... that's what I'm trying to find out. So why don't you answer a few questions for me?" His tone made it clear he didn't expect to give him much of a choice.

The figure finally stepped out of the shadows, confirming Hawks' suspicions. The villain Dabi was standing in front of him, and the pictures truly didn't do him justice.

His scars were much more raw and deep in person, stretching across his skin in an irregular pattern. The glinting light from earlier was the light reflecting off of his silver staples, holding him together like some kind of stitch job on a torn piece of clothing. His black hair brushed over his forehead, looking both soft and spiky at the same time. But the most eye-catching thing about him was his eyes. They were bright blue, like there was electricity coursing through them and lighting them up. It was a little hard to look away. But the little blue ball of flame clutched in his right hand did the trick.

"Sure... I would gladly answer some questions for you. But I want you to answer one for me first, if you wouldn't mind." his new... friend raised an eyebrow at him, and Hawks took it as a sign that he wouldn't be burned to a crisp for asking his next question. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but you're the villain Dabi, aren't you?"

He gave a low, barking sort of laugh, chuckling out, "Yeah, congratulations for figuring it out, bird brain."

"Well, that's taking it a step too far," Hawks pouted, crossing his arms over his chest but being careful to never take his eyes off of the villain. "What brings you to this part of town?"

"Nice try, but it's my turn to ask the questions, and you better answer truthfully. Otherwise," He grinned devilishly at the blonde, "I might be forced to... heat up this little interaction."

Hawks swallowed, feeling the cold sweat run down his back. "Ah. Well, worth a shot, am I right?"

Dabi surprised him and snorted out a laugh, and it looked like he might have surprised himself, too. He coughed roughly, glaring down at Hawks as he said, "Yeah. You got so far with that." Ouch. "Why were you going around town talking about Stain's ideals? What are you trying to accomplish here?"

"Ahm. Well, I just think... I mean that," he tried. "I just mean to say that I don't entirely... disagree with what he said."

The villain's eyebrows shot up in surprise, but he showed no other indication of believing Hawks besides that. In fact, his eyes seemed to darken even farther with suspicion, though they still practically glowed in the darkness. "And what exactly do you not disagree with, hero?" He sneered out, little embers of anger catching Hawks' attention. Okay, this is the make or break... I gotta play this right...

"Well," Hawks started, "He was completely right that some heroes aren't doing it for the right reasons. Obviously, I don't think that it's just All Might who is a great hero, but some heroes aren't doing it to save people or to help anyone but themselves, and I don't think that's right." He nervously eyed the villain, specifically the flickering flames in his hand.

"And what makes you any different," he taunted. "Do you really think I'm going to buy that lame excuse? You are literally the #2 hero, and you want me to believe that you follow Stain's ideology? Give me a break."

Hawks thought quick. "Yeah, maybe I got carried away too, but the difference is that I actually want to help people even if I don't get the credit."

The villain regarded him up and down. "So what you're saying is that you want to help people even if society won't praise you for it? Even if I chose to give you that one, that still doesn't explain why you were going around asking for people who thought the same. You going to tell me the whole story, bird brain?" The or else was unspoken.

"First, I really want you to stop calling me that. Second, I was going around asking for people who thought the same because I was hoping to do something to change that. Is that really so wrong? I know that there are problems with out current system. And the hero commission is a huge part of that. The problems not going to go away, it's just going to get worse over time because they keep pushing things to how they want it to be and not how it should be. I want to stop that." Woah. I'm not sure where that came from, but that felt realer than it probably should have...

Dabi huffed out a chuckle. "You are either full of shit or being an idealistic asshole and I can't tell which."

"Why are those my only two options?" Hawks wondered pointlessly.

The villain appeared to stop considering him and finally put out the almost white-hot flames in his hand. Whew... those would've burned off a few feathers... "Alright, we'll go under the assumption that you're telling the truth and agree with Stain's ideas and methods. If you really want to meet others who think the same and want to change that, be at the Hankyu store in this area at midnight two days from now. If you show, I'll assume you are willing to do whatever it takes to further these goals. If you don't, I'll know you were full of shit. Until then, hero."

The villains laugh was dark as he sauntered out of the alley way, eyes dancing with mirth. Hawks blew out a deep breath and ran a hand through his windblown hair, mussing it up even further. He took to the skies, fingers quickly dialing the number of his supervisor. This was the sort of thing that he was supposed to do immediately.

" Heyyy, Shimaa-" He chimed out.

' Hawks, I swear to god, if this is one of those calls about the KFC chicken, just send a text from now on. I already know your order, just stop using the official line for these things.'

"Hey! It's not like I can go get it myself; the press always swarms the place before I get my order. And I'm not-wait! That's not what I was calling about!" Hawks took a deep breath, trying to get himself back on track. "You know how I was supposed to make first contact with them on Wednesday? So that didn't exactly go as planned..."

An exasperated sigh decorated the line, barely heard over the wind. 'Hawks, what did you do?'

"Hey!" he squawks. "It wasn't my fault this time, I swear!"

'Mmhmm,' she hummed.

"Yes, really! You know those feelers I started to put out today? They bit the bait faster than I thought they would, and well, looks like I'm meeting with the League of Villains sooner than I thought."

'When exactly are you meeting with them?'

"Uhh... Well. It sounds like I'll be meeting with them in a couple days. At midnight. And I already met with one of them."

There was a moment of silence throughout the line before she groaned, 'Hawks...'

Part39

Izuku took a deep breath in, following his meditation exercises in his new teacher's dorm room. It truly wasn't that different from his one at home, all he had to do was scatter various projects and notebooks around every single room in the apartment-like space and they were identical.

Breathe in deeply... Breathe out deeply... Inhale... Exhale... Clear your mind of any murder, conspiracy, or incredibly detailed plans for the future based on extremely specific scenarios that will likely never happen... Inhale... Exhale... And... Done!

He yawned as he got to his feet, stretching his arms out behind him. It was pitch black outside, and the only sound to be heard was the constant chirping of the crickets. He would be the first to admit he had a convoluted sleeping schedule, but it was nowhere near as bad as Aizawa's and Shinso's appeared to be. Their eyebags looked like they had eyebags.

He had just finished reviewing the footage from the class's mock fights, and he ws both impressed and disappointed. Both teams seemed to have a solid plan in place to begin with, but while the first team just had a few miscalculations, the second team had pretty much sabotaged themselves.

He remembered Bakugo behaving slightly like this at the final exams when he was forced to work with Shinso, but things had certainly escalated further this time. He had been downright antagonistic towards his teammates right from the start, even more so than he had been at the beginning of the year. The time he spent with the League of Villains obviously left a mark on his psyche, one that should be treated by some kind of counselor, like Hound Dog.

But his student also wouldn't accept the help, and they couldn't force him to go if he didn't want to. They would just have to do their best to stop him from deteriorating and letting him know that support was there for him when he was ready for it. Hopefully, his friends would be able to help him where they could not.

Tomorrow they would be reviewing the footage as a class, so he could only hope that wouldn't trigger another outburst from the angry blonde. Izuku doubted he would want other people to bear witness to one of his losses, but it was necessary for them to learn from their failures, and seeing where they all went wrong was a huge part of that. As much as they might hate it now, they would grow from it in the long run.

A loud ringing pulled him out of his thoughts and directed him towards where his phone was abandoned on the table. The caller ID was listed as a government one, and a shiver of trepidation crawled its way up his spine. He quickly swiped to the right to answer the call.

' Is this Izuku Midoriya?'

"Yes, this is he. May I ask who is calling?"

'I'm the warden of Tartarus Prison. We had a... request of sorts from All For One in exchange for some information regarding his operation. We aren't expecting much to come out of it, but we all agree that it's worth a shot.'

All For One...

"I see. What is his request and what does it have to do with me?"

'His request was that he was afforded one visit with you. It will be monitored and he will be heavily chained, so there is no chance of him escaping. We need for you to just talk with him, for no particular length of time but preferably long enough for him to follow through on his end of the deal. You are under no obligation to follow through with this request, though we strongly recommend it.'

Izuku's throat felt tight. "Understood. And I'll do it." He didn't pause long to worry over the possible ramifications for that choice. "When do you need me?"

'Anytime within the next week would be fine. There's no rush for you to follow through, but the police would like this information sooner rather than later.'

He quickly thought over his plans for the next few days. Tomorrow wouldn't work, but... "Does two days from now sound okay?"

'Yes. We'll see you then. Thank you, Midoriya.'

Gah. He called him by his last name. That was weird.

The call ended with a soft click, and Izuku let the phone fall down into the couch cushions. He would likely have to fish it out later, but he couldn't care less right now. Why do I have to keep dealing with him? What kind of sick joke is this?

He dragged his hand down his face, rubbing at his eyes. He suddenly felt very tired, like a weighted blanket had been draped over his shoulders. The star-filled sky right outside the window was suddenly very interesting, like it would do something to stop the impeding visit from the person he shared the most history with in the world.

He wasn't looking forward to it by any means, but he also knew that he had to do everything he could to bring down his entire operation, and he would regret it forever if he chose not to go because he had too much history with him. He had promised himself he would do whatever it took to stop him, and he wasn't going to back out of that promise now that it was a tad uncomfortable.

After all, it wasn't like this would be the first time he confronted the villain about his immoral and illegal activites.

It would just hopefully be the last.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Best Jeanist absentmindedly rubbed his chest, right above where his missing lung would have been. After the fight in Kamino Ward, he and many of the other heroes on scene had been rushed to the hospital, but he might have been the worst off out of all of them.

He didn't regret his actions that night, not in the slightest, but he did wish he had been able to keep both of his lungs. The doctors and nurses had assured him he would be back to full strength in no time, and that there wouldn't be a noticeable hindrance to his hero work. For that, he was grateful. He wasn't sure what he would do if he wasn't a hero. Saving people was built in to the way he went about life now. He wouldn't change that for the world.

Bakugo Katsuki had been alright, thank All Might. The second he heard that the kid had been taken, he practically jumped to be part of the team that got him back. He could still remember the worry that overtook his every action when he first got the alert a student from UA named Bakugo had been taken, and he barely paused to tell his sidekicks where he was going.

Bakugo might be a little rough around the edges right now, but he had the makings of a fine hero. Best Jeanist would have to be an idiot to not see it. The anger, the poor media presence, the constant swearing, those were all things that could be fixed with time. He had chosen Bakugo because he believed that there was potential for an amazing hero right there.

After all, he had made it through more than a week with Eraserhead as his homeroom teacher. If he could survive that, the kid would do just fine in life.

He had finally stopped getting all of the frantic calls asking if he was alive (the footage captured of him from the end of the battle had been pretty gruesome) and had moved on to the thank-god-you're-not-dead cards and flowers that he suspected had been repurposed from we're-so-sorry-you're-dead flowers. He even got some from Nezu, but those made him more suspicious than warm and fuzzy inside.

You never trust a gift from the Rat God. Especially not well-wishes flowers.

Best Jeanist couldn't stop thinking back to that battle, the pure destruction of it. If All Might hadn't been there, not a single hero on scene would have survived. There was no doubt about it.

When Best Jeanist first saw All Might appear, he was relieved. There wasn't a single part of his brain that went, 'Oh, is it possible that he could lose?' He might be old, but he couldn't remember a time in his life where he didn't look up to All Might. But then there was that moment where he realized that All Might could fail. That it was entirely possible that he could lose this, that the sadistic villain who laughed as he played with their lives could win.

It was the single most terrifying moment of his life.

But even after All Might had been beaten down and had shocked the entire world with his small form, he still fought on and managed to beat All For One. It was something that Best Jeanist would always respect him for.

He had also seen Izuku-sensei there, held up by the throat. It had been blurry for him, since at that point he wasn't really breathing right, but he could have sworn he saw Izuku-sensei and the villain having some kind of conversation. He had puzzled through that the entire time he had been at the hospital and had come to only one plausible solution: this was not the first time the two had met.

After all, the briefing he had received after the incident said that All For One had been alive for centuries, and it made so much sense that his teacher must have interacted with him at some point. In what fashion, Best Jeanist wasn't sure. But he was positive his teacher would never engage in anything less than denim behavior.

Speaking of denim, he would have to make sure some of his sidekicks brought some in for him. While the hospital sheets were nothing to scoff at, nothing was better than falling asleep under the comfortable weight of his favorite material. That's why he made sure every person under his command wore them.

Being able to quickly help his subordinates was just a ruse. He just liked seeing how denim looked on everyone. Sue him.

The door burst open, and Shinya walked in. Best Jeanist had known the other pro hero since they were in school together, with Shinya just being a year behind him. Now, they were both pro heroes just a few spots away from each other in the rankings, and they had made sure to stay in contact. Best Jeanist would go so far to say that he's his closest friend.

"Did you bring the-"

" Yes," Shinya groaned. "Hello to you too. I brought your precious denim. But it's not the weird sheets that you have. It's just your hero costume because you, for some reason, refuse to let the public see your face."

"Wait, do you mean-"

" Yes, you're being discharged. You're lucky that you didn't have to stay longer. It's a miracle you're still alive right now." His friend pointed rolled his eyes at him, gesturing for him to get up. The bundle of clothing was tossed to him casually, and any other day Best Jeanist would've lectured him on being more careful with it, but he was just so happy to be reunited with the article of clothing.

He played with the fabric with his quirk, easily able to get it on and off without having to actually undress. Very convenient. He relished in the familiar feeling of the cloth over his neck and lower face.

"You won't be able to start your hero work for another few weeks, but you don't need constant monitoring anymore. They estimate you'll make an almost perfect recovery, apart from the, well, you know." Shinya looked pointedly at his chest.

"Hmm," Best Jeanist hummed non-committedly. "How are you doing? I know you got roughed up too."

"I'm fine; I was one of the few who were better off. A day of bed rest fixed me right up. You're the only one who needed to stay here for quite so long. Congratulations," Shinya dryly said.

"Yes, ha ha, I had to stay in the hospital longer." Best Jeanist raised an eyebrow at him.

"Well, that took the fun out of things, Club President."

"Oh for- we haven't been in that club for years, Shinya. Why on earth do you still call me that?" At this point, it was getting ridiculous.

"Ha," He snorts, eyes dancing with mirth. "Oh come on, you'll always be Club President Hakamada to me. Don't even try to resist the nickname."

Best Jeanist threw his head back and let out an exasperated sigh. Why do I even try...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Uraraka perched next to Mina, giggling as the two watched Kaminari and Shinso. They were so adorably awkward, and neither of them could get enough of it. They had started making a complication of moments to play when the two finally got married. How long they would have to wait for this, they did not care. They were sure it was going to happen.

"Did you see the little look they gave each other earlier? I swear I just about died," Mina gossiped, leaning in closer.

"Right?!" Uraraka gasped. "And then they both went so red! How have we not managed to get them together by now?"

Mina dramatically sighed. "I don't know, Ochaco, I really don't know." She perked up. "But! Just think about all the extra time we're gonna have to make them realize their feelings now that we're all living together! It'll be a piece of cake!"

Uraraka frowned playfully. "I don't know, Mina... I think you're overestimating how observant of each other they are. I mean, for two people who look at each other so much, you'd think they'd realize they were both doing it!"

" Right?!"

As they were smiling and laughing, Uraraka caught herself looking at Mina's face. It wasn't in any creepy way, she was just absentmindedly looking at where her horns met her hair. Mina was just so fun to be around. At first, they had bonded just over their desire to get their two friends together, but they had started hanging out outside of that and now they were on a first-name basis.

Well, Uraraka had always called Mina that from the start, but she had gotten the girl to call her by her first name!

Once they got Kaminari and Shinso together, Uraraka and Mina were determined to get Kirishima and Bakugo together. They wouldn't let the two couples get away with their furtive glances and pink cheeks for much longer. No, they would make sure that they ended up happy and in a relationship or so help them.

The door opened and Uraraka looked over to see Izuku-sensei cheerfully walking in, a smile present as ever on his cheeks. She hurried over to her seat, whispering a quick goodbye to Mina. Izuku-sensei didn't really care if they weren't in their seats leading up to class as long as they made sure to get to them as soon as the bell rung. It was part of what made him such an awesome teacher.

"Hello! I'm just going to dive into what we're doing today so we can have the most time possible," Izuku-sensei said as soon as he sat down. "We're going to be doing something a little different for today, as I mentioned just yesterday. The training session of the mock fight was recorded, and now the entire class is going to do an analysis of both their team and the other. Ideally, we're just going to watch the video once to start with, and then rewind back to certain parts as we make our analysis, but I understand that we might have to watch it more than once before that can happen."

Something told Uraraka that their teacher wouldn't have had to watch it more than once, or rewind it at all.

"So! Is everyone ready?" He looked around and saw all of the nods. "Great! We'll start right now."

One of those projector sheets at the front of the room lit up, and Uraraka could see her team's match already queued up. She felt her cheeks burn pink in embarrassment, knowing that she maybe didn't do as well as she should've or helped her team enough. They thought since there was only one of Izuku-sensei and ten of them that it would be easy to take him down, but they were wrong.

They were so wrong.

Izuku-sensei had already known their strong and wek points going into the fight, and maybe Uraraka would have said that it was unfair they didn't know too much about his fighting style, but she also knew it mimicked real life. If they were going to be pro heroes, there was likely going to be a lot of information on them available to the public, and they wouldn't necessarily know much about their opponent going into each fight. This was almost a perfect mirror of situations they would likely be encountering in the future.

The video started to play, and Uraraka could see Izuku-sensei stepping onto the field. It was hard to see their attempts to take him down fail one after one, but she still forced herself to pay attention so she knew what to do better in the future. Some things about the fight were cleared up, like what that enormous flash was and what Izuku-sensei was doing with the freaking grenades that Yaomomo made. Even though she knew the grenades hadn't harmed them, she still flinched when they went off in the video.

...Why did it look like he had to make the conscious decision to not throw them at her and her fellow teammates?

Uraraka remembered that this is the part of the fight that Kaminari used his electricity to take them all out. She didn't remember what happened after that, because she had been knocked the heck out. Like, she only vaguely remembered everything after the fight. It was all a blur.

She watched with rapt attention as Izuku-sensei said something to a shocked Kaminari, and then proceeded to zap him with that silver pen he always used. Uraraka flinched in her seat, remembering what it had done to the Nomu at the USJ. Was... was that legal to use on a minor?

And that was pretty much it. Tsu had made the wise choice to surrender, and they all started coming-to, at least partially.

The classroom was silent for a few moments, the entire class just processing that. The entire first group slouched down a little in their seats, fully aware that the clip didn't exactly showcase their skills. Their only consolation was that they knew the other team did just as bad, so at least they weren't the only ones that completely failed.

"Okay, so first off I want to ask if there is any one part that you need clarification on or that we should rewind back to," Izuku-sensei said, pausing to look around the room for any confused faces. "Yes, Kaminari?"

Kaminari anxiously picked at his sleeves. "I-uh, I guess I just wanted to ask how you made me short out like that? I know I was fine a moment before you touched me with the zappy pen." Is that what we're calling it now? The Zappy Pen?

"Ah, I'm glad you asked about that. I was actually planning on mentioning that to you later." Izuku-sensei rewound the video but didn't play it, instead choosing to keep it paused right before Kaminari went into whey mode. They could see the confusion on his face that Izuku-sensei was still standing.

"If you hadn't been exposed to any more electricity, then you would have been fine and you souldn't have short-curcuited since the only thing that holds you back when you use your quirk is how much of it your body can handle. However, I did place my support weapon onto a very low setting and used it as the tipping point that sent you over." Izuku-sensei delivered his explanation with his usual amount of cheer, ignoring the freaked-out faces in the room.

How did he know that Kaminari was just under his limit? I know that he's been working on getting his tolerance higher, but he hasn't really mentioned that much about lowering his output. It sounds like something Izuku-sensei would suggest, which means he must have known about it beforehand and taken advantage of it in the fight. Wow...

That is coldblooded.

"Does anyone else have any questions about how things went down? No? Then we're going to move onto the analysis portion of this lesson. I would like input from both teams here, as an outlook from someone who was in the situation and out of it can be extremely helpful in getting the full picture."

Uraraka looked around hesitantly, not wanting to be the first to volunteer. Luckily, Yaomomo was already holding her arm up high, head up without any trace of shame on her face.

"Our team had a formulated plan going into the situation, and while it was good at the time we didn't adapt to the new changes in the fight and didn't account for the fact that we would need to break up into larger groups than we did. I also made it too easy for you to gain access to the weapons I was making, and if you had been a real villain that could have been very bad for my colleagues. As it stands, you looked like you thought about it." Yaomomo gave him the side-eye, and Izuku-sensei smiles but doesn't directly respond.

"Yes, that's great. Does anyone else have any input?"

Iida's hand shot straight up into the air, and it was remarkable how straight his hand could be. Most people's hands wavered a little when they were holding them up, or had a slight bend in the elbow, but not Iida's. No, his hand was at a perfect 180 degree line. It was downright impressive.

"While having Kaminari use his attack was a good back-up plan, it also was incredibly risky. Since the charge affects everyone around him, Kaminari was also rendering his teammates defenseless. It would only work as a last resort, since it would do just as much damage to his teammates as it would to his opponents in that scenario," Ida said, pushing his glasses up his nose.

"Exactly! And remember, I don't just want you to analyze your classmates' performance, I want you to look into their opponents as well. Is there anything you noticed about how I fought during the exercise?"

Nobody spoke up at first, all too afraid to get something wrong. Analyzing themselves was one thing, but analyzing Izuku-sensei? That felt like too much. He was literally the smartest guy that Uraraka could think of, how were they supposed to say anything regarding his performance? It felt like setting themselves up for failure.

"Yes, Tsu?"

Everyone rocketed their heads to where Tsu had her hand raised, and they all held their breath as she croaked out, "I noticed that something strange happened when Shinso had you wrapped up in his capture weapon, kero. You didn't fall to the ground like everyone else did, and you arguably had less balance at the time. You also used a lot of support weapons when you were fighting, so I was wondering if that was another one of them."

Izuku-sensei's eyes lit up. "Yes! That is exactly the things I want you to start noticing. If you will watch this portion of the mock fight," Izuku-sensei rewound the video, "You will see that I dug my heels in slightly. As Tsu has said, I do rely on support weapons a lot, and we will later go to the support department to get your class outfitted with your very own support weapons. Some of you already have them built into your costumes, which is great, but some of them might need to be tweaked and such, or you might need to-"

Izuku-sensei shook his head, letting out a small embarrassed laugh as he realized he had started to go off on a tangent. The class wasn't fazed, though. They were used to their teacher getting distracted and ranting about quirks or how specific heroes used theirs. Uraraka and all the other girls in their class had agreed it was downright adorable.

"Ah-sorry. Getting back on track, I used spiked that are hidden in the heels of myy boots to stay planted on the ground. Since this wouldn't be useful in every situation, I have a mechanism that triggers it when I need it to be there. From there, I was able to get out of the capture weapon using my knife." Izuku-sensei paused, his gaze scanning over the class. "Now, can anyone find a space where I made a mistake?"

Uraraka wasn't sure she was right, but she still lifted her hand warily. "Was it when you dodged directly into Shinso's capture weapon?"

"Yes. I made the mistake of not properly noting where my opponents were on the battlefield before I took action. By the way, Shinso," Izuku-sensei switched gears, "Great job in predicting where I would be going. That's going to come in handy in the future."

"Is there anything else someone wants to add?" For a moment there, Uraraka panicked, thinking that there was something incredibly important that they were missing. She scanned over the information she had and kept thinking, but there wasn't anything else.

"All right. That was a good start, though I hope we can do more in depth analyses as you progress in the future. As it stands, you're already above where I would expect a first-year student at this point in the year to be, so you're already doing great. And I want all of you to remember that while it is important to think back to what you could have done better and what you missed, it's not to beat yourself up about it. Hindsight can be a very good thing, but that is just it. Hindsight. You can't change anything about the past, all you can do is try to do differently in the future."

Izuku-sensei's eyes softened, and for a moment Uraraka could see unspeakable pain sitting in their depths, like it was always hiding just beneath the surface. It made her... a little sad to know that their teacher was hiding that. His smile never dimmed in brightness, not one bit. Does he always have that bundled up inside of him, she wonders.

"Ah! Alright then, let's move on to the second group's mock fight. When you're watching, try not to immediately compare how the two teams went about the problem. Look at it with a set of fresh eyes. After we do our immediate analysis of the fight, we might do some comparing and contrasting with how the two teams' quirks affected what strategies were made."

Uraraka worriedly glanced across the room at Bakugo, remembering how Iida told her the fight didn't exactly go as planned. The blonde was simmering with more anger than he usually had, and Uraraka was concerned that he might blow up while watching. His teammates didn't look like they expected him to do that much more either.

"And we're starting the clip... now!"

Welp... here they go.

Part 40

Kirishima cautiously watched the clip, flinching every time Bakugo snapped at their classmates. He knew that his best friend- because that was what they were, even if Bakugo refused to admit it- could be aggressive, but he never lashed out like this before. It was... it was like he was fighting everyone out there, not just Izuku-sensei. He was... well, he was downright vicious.

He would shoulder Todoroki out of the way, or throw off anyone who tried to help him. Even though they couldn't make out most of the audio, Kirishima could tell he was yelling obscenities at anyone that was within range. But he could also tell it wasn't in his usual way of yelling.

It was... angrier, and a whole lot more pained. Kirishima knew that Bakugo might have some trouble dealing with things after the whole League of Villains kidnapping situation, but he didn't expect it to be like this.

He thought he would be able to help his friend, to be able to take some of the burden from his shoulders. He didn't account for Bakugo pushing everyone away, to push him away. And that tore him up inside. How was he supposed to be a hero when he couldn't even help his friend with this? First he couldn't help Mina, and now he couldn't help Bakugo, and he was starting to see a pattern.

He couldn't save them.

The thought had been plaguing him for a while now, and he was doing his best to shove it out of his mind. But he couldn't get rid of it. He knew it was true, he knew that he hadn't been able to save them. In middle school, he had been too scared to move. He was able to logically tell himself that it was okay, and it didn't hurt that Mina did the same thing.

But with Bakugo, he just didn't know how.

His only consolation was his promise to himself that he would make sure Bakugo knew he could count on him, that Kirishima would always be there for him, no matter what.

In like a friend-y sort of way. Because Bakugo was manly.

Once the clip was done playing, the whole class seemed to hold their breath, waiting to see if Bakugo was going to get upset and yell at them. To their surprise, he stayed silent, choosing to slouch down as far as he could into his seat instead. His glare held an ocean of anger and loathing in it, though.

"So? Is anyone ready to do an analysis of the fight?" Izuku-sensei asked expectantly. He didn't seem to realize that nobody wanted to answer because they were afraid that they might accidentally set off Bakugo. Nobody wanted the angry blonde causing property damage in Izuku-sensei's room. Who knows what he might do. "C'mon, guys. You were doing so well with your analysis of the other mock fight, I know you can do great with this one too!"

It appears that Yaoyorozu is weak, because it only took a second of her being subjected to Izuku-sensei's excited and pleading face for her to raise her hand, looking pointedly away from Bakugo.

"They had a good plan to start with, but the problem lies with the... execution," Yaoyorozu delicately said, neatly sidestepping placing blame on anyone from the other team. Specifically Bakugo.

"Yes, I would agree with that assessment, but can you go into further detail on it? I want you to be able to exactly pinpoint where they went wrong." I get the impression that Izuku-sensei doesn't fully understand just what he's asking us to do... we're so dead.

"Um," Yaoyorozu nervously gulps, "I suppose the first problem was when Bakugo rushed in before his team could support him. They weren't in sync and that affected how effective they were when taking on an opponent. If they had been able to get back on track in the early stages of the fight, they would've likely still had a fighting chance. But, as it stood, they were unable to come together and fight as a team."

"The actual hell are you talking about, Ponytail? Are you saying that I can't work with a team? Because I sure as shit can! It's not my fault they were a bunch of extras and didn't know how to do anything themselves," Bakugo snapped at her, eyes blazing with an inordinate amount of anger when considering the situation.

Kirishima tried to smooth things over. "Hey, Bakubro, I don't think she meant it like that. Nobody's saying that you can't do it! We know you're awesome, she was just doing an analysis on how things went down."

"Like hell she was! I don't give a crap what any of you think!" Well, those were varying contradicting statements. First, he was mad at them for saying that he couldn't do it, and now he was saying he didn't care what they thought. He was being a whole lot less rational than he usually was. And he wasn't always very rational...

"Bakugo." The class all looked away from where they were nervously ogling Bakugo, and their eyes widened when they heard Izuku-sensei's firm tone. It wasn't like much had changed, maybe he wasn't smiling as wide anymore, but he wasn't doing anything that would make them this afraid.

But there was just something in his voice... something that was telling them he meant business. It was like... a hidden hard edge, obscured by the usual sweet tones his teacher always spoke with. And nobody wanted to peel back that protective covering. Not a single one of them.

Still, Kirishima is slightly surprised when Bakugo goes back to silently fuming, glaring at anything that dares to move. Is Izuku-sensei a beast tamer...?

"Okay... does anyone else have any other points to address?" Shinso could tell Izuku-sensei was doing his best to get the class back on track. But he can also tell that nobody really wants to speak up after Bakugo's outburst. "Anything? I know you all can do it."

Kirishima took a deep breath, then raised his hand. The look on Izuku-sensei's face almost made the forced participation worth it, his smile dazzling and gleaming in a way that nothing besides the sun should rightly be.

"I guess... you were aware of where your opponents were, and you used their quirks against them to incapacitate them," Kirishima hesitantly said. He was sure that their teacher would have been able to do that even if he didn't know their quirks beforehand. And it looked like the green-haired man was expecting a bit more out of his analysis, so Kirishima sent up a silent prayer to whatever deity was out there that Bakugo didn't kill him for this.

"And you, like, um. You, uh. Well, you were able to single out a single member of the team, and you took advantage of how... they had cut themselves away from their teammates to quickly take them out. It-uh. It made your job of fighting easier since your fighting style works best one-on-one."

Izuku-sensei nodded sagely, but everyone else in the classroom suppressed a shudder as they remembered what Izuku-sensei did. At first, he was treating this like it was a normal exercise, exactly how any other teacher would have done it. But then, when Bakugo had seperated himself from his other teammates, their teacher had changed. It was like he tapped into this deeper part of himself that was purely analytical, only doing the motions to get the job done. It... it made Kirishima very glad that he wasn't a villain. Very glad.

Izuku-sensei broke the awkward silence, saying, "Alright. That was a good start, but it's not quite as in depth as I would have liked from you guys." Almost the entire class slouched down at his words, and even though Izuku-sensei wasn't saying that he was disappointed in them, they felt like he was disappointed in them. "But that's okay! Sometimes, class discussions aren't the best place to have these kind of conversations," he eyed Bakugo knowingly, "so I'm going to propose an alternative. Instead of the interactive in-class activity, I'm going to assign an essay on how you feel you did, both as individuals and as a group, and you'll do a reflection on what you know you did well, how you can improve, and how your quirks were applied to the situation."

Kirishima flinched as his teacher gave them all the sad puppy eyes. He was pretty sure his teacher wasn't doing it on purpose, but it still pulled those strings of guilt in Kirishima.

"Right now, many of you are at the point where you feel uncomfortable judging yourself and your classmates in an objective light. Our goal by the end of your time here at UA is to make it so you do feel comfortable in your analysis. You're still viewing things in the light that if you make a single mistake, then nothing matters because you failed. And maybe some of the time this is true." Izuku-sensei looked lost in thought when he said, "But many times, your mistakes aren't what end things. You need to be able to pick yourself back up, realize what you did wrong, and find a way to fix it."

Another silence fell upon the room, but Kirishima didn't think it was like the one before. Instead of being awkward, it was more... heavy, like someone was pressing a sponge down on the mood of the room. It was a lot more serious than Kirishima was expecting today to be.

The bell rang, signifying the end of class, and everyone nearly jumped out of their seats in their haste to get out of the room and to lunch. Kaminari looped his arm around Sero's shoulder, and the two walked side-by-side to the lunchroom, with Mina trailing behind them with Uraraka. The two had apparently bonded in their pursuit of... well, Kirishima wasn't exactly sure, they wouldn't tell him, but he was sure it was really manly!

"Heyyyy, Bakubro, do you want to-"

"Shut up, Shitty Hair! I've got my own things I need to do, so get the hell out of my way," Bakugo snapped at him, glaring with those blood-red eyes of his. Kirishima hesitated, but something in the boy's expression made him listen. It was angry... but it was also a little desperate. He couldn't help Bakugo until he found out what was going on with him, and he couldn't do that until Bakugo let him find out. And it wasn't looking like that would happen anytime soon.

Even though it killed him to walk away, he left Bakugo alone and did his best to catch up to the rest of his class. Kaminari, Sero, and Mina were at their usual table, right next to where Uraraka, Iida, Todoroki, and Shinso sat.

"Bro! Where did Bakugo go?"

"He said... that there was something he had to take care of," Kirishima hesitantly offered.

"He cursed at you and told you to get away from him, didn't he?" Ah, dang. Mina was too well-versed in the speech of Bakugo for polite deceptions. She must've noticed his concerned expression, because she immediately slung an arm around his shoulder comfortingly. "Hey, don't worry about it! This is Bakugo we're talking about. He'll be fine."

"Right." Kirishima might not fully believe that right now, but he doesn't think this is the time or place for that conversation. Plus, Kaminari accidentally knocked over Sero and they were both tangled together in the black-haired boy's tape. Again.

Here we go again...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Shinso groaned as his alarm went off, the obnoxious beeping driving him from the cool abyss that was sleep. At least now that he lived at UA he got a few extra minutes, but the downside was that his insomnia was witnessed by someone other than his parents. He ended up running into Tokoyami at two in the morning, and there was some extended awkward eye contact before they edged away from each other.

Maybe it wouldn't have been as awkward if Tokoyami hadn't been holding a cloth that Shinso suspected was filled with ceremonial items, and if Shinso hadn't been holding a cat plushie with a replica of Eraserhead's scarf on it. He assumed they wouldn't ever speak of the interaction, for both their sakes.

He tiredly dragged himself to his feet, blearily stumbling through getting dressed. He was glad they had uniforms and he didn't have to make the conscious decision of what to wear. That was just too much effort to make too early in the morning.

"Shinso, it's good to see you. I was just about to head up and make sure you were awake." Shinso turned to see Iida chopping his hands, much too energetic in Shinso's opinion. He appeared to be one of those fabled ' morning people', who expected you to be able to interact with them normally at the crack of dawn.

"Yeah. You too."

"There are some breakfast items in the common room the school has provided for us. If you do not wish to be late then I would hurry," Iida said, leading Shinso through the hallways and down the stairs.

Shinso blinked once and checked his phone, rolling his eyes slightly when he saw the time. "Iida, we still have an hour and ten minutes before the first class starts, and it's a five minute walk. I'm not going to be late."

Iida opened his mouth, ready to retort, but was quickly distracted by a large crash from the common room. Shinso watched with amusement as their class president drops everything, walking as fast as he could without running. He quickly followed, suddenly feeling a lot more awake. Something interesting was happening, and there was no way he was going to miss out on Iida scolding someone that wasn't him.

"What is going on in- Kaminari!" Iida's scandalized yell gave Shinso an idea of what was going on in there, but nothing could prepare him for the situation raging in there.

Mineta was hanging from the ceiling by a single strand of tape, his short legs kicking furiously in the air. Sero was hiding behind the couch, along with many of the other members of their chaotic class. There was a huge mess everywhere they turned, the tattered remains of a pillow lying all over the floor. White feathers covered the floor like blood at a crime scene. But that wasn't why Iida had yelled.

No, Shinso was pretty sure that was caused by the electrified state of the kitchen. Every single appliance there was crackling with electricity, all of the digital clocks shorting out and blinking repetitively. The floor was covered in water, little sparks dancing off of the surface. And right at the center of it all was Kaminari, holding a cord that dipped into the water, spinning around in a panic.

"Kaminari..." Shinso started, eye twitching sporadically.

"I didn't mean to!" He cried out, flapping his arms around. "It was an accident!"

"Kaminari, stop moving! If you drop that cord, it'll probably short out the whole building!" Someone shrieked out from behind him, likely Aoyama from the octaves he was hitting.

"How... how do you even get into this situation?" Shinso asked, blanking on a single scenario that could land them there. Only a few days in and we're already causing massive property damage... Guess dad and Nezu win the bet.

"We'll tell you later. I think we need to go get Aizawa-sensei." Yaoyorozu turned to Kaminari and said authoritatively, "Just stay put, okay? Don't do anything until I get back with Aizawa-sensei."

Shinso stopped her before she left the room. "No need. I'll just call him." He fished his phone out of his pocket and pulled up his contacts, scrolling through while his classmates gaped at him.

"Shinso, why do you have-oh. Right."

Shinso raised the phone to his ear, snorting. "What," he said while the tone was dialing, "Did you forget or something?"

"Well-I," Yaoyorozu started before he cut her off.

"Hey dad. So, there's been a bit of a problem in the dorms..."

'I knew it. Hizashi owes me 2,000 yen. I'll be right over, don't let anyone do anything until then.' He abruptly hung up, presumably making his way over to fix the... well, he wasn't sure what to call it.

"Okay. he'll be right over. Just give him a minute." Everyone breathed out a sigh of relief, but they stayed in their shelter-spots. Shinso didn't blame them.

Kaminari was standing there stiff as a rod, breathing shallowly. His hands were trembling the way they did whenever you tried to hold them still for too long, just a slight shiver that was barely noticeable. "Let's try to get as much of the feather mess up as possible. Tokoyami looks a little scared."

Everyone turned to Tokoyami, who was using Dark Shadow as a shield to hide him from the carnage. "Thanks. Usually I would be all for this revelry in the dark, but it's starting to look like a relative of mine has been murdered."

"Remember," his quirk added on unexpectedly, "We still haven't found uncle Yoshi."

Well... okay then.

Thankfully, his dad was there to disrupt the awkward silence- or add to it, he wasn't quite sure- so they didn't have to dwell any longer on that topic.

"What... what did you even do?" His dad asked, surveying the chaos with his nose crinkled, the closest to disturbed Shinso has ever seen him get. "Wait. I don't care. Kaminari, can you let go of the cord?"

"Um, I don't think so? I might have sorta, and this was an accident, tripped over something and charged the water with like, a lot of electricity. Then the wire fell down and I can feel that there's something flowing through it, and I really don't think it's a good idea for me to drop it because we're pretty sure it's the main power line for the building." He caught Shinso's dad's incredulous look. "I just tripped and lost control, that's all!"

"...All right. I'm going to need the full details of the story later, but for now let's just fix this. I'm going to assume the water below you is charged with enough electricity to do some damage?"

"Enough to stop your heart if you're not Kaminari," Yaoyorozu confirmed.

His dad groaned. "It's times like this I wish Izuku-sensei was here," Shinso heard his grumble underneath his breath. Wait, doesn't Izuku-sensei stay on campus too? Why can't he just call him over?

"Give me a moment to look over the building schematics and see what we do with the cord. I would just erase Kaminari's quirk, but the water is already charged. Everyone stay in here, I can't handle you running rampant right now. Just stay quiet."

"Of course, Aizawa-sensei! Everyone, file back towards the wall and do your best to stay silent!" Iida glanced to where Mineta was still hanging from the ceiling and awkwardly said, "Er, except for you, Mineta. Just... hang in there?"

Ha. I know he didn't do that on purpose, but I still love him for it.

His dad got off the phone with Nezu, sighing heavily. "It wasn't one of the main power cords, just one of the ones that power the kitchen's appliances. They'll fix it while you're all in class, so it'll be good as new by tonight."

Everyone exhaled in relief, slumping down. Kaminari practically threw down the cord, scrambling out of the flooded area. Shinso noticed he was careful not to touch anyone until he dragged his hands against a metal handle that appeared to have been ripped off from the fridge door. All Might, what did they even do?

Apparently, his dad was wondering the same thing, because his eyes lit up bright red and his hair flew up in an instant. "Talk. Now."

Nobody said anything for a moment, so his dad turned right to him. "Shinso."

The class held their breath as he met his dad's eyes calmly, well aware of his intimidation tactics by now. After a few seconds of this, he casually lifted up his shoulders in a shrug. "Hey, I wasn't even here for it."

Dad turned back to the rest of his classmates and raised an eyebrow. "Yaoyorozu."

It wasn't a request.

"None of it was any one person's fault," she rushes to say. "It was just... a whole lot of accidents that happened very quickly."

"I'm going to need more than that. Just run through the events in the order they happened."

Yaoyorozu took a deep breath and said, "Well, the first thing to happen was Shoji bumping into Aoyama, who got startled and launched a laser into one of the pillows." Just one of them? "Then Uraraka was startled by that, and she activated her quirk on the glass of water she was drinking," She pointed to the glass that was still clinging to the ceiling. "And the water spilled out onto Sato, who dropped the bigger pot full of water onto the floor. Honestly, if nothing else would have happened it would have been fine. But... while everyone was trying to figure out what happened..."

Here she hesitated, seeming to struggle with whether to reveal the next bit of information. It was only then that it occurred to him Sero was glaring daggers at Mineta, and if the most chill guy they had in that class was mad at someone, they did something wrong. Shinso narrowed his eyes at the dangling hero student. What did he do?

"What."

"Well... Mineta made an attempt to... touch Mina in a way she wasn't comfortable with." His dad shot a venemous glance towards the pouting pervert. He could see why Sero taped him away. "Then Sero took care of the problem, but Mina had already been spooked and she sent her acid out. It hit a couple of the pillows, but it also hit part of the wall and ate through the part of the wall that held the cord up. That surprised Kirishima, and that's why a few things are... just a little broken." Like the door handle.

"The cord hit Kaminari in the face, he tripped and then he used his quirk, it hit the water, and everyone stayed away. Honestly, I think we're just lucky Bakugo was on his morning run at the time." Apparently, Bakugo and Todoroki both took early morning runs. Which was a good thing. If Bakugo had been here when all of... that had been going on, there wouldn't be a kitchen to fix.

"...All right. Get ready to go to your classes; it'll all be taken care of." His dad paused and sneered for a moment. "Except you, Mineta. As of right now, you're officially expelled from the hero course of UA." Holy shit.

"WHAT!!! That's not fair! I didn't use my quirk like everyone else, it wasn't my fault this happened!" The purple boy pointed an accusing finger at Kaminari. " He's the one who almost shorted out the entire building by losing control!" Oh hell no.

"It was not Kaminari's fault; these things happen. That is quite literally why you are training: to gain enough control that you can become heroes. We fully expect things like this will happen. What we do not expect, and what will never be okay, is for you to sexually harass members of your class in any capacity. Honestly, you're lucky that you're not going to be expelled from UA as a whole. It'll be up to Present Mic if you stay in General Studies."

Damn. Shinso almost felt uncomfortable looking at his former classmate. And some might say that his papa was more forgiving than his dad, but that wasn't true. He just didn't have as many reasons to expel students as his dad did. And his papa hated it and had no tolerance when people did things like this. Mineta was on thin ice, and his papa held a sledgehammer.

Everyone was just standing there, shocked that Mineta could be gone so quickly. There wasn't any ceremony involved; his dad just told him that he would arrange the entire thing with Nezu and Present Mic and he wasn't to attend any more hero classes from this moment on.

"What are you all waiting for? Go down to the cafeteria if you haven't had breakfast yet." They all nodded, still silent. "Oh, and before I forget, Izuku-sensei is not going to be here today."

Shinso frowned. "Why?"

"He had some business to take care of," his dad said with a shrug. "Now scram."

Shinso snorted and grabbed Kaminari by the arm, gently dragging him out of the wrecked room. The blonde looked too stunned to properly remember the way to the lunchroom, so he quietly led him out. He was trying this thing called 'exposure therapy' where you immersed yourself to something in the hopes of becoming more comfortable with it. Uraraka had been doing it with him and Todoroki in the form of basic human interaction, and now he was trying to make himself stop blushing whenever he was near Kaminari.

It hadn't been working.

"Ummmm... sorry for destroying all of the electrical stuff. Sometimes when I'm surprised I just-"

"Nah. Not your fault at all. Aizawa-sensei knows that, and so does everyone else. You should've seen me when I was a kid. I didn't even notice when I brainwashed people." Shinso fondly thought back to when his quirk first developed and everyone was confused as to how they had no memory of doing anything he asked. Took an embarrassing amount of time for them to figure it out, too.

"It's weird to hear you say that." Kaminari crinkled his nose adorably. What were we talking about again?

"Um... What's weird?" Shinso desperately tried to get his brain to work.

"Y'know, hearing you call him Aizawa-sensei... It's just weird knowing he's actually your dad. Like, looking back it's kinda obvious, but I also had no idea. Todoroki figured it out with almost no problem, though."

"Something tells me Todoroki was a special case."

"Ha. Maybe." Kaminari fiddled with the edge of his sleeve, and they walked in silence for a while. It wasn't quite comfortable, and it wasn't awkward. It was like they were in limbo, waiting for the scales to tip in one direction or the other.

"Sooo... Mineta's gone. That's gonna be weird," Kaminari said.

"I think it was only a matter of time. I'll have to see who won this year's betting pool of who my dad would expel first." Maybe Midnight...

Kaminari turned to him with wide eyes. "They have betting pools on that?"

"They have betting pools on everything. You would be shocked at some of the things I know about this school."

"You would be shocked at some of the things I wouldn't be shocked at. There are very few things that shock me anymore." Against his will, Shinso coughs out a laugh at the cheesy joke. The doors to the cafeteria opened, and they lingered a moment.

"Well, you'll have to tell me all about them," Shinso says, winking as he walked off. Oh my All Might what did I just do ? Did I just flirt with him? Or was that normal? Was that something friends do normally? WHY DON'T I KNOW THIS?!

...Was he flirting with me?

Part 41

Izuku looked out of the tinted window of the car, sitting quietly in the backseat. Tartarus had sent someone to drive him there, for security reasons. The world was rushing along in a blur, colors blending together in a gray swirl. Anxiety was rising in his chest, the familiar caged-in feeling coming back to him. Like all the walls were closing in. He was sure it would get worse when they got inside the cold stone walls of Tartarus.

The driver was silent, gazing straight ahead at the road, not even glancing back through the rearview mirror. It was almost like he was completely alone in the car.

Okay... don't let him control the conversation like he always does. He's going to try and get to you, make you give something up. He'll probably have some shocking secret to reveal to see your reaction. Don't let him inquire after the students, and we'll treat One For All as a need-to-know basis. He probably doesn't know Togata is the new user. Make sure it stays that way.

Don't let him get under your skin.

He tried to direct his gaze to a single point and hold it there, but the colors just blended together faster and faster. Dark shadows reached out and shrouded everything visible as the sun was hidden by a dark and ominous cloud. He closed his eyes, trying to avoid thinking for just one moment. Just one moment where his mind wasn't running a thousand miles a minute, one moment where he could just breathe.

But he couldn't. His mind tried to push out the memory, but it was pushy and stubborn and just wouldn't go away. He hadn't thought about this in a long time...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Around 200 Years Ago...

Izuku leaned against the wooden backing of the chair, rubbing his eyes roughly. In one hand he clutched his notebook with an iron grip, guarding it from anyone who might pass by him. His foot tapped nervously against the cold hardwood floor of the library.

Maybe he was being paranoid, and nothing would actually happen, but he had this odd feeling in his chest all day, telling him something was wrong. He had been using the library for his... activities for a while, and he couldn't just stop for the day because he felt strange. He would just have to deal with the paranoia.

Crash! One of those moving carts tumbled to the ground, sending books and magazines flying everywhere. The sound does nothing for his nerves, and he finally decides enough is enough and makes to leave. Whatever... I've gotten what I needed out of the computer here, I'll just copy it down into my notebook from memory.

Izuku had been hacking the government systems for a while now, trying to find out what they had been doing with those who had quirks. So far, he hadn't found much, at least not much that had been documented. He was mostly doing it just so he could find out all the strange abilities that were popping up all over the globe. He didn't understand what was happening and he wanted to.

His feet made soft pattering thuds as he ran his way up the metal stairs leading to his small apartment. Once high school was over, he had immediately left home, knowing that both him and his parents weren't exactly comfortable with each other anymore. He still loved them... it was just hard being around them, and he was sure they would say the same.

The memories had driven him away from the city where he grew up, hoping to avoid running into anyone who had gone to school with him. He wasn't interested in the bullying continuing in his adulthood.

So he had gotten rid of his last name, Mikumo, and had just started introducing himself as Izuku. He didn't really care one way or the other. It wasn't like the name held any special significance for him.

He fiddled anxiously with the lock on the door, fumbling with the key. It wasn't like anyone was following him, but he really wanted to get the information copied down into his notebook. He's never done it before, but there's a first time for everything.

"Hey. Why are you running inside like someone's chasing you?" His neighbor paused. "Nobody's chasing you, right?"

"Why do you care?" Izuku tried to not let the annoyance creep into his voice, but knew that he probably failed. His neighbor was... interesting. He had a younger brother that lived with him, and while he definitely wasn't the worst person to be around, he could be a bit egotistical at times. Plus, he had just tried to bug Izuku earlier that day.

"Can't a neighbor just express some concern?" When Izuku raised an eyebrow, his neighbor rolled his eyes and said, "Alright, I also just really want to make sure no one's following you here."

Izuku thinks he knows why his neighbor doesn't want any of the police around. They both had something in common: one of those abilities that caused them to be scorned. It's not like Izuku wants any of the police poking around either, asking why he didn't have a last name anymore.

At least, not one in the official databases. Hacking was a wonderful thing.

"If they are, I haven't noticed them," he dryly said, fighting the urge to roll his eyes. His somewhat annoying neighbor nodded, conceding to the point. "What did you really come over for?"

"I can never get anything past you, can I?" He offered a smile dripping with guile. "I just came over to see if you would see one of the new abilities that popped up and tell me what's been going on with it."

Izuku frowned slightly, not quite sure why he wanted that. His neighbor knew about Izuku's weird hobby of analyzing them, and sometimes he had strange questions like this. Whenever Izuku asked him why, he always gave a vague answer that didn't really tell him anything. Izuku always responded in kind, never truly telling him what he wanted to know. They both knew what they were doing.

Neither of them confronted the other about it.

"...Sure. But we'll do it tomorrow. I've got other stuff for tonight."

"Fine. See you, Izuku No-Name." Izuku rolled his eyes at the subtle dig towards Izuku's choice to not tell him his last name. That's not even original or clever. It is literally just the truth.

"See you, Shigaraki."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Izuku shook himself out of his stupor, for a moment remembering a time in the past where everything wasn't as completely awful as it was now. Well... maybe it was just as awful, but it was awful in an entirely different way. It was really incredible how many different kinds of awful Izuku had experienced.

The car started to slow down, and he stretched out the stiff muscles in his arms. The building of Tartarus was cold and imposing, an intimidating stone block that reached into the sky. Even the air was chillier around it.

He said goodbye to the driver and walked with slow and measured steps up the walkway. The life seemed to leech out of the space around the prison, becoming even more grey and uninviting the closer you got.

"You're Midoriya, right? The warden will be right with you. Just wait here." Izuku nodded to the security guard, settling down in one of those uncomfortable chairs they had in every waiting room. Those awful springs jabbed into his back and made him shift side to side.

"Midoriya? Sorry for making you wait so long; we were just getting a few things prepared. If you'll follow me?" A man Izuku assumed was the warden said.

"Of course." Izuku rose to his feet, following the black-haired man down the long hallways with twisting turns. Absently, he wondered what the man's quirk was. He had pointed horns sticking out of his head, and when he talked Izuku could see he had slightly pointed teeth. Hmm... there could be more I'm not seeing, so I'm guessing it's a mutation type. It's likely suited for combat, since most guards at Tartarus have quirks that are good for containment in the case of a prison break. Maybe...

"Sorry for the long walk. We have him locked up tight underground, with no contact to anyone. He doesn't know what time it is, and he doesn't know about any of the events happening in the outside world. So we're going to have to ask you to not reveal anything. He's going to be locked up tight for the duration of your meeting with him, to the point where he cannot do anything but talk. We've been careful because we don't know what quirks he does and doesn't have, so if some things seem severe, we assure you it is necessary." Izuku nodded thoughtfully, clambering down the winding stairs alongside the warden. There were a long series of locks and metal doors before they got to the final room that seemed to block off All For One.

"You'll be the only one in there, but there will be someone through a one-way window watching to make sure nothing happens. We'll stop it if anything starts to happen."

"Alright." Izuku took one last deep breath and motioned for the door to open. He walked as confidently as he could into the room and took a seat on the metal chair. Do they just mass order uncomfortable chairs here? Were they having a sale at IKEA?

All For One was chained up against a giant metal slab, and a glass sheet separated them. All For One was contained so tightly that he couldn't move an inch if he put every single quirk he had into it. Smug satisfaction filled Izuku at the sight.

"Hello, Izuku." Izuku stifled that twinge annoyance he always felt when All For One talked. "I'm so glad that you decided to accept my request for a meeting."

"Sure. What did you want?" Izuku couldn't help the shortness in his tone. "Because I know you didn't ask to meet me for no reason. That's not how you work."

"I really can't just call you here to reminisce about old times? Have a conversation with someone who isn't a complete imbecile." If All For One smiled here, Izuku couldn't tell. The life support mask he was wearing covered his entire face, which was really fortunate considering the state Izuku heard it was left in. No one was interested in seeing a giant Mr. Potatohead. "Come on Izuku, you always acted like such a hero," he sneered that word out. "So why can't we act civilized?"

Stay cool, keep your calm.

"Sure. Let's be civilized. What did you want to talk about, All For One?" Izuku did his best to keep his tone pleasant.

"Hmm... I don't know. Why don't we play a game?" Izuku quirked a brow. "I'll ask a question, then you'll ask a question. You can answer however vaguely you want, but if you do, then I'll respond in kind."

Izuku didn't have to think it over for long. Whatever All For One might gain out of this, the opportunity to get information was just too much to pass up. And Izuku knew that All For One was a liar, and that there was going to be at least one lie wrapped up in his explanation. Whether it was an outright lie or a misdirection, All For One couldn't seem to help adding them in. Izuku would just have to pick them out while adding a few of his own.

"Fine. What did you want to ask first?" Izuku kept a careful eye on him, aware that he was a wild card.

"Lovely. Is All Might still playing hero, or is he finally out of commission?" All For One sounded way too delighted at the thought of finally accomplishing his goal.

"All Might is retired. Just like you are," Izuku couldn't help but add on. He did make sure there was no bite to his words, though. Because he had self-control.

"That's what I thought," All For One smugly said, seemingly ignoring Izuku's second statement. "Your turn."

"Where is Shigaraki?" Izuku kept his gaze trained on the villain, never wavering as he waited for the answer to his question. It wasn't like he expected to get a clear answer, but it wasn't like All For One could do anything to him for asking.

"I don't know. He left the nest already, unlike those little brats that you call students. Not a single one of them has ever accomplished anything that stood in the long term. Pathetic." He could feel All For One's smirk.

Izuku gritted his teeth and snapped out, "Well, I don't know. It seems like one of them has solved a rather permanent problem when I'm looking at you chained up. And what have you done that's so permanent? Every time you go after an One For All user another one pops right back up. Your empire fell. You haven't done anything."

"Ha! There it is! For a moment I thought you had lost your snarky side." Izuku pursed his lips, annoyed he had taken the bait. How does he always manage to get a rise out of me? "But it's my turn to ask a question. Do you know who the new user of One For All is?"

Izuku paused for a moment, deliberating on whether to tell him or not. On one hand, I cannot let him know that Togata is the new user of All For One. On the other, I'm pretty sure he'll know if I lie to him, and if I lie to him then he'll respond in kind. He thought through his enemy's question, and realized there was a secret third option.

"I do know who the new user of One For All is." All For One tilted his head, as if waiting for more to the answer, but Izuku stayed silent. "You should be more careful of how you phrase things."

"Fine, yes, yes." All For One's tone was just the slightest bit tighter than his normal honeyed voice. You're not the only one who can be irritating. "Let's end this game, shall we?"

"Great. Are you going to tell me the real reason you wanted to talk, or are we going to keep this charade up?"

All For One chuckled. "You are so impatient. Here I thought you might have learned how to wai in the past one hundred and fifty years."

"And here I was hoping it would be longer."

"You want to know the real reason I called you here? Fine. I was just going to tell you a little bit about how Tomura Shigaraki and I came to know each other. You did want to know more about him, didn't you?" All For One's tone is falsely engaging and inviting, like he was about to tell a funny childhood story. "He was five when we first met, and he had accidentally killed his entire family. Quirk accidents happen, we both know that." Izuku started to get a sick feeling in his chest. Of course, he would never blame a child for an accident when their quirk came in, he had seen enough of it throughout the years to know it wasn't their fault.

"Except, obviously, Tomura Shigaraki wasn't his name when I found him. Do you want to know what it was?" All For One didn't wait for an answer. " Tenko Shimura ."

Izuku's blood ran cold at All For One's delighted words. He couldn't keep the disgust and horror off of his face. Oh dear... what the actual hell did he do? I know Nana sent her child into the adoption service to keep him safe... so it's entirely possible. And All For One wouldn't get that sick satisfaction of his from this unless it was true...

All For One continued. "He is truly the perfect successor. Angry at all heroes, at the world. Desperate to watch it burn down no matter what it takes. And the best thing is... it's all your fault." Izuku stiffened. "If heroes had saved him, or even if Nana Shimura hadn't given up her child, none of this would have happened. Ironic, isn't it?"

"And where did the Nomu come from? What did you do to them?" At this point, Izuku is done with the facade of polite conversation they had put up with. This whole conversation had just been a poorly hid attempt to get information out of the other, and Izuku was done playing the game.

"Oh, Izuku. I think we both know the truth to that. A body can't handle multiple quirks being forced into it. Starts to lose cognitive function, you see. Don't worry, they don't mind. Most of them are dead anyways." That is sick.

"I'm done with this conversation." Izuku abruptly rose and pounded on the metal door, trying to escape All For One's mocking laughter.

"Fine, run away again! I'll be out of here sooner or later, and when I am, I'll finally find a way to kill you. Even if I can't take your quirk, I'll find the limit." His voice is a dark promise as the door finally opens and Izuku briskly walks out, getting as far away from the man as he can.

The warden doesn't attempt to make small talk on the way back out of the facility, and Izuku is glad for it. He just wants to stew and simmer over what he just learned, agonizing over the decision to tell All Might or not. He... he deserved to know, but Izuku also knew it would hurt the man immeasurably. He didn't want to do that to his student. It would destroy him.

Izuku wasn't sure what to do.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Aizawa dropped down on the teacher lounge couch, groaning softly into one of the decorative pillows. The first few days of the students living in the dorms had gone... about as well as could be expected, with minimal property damage. And today had been harder than the others, because Aizawa had to cover Izuku-sensei's classes when he didn't have his own. And that wouldn't have been that much of a problem if he didn't have class 1-a and class 1-b back-to-back. Seriously, how did his fellow teachers put up with all of them in one day?

"Hey, does anyone know where Izuku-sensei is?" A voice Aizawa assumed was Midnight's asked. "I had to cover his second class of the day. Is he sick or something? Can he get sick?"

"Huh... he didn't really take days off at UA when we were students," Snipe said from somewhere else in the room. "Aizawa, you were the one he asked to cover most of his classes, do you know where he went?"

Ugh. Now I have to interact. "He mentioned having something he needed to do. Go away." In truth, Aizawa had been wondering where their teacher had gone, too. He wasn't sure what kind of event would have to happen for Izuku-sensei to miss class, but something in the green man's eyes told him not to ask.

"SHO! Why didn't you tell me you were punting one of your kids on me?" Oh, great. There's Hizashi. I was hoping to get a few minutes of sleep, but I guess that wish is too much for the universe to grant.

"Wait, seriously Aizawa? Which one did you expel?" Now look what you're started.

Aizawa lugged himself up into a seated position with a grunt, coming face-to-face with his coworkers. Hizashi dropped down on the couch next to him as soon as the seat was available, effectively sandwiching them together. Not that he minded.

"Mineta. It was a long time coming. As soon as the dorm system came into place, it was only a matter of time before he did something that crossed the line. I assume you heard about the incident this morning in the class 1-a dorms?"

"Yeah, but I thought that was an accident. Wasn't it?" Snipe asked.

"The damage itself and most of the incident was an accident, but Mineta tried to touch one of his female classmates inappropriately during the chaos." Every teacher in the room simultaneously glared. "He's made comments before, and there's been some behavior I found concerning, but since no one came forward about it I wasn't able to do anything. I also think this is the first time he's actually actively tried to touch one of the girls. I'm just glad I was able to get him out of there before he did anything worse. He had potential, but nobody who has behavior like that despite being told repeatedly to stop by his classmates should be allowed to become a hero."

"I'll keep a close eye on him. If he so much as makes one move that isn't completely respectful, he's out of here faster than Sho's asleep," Hizashi declared loudly in his ear. Aizawa half-heartedly glared at him, unable to work up the energy to fully glare.

"Right. That reminds me, I'm going to have you give him a sex ed class, Midnight. Preferably one with a high focus on consent. He also has one month of detention." Midnight grinned fiendishly.

"Great. He won't so much as dare to put a toe out of line by the time I'm done with him." Oh yeah. Midnight was going to eat him alive. She was very passionate about things like this, donating quite a bit to charities and organizations that specialize in it.

"Speaking of punishment, did things ever get cleared up on what would happen to those students who decided to go after Bakugo at Kamino?" Snipe asked, looking at Aizawa in particular.

"Meh. I gave them the big speech about having to earn my trust back, and how they would have all been expelled except for those who had no knowledge of the plan, but other than that I'm leaving it up to Izuku-sensei. Not only was he the one there and has the clearest grasp on what exactly they did, but he also has the best way of punishing students with potential." Aizawa smiled, remembering what had happened to Aihara, the quirkist little annoyance on his first day of the hero course.

Izuku-sensei hadn't done anything to him at first, not anything beyond the lecture. And they thought that would be it, even if Aihara was walking around on eggshells after that incident. But over time, they found that Izuku-sensei had a... unique way of dealing with the problem. It was little comments scattered in here and there, an action that didn't seem quite right, little symbols found everywhere of what you had done wrong.

In the end, it didn't even really matter since Aihara had been expelled from the hero course in their third year since he didn't pass the hero licensing exam three times in a row. Their teachers had also gotten fed up with his attitude and constant disregard of his classmates. He was part of the reason Aizawa was determined to make sure that kids who didn't have potential were expelled right away.

"Maybe he'll let them off easy since they decided to listen to him in the end and no one got hurt. At any rate, I do know that he's at least slightly proud of him." Aizawa grimanced. "He has a bit of a bleeding heart."

"Well, in this case we would prefer it if he didn't permanently traumatize Hitoshi, so we'll consider that a positive," Hizashi pointed out dryly, throwing his arm around Aizawa's shoulders. He briefly considers shoving the blonde off of him but he just sighs and leans into his side instead. "And you're no different."

What? He was only so strong.

"Yeah, sure." Hizashi shakes his head at Aizawa's feigned indifference. "I'm just hoping I don't have to teach his classes again tomorrow, because I cannot put up with all of those problem children for that long."

Seriously. He would go insane.

Part 42

Dabi waited in the dark, sitting dangerously at the top of the store roof. The moon was barely present, only little slivers of its silver light shining through the clouds. It was getting pretty close to midnight, so if the feathered little hero was going to show up, he better do it soon.

In all honesty, he wasn't sure why he extended the invitation for the hero to join the League. Yeah, it was what Shigaraki had told them to do for anyone who had expressed a desire to join, but the number two hero? Really? Hawks was most definitely trying to spy on them and report back to his superiors at the hero commission. There was no doubt about it.

But then there was that cold fire in his eyes when he spoke about the hero commission being part of the problem. That fire spoke to Dabi. Maybe that was what made the villain make that split-second decision. Either way, they were certainly going to use the hero now. Even if he was playing double agent, all they had to do was stay one step ahead of him and they would be fine. Heck, they might even get some information. Even if he was definitely working for the hero commission.

A soft whoosh came from behind him, and Dabi turned to see Hawks. The hero was in his usual attire, jacket and tinted glasses on. His hair was windblown, little blonde strands sticking out everywhere. He was grinning like he did on TV, easy-going and relaxed, like he didn't have a care in the world. But threw as something inthe way his eyes looked around at every dark corner, glancing with razor-sharp precision.

Hawks was not what he appeared to be.

"Hey, hey, Dabi. You look surprised. What are-" Dabi cut him off.

"Shut it, bird brain. I'm just surprised you showed up." Dabi rolled his eyes at the winged hero. "Now shut up and do what I say."

Dabi pulled out his phone, quickly tapping in their coordinates for Kurogiri. Hawks looked curiously over his shoulder, but otherwise followed Dabi's instructions. Good. He was not in the mood to deal with a flying chicken today. All he had to do was meet up with him, probably watch as he talked with their glorious leader, and then either burn him alive or barely have to see him anymore. He didn't really care which.

"So. Are we just going to stand here, or what?"

"Shut up." Dabi was getting the feeling he would be suffering through a headache by the time Kurogiri finally chose to check his messages.

"Fine. Somebody's a little salty." Hawks' voice was lilted and teasing, like he was trying to be friends or some shit.

After what seemed like an eternity, dark purple mist swirled around in front of them. Dabi got the satisfaction of seeing Hawks' strange eyes widen, and he didn't even try to hold back his smirk. "Well, are you coming or what, hero?"

The disorienting sensation of being cloaked in misty darkness washed over him, and the world seemed to spin on its axis. Dabi had gone through it several times by now, but he would never get used to it. In less than a second, they were standing in the dingy bar that was their hideout, with all distinguishing features removed. They wouldn't make it that easy for Hawks, if he did get away.

"Hello, Dabi. It's nice to meet you, Hawks," Kurogiri said, standing next to where Shigaraki was sitting on one of the bar stools. Most of the rest of the League was gathered around, with the exception of Magne, Spinner, and Toga, all of whom had opted out of the meeting. Dabi wished that they would let him do that.

"Hello... I'm going to assume Kurogiri?" Hawks tried, hovering uncomfortably next to Dabi. "It's nice to meet you too."

"Yes, you would be correct. Would you like something to drink before we start discussing things?" Dabi didn't understand how someone who had raised Shigaraki could be so polite. Seriously, how had none of that rubbed off on him?

"Uhh... No, I'm good." Hawks was obviously off-put by how Kurogiri insisted on acting, blinking slowly as he surveyed the room full of villains, all ignoring him. To be honest, it was an underwhelming experience for Dabi as well.

"Whatever. Enough of the prologue, I'm ready to move onto the next chapter." Shigaraki spins around to face Hawks head on, his red eyes intently fixed on the number two hero. "Start talking."

Hawks blinked. "Sure. About what?"

Dabi snorted and rolled his eyes, sauntering over to the empty chair on the other side of the bar. There was no chance in hell he was going to miss this shit show. "Uh, I don't know, dumbass. How about why you want to join the League?"

"Oh. Well, I guess I want to join because I think something is wrong with our society. I've known that for a long time, and I'm ready to see things change. I thought that the quickest way to do that would be from the inside, but the Commission hasn't done anything about it. The League has accomplished more change in the short time they've been active than dozens upon dozens of movements talking about the same things. If the first route doesn't work, then I'm more than willing to go down this road."

Hmm. He wasn't saying that he was going to trust the hero right away; far from it, but he was willing to admit that the explanation made a certain amount of sense. It was still flimsy as shit, though.

"Really? Is that so? What exactly do you want to restart in hero society?"

"I told Dabi this before, but Stain was right about a lot of things." It brought Dabi no small amount of pleasure to see that Shigaraki's hands clenched at those words. Jealous bastard. "Right now, we're so focused on hero rankings and ridiculous little petty things that it's getting in the way of helping people." Dabi can attest first-hand to that. "All I've ever wanted is to help people. If this is the best way to do it, then fine."

Something in the hero's voice rang true, and the League all looked between him and Shigaraki, waiting to see what their 'leader's' reaction would be. And by that, he meant they were watching Kurogiri to see what he would do.

"...Fine. One last question: are you working for the Hero Commission to take us down?" Oh. Oh. Now this was riveting. If Hawks even took a second of hesitation to say 'no', then they would be having barbecued chicken for dinner.

...Except not really. Because that was disgusting.

"No. I made up some excuse about searching the underground for clues relating to recent criminal activity so I would be able to get away for the time being. I also told them I might be going undercover at some small-time crime movement. They do not know I am meeting with you." Hmm. He didn't hesitate before saying anything, and he didn't do anything that immediately tipped Dabi off to the fact that he was lying. He didn't hold eye contact longer than he normally would to make them believe him, and he didn't avoid it either. They could have been having a casual conversation on the streets for all it was worth.

But that didn't mean he wasn't lying. Just that he was good at it.

Shigaraki hummed raspily, drumming his fingertips against the bar top. Kurogiri was staying silent, letting the light blue-haired man make his own decision. Looks like someone finally started to get some independence from their babysitter...

"Then I suppose I should say welcome to the League, Hawks. I think you'll be a most valuable asset. You probably have really high stats." Ugh. "But I don't trust you as far as I can throw you, so Dabi will be overseeing you. Wouldn't want you pulling a fast one on us, now would we?"

"Okay. Glad to-"

"Wait, what the shit?!" Dabi burst angrily to his feet. "Like hell I'm going to be bird brains' watcher! If you don't know if he's going to betray us, then why don't we just kill him?" Hawks didn't even flinch at his venemous tone.

"Aw, c'mon hot stuff. I don't mind hanging around each other if you don't."

"I do."

"Tough shit," Shigaraki said, sounding way too delighted. "You're the one who brought him to us, so you're the one who's going to deal with him. Kurogiri, take them back. Dabi, I'll send you the instructions for what to do next with him."

Dabi angrily pushed in his stool and stomped towards Hawks, gripping the hero's arm roughly with one hand. There was a little resistance before the bird brain finally allowed himself to be dragged along. Kurogiri opened another portal, back to where they first started. Why would they even have me come get him if it was just going to be a minute of him being here? I swear, Crusty is just doing it to annoy me. There is no way that there was any other benefit to doing that. Him and these stupid 'cutscenes'.

The roof was just as silent as it had been when they left it, the street below devoid of any onlookers. Little flashes of light of in the distance tipped him off to the incoming thunderstorm, and he glared at Hawks. If he was still out here when it started raining, then recruit or no, Dabi would burn him alive. Shigaraki could throw another one of his tantrums for all he cares, he's not staying out in the rain.

Hawks paused expectantly, side-eyeing Dabi as the scarred man checked his phone. Shigaraki's icon showed he was typing, but Dabi knew how long it could take him. If Shigaraki didn't go slow enough, he would disintegrate his phone. And then whatever he could find around the base in anger.

"So, are you going to tell me anything or are we going to just stand here?" Dabi's eye twitched in annoyance, pointedly ignoring the hero. Hawks was silent for a moment longer, then he perked up again and said in a teasing tone, "Come on, you don't need to commit to the brooding exterior quite so much."

"Shut. Up." Dabi turned to the blonde and punctuated his statement with a flare of blue flames, dancing freely in his left hand. Hawks didn't look too threatened, and was just opening his mouth with that infuriating twinkle in his eyes again. Dabi didn't want to hear whatever he had to say, so he extinguished the fire in his hand and darted his arm forward into the hero's wing.

Hawks yelped as Dabi tore free several of the bright red feathers, gripping them securely in his hand. Studying them, he could see the little individual fluffs leading off of the rachis. He twirled it in his hand, smiling deviously when Hawks, Mr. Easy and Laid-back, started to glare at him.

"What the hell!? Do you know how much that hurts, you hot topic junkie!?" Dabi's eyebrows fly up in surprise, taking in Hawks' angry face and short, quick breaths. Looks like I made someone mad...

"What, can the new number two hero not handle it?"

"Of course I can handle it, I just really don't like to! It's like skinning my wings! Now, give the feathers back," Hawks tries to order.

"Wait. Why don't you just take them back? Isn't your whole thing like flying and being able to control those stupid feathers of yours?" Hawks shifts, those curious gold-brown eyes darting to the side. Dabi grinned victoriously. "Oh, man! You can't, can you? Once they're away from you, you can't control them."

"No! I can still control them once they're away from me, I just can't... use them like I did, since they were forcibly taken from me." Hawks glares at Dabi.

The villain just shrugs, glancing down at his phone and the message Shigaraki sent him.

Crusty:

Tell him that we're going to contact him, not the other way around. There's a pretty good chance he's a spy for the commission, so we'll just use him while we still can. You're in charge of watching him and making sure that he doesn't do anything that will force us to reload the game. Find where he lives, etc. Also, I want to find out how far his stats will go, so we'll be sending him on mini-quests. If he's truly dedicated to our cause, we'll find out soon enough.

Me:

How much of that did Kurogiri tell you to say?

Crusty:

Fuck off.

Dabi rolled his eyes at the childish message, stuffing his phone into one of his many pockets. Hawks was still glaring sullenly at him, keeping his wings at arms-length from Dabi. He's also eyeing the feather that Dabi already has with distaste, so at least he's managed to accomplish something today. If Hawks was going to inconvenience him, then he was going to do his best to make sure that the hero wasn't going to have a good time doing it.

"So. Are you going to tell me what he said, or are we just going to stand here until it rains? I really don't like to fly in thunderstorms."

"Well," Dabi snorts, "That's one way to get fried chicken."

Hawks huffed, his easy-going demeanor from before sliding away. Dabi has to admit, he liked riling up the usually unflappable pro. Granted, he liked irritating everyone, but something about this made it feel particularly satisfying. The bird-like hero had this positively delightful look on his face, and Dabi was pleasantly surprised when he actually threw the snark right back at him.

"That's funny coming from someone who looks like burnt bacon." Says the literal bird. Dabi wouldn't be surprised if Hawks actually had talons under those gloves of his.

"Ooh. The bird bites back. Or, would it be pecks back? Do chickens have teeth?" Dabi smirks.

Hawks grinds his teeth and says, "One, I'm a hawk, not a chicken. And two, would you just tell me what Shigaraki said already!?"

Dabi sighs in mock disappointment, but he's internally tallying himself a point. Maybe being forced to be around the hero wouldn't be so bad as long as he can rile him up like this. One day, he might even get him to actually squawk in outrage. If we don't, y'know, kill him first.

"Fine, birdie. He said that we'll contact you when the time comes. We're going to be asking you to do some things, and you can't ask any questions. Just do it, or we'll know that you aren't actually working with us." Hawks didn't show any signs of moving, so Dabi stuffs his hands in his pockets and gives him a condescending smile. "Oh, you can run back to your nest now. Don't let little old me stop you."

Hawks rolls his eyes, but he nods. A second later you can't even see his bright red wings anymore in the dark clouds. I can already tell he's going to be a huge pain in my ass. Crusty better not be just trying to collect some sort of... what did he call them? Achievements? Because I don't care if he's supposed to be my 'boss' or some shit. I will burn that whiny little man-child alive. Or maybe just his gaming consoles, so he will always know that he can't do crap with them anymore. He'll live in agony without them.

Me:

Are you going to open the portal back up or not, you crusty-ass bitch?

The sky gives a distinct rumble, and little spats of water start to fall from the sky. I swear to... Shigaraki's controllers are only saved by Kurogiri and his convenient portals. Intense vertigo washes over him again, and by the time he's done blinking he's back in their dingy little bar. Toga had come back in the time he was gone, and now she was draped over Twice.

Those two had always had an interesting dynamic from the time they first met, both too strange to fit fully into society and too desperate for human interaction to strike out on their own. So, they joined the League. Nobody judged them here, and nobody tried to make them more normal. They could just... be themselves.

It was kind of nice. When Toga wasn't trying to stab you.

"Ahhh... I can't believe I missed Hawks! I sooo wanted to ask for some of his blood! Could you imagine if I had wings? And they're bright red too! Like blood," Toga rambled. Her eyes widened when she saw that Dabi had entered the room. "Dabi! Can you try and get some of Hawks' blood for me?"

Dabi ignored her and made a beeline for the bar, a half-full glass of alcohol already waiting for him. Good. Kurogiri knows him well. Shigaraki was nowhere to be found, presumably hunched a device somewhere. He would come back down eventually, Dabi knew that. For all of his mockery and nasty nicknames, he was starting to see the League as more than just colleagues. He wouldn't call them friends either, though. They were like... family. An extremely dysfunctional and not blood-related family.

If they were blood-related, Toga might not ask for their blood so often.

"Now, now, Toga. We can't trust Hawks yet, so we were being careful with how much of our operation we allowed to see right off the bat. Since you weren't at the meeting, it might be a a few days before we let you two be in a room together. Are you okay with that?" Kurogiri said.

That's one thing they all loved about Kurogiri. He always asked them if they were okay with things, even if he knew that they couldn't change anything about the situation. All of them were so used to their figures of authority not giving a crap what they thought that Kurogiri was like a breath of fresh air. He might be a villain, but he treated them with more respect and civility than all of society had put together.

"Hmph. Yeah, I guess. I'll just get his blood later!" Well, no one could ever say that she wasn't focused on her goals.

"We'll see." Dabi rolled his eyes, knowing that it was unlikely the blonde hero was going to give Toga some of her blood. And if they were truly going to be working together, then Dabi couldn't just let her take it either. Rules of the League and all.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. I'm going up to my room. Wake me up if the heroes find us because of the loudmouth hero, or in the morning tomorrow." Dabi downed the rest of his drink and strode straight over to the staircase, his ragged jacket pluming up behind him as he hit the vent.

"And by morning you mean noon, right?" Kurogiri said with amusement as Dabi clambered up the stairs. The black-haired man had just enough time to throw up a middle finger as he disappeared from view, but he did not contradict Kurogiri's statement.

I'm a good liar, but I'm not that good a liar.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Todoroki sat quietly in the back of his homeroom classroom, absently staring at where Mineta used to sit. Now, the desk was empty. He can't say he's sad to see the purple boy go. In fact, he doesn't think that anyone in their class is. Neither him nor Bakugo had asked how their former classmate got expelled, but they both had a pretty good idea. It was only a matter of time.

Aizawa-sensei was doing what he normally did in homeroom after he took attendance: sleeping. The neon yellow bad had become a permanent fixture in their classroom by now, and Todoroki had almost gone up to the man and asked him where he kept it. But when Shinso shook his head with exasperated acceptance, he knew that it was a lost cause.

Their teacher was even more tired than he usually was, likely due to the fact that he had to cover most of Izuku-sensei's classes the previous day. None of the teachers had answered any of their questions, just giving them a vague, 'he'll be back tomorrow' and dismissing them. Either they had no idea where he was either, or there was a mass conspiracy against them... this was going in the notebook.

Right after he did the math homework Ectoplasm assigned them.

"Hey, Todoroki! Do you get question 5, because I have no idea." Uraraka said, gesturing him over to where hero, Shinso, and Iida were sitting. Glancing down at his worksheet, he nodded and moved over without a word. They were huddled around Shinso's desk since Mineta wasn't behind him anymore and there was more room, so he didn't have to go far. The only downside was that Bakugo was right in front of them, and he was still doing that thing where he lashed out at everyone.

Ever since the training exercise, he had been irritable and snappy, throwing insults at almost anyone who got too close to him. Only Kirishima, Mina, and Sero appeared to be exempt from the rule. For everyone else, working with him was like a living hell. They just did their best to steer clear.

"Ohh... I think I get it now!" Uraraka perked up before sighing. "I just wish that they wouldn't give us quite so much work in one day. At this rate, I'm going to die of papercuts before I become a hero!"

"Nonsense! UA is a school of renown and prestige, and it is our duty to maintain utter academic superiority if we are to prove we are worthy of attending such an institution!" Iida started on one of his rants again, hands chopping through the air. They all leaned back, used to his antics at this point. "Truly, it is an honor that they believe we can do the schoolwork they assign us! We just need to prove we are up to the task!"

"Easy for you to say, mister number two," Kaminari grumbled from in front of them. "I don't know why they expect us to just know these things!"

"Right!" Mina exclaims. "Radicals don't make any sense at all!"

Iida opened his mouth, presumably to defend their school's academic record and reputation.

"That's enough." Everyone fell silent when they saw their teacher standing at the head of the room. Todoroki had never been able to see his teacher actually move. It was more like one moment he was laying down, seemingly asleep, and the next he was glaring at them. It almost felt like his quirk. Maybe...

"I have an announcement which will impact your immediate future." A tense, uncomfortable feeling filled the room. "It's nothing bad, so don't give me those looks." But you do it on purpose. "In the next few weeks you will be working on your special moves in preparation for the provisional hero licensing exams."

Woah. In their first year? We have had some real combat experience, but I thought that only second years took the exams. Something tells me this isn't normal... But, when does Aizawa-sensei ever do things the normal way?

"Wait, what? Doesn't that mean we could actually... like, do hero things? Legally?" Kirishima asks, sparing a quick glance at Iida, Shinso, and Todoroki. Apparently, the three had started to get a reputation for vigilantism. And Todoroki can't quite say that's wrong. Between the Stain incident and Kamino, they didn't exactly build themselves a great track record.

"Yes, it does. But you would only participate in hero work with the supervision of an actual pro. There's a number of opportunities that will be open to you, but we'll only explain them once you've taken the exam. Right now, you are going to go to ground Sigma and work with Ectoplasm's clones to give you an advantage in the exam. Only about 50% of the applicants pass every year, and you will be up against second years with more experience and training than you."

I doubt that, Todoroki thought bitterly.

"Well? What are you waiting for?" The class hopped to their feet as a whole, lightly jogging down the hall to where their hero costumes were. Aizawa-sensei would definitely find some creative way to punish them if he thought they were taking too long. The threats of expulsion had slowed since Mineta was expelled, but they were still very much aware of how sadistic their teacher could be. The fact that Shinso was hurrying along with the rest of them spoke volumes.

Because he was Aizawa-sensei's child. And Todoroki was right.

"Do you guys really think we're ready to take the exam? It's not like we've been in hero school for that long." Kaminari was the first of them to voice his doubts, though several of the others were nodding in agreement. "I mean, I get how people like Todoroki and Bakugo could pass right now, but..." He trailed off uncomfortably.

"I disagree," Iida said, looking strangely thoughtful. "You might not feel that experienced right now, but if we look back through the year we can see our progress. And we've all had at least two villain encounters, between the USJ and the training camp. Some second years don't have that much exposure."

"That's true," Sero says. "And Aizawa-sensei can be- sorry, Shinso- a little... harsh, but he's always been honest with us. Again, sorry Shinso."

"No, you're completely right." Shinso was not bothered at all with their assessment of his father. In fact, he looked completely at home with the discussion. I thought he would be more uneasy talking about his father with us, but I guess I was wrong.

They all walked back to where Ground Sigma was, staring utterly transfixed at the transformed training ground. There were levels of concrete lying everywhere, enough for their entire class to have their own. Wait... there are only nineteen of them...

"Aizawa-sensei? Is class 1-b going to be doing the licensing exam too?" Uraraka inquires, beating Todoroki to the punch.

"Yes, they're just not training here with the rest of you. They're also probably going to be moved ot a different location for the exam, since it would be illogical to have 39 students from the same school at only one of them." Aizawa-sensei sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "Vlad babies them, but he doesn't baby them that much."

Todoroki bites his lip to avoid smiling at his teacher's tone. They had all grown to realize the two teachers had no love lost for each other. Between the contemptuous glances that were thrown in the halls, or the rivalry between 1-a and 1-b that Vlad-sensei inspires in his kids, Todoroki was sure that something had happened. They did still seem to respect each other, though.

They just couldn't stand not throwing catty comments at the other.

"Does Vlad-sensei really baby them?" Hagakure asks.

Aizawa doesn't even hesitate before responding with, "Why do you think 1-b wasn't allowed to do the training session with Izuku-sensei? He was afraid he would completely crush their spirits." And you knew he would crush ours, Aizawa-sensei.

This time, Todoroki can't stop the snigger from making its way out of his throat. Half of the class was sending him surprised looks, but the other half looked like they were right there with him.

But everyone stopped laughing when the doors opened one final time. Ectoplasm and Cementoss are already here, so...

"Hello, everyone! Are you ready to work on your special moves?" Izuku-sensei walked in wearing his hero costume, hand resting on his hipbone. He didn't look any different than he had the last time they saw him. He still had the same smile, the same hero gear, the same bloody gauze wrapped around his wrist-

You know what? He's not even going to ask.

"Your special moves should be something that is able to end a fight, like Endeavor's prominence burn. Up to this point, you've been finding out what your strengths and limitations are, and now it's time to apply those. Some of you might not find a special move before the licensing exam, and that's okay. It's a lot harder than you might think." He smiled. "Ready?"

"Alright then, let's get started!"

Part 43

Shinso sat at the edge of the concrete platform, his legs dangling off the side. He was so frustrated. Everyone else had been able to at least start thinking of things over the course of the past two days. But he hadn't been able to think of anything. His quirk just doesn't work like that. And the same with his scarf.

He had asked his dad what he did, but apparently he'd never chosen a special move. Like him, it wasn't like there was a way he could increase his output or do anything differently that would end the fight quickly. Plus, his dad had said that you didn't need anything special so long as it ended the fight.

And he agreed with that, but Shinso's quirk didn't work like his dad's. Erasure could work at anytime on almost anyone, but Shinso needed a direct response from someone before he was able to do anything. It's why he trained with the capture scarf so relentlessly. He had to do whatever it takes.

He groaned, watching most of his classmates head down to take a break from beating up Ectoplasm's clones. Might as well... it's not like I'm going to have any epiphanies in the next few minutes.

"Stumped?" Shinso turned to see Izuku-sensei standing right behind him, watching with a knowing eye.

"...A little, yeah," Shinso admitted. "I mean, what am I supposed to do? I ask questions, and then people are brainwashed when they respond. There's not much more too it."

Izuku-sensei suddenly got very animated, and Shinso remembered what was guaranteed to get their teacher off-topic. Talking about quirks and their applications. "Well, I entirely disagree with you there. Your quirk has so many different applications, and I think that we can definitely stretch your capabilities, either by increasing the amount of time you can brainwash someone for, increasing how many people you can brainwash at once, how much damage they can take while under your control, what commands they're able to carry out, how..." Izuku-sensei blinks, and he seems to realize that he's been rambling. Shinso notes that his hand is twitching again, a clear sign he wants to write down everything that he just thought of.

"Ah... I got a little carried away there. We will go over those things later, but we were talking about... special moves, right?"

Shinso suppressed a chuckle as he said, "Yeah. But I'm starting to think that I should just be like my- Aizawa-sensei and just not have any special moves. I'm planning on being underground anyways, so there's not really any point."

Izuku-sensei tittered out a soft laugh and said, "I wouldn't go so far as to say that. Special moves aren't just something a pro announces so the press will have something to talk about, they're something that utilizes your abilities, either in a general situation or one where you're desperate." He paused, seeming to consider something. "And Aizawa does have some special moves, he just doesn't announce them out like most daylight pros do."

Shinso furrowed his brow. What would his dad even do with his quirk to make a special move? And what did Izuku-sensei mean by 'announce them out'?

"What do you mean? He doesn't have any special moves. He just uses his scarf and Erasure to fight villains. Isn't that just using his quirk?"

"Yes, but special moves aren't just 'using your quirk'. There are other ways to have a special move." Izuku-sensei thought for a moment. "In this case, Aizawa has special moves by using his scarf. When there are certain maneuvers done, it is considered something that can only be done so many times in one fight or iss something that almost immediately ends the fight and is therefore a special move. Your special move could be anything like that, from tripping someone and using your scarf on them to brainwashing five people at once."

Oh. That makes sense, actually. But that still doesn't explain one thing.

"Then why doesn't he announce his special moves as he does them? Does it even count if it's not shown to others?"

Izuku-sensei sighed, not in irritation or annoyance, but with exasperation. "Special moves have gotten the reputation for being something you have to announce out loud, otherwise it's just any other maneuver in a fight. But, with most underground heroes and the like, it's actually smarter for you to keep your cards close to your chest." His eye twitched. "For instance, I once taught a moderately powerful hero that was battling against someone they should have easily beaten."

Izuku-sensei rolled his eyes, surprising sassiness coming from the last person Shinso would've expected it from. "And then they had the absolutely wonderful idea to name their special move, 'Fake-out'. I'm sure you can guess how that turned out." Shinso sent him a disbelieving stare. "I'm not joking. Luckily, they survived. Sometimes, it's better to stay quiet and just win the fight. It doesn't matter if people know what you did if you're dead."

Shinso nodded, a little shocked by how nonchalantly his teacher described it. You wouldn't have guessed what they were talking about if you weren't close enough to hear their words. "Um. Izuku-sensei?"

"Yes? Is there anything else you want to ask?"

"D-do you have any special moves, named or otherwise?" Shinso can't seem to stop himself from stuttering a bit when he asks. He knew that Izuku-sensei wouldn't mind the question, but it still felt oddly personal. Like it wasn't something he was supposed to know.

Izuku-sensei flushed uncomfortably, and Shinso opened his mouth hurriedly to take back the question. But Izuku-sensei answers before he can.

"Uh. Yes, actually. I do."

Shinso waits a second, and when his teacher doesn't offer any elaboration, he delicately asks, "What is it called? And what do you do?"

"Well. It's one of those special moves that becomes completely useless if you announce it before you do it, so it's never been officially recorded or anything like that. But, uh, it's called... Well, I've always thought of it as, 'Play Dead'. The, uh, name is pretty self-explanatory."

Shinso quirks an eyebrow at his teacher, and the other man sighs. "When I'm in a certain position in a fight, where the enemy is reasonably sure that I can't survive whatever attack they've thrown at me, I pretend like I'm, well, dead. After that... I'm sure you can guess what happens next." Shinso takes a second to process that. He's starting to get what Izuku-sensei meant about some special moves only being applicable in certain situations.

...Also, that must be incredibly traumatizing for the villains. Do they have therapy for that? Maybe a support group or two for people who have been duped and then attacked by Izuku-sensei? And now that Shinso thinks about it... wasn't that exactly what Izuku-sensei had done to All For One? He has to repress a shudder when thinking about his teacher's broken, bloody body lying there.

Shinso's voice was slightly strangled when he asked, "And how often does that work?"

Izuku-sensei paused to think for a moment. "I don't have the exact numbers, but if I were to guess I'd have to say around 90% of the time. Maybe." And what happens in the times it doesn't work?

"How often do you have to do it?"

Wincing, Izuku-sensei pulled his fingers through his curls. "Well... I don't really know the exact amount of times I've had to, since getting almost-killed usually involves some head trauma. Things get a little blurry from there..."

Shinso blinks. "Are... are you okay?"

Brightening, Izuku-sensei says, "Yes, of course I'm fine! My quirk prevents any long-term damage from being done, so it doesn't really matter anyway." It doesn't matter anyway? "Now, go take a break and think on this. You still have two weeks before the entrance exam, so there's still time to perfect your move, or just your regular attacks if you decide you don't need one."

Shinso nodded, a little stunned. He blankly walks down the steep concrete stairs, being careful not to trip on his way down. That would hurt quite a bit. There was an uneasy feeling sitting deep in his gut, and he couldn't quite put it into words. It... it wasn't normal what Izuku-sensei said, right?

He didn't even realize he was down with the rest of his class until he bumped into Iida and Uraraka head-on, getting a mouthful of brown hair.

"Ack!! I'm-gah- sorry! I guess I wasn't paying attention to where I was going. Are you okay?" Shinso spat out, awkwardly rubbing his face.

"No, no, don't even worry about it! It's fine. Are you-'

"You should pay more attention to your surroundings, Shinso! I would absolutely hate it if you got hurt because of an accident." Iida pauses his hand chopping gestures and concerned lecture to take a closer look at Shinso. "Are you okay? It's not like you to be so absentminded."

Shinso sighed, carding his hands through his purple hair. "I don't know. I was talking to Izuku-sensei about special moves, and something he said was a little... concerning."

Iida frowned. "Concerning? How?" Both him and Uraraka leaned in closer, with Todoroki entering the conversation quietly. For someone who doesn't have any social grace, he has the uncanny ability to understand a conversation, even if he was only present for half of it. And then make wild and unbased theories on one's parentage off of said conversation.

Uraraka chimed in, "Yeah, Izuku-sensei usually pretty straight-forward when you ask him for help." She winces. "Unless... you didn't happen to ask him about possible weaknesses in your quirk, did you? It was a little unsettling when he said all someone would have to do to stop my quirk would be to cut my hands off."

The three friends turned to stare wide-eyed at her. There was no way Izuku-sensei would say... actually, Shinso could see him saying that, without having any idea that he was freaking them out. Ridiculously smart and yet completely oblivious.

"That wasn't it. I mean, now I'm glad I didn't do that, but he said something else. We were talking about special moves, since I had no idea what I was going to do for mine and he was giving me some advice, and he was explaining..." Shinso trailed off when he realized he was rambling. "Uh- sorry. I got off track there. The point of this is, Izuku-sensei said it doesn't matter when he gets hurt because of his quirk."

"Well," Uraraka said hesitantly. "He's an adult, right? I mean, he's older than any other teacher of ours. He knows his limits, right?"

Everyone was silent for a moment, all thinking over how many times they had personally seen Izuku-sensei get injured. And Shinso suspected that Iida and Todoroki were thinking of a similar situation to him. Specifically, when Izuku-sensei let All For One hit him so hard that his body was practically fused to the ground.

And, now that Shinso knows what he did about his teacher's special moves, he's pretty sure that it was Izuku-sensei's plan all along to be hit. His teacher had said it himself: his special move was play dead. And if he couldn't beat the villain while he was expecting him to attack, then he would attack when he didn't expect it.

"I don't know," Todoroki said thoughtfully, finally speaking up. "I don't think that he would encourage that sort of behavior in us, and he has lectured us about making sure to take care of ourselves before." Shinso nodded along, remembering all the disapproving stares his teacher had given him since the Kamino Ward incident.

"We must not question our teacher's methods!" Iida said hurriedly. "I'm sure that Izuku-sensei knows what he is doing. He is a very capable hero, and an even more exemplary teacher." Even as Iida defended their teacher, he could see the slight doubt in the other boy's eyes. "Now, we should get back to working on our super moves! If we want to get our provisional licenses, we're going to have to practice all we can!"

"Right," Uraraka says excitedly. "I just know that we're all going to do great."

"And then we'll be able to start doing real hero work," Todoroki added.

Shinso nodded silently, grabbing a quick drink of water before he headed back to where Ectoplasm had a clone waiting for him. As he stepped up the stairs, he couldn't help but think back to what Uraraka said earlier.

'He knows his limits, right?'

It made Shinso wonder... what were Izuku-sensei's limits? If Kamino wasn't it, then how far would he go?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hawks groaned when his phone lit up with a message from Dabi, having just barely gotten off patrol. And he was pretty sure the other man knew that and chose to target him. It was just like the villain to do whatever he could to annoy Hawks.

Even after only knowing him for a week, Hawks could tell that he was one of those people who chose to mess with others as much as he possibly could. And it seemed he had found a new target in Hawks. So, the blonde chose to annoy him back as much as possible. If Dabi called him in the middle of the night for an impromptu 'report' that took five minutes, then Hawks would make sure he was exactly ten minutes late to every official meeting they had that didn't include the rest of the League. And he made sure it was exactly on the dot each time, really being clear that he was doing it on purpose.

If Dabi wanted to play this game, so would he.

The message called for him to meet him by the place the black-haired man had first taken him to the league at. Which meant that this was probably one of those full-league meetings that he couldn't be late to. Hawks was not interested in pissing off Shigaraki anytime soon. The man was... strange. Sometimes he seemed like a completely normal guy that just had an addiction to games and not a lot of maturity, and then other times he would talk about killing All Might obsessively. It was unsettling.

Overall, the members of the League weren't nearly as bad as he expected. Sure, a couple of them were a bit unstable, but it's not like all they talked about was murder or attacking someone. Even Toga had interests outside of blood. He hasn't had to participate in an undercover assignment like this one ever. They knew who he was, he knew who they were, and he was expected to get close to them. There were times he even forget they were criminals.

"What took you so long, birdie?" Hawks rolled his eyes. For some reason, Dabi insisted on calling him everything he could but his name. Or... at least his hero name. Hawks didn't expect the villain to know his real name. No one really did anymore.

"I was on the other side of the city, Dabi. Of course it took me a minute to get here."

"And here I thought you were supposed to be the 'fastest hero'," Dabi mocked. "Isn't that your whole thing? Flying and being fast?"

"Not true." Hawks paused. "My feathers are pretty sharp too."

Dabi lets out a surprised snort which he quickly covers, pulling out his beat-up phone. The League had never let him see where their hideout was, and the windows were always covered. Honestly, he's surprised they let him in it at all. In every interaction he's had with Dabi, the man has made it clear he does not trust him. Sure, he's the one who takes him to the hideout every time, but once the hero's there he can feel the eyes on his back. He has to watch his step.

The now-familiar disorienting enveloped him as he was transported over to the hideout. Hawks paused for just a moment, getting his bearings, but Dabi just strutted up to the bar and picked up a half-empty glass. As soon as his vision wasn't blurry, Hawks walked over to one of the empty recliners and positioned his wings over the back. He's never been able to find a chair that he's completely comfortable in, and he's pretty much given up on looking for one.

"Hey, Hawks! Can I have some of your blood?" Toga was leaning against Twice on the couch next to him, casually playing with a knife. This wasn't the first time that she had asked for his blood, and he had pretty much figured out how to respond when she did.

"Sorry, Toga. I like it when my blood stays inside my body." Toga pouts for a moment, but doesn't press the subject any further. She was actually surprisingly respectful when you told her no, but she did ask pretty much every day. Sometimes multiple times a day.

"Hmph." She brightens. "Oh, oh, oh! Have they told you what we're going to be doing? Because I think it's going to be so much fun!"

Hawks swallows the feeling of trepidation and makes sure his rehearsed smile never wavers. "Um, no. They haven't. Was I already supposed to know?"

"No! If they haven't told you, that means it's a surprise, and I don't want to ruin the surprise!" She giggled, throwing the knife to the side. "Right, Twice?"

"Of course! No, he's an idiot for not figuring it out. Why do we deal with him? He's the best! I'm so glad he joined us!" Hawks blinked with whiplash, separating the statements. Twice could be... difficult, but he was also not an entirely bad person. He ddin't hurt people just for the sake of it, and he was actually very nice once you focused on his real personality... or one of them, at least. Still, it could be weird to see him arguing with himself.

"Thanks, Twice. I think." There really wasn't any other way to respond to that.

"Are you done gossiping over there," Shigaraki barked. "Or can we finally start this stupid thing?"

"Yeah, we were just waiting on bird brain over there." Dabi jerked a thumb at him. Hawks' feathers fluffed out in outrage, but he curbed the stinging comment sitting on the tip of his tongue. He couldn't risk ruining this mission because he couldn't take a few insults coming from one of the members. Sure, he might exchange some banter with him when they were alone, but it was different when they were with the League. There was more pressure there, the crushing fear of failure if he messed something up.

When it was just him and Dabi, things felt lighter. Sure, there was the ever-present fear that he would get found out or that he would do something wrong, but there were a whole lot less chances to do so. And when Dabi did his best to make Hawks mad, there wasn't much else to do but push back.

"Great," Spinner said unenthusiastically. "Can we just get this over with?"

Spinner and him hadn't exactly had that many interactions, but he wouldn't say the other guy hated him. They just didn't talk. He knew that Spinner at least respected him since believing in Stain's morals was part of his cover story, but he hadn't ever approached him about it. There was a certain distance between the rest of the League and him, and part of his assignment was to close that distance and get close to the center of their operation.

"Please, everyone make their way to the sitting area," Kurogiri said, slowly corralling Shigaraki away from his video games. "There is an important matter to discuss."

There were a few grumbles, but everyone settled down. Dabi had dragged over one of the bar stools and was sitting close to Hawks, his feet sometimes touching the ends of his wings. It was slightly frustrating, but Hawks just chose to ignore him. Dabi was just constantly trying to get a rise out of him.

"Are we going to start, or what?" Magne asked from where she had her arms draped over the back of one of the couches. "Because I've got things to do other than sit around here all day. Some of us have a life, you know." She gives the evil eye to Shigaraki.

"Yes, yes. This will be short," Kurogiri says. "We needed to discuss a few different things. Up first is what we do next." Oh, this is what I'm here for. "Up until now, we've mostly been focusing on restoring our assets and just generally sowing chaos," Twice and Toga nodded approvingly. "But we have a plan already in the works for fixing that completely. Right now, we need to figure out what we're going to do next." Oh, well that's just great. They have a plan.

"We're going to follow Sensei's plan," Shigaraki said. "And we'll kill All Might, and hero society will crumble. Then there will be nothing holding us back from being ourselves." Hawks saw a few of the members throwing him hesitant looks, as if they're not really sure they can trust him yet. He made sure to nod along, careful to not oversell it.

"Yes, we know that, Tomura. But do you have any idea how we're actually going to accomplish that?"

"Sensei left a plan in place," Shigaraki said triumphantly. "And all of you side characters don't need to know."

A deep pit settled in Hawks' stomach. If Shigaraki wasn't even telling those closer to him what All For One's plan was, then there was little to no chance he would tell the hero anytime soon. And if All For One had left anything behind, that was bad. The villain had done enough damage in the time he was active.

"Whatever," Dabi said absently, kicking Hawks' wing again. "As long as we're cutting down this stupid society at its knees."

A few of the other members looked more hesitant, but they didn't speak up.

"Is that all?" Bis Sis Mag asked incredulously. "You called us all here to say that we don't need to know anything?"

"No," Kurogiri said. "As long as Tomura knows what to do, that's enough." A surprising amount of trust for someone who takes the reins so often, Hawks notes. "We also need to discuss something we know we're going to be doing. We want Twice, Compress, and Magne to go around and find others that may be willing to work with us. Of course, we'll be the ones in charge, but having those with similar goals next to us may be beneficial in the long run. We can get more information and supplies while gaining more manpower for our final goal."

This wasn't the first time the 'final goal' had been mentioned, but it was never discussed in detail. And he couldn't pry, not while none of them had any trust in him. They were barely willing to speak like this around him. This was going to be frustratingly slow, he could tell.

"Great, so if that's all I'll be on my way." Magne heaved herself up off of the couch. "And I'll do that recruitment crap." She exited out of one of the back doors, one of them that Hawks had no idea where it went. He didn't even catch sight of anything but a brick wall.

"You can count on me! No you can't! I hate all of you and wish you were dead! Man, I'm so happy to be here with you." Whiplash.

"Oh, and Hawks?" Kurogiri said. "You'll be running a mission with Dabi, targeting one of the Commission's supply trucks. Find out a location by tomorrow and then you'll attack together."

"Alright then!" Hawks grinned, mentally planning on how to finish the incident without any casualties. They hadn't asked him to hurt anyone so far, but there was always the chance. Although, the League as a whole didn't seem to be out to hurt people just for the sake of hurting them. Sure, Toga stabbed people and Magne was technically a murderer, but it wasn't like they just enjoyed doing it. They had a reason for it.

It was part of what made them so dangerous.

"Do I have to work with Birdie again?" Dabi groaned. "He's such a freaking annoyance."

Hawks gasped mockingly. "Are you saying you don't enjoy my stellar company? I'm shocked Dabi, just shocked."

He was sent the evil eye. "Can we send him back now? This was a waste of time."

Kurogiri tilted the mist that served as his head to the side. "Yes, perhaps it wasn't the best choice to gather the entire League here for such a message, but I was told it might improve group morale and help us bond together." They're not always so organized... It seems there's a lot more leeway now that All For One is gone...

"Yes, I feel so close to all of you now," Dabi deadpanned. "Can I go already?"

"Fine," Shigaraki waved a hand dismissively. "Just don't get into any trouble before we need you again."

"Oh, and here my plan for the night was to land in jail," Dabi snarked. "Shut up."

He grabbed Hawks by the wing and proceeded to yank him over to where Kurogiri had opened a portal. The blonde fought the urge to yelp and slice his hand off, and instead just ignored the black-haired man, shaking his wing free once they were back on the roof.

"Do you have to do that every time? You keep stealing my feathers." It was weird because he could never feel them burn up later. He knew they were out there, but he didn't feel any pain from them, which meant they were still out there. Dabi had probably just been dropping them all over the place randomly as soon as he tore them away from his wing.

"Just testing a theory," Dabi says evasively. "Don't you worry your pretty little head about it."

Instead of asking what the theory was, Hawks batted his eyelashes and said, "Aww, you think I'm pretty?"

Dabi's eye twitched, but he didn't say anything in response. All he did was shove Hawks off of the roof and watch with a pleased smirk as the hero yelped and was forced to catch himself with his wings.

"Hot topic junkie!"

"Overgrown pigeon!" Dabi hollered in response. Hawks just rolled his eyes before flying away, barely managing to restrain himself from giving the villain the middle finger.

He only had so much patience, after all.

Part 44

Iida sits down with the rest of his class in Izuku-sensei's classroom, quietly working through a new article. It was actually quite interesting, about a new study that may prove the existence of having a quirk that is both a mutation and emitter type. Occasionally, they would do activities like this. Izuku-sensei always said that if you didn't know what an analysis meant, then you took away half of its value.

'Calling Izuku Midoriya down to my office.' The intercom rang, disturbing the lovely silence of the classroom. Izuku-sensei glanced up before nodding at the corner of the room like he was responding to someone and standing up.

"Alright... Iida, I'm placing you in charge while I run down to Principal Nezu's office. I'll be back before the end of class, just make sure you finish the article before then. We'll discuss it next class period." With that, he strode out the door.

"...What do you think Nezu wanted to talk to him about?" Uraraka asked with a small amount of trepidation.

"His last name is Midoriya?" He sees Sero mouth.

"Who even knows," Mina said dismissively. "It's probably something about class plans or something similar."

"Maybe," Todoroki said. "But Principal Nezu has a reputation for being very... Well, he's smart, and he gets bored. I think Kaminari and Mina know just how scary he can be."

Both of them shivered and nodded their heads, likely thinking back to the final exam they had. Iida hadn't seen it first-hand, but he had heard that Kaminari and Mina were pretty much running for their lives the entire time while Nezu was cackling like a madman. Mouse? Dog? Bear?

"Yeah," Kaminari gulps. "I do not want to be Izuku-sensei right now."

The class continues to joke around, and the only reason Iida doesn't lecture them on doing their work is because it was a very short article and he could make sure they did it before bed because of the dorms. It really was a great idea to have them instated. As expected of the top hero school in the country!

"Wait, what's this?" Iida looks at Yaoyorozu who's pointing at Izuku-sensei's desk. Looking closer, Iida can see a notebook lying on the wood. It's one that he's seen the teacher scribbling in before, usually while hanging out in the shadows of their heroics class.

"Well, let's see." A floating top that Iida assumed was Hagakure's made its way over to the notebook and held it in the air.

"Hagakure, no! We must respect our teacher's privacy and-!"

"Oh my All Might!" Uraraka gasped.

Come on, focus. Don't let your curiosity...

"What is it?" Dang it, Iida. This is not the behavior of a class president.

The class shuffled to the side and let him see what was written. He had to stifle an exclamation when the inside was finally revealed. There were lines and lines of writing, all of it tiny and curling around the edges, like he tried to get as much script in there as possible before he had to move to the next page.

"Well... it's not unlike Izuku-sensei to be writing so much. While I agree it may look a little... unsettling," More like it looks like a crazy person wrote it. "I'm sure that Izuku-sensei-"

"Uhh... Iida?" Kaminari said with a stuttering laugh. "We weren't looking at that. Look at what he actually wrote in here."

Taking a closer look, Iida realized that they were notes about them, about their entire class. Flipping through the pages, he could see that there were also detailed sketches of their hero costumes and possible support gear, as well as notes for those. His eyes grew wider and wider, gulping nervously at some of the weaknesses written down.

Sero crowded by his shoulder, grabbing Iida's wrist once he got to one of the descriptions in there. "Hagakure, isn't your quirk invisibility?"

"Can you see me right now?"

"Then why does Izuku-sensei have it in here as a form of light manipulation?" Sero points to the section he was talking about, and Iida leans in closer to read the messy writing. And Sero was right, he did have the quirk listed that way, with considerable writing underneath supporting that statement. The teachers were right! We do use CER in the future!

"Oh, yeah!" Hagakure exclaims. "Okay, so when I went to the quirk doctor when I was little, and since my whole family has that quirk and they couldn't see me, I think they just came to that conclusion. But then Izuku-sensei started asking me some questions a little while ago and he told me they were wrong." Hagakure paused. "I think he was also a little angry about it, because when he walked away he was mumbling something with a sour look."

Oh, yikes. Iida didn't have to imagine what an angry Izuku-sensei looked like, because he had seen it. He really didn't want to be that quirk doctor right about now.

"Wait, what does light manipulation mean?" Kirishima asked. "I mean, we still can't see you."

"I asked that too, but he said that my quirk constantly kind of filters the light around me and changes how it moves. Well, that's not exactly what he said, but there were a lot of big terms used that I don't actually understand enough to repeat them. Right now, my quirk instinctively moves the light away from me, making me invisible. He said it's a tendency that probably comes from my entire family being invisible. And! He said that if I gained more control over my quirk, I could maybe even make myself visible!"

Huh. "I guess that's why it's important to think about your own quirk, and not just listen to some doctor. Even though they are trusted professionals!" Iida said, pushing his glasses up his nose. "Everyone can make mistakes." Including, but not limited to, attempted murder.

"Whatever," Bakugo grunted. "It's creepy anyways. He's like some kind of weird stalker."

"Bakubro! How can you say that?" Kirishima gasped. "Izuku-sensei is totally manly!"

"Yeah, and it's not creepy at all. It's cool he's so smart!" Most of the class nodded resolutely, and Bakugo scoffed and turned away. Iida frowned worriedly at his classmate. It wasn't like they just expected Bakugo to be okay overnight, but if anything he had gotten worse since they had their training match against Izuku-sensei. Iida could hear him yelling obscenities whenever he didn't manage to completely demolish the cement.

He didn't even know that many swear words existed.

"Yeah, and Dunce Face is a genius," He says derisively.

"Hey!" Kaminari squawked. They all watched as Bakugo stalked back to his seat, sending each other concerned looks. Kirishima most of all. The redhead had this terribly forlorn look on his face, an expression of deep helplessness.

I'm the class president... My job is to keep the whole class together and perform as the stellar students of UA we are... If I can't do that, then am I even worthy of the position?

Uraraka nudged his side gently, giving him a small, reassuring smile. He gave her a shaky one in return. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught Shinso awkwardly patting Kaminari on the shoulder, the blonde sporting a happy grin. Needing something to distract himself, he pointed it out to Uraraka.

"Oh my All Might!" She squealed. "Those two are just too cute for words. Do you want to get in on the betting pool we have on when they'll get together?"

"What? Uraraka, no! Betting on our friends' relationship is wrong!" He sputters out. "While I agree the two of them are very sweet, and that it is very nice to see them around each other, it would be best to not make bets on these sorts of things."

"Pshaw." Uraraka scoffed. "I'll just go find Mina and we'll make bets over it." She skipped away, throwing her arms around the pink-skinned girl with gusto. The two girls broke away from Sero and Jirou, giggling as they went. Iida sent his two dark-haired classmates a knowing look, shaking his head at the two girls.

Pulling out his phone, he labeled a new note with today's date and typed out, ' Uraraka and Mina will be involved romantically by the start of our second year.'

What? He said it would be wrong to bet on relationships with other people. He never said anything was wrong with making a prediction to himself.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Around 200 years ago...

Izuku sat down in the wooden library chair, pretending to study a book on psychology while he waited. It was actually quite fascinating, but it wasn't what he came there for today. No, that would have to be the two figures entering through the side entrance.

A skinny, middle-aged woman was ushering a small boy over with worried eyes, glancing into the shadows like she thought they would jump at her. He quietly closed the book as she set the child down in the chair next to him, pulling over a seat right next to him.

"Are you... him?" She asked in a hushed voice, gulping as she eyed him nervously. The boy watched with wide and confused eyes.

"Yes." He stared down at the small child and smiled. "Is this Kenzo?"

"Can you help him?"

He looked up at her face, noting the deep circles under her eyes. "Depends. What do you mean by 'help'?"

"Can you fix him?" He swallowed around the taste of bile, studying how Kenzo's hands clenched into little fists and how his face tightened. "Make him normal?"

"There's nothing wrong with him, he's just-"

"Different," She cuts in. "I know, I know. There's nothing 'wrong' with him. He's the exact same he's been his entire life. But other people don't think like that. They don't see that nothing's changed." Her voice breaks a little in the last sentence. "I didn't want to believe anything had changed, so I tried to ignore what he told me. It was only when I saw it for myself..." She trailed off.

Izuku is silent for a moment. "Alright. I can't make the recent changes go away, but I can help you understand them. I just need your son to tell me exactly what's been going on." She nodded frantically, nudging Kenzo on the shoulder.

"Kenzo? Can you tell the nice man what's been happening lately? That cool thing you can do?" Izuku was glad she didn't seem to resent her son. He's seen it happen too many times.

"Okay!" The boy was excited, glad he finally got to talk about the cool things he could do. Izuku couldn't help but smile. Only children could exude the innocence and happiness Kenzo was right now. He almost misses it...

"When I touch things, they start to make this pretty smoke. I made our living room look like there was a magic show going on!"

Izuku hummed thoughtfully, pausing his pen from where it's moving on the page. He always had his notebooks for these sorts of meetings, just in case he needed to go back to it later. He was careful to make sure they never fell in the wrong hands, however.

"Is it everything you touch?"

"No! It doesn't work on most of the stuff in the kitchen or any of the walls. I can do it with tables, though!"

"That's not all," His mother interjected. "He touched a candle and the wick caught fire. That was actually what made me look for you."

Izuku paused. "Did you see him catch the wick on fire?"

"Yes. Why?"

"How did he touch it when it caught on fire?"

"What do you mean?" She was eyeing him, slightly suspicious.

"Did he need to touch it with all five fingers, or was it only one? And did it work on multiple objects? You told me it worked on the wick of a candle, but does it work on wood and marble?"

"U-um... when he touched the wick, he pinched two of his fingers together on it. I... I don't know what he was able to do with the other objects. He did tell me that he used it on our wooden table, but I don't know about anything else."

"Kenzo? Do you remember what you used it on or how you did it?" Izuku tried.

"No. I just wanted to see the pretty smoke." The boy was still happily kicking his feet, completely oblivious to the stress of his mother. He was holding her hand tight, though.

Izuku dug through the small bag he had brought, searching for a specific object. "Ah! Here, I want you to try your ability on this." He held out a metal marble triumphantly. "But I want you to try it in two different ways. First, I want you to just touch it, not pinching it like you did with the wick."

"And then?" The woman didn't let the marble settle into her son's hands, pursing her lips.

"We'll see if it works first. I'm just seeing how his ability works, and how it activates."

She let her son grip the marble in his little fingers, and Izuku watched with rapt interest as it rested on his palm. The little boy's face scrunched up in concentration, but nothing happened. He looked upset, like he had done something wrong.

"Why-why didn't it work? It always worked before!"

"Don't worry," Izuku comforted. "This is actually very common. I want you to pinch the marble between two fingers and try again." He smiled. "If you're worried it's not going to work, just think about how it felt when you set that candle, okay?"

The kid nodded, and then did exactly as Izuku had instructed. There was no smoke or any outward indication that something was happening, and the mother was starting to wring her hands nervously. Kenzo closed his eyes in concentration, squeezing his fist tighter.

"All right... Can you hand the marble back to me now?"

"No! I-I can do it! I'm not lying!"

"I don't think you're lying, I just want to check the marble. There's going to be some limitations, and I'm not sure if making things smoke is what you can do, or if it's something else entirely." Kenzo was still glaring down at his hand, so Izuku tried a different approach. "When you're sick and you're throwing up, is throwing up the only thing that's going to happen, or are you going to have a headache and fever too?" Kenzo shook his head slowly. "I'm just trying to figure out what's making you throw up, or in this case, make things smoke."

Kenzo reluctantly handed it back. To Izuku's surprise, the metal was hot. Not warm, like it would be if he had held it for a minute, but hot. He almost dropped it from the high temperature.

"Okay, I think I'm starting to get a better idea of what's going on. I'm going to ask you to do a few more things, just to confirm what I'm thinking, okay?" He waited for Kenzo and his mother to look at him before continuing. "I want you to curl your entire hand around the edge of the chair, like this," He demonstrated. "Then I want you to try again."

Kenzo did the experiment, and once again, nothing happened. This time, he didn't have the same frustration, he just looked at Izuku for what he wanted him to do next. "Now try pinching it in between two finges again."

All three of them watched with baited breath as Kenzo scrunched up his eyes again and tightened his fingers until they were turning white. After just a few moments, wispy, light grey smoke started to trail upwards. Izuku's breath caught in his throat at the sight, Kenzo squealing in amusement.

"I did it! I did it! Momma, look! Just like with the candle!" Izuku can't help but release a small chuckle at the boy's excitement, and while the mother did look a little nervous about doing this in public, she smiled too.

"I-I see it, honey. You were right! It is so pretty." She's obviously holding back tears. "Is that all you need?"

Izuku worried his lip between his teeth. "Yes, it should be. Kenzo," He addressed the boy, but made sure the mother was paying attention when he said, "I think your ability works by heating things up when you pinch them between your fingers. When the material affected was wood, there was smoke. When it was metal, the marble got hot. The reason it didn't work on any of the larger objects was because it would take too much heat to warm up the entire object." Izuku paused and thought for a moment. "When you were holding the marble, the second time, did your fingers start to feel hot?"

Kenzo looked up at him with wide eyes. "A little. Did I do something wrong?"

The woman clutched Kenzo tighter to her, and Izuku rushed to say, "No, no, of course not. But that does tell me your hands don't protect themselves from how hot the object is when they heat it up. When you're touching something like that metal, you could accidentally burn yourself."

The mother sucked in a breath of air and cradled her son in her arms. "What can we do to make sure that doesn't happen?"

"I'm guessing that if he were to heat a small object for a long time, that's when it would happen. All he would have to do is take his hands off of whatever object it may be."

She paused. "Does he have to use his... ability?"

Izuku saw Kenzo tighten up and curl around his mother, shutting his eyes. "He... he... there wouldn't be any medical reasons to use his ability, as far as I can see. But that doesn't mean he shouldn't."

The woman's tone is practically scathing when she says, "With all due respect, that's ridiculous. You know what it's like for people who present as... different. I don't want for him to go through that. If he doesn't have to show himself as different, he could be okay. I just want for him to be okay." Her voice breaks.

She just wants for him to be okay.

A lot of the parents he's seen say that, that they just want their children to be okay. And they do mean it, most of the time. But they don't understand how difficult it is to cut a part of yourself away like that. He'd seen people lock down the things that made them different, hid them away from the rest of the world, and he'd seen them be miserable afterwards. He himself understands what it's like. He couldn't imagine life without his ability.

Softly, he says, "I know that. And I'm guessing that he does too. But forcing him to hide won't make him happy. I'm not saying he should show it to everyone on the street, but he shouldn't have to never use it again." He cleared his throat and directed his next statement towards Kenzo. "If you ever do use it, make sure that you're in a place that's safe and won't catch fire. And always try to do it only around your mother, or by yourself. I know that you think it's awesome and amazing, and it is, but other people don't always think like that. It's not fair, but they don't. Okay?"

Kenzo nodded, picking on his fingernails and not meeting his eyes. Glancing up at the mother, he sees her nod through teary eyes.

"O-okay. Thank you..." She realizes they had never given each other their names.

He makes a split second decision. "Just call me Izuku."

"Thank you, Izuku. Kenzo? What do we say to Izuku before we go?"

"Thank you, Dr. Izuku!" Izuku froze.

"I'm sorry, what? Doctor?"

"Doctor! Because you're really smart and you helped me!" The kid was happily swinging his legs, giggling softly at the dumbfounded look on Izuku's face. His mother smiled one last time at Izuku, then pulled Kenzo away and left hurriedly through the back doors.

Izuku felt floored. It never occurred to him that people would think he was a doctor, and it felt... uncomfortable. Not quite right.

But then again, he was a little like a doctor, wasn't he?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Izuku smiled softly at his old notebook, reading between the ink smudges and blotches on the page. For some reason, he had felt the urge to go through all of his early analysis books. Most of them had been done on children who had just developed their quirks, or 'abilities', as they had called them. Kenzo had been one of his earlier 'patients,' and he never quite forgot about him. Every now and again he would thumb through the old pages and let the memories come back to him. One of the few times he was actually happy that happened.

Lost in thought, he absently closed the notebook. School was set to start in less than an hour, and he was planning on observing class 1-b's special move training. They had already made incredible progress, and he had all sorts of delightful things to write in prediction for what would come next.

The provisional license exam was only a week away, and some students were more ready than others. Almost all of them had been focused on the combat portion of the exam, and he hadn't seen a single one of them prep for what could be a rescue scenario. It wasn't really their fault, the licensing exam changed every year and most of the applicants stayed quiet about what happened, either because they became heroes or were embarrassed that they failed. Still, they could have looked through the commission's records and found the pattern of how they did the test and properly prepared for it. Same with the Sport's Festival. Nezu loved to see if anyone would pick up the hints he left lying around, and the Hero Commission just didn't care.

Nezu had called him into his office to talk about what to do if the first-years actually got their licenses. It was unprecedented that they had the entire first-year hero course take the exam at once, and they obviously weren't going to send them out to handle cases that were overly dangerous or have them take work studies with heroes that weren't qualified to take them on.

In the end, they had had the entire staff come and talk over whether or not to let them do anything with their licenses if they got one. Most had argued to let them do it, with some stipulations in mind. They had to choose from a list of pre-chosen hero agencies that would be able to make sure they were safe, and there were going to be some restrictions on how long they could do it as well.

When asked for his opinion, Izuku wasn't quite sure what to choose. On one hand, he knew that his students were capable and needed to have as much experience as possible before they sent them out into the world as heroes. On the other hand, they were first-years. They had only barely begun their heroics training, and now they were letting them fight villains? It was a difficult decision.

The provisional licensing exam was supposed to tell you who was ready, and who wasn't. But things weren't as simple as that. You could do amazing in the exam, get a perfect score, and still completely freeze up when you were in the real world. There was a psychological difference.

But his students had already inadvertently fought villains and not frozen. They had already gotten past the mental block that usually took a year or two to overcome. It was eventually that that made his decision. In his eyes, they had already crossed a huge threshold, and he wasn't going to deny them more growth. He would watch them and help them through it, making sure they weren't going to get hurt in the process.

A shrill bell snapped him out of his musings, and he quickly flipped to what they had planned for the day. After all, they didn't have much time until the provisional licensing exam, and he was going to ensure that they had all the skills they needed to pass.

Part 45

Kaminari coughed quietly into his hand, pausing to see if anyone had noticed. It was the middle of the night, and he was playing video games in the pitch black. He groaned as he lost yet another life, sighing quietly at the fact he still wasn't tired yet. Earlier that day- or maybe yesterday, he's been up a while- right after training he had passed out, and hadn't gotten up until Bakugo screamed that dinner was ready. Somehow, he had slept almost a full night's rest in just a nap.

At first, he tossed and turned, trying to fool his body into thinking he was tired and hopefully not wake up until morning. Then, he tried the patented melatonin route. When that didn't work, he gave up and came down here. He would probably just play video games until three in the morning and then go to sleep. Maybe.

Most of the time he had a harder time getting to sleep anyway. His brain was always moving too fast for him to calm down, so he would just lie there for a while. It was strangely peaceful, except when someone from his class was walking outside his door. Seriously, some of his classmates were committed night owls.

"Kaminari?" He bolted up and fumbled with the controller in his hands, heart beating fast from the shock he had just gotten. Shinso was standing there, watching him with an imperceptible look on his face. Kaminari cleared his throat.

"Uh... hey? What are you doing up at," he checked his phone. "12:30 at night?"

"Insomnia." Oh. He really should have guessed, with those deep eyebags always present, but he was a lot more focused on Shinso's eyes. His gorgeous, deep purple eyes that made him want to look at him forever and-

Seriously, brain? You can't betray me like this!

"But that's not the real question. The real question is what are you doing up this late? I've never seen you down here before." So this was a recurring thing, then.

Kaminari shrugged. "Just not very tired. I was going to go to sleep and then I couldn't, so I'm just going to hang out down here for a while."

Shinso nodded. "Just don't let Iida know you did. For some reason, he really doesn't like it when you stay up past curfew. I'm pretty sure he would blow a gasket if he knew that a quarter of us have come down here at one point or another."

"Yeah," Kaminari snorts. "Wait, how do you know how many people have been down here? No one talks about it."

"In fear of Iida, yes. But," Hitoshi rubs the back of his head in that anxious way he did almost every day. "I'm also down here almost every night." Kaminari coughs a bit. "Yeah, insomnia's a bitch."

"I... how much sleep do you get?"

"Enough." At Kaminari's raised eyebrow, Shinso rolls his eyes. "Ugh, fine. It's like, around four hours most nights. Sometimes I sleep through the night without a hitch, and others I'm down here four times."

"That's... that's why you take so many naps in class! Todoroki said it was because you and Aizawa were related, and he took lots of naps in class too."

"Wha- I can't... we're not even related by blood!" Shinso sputters. Kaminari can't help but giggle a little at the helpless expression on his friend's face. "I give up. Not even gonna try anymore."

He drops down on the sofa next to Kaminari and throws his face into his hands. The blonde stiffens for a moment. Their shoulders were almost touching, just mere inches apart. Gahhh... No shorting out, no shorting out.

"Well," Kaminari chuckles nervously, "At least you're not being tailed by him anymore."

"He was trying to tail me?!"

"Badly. Very badly." They both stared at each other a moment longer before breaking down into smothered laughter. Then they both froze when they heard a floorboard crack. Kaminari held his breath as he carefully peeked over the top of the couch, relieved to see that no one was there. It was probably just one of the stairs creaking after barely surviving Sato's tumble down them earlier.

Kaminari didn't want to know what their school paid in damages for accidents alone each year.

"What are you playing?"

"Huh? Oh, it's this game called Hades." He shrugged. "It's just a game I can play while waiting for my brain to calm down."

Shinso fell silent, content to watch Kaminari play through the rooms. When Kaminari offered the controller to the other boy, he declined. It was very peaceful, the flashing of the lights traveling through the dark room as the two boys sat side by side. At some point, they had shifted closer together and now their shoulders were touching.

And maybe Kaminari would have broken out in a nervous sweat before, but now it just felt natural. It felt... comfortable, like they could do this all of the time, perfectly coexisting. He honestly preferred this to gaming by himself.

Every now and then Shinso would offer a comment or ask a question, and Kaminari would enthusiastically reply. But the silences started to grow larger and larger, and he could hear the purple-haired boy stifle several yawns.

And then it happened. Shinso's head dropped down, settling right against Kaminari's neck. He froze. Soft little puffs of air were coming out of Shinso's slightly ajar mouth and Kaminari didn't want to do anything that would wake the guy. After all, he had insomnia! It was important for him to get sleep where he could, so Kaminari would let him get his shut-eye. It was a purely platonic thing. It wasn't like he was enjoying having Shinso sleep on his shoulder. No siree. Even if he didn't really ever want to move from that spot...

Aw, dang it.

Gently, he turned off the TV and set the controller and remote to the side, careful not to jostle the sleeping boy next to him. He stifled a yawn of his own, and cautiously leaned back his head so that Shinso's hair was brushing his cheek. He closed his eyes and let his mind drift off into darkness.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Aizawa wearily walks into the class 1-a dorms, an hour before any of them should be up. He had learned to do a check before any of them somehow managed to destroy something. Sometimes it wasn't their fault, but others it could have been avoided had they been the slightest bit more careful.

He sighs. Well, what can you expect? They're overpowered teenagers that have little to no self control or self preservation.

...Why did I sign up for this again?

Aizawa paused as he caught something in the corner of his eye. Just over the back of the couch, he could see a small tuft of purple hair. So Hitoshi decided that he would just sleep down here, huh... Well, can't say I blame him. Nezu knew what he was doing when he bought these couches.

He crept closer to the sitting area, rounding the corner of the couch. And then he saw it. His son wasn't alone on the couch. Instead, there was a familiar blonde leaning against the other sleeping boy. Kaminari was drooling slightly out of the corner of his mouth, and Aizawa watched the two for just a few moments before sighing and rolling his eyes.

He walked around the dorms and made sure that nothing major had been damaged over the course of the night, and then strided right back out of there without so much as a second glance. Any more sleep time he could get, he was going to take.

But there was one phone call he would have to make first...

"Zashi? Yeah, I'm fine. Yes, Hitoshi is fine. Yes, class 1-a is fine, the little gremlins. No, I haven't been kidnapped. What's with all of the-. Okay, so I got up early for once; my class is full of trouble magnets and I have to make sure they didn't somehow explode the dorms in one night. You know they could and would do that." He shuddered. "But that's not what I wanted to talk to you about. I give up. You win the bet. Which bet? The one we made on the second week of school this year. Yeah, that one. I gave up because- You know what? No comment. Bye."

Shutting off his phone, Aizawa shakes his head in exasperation. Maybe his life was a bit more... hectic ever since his husband came into it, but he wouldn't change anything for the world.

He's just sorry he somehow passed along the loud blonde attraction gene to his son. Even though they weren't related.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dabi walked right into the warehouse section of the Hero Commission building where the supply trucks were resting, not bothering to take out any cameras or the security on the way in. Even if Hawks had somehow messed up taking them out, he wasn't all too concerned with another crime added onto his rap sheet. The Commission and heroes all knew that the League was still active; they didn't give a shit if they found out about their little warehouse being raided.

"Hey, bird brain," He called out. "You planning on showing your face anytime soon?"

"Would you quiet down?" A familiar voice hissed from right behind him. "Just because you don't care if they know who you are doesn't mean that I don't. I have an identity to protect here!"

Dabi startles, for just a moment. It's not often that someone gets the drop on him, and it just figures it would be Hawks. The hero was annoying, had one of those 'moral compasses' everyone was always talking about, and was surprisingly stealthy to boot. Just what he needd in this miserable experience other people call a life.

"What, you afraid your bosses will find out you've been talking to the big, bad villains behind their backs?" Dabi smiled with his teeth bared. He under no circumstances trusted the hero, and was going to catch him in a lie sooner or later.

"Uh, yes? How do you think we found out where to go for this? If I get found out, that means we lose a whole lot of information, and that would get me hunted down. I'm fine with double-crossing the HPSC, but I'd like to actually accomplish what I want to do first." Hawks was looking at him like he was an idiot.

"Whatever," Dabi grumbles. "This place is like a maze. I swear to whatever messed up deity is out there I've passed the same room five times by now. They really enjoy wasting money on building layouts of useless facilities, don't they?"

"Well, to be fair, we are trying to raid it right now, so maybe it's not that useless." Hawks raises an eyebrow at him, ignoring Dabi's scathing glare. All right, that's it. Usually, he would wait to rile up Hawks until after the mission was done, but not today. The hero was annoyingly fake with his practiced smiles and rehearsed answers. Peeling back the layers of his mask and making him slip up was the best way to find out why he was really here.

Because while believing the system is corrupt and wanting to change it might be believable on the surface level, there are all sorts of little holes if you look deep enough. Why choose to approach them then, after the whole Kamino thing went down? Dabi was pretty sure Hawks didn't condone hurting children, and the event with the blonde kid had been televised nationally. Maybe his entire story wasn't a lie, but it certainly wasn't all truthful.

"Are you coming or what? I don't know when the trucks going to leave, so it's going to be a whole lot harder to get to the things inside if everyone can see us and call for backup." Dabi grumbled under his breath, but followed Hawks along the winding hallways. It was unsettling how little personality there was. There were no pictures, no color, and none of those decorative plants that office buildings have. Even the League headquarters had personal stuff in there. This was just weird.

"It should be in here," Hawks gestured to a door that looked like all of the others.

"How do you know? This place is just like the Hero Commission. It seems like it has a giant stick up its ass."

"All of their buildings look like this, actually. They say it's because if someone broke in then they could use whatever personal information they found about their employees against them, but eh. Who really knows why the Commission does anything." Hawks wasn't looking at him by the time he finished speaking. "But, whatever. You ready or not?"

"Let's burn some shit." Dabi grinned as maniacally as he could, throwing open the heavy metal doors. "Don't get in my way, bird brain."

"You do realize we're supposed to be working together, right?" Hawks hurried after him. "I don't really think this is what Kurogiri and Shigaraki had in mind."

"Like I care what that obnoxious man-child wants," He scoffed. "Now back off, unless you want your wings burned to a crisp."

Hawks rolled his eyes, throwing his arms open wide theatrically. "Well then, be my guest. Navigate your way through here without any help whatsoever. And I'm sure there won't be any codes that only a hero would know, so don't even worry about that." Dabi growled under his breath, annoyed that this was when Hawks chose to be sarcastic.

"Fine, fine. Just don't talk."

"Oh, so I get to come now?" Hawks faked surprise.

"Shut up."

Hawks mimed zipping his mouth shut, opening his wings and taking off from the floor with a powerful blast. The ceiling was high enough that the hero apparently didn't think he would bash his head open, not that Dabi would have any complaints if he did. He sighed as he trailed along behind the glorified bird, weaving around empty cardboard boxes and stationary trucks.

It disgusted him how much money the Commission chose to waste on little things while choosing to ignore bigger problems just so they could keep control. They never once questioned Endeavor just because he was the number two hero and could never do anything wrong in their eyes. They chose to raise select few up in the ranks while leaving everyone below to fend for themselves, left to the dregs of society. They had no one to blame for the League but themselves.

"Are you going to hurry up, slowpoke?!"

"Shut up! Annoying chicken." Dabi finally made it to where Hawks was reclining on the top of a truck, looking perfectly at peace and smug. "Don't do that with your face."

"What? Smile?"

"Call it whatever you want. Just stop doing it." The blonde snorted and dropped down, walking over to the back of the truck.

"This one was supposed to go across the city to one of their support facilities for heroes that have contracts for them, as well as for support heroes to use to make more gear. But," he grinned at him, "It looks like it'll never get there."

Dabi couldn't help but offer a smirk right back at him, as much as he tried to suppress it. The hero was annoying in more ways than one.

"Yeah, yeah. Now that we know what the exact coordinates are, I'll contact Kurogiri to transport the entire truck out of here.

"That wasn't hard at all, was it? I don't know why you complain so much about me; things go so much faster when I'm here."

"Every second spent with you is hard. And for the fastest hero, you sure do waste a lot of time talking." Dabi whipped out his phone, tracing the exact coordinates of the edges of the truck and sending it to Kurogiri.

It was annoying that they couldn't just send a warp portal over without going themselves, but since Kurogiri's quirk worked by exact coordinates they couldn't exactly just send something over and hope for the best. And he had to go with Hawks, that annoying bastard, because none of them trusted the hero to take care of this himself.

A swirling darkness enveloped the truck, and its contents as well. Hawks barely managed to swing himself off of the top before it disappeared, flailing unceremoniously onto some boxes. They topped over, clanging and banging on their way down. The noise echoed around the large room, and Dabi froze.

He turned around to glare at the blonde venemously, giving him a look that said, really? "For the supposed number two hero, you can be so freaking clumsy. How on earth are you not dead yet?"

"Hey! You could have given me a bit of warning before making the truck disappear! Dick," Dabi heard him mumble.

He was just about to respond with an insult when another voice appeared.

"Hey, did you hear that?" Oh, come on!

"We should probably check that out, right? Like, that's our job?"

"The Commission would kill us if we didn't. They don't really want people breaking into this place for some reason."

"The Commission doesn't want anyone to break into anywhere."

"Well, duh, but I mean they have the least amount of employees here, and they told us to make sure no one got in or out of here."

Dabi met Hawks' wide eyes with his own, silently cursing and running away from the two Commission employees with Hawks right behind him. What do they mean, the Commission doesn't want anyone to get into this place? What's so special about it?

"I'm not seeing anything. Maybe it was just like, the wind or something?

"Wait... you're right. We're not seeing anything. Where the hell is truck 2.145ty?"

He threw open on of the metal doors, resisting the urge to slam it shut in Hawks' face. The blonde was going to get them out of this forsaken place if it was the last thing he did. Because Dabi would probably kill him after this.

"You are such a bird brain!"

"Can we not do this right now? I think that it's maybe not the time for arguing!"

Dabi barely, just barely, managed to not slap the hero right across his frustrating face. He wasn't even entirely sure that the hero didn't do it on purpose, trying to get him caught. The only reason he wasn't going after him right now was if Hawks tried to take him out right then, then he would be wasting the chance to take out the rest of the League. And the number two hero may pretend to be a complete dunce, but he was no idiot. There was too much intelligence gleaming in his eyes for that.

"Hey Sato. How's the wife?"

"Doing good, doing good. And yours?"

"Oh, you know- same thing as always. Loves to nag. Did you hear about..."

Dabi stopped dead in his tracks when he heard voices right in front of them. Frantically looking from side to side, he could see only one door in sight. Though it did have a giant 'STAY OUT' sign on it. Meh. He yanked on the door handle, almost ripping it away from the wood and threw Hawks inside. The hero let out an undignified squawk and scrambles for purchase amongst the shelves.

"Dabi! What the- mmmpphhh!"

"Would you shut up," Dabi hissed with his hand over the hero's mouth. "Who are they?"

Hawks ripped Dabi's hand away from him. "You think I know everyone who works for the Commission? That's a bit presumptuous." Dabi squinted at him through the dark of the room, trying to find out where Hawks wings were so he could rip some feathers loose.

Dabi groped around looking for some kind of light switch, ignoring Hawks for the time being. The walls all felt unnaturally smooth, and there wasn't very much furniture near the door. The room was too large to be a storage closet, so at least Dabi didn't have to be too close to Hawks.

He finally found the light switch, and the room flooded with light. He blinked away the pain in his head and spun around to face his... annoying companion, letting the raggedy tassels of his robe swirl around him. The hero was still slumped down on the ground, pretending to be asleep.

So, Dabi kicks him awake.

"GAH! Why do you insist on being so mean?" Great. Now he was pouting like a little kid.

"Whine all you want. Looks like we're going to have to find another way out of here." They had originally planned to go out the way they came in, since Kurogiri couldn't make another portal while he was dealing with the supplies they had gathered. It was very frustrating. "Guh. Can- can you not do that?"

"What? This?" Hawks brushed his wing over Dabi's face again, making it dart away before Dabi could grab at the red nuisance. "What, is it bothering you?"

"Whatever. What is this room? And how close is the nearest exit?" Dabi impatiently tapped his foot before sighing and going around the room. There were two file cabinets in the room, both locked, but that didn't stop him.

He made a small flame appear on his pointer finger and pressed it to the lock of the cabinet on the right, melting all of the little mechanisms inside. A sizzling sound filled the air as the metal boiled, turning into liquid and pouring out the front. It would be clear that they broke in, but again, Dabi didn't really care. All he wanted was to give the Hero Commission as big of an F-you as he could.

"I don't know; I suppose I could go out to check and just pretend I was sent here on purpose, though I'd have to be careful to make sure nobody that would know if I was supposed to be here sees me..." He trails off. "What are you doing?"

Dabi ignored him, rifling through the files and throwing away the boring ones. Which was most of them. The text was full of dates and numbers and names that didn't mean anything to him. He wasn't even really sure what he was looking for, but if this place was supposed to be secret there had to be something good here. The Commission was so screwed up there was bound to be corruption somewhere.

"Dabi, what are you doing? Do you want to leave here or not?" The hero's voice was exasperated, but also a little strained.

"Shut up," He muttered. "I'm busy here." He didn't have the power to deal with Hawks right now.

"You know what- fine. You want to waste time, that's great. I'm going to be sitting down over here while you look through a file cabinet with a crazy look in your eyes."

"Stop whining."

"I'm not- whatever." The hero sulked.

Dabi pulled open another drawer to the cabinet, discarding files to the floor that didn't interest him. That was, until he came across a large file marked with 'CONFIDENTIAL'.

...The Commission really needed to get better with how they labeled their secrets. Their system wasn't working.

He sat against the wall, opening the file in his lap. His eyes widened when he saw the contents. "What the hell..."

"What? Did you say something, Scar?"

Dabi didn't answer, scanning the papers one after another, as quickly as he could. Sometimes he would glance up at Hawks, making sure the hero wasn't watching him. No wonder these files read confidential... I wouldn't want anyone finding out about this shit they did either...

The file was full of medical reports and training details, all relating to someone named Keigo Takami. There wasn't a quirk or any identifying features mentioned. They even had a purchase lined out from when they bought him from his parents. That is messed up. Then, one day the reports just stopped, saying that the 'subject' had completed his training and would now be doing the purpose he was made to do. It was honestly disgusting. And he didn't even have time to read more than a small amount of the entries.

"Dude, seriously, are you okay? You look really pissed." Hawks was staring at him curiously, concern crinkling around the corners of his eyes.

Dabi impulsively shoves the file covertly into his robe, ignoring Hawks' searching gaze. He didn't have anything to say to the hero. The file weighed heavily in his pockets.

"Nothing. Let's just go, bird boy."

Hawks didn't look convinced, but he played along anyways, looking relieved for some reason. "Ooh! Bird boy; that's a new one. Here I thought your insulting nicknames were just going to be limited to bird brain and birdie. Good for you for branching out!"

"Why don't you ever stop talking? What is wrong with you?"

"It's a serious medical condition, actually. Makes it very hard to watch movies in theaters."

"...Shut up and get us out of here."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Later that night, Dabi would open the file and comb through every entry made, trying to figure out who the hell this 'Keigo Takami' was. All of the medical reports showed he had practically been tortured by them, all in the name of training. It sounded like he was supposed to be someone important by now, but Dabi hadn't heard a thing about him. He had tried to casually throw in the name with conversation with Kurogiri, but the purple mist-man hadn't so much as recognized it. The internet didn't either. It was like Keigo Takami didn't even exist.

Which meant that something seriously messed up had gone on, and the Hero Commission was at the center of all of it. Honestly, Dabi doesn't even know why he's surprised anymore.

It's not like they've ever done anything for him either.

Part 46

Shinso flushed with embarrassment when he woke up that morning, drooling on Kaminari's shoulder. The blonde thankfully hadn't noticed him waking up, because Shinso would have killed himself if he had. He slipped away as stealthily as he could, grabbing one of the couch pillows so he wouldn't disturb Kaminari. Creeping away from his classmate, he successfully made it into the kitchen.

Oh, thank-

"Hey Shinso!"

"GAH!" Shinso yelped, jumping about a mile into the air. Whirling around, he saw that the offender in question was Mina, giggling at him. "What is wrong with you? Who does this to a person in the morning?"

"Oh, lighten up Shinso. You're fine, and you're more awake. Plus it was super funny! It was a win-win." She got a dangerous twinkle in her eyes. "So, did you sleep well? You and Kaminari were looking preeetttttyyyy cozy."

Shinso scowled. "You watched us while we slept? What the heck, Mina? And also, shut up." He made a beeline for the coffee pot while she continued to needle him with invasive questions and teases. This is why I didn't want to live in the dorms... It was this.

"Well, fine then. I won't ask anything more." What's the catch? "But I just want to say, you two really need to stop circling around each other." She got serious. "Honestly, all it would take is one conversation with each other and you wouldn't be so awkward and fumbling."

Shinso opened and closed his mouth several times. "I... he probably doesn't even like me like that," he protested weakly. "And it's none of your business, anyway."

Mina sighed. "Fine, fine. Denial isn't only a river in Egypt."

"I'm surprised you know that."

"Dang, Shinso! You are catty in the mornings," She cackled. "Oh, here comes Iida. Look like you're not doing something nefarious!" But I'm not?

"Hello! It is remarkable to see you up so early in the morning, Shinso! I do hope you slept well?"

Mina answered for him. "Oh, I think he slept just fine." She smirked.

"That is so good to hear! I'm glad you're finally taking care of yourself with your sleep schedule. A good night's rest is imperative for performing well in the field."

Shinso thought of his dad. Well, most of the time, anyways.

He finally got a sip of the bitter delight that was coffee, drinking it greedily. It was impossible to put up with his class if he didn't have at least 50% of the blood in his body caffeinated. There was just too much energy for him to have such low energy.

The teens all came down one by one, some already completely awake and some looking like they would fall asleep as soon as they sat down. For once, Shinso wasn't in the latter category. It was a... strange feeling.

A large yawn disrupted him from the beauty that was coffee, and he turned to see Kaminari standing there with bedhead. Pink crawled its way up his neck and cheeks, and he immediately averted his eyes from the blonde.

"Hey, Kamibro! You look like you slept well," The redhead ribbed. It was even more embarrassing than when Mina did it because Kirishima didn't know that Shinso and him had spent the night snoring onto each other's shoulders. Because there was no way that Shinso didn't snore. He didn't have good enough luck for that.

Kaminari cast a quick glance towards Shinso and cleared his throat. "Uhh... yeah, I guess you could say that. In fact, I think it might have been the best night's sleep I've had in a long time."

What?

Shinso darted his head up, staring wide-eyed at the blonde. Best night of sleep he's had in a long time? He was pretty sure he had fallen asleep first, so Kaminari had to know they fell asleep on each other. So... he knew what he was talking about. Sure enough, when Shinso met the blonde's eyes, he winked.

He. Winked.

He choked on coffee, sputtering and coughing. Why did he wink, why did he wink. Why did I like it so much when he did?

"Shinso!" Uraraka's voice was panicked. "Are you okay? Do you need help?"

Shinso frantically shook his head, finally expelling the brown liquid from his lungs. "No, no. I'm fine. I am just so fine."

"I know," Kaminari replied nonchalantly, sending Shinso into yet another spiral. "You're really fine." Did I wake up and go to hell? Or is this heaven?

Mina giggled and looped her arms around Uraraka. "Did you hear that, Ochaco? Shinso's fine. Really fine. " Shinso was really starting to hate that twinkle in her eyes.

"Everyone, we must prepare for our Hero Licensing Exams! Todoroki and Bakugo have already gotten ready and are training!" As usual, Iida was ignored. Nobody wanted to think about how close they were to a defining moment in their future, so they were all avoiding it. Which meant they were ignoring Iida's reminders.

"Yeah, I heard. And Kaminari knows too." Uraraka, you traitor. Kaminari was still grinning at him, somewhat triumphant, and Shinso couldn't look away. His yellow eyes had him ensnared, shocked into place like he had been struck by lightning. How fitting...

"Um. I'm going to go get ready for class now." He sent a warning glare to the two chuckling girls. "Don't even try it."

He rushed out, avoiding eye contact with everyone. What is even happening in my life right now?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Izuku leaned back on the bus, smiling fondly as his students goofed off around him. They kept in line, for the most part, not standing up or doing anything that would get anyone hurt. Aizawa was also choosing to ignore their rowdy behavior, appearing to take a cat nap against the window. It was truly admirable how he managed to sleep anywhere. Izuku had almost considered it another aspect of his quirk.

Present Mic was sitting in the seat in front of the black-haired homeroom teacher, chatting animately with Jirou. He and Aizawa had finally told him that they were going to play a little game with the class 1-a kids, seeing if they could find out that Present Mic was Aizawa's husband. Personally, Izuku was all for it. It was an excellent way to test their observation skills. He's just sorry no one told him that the same thing was supposed to be happening with Shinso. It was a waste of perfectly good information.

Deciding to take a bit of rest himself, Izuku closed his eyes and let the sound wash over him in gentle waves, not really listening or blocking it out. They would be several hours longer before they reached their destination, and he had been having trouble sleeping lately.

It wasn't uncommon for him to wake up in a cold sweat some nights, haunted by people and places of the past, but lately it had been worse. He supposes it might be related to the fact he had just seen All For One again for the first time in ages, being forced to confront the man at Tartarus prison. He would dive into memories at random, both good and bad.

It was mostly bad.

But sometimes, just sometimes, he got a nice memory that reminded him of a time that wasn't entirely unpleasant, one that didn't make him want to throw up. One that gave him a solid dose of nostalgia. And that just made him feel guilty. Incredibly guilty.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Around 200 years ago...

Izuku sat outside of their beat-down apartment building, leaning against one of the trees that adorned their backyard. It had huge, hulking branches that reached out across the sky, shading everything down below. On nice days, he liked to come down here and work on his notebooks. Sometimes, in the spring, there would be cherry blossoms falling to the ground. It was a lovely picture.

'...has what appears to be a heat increasing power that works when pinching two fingers together. Becomes less effective in a larger object, and the heat level is medium-low. Hands are not damaged by the power itself, but have no protection from the heat of the objects affected. Minimal control, no physical irregularities. Possible uses could be...'

"Izuku?"

He looked up to see a young man with mid-length white hair standing over him. A smile slipped past his lips and he set his notebook down, marking the entry he was on as he did so. "Hello, Shigaraki. How has school been going? You're graduating this year, aren't you?"

"Yeah, I am. It's going well, I suppose. And how many times have I told you to call me Yoichi? Shigaraki's my brother, not me."

Izuku laughed. "Fine, fine. Yoichi, then. Is everything okay? I don't often see you out of the apartment building."

Yoichi rolls his eyes. "As much as my brother likes to pretend my health is poor, I haven't had a flare-up in years. Aki can just be..." Yoichi pauses, as if searching for the right word. "Overprotective, I guess. I'm fine."

"I do get that vibe from him sometimes. I can't imagine actually having him for a sibling." Yoichi laughs at the gentle tease. "I am glad you're okay, though. What brings you out here today?"

Yoichi sighed. "Just getting a breath of fresh air. It's a lovely day."

"Yeah." They both looked at their surroundings admirably. It truly was peaceful, gentle breezes hitting their faces and soft heat keeping them warm. Days like these didn't come often.

"What were you writing?" Yoichi asked, pointing towards the discarded notebook next to him. "I always see that notebook with you, but you never say anything about it."

Izuku laughed sheepishly. "I-it's really not much. Nothing special, anyways. I doubt it's that interesting."

"You're always writing in it. If it's not interesting, then you're the most boring person on the planet, and I'm pretty sure that title doesn't belong to you." Izuku rolled his eyes. "Tell me about it. Pretty please?" He smirked.

"Sometimes I wonder if Shigaraki's actually your brother, and then you start snarking." He reluctantly pulls his precious notebook into his lap and opens it, smoothing out the worn pages. "You know about the abilities that have been popping up out of nowhere, right?"

The question was rhetorical. Everyone had heard of the strange powers that came out of thin air, beginning with the little girl who glowed. God, what Izuku would have given to ask her some questions about what she could do. Unfortunately, she had been killed years prior, when she was still just a pre-teen. There had been a story released about a random car crash, but Izuku doubted that was the true story. Everyone knew that the government didn't approve of the people who could do something different than everyone else, and it was much too coincidental for her to have been killed right after the reports of her turning away the government's 'offer' for experimental testing. Which was just a nice way of saying torture in the name of discovery. It was part of what made Izuku despise their government so much.

Nevertheless, Yoichi nodded, offering, "Yeah, I have. What does your writing have to do with the abilities?"

"Well, I analyze them, in a way. When I first heard about them, I got so interested about how they worked and why they were there that I talked to as many people as I could who had them. It turns out that I was pretty good at it, so I kept doing it with every new ability I heard of and saw. A lot of times I'll end up doing it for kids who can't control it yet. It's not their fault, so I try my best to help."

He looked up from his mini-ramble, flushing profusely. He really needed to learn to stop talking... but that's a thing that would come with age, right? He would get less awkward later on?

God, he hopes so.

"That's... that's actually really amazing." There was something indiscernible in Yoichi's tone, something that made Izuku study his face more carefully. The white-haired man's eyes were downcast, and his hands plucked nervously at the hem of his shirt. He looked askance, and his jaw worked like he was at war with himself whether to say something.

"Is there something wrong?" He prodded cautiously. Yoichi and his brother had always been somewhat secretive, especially Shigaraki, but that wasn't saying much. He didn't exactly broadcast why he was there either.

"You, uh, know about..." He trailed off, then looked up eminently. "That. Right?"

Izuku thought for a moment. Well, I think he's talking about Shigaraki's ability, but I'm not really sure. Who knew Yoichi could be just as awkward as me?

"You mean your brother's ability?" Izuku breached. "I don't know what it is, just that he has one." Maybe Izuku could have found out what his neighborhoor's ability was if he had just stayed quiet and pretended like he knew, but that wasn't exactly morally right. He wasn't going to take advantage of Yoichi like that. Curiosity may be his fatal flaw, but he wouldn't do anything for information.

"...Okay." Yoichi's reply was quiet, restrained. Izuku could practically see the weight on his shoulders, the things resting on just the tip his his tongue. He had felt the same way many times in the past. He still did. "I-Yeah. Okay."

"...Was there something you wanted to tell me?" Izuku tried, trying to not make the teen close up.

"Well..." Yoichi hesitated. "No. No, there wasn't anything." Izuku didn't believe him for one second. "I was just going to ask you if you had an ability yourself," Yoichi floundered over his words.

Izuku froze up. Millions of little taunts and threats played like a video in his head, running over every scenario that had gone awry the second he had told them or they had found out what he could do. Unfortunately, he had a lot of material.

Looking up at Yoichi, he thought about what he knew about the almost-adult. He was kind, empathetic, and Izuku knew for a fact that Yoichi loved his brother, as overprotective as he could be. And his brother had an ability, which means that Yoichi knew and was likely fine with it. Plus, there wouldn't exactly be major consequences for him since nobody here knew anything but his given name. It would be ridiculously easy to disappear off the face of the planet with the skills he had now.

Making his decision, he resolutely stared at Yoichi's face, making sure to meet his eyes even though he was incredible nervous. "I do, actually. I... when I get hurt, I heal myself. It... I have a hard time running tests and things on it, though. Don't want to make a mistake about my capabilities and accidentally die." But he had been shoved around enough to know that that was how it worked. Not gonna lie, it kind of sucked.

"Oh... that's pretty cool." Yoichi didn't immediately act differently towards him, maintaining the same eye contact they had before. Although, Izuku could barely see his green eyes through the long bangs that cover his forehead. The few flashes he had seen reminded him slightly of his own.

The two of them fell into a comfortable silence, until Izuku caught a glimpse of the time on his watch. "Ah... sorry, Yoichi. I have to go." The teen nodded, watching Izuku gather up his things. "I'll see you around, okay?"

Izuku might be trying to make sure people didn't find out about his ability, but that didn't mean he didn't have to work. He just made sure to do all of his business interactions online, using his technological skills to his advantage. And he didn't mean by hacking. He might be able to hack, but he wasn't going to steal from others. Instead, he ran a consulting business on a variety of topics. If he got a new client, he just researched what they needed done and did it. The area played into his skill set rather well.

"Alright. Bye, Izuku."

Before he stepped into his own apartment, he got a glimpse of Shigaraki standing in the shadows, looking at Yoichi with an observant gaze. When he noticed Izuku, however, he gave a small smile. Izuku gave a little wave in return.

That was how his friendship with the two began.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Shinso clambered out of the bus, stretching his sore legs. Riding in buses would never be comfortable, especially when it was for hours with a bunch of rowdy classmates. He now has a new kind of respect for his dad, papa, and all of the other teachers that manage to put up with them. All Might knows they don't get enough credit for it.

The area around them was infested with other hero students, most of them near their respective buses. It was... overwhelming how many people were there. And since they were all decked out in their hero gear, they all looked intimidating. Granted, Shinso was sure that his class didn't exactly look like the most approachable people there.

"I'll be right back," Shinso caught Izuku-sensei saying. "I just need to go say hi to a couple of former students."

"Alright," his dad droned. "I want all of you on your best behavior. If I find you've been antagonizing students from other schools, I will expel you." That one's getting old. "We need to be in the exam room with all of the other examinees in a little less than two hours. Behave yourselves."

Shinso and the rest of his classmates nodded, sticking close to one another and not venturing far out from where the three teachers were watching them. It seems most of the students were choosing to stay with their own schools, not fraternizing with what would soon be the enemy.

Out of the corner of his eye, he caught the distinctive colors of a Ketsubutsu school bus, and his eyes widened and searched the crowd. If they were close, then...

"ERASER!"

"...Oh no." I feel you dad, I feel you.

Every student there spun around to see a slender, muscular woman with light green hair and an obnoxiously large grin. Not a single muscle in Shinso's body isn't telling him to run, to get away before what he always feared would happen happened. A quick glance at his dad confirmed he felt the same way.

"How ya' been, you delightful person, you!" She laughed heartily, sending chills down Shinso's spine at how her face muscles could do that. "I've been waiting to see you all year!"

His dad sighed. "Go watch your students, Joke. I have my own to babysit."

Joke waved him away. "Puh-lease. They're second-years! It's not like they need constant supervision. I've taught them well enough for that." His dad rolls his eyes.

"That's not what I remember from last year's incident." Oh damn. He's talking about the one where a half of them failed. I remember him gloating about it to papa when he came home.

She laughs again. "Oh, Eraser, that burning wit is what makes me like you so much." Shinso gags. "So marry me!"

Everyone's eyes bulge out, and Kaminari starts choking. Todoroki is staring between the two of them with wide eyes, and Shinso can see this wouldn't end well for him. Not at all.

"No."

"No? Just no? I give you a passionate declaration of my love and you just say no?" She sighs dramatically. "And here I thought you felt the same..."

"Never have, never will."

"You are a riot!" Joke laughs again, pushing forward and leaning against his dad familiarly. "Such an impeccable sense of humor."

Shinso winces at Joke's blatant flirting. His dad's husband was right there, and Joke still came onto him. He's gotta give it to the hero, she's nothing if not bold.

"And you are just as annoying as ever."

"That's good! Means you take the time to remember me, even when we're apart." Again with the dramatic sigh. "Now if only you would show the same sort of affection when others are here..."

"...I'm sorry for interrupting, but are you two... romantically involved?" Shinso casts a horrified look at Todoroki, who was standing there with his notebook held in hand. Of all the people he could've chosen to force his theory on, why did it have to be Joke? It was a cruel and unusual punishment.

He didn't know why his friend would take his theory notebook that to the licensing exam, but he really should have guessed. As Todoroki put it, 'When you have new evidence, you always need proof'. Now granted, most of his friend's evidence was based on coincidence and circumstance, but Shinso still respected him for it. Dedication, that's what he called that.

"Of course!"

"Not in a million years."

"Oh, Eraser, why must you deny our great love," She bemoaned.

"I have a hard time believing in things that aren't there."

"Mr. Aizawa?" Yaoyorozu risks. "Who is she?"

He spares her a quick glance. "Just another hero that teaches at Ketsubutsu. She's very frustrating."

"Just another hero," she gasps. "No! I'm Ms. Joke: The Smile Hero. AKA, the only person in the world that can make Eraserhead laugh!" Ms. Joke guffaws. Well, that's not completely true. It's just usually directed at the expense of others.

"Doesn't count if you're using your quirk." He waves her claims away. Through this entire exchange, his papa is watching them trade comments like it's a tennis match, head swiveling back and forth. Shinso could tell he was holding in a snicker at his dad's annoyed expression.

Uraraka sidled up next to Shinso, whispering quietly under Joke's incessant proposals and his dad's constant shut-downs. " Is that hero seriously dating Aizawa-sensei?" She was watching them doubtfully.

"Ha. No. Never. Hell will freeze over a thousand times before... that happens." He shudders.

"...Okay then. Just be prepared for all the questions Todoroki's going to ask you." Yay. He could already see the teen eyeing him.

"Just think of how gorgeous the ceremony will be! We could have roses at every table, all of our families and friends there..."

"Aizawa-sensei has family and friends?" Shinso sarcastically raised his hand at Sero. Uh, hello?

The funny thing was, Ms. Joke knew that his dad and papa were married, knew that his dad would never be into her. She wasn't the type to try and break up a marriage, especially as it would never happen. He thinks she just knows it was aggravating enough to make him talk to her, and this is just an extremely strange friendship.

Shinso heard the electronic whir of the bus doors, and Izuku-sensei stepped out. He had a small bag slung over his shoulder, the same little leather satchel he used to carry his current notebooks. Everyone was so fixated on the entertaining scene developing in front of them that nobody else noticed, save for Jirou and Shoji.

"What's going on? The hero exam will be starting pretty soon. You'll want to make sure you're- Ms. Joke?"

The laughing hero froze.

"I-Izuku-sensei!" Wow. That might be the first time he's ever heard the hero stutter. "I... didn't know you were back."

"I'm beginning to find a common theme with that," The green-haired teacher says wryly. "It's nice to see you again! I'd heard you decided to become a teacher at Ketsubutsu. How's it going?" He smiled at her engagingly.

"Fine!" She starts to get over her initial shock and trepidation, and Shinso sees her start to look at Izuku-sensei like he hung the moon. It's akin to hero worship, like how most people feel about All Might. Actually, it's pretty funny, because she immediately starts to ignore his dad. He looks a little miffed.

"I'm glad you're here. How was your time traveling? See anything in particular?"

Izuku-sensei got a far off look in his eyes. "Going to I-island was interesting. Seeing Dave and his daughter was nice. Other than that, not much happened." I feel like he's leaving out an incident or two...

"I sincerely doubt that," Ms. Joke chuckled. "Nezu always warned us you were in one mess or another."

"...That's not fair. I don't even cause the messes that often." The two swap more anecdotes, and Shinso can really see that Ms. Joke looks up to Izuku-sensei. Maybe even more so than his dad and papa do. He would smile fondly at her, like one would do with an adorable child.

Just as he has that thought, Todoroki leans over to him and whispers, " Shinso, is Izuku-sensei your grandfather?"

"...Todoroki, no."

"...Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure that our teacher isn't my grandfather. And Joke's not my mother."

"Well, Aizawa-sensei is your father, and he's a teacher." He noticed how he ignored Shinso's statement about Joke.

Shinso rolled his eyes. "Yeah, but I know he's my dad."

"Well, I should probably get back to my class." She reluctantly gave Izuku-sensei a goodbye wave. Then she turned to them. "Do your best, kiddos, because you're not the only ones gunning for those slots!"

They all watched as she skipped away, and his dad whispered, " Oh thank All Might."

"You heard her. If you want to get your provisional licenses today, then you need to be ready. It's starting in," his dad glances down at his watch, "about an hour, so I would start heading to the area about now. Don't embarrass yourselves." How inspiring.

"What he means to say," his papa jumps in, "Is that you have all the skills you need to pass this test! Just do your best and go beyond Plus Ultra, all right?"

"That's what I said."

"Not really, but enough of that! Everyone, gather around! I want to hear you scream, 'Plus Ultra' on three, ya' dig?" Everyone nodded. "One, two, three-"

"PLUS ULTRA!" Even Todoroki participated half-heartedly in the chant. Koda whispered it, though he did smile softly as he did. All of the teachers started to walk forward, promising them to meet them after the first part of the exam.

"PLUS ULTRA!" Everyone jumped at the new, boisterous, unfamiliar voice. It was loud and slightly jarring. They all whirled around to see a student in another uniform, a dark blue cap sitting squarely on his head. He was tall, very tall, and he had a large physique.

"...Um," Shinso says. "Who are you?"

"Yoarashi!" A shorter guy yells as he runs up to the weird guy. "Do not run off like that! And don't join in on other school's chants! It's very rude." He's like another version of Iida... a little.

The guy- Yoarashi, gasped and turned around. "I am so sorry! I've just always wanted to do the Plus Ultra school motto chant. I hope you can forgive me!" He throws himself into a bow, and when Shinso says throws, he means throws. Yoarashi literally pushed himself into a bow so deep his forehead cracked against the concrete, and Shinso knew he wasn't the only one who winced.

"Dude..." Kirishima says. "Are... are you okay?" They see the blood dripping from his head. "Do you need some kind of medical help? Can see how many fingers I'm holding up?"

Shinso chose not to mention how he wasn't holding up any fingers.

"No, he's fine." The other guy dressed in the same uniform finally caught up with them and yanked Yoarashi up. "This idiot has a very thick skull. I thank you for your worry, however."

Maybe he wasn't that much like Iida after all.

"...Who are you?"

"I'm sorry, I should have introduced myself to you. I am Shishikura, and we are from the prestigious Shiketsu High School. I look forward to meeting you in the exam."

"You as well," Iida exclaims. "And I do hope your classmate is okay in time for the exam!"

"Thank you," The other student bows courteously. "Come on, Yoarashi. We have to go." He attempts to pull the other boy away, but on their way out Yoarashi bumps into Todoroki.

"I am so sorry!"

"It's fine," Todoroki monotones.

"Oh." Yoarashi's expression sours. "It's you."

"Do I know you from somewhere?" A quick glance at Todoroki showed Shinso he had a little wrinkle on his brow, the only sign that he was confused.

"Of course you wouldn't remember," Yoarashi scoffs. "You think you're above it all, don't you?"

"...I still have no idea what you're talking about."

"Always so cold," he continues. "Just like your father."

Todoroki stiffens, watching Yoarashi with a shocked and disgusted expression. That seems to be all the confirmation Yoarashi needs, because he sniffs and spins around haughtily, following his classmate without another word.

"Do you know what that was about, Todoroki?" Uraraka asks, concerned.

"No... I don't think I've ever seen him before... Why was he so mad?" Shinso shrugs, guiding Todoroki towards where the class has slowly started to make their way back to their teachers and the main space. Around them, other potential examinees were milling towards the same point.

"I think I saw him at the recommendation exam," Yaoyorozu recalls. "He... he placed first, but I didn't end up seeing him in class 1-a or 1-b. I guess he chose to go to Shiketsu instead."

'Why would anyone choose to go to Shiketsu over UA?" Kaminari wondered. "It's literally the best school in the country!"

"Kaminari, Shiketsu is also a very prestigious school! There's no reason why he wouldn't choose to go there instead." He paused. "Though I do agree it's very strange."

"I think I know why he didn't come to UA." Todoroki said, his gaze far off. "After the exam... we got into a fight. He said I didn't show enough passion, and I said I didn't care, as long as I did what needed to be done. Then he said I was just like Endeavor. I didn't see him again after that. He... he said he didn't want to be in the same school as someone like me."

Everyone was silent. "Well," Shinso ventured carefully, not looking at any of them. "He was wrong. You're not like Endeavor. Endeavor would never come up with the crazy amount of theories you have." He nudged him with his shoulder. "Or be as awesome."

"It is indeed true that you are one of a kind, Todoroki!"

"Yeah, nobody could replace you!"

Todoroki doesn't say anything, but Shinso does see him duck his head down and smile. It might be the first time he's seen Todoroki smile like that, just a silent happiness. Kaminari walks up beside him and bumps his own shoulder, making Shinso turn to what he was sure was a deep pink.

"T-the exam's starting soon!" He rushed out, speeding up his pace. "We should probably hurry!"

"Indeed! How responsible of you, Shinso."

"Yeah, Shinso. Kaminari, you should probably keep up with them," Mina said, that infernal glint appearing in her eyes. "Y'know, so you're not late too." I know what you're doing...

"What are you problem children doing? Hurry up. You don't have that much time." Shinso gladly takes the out he's been provided, refocusing his attention to the growing obstacle ahead.

After all, it is time for their first hero licensing exam.

Part 47

Todoroki stood silent in a sea of noisy hero students, hanging around the fringes of his class. They were all nervously chattering, trying to guess what the exam would include. There had to be at least a thousand people there, all dressed in their hero costumes. Some of them were just ridiculous, looking like his did before he changed it.

That was an interesting time in his life.

"When do you think we're going to start?" Uraraka asked, nervously twisting her hands.

"Aizawa-sensei said it wouldn't be much longer," Yaoyorozu consoled. "I bet it'll begin any second now."

"Do you guys think this is the first part of the test?" Kirishima asked, looking like he just discovered a big secret. "Like, seeing how well we do under the pressure of waiting?"

"Of course it's not the first part of the test, Shitty Hair!" Bakugo barked. "Don't be such an idiot!"

"I think what he meant to say," Sero diplomatically steps in, "is that he doesn't think waiting for thirty minutes is the test to determine if we become heroes."

"Yeah, you're probably right," Kirishima sighs. "It's too much to wish for that this would be the test."

Everyone nodded resolutely. Aizawa-sensei said they would have an hour until the exam about forty five minutes ago, so there were only about fifteen minutes left until they started detailing the exam. However, it felt like it would take days.

He could tell they were some of the youngest students there, not by height or anything like that, but just in how the other aspiring heroes carried themselves. They were more confident, and it looked like they had a strong rapport with their classmates. Not that they didn't, it's just harder to build that kind of relationship with someone in less than a year.

Some of the other students were eyeing them like a cat would eye its target, watching their every movement. But whenever he caught them, they would just hold his gaze until they looked away. It was unsettling.

Turning his attention back to his classmates, he could see a new guy there with them. He had shorter black hair, and was smiling vibrantly at them.

"Hi, I'm Shindo, from Ketsubutsu High School!" Why is he over here? "You guys are from UA, right?" He didn't wait for an answer. "That's cool. I just wanted to let you guys know that there are no hard feelings for what happens in the exam. It'll be an honor to compete with you!"

"Thank you!" Iida said, chopping his hands about erratically. "It will be an honor to compete against you as well! I wish you the best of luck."

"Alrighty, then. Thanks," Shindo laughed, seeming completely relaxed around them, but Todoroki didn't trust it. After all, why would he just randomly choose to come up to them and introduce himself? He might not be the best at social interactions, but he knew enough to know that this was weird.

"Wait, Ketsubutsu?" Uraraka confirmed. "I think we just saw your teacher, Ms. Joke. She... she seems nice."

"Yeah, she's pretty awesome. Why did you end up seeing her?" Shindo frowned. "She didn't say she was going to see UA."

"She was harassing our homeroom teacher," Shinso deadpans, giving Shindo a slightly suspicious look. Glad to see I'm not the only one...

"Harassing your... ohhhh," Todoroki watched as the slow light of realization came over him. "You homeroom teacher is Eraserhead, right? That... that makes sense. She... speaks very highly of him."

Todoroki perked up. "Can you confirm if they're dating or not?"

"They're not dating, Todoroki," Shinso snapped.

"I don't trust that. Shindo, are they dating?" He watched him intently, ignoring Shinso's exasperated expression.

"I...I don't think so? She's never said anything?" Shindo was thrown off-balance. He started to eye them all like they were mentally unstable, backing away slowly, keeping that same smile on his face. Though, to be fair, it did seem a little more strained. And maybe he wasn't entirely wrong. They were bound to have some issues after everything they'd been through this year.

"I told you!" Shinso glares at Todoroki.

" Humph." They just don't know the meaning of a good theory...

"I... I think I'm going to go back to my school now..." He was eyeing where his fellow classmates were waiting for him wistfully.

"Okay! Bye, Shindo. Best of luck!" Uraraka smiled brightly at him.

Shindo regained his composure before walking away. When he did, he called out, "Hey, see you out there."

That sounded more ominous than it probably should.

They were all silent for a moment longer after he left before Mina asked, "Did anyone else get a weird vibe from him?"

"Yeah," Tsu admitted reluctantly. "I don't know what it was but... I mean, he was nice enough, he just... his smile had a strange feeling to it."

Todoroki opened his mouth to ask them something, but he was cut off by a loud crackling and a high pitched whine of a microphone. Up on the stage, there were several figures approaching, the first of which was a man with deep rings under his eyes and wild blonde hair. The first thing they heard when he got to the mic was a wide yawn.

"Hello, I'm your exam announcer, Yokumiru Mera. I will be- yawn- the one telling you the rules of the exam." He turned and gestured to a large board behind him, which lit up with a chart. "For the first portion of the exam, only one hundred out of a thousand of you will move forward."

He didn't get the chance to say anything else, because the entire room burst into shocked and frantic whispers. That was only 10% of the people here. If their entire class wanted to pass, then they would have to take almost 20% of the available slots. Which... considering how many other people were there, that was going to be no easy feat.

" Well, crap," Todoroki caught Shinso muttering. Seconded...

"Would you settle down?" Mera is rubbing his head, wincing away from all the noise. "I do not get enough sleep for this... the Commission needs to stop being so understaffed." Okay, then. Seems like he's an honest fellow. "For the first part of the exam, you will all have three targets placed on your body. You may choose where the targets go, but they have to be in spots accessible to other students. You will also be given a ball to throw at other examinees' targets, and once all three of your targets have been hit, you're out. If you take out three different students, then you pass the exam. Taking out another student just means that you are the one to take out their final target, not that you have to take out all three."

Okay... the rules are pretty simple. All you have to do is take out three people and you're guaranteed to move on to the next part of the exam. But you have to be within the top 100 to be able to pass.

"Hey, Todoroki!" Uraraka snapped him out of his thoughts. "We're heading over there now, you ready?" He nodded once, following the sea of endless students through double-doors and into the blinding light of the exam area.

It was a huge sprawling ground, with jagged rocks jutting up from the grounds. As a whole, their entire class scoped out what would be the best place to start.

"Alright, I think the best chance we have at all passing is to work together, just in little subsections. Todoroki, I-"

"I'm not going." Todoroki didn't even know he was the one who had spoken until the words were out of his mouth. But once they were, he realized that he meant it. Seeing Yoarashi again... it wasn't a pleasant experience for him, by any means, but it did make him realize that he had come a long way from where he started. Not just in terms of ability, but he wasn't as focused on his father as he was at the start of the year. He had grown.

And speaking of his father, he had been... different ever since the sports festival. Less demanding and aggressive. They hadn't spoken of it, but things felt like they were going to get a lot better. He hadn't forgiven his father for anything he'd done, but he also wasn't opposed to the change that was occuring.

It was part of why he had to do this alone. He had acknowledged his own change, and now he wanted to see if it could get him through this exam alone. It wasn't a reflection of Endeavor, it was him blazing his own path. He had to prove that Yoarashi was wrong. He had to show that, even if he wasn't working with others, that he wasn't a copy of Endeavor.

"Are... are you sure?" Yaoyorozu hesitated. "I don't think that it would be the best idea to strike out on your own right now..."

"I can do it." I need to do it.

"Well... okay." She gives him an affectionate look. "Be careful okay? We'll see you once we're in the exam room."

"Aww... our class is being split up!" Kirishima exclaims sullenly. "At least we're still together as the final 18!"

"Count again, Shitty Hair," Bakugo grumbled. "I don't need any of you to win, and I'm going to prove it."

"But, Bakubro!"

"Just stay the hell out of my way." He stomped away from them, Kirishima watching with broken puppy eyes as he went. It was a little hard to look at.

Todoroki nodded to them, turning away and starting along a different path. The exam would start any moment now, and he would catch glimpses of other examinees rushing around in groups. He made sure to stay out of sight. The harder he was to see, the harder he was to stop. The second the exam officially started, he was going to make sure he took care of them. It was the only way to pass the exam.

And he would be passing this exam.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Aizawa slumped down into one of the many bleacher seats, resisting the urge to move away as soon as Joke took a seat next to him. He respected her work as a hero, and would even go so far as to say that she's a whole lot more competent than half the heroes out there. But that's not to say that he wouldn't prefer it if she would stop it with the incessant flirting.

It had been going on since they graduated from UA. Before that, she had always been bold and exuberant, but it went to a whole new level. He's pretty sure she does it just to annoy him, and Mic doesn't try to stop her because he finds it hilarious. There are times where he has to wonder why he surrounds himself with these people.

"Come on, Eraser," She wheedles. "Just once! Just once I want you to play along and pretend like we're dating in front of your students! It's not like you're morally opposed to lying." She pauses and rolls her eyes. "Oh, I'm sorry. 'Logical ruses'."

"I have my own things going on, thank you," He grumbles. "I don't really need the added headache of my students thinking I'm in a relationship with you of all people."

"It's comments like those that make people not like you, Eraser."

"Aw, c'mon Emi! Sho's totally lovable!" Hizashi throws his arm over Aizawa's shoulder, putting a decent amount of weight on him. "He's just shy!"

"I am not shy." He can't help but feel offended. He might be antisocial and extremely introverted, but he was not shy.

"Are you sure?" Joke teases. "Because I could swear-"

"The exam should be starting any minute now." Aizawa looked up to see Izuku-sensei striding over to them, loosely gripping one of his notebooks in his hand. Joke fell silent the moment he appeared, and Aizawa remembered one of the biggest reasons he adored his teacher: he could always shut Joke up without so much as a word.

It was a true talent.

"I-Izuku-sensei!" Aizawa smirked inwardly at hearing her stammer. "I'm glad you made it in time!"

"Please," Izuku-sensei laughs. "I wouldn't miss it for the world. Plus, Mera's the one that decided to corner me. I doubt they would have started the exam without the announcer."

Ugh. Mera. On some level Aizawa did respect the Commission employee, in the way that all people with eyebags respected each other, but on the other hand, he was much too annoying for Aizawa's taste. He always had to go on and on about how tired he was, groaning about how the Commission was too understaffed. And fine, that may be true, but the rest of them managed to suffer through it without any issues. Aizawa himself had two jobs, one in the day and one at night. You didn't hear him complaining 24/7 about his sleeping schedule.

"Ugh, that guy." Aizawa was pleased to see that Joke held just as much distaste for the Commission employee as he did. So we do agree on something... "What did he want, anyway?"

Izuku-sensei waved the question away with ease. "Nothing much. The Commission just wants the usual and he was their chosen method of delivery this time."

They all grimanced. The Commission was fanatical about its paperwork and reports. And, as they'd come to know, Izuku-sensei wasn't exactly the most... open of people. It was a lucky day they were able to find out anything about their teacher that wasn't directly relevant to whatever they were doing. The Commission wanted everything laid out for them, and from Aizawa's understanding, they wanted the details of Izuku-sensei's entire life. They hadn't been able to make him do anything. Another reason why Aizawa will always respect their teacher.

"Yuck." Joke wrinkled her nose before turning to Aizawa again. "I'm surprised you actually have a bunch of students this year. And you've only expelled one member! Are you going soft?"

"Not a chance," He denied. "This years batch just had more potential than the others." It was true. If any of them had shown any illusions about what the hero course would entail, then they would be gone by the end of the semester. Mineta thought he could treat his female classmates with disrespect, so he was gone. And the others weren't guaranteed safety yet. He wasn't about to let them die as soon as they got out of UA to protect their feelings. That would be illogical.

"They have potential, huh?" Joke looked contemplatively at the students. "Do you think they have enough potential to make it through the Crushing of UA? Do they think they can do it?"

"They're set on getting their hero licenses." He didn't go into further detail, but Joke read in between the lines.

"Hold up," She said incredulously. "Did you seriously not tell them? It's practically a tradition to wipe out the UA students as quickly as possible. They'll be lucky to make it past the first few minutes."

Aizawa sighed. "It's not like telling them will make the situation any different. They can either get past it, or they fail. It's up to them."

"In a way," Izuku-sensei interjected unexpectedly, speaking up from where they had almost forgotten him, "This is the way that prepares them the most for the future. Everyone here knows their quirks, but they are going into the situation blind. If anything will open their eyes about the future, this will."

"Right! That part makes sense," Joke hurried to say. She could be such a suck-up to Izuku-sensei sometimes. "Honestly, I'm just kinda surprised UA hasn't gotten rid of the Sports Festival by now. Or at least made it so not every person in Japan can watch it." She crossed her arms petulantly and grumbled, "I know of at least two occasions where having the Sports Festical broadcasted made my first few years as a hero a whole lot harder."

Aizawa nodded. The Sports Festival had always meant something different to him since it was what got him into the hero course, but he could definitely agree that having it viewed nationally caused problems. Shigaraki and the League having so much readily available information at the Training Camp and Kamino just put the problem into greater focus. They were exposing the students too early, creating unnecessary danger for them.

"Yes," Izuku-sensei sighed. "I have been battling the school board with that particular decision for years. They seem to think that UA wouldn't be UA if it didn't have the mass media coverage that it does." He shakes his head in exasperation. "But that's neither here nor there. Mera's just now getting to the viewing room."

Aizawa looked up, and sure enough, Mera was slumped into one of those uncomfortable chairs the Commission made sure to have on hand for all of their employees. He watched with rapt attention as the man leaned forward and speaks into the mic.

'The exams starts... yawn... now.'

Almost immediately, the ground was torn up and thrown into the air, an entire ring of students swaraming around class 1-a. He leaned in closer, watching with unshakable focus as they did their best to battle their way out of it.

" I see Tokoyami's taking advantage of all the shadows they're creating... that's good... Shinso is using his scarf for defense... might need to do some more work with Mina for how far she can spray the acid... should probably meet with them about how they..." His old teacher devolved into a muttering storm that Aizawa could barely track. The green-haired man's pen was flying across the pages, the writing barely legible. He could still catch Joke doing her best to figure out what he was saying, though.

He watched as Yaoyorozu ducked under Shoji, discretely managing to make something. Her arms were shaking a small object furiously, and then she shouted a short warning to her classmates and threw it. Instantly, the area around them was obscured by a thick smoke, and he could hear the confusion and panic as they tried to figure out who was who and where they were.

"Excellent!" Izuku-sensei exclaimed. "A safe way to get away from a larger group without compromising any one member!"

Aizawa smirked as he watched them sneak out of the ring through the side, and when the smog finally cleared there was no one standing there. But quite of few of the other students from other schools were missing a target or two. It turns out that they kept throwing the balls in an attempt to get them out when they couldn't see anything.

"Oh, come on Shindo!" Joke cried out. "You can do better than that!"

"A student of yours?" Hizashi chimed in.

"No, I'm sure she's talking about someone random," Izuku-sensei offhandedly said. Aizawa couldn't stop the snort from exploding out of his mouth. It wasn't often they got to hear Izuku-sensei be sarcastic with them.

Joke laughed, and Aizawa felt the beginning of a snicker. He immediately blocked her quirk, and leaned away from the camera his traitor of a husband was pointing in his direction. "Nope. Don't even try it."

"Darn! But yeah, Shindo's one of mine. He has an older brother who told him about the Crushing of UA, and he was pretty determined to take them out. I was honestly rooting for him."

Rolling his eyes, Aizawa glanced back down at the massive fields. His students had split into smaller groups, likely making sure they wouldn't all be cornered again, and were doing what looked to be making plans. Which was good. If they had just rushed in there without any ideas they would be slaughtered. That was why a class of his three years ago had all failed, and it made him wish they still had Izuku-sensei to teach analysis, and the basic common sense of meeting an opponent. And lo and behold, his wish had been granted.

Everything was going pretty much the same as it had been every year, the same old rush around the arena and students sticking to their school groups to protect themselves. There were always a few stragglers, of course, but they were the outlier, not the norm.

But then there was a gentle growl of the wind that built up and up until it was a loud roar, so loud it was prevalent even outside of the arena. It was going in circles just like a cyclone, tearing the balls right out of people's hands and sending them rushing at each other. Right at the center of it all was one of the only other first-year students, the one who had taken first in the recommendation exam before deciding to go to Shiketsu instead. That in itself was strange.

'Uhh... I guess our first student has passed, and over a hundred of the others are out. Please, continue to finish this quickly.'

"What kind of lackluster announcing is this?!" Hizashi shouted, outraged. "Where's the intrigue? The wordplay? The play-by-play that leaves fans on the edge of their seats? I have to go fix this immediately!" He jumped to his feet.

Aizawa shook his head as his husband stormed off in a huff. The blonde was so engrossed in the task at hand that he barely remembered to say goodbye as he left.

"Things are about to get really noisy, aren't they?" He sighed, ignoring Joke's cackling. The truth is, he didn't really mind his husband's commentary that much. It was something that he was passionate about, and it made him happy. Plus, he had been around the man long enough to deal with a little noise. Most of the time it was actually enjoyable to listen to him. He would never admit that to Joke, though.

"Probably! Hope you enjoy it, Eraser!"

He turned his attention back to the fighting students, watching quite a few of them get knocked out. Four more students passed, picking on the ones that the Yoarashi kid had left nearly finished and getting rid of their last target. It was relatively easy to pick out his students from their vantage point, something the arena was specifically designed for. They wanted for teachers to see what they needed to work on with their students before they got their real license that would make them full-fledged heroes.

'Oh, another few students are out of the game. There are now 95 slots left before this portion of the exam is over... yawn... What are you doing? Give that back!'

'Hey, hey, hey, Little Listeners! The exam has just started and- Mera, get back, I can take it from here- and you're going to need some serious- Mera, I'm serious!'

'You can't just... yawn... take the mic like that! This isn't a sporting event; we don't need this announced by you. Understand?'

'...SO! We're in the first few minutes of the exam, and already a tenth of our applicants have bitten the dust. How long do you think this is going to last, Mera?'

'I give up.'

Aizawa and Joke share one sadistic grin, and he sees Izuku-sensei's mouth twitch with the beginnings of a smirk. Since he wouldn't give Joke the satisfaction of actually seeing him laugh, he returned his eyes to the field below, finding each group of his students. Todoroki was alone, which was uncommon, but not necessarily strange for the teen. It was certainly more likely for him to go off on his own than for Uraraka or Kaiminari to do so. He was pretty sure the dual-haired boy would be fine on his own.

But he realized he couldn't see the student that he should probably be keeping the biggest eye on. Bakugo wasn't anywhere in sight, at least not in plain sight. Which worried him, because Bakugo was not someone who usually tried the stealthy approach, so this was a bit worrying for him. Aizawa should be hearing explosions and swear words by now, but instead all he heard was the general pandemonium that came with the licensing exam.

Something's not right.

Part 48

Around 200 years ago...

Izuku snorted from where he sat on the old couch, reaching for his notebook.

"That's ridiculous. No-I'm serious. Aki!" He rolled his eyes as his absolute traitor of a neighbor grabbed his notebook and held it above his head. One thing he really hated about the man sometimes was that he was incredibly tall. And Izuku was short, short enough that the other man could use it to his advantage.

"It is not! And this proves it!" He flipped through Izuku's leather-bound notebook until he found the entry that he was looking for, ignoring Izuku's repeated attempts to jump up and snatch the book away from him. "See? If someone has an ability to shrink things, even only a little bit, that completely messes with the conservation of mass law! It defies science itself."

"Not necessarily," Izuku argues. "They could just be changing the strength of the electric field around the object, and therefore just be acting on a higher level than scientists have currently reached understanding of."

Izuku finally managed to pry away his notebook, though he had to partially stand on a chair to do so. Aki was laughing at him, turning red in the face. Over the past year, they had grown closer, and Izuku realized that the white-haired man had a similar love for analyzing quirks. There were times where he could be a bit strange about it, almost like he wanted them, but he wasn't outright malicious, so Izuku looked past it. It was nice to finally talk to someone about this kind of thing.

"You two are nerds," Yoichi deadpanned from where he was sitting in the living room space. He had a book open on his lap, one from the university he was going to, but it was clear he was more focused on the show in front of him. "Why do I feel like I've heard this conversation before?"

"Because your brother refuses to accept truth," Izuku huffed, clutching his notebook protectively to his chest. "And because he's confrontational."

"True," Aki conceded without any argument. Progress. "But I'm not the one that rises to the bait every single time."

Izuku rolled his eyes, dropping down on the couch next to Yoichi. These days, he was just as often over at their apartment as he was at his own. Aki and him had grown closer ever since Yoichi started university, and they realized they had very similar interests. It happened after Yoichi had dragged him there for dinner at their place, and somehow the topic of abilities had come up. Aki had been vague with his own, but once the subject of others had come up, neither of them could stop talking.

"So..." Aki started. "That new quirk you were analyzing, it has the power to shrink things?" He was watching Izuku like a panther would watch a passing rodent.

Izuku sighed. "Only by a little bit, like a few centimeters. But just the implication of it were wonderful. Unfortunately, the father was very, very against him ever using it. They came just to figure out how to make him stop it. All of them looked miserable."

"Makes you wonder if they would be happier if the ability just went away," Aki said offhandedly.

"Aki, there's nothing wrong with abilities," Izuku frowned. "You know that. It's just something else that makes us us."

"No, no, of course there's nothing wrong with it," He quickly said. "I'm just saying that sometimes having an ability isn't the best thing for a person." He got a far-off look. "Maybe they would be happier if they didn't have it anymore."

"I don't think so," Izuku firmly said. "Plus, it's not like they can just walk into a clinic and get it removed. They're pretty sure it's a part of their DNA codes now."

"Hmm?" Aki snapped back. "Oh, yes."

Izuku noticed Yoichi giving his brother a strange look, one that confused him slightly. The two usually got along well, with most of their arguments centered around Aki being overprotective and smothering when it came to his younger brother. He would even go so far as to not let Yoichi out of the apartment when he had a temperature that was even slightly off.

"Since abilities are being found to be in our DNA codes, then they must have come from a mutation somewhere," Yoichi thoughtfully adds, drawing attention away from the awkward silence that had arose.

"It does look that way," Izuku agrees. "Makes more sense that families would have a similar set of traits to their abilities."

Right as they were about to dive into the absolutely fascinating discussion of where abilities came from, Izuku's cellphone dinged. Apparently, for one of the contract jobs he did he needed to have a last name to tell them. Which was going to be tricky, considering he didn't really have one at the moment.

"What is it?" Aki asked, no doubt noticing his furrowed brow. "Did something happen?" He looked ready to run. Or fight. It was a coin flip, honestly.

"Ugh, nothing like that," Izuku groaned. "I just need a last name, and I don't know what I'm supposed to choose." It felt weird enough getting rid of his own last name, let alone learning to answer to a whole new one.

"What?" Aki said, then he groaned. "I guess this means I can't call you Izuku No-Name anymore. What a pity."

"And the mocking nickname goes away." There was one brightside to this, at least.

"Okay, okay... I've done this before, just give me a second..." Aki went silent, occasionally muttering something under his breath. He had just confirmed one of Izuku's suspicions that Shigaraki was a fake or chosen name. When he had first moved there, he had run a background check on the name they told them, and it hadn't come up with much. Once he found out Aki had an ability, it became much clearer. A lot of them changed their names and moved as far away from everyone they knew as possible.

It hurt too much not to.

"Okay... Kutsuki?"

Izuku didn't spare a moment's hesitation. "No."

"Tanaka?"

"No."

"Sasaki?"

"No."

"Arai?" That one means new arrival... oh, come on.

"No. And I'm not a new resident anymore. I've lived here for years."

Aki eyed him consideringly. "What about-"

"I've got it," Yoichi interrupted. "Midoriya."

Izuku mulled it over in his head. All the other names he had felt a disconnect to, but this one... he could at least say it fit him okay. And he could always change it again if it didn't end up working in the future.

"Green?" Aki snorted. "That's a bit on the nose, don't you think? He literally has green hair. Won't that look a little-"

"Okay." Izuku spoke up suddenly, starting and stopping quickly. He almost surprised himself.

"Okay? You say okay to that but not to anything I suggested?"

Izuku gave him a raised eyebrow. "That's because his suggestion was better than any of yours."

"You ungrateful little-!"

"I thought we quit it with the height jokes?" Izuku picked. "You're becoming rather predictable, Aki."

His friend opened his mouth to argue, but at that exact moment his phone rang. He grimaced when he saw the message, but then he had a small smirk on his face. Aki had been acting differently at times, leaving more and more often for his 'work' that he never really explained.

"Ah- sorry, Izuku. I've got to go do something for work. I trust you'll be able to make the change in your files yourself?" Izuku nodded, noting the way Yoichi looked at his brother. It was a curious look, but one that came with some apprehension as well. As far as Izuku could see, Yoichi didn't know what his brother did for work either.

"Yeah. If the government is so concerned with what they have on people, they should really make their database less hackable." Aki snorts, but he's already halfway out of the conversation, throwing off his slippers and slipping into his regular shoes.

"Yoichi, I'll be back later tomorrow. Good luck on your test tomorrow."

"Yeah... see you later. Thanks." Yoichi had a deep furrow in his brow as he watched Aki leave, the door shutting softly behind him.

Izuku let the silence sit for a moment, then cleared his throat and said, "So your test is on Modern World History? Need any help with that?" He didn't want to brag, but he was pretty good at it.

"Hmm? Oh, no. I'm fine." He snapped back to attention. "Just... I think I'm going to bed. Need to get some sleep if I want to get the score I want."

"Right. I think I'm going to go as well." Izuku rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "People to see, government agency files to break into. Y'know, the usual."

"Ha. See you tomorrow?" Yoichi offered him a distant smile.

"Yup." Izuku gave him a wave as he stepped out the door. "See you tomorrow."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Bakugo tore through the rock shrapnel lying everywhere, cursing that black-haired extra that decided to destroy half the field. Sure, at first he acted all nice and innocent, but he was a freaking snake. At least Bakugo had the decency to let people know he was an asshole.

Most of the extras out there were going after Bakugo's stupid classmates, so he figured he would just wait for some of them to break off and then take care of it from there. Patience may not be his strong suit, but he was capable of it when the situation called for it. Didn't mean he had to like it, though.

" Dumb Shitty Hair... of course I wasn't going to freaking 'work with them' or whatever he said... I can do it on my own."

'Uhh... I guess our first student has passed, and over a hundred of the others are out. Please, continue to finish this quickly.'

I'll show you quickly, you annoying freak that looks more sleep deprived than Aizawa-sensei.

He lunged over a toppled pile of concrete, cursing the wind that still blew with gusto even after the loud weird guy with boundary issues was gone. There was a pair of students just standing off by themselves, and Bakugo's bullshit sensors went off. Glancing around, he saw a couple others sitting in the bushes, hoping to take advantage of whatever idiot decided to ignore the obvious trap and go for those two losers.

Instead, he targeted one of the wannabes in the bushes, surprising him quickly and jabbing a ball into all three targets angrily. The guy had his jaw dropped in shock, like he couldn't believe his dumbass plan failed. He rolled his eyes in disgust and started to walk off.

"Hey! You can't just walk away! GUYS, GUYS! THERE'S A GUY HERE! HE GOT MY TARGETS!" Ugh, he's so whiny.

Bakugo stood there with a sadistic smile, waiting for the extras to appear so he could take them out. It wasn't like they were going to pose any threat now that they couldn't get the drop on him. All he had to do was take out two of them, and there wouldn't be anything stopping him from getting his license.

The extra that decided to start shrieking like a little banshee had to leave, sullenly stomping his feet like a petulant child. Pathetic. And to make matters worse, there was only one of his friends that decided it was worth it to come.

She sent some kind of glowing ball towards him, but it was moving slowly and all he had to do was step out of the way. Then she tried to come at him with these weird things dangling from her fingers, glinting sharply and shaped like crescent moons. They flicked out when she got closer, but all it took was him raising his gauntlets up to block and they weren't a problem anymore.

"You're pretty good for a first-year!" She said deridingly. "Wouldn't expect anything less from the kid who came in first at the UA Sports Festival, though."

"Shut up," He gritted out, eye twitching as he prepared to release a non-lethal blast. They had made sure to mention in the rules that if you seriously injured another applicant that you would be immediately disqualified. Something about 'being a danger to those around you if you can't control yourselves'. Tch.

He shot an explosion right behind her, grinning when she flinched from the loud pop. His hero costume had ear protection added in when he first started, to avoid the otherwise inevitable permanent damage to his ears when he fought with his quirk.

"Though you apparently have terrible aim! I'm right next to you and you can't hit me!" She mocked, tightening her grip on that weird weapon of hers.

A tree groaned above them, and Bakugo relished in the look of surpise on her face as he jumped back, the falling tree forcing her to go with him. "What was that you said about terrible aim, Scissorhands?"

The awkward positioning left her stumbling, and he was able to get to two of her targets in rapid succession. There was one right on the inside of her right arm that he couldn't reach right away, but she left the other two in stupid places. She snarled right in his face, a blob of spit landing squarely on his cheek.

"Ah! What the hell!?" He couldn't even wipe it off of his face because if he did then she would take advantage of his distraction and take the upper hand. "You're going to regret that!"

He sparked his fingers individually, the crackling and popping sounding therapeutic to him. Brown eyes widened in dawning realization as it got louder and louder until there was an eruption that blew her backwards. Bakugo was also thrown back, but he had more experience with keeping his balance. All it took was a single lunge forward and then the final target turned green and it was over. He didn't even lose a single one of his targets between the two other students.

"Ugh," She glared at him. "Typical, UA decides to ruin everyone else's chances. Makes me sick."

"Ha!" Bakugo barked out a laugh. "I'm not the one who decided to be a freaking coward and stage an ambush. It's not my fault you were too weak."

She glared at him as she stalked out of the area, Present Mic announcing that there were now only four fifths of the examines left, because for some reason he was now doing the announcing. He scoffed at her before stomping off into a different part of the testing grounds, one filled with run-down secluded buildings. He figured there had to be another person or two hiding out there that he could take out and then finish. There was a delighted grin on his face, stretching in a slightly savage way. Something about this was pretty fun, like hero training where you're allowed to go all-out. Delightful.

One of the buildings looked like it could actually support some weight, so he started there, clambering over some fallen bricks and debris. The inside was dim and he could barely make out the silhouettes of the sparse furniture in the room. There was no one in sight, but something still felt decidedly wrong. Like there was something or someone watching him. It made him uncomfortable, and he hated being uncomfortable. Makes him want to blow something up.

"Any of you extras in here?" He shouted in the stark silence. There wasn't anything said, but he could tell that someone was there. "You gonna come out and fight me like a hero, or are you just going to sit here in the dark like a coward?" Another beat passed by. "Hah?"

A partially broken down door creaked to his right, and he whirled around. No one was there. He was just about to give up and let the pathetic weakling fail by waiting too long when he felt something behind him. Short, hot puffs of air were hitting the back of his neck, and he leaped to the side. What the hell? What do they think they're doing?

"WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?" Bakugo shouted, hearting racing from how close the stranger had gotten to him without him noticing. Sure, he had sensed that something was wrong, but he would have been able to stop them if they wanted to kill him. And that was what scared him most. If this person had really wanted to, they could've taken out at least one of his targets, maybe taken him out of the licensing exam entirely.

Stupid. All Might or Izuku-sensei wouldn't have been fooled by that. Can't do anything right-

"Hello to you too!" The girl giggles, ignoring his furious gaze. Now that he knew where she was he could see her, making out longer brown hair, though he couldn't tell if it was light or dark. She had a crazed grin on her face, one that was eerily familiar. He couldn't quite place it, though. "Do you remember me?"

Bakugo searched his memory, making sure to never drop his guard. He couldn't place the girl anywhere, though, and usually he only had trouble with names, not faces. Still... there was something in her eyes, in her manic smile, that made him get a strange sense of deja vu. It made him want to throw up.

"Who the hell are you?" He clenched his fists, glaring at the girl.

"Aww..." She pouted. "I thought we could continue our talk from the last time we were together, but it's no fun if you can't even remember what we were talking about. Did Shigaraki give you some kind of short term memory loss, or what? Sensei told him not to."

Bakugo's blood froze. Shigaraki...? Sure, it was common knowledge that he had been the student at Kamino that was kidnapped, but she talked about him like she knew him. And Sensei... wasn't that what they had called All For One? He opened his mouth to bark out an order to get away from him, or some kind of battle cry, but nothing came out.

"I guess I'll just have to show you," She continued, twirling a piece of her hair idly between her fingers. "Just give me a sec, okay?"

Then one of the most horrifying things Bakugo had ever seen happened. And he had seen a lot of horrifying things. The broken and bruised All Might after Kamino, Izuku-sensei while they were doing the mock battle against him, himself after Best Jeanist was through with him. But the scene in front of him was hitting new levels of revulsion.

Her skin bubbled and stretched, and then it started to slip away, to melt from her face. It happened everywhere, even with her clothes. The previous hair color went away, and in its place was two messy blonde buns sitting on the top of the melting figure's head. He wasn't focused on what was happening with the lower parts of her body- not that he wanted to look anyways- because he couldn't take his eyes off of her face. The manic grin suddenly fit more into place, catlike pupils emerging from bright yellow eyes. It was undeniable.

Toga had found a way to get into the exam.

"Do you recognize me now?" She asked excitedly, tilting her head to the side like she wasn't a villain in a hero licensing exam. "C'mon, just tell me!"

"What are you doing here," He croaked out, silently cursing his voice for not cooperating with him. Finally he manages to speak and all he can manage is a croak? Pathetic.

"What, I can't just come to say hi to an old friend?" She leaned in closer. "We are friends, aren't we Katsuki?"

"Don't fucking call me that." He bit out.

"You're right! You practically spent a whole day with me; I think we're beyond just Katsuki..." She hummed thoughtfully, twisting a knife round and round her fingers. Sickly, he thinks back to the girl he just beat. Could she have been Toga in disguise too? Was there any way to really tell? "I know! I'll call you Kacchan! It's an amazing nickname! Don't you think that's just perfect? We'll be such good friends!"

He wanted to lunge forward, to throw a blast at her, to do something so he wouldn't feel so pitiful and weak. But there were chains tightening around his chest and locking him down, just like the ones they had at Kamino. And every time he struggled against them, it felt like they got tighter and tighter and tighter until he couldn't breathe. In the end, all he can manage to get out is, "Don't call me that either, you sick-"

"Oh, hush." She waved a hand out to silence him, still smiling saccharine sweet. "Now that we're best friends, we can talk about our crushes together! Do you have any crushes, Kacchan?"

Something jolted inside of Bakugo, but he ignored it. "Of course I don't. I'm not some freaking schoolgirl."

She sighed dramatically. "Ugh... you're no fun. But I guess you'll just have to talk to me more about my crush." She got a faraway dreamy look in her eyes. "At Kamino, I didn't get to see him all bloodied up, once Sensei was finished with him, but I saw the footage. He looked gorgeous. Don't you think?"

Bakugo threw up a little in his mouth.

"And Mr. Stainy admires him too!" Stain? "Mr. Stainy is so cool. But enough about him, I want you to tell me allllll about Izu-chan!"

Bakugo decided he had enough and spat out, "Hey, Bloodsucker, do you even know that he's out teacher? He's an old man compared to you." She didn't even react to the offensive name.

Toga smiled. "Of course I know! I actually know a lot about Izu-chan, I just wanted to see what you know about him. But Kurogiri said I could only go and maybe see him if I told you what Sensei told us."

Something twisted inside his stomach, and he wanted to scream at her to stop talking, to shut up or else, but he didn't know how to make his jaw work. To make it form the words he wanted to say. They were getting stuck in his chest.

"I asked Sensei about Izu-chan right after you told me what his name was, and he had so many things to say about him." Bakugo started to get a sinking feeling. It was twisting up his insides, tearing them apart. Something felt undeniably wrong.

"Sensei told me that he knew Izu-chan for a very, very long time. He knew all sorts of things about him, things that he told me no one else knew." She giggled delightedly. "He said that they were best friends."

The world stopped.

Izuku-sensei and All For One were best friends? The villain that almost killed All Might, the villain that kidnapped him and tried to turn him to his side, the villain that ran the underworld for years and years, used to be friends with Izuku-sensei? It was unbelievable, crazy, made everything spin around on its axis.

It made perfect sense.

All For One had even said they were old friends, but Izuku-sensei was looking at him with such disgust that Bakugo pushed it to the back of his mind. He honestly didn't remember much of the middle of the Kamino incident, just the beginning and the end.

'History like ours.'

'Been through much too much for that to ever happen.'

'We used to be so close.'

The conversation they had while he was there came to him in flashes, the puzzle pieces coming together in quick succession.

"Sensei said that he was so happy he got to see Izu-chan again!" He heard her keep on talking distantly. "He said that Izu-chan could help them sooo much, just like he did before!"

Before?

Izuku-sensei used to help All For One? Not only did he know him, not only was he friends with him, he used to help him. A hero, his teacher, used to help the most prolific villain out there. And maybe he could try to convince himself that Toga was lying, or that someone had lied to her, but given what he had overheard at Kamino, it made too much sense to dismiss it.

It made too much sense.

'ALL RIGHT! WE'RE AT THE HALFWAY MARK, LITTLE LISTENERS! ONLY FIFTY SPOTS LEFT BEFORE THE FIRST PART OF THE EXAM IS OVER!"

That knocked the invisible chains loose from his body. Because while he may be spiraling over the fact that his teacher helped the villain that hurt him, he also was going to pass this exam no matter what. He had no way to tell the teachers that Toga had infiltrated the exam until he finished, failed, or the exam just ended in general. The last two weren't an option for him.

So he turned on Toga, thanking All Might he finally got a chance to put an end to her rambling. He didn't need or want to hear any more about how pretty Izuku-sensei's blood would be if it was spilled all over the floor.

"Would you just shut the hell up already?" He snarled, bunching up his muscles and preparing to throw a punch that would detonate upong impact. "I don't give a shit why you came here, or about your stupid crushes. I'm going to make sure that the heroes find you."

Toga watched him for a moment, then giggled. "Why would you do that? We're friends."

"We are not friends," Bakugo spat out. The blonde's eyes widened, then narrowed down into little slits. "And we never were."

He lunged at the same time she did, except while he lunged toward her with his gauntlets, fully prepared with an explosion, she lunged away from him, out a barely visible doorway. It was right then that his explosion went off, and it shot off straight towards where Toga used to be. The blast blew him back a foot, and his wrists ached. He would've kept chasing after her, but the building was so run-down and worn that the doorway partially collapsed. It would take more time than he had to clear it, especially if he wanted to pass the exam. Plus, even if he did use his explosions, he had no guarantee that it wouldn't just tear down the building further.

Letting out a short, frustrated scream, he stomped back to the entrance, every cell igniting with rage now that Toga was out of his sight. He cursed himself over and over again for letting her get away, for being so pathetic that he froze when he first saw her. So useless.

The light burned his eyes as they adjusted, but he didn't slow down for a single step. In the distance, he could see three examinees standing huddled together. Bakugo charged straight for them, ignoring the logical parts of his brain that told him to wait and make sure it wasn't a trap like before.

It didn't feel the same way, though. They were speaking in low, angry tones of voice, arguing over something or other. Bakugo didn't really care. All he wanted was to take out as many of them as possible before the people overseeing the exam called him out. He was dying to blow something- someone up.

"I don't care! If all three of us want to pass, then we're going to need to single someone out and attack as a group."

"That just draws attention to us! Then some bigger team comes along and all of us get out."

"Then what do you want for us to do? It's not like- LOOK OUT!"

Bakugo dove in, making a big blast that sent them dodging in all different directions, scattering them like leaves after a big gust of wind. One of them, the only girl in the trio, recovered the fastest and came at him with some kind of stick, like the kind some martial arts use. That doesn't do her much good when he blows it into splinters, though.

It doesn't even take another three seconds for her to be out of the game entirely. There was only one target to hit.

He knew that he had technically passed the exam now, and any moment his targets would glow pure white and he would be sent away. But he was seeing red, and he couldn't stop his actions as he took out the two other guys in rapid succession, both of them rushing him at the same time. His wrists continued to ache, throbbing more with every explosion that he sent the extra's way.

Some distant part of him recognized that he had gotten them out too, but he didn't really hear anything beyond the rushing in his ears, beyond the constant thud of his heart. The only thing that stoped him from continuing the fight was a boisterous and noisy voice appearing over the speakers, cutting through the static in his mind.

'Examinee 356, stop immediately and proceed to the waiting room. You have passed, and will be disqualified if you continue to go after other examinees. There are now only 15 slots left before the end of the first half of the exam. The pressure's on now!'

Bakugo blinked, arms falling against his sides limply. Mechanically, he walked away from the distraught trio and made his way to where everyone else had gone. He... he should probably tell Aizawa-sensei about what happened. But not Izuku-sensei, not alone anyway.

After everything he had just learned, everything he had just put together, he wasn't telling that man anything until he found out exactly how he knew All For One.

Right now, Izuku-sensei wasn't his teacher. He was someone that was keeping something from him. And Bakugo didn't trust him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Did you take care of it, Toga?" She clutched the phone tightly in her hand, pressing it against her cheek.

A short sniffle. "Yeah. I took care of it."

Part 49

Izuku walked alongside Aizawa and Joke, the three of them making their way towards the waiting room for the students who passed. There were still ten slots left, but the last of their class had just finished, and there wasn't as much of a reason to watch anymore. Present Mic was still doing the commentary, and had sufficiently subdued Mera and his attempts to get the microphone back. Given what Mera had tried earlier, Izuku didn't even feel bad for him.

He didn't really have anything against Mera specifically, he was just following orders and trying to get something out of him. The newest in a long line of Commission employees sent after him. It was frustrating to have to deal with their constant attempts to get information out of him, information they weren't in the slightest entitled to. For instance, they would try to casually work into the conversation how he got all of his information in the early days.

Please. Just because they asked politely now doesn't mean he doesn't know why they're asking. The HPSC had been respectful and courteous at first, relying on all of the quirked individuals to help them as they first formed. Then they started to get cocksure and arrogant, and at that point they could stand on their own two feet and they stopped including Izuku and all the others in their decisions. But they still expected him to give up confidential and irrelevant information, for no other reason than they were control freaks that wanted it. He wasn't an idiot.

"Well, Eraser, I guess all of your students survived the Crushing of UA. Might be the first time in years that's happened, especially while they're still first-years." Joke sighed ruefully, taking on a fond expression. "And I see you've only expelled one of them this year. Is Eraserhead finally getting soft? Do you actually like your class for once?"

"Never," Aizawa immediately denies. "As you said, all of them survived the Crushing of UA in their first year. They've got potential, that's all."

Joke lifts a brow skeptically, and Izuku silently watches the show in front of him. "Really? That's pretty cruel, Aizawa, especially considering one of them is your son."

"He's the exception, not the rule." Izuku purses his lips together, stopping the chuckle from escaping. Aizawa had the most indignant expression on his face, clearly offended that Joke would suggest he actually enjoyed teaching his students.

" Righhhttttt," Joke drawls out, nice and disbelieving. In his mind, Izuku remembers why that batch of students had been so fun to teach. Of course he remembers every set of students that walk through his doors, but there was every once in a while that he could tell they were going to do something great. He's just glad he always had the chance to see it.

Though there were always some drawbacks to that too.

They arrived at the large white door where all the students were gathering until the second round started. Joke nodded to them once and blew a kiss to Aizawa before hopping over to where her students that passed had clustered together, clearly congratulating them on their victory. Meanwhile, Izuku and Aizawa trekked over to the portion of the room that all of their students were waiting at.

"Well done!" Izuku beamed at them. "All of you have made it past the first round. Impressive!"

Smiles were tossed back at him from all but a few students. One of the most memorable of which being Bakugo. He was glaring at Izuku with something in his eyes that hadn't been there before, a resentment and silent loathing that Izuku didn't fully understand.

"Thank you, sensei!" Several of the students chorused.

"Do you know when the next part of the exam is going to start?" Kirishima asked Aizawa. "I want to get back out there while all of this manliness is flowing through my veins!"

"Be patient. They need to set up the stage for the next part of the exam. It shouldn't take that long at all," The black-haired man huffed. "Though if anyone could manage to make it take forever, it would be the Hero Commission." The last part was muttered under his breath.

Silently, Izuku rejoiced in the fact that he wasn't the only one with a distaste towards the Commission. Sure, he believed that tey were necessary in the society they had right now, but they also made things a whole lot more difficult for everyone. And then they painted themselves as the heroes of every story. Even the ones they had nothing to do with.

The students all nodded, the more anxious of them wringing their hands and doing their best to breathe deep breaths. A few of them were calm and collected, like Yaoyorozu and Todoroki, but there was one students that didn't fit either group. Bakugo.

The spiky blonde was glaring at him still, but his attention started to focus on Aizawa. He wasn't nervous like his classmates, but there was clearly something eating at him. Izuku watched carefully as he approached them.

"Aizawa-sensei," the boy grunted. "I have to tell you something you need to know."

"Can it wait?" Aizawa also watched their student carefully. "You don't have that much time."

"No." Bakugo didn't say anything else, just followed sullenly as Aizawa jerked his head over to a more private part of the room. Izuku quietly fell in step behind them.

"All right, Bakugo. What is it?" Aizawa's words might have seemed harsher than necessary, but his tone had a soft edge to it, not as tough and emotionless as he usually addressed his class.

"When I was in the exam," Bakugo started, still not looking at Izuku, "I went into this building and there was this weird girl there." Izuku started to get the same feeling he had earlier and knew this wasn't going to be good. "She was acting creepy, and then her face melted off and she became Toga."

"You mean you saw Toga here?" Aizawa clariifed. "Wearing another student's face?"

"Yeah, if that's what you want to call it." The teen crossed his arms jerkily. "She started by asking me questions, and then she just started on this weird monologue."

"What kind of questions was she asking you?" Aizawa asked, not taking his eyes off of Bakugo. The teen shifted uncomfortably.

"Mostly just stuff about him," Bakugo flicked his eyes over to Izuku. "The same as when I saw her in Kamino. She's weirdly obsessed with him and his blood." That... makes me feel weird. But... a fixation with blood might stem from the fact that her quirk requires it to function. I wonder if her intake influences the fixation at all, or if it's separate. There's not much known about this, so if I could just...

He snapped himself out of his musings when he realized that Bakugo and Aizawa were still talking about what she said. Bakugo was being partially evasive, though not in his usual confrontational way. It was more like... he didn't want to talk about anything specific she said. Which wasn't that hard to believe. From what they were able to puzzle together from Kamino, Toga was one of the main two that was around Bakugo. There was obviously going to be some inner conflict here.

"Can you describe the girl that Toga impersonated before she changed?" Izuku asked, knowing that they needed to find out what school she was from and whether she was alive now.

"I dunno... She had brown hair that was pretty long. And she had one of those hats that the extras from Shiketsu have, I guess. She doesn't look like that anymore. She ran off."" Izuku and Aizawa shared a glance, agreeing that they would need to inform both the exam proctors and the teachers from Shiketsu what just happened. And they would need to confirm every student and teacher's identity before anything went on further.

They couldn't completely cancel the exam, not since it only happened two times a year and some students had already passed the first part. They would only have a hundred students to check, and they just wouldn't let the others leave until they had been cleared. Same for all of the teachers.

"Are you injured anywhere?" Izuku finally asked. He knew Toga had a fondness for knives, and while he didn't see any open wounds on his student, he knew that it didn't necessarily mean he hadn't been hurt.

"Like she could have touched me," Bakugo scoffed, though the way he leaned back on his heels was defensive. He also looked uncomfortable at the suggestion that he could have been hurt. He still wasn't looking at Izuku in any other way than to glare.

"Is that all?" He grits out.

"Is there anything else you can tell us?" Aizawa asks right back.

"No. There's nothing else." Bakugo resentfully stares at the ground, kicking a foot angrily at the wall. Izuku winces slightly when his foot makes contact, but doesn't say anything. Instead, he quietly observes his student, noting how his eyes flick towards and away from Izuku with suspicion.

He didn't do this before today... He might have glared, but not like this. Whatever Toga said, he wouldn't have bought it unless there was a reason to, and Toga wouldn't have said it unless she thought she could have driven a wedge somehow. Or... whoever told her to come thought they could drive a wedge.

Now the only question is what she told him.

"Bakugo, did Toga say anything to you about why she's here? Anything at all?" He watched him closely.

"Nothing important," The blonde gritted out. "She was just rambling on and on about her crush on you."

" What?" Izuku squeaked, momentarily forgetting about why he asked Bakugo what she said in the first place. "She's seventeen!" He shudders.

"Well, you don't exactly look your age, Izuku-sensei," Aizawa pointed out, pocketing the cellphone he had texted Present Mic with. The other Pro Hero was near Mera, and they would be able to contact security as a whole much faster than Izuku and Aizawa could individually. Toga was probably long gone already, but on the off chance that she was still around somewhere, they would need to do a full sweep of the premises.

"But..." He gestured around helplessly. "She's seventeen!"

Aizawa rolled his eyes, turning to Bakugo's simmering form. The teen was getting fidgety, clenching and unclenching his hands. He was obviously done talking to them, and Izuku wanted for him to have time before the second part of the exam started.

"Bakugo," the black-haired man addressed him. "If you're sure you're fine, and there's nothing else we need to know, you can go back to your classmates." Aizawa hesitated. "Don't tell them about this yet. We'll get everything taken care of before the second part of the exam starts. Just get ready for that."

Bakugo jerked his head in a nod, stomping away. Some of his classmates were looking curiously over at the blonde, like Kirishima. When he got over there, some of them looked like they tried to ask him what was going on, but Bakugo swatted their questions away with short, angry shut-downs that had several of the teens flinching.

This was the final straw for Izuku. He had hoped that they wouldn't have to shove Bakugo into therapy, as it was going to be more helpful to the student if he was the one to go to it, and not just if they forced him. If Bakugo just refused to talk to Hound Dog, or whatever other therapist there was, there wasn't going to be any progress there whatsoever. It was a delicate process, one they had to handle carefully.

But this... this wasn't healthy for Bakugo or his classmates in the slightest. And Izuku wasn't just going to step back and watch them all crash. When they got back from this, he was going to have to have a talk with Bakugo about help. It had gone on long enough.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Aizawa split off from Izuku-sensei, his teacher going to find out more about who the Shiketsu student was that got taken. At this point, every single hero in the facility had been alerted to the problem and were making sure that if Toga was still here, she wouldn't be getting out. The students were all blissfully unaware.

He caught Joke's eye from across the room, and for once she wasn't smiling. Instead, her face was grim and serious, mouth set in a firm line. He could understand why. A student, a student that could have been one of their students, had been taken right from under everyone's noses. No one had noticed a thing until the teenage villain had attacked Bakugo, and even then they didn't know anything until after the fact. That was terrifying.

Joke strode to him, separating herself from the curious eyes of her students. One of them with black hair looked freaked out once he realized it was Aizawa Joke was approaching. Come to think of it, wasn't that the same kid that had pretty much orchestrated the Crushing of UA this year?

"Do they know who the girl is yet?" Joke spoke in a hushed whisper. "Anything at all?"

"No. All we know is that she's probably from Shiketsu. Izuku-sensei is going to confirm right now." He could already see his old teacher leading teachers from Shiketsu away.

Joke nodded, relief present in her eyes. "Good. That's good. If anyone can track down who she is, it's got to be him."

One of the heavy metal doors burst open, banging into the wall behind it. Aizawa's quirk activated instinctively, hair flying off of his shoulders and around his eyes. It always ticked him off how it slightly obscured his vision, but it pissed him off more when he had to hear about his stupid friends gush about how good it looked tied back.

Nothing was worth that.

He calmed down when he saw that it was Hizashi at the door, the blonde's bright green eyes scanning the room with fervor until they landed on Aizawa. His husband practically dashed over, only slowing when he realized how many of the students were watching him.

" Shouta!" Hizashi whisper-yelled. "What the heck was that text? You can't just tell me that I need to make sure Mera locks down the exam because Toga got in! I need more context than that!"

Aizawa rolled his eyes. He could be so dramatic when he wanted to be. Or even when he didn't want to be dramatic. "Just because you think you're being quiet doesn't mean you actually are, and we really don't to be trapped in a room with a hundred overpowered and panicking teenagers." He shuddered. That just might be his worst nightmare.

"Right, right," Hizashi said, only moderately quieter. "But seriously, Sho! You cannot just send me something like that with no warning!"

"So I should send you a warning text before I tell you any and all urgent information? Maybe give you a couple minutes to anticipate it?" He raised an eyebrow at his pouting husband.

"Well... no. But! You still should give me more information than that! Was anyone hurt? How did she get in?"

"No one was hurt that we know of, and we think she got in by impersonating a student from another school. We don't know who that is yet, though Izuku-sensei is on it."

Hizashi breathed out a quick sigh of relief, letting loose some of the tension from his shoulders. The blonde was clearly worrying about the possibility of one of their students being injured, maybe even their own son.

Aizawa didn't want to think about that.

"Okay. And the Little Listeners don't know what's going on?"

"Only Bakugo. Toga decided to go after him, probably because he was the one that was taken at Kamino."

"Gosh, he just can't catch a break, can he?" Hizashi muttered. "But he's not hurt?"

"Nothing physical, although I do think Izuku-sensei's going to make sure he goes to Hound Dog after this." If the green-haired man didn't, Aizawa would. One of their students had just been attacked at a place that, by all means, should have been safe for them. Plus, he had just been forced to confront someone that had played a critical role in previous trauma. He needed to talk to someone about this.

"Yeah, that's probably a good idea," Hizashi nodded along. Joke had been watching the two of them the entire conversation, smile growing wider and wider as Hizashi inched closer to him. Aizawa always made sure that they stayed at least a foot apart in front of the students, but for some reason the blonde always managed to forget. And he especially wasn't going to mess up now that Todoroki was in his class. That kid would see something completely unsuspect and run with it. He didn't want to know what the teen would do with something that actually was incriminating.

He shot a venmous look at the smiling hero, who looked like she was holding back the desire to laugh, for once. Then he shot an almost identical glare at his husband, who caught himself and stopped moving.

"Don't even start," He warned the greatest nuisance in his life.

"Why, Eraser! I'm shocked you think I would say anything," The female hero ribbed, looking like she was glad to have some kind of distraction from the disturbing situation at hand. "Haven't I proved myself to be someone worthy of your trust?"

Pff. Aizawa might trust the other hero with his life, but he by no means trusted her to restrain herself when it came to terrorizing him.

"No."

Joke's eyes sparkled with mirth, her green eyes looking slightly like Izuku-sensei's for a moment. The only difference is that Izuku-sensei's were usually more bright.

Speaking of the man, he appeared right behind them, looking down at his phone and frowning. "We think we found the girl that Toga impersonated." All three teachers stood up a bit straighter. "Her name is Camie Utsushimi, and she's a second year at Shiketsu. They were able to account for everyone except her, and right now they're trying to confirm who was it that saw her last. As of right now, we have no reason to believe that she is dead."

Aizawa felt the urge to wince. It was going to be hard to confirm straight off the bat, especially while almost all of her classmates are doing the exam. He would almost suggest canceling the exam altogether, but he was well aware of the Commission's policy on that. A few years back, just a year or two after he had started teaching, there had been an incident where the integrity of the exam had been destroyed. The Commission added a new rule where the two dates spaced six months apart are the only ones the exam can be held on. It was a stupid rule, but the Commission wasn't always the smartest.

"Gotcha." Joke nodded. "Anything we're supposed to do? Is there anything we can do?"

"Not right now," Izuku-sensei sighs. "All of you just need to watch the exams and make sure the students don't suspect anything. We don't want an incident of mass panic on our hands."

All of you...

"And what are you going to be doing?" Aizawa asks.

"There's still a chance Toga's inside the building. I'm going to be going along with the security detail and make sure that there's no chance of her getting back into the exam, or leaving the building if she hasn't already."

"Are you sure it's the best idea for you to be searching for Toga?" Aizawa sees an opportunity and goes for it. "Based on what Bakugo said..."

"It'll be fine!" Izuku-sensei squeaks out. "She's... she's only seventeen," he finishes weakly, dashing away from the rest of the questions they were going to ask.

"...What was that about?" Joke asked after a minute.

Mic caught sight of his grin, and being the smart person that his husband is, he immediately caught on. "Looks like another seventeen year-old got a crush on him." They both smirked when they looked at Joke, Aizawa noting how she immediately got indignant.

"Oh my All Might! For the last time, I never had a crush on Izuku-sensei! And I don't care what Nemuri chose to tell you, she lied." Joke stared pointedly at him.

Not so fun when it's the other way around, is it?

"Surreeee," Hizashi teased. "And we all believe that, one hundred percent."

"Just out of curiosity," Aizawa jumped in, "what do you think Nemuri told us?"

"Only daily reports of how my love for you will never die." She glared at him.

In actuality, Aizawa was aware Joke never had a crush on Izuku-sensei. Sure, she might have looked up to him more than the rest of their class, but it wasn't like she ever wanted to do anything like that. She had always just respected him. But if she was going to constantly pester him about getting married, he was going to retaliate in the only way he knew how.

"Y'know," Hizashi paused, a thoughtful frown tugging at his lips, "I don't think we've gotten those in the past few years. Shota, do you remember getting those?"

Of course Hizashi had gotten distracted the second a new shiny thing had been dangled in front of him. And judging by the triumphant gleam in Joke's eyes, she knew exactly what she did.

"Oh," Joke waved a hand dismissively, "I asked her to stop relaying them once you adopted Hitoshi. The poor kid looked so uncomfortable all the time, I figured I'd give him that one."

Yeah... That was probably for the best. At that point, Hitoshi had no idea what his admittedly strange relationship with Joke was, and it might have been weird for him to see a woman constantly flirting with one of his new fathers, especially right in front of the other father. It's probably confusing even now, after knowing them for years. God knows he didn't understand it.

"If I knew that's all it would take for you to at least partially stop, I would have adopted a kid years ago."

"Sho!" Hizashi gasped, scandalized. "That is not why we adopted him!"

"No," Aizawa agreed, "But it's a nice perk."

Hizashi shook his head in exasperation, the ridiculously tall spire that was his hair remaining stock still. He opens his mouth, probably to chastise Aizawa some more about not being sarcastic while talking about the adoption of their son, but his attention is once again drawn away.

Looking over himself, Aizawa can see Izuku-sensei talking animatedly with Mera, the beige-haired man leaning back against his heels like he wanted to be anywhere but there. Aizawa started to nonchalantly inch closer, taking a page out of Izuku-sensei's book and eavesdropping.

"Look," Mera was saying. "It's not like there was anything we could do. They're supposed to be hero students, and-"

"Just because they're hero students doesn't mean they are equipped for these situations right away," Izuku-sensei hissed. "They aren't getting their official pro hero licenses, they're getting their provisional licenses. Bakugo should have been able to contact a teacher during the exam!"

"I'm not the one that made the exam," Mera protested weakly. "All I do is make sure that no one cheats and that..."

"And that no one gets hurt beyond the parameters of the exam?" Izuku-sensei suggested with a dark tone.

"Well..."

"That was one of my requirements for the exam proctor, Mera. I know what your job is supposed to be."

Mera grumbles some more under his breath, unable to offer anything more than, 'I'll talk to the president about it.'

Aizawa discretely slid back to his fellow teachers, a smirk plaguing the corners of his mouth. Maybe he would feel bad for Mera but... He just really didn't have it in him.

"Students, listen up." Mera slouched over to the microphone, dead eyes surveying the room. "The first part of the exam is over. From this point on, you all have the opportunity to pass the exam. If you'll follow me," He turned away and clicked a button that opened a giant garage door-like window in the room, "Out here, there will be actors masquerading as victims that need help. You will be graded by these actors by how you react to the situation and how well you do overall. Those who receive a score high enough will pass, and the rest will fail."

Mera clomped back over to the room with the rest of them, clicking the button once more and closing the giant door. He yawned.

"Good luck, or whatever."

Part 50

Hawks dragged his feet, almost collapsing against the side of the alleyway wall. He'd been flying all around the city for hours, running to whatever incident the Commission told him to, like some kind of animal at their beck and call.

He winced. He wasn't supposed to think like that. Maybe it's just because I'm spending so much time with the League... I'm bound to pick up a thing or two from them. I just have to remember that the mission is the most important thing and anything else will always come second.

Sluggishly, he spreads his wings open and takes off into the skies. His head feels distinctly fuzzy, but he still manages to navigate over the city and to his apartment. He doesn't bother to come in through the main entrance and just flies right to his balcony door. Since he was at the top floor and it wasn't likely someone could break in, he never locked that door. The Commission would probably have a fit if they knew.

Dragging himself over the cold wooden flooring, he sank down into his couch, one of the only decent things about the apartment, in his opinion. He didn't know how to cook, so the kitchen was just mostly there for show. And it wasn't like he got all that much time to sleep, so the bedroom wasn't his biggest concern. The view... Well, he could get that anywhere. But the couch... the lovely, comfortable, amazing couch. It was big enough that he could lay down on it, and even spread his wings slightly. Honestly, falling into that couch was probably one of the highlights of his day.

He doesn't want to think about how sad that is.

Instead, he snatched one of the pillows and curled around it, shutting his eyes tightly and blocking out the world. His wings instinctively came around him, and one of the feathers tickled his nose. He knew that there were a million other more productive things he could be doing, whether it was tailing the League or going over case files that had a one in a million chance of being helpful, but he couldn't find it in himself to move.

Listlessly, he thinks back to the raid he and Dabi did with the supply truck. At the time, he hadn't been that concerned with where the supplies were, just that he got them. They needed to be low-risk for the Commission, and they needed to fit what the League needed. If they thought for one second that Hawks was more of a threat than he was a resource, he knew he would be out of there faster than he could snap. And that was if he made it out alive.

So he hadn't run it by his handler, and had instead just put the parameters into one of the Commission-only search engines. That truck was the one nearest to them that fit everything he needed, so he chose it. The location of the storage facility hadn't seemed that strange to him at first, just another lifeless building the Commission occupied.

And when he had gotten there, it had all been fine. He'd met up with Dabi, exchanged their usual snark-filled remarks, and had everything go according to plan. Sure, they had had a small problem when the Commission employees got off of their lunch break early, but all it took was a simple detour into a filing room and they were fine. Maybe Dabi got a little too interested in the files, but the villain had always been weird.

Once he had found a route that would take them out of the place discreetly, he started leading Dabi out of there, the black-haired man begrudgingly following him. He could tell that Dabi was thinking about something else, gripping the lapel of his black coat every few moments, as if checking something was still there. So he stayed silent, forgoing their usual back-and-forth. That was when the weird feeling started to settle in his chest.

The path to the outside had led them through an area that specifically said restricted access, the precise reason that Hawks chose to go that route. Dabi wasn't exactly inconspicuous.

When they were in that room, crawling started to settle under his skin. He vaguely remembered stopping in his tracks and staring wide-eyed at the entirety of the space. The off-white walls, the floors that were just slightly more padded than the rest of the building. It was all too familiar.

'Come on, Takami. You think you can be a hero if you can't do this one simple thing? Get up and try again, and this time you shouldn't go down before the twenty-fifth hit.'

I think I was nine at the time?

'Stop behaving like a child and quiet down. I don't care if you don't want to do it. This is for the good of our society. You want to be a hero so badly? Start acting like it.'

Maybe ten?

'Finally starting to show some initiative, are we? I was starting to think you didn't actually want to save people. From now on, your training schedule is going to be nine hours a day, and academics will be four. Anything less is unacceptable.'

I was fourteen.

That room... he shifts on his side as he remembers. That room was where he trained as a child, where the Commission made it clear that failure wasn't going to be accepted. He hadn't been back there in... All Might, it had to have been at least four years, when he first made his debut. After that, the Commission had sent him to where he lives now, and had declared that while he was expected to put in a certain number of hero hours in, he no longer was expected to come in for the same training he'd had to before.

So when he stepped in there, he wasn't expecting the visceral reaction he had. Sure, maybe he might feel uncomfortable when he came back there, but he wasn't expecting for his gut to be in knots and his stomach to bubble like he was going to throw up. I mean... it wasn't that bad... was it?

In the end, he had been snapped at by Dabi for being weird and taking too long. It was one of the few times he'd been thankful for the other man's impatient nature.

He sighed. There's no point in thinking about it now, is there? Doesn't change the past, and it doesn't really affect the future. It is what it is.

Absently, he detached one of his feathers from his wings and began twirling it around in the air. His eyes lazily tracked the bright red tuft as it floated above him, spiraling gently. Apart from a single air conditioning unit buzzing gently, it was silent in his apartment.

Which is why it was deafening when the balcony door squeaked open.

Instinctively, his feather shot through the air, embedding itself deep in the wall as the intruder dodged. Hawks bolted up into a seated position, preparing to send as many sharpened red razors as need be. Then he saw who it was.

"What the hell, Dabi?" He sent an incredulous look at the man, the infuriating, infuriating man. "You can't just break and enter into my home!"

The villain grinned at him. "One, I'm a villain. Two, technically I didn't break into anything. All I did was enter."

Hawks ran a hand through his tangled blonde hair, trying to resist the urge to strangle him. So far, it was touch and go.

"How did you even get up here?" He asked.

Dabi shrugged, leaning casually against one of the armchairs Hawks never used. "Just had Kurogiri drop me off on the roof. From there, it's just a simple hop down onto your balcony." He grinned. "For the number two hero, you have shit security."

"Yeah, well, not a lot of criminals try to break into heroes' homes. Lotta risk for no reward." Hawks crossed his arms grumpily, tapping into the weird mental link he had to each of his feathers and digging it out of the wall. It neatly reattached itself, blending in with all the others.

"Why did you even come here? There weren't any more missions set for today." He paused, a wide smile slowly growing on his lips. "Unless... You didn't come here because you miss me, did you?"

"In your dreams."

"All night, every night," Hawks fired back. He gets a certain sense of satisfaction when he sees Dabi stiffen and glare at him.

"You're an idiot. How are you not dead yet?"

Hawks fluttered his lashes innocently. "First you're worried about my security, and now you're worried I'm going to die? You do care, Dabi."

"Like fuck I do." Dabi dropped down into the cushion with a huff, glaring at Hawks with those shockingly blue eyes of his. A pang of recognition went off inside of him at the sight, but he brushed it off. He had enough things to worry about right now.

"That's okay; I can see you're not ready to admit that you have feelings that aren't bitchiness and resentment." Hawks placatingly raised his hands.

Dabi grunted in annoyance, looking around his apartment like it was some foreign world. "Whatever. Why's it look like there's no life here?"

Hawks squawked. "Of course there's life here! I live here!"

Dabi side-eyed him. "Really? The League Headquarters looks more like a home than this. And it's covered in substances that may or may not be blood." A pause. "We haven't really asked Toga about it yet."

Probably a wise move.

"Just because it doesn't look like a dump doesn't mean that it's lifeless," he grumbled. "Why are you even here?"

Dabi arched a singular eyebrow at him, the motion somehow both disbelieving and amused. "I told you I would be watching."

"You're avoiding the question. And you said you'd be watching always, so by that logic you don't need to be here."

Dabi blew out a puff of air. "Fine. You know a lot of things about what the Commission does, right?"

Hawks blinks from the seemingly sudden change in subject. "Uh, kinda? They don't tell me everything, but I know more than the average person does. Which can be a low bar sometimes, but whatever."

"Great. Then you know about the things in the classified files?"

Hawks stared at Dabi suspiciously. "Again, it really depends. You're being strange. Do you have a concussion or something?"

"No. Maybe. It doesn't matter." Dabi leaned forward. "What I want to know is if you've ever heard of someone with the surname 'Takami'."

Hawks froze.

There was no other word to describe it. His arms stopped functioning and just became useless sticks at his sides. A rushing in his ears drowned out anything else Dabi was saying. How did he know, how did he know, how did he know-

Nobody was supposed to know about his real name unless they had a ridiculous level of clearance. In fact, if he wasn't Keigo Takami, he wouldn't even know about the Commission's young heroes project. So how had Dabi, of all people, found out? The League couldn't be getting their hands on information like this. They must've heard about his father somehow... they probably haven't connected it ot him yet.

Even as he was silently screaming and panicking inside, he kept a calm demeanor and did his best to seem like he was pausing thoughtfully, and not like he was about to flee the country.

"Umm... That might sound familiar? Wasn't that some kind of criminal that was arrested around... fifteen years ago? The serial thief or murderer?" His heart thudded painfully in his chest.

Dabi shrugged nonchalantly. "Maybe."

"Why do you ask?" Hawks wills the sweat to stop running down his back.

"None of your business, bird brain." Even though he said that, he still continued. "I just happened to come across the name somewhere, and when I looked it up it was all heavily redacted. Figured the Commission might have their fingers dipped in it."

Hawks faked a laugh as best as he could, praying to All Might it didn't sound as canned as it felt. "Well, I don't know how old you think I am, but that was a little before my time. The guy was arrested around... what, fifteen years ago?" It was seventeen.

Dabi shrugged, but his eyes narrowed and he stared at Hawks more intently. "Eh, whatever. I also came to tell you that there's going to be a weekly League meeting from now on on Fridays. Kurogiri's on this 'bonding' kick, and I think he's just going to shove us all together until we play nice."

Hawks blinked owlishly at him, pulse still racing. "I don't think that's going to end well."

"Probably not," Dabi agreed. "It's going to be fun as fuck to watch, though."

Sending one last disgusted and curious look around his apartment, Dabi went out the way he came, climbing up the balcony to the roof with the practiced ease of one who had done some parkour in their life.

Hawks threw his head back against the couch and groaned.

I need to start locking that door...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Shinso was working with Iida and Uraraka to get three 'victims' out of a collapsed building. He had to give it to them, the actors were pretty convincing. And while it felt a little ridiculous that there was a whole company of people dedicated to being test subjects for hero students, it made sense. Where there was a demand, there was a supply.

"Okay, sir, if you would just grab my hand I'll get you out of here," Uraraka leaned down, supporting herself against one of the only stable beams. A man leaning heavily on his left side stared at her doubtfully.

"You sure you'll be able to do that on your own?" Shinso side-eyed him from where he was holding up a block of cinder, but the guy didn't seem to notice. "I don't know if you can lift me out of here."

Uraraka gritted her teeth, but kept a smile plastered on. "Don't worry about it! I'm stronger than I look. Just grab my hand and we'll get you out of here in no time."

Still eyeing her like she was about to fall over, the man gripped her wrist, staying consistent with the way he dragged his foot across the floor. Uraraka hefted the man up nimbly, Iida ushering him away with a polite smile. There were two more people they had to get out, and then they would move onto the next hub with people that needed saving.

One of the first things Yaoyorozu had done when they got there was set up a station where the rescuees of the exam could go to be treated further. Even the kids from other schools had listened to her without any complaint, though Shinso did see that Shindo guy rolling his eyes once he thought they had all looked away. Dick.

"Alright," Shinso dusted his hands off, "I think that there's some more people out in that direction." He pointed off to the right, where a crumbling building was.

"An excellent idea!" Iida exclaimed, back from running the 'victims' to the triage center. "We must make sure we find as many of the victims as we can, both so we can be amazing heroes as well as to pass this exam!"

Uraraka caught his eye and rolled hers good-naturedly. The three of them were making good time, and had already gotten pretty okay reviews from the actors. Some of them were pretty judgy, though. If Shinso heard that he should smile more one more time...

He got why girls were upset by that. It was infuriating.

As they got closer, he started to make out another exam-taker yelling at some couple in a ditch. And, lo and behold, it was Bakugo.

"Hey! That is not how you should react to victims when they are hurt and having the worst day of their lives! Points taken!" A man proclaimed, still keeping up the appearance of having a cut on his arm.

"Though, he did seem to know we weren't the high-priority victims..." A woman next to him mused. "So, maybe not all the points are redacted."

"Hmm..."

"Hi Bakugo," Uraraka called out. "Is there anything you need from us? Any help?"

Oh, Uraraka... Don't say the 'h' word.

"Like hell I need help from you! I don't need help from anybody!" The angry blonde spat at them. "I'm not some weakling who can't handle this."

"Being insensitive around civilians," The man listed off. "Points redacted."

"Whatever," Bakugo mumbled, glaring spitefully at them.

Shinso dragged the other two away from Bakugo, and towards whatever other points awaited them. Sorry, he meant injured civilians. It was hard to really take this as a serious attack when the victims of said 'attack' would pause and judge them on how much they smiled, or what tone of voice they took. It didn't feel very logical to-

Okay, maybe papa was right and I am a mini-Aizawa. Crap. No wonder Todoroki figured us out so quickly.

"Hold up, Intestate, I think I spotted someone." Iida gripped his arm, pointing over to a broken piece of concrete, one that was hiding two people trapped under it. A middle-aged short man and a younger woman, both of whom were sporting 'blood' that decorated their faces and bodies.

"Help, help!" The woman called out in a fake strained voice. "My father and I are trapped."

"Fear not," Iida declared. "For we are on the scene!"

"Are you going to get us out of here or not?" The man crabbily snapped, angling his head as far to the side as he could in his current position. Shinso pursed his lips and did his best to ignore his tone. "My back hurts like a son of a bitch."

Iida blinked, and Shinso had to resist the urge to smirk at him. He was going to have to get used to people cursing around him if he was going to be around villains. They didn't really care if you were uncomfortable with the language they were using, and apparently neither did this guy.

"Yes, well, um," Iida coughed into his hand, trying to stutter out some kind of assurance. "We'll be able to fix that, sir, if you would just listen to us and-"

"Why the hell should I listen to you whippersnappers?! You're practically babies!" Shinso felt his eye twitch. Some of the actors had been taking the 'grateful rescuee' role, and other had been taking the 'difficult person' role. It wasn't that hard to guess which route this guy was going.

"Sir," Uraraka diplomatically stepped in, "We do know how to handle this situation, and we are sure that you can make it out if you listen to us. I'm going to use my quirk on this concrete, which will lift up. Before we do that, however, are there any injuries you have?"

"Haven't you been listening? I said my back hurts!"

Uraraka turned to the woman. "How about you?"

"I've got a scrape on my leg, but nothing serious."

"All right then," She turned to Shinso. "Intestate, if you would help me pull them out once the concrete is lifted, then Ingenium can run them over to triage."

"Gotcha, Uravity." They had all decided to use their hero names, since that was what they would actually use in the field. That was especially important for Shinso, because he couldn't let the media or the villains find out his name. It was best to get into the practice right now.

"All right... one, two, three... now!" Shinso and Uraraka both grabbed the 'victims' at the same time, yanking them upwards as gently as they could. The older man still grumbled and complained, but he looked like he was having fun with it, which made Shinso a little salty.

As the woman righted herself, Shinso remembered what they said about smiling and begrudgingly pulled the corners of his lips up as best as he could.

"What... what is that?"

"I'm smiling?" Shinso didn't know why that sounded more like a question than an answer.

"Maybe... maybe don't do that around victims. Or ever."

Shinso cleared his throat uncomfortably as she was carted off by Iida, and did his best to ignore how Uraraka snickered next to him. 'Shut up. I- was it really that bad?"

"You looked like Aizawa-sensei whenever he gives us a hard homework assignment and then changes the due date at the last minute to a later date, once all of us have already finished the assignment."

Oh. Well, crap.

"Seriously, how did no one except Todoroki figure out that Aizawa-sensei's your dad?" Uraraka asked. "It's stupidly obvious."

Shinso shrugged, picking at the corners of his capture scarf.

"By the way," Uraraka got a scary look in her eyes, "I don't suppose you'd tell me who your other parent is?"

"Not a chance," Shinso deadpanned.

"Oh, come on! If Todoroki figures out both of them before us then he's going to gloat forever!"

"Todoroki doesn't gloat," He pointed out.

Uraraka opened her mouth, then closed it. "Yeah, that's fair."

Iida raced back. "Yaoyorozu said that we need to-"

Suddenly, a boom sounded from across the exam zone and several buildings came tumbling down, sending rocks and dust flying. Shinso and Iida lunged at a nearby wall to keep them steady, and Uraraka floated herself upwards. The ground quaked and rumbled, an ominous roll.

"I thought this was just supposed to be clearing up the aftermath of a disaster!" Shinso yelled.

"When are we ever that lucky?"

"Good point," he sighs as Uraraka comes floating down. "I guess we should go check that out?"

Iida sent him an incredulous look. "Of course we're going to check that out! It's our job as heroes to!"

"Yeah, yeah..."

Shinso heaved out a breath and took off after the two. He didn't know what it was about loud and energetic people, but somehow both him and his dad had been drawn to them.

They really did have a cursed existence.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Izuku smiled gleefully as he watched the students go through their rescue efforts. They had already done well by setting up some sort of a system and working together to help the supposed victims.

Well, for the most part. Todoroki, Bakugo, and the kid from Shiketsu named Yoarashi had all taken it upon themselves to go off on their own and forgo the offered help from their classmates. And it wasn't like they were doing a bad job of it, but there were little things that needed to be worked on.

For instance, Bakugo was admittedly skilled in blowing away debris and getting the victims out of difficult spots, but he would scare them while he was doing it. Not exactly what they wanted. And while Todoroki was handling the situations wonderfully, he seemed indifferent to the victims' suffering. Even if his face wasn't the most expressive, he could spare them a second's worry. Though, Izuku did suspect that it was harder to get into the exercise since he knew it was fake.

And then there was Yoarashi, a student who, by all means, should have gone to UA. From what he had heard from Nezu, even though he placed first in the recommendation exam, he had dropped out and gone to Shiketsu instead. Nezu had said he had no idea why Yoarashi had chosen to leave, but after witnessing even a small interaction between the teen and Todoroki, Izuku had at least a small understanding of what went on.

Yoarashi's enthusiastic nature seemed to scare the victims, something that would probably lose him a couple points in the end. Not enough to fail, but enough that they would be noticed.

A resounding boom threw itself around the stadium, and Izuku's smile turned more sadistic. This was going to be the fun part of the exam, the one that he had been waiting for all day.

"Ahh..." Joke said, "They're running exam 2.18b, aren't they?"

Aizawa flicked his eyes over to her once. "Looks that way. The last time they used this particular version was what... eight years ago?"

"Mmm... maybe nine."

"Still, a villain attack will be a good chance to see how they react in a high pressure situation, and how they prioritize the safety of the civilians around them."

"Well..." Izuku said, "I might have suggested a little change this year."

Aizawa and Joke shared a glance. "What do you mean?"

"Let's just say it's going to be a bit different." Izuku said. "We'll see how they handle it, won't we?"

Part 51

Todoroki guided another group of actors to the triage center. Another student examinee that he didn't recognize took it from there and led them away. Yaoyorozu had set this place up so they would be able to further care for the actors once they were found, maximizing the amount of people they could rescue. It was a solid plan.

"Hey, sonny," an older woman said, tapping him on the shoulder, "In the future, try to be a bit more considerate when dealing with victims, m'kay? You seem a little... indifferent."

Todoroki blinked. "But you're not victims. You're actors, and this is a test."

The woman opened and closed her mouth, finally electing to just walk away with the other actors. He didn't really understand what the problem was, but apparently there was one. Several of the people he had rescued had said the exact same thing, but the most important part of this exercise was proving you can save people, right? Therefore, the faster you can do this, the better chance you have for passing the exam. It didn't seem like there was much more to it than that.

He turned to head back out and find more of the actors, but Yaoyorozu rushed to him before he could. "T-Shoto! Could you wait a second?"

He paused. "Yes. What did you need?"

"Some of the victims have injuries that would benefit from an icepack. Since we don't have those, I figured you were the next best thing."

He nodded, and she grabbed his arm and pulled him away towards the actors. They didn't have real injuries, and Todoroki knew that, but he still understands the importance of demonstrating his abilities. At least that makes sense, compared to pretending to think injuries are serious. That didn't make much sense at all.

"Hey, hey, hey!" A girl shouted from next to him. Her pink skin stood out starkly from the rest of the cotton-white set-up, and he recognized her immediately. If the pink skin wasn't a dead give-away, then her enthusiastic attitude would have been. "If it isn't our new human icepack," she crowed.

Todoroki blinked. "I... but I'm not the ice pack? I just make them."

Mina rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah, if you want to be all technical about it." She flounced back to a pair of kids, entertaining them.

Kaminari tapped him on the shoulder. "Hey, dude, you gotta couple of ice blocks for me?" He points over to the left with his thumb in a jerky gesture. "That group over there needs it."

Todoroki obliged, pushing the cold, icy feeling out from his right side, into his fingertips, and out of his hand. The temperature dropped a few degrees, and he could see goosebumps break out over his fellow students' skin.

He wordlessly handed them to Kaminari, and the electrically inclined boy shot him a thumbs up.

"Are you going to head back out there now, Sho-woah!"

Yaoyorozu rocked into the wall as a huge rumble shook the ground, sending students everywhere to their knees. He himself had to make ice boots of a sort that attached him to the ground, like cement poured around his ankles. Except, unlike cement, he could immediately melt the ice and move after the wave passed.

"What was that!?" An unidentified voice in the crowd called out. Todoroki didn't wait to hear the response, he just ran straight forward, towards the building that had toppled down. Dust was everywhere, and he could feel it coating his lungs whenever he took a deep breath in.

He raced along the splintered sidewalks and broken glass, ignoring the other exam-takers. They were all making sure that there weren't any actors left in the danger zone, and he wasn't really interested in that right now. Something was going on, and he was going to take care of it.

He ran up a hill, pushing his legs as hard as he could. Every step felt like it was another step closer to something terrible, something that would throw this entire exam off course.

And then he saw it.

At the very top of the hill, he had a clear view of everything. The destroyed buildings, the giant stadium and where it ended, but most importantly, he could see Gang Orca and his minions.

The place was crawling with them, and judging by their manic laughter and intimidating postures, they weren't here to help with the rescue efforts.

"Mwa-ha-ha!!! Aren't any of you pathetic little heroes going to stop me? I'm going to burn this place to the ground!"

Yup. Definitely a mock villain. Also, not the greatest evil laugh.

"None of you have come to stop me yet? What weaklings!"

Todoroki was about to make an ice ramp down, plans already forming in his mind, when someone rammed into him from behind.

"Oh! Hey, I'm sorry about that! I-" Yoarashi froze, and his face soured again, like when they had met earlier that day. "Oh. So you decided ot give up on rescue efforts and just go for the villains, right? Just like someone else I can think of."

"You did the same thing."

"Yeah, but I'm not a cold-hearted bastard like you are."

Todoroki frowned. "But my parents were married?" Unfortunately.

"You think you're funny?" Yoarashi scoffed. "You have no spirit or passion. I don't even know why you want to become a hero. Is it just to make daddy dearest happy?"

"That's not really your business, is it?"

Yoarashi glared at him. "I have no interest in working with someone like you."

Todoroki felt a rare burst of anger, but he mercilessly shoved it down. "Fine. I have no interest in working with you either."

Gritting his teeth, he pulled away from Yoarashi, the other teen using the wind to propel himself forward. As he slid down the ice he had created for himself, he couldn't help the feeling that this wasn't going to end well.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kaminari clung to one of the beams for support as a shockwave hits their acting triage center. He clamps down hard on his quirk, knowing that they really couldn't afford for him to knock them all out with lightning in his surprise. If he almost killed all the victims of the attack, he was sure to fail the exam.

Plus, he just really didn't want to go whey right now. Or really ever.

"What was that?!" A victim screeched from right behind him. He had to give it to the actors, they were definitely very skilled at what they do. They almost had Kaminari believing that this was a real attack and that they had no idea what was going on. Even the kids were blubbering and sniffling, but Kaminari could tell they were really having the time of their lives.

"Pinky, make sure all the civilians are okay! Froppy, help me ensure the structural integrity of the tents," Yaoyorozu ordered, rushing over to the poles of the tents as soon as she regained her balance. "Everyone else, defend the triage center and the civilians while providing aid when you can!"

Kaminari nodded, even though she had already turned away. Yaoyorozu was an amazing leader and vice president for their class, and he had realized that her ideas were almost always incredible. Case in point, the triage center. He would never have had the brains to do something like this in his entire life, but Yaoyorozu came up with these kinds of ideas like it was nothing. She was awesome.

"Right!" Mina shouted. "Chargebolt, can I get some help here?"

"I gotcha!" He flashed her a grin and quickly ran over to some of the collapsed civilians, starting with thsoe who either couldn't get up or hadn't yet.

"Hey, you okay?" He tried to gently ask an elderly woman.

"Oh, don't you worry about me, sonny. I'll be fine, but you should look out for the others." She nodded resolutely, and though she seemed confident, Kaminari was hesitant. Was this the kind of situation where he was supposed to listen to what she said, or was it the kind of situation where he should make sure she was checked out first? How was he supposed to know?

Thinking was hard work.

After a moment or two, he gave her a once-over and didn't see anything that was worrying, so he moved on. A couple of kids were letting out ear-splitting screams- yeah, they were having the time of their lives- and he was doing his best to make sure they were all okay. Which was hard when some of these kids had lung capacities the size of opera singers, and-

All Might, do some of these kids have voice quirks?! I thought only Present Mic could scream this loud!

"I've got this area cleared," He said to Mina, picking up a couple supplies from the ground. "Do we know what happened yet?"

"No, I think Todoroki went to go check it out, though. And- oh!" Mina hopped up. "There's Ocha-Uravity and Nitro!"

Belatedly, Kaminari realized that was Uraraka and Iida. The other boy had changed his hero name sometime after the Stain incident, since at the time they were picking their names he wasn't sure if his brother was going to be able to continue his hero work. Calling each other by their hero names felt... strange, especially since they hadn't really come up much since their internships.

However, Izuku-sensei had suggested that they get into the habit as soon as they could, and this would be one of those settings where it would be preferable to use their hero names. Something about being a 'professional setting' where they could 'practice without getting strange looks'. Something about the way he phrased that and looked off to the side gave Kaminari the impression that he had maybe had an embarrassing situation or two in his past. Plus, the smirk Present Mic-sensei gave him told Kaminari all he needed to know.

"Hey," Uraraka panted, "Need any help over here?"

"Uh... yeah! But, uh, you got any idea what's going on out there?" Kaminari scanned the two's disheveled forms. "And where's Shin-Intestate?"

Iida jolted up from where he had been doubled over, leaning on his knees. "Ah! We saw what was going on as we made our way here. It appears that there is another aspect to this test. Gang Orca and his... well, gang, are attacking the city. Intestate went to go deal with him while we rushed here."

Of course. They couldn't just make it to where we were being criticized by actors as we rescued them; they had to add yet another element to this test. The people who made this exam are jerks. Total jerks.

"We've made sure that there aren't any victims remaining that are in that zone," Uraraka tacked on. "But there might be some to the east."

"Nah," Mina waved her hand around. "Some of the students from Ketsubutsu took care of that. I think everyone that needs to be rounded up is here."

"Are you positive?" Iida double-checked.

"Yeah, dude!" Kirishima ran towards them, holding some empty medical supply bags in his hand. "We went over everything as many times as we had to." He glanced around. "Anyone seen Bak-Explosion... I think just Bakugo? Around?"

Uraraka frowned. "I saw him right before Gang Orca showed up, over in one of the ditches."

Kirishima's eyes bolted to her immediately. "He was okay, right?"

"Yeah, Kirishima," she sighed, sharing a knowing glance with Mina, "He's totally fine. Barking orders and obscenities like there's no tomorrow, as usual."

Kirishima nodded immediately in agreement, but his thumbs twiddled nervously with the handles of the bags. Mina noticed.

"Hey, you good? You didn't get hit in the arm or anything, right?"

"Huh? No. I'm just a little worried about him," Kirishima awkwardly glances to the side. "When he came back from talking to the teachers he was acting a little weird, like something happened."

Kaminari hadn't seen anything was off with his explosive friend, but it makes sense that Kirishima would. Not only was his red-headed friend more observant than one would think, he hung off of Bakugo like a scarf. He still didn't know how Kirishima did it without being murdered in spectacular fashion.

"I'm sure he's fine!" Uraraka reassures. "And if anything was wrong, I'm sure that Mr. Aizawa and Izuku-sensei have got it handled."

"Yes!" Iida exclaims. "Our teachers have incredible sense and ability! They can handle even the most disastrous situations."

"It's nice that you care so much about your friends, sonny." The old woman from before was on her feet again, along with several other civilians. "But you should really be more worried about yourselves."

What?

The woman, no longer seeming so old and feeble, lunged at them, along with several of the other civilians. Kaminari's eyes widened, and he rolled to the side as fast as he could. Mina and the others did the same, all in varying degrees of shock.

"What the heck?" He screeched, scrambling to his feet as soon as he could. Ten people that they thought were civilians were standing there in front of them, holding some of the basic medical items they had gotten. Everyone except the sweet old lady, that is. No, she had a cane held high above her head.

It gave Kaminari flashbacks to Recovery Girl.

"Wait- you guys are the villains too?!" Mina yelped, blocking some of the crying children from their view. He was pretty sure that the children weren't villains in disguise, so it was probably okay.

Then again, he was also pretty sure that the lady who looks like she's about to meet Death wasn't a villain either.

"That's right," she cackled. "Weren't expecting for us to turn on ya, were you?"

Yaoyorozu came running back with Tsu. "Guys, what's the problem? I heard some scream-"

She took in the scene.

"...They were hidden villains, weren't they?"

"Apparently so," Uraraka grumbled, recentering her weight in the way Kaminari had seen her do during training. "How many of you are there?"

A man with an arm in a white sling smirked smugly, "Wouldn't you like to know?"

"They're not all going to be turning on us," Tsu predicted. "I'm guessing that only a few out of the bunch are, which menas we need to get the rest to a safe spot, away from both the villain attack going on outside and in here."

"A decent plan!" A young woman in front of Kaminari crows. "But are you going to be able to do it in time?"

Kaminari frowned. "There's not a time limit." Or was there? Had he spaced out while that Mera guy was explaining the exam? He might've. Shinso just looked so determined and his eyes looked brighter than usual and he had this cute little tilt to his lips that made him-

Great. And now he spaced out again. Bad brain.

"That's what you think!" Again, Kaminari was uncomfortably reminded of Recovery Girl when the old lady got a triumphant gleam in her eyes. It was just a bit too gleeful and scary in the way only the elderly could be.

Holy shit, was that why Izuku-sensei was so terrifying?

Yaoyorozu nodded to Tsu, and the green-haired girl rallied the rest of the examinees to escort the non-villain civilians out of there. Well, the probably non-villain civilians. They were going to have to have someone watching them at all times, just to be sure they weren't going to go and 'kill' the people they were supposed to be protecting.

"So, you chose to take care of the civilians first, huh?" A man asked them, moving up beside the crazy old lady. "Points added!"

Why did he say something encouraging so menancingly?

"What have you done?" Yaoyorozu demanded, holding out her staff in front of her defensively. "What do you mean we're running out of time?"

"Let's just say things are going to go out with a bang if you aren't careful," the old woman chortles. Why is the oldest person here the most terrifying...?

"What are you talking about?" Kaminari couldn't help but feel he was a step or two behind everyone else most of the time, but right now everyone was a little confused.

"All that matters is our goal!" The younger woman claimed. "The lives lost in the process do not matter!"

"That is not very sound reasoning!" Iida yelled.

"They're not supposed to have sound reasoning; they're villains, Iida!"

"That doesn't mean they should be imbeciles!" Holy shit, did Iida actually just insult someone? How frustrated is he?

"You still haven't figured it out yet? That's pretty on track for heroes. Buncha dolts." That old lady was really mean. Even Recovery Girl could phrase things better than this, and she constantly told them they were being idiots that were going to get killed within the next few years if they weren't careful.

Which was true, but come on. Not cool, dude.

"What are they even..." Yaoyorozu trailed off, glancing between everyone there. Her eye started to twitch sporadically, and Kaminari wondered if she would be the first among them to snap. She may seem put together now, but it's always the quiet ones that are the most dangerous...

Letting her head fall back, she sighed. Iida watched her with concern, apparently not quite ready to elect a new vice president. She rolled her head back up and watched the actors with the most dead expression Kaminari had ever seen from her.

"Shit." Yaoyorozu? "There's a bomb, isn't there?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Shinso panted heavily as he watched all of Gang Orca's minions cackling as they destroyed the cityscape. For hero sidekicks, they were very destructive. In a way it made sense, since they were the ones watching their every move while fighting villains and having to overthink every action they made. It sounded stressful.

His gaze panned over to one of the sidekicks furiously destroying a fire hydrant with a metal stick.

"You know what? Take this, Mothman! You said I had terrible aim, so how's this for terrible aim?! Huh? HUH?!"

...Very stressful.

Gang Orca appeared to be the one orchestrating all of the other 'villains', so it looked like if they took him out, they would effectively cut the snake's head off. And Gang Orca didn't know about his quirk, so this was the perfect situation for him. All it would take was one question and boom. That was that, exam over, thank you.

"What are you going to do now, heroes? If you're not careful, we'll destroy everything you've worked so hard for! This city will go down in flames!" Wow. Shinso did not know that Gang Orca could do such an impressive insane cackle. Kudos to him.

That one guy, Yoarashi, was battling him with huge bursts of roaring wind that felt like it could tear through metal and steel. Todoroki was on the opposite side of him, sending waves of ice and fire towards his enemies. It looked like the two were also fighting each other, fire and wind not really mixing well. Every time one or the other would get even slightly close to one another, they would have some kind of contest so see who could overpower the other. It usually ended up with them completely messing up each other's attacks, and then the villain minions got off scot-free.

"Todoroki!" He did his best not to yell at his friend as he got closer. "What the heck are you doing?"

The two-toned boy didn't even spare him a glance as he said, "It's not me, it's him." He glared at Yoarashi contemptuously. "He doesn't want to work together, and that's fine. I don't care if he thinks I'm like Endeavor. It's not my problem."

Shinso hesitated, watching his friend carefully. It had been a long time since he had seen Todoroki look this... how does one explain being both angry and emotionless at the same time? He hadn't really ever seen anyone who could do it as well as Todoroki could. Ever since the Sports Festival, he had been more open in his expressions, maybe not easy to read, but the slight amusement and little hints of his feelings were leaking through. Now, he was as shut off as a brick wall.

"Okay... yeah, that's not your fault, but I think I have an idea so we don't have t-"

"I have an idea of my own," Todoroki said, dismissing him. "All I have to do is get him out of the way, and I can defeat Gang Orca on my own."

Right," Shinso tried again. "But I think what I'm saying will work better in the long run. We don't even need to talk to Yaorashi to make it work. It would only take-"

"I wasn't planning on it," Todoroki interrupted yet again. Shinso stifled a growl of frustration, knowing that it wouldn't solve anything to be pissy with Todoroki. The guy was so immune to social cues it would do nothing for him.

"Todoroki, I need you to just stop and listen for a second! You're making things way more complicated than they need to be! It's illogical to battle every single minion when you could just skip past all of that and take care of Gang Orca!"

Todoroki turned away from him, like he was ignoring him. Shinso had to admit, his friend was really pissing him off. He could understand not liking Yoarashi and not wanting to 'lose' to him or whatever, because the Shiketsu student was being a pain in the ass earlier, but what he couldn't understand was being so damn belligerent about it. There was no reason to straight up ignore him.

"Todoroki! Why are you being so-"

"I don't have time for this. We'll talk after the exam, Shinso." With that, he jumped away from him and towards the makeshift villains.

Don't have time for this? Don't have time for this?

Shinso let out a short shriek of frustration, burying his face in his capture scarf. Papa had always said was best to not bottle things up, and while he did ignore that advice a lot- like his dad- just this once, he could see the value in it. Screaming could be a very satisfying thing.

Seriously, what the hell, Todoroki?! For All Might's sake, all you have to do is listen to people! It's really not that hard! You don't even talk that much as it stands! What do you even do if you're not listening!?

He pulled his capture weapon out, latching on to one of the few lamp posts still standing. The wind rushed through his hair, giving it that wonderful windblown look, and he ran along the rubble that was... everything. Wow, heroes can be really destructive.

Yoarashi and Todoroki were closer together now, and their attacks were interfering with one another's more than ever. One gust of wind and flames were off target. A glacier made of ice, and the wind split down the middle, harmlessly being directed towards the sides.

And they were shouting at each other now, too. Honestly, they were acting like two toddlers that were forced to play together by their mothers. The elemental power houses were throwing tantrums- and mock villains.

Shinso caught something moving at him in breakneck speeds out of the corner of his eye and just barely managed to jump back in time. In doing so, he lost his balance and flailed around rather embarrassingly.

Once he had stabilized himself, he glanced back and saw a huge ice chip, one that looked like it had been pulverized by something, fracturing in different directions. The wind, he realized belatedly, it got torn apart by the wind.

He glared up at where those two insufferable, powerful, annoying heroes-in-training were fighting. That's it. I don't care what I have to do, even if I'm working against both of them at once, I'm going to end this freaking exam.

And then I'm going to chew Todoroki out so hard he'll wish it had been my dad.

Part 52

Uraraka stood at the ready next to Mina, the pink-skinned girl dripping sweet-smelling acid from her fists. The six of them were doing their best to stay in a formation that didn't allow any of the criminals to make a getaway or get the drop on them.

"I really don't think it's that manly to go planting bombs," Kirishima grumbled. "Like, the only thing that would be less manly is to do it in an orphanage- no, a hospital for kids with cancer!"

The crazy old lady blinked at him. "Why on earth would we plant a bomb in an orphanage?"

Kaminari shrugged, joining in. "Well, you decided to plant one here, didn't you?"

One of the men standing beside their elderly ringleader sputtered. "That's only because we're targeting you guys! Going after kids doesn't even make sense!"

"Technically, we are all minors as well," Iida pointed out.

The man's face burned red and he sputtered some more. Uraraka and Mina shared an amused glance, and Uraraka could barely hold back a chuckle. Leave it to Kaminari and Kirishima to confound villains, even fake ones. All Might knows that they did it to them enough.

"That's enough," Yaoyorozu said firmly. "Where is the bomb?"

"That's what you would like to know!" The old lady chimed triumphantly, apparently pleased to be back on track.

Kaminari, the sweet dumbass that he is, blinked at her. "Uh, yes? That's why she asked."

The man stared at him. "You're not the brightest, are you?"

"Well, no, but you didn't have to say it like that."

Uraraka could tell that they were starting to strain the edges of the 'villains'' acting abilities. Ha.

"It doesn't matter anyway!" The mean old lady claimed. "The bomb is set to go off, and it can only be defused manually, none of that electronic crap you kids are trying to pull nowadays. And don't even think that one of us is going to help you, nasty heroes!"

Uraraka grit her teeth, trying not to flip the frustrating lady over her shoulder. For all she knew, that would kill her. But it was so hard when she kept doing things like this! Maybe she could make it look like an accident...

Damnit. No, Uraraka. You're going to be a hero, remember? Murder is off the table.

Unless you're Iida, apparently.

"Wait," Kirishima's brow furrowed. "Does this mean that you guys are going to blow up too?"

"Yes!" Hardcore.

Kirishima stared at them for a moment, then bluntly said, "That's not manly at all. That's like, the opposite of manly."

"Then it's a good thing I'm not a man, isn't it?" The old lady said, ticked off.

"Being manly is a state of mind," Kirishima proudly declared. "Gender doesn't matter as long as you're awesome."

Everyone just stared at him.

"Wait, wait, wait," Kaminari rushed out, holding his fingers up like he was counting something. "Couldn't you just set it off remotely and survive? I dunno, but it seems stupid to die when you could live."

"It's a symbolic- it's not like- it's supposed to represent- ugh!" The young woman blurted out. Her, the man, and the elderly woman seemed to be the ringleaders of the group, with the others just standing in the background and looking smug. Uraraka had to remember what Gunhead told her about martial arts in times like these.

"Uraraka?"

"Yes, sensei?"

"The Gunhead martial arts can be an incredible weapon when in your possession, and you can use them to save lives, but you have to remember to use them only for good, no matter what the situation is."

"Of course, sensei! I'll never use them to hurt people when I don't have to."

"You say that now, but just remember this moment when someone cuts in front of you in line when you've already been waiting for hours and they do their best to be an awful person and in that second you want nothing more than to hit them where the sun don't shine."

"Sensei?!"

"Sorry. That might've been a bit too specific. Just remember, no matter how appealing using force in the situation may be, do it only at the benefit of others and for defense only. And never use more than you need to."

Gunhead was right. It was a struggle to not cave their faces in. Which, she totally had the strength and will to do!

"What this whippersnapper means to say," The old lady butted in, "Is that you shouldn't give a shit why we're willing to die. All that matters is that you're going to go with us. You prepared to face death, brats?"

"I don't know, are you?" Mina said. "I'm only saying this because you look a lot closer to him than we do."

The old lady scowled at her. "Not very respectful to your elders, are you?"

"You did just threaten to blow us up and called us brats," Iida pointed out.

"Enough!" Yaoyorozu said, exasperated. "Where. Is. The. Freaking. Bomb?"

"We're not telling!" The dark-haired man said smugly. "Maybe you'll find out right before you're all blown into pink dust."

That's not a nice mental image.

"Ugh. Fine, if you want to be difficult, then we're going to have to do this the hard way," Yaoyorozu declared. "Kirishima, Mina, and Uraraka, you're with me. We'll make sure these guys don't cause anymore trouble. Iida and Kaminari, I want you two to run around and find the bomb. Judging by what they're saying, they want mass casualties, most of which being us. Check the central medicare station and the entrance first and foremost, then move on to less populated areas. Kaminari, as soon as the bomb is found I want you to administer an electric shock between 25,000 and 50,000 volts to right under the timer, where the wires all meet. That'll short circuit it. None of the red wire blue wire nonsense."

"We'll follow your lead, vice prez," Mina chimed in cheekily. She leaned forward, sending a grin at their opponents that was more teeth than anything else. "Just say the word."

"Word," Yaoyorozu deadpanned.

" What the fuck is wrong with these kids?" Uraraka heard the man mumble.

But he didn't get a chance to get a reply from any of his companions because Uraraka was already on her way over, fingers splayed out wide. A few of the designated lackeys sent chairs flying her way, but all it took was her slamming her hand down on the seat of them and they floated upwards, out of anyone's reach. If she so chooses, she could send them hurtling back down at the actors at breakneck speeds. But, since this was only a test and she wasn't looking to permanently injure anyone, she wouldn't.

Probably.

"Kirishima, go!" Yaoyorozu ordered while Iida and Kaminari sped away. "We'll split them up now and each take a couple!"

"On it!" He shouted, letting his skin harden until it was made out of stone. He squared off against three men, the leader of which had been speaking to them earlier, and smiled a sharky, toothy grin that had them flinching back.

Mina bumped Uraraka on the shoulder. "You want to team up with ours?"

Uraraka smiled. "Thought you'd never ask."

Together, they corralled the five villains they were facing together, using acid and stacked objects. There was nothing Uraraka couldn't lift up when she used enough of her quirk, and that paved the way for Mina to send sizzling acid on the floor around them. It looked like none of the actors were willing to risk layers of melted skin to get to them and stop their friends from finding the bomb.

"What are you fools doing?" The old lady shouted at her younger counterparts. "Stop cowering and start doing!"

"She does realize that that's acid, right?" One woman muttered to another.

" I don't know, dude. She's been dying for an assignment like this ever since we met her. I don't know who made the change to the exam, but I'm pretty sure she'd kiss them."

Changed the exam? Uraraka filed that information away to be used later, and judging by Yaoyorozu's expression, she had as well.

"You are cornered... villains. Surrender now and allow yourselves to be taken into police custody!" Uraraka tried, just like they'd learned in their Laws and Ethics class. If you weren't currently locked in a high-stakes combat situation, you had to give the other party a chance to surrender or you could be charged with overuse of force. And even though this was an exam, Uraraka was guessing they'd be held to the same standard here.

"Good," One of the fake villains nodded. "Points added!"

"Thanks," She awkwardly said. "Can I consider that your surrender?"

Their opponents all shared an uncertain glance, then look down at their elderly leader doubtfully. "I don't think we're allowed to," The woman says wryly.

"No, you're not!" The old woman barked. "And if you aren't going to attack them, then I will!"

Uraraka watched with no small amount of alarm as the woman swung her cane above her head and, with surprising strength, knocked away several of the floating objects. Then, using horrifying dexterity, she starts hopping onto some of the lower hovering mats, cots, and tables. It... it was terrifying to watch. Uraraka was sure she was about to break a hip.

"AH HA HA! You think a few floating pieces of plastic are going to stop me? THINK AGAIN!!!" She whooped and cheered as Uraraka tried reducing the gravity on the objects even further, sending them up in the sky. It didn't matter much because all the lady had to do was hook her cane around them and she could keep them down. Her quirk was a lot like a balloon. If nothing was holding onto it, then it would soar into the air, but all it took was a single hand holding it down and it was grounded.

"EDNA! You are going to get yourself killed!"

"All for a greater world!" Wow. Uraraka now has equal amounts of respect and fear for this woman. On one hand, she was downright bone chilling and quite possibly insane. But on the other, she was dedicated and was willing to go to extreme lengths for her job.

She squatted down and leapfrogged over the last batch of acid staining the floor, grinning toothily with what Uraraka suspected were dentures. "What are you going to do now, heroes? Kill me? You'll never find out where the bomb is then!"

Uraraka chewed the inside of her lip thoughtfully as Mina looked to her. They had successfully boxed off the rest of the civilian villains, so she was the only one left. It didn't look like she was in any particular hurry. All she was doing was smiling at them sadistically, tapping her cane menacingly against the ground. They couldn't handle this violently in any way, as the woman was still a civilian in actuality and they wouldn't give a full on beatdown to the elderly in any situation, whether in the field or otherwise. It was a matter of respect.

Should I have Kirishima help me in case she hits our shins...?

"That is not manly AT ALL!!!" Then a deafening crash.

Okay, so Kirishima might be busy.

She ran a hand over the mask on her suit, making sure that she could still see 'Edna' through the gaps in her fingers. Her fingers...

Silently cursing herself for not realizing the obvious solution, she marched right up to Edna, gesturing for Mina to be backup in case she tried to get away or pull something. Edna grins a grin that's all teeth and gums, eyes gleaming predatorially. Uraraka could see why she was chosen to be the leader of the civilian villains. The woman was not what she looked like.

"Finally facing me head on? See how you like this!" She brandished her cane, the gleaming wood glinting in the dimmed light of the tents. Uraraka was already mentally planning how to get close enough in without getting a bruise.

She ducked low, keeping her center of gravity around one point and raising her arms in case the woman swung for her face. She wouldn't put anything past her at this point. The lady was a menace.

At the last moment, just before she swung her cane, Uraraka darted to the side, neatly sidestepping the attack that was on its way. She almost flinched back when she heard the quick whoosh right near her ear, but she managed to stay on course. Edna jumped back, just a second too late.

All five of Uraraka's fingers just barely brushed the woman's side, but it was enough. With a curse, Edna lifted into the air, and Uraraka made sure to grab the cane before Edna could use it to hook anything else. At this point, she couldn't be sure that it would turn into a giant missile.

"Nice!" Mina cheered, thumping her on the shoulder. The rest of the civilian villains were just sitting down in their little acid island, dejected. One of them was scowling and muttering obscenities, but Uraraka would prefer to think that was her just staying in character.

She glanced up to where Edna was flailing about, right under the roof of the tent. She would've kept going for quite a while if there wasn't something to stop her, so Uraraka's glad that this was an indoor battle. She really didn't want to have to beat an old woman into submission.

"You think this will stop us? Think again! Even if you've stopped us, you haven't stopped the bomb! The impact of this day will live on in history forever. Nothing you say or do can stop us, you no-good, pathetic, pale imitations of real heroes!"

"That was too many adjectives for my taste," Kirishima said, his features becoming less harsh and rocky.

"I know, buddy," Mina sighed, "I know."

Yaoyorozu walked over with long strands of rope hanging from her arms, passing them each a couple pieces. "Let's take care of this, and then we'll help Kaminari and Iida search for the bomb. Time is of the essence here."

Uraraka nodded. "Got it."

The four of them quickly tied up the civilian villains as best as they could. With Mina passing through her little acid island. Edna was still glaring at them from above, and Uraraka gulped nervously before floating herself up there. She couldn't exactly just drop the woman. For all she knew, her spine would break. Old bones were brittle.

There was a bit of hissing and scratching, and some curse words popped out, a few from Edna and a few from Uraraka, but in the end she got the old lady tied up along with the rest of them.

"Now," Yaoyorozu said confidently. "Where is the bomb?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Shinso glared at Todoroki and Yoarashi, the two still continuing their contest with who was going to be the one to take care of the villain. Neither of them were considering where their attacks were going to go once they interfered with each other, and he'd already had to pull a couple of examinees out of the way of the warring elements. He'd even had to save that two-face Shindo, and that was pure fucking torture for him. The boy tried to thank him through gritted teeth, but Shinso could tell he was pissed that he had to be helped by a UA student.

Honestly, Shinso had just had enough of it. He'd tried doing it the nice way and letting them know what he was going to be doing, and they ignored him so they could go on with their silly contest. Well, word just came in, and it turned out the nice way freaking sucked.

Dad was right. People were stupid.

"I'm Todoroki and I do everything alone because I have daddy issues," He mocked slightly under his breath. "Cool! I'm Yoarashi and I take offense at the smallest things because I feed off the energy of others. I think we should be mortal enemies, even if it's at the expense of everyone else."

Another huge gust of wind batted him from the metal scaffolding where he was crouching. He had to use both hands to pull himself back up, and he could hear his dad's voice in his head. 'Always leave one hand free to defend yourself if you can, Hitoshi. Otherwise, you'll never be able to stop an attack, even if it's one you see coming.'

"Okay... Gang Orca in the center, so it's going to be almost impossible to make it over there without someone alerting everyone else. And I don't have the skill to brainwash so many people at once yet." Looks like it's time for plan b, then...

When Izuku-sensei had spoken to him about special moves, he had contemplated for a while, trying to figure out what he needed and what would be most beneficial for him to have in his back pocket in case of a situation like this. Stealth was one of the first things he considered, but there wasn't really a special move for that. So instead, he had come up with an alternate technique.

It was hard to do, but he managed to give his opponent more advanced orders, ones that could make them use their vocal cords as well. It gave him a headache if he used it too much, but Izuku-sensei had assured him that with practice the drawbacks would be lessened and the output would be increased. So in other words, he's got to give himself a migraine now to avoid it later. Fun.

Not looking forward to this. At all.

Shinso examined the battle field cautiously, scouting out where the two power houses would attack, and determined the clearest route through. Then, ignoring his instincts that were roaring at him to stay to the sides and away from all the attention, he sighed and marched to the opposite side of the trampled cityscape.

This area was clustered with 'villains', still tearing away at the remaining structures with various blunt instruments. That's one method for stress relief, he supposes.

Bracing himself, he did his best to melt into the shadows, watching carefully to find a minion that was isolated from the others. His dad had taught him that how he breathed was important, and too heavy of a breath could give him away in an instant. His back was just a few inches from the wall, close enough that he could be mistaken for another section of it, but far enough away that he could still move freely.

A young guy with a bat rushed past him without even looking and hit a nearby window with a crowbar, sending shattered glass underfoot. Taking a shaky breath in, Shinso took the opportunity he was given and spoke up.

"Hey, what are you doing?" His voice sounded different when he used the voice changer. They had gotten the bugs fixed, so it didn't sound staticy anymore, just deep and rough. He almost looked behind himself to see who was talking.

"The same thing all of us are doing! I'm-"

Shinso reeled him in like a fish, watching his face go blank and his eyes go glassy. The crowbar fell to the ground noisily, and he flinched, nervously glancing to the side to see if anyone had noticed. Luckily, it looked like it had been covered up by all the pandemonium happening around them, though some small part of his brain was convinced that someone was going to get suspicious and catch him. Darn you, anxiety.

"Turn around," He quietly ordered. The man did, and Shinso quickly examined his features for anything that would immediately give away what he had done. Sometimes, one of the eyes would take a more purple hue, and that would be frustrating if they were green.

"Alright. Great. Now I want you to..." He paused, making sure to think our his next few orders. If he wasn't careful, then they would be carried out sloppily or it would be obvious that his actions weren't his own. "I want you to go around smashing things, just like everyone else is, until you get over to the fire hydrant on the right side of the road, and make sure that nothing hits you with any force. Then I want you to smash that open and do everything you can to get as many people over there. But don't kill or seriously injure anyone." If he left his orders too open-ended, Izuku-sensei had warned him that there might be unforeseen consequences. And he didn't want to be responsible for a sidekick going crazy and killing everyone within sight because he wasn't specific enough.

"I want you to yell crazy things, like how they're watching you, and I want you to make it clear that no one is supposed to touch you. Maybe throw a few things, things that are relatively small, no bigger than your arm." He thought for a moment more. Damnit. This one was really going to give him a headache. "And if for any reason you remember this, don't say anything to anyone until the exam is over. Now go and carry out my orders in the sequence that I listed them in."

He felt the beginnings of a splitting headache coming on, but he ignored it. There were a number of ways this could go wrong, and half of them were named Todoroki and Yoarashi. He had to make sure they were out of his way, because apparently they were incapable of working with anyone.

Maybe that wasn't entirely fair to Todoroki, since he had been getting better since the beginning of the year, but he was bitter.

"Gah. Stop getting in my way!" Todoroki shouted furiously. "You're being more of a hindrance than the actual villains."

"Harsh," Shinso heard someone mutter. "We're trying our best, you know."

"You're too busy trying to blast everything in sight!" Yoarashi replied. "You could just back off while I take care of them!"

Todoroki fumed after him, glaring spitefully at his back while continuing to send spirals of flames hurtling into the air. Which was almost immediately nullified by Yoarashi sweeping over the entire area.

Looks like those two would keep each other busy, then.

Shinso scampered over as quickly as he could, watching with an impatient eye for the commotion to start. Gang Orca would probably stay near the center, just so he could keep mocking Todoroki and Yoarashi for their failed attacks. Honestly, if he were the villain of this exam, he would totally do the same. They just made it too easy.

CRASH.

Heads whipped to the side as a stream of water torpedoed into the air, spirraling as it climbed higher and higher. It rained down on the onlookers, soaking them thoroughly. Then the shrieking started and, because their opponents were still technically heroes, they all rushed over to make sure their comrade was all right.

That's when Shinso made his move. Now that there was nothing stopping him from getting to Gang Orca, and both his 'teammates' and the villains were lured to one point, it was the perfect time to strike. He abandoned his previous pace and full-out sprinted across the pavement, doing his best to stay out of Gang Orca's line of sight. He had no doubt that the hero would not hesitate to throw him around if he got caught.

50 feet away... thirty feet away... twenty feet... ten...

Stop.

He's right behind the hero now, his breathing shallow and reedy. Todoroki's eyes widen from across the distance, but he doesn't call out to him. Thank All Might for small mercies.

Stop panicking and just do it, idiot, Shinso's internal voice hissed in his ear.

Fiddling with his voice modulator again, he switched to the voice of the guy that he just brainwashed and breathed in deeply.

"Hey, Boss! Is there anything else you need me to do?"

Please work please work please work.

"Didn't I already tell you? Just trash st-"

Got him!

Shinso's chest rises and falls quickly, and he lets out a long, shaky breath. Gang Orca's eyes are wide and vacant, just like his sidekick from before. He has to remind himself that Gang Orca could be hit with a fallen piece of rubble at any moment and then things would get hairy for him.

"Right..." He spots some kind of restraint dangling from the heroes waist. "Hold your hands out close together behind your back." Shinso does his best to make quick work of it, looping his hands tightly together. He finished it with the constrictor knot, running through the steps his dad taught him in his mind.

His distraction was still going on, so he leaned back and watched the show. The pounding in his head was getting worse, but he did his best to ignore it. Hopefully, the exam would be over soon and he could take enough medication to knock him out for a day before he felt like his head was being bashed open with an ice pick.

"NO. NO! DON'T TOUCH-" Ah. So it finally happened. They had either grabbed his arm or knocked into him in some other way and disrupted the brainwashing in place. Well, that was fine. He'd already taken care of Gang Orca so there wasn't anything else he'd need a distraction for. In fact, it would probably be-

"YEAH, LITTLE LISTENERS! THE EXAM IS NOW OVER, SO-WHAT IS THAT?!"

A strange object burst in the air, exploding with a huge boom. Shinso stumbled back as foreign objects rained down on them, and he threw up his arm to protect himself from the... hot pink glitter?

What the fuck?

Part 53

Kaminari searched frantically for the bomb amongst all the medical supplies that Yaoyorozu had been kind enough to make. Iida was on the other side of the entrance, combing through everything that he could, looking in every nook and cranny. He wasn't sure how much time was left on the bomb, but he knew it couldn't be much. So he didn't have that long before they all failed the exam because they got blown to bits and pieces.

Hopefully not actually.

"Any sign of it, Kaminari?" Iida called out, carefully setting a cot to the side.

"No. Do you think we should start looking somewhere else?"

"Maybe. We'll complete this section then move onto the middle of the tents. That would most likely have maximum casualties."

Right. Right, that makes sense. It was good he had a brainiac here with him, otherwise he would probably just throw stuff around in a hurry in case it turned up. Which wasn't very effective at all. It doesn't work with house keys, and it wouldn't work with a bomb.

Iida stood up with a sigh, surveying the space one last time. "Alright then, we should move on now. I don't think they gave us an abundance of time to get this done."

"Right." Kaminari followed him to the center of the tents, watching as carefully as he could for anything that seemed out of place. He wasn't having much luck. Spot the difference games had always been difficult for him.

And he wouldn't ever want to play hide and seek with Where's Waldo. That dude was good.

"You check under these supplies and I'll look at the civilian waiting area. Don't leave anything unchecked. In fact, double check everything. The others will be here to help us soon." Iida pushed his glasses up his nose and hurried off, leaving Kaminari mostly alone.

He combed through bandages and over-the-counter painkillers, most of it ending up in a pile on the floor. Nothing was turning up, and they had been searching for almost ten minutes at this point. If they didn't find it soon, then...

Well, he hoped it wasn't an actual bomb.

"Kaminari!" A familiar voice shouted. "Have you found the bomb yet? Edna's not giving anything up. Yaoyorozu stayed behind just in case, though."

Mina, Uraraka, and Kirishima all rushed over, panting slightly. "No, we haven't found the bomb yet. Maybe they're lying about it?"

"No," Uraraka shook her head. "Edna's too evil for that. Actually, maybe she's just evil enough." Her eyes narrowed down as she thought it through.

Kaminari threw his hands up. "Well, I haven't found it yet, so I don't know-"

He tripped over one of the bandages he had thrown to the ground, and just barely managed to pivot on his foot so he didn't fall flat on his face. His back hit the floor with a thud, and he groaned. Kirishima yelped and rushed over to him, grabbing his arm and cutting of his circulation like he was trying to stop the bleeding.

Kaminari opened his eyes and blinked a few times, trying to process what he was seeing.

"Bro! Are you okay? Do you have a concussion. Do you know where we are? Are you dead?"

"Um. Guys?"

"He's alive!"

"We already knew that, Kirishima," Uraraka pointed out with a sigh. "We can't waste any more time. We have to find the bomb right now. So get up!"

"Yeah, about that-"

Mina enthusiastically pulled Kaminari up, practically throwing him in the air. "No time to talk! Didn't you hear the woman?"

"Well, yeah, but I think-"

"What is it, Kaminari?" Uraraka asked, exasperated.

He points a shaky finger straight up. "I found the bomb."

They all slowly look up to the ceiling, where a small device is beeping intermittently. Wow. How had he not noticed that right away?

Well. Thank All Might for his clumsiness.

"Um... Iida? We found it. It was... Uh. It was up there." He awkwardly pointed up at the ceiling where Uraraka was floating up to the device, gently displacing it from the ceiling after determining that it wouldn't explode upon the first touch.

"That is excellent, Kaminari!" Iida said, speeding right over. He cautiously slowed down once he got closer, being much more careful than Kaminari had been when he stepped over the fallen medical supplies. "I would never have thought to look on the ceiling. I'm glad you had the foresight to."

"Umm... yeah. Let's go with foresight." He awkwardly coughed into his hand. Iida stared at him for a moment more before shrugging, gingerly taking the bomb from Uraraka as she floated down. Kirishima rushed over one of the fallen tables, setting it down right under Iida's hands. Kaminari held his breath as it was set down slowly, wincing when the weight fully settled.

They all stared at it for a moment.

Beep... beep...

"So... do I just shock it now?" Kaminari hesitantly set his hand on the device, noting the lack of wires. Oh well. Yaoyorozu said they wouldn't need any of that nonsense anyway.

"I think so," Iida said, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "Just... don't set it off, okay?"

A very Shinso-like comment popped into his mind. "Well, darn. There goes my plan for the weekend."

Mina rolled her eyes at him while Iida sputtered. "Kaminari, this is no time for jokes!"

He held his hands up complacently. "Alright, got it. Just going to do my zappy thing now..."

Humming gently under his breath, he looked closer at the device, noticing that there wasn't a timer like Yaoyorozu said. The beeping was getting closer together, though, so through his extensive video game knowledge he deduced that that meant it was going to explode soon. "Here goes nothing..."

He pressed down on the center of the device, controlling the electricity as best as he could. It was harder to downsize how much he was using, but it was also easier in a way. When he was going all out, he essentially just shoved everything forward, and it left a phantom burn in its place. When he had to conserve how much he was using, like right now, there was a pinching sensation in his chest. There was also the added bonus of not going into whey mode.

The zap traveled past his fingers and into the device. They all waited with baited breath for something to happen, but nothing did. The beeping was still happening, in fact, it was happening even faster now. He gulped as they became even less than a second apart, and tried zapping it again. A burning smell filled the air, but the beeping was still happening.

"Umm... I don't think it's working." Iida shook his head beside him, nervously toying with the bridge of his glasses.

Mina took a step forward and flipped the device upside down, ignoring Kirishima and Iida as they rushed forward to stop her. "Oh, hush. If it's not going to blow up from Kaminari doing that to it, then it's not going to blow up when I do this."

They calmed down slightly, conceding to her point, but remained on guard. Not that there was really anything any of them could do to stop a literal bomb that they didn't know how to disarm. Man, this sucks... Wish Shinso was here.

Wait.

Why do I wish Shinso were here? I have no reason to wish Shinso were here. It's not like he has some secret quirk or skill that would let him disarm bombs, so I have no reason to want him here. Right? Wait, can his quirk work on inanimate objects? No, Kaminari, you're an idiot. He needs a response, and bombs can't talk, which means that he can't order them to stop blowing up. So why do I want him here? Oh, shit, this is because I like him, isn't it?

Because yes, he had realized sometime on the bus ride that he cared about Shinso in a less-than-a-friend way than he had originally realized. He always knew he found the purple-haired insomniac attractive, but he didn't realize that it went deeper than that. It's not like he didn't think that some of his other friends were hot, too. Like Jirou, he thought that the girl was hot, but it's not like he wanted to date her or anything like that. And he could even admit that he found a picture of a gorgeous former hero called Lady Nagant and-

Oh shit. He had a type.

But somehow, it was only Shinso who he always wanted to be around. Which felt so weird and it probably wasn't going to work out in his favor anyway because he tried flirting with him earlier that morning and nothing happened so it was obvious that nothing was going to happen and he should just resign to always being in the friend zone because he didn't want to lose Shinso and oh my All Might, what if he lost Shinso-

"Kaminari! Stop spiraling!" Mina clapped right in his face, and he blinked hard. "We can find another way to stop the bomb. You don't have to freak out so much."

Right, the bomb... Should probably focus on that...

"Yeah, I can do that. Yeah! Um. How do I do that?" He scratched the back of his neck nervously, snapping out of his stupor. "Should I get Yaoyorozu?"

Just then, the beeping on the device sped up, and Kaminari is pretty sure that that is not a good thing. Like, the last time that happened in the combat game he was playing, he died.

Beep beep beep beep beep

Kaminari was not interested in dying today. Or any day, really.

"What do we do?" Kirishima asked in a panic. "What do we do?"

"Umm..." Iida was at a loss for words. That was never a good sign. Usually he could at least tell them what not to do. Actually, there was a lot he had to say on that subject.

"We have to get rid of it," Mina declared. "Hand it over!"

They didn't waste any time, Mina snatching the device and practically flying outside. The beeping went faster and faster, a half second apart by now. And if Kaminari knew anything, when it got to the held beep, that's when it would go off.

"What do we do now?" Kirishima asked. "Should we just let it explode out here?"

"No!" Uraraka yelped. "That is the opposite of what should happen right now. We do not, under any circumstances, let this bomb go off and fail the exam!"

Beep beep beep beep beep beep beep

Kaminari nodded distractedly, still wondering why the bomb wasn't disarmed when he used electricity. Yaoyorozu said it would work... but now that he was thinking about it, Yaoyorozu also said there would be wires. Maybe it wasn't an actual bomb.

Wait. Of course it wasn't an actual bomb. That would kill them, and he was pretty sure that's not allowed. Though, you could never be too sure. Izuku-sensei was always warning them to read the fine print.

"Gah... maybe Iida could just run it out of the splat zone?" Kirishima suggested. "I mean, he's really, really fast!"

"I don't think I'm that fast," Iida said. "It would likely go off while I was getting it there."

"Well, we need to do something to get it out of range." Mina desperately looked around, but they were too close to anything for the bomb to be transported out. She stumbled into Uraraka.

Beep beep beep beep beep beep beep beep beep beep beep

Think brain, think!

"Wait. Wait! I've got it!" Mina gripped Uraraka's arms, shaking the other girl like a ragdoll. "Och-Uravity! All you need to do is touch it and it's out of range! It won't hit anyone."

Uraraka gasped, turning towards the device with fervor. "Give it here!"

BEEEEEEEEEEPPPP

"Quickly!"

The bomb was shoved into her chest, and they watched with wide eyes and held breath as all five of her fingers snapped down on the device. Like a balloon, it floated into the air, almost immediately out of anyone's reach.

"Do you think it'll make it up in time?" Kaminari asked nervously.

"Of course it will!" Iida chopped his arms around, and they all leaned back. "It is already over all of the buildings! I cannot imagine they made a bomb that covered so much of an area."

"YEAH, LITTLE LISTENERS! THE EXAM IS NOW OVER, SO-"

Above them, the bomb exploded, sending pink dust straight down on them. They all ducked and covered their heads.

"WHAT IS THAT?!"

After a moment, Kaminari hesitantly removed his hands from his head and stood up. He blinked hard.

The area around them was absolutely drenched in glitter. Hot-pink, sparkly glitter. He turned around like a dog would chase their tail and saw it covered his entire back, as well as his arms and... well, everything else. How it got on his stomach while he was lying on it, he would never know, but all he did know was that he looked like Pinkie Pie.

Thank All Might it didn't get in his eyes. That would hurt.

Don't ask him how he knows that. He has a cousin that likes arts and crafts, okay?

"I... I think that was a glitter bomb," Iida said, taking off his sparkle encrusted glasses. There was a clear line where the glitter didn't hit, like if he went to the beach with his glasses on and got tan.

Mina heaved herself up off the ground. "Gee, Iida, what gave it away?"

"I think it was the glitter," Kaminari dumbly added. "Why is there so much glitter? How did they fit so much glitter in there? Why did they fit so much glitter in there?"

Nobody responded. Kaminari wasn't sure he wanted to know the answer anyway.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Aizawa and Joke stared at the exam area without speaking, the obnoxiously pink cloud of glitter swirling like fog around the circular area. It was horrifying.

When the unknown object had hurtled into the air, he hadn't thought much of it. That wasn't unusual for an exam full of kids with low-control. It was right in the realm of ordinary for them.

He hadn't expected it to explode once the exam ended.

He gave Izuku-sensei the side-eye, watching his completely relaxed, and dare he say pleased, face. Joke also turned to him.

"...You planted a bomb, didn't you?"

"Yes!" He said happily. "I also had them place villains disguised as civilians in the exam. It's not like it hasn't happened before. Just think about Kanda." Aizawa nodded in agreement. That incident had been a nightmare for the heroes responding. "And I had the bomb be powered by something other than electricity, because I couldn't have it be too easy for them. I'm very impressed by their solution." He frowned. "Though they were cutting it a bit close there at the end. Technically, the exam ended though, so they should be fine."

"Why glitter?" Aizawa asked, staring at the monstrosity of a battlefield. They were lucky there was a wall of glass separating them from the area, otherwise he would have never heard the end of it from Zashi about how 'glamorous' he looked. And even worse than that, Joke would have probably gone on about how they 'matched'.

Blegh.

Izuku-sensei shrugged. "As you know, glitter is notoriously difficult to get off, and since we couldn't use a real bomb for obvious reasons, it was the best way to monitor who and what got hit. Plus," He smiled deviously, "It's just really funny."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Bakugo furiously rubbed at his arms, trying to get rid of the glitter, but it wouldn't come off. Not a single gram of it. He had tried everything he could think of in the last few minutes, and nothing had worked. And he swore it was sticky somehow, in a way glitter is not supposed to be.

The exam was total shit. Almost all of his rescuees had redacted points for not being freaking polite. They weren't even real victims, so why should he care if they got their feelings hurt? His job was to fight the villain, not to hold their hand.

That stupid villain. He seethes internally, kicking over a fallen trash can. Half-and-Half and the Enthusiastic Idiot had gotten to fight him, but Bakugo was stuck dealing with his stupid lackeys. Every time he got close, Gang Orca would just laugh at him before siccing more of his b-list heroes at him.

The bastard.

Whatever. It wasn't like he could lose. Almost all of the weakling on the east side had been taken out by him. All fucking Eyebags had done was talk to him, and the hero just stood there. And he had seen some of the other extras just leading the victims away instead of fighting. What kind of heroes were they going to be if they just stood there? Pathetic.

"OKAY, EXAMINEES. SORRY FOR THE DELAY, WE WERE JUST DEBATING THE GIANT GLITTER BOMB IN THE SKY. WHAT A DOOZY, AM I RIGHT? A DOOR IS OPENING ON THE NORTH SIDE OF THE EXAM AREA. THROUGH THERE ARE YOUR RESULTS. GOOOOOODDDDD LUCK!"

Bakugo stomped over to the north side, watching another one of those huge doors slowly roll up. The space was big enough for a truck to drive through with no trouble. Just like with their classroom entry, they made everything too fucking big. Sure, there were all kinds of quirks that might make you bigger, but then they wouldn't have even been able to make it into the building. Or the hallways. Dumbasses.

Shoving past other extras, he marched his way over to a giant screen that stood on two giant poles. As soon as he got close enough, he scanned down the long list of names, most of them being hero names. He knew that his wouldn't be, since Midnight had refused to give him even one of his selections. There was no such thing as 'too violent'.

He finally fell on the name that was his, and he ran his eyes over to the right to see his score. When he saw it, the world seemed to be put in a bubble, sound warping around his ears. His limbs felt numb, but he refused to let anyone see the shock and horror on his face.

I failed?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Shinso lumbered over to the results room with Todoroki. Neither of them had spoken a word since the glitter bomb went off, and he wasn't planning on being the one to start. Once Todoroki pulled his head out of his ass, then they could start. Until then, the silent treatment it was.

"Shinso!" He heard someone shout. "Did you see the... woah, you're pink!"

He turned and saw a gaggle of his classmates jogging over. Mina was looking even pinker than usual, the horrifyingly bright colors of her hero costume not even visible under all of the sparkles. The others weren't doing any better. Yaoyorozu had the least on her out of all of them, though the evidence of the incident was still there.

"I know," He deadpanned. "I think you've got something right-" He gestured to all of them, "There too."

Kaminari, the one who had spoken, sighed dejectedly. "I don't think I'm ever going to be able to look at glitter the same way anymore."

"I don't know," Mina said thoughtfully. "I kind of like it." She held her arms out and made the glitter sparkle even more. "I might have to make a change to my hero costume after this."

"That's so manly!" Kirishima enthused. "You're really taking Pinky to heart, aren't you?"

Mina nodded, a couple pieces of glitter flying out of her hair and floating around. "Yup! And I got some feedback from Midnight-sensei about my color scheme maybe not being the best it could be in Hero Art class, so I've already been thinking about changing it."

Shinso and Todoroki fell silently into step with them, relieved that they talked enough that he didn't have to. It was one of the benefits of having noisy friends that his dad had made sure to impress upon him when he started UA. He believes the exact words were, ' Sometimes it will be hard. Sometimes you may want to run and hide in the unlocked supply room on the fifth floor that the janitor always forgets to lock and has great ventilation. Just remember that in the long run, it will probably be worth it. Maybe. Honestly, the jury's still out.' They then had to deal with his papa's offended squawk at the last part of that statement.

"Shinso, how do you think you did?" Iida asked. Shinso had to stifle a snort at the clear mark around his face where the glitter didn't hit. He was walking like a blind bat, clutching Yaoyorozu's arm like she was a seeing-eye dog. That didn't stop him from stumbling every few steps, though.

"I think I did good enough to pass. Do any of you know where the glitter bomb came from?" They all averted eye contact. Todoroki stared curiously at them, tilting his head slightly to the side.

"...What did you do?"

"Hey, we didn't do anything," Kirishima defended. "But some of the civilians turned out to be villains and they planted a bomb. We just made sure it was out of range and couldn't hit anyone."

Uraraka giggled. "Hey, I just realized that civilian villains rhymes."

"You guys were the ones who made it rain glitter?" Shinso narrowed his eyes at them, making Kaminari edge slightly away from his patented 'dead inside' look. "Nice. Real nice."

"It wasn't like they meant to," Yaoyorozu reasoned. "They had no way of knowing it was a glitter bomb. I still don't know how they activated it without using electricity."

Kaminari shrugged. "We got it taken care of, right? Anyway, what were you doing?"

Shinso hunched his head into his shoulders and shrugged a little. He really didn't want to deal with whatever their reaction would be when he told them. A spared glance at Todoroki revealed the other teen was biting the inside of his cheek. He wouldn't look at Shinso.

Good, he thought pettily, that's right, be embarrassed.

"I just Gang Orca a question. He answered. That was it." Kirishima yanked his arm back.

"You were the one who captured Gang Orca! Nice, dude!" Kirishima looked like he was going in for a hug, so Shinso did his best to discretely shrug him off. "You are so freaking manly!"

"Yeah..." Shinso said awkwardly. "Can we just go see our scores now?"

The group got more serious after that. Shinso could feel the nerves bubbling up in his stomach. It's fine... it's totally fine. I was the one who took care of Gang Orca, so I'm almost definitely going to pass. But that one lady did say my smile looked creepy... What if the other victims thought the same but never said anything? Oh, All Might, I really hope I didn't pass because I have a terrible smile that makes people uncomfortable.

His stupid eyes seemed to skim past where he wanted to go every single time he was getting close, and he blamed his insomnia for that. His name wasn't anywhere on there, and it should be even if he failed.

"What kind of name is Intestate?" He heard another examinee ask. "It's not punny or catchy or anything. I don't even know what it means." Crap. They used our hero names for this. I'm an idiot.

The girl standing next to him shoved the guy playfully. "You're such an idiot. We learned about this ages ago. It's when someone dies without a will. Like, y'know, legally?"

Shinso could hear the guy's tone, slightly disapproving. "And someone wants this for a hero name? It's so morbid. Ugh, whatever. We passed, anyways."

Right. Have to see if I passed. He stopped eavesdropping and ran his eyes down the I section instead, feeling a bit stupid for managing to not realize that all the names on there were family names. I can never let anyone know about this. I'd never live it down.

Finally, he caught sight of his name. Heart in his throat, his eyes shifted to the direct right of his name. He somehow needed to look and desperately didn't want to all at the same time. What if he did terrible and they gave him no marks? Or what if he wasn't supposed to use his quirk on Gang Orca like that and they thought it would be more befitting of a villain?

No. Stop it, brain. Just look.

His hands held a slight tremor as he zeroed in on his score and his breath got stuck somewhere between his chest and his nose.

I passed.

Part 54

Around 200 years ago...

Izuku tapped a pencil thoughtfully against his chin, staring down at an article recently done by a progressive individual that wanted more laws and protections in place for those with quirks. They would post them online anonymously, and they had great theories and ideas for how to accomplish a lot of what they wanted done.

But that didn't stop their articles from being taken down almost immediately after they were posted on the grounds of being 'dangerous' and 'not realistic'. Still, the author didn't give up trying, and Izuku always did his best to read them before they went away. He had to stay away from the comments, though. Only about 1% of them were actually anything of substance, and the rest were a bunch of slurs and offensive statements that felt like barbs cutting through his skin. It just wasn't worth it.

He heard three knocks in a distinct pattern on the door, and he smiled to himself as Yoichi walked in. Recently, Aki had been incredibly busy doing things with his business and since the semester was winding down for Yoichi he had been coming over a lot more. Izuku suspected that while his younger neighbor might enjoy the time away from his overbearing brother, he had gottne used to constantly having someone else around. And it was always a pleasure to see him, so he didn't mind at all.

"Hey," Yoichi called out from where he was taking off his shoes and putting on the guest slippers. "Mind if I come over for a bit?"

"You're always welcome over here, Yoichi." Izuku rolled his eyes playfully at the teen, closing the article. He had just finished reading it, anyway. "Aki away again?"

Yoichi plopped down next to Izuku on the sofa, sighing softly. "Yeah. He's been act-" He cut himself off. Izuku tried not to read too much into it. His life experiences had always made him overly suspicious and his neighbors had always been secretive. This was normal. "Just... yeah. It's kind of nice not to have a helicopter parent for once."

Izuku laughed softly. "That why you chose to live in the dorms during the school week?"

Yoichi groaned, throwing a hand dramatically over his eyes. "Ugh. Yes and a thousand reasons more. I almost wish I could stay there the entire week, but it's kinda nice to be able to go home on the weekends."

Izuku nodded sympathetically. "It is good to have a bit of separation sometimes. I took all of my classes online, so I didn't really have that. All I did was walk over to my computer and do the work assigned." He sighed wistfully. In truth, he really didn't care that much that he didn't really go to college, but he couldn't help the nagging feeling that he had missed out on something.

"You planning on eating dinner here?" Izuku asked, already thinking about what to make.

"If it's not too much trouble," Yoichi replies. Izuku smiles at him, heaving himself off the couch and making his way into the kitchen.

"Not at all. You know you're always fine to come over here, no matter what." He hums thoughtlessly as he measures out ingredients.

"Do you want any help with that?"

"No, I've got it. I don't even need to change the serving size for what I was planning tonight. Anything interesting happen to you lately?"

Yoichi was silent for a moment. "I... I guess something happened. At least I think it did? Maybe it wasn't lately and I just realized it lately? I don't know."

Izuku turned to him, amused. "Just what did you realize?"

Yoichi wasn't making eye contact with him. It was horribly obvious when he was being evasive or when he was lying, but this time it was clear he wanted to say something. Izuku just had to listen.

"So-uh," Yoichi took a deep breath. "I was talking to someone that I thought was- I thought they looked nice. Like, in a different way than I thought they did before and-"

Ohhhhh. I see what's happening.

Izuku held back a smile as Yoichi stumbled through his words. "I guess what I'm trying to say is I like both girls and guys. Romantically."

Izuku waited for a moment, and when Yoichi didn't say anything more he said, "Thank you for telling me. I'm glad you figured that out about yourself." Yoichi slumped down in relief. "Does Aki know yet?"

Yoichi nodded. "Yeah, I mentioned it to him." He rolled his eyes. "All he did was reinforce that I'm not supposed to get into anyone's car alone without letting him know where I'm going, girl or guy."

Izuku snorts. "That does sound like him." He hesitated. "But seriously, don't just get into stranger's cars, okay?" He resumed the cooking, throwing some rice and water into a pot and setting it to a boil.

"Ugh," Yoichi said. "I know, okay? I'm not going to do anything stupid just because I'm in college now. You and Aki sound too similar sometimes."

Izuku laughed. "Just because we both like quirks and don't want you to get murdered in a secondary location doesn't mean that we're all that similar."

Yoichi was silent for a moment. "No, I don't think you are."

Izuku raised an eyebrow at him. He opened his mouth to ask what Yoichi meant by that, but he was interrupted by the same three knocks in that distinct pattern.

"Is Yoichi here?" Aki called out in lieu of a proper greeting.

"Yes," Izuku said, trying not to chuckle at the exasperated look on Yoichi's face. "Do you want dinner?"

"Yes, thank you. Yoichi, you really should leave a note if you're going to leave the house. I thought you had been kidnapped," He scolded, neatly folding his jacket and setting it on the arm of the couch. He was in business casual, so Izuku assumed he had come right from work.

Whatever that was.

"Why is that always your first thought?" Yoichi looked down at the counter wistfully, like he wished he could bang his head against it. "There are a million other reasons that I could be out of the house and you know it."

"But if you were kidnapped, time is of the essence!" Aki protested, slumping down in the seat next to Yoichi. "It's harmless for me to look if you're kidnapped when you're not, but if you were kidnapped and I didn't look, then we could be in trouble."

"Fair point," Izuku added blandly.

Yoichi rolled his eyes. "It's not harmless to me. I'm the one that has to deal with your craziness every day."

"It's not crazy if I'm right," Aki huffed. They fell into a comfortable silence while izuku finished with the meal. He stood on the balls of his feet and stretched to reach the serving dishes above his head.

"You need some help there, Izuku?" Aki asked. He wasn't looking at his friend, but Izuku could tell that he was smirking.

"No, I'm fine," he gritted out, annoyed.

"In that case, I've got to hand it to you, Izuku. Because it looks like you can't reach it anyway." Izuku whirled around and shot a glare at him, raising a cooking utensil threateningly. "Okay, okay! I won't make another short joke. Just put the spatula down."

Izuku did as he asked with a huff, setting the dishes down in front of them. "Feel free to serve yourselves. Just don't make any more short jokes."

Aki rolls his eyes. "Fine. I needed more material anyways."

"Well, isn't that just wonderful." Izuku spitefully stabs his food, keeping a sour expression on his face. He hears Aki snicker but ignores him. The three eat their dinner in relative silence, with only a few mumbled words scattered here and there. The plates are cleared in the same manner, until Aki breaks the silence.

"Yoichi, I was curious about something," He begins. His back is to Izuku, and something in his tone sounds a little off. "If you could have an ability, would you?"

Yoichi stops. He opens his mouth to say something, then closes it. "Come again?"

"If you could somehow have an ability, would you want one?" Aki taps on the counter in a jagged rhythm.

"I..." Yoichi pauses to think. "I... don't think I would, actually."

Izuku moves to where he can see both of them, and he catches Aki's fist clenching. "Why not? Would it really be that bad?" His tone can still pass as conversational, but Izuku caught the hidden edge hiding underneath.

Yoichi sighs. "You know that's not what I'm saying at all. But you guys were born with those abilities and I wasn't. It would be just as strange for me to suddenly have an ability as it would be for you guys to lose yours."

Izuku chooses then to speak up. "That makes sense. Maybe I think about what life would be like without my ability, but I'm not sure I could actually give it up, if I had the choice."

"But what if it was one that could improve your health," Aki persisted. "Would you choose to have it then?"

"I haven't had a flare-up in years, Aki! And-"

"But you could have another at any moment. Wouldn't it be nice to eliminate that possibility?"

"I could also get hit by a car while stepping outside. And anyways, it's not like it could ever happen. Why are you even asking me this?"

Aki looks off to the side. "No reason. It was just a hypothetical." He turned to Izuku. "We should probably be going now. It's getting a little late."

"Of course. I'll see the both of you tomorrow?"

Aki hesitated. "You'll probably see Yoichi, but I've got some work that needs to be done. It might be a bit before things clear up."

Izuku nodded. "You ever going to tell me what you do?"

Aki grinned at him. "What do you think?"

Izuku shook his head in amusement. "Yeah, didn't think so. Have a good night, you two."

"Night, Izuku."

As they walked out the door, Izuku felt a strange feeling clamp over his chest. Something was wrong, but he didn't know what. He did his best to reason with himself. Sure, maybe Aki was acting a bit strange, but that's really nothing new. He's never been normal. And the question he asked was just a hypothetical, so nothing's wrong.

Nothing's wrong.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Izuku sat down near Aizawa and Present Mic at the front of the bus, for once being thankful of his small stature. Meant more leg room for him. Nearly all of his students had passed, with just two exceptions. He'd had high hopes that all of them might have been able to pass, but after watching the exam he could say that he wasn't surprised.

Bakugo and Todoroki both had difficulties working with others, and while their combat prowess was certainly nothing to scoff at, if they couldn't work as a cohesive unit then things would go wrong when they were out in the field. They might have been able to overpower anyone standing in their way, but sometimes those standing in the way were their own colleagues. Pure firepower might be an advantage in a fight, but control was far more useful.

Something tickled the inside of his nose, and he sneezed twice in a row. The bus went silent for a moment, then a couple snickers filled the air. Izuku crossed his arms grumpily, thinking bitterly to himself, it's not my fault that my sneeze sounds like a baby bunny's. Though maybe I should have thought more on filling that bomb with glitter...

"Izuku-sensei,' Aizawa started, looking over with an expressionless face, "Did they ever find that girl? The one Toga used to get into the exam."

Izuku sighed, carding his fingers through his hair. "Yeah. Security gave me the update as soon as they found her. As far as we can tell, she's been knocked out for a day or two. There was a puncture wound found on her upper arm, so we know how Toga got her blood."

"Poor kid," Mic shook his head sadly, "Is she going to be able to retake the exam? Or does she have to wait until next year?"

Izuku tapped his chin thoughtfully. "I actually did propose a solution for that. Her, and all the other students that didn't pass and don't want to wait until next year, will likely take a remedial course designed to realize the skills they need that prevented them from passing the first time. If all goes well, they'll come out of it with their provisional licenses."

Aizawa hummed thoughtfully, and Izuku waited to hear his response. "Logical. Better to help them now then keep them behind from their classmates. I assume Todoroki and Bakugo will be going?"

Izuku nodded. "I'm going to present the option to them, and I'm expecting them to accept. However, I do need to talk to Bakugo first. There are some issues I think we need to address."

They didn't ask him anything more about the subject, just nodded in agreement. This wasn't something that was coming out of the blue, they all knew something had to be done here. Especially after Toga had visited him in the exam. In fact, Izuku had already messaged Hound Dog about the high chance that Bakugo would be paying him a visit soon.

All Izuku had to do was convince him he needed to go. Wasn't that such an easy job? Didn't sound like it would be painful at all.

Things were silent for a while, most of the sound being from students coughing from all of the glitter in the air. He had gotten a few suspicious looks, and he had to say that he was a little offended that they would immediately presume it was him.

And yeah, it was him, but he didn't like how quickly they jumped to that conclusion.

"Y'know," Mic said, "They've gotten their Provisional Licenses a bit earlier than our other students have. I know we usually send them out to their Work Studies now, but is that still the best choice?" He kept his voice low- a real feat for him- and made sure that none of the students heard them.

Izuku pursed his lips. "I'm not sure that's a choice we're going to be able to make hastily. I'll talk to Nezu about it, but it's likely we're going to have a meeting of some sort to figure out the best course of action."

Aizawa grunted. "Even though they are young, they did pass the exam, most of them with flying scores. They're progressing quickly."

Izuku hummed thoughtfully. "We do want to make sure we're putting their safety first, but we also don't want to stunt their growth. This is usually the next step once they pass the exam."

They all discussed the pros and cons of the situation, making sure that none of the students caught wind of what they were talking about. "If we do end up doing the Work Studies, then I have a suggestion for how we can ease them into it. Older students, like the third years, would likely be happy to help out."

Both of the other teachers nodded. By this point, it had gotten dark and they were only now getting close to the school. Some of the students were leaning against one another tiredly, and yawns perforated the air every few moments. There were a few students still talking in hushed whispers, but they were few and far in between.

"Hey, Sho, you think we could-"

"Mic, hush." Aizawa was leaning back as far as he could in the uncomfortable seats, eyes closed. "It's not every day that it gets to be this quiet around these kids. Take advantage of that."

Izuku smothers a snicker at Mic's scowl. They take a tight turn, and Izuku can see the top of the UA building come into view. The bus slowed down, and some of the students glanced up to see what was happening.

"Oh, come on..." AIzawa groaned as the noise started back up again. "It was so nice..."

Mic grinned.

Izuku climbed out of the bus quickly, doing his best to not get run over by teenagers who had somehow caught their second wind. It had happened before, and it was extremely unpleasant.

Even though it wasn't his fault, Recovery Girl still made him stay a few days longer in the healing ward than he'd needed to. The students had apologized profusely, but he had never been able to look at them the same way afterwards.

He could forgive the broken bones, but getting medical treatment? That was something he'd never be able to completely look past.

"I'll get the kids rounded up," Aizawa gruffly said, doing a headcount of the students present. They had done one when the students boarded, but there was always the odd student that managed to disappear when the bus was in motion. Sometimes without the help of a quirk.

"Bro, come on!" Kirishima said, practically man-handling a snarling Bakugo into a hug. "It's really not that bad! I bet tons of people fail the exam their first try! It's not like you can't retake it. In fact-"

"Just shut up, Shitty Hair! I don't give a fuck what you think!" He stomped off angrily, hands burrowed deep in his pockets with terrible posture.

"Bakugo, I really-"

"Leave me alone!"

Bakugo ignored his red-haired friend, kicking at the ground like a toddler would. His other friends threw him worried glances, but upon meeting one of Aizawa glares, they ran up ahead into the dorm building.

Bakugo started along that path as well, but Izuku took a deep breath and said, "Bakugo, I need a word."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Bakugo dodged Kirishima's attempts to draw him into a hug, growling softly. Almost the entire bus ride there his f- that annoying extra had done his best to fucking console him or some shit like that. He didn't need to be fucking consoled.

He just needed to do better.

Almost every single one of his classmates had passed the stupid exam, so he had no freaking excuse for being a failure. Half-and-half had failed too, not that you could tell from his emotionless lump of a face. For all he looked, he could be having the greatest success of his life, or he could be making ramen. Somehow, even that pissed Bakugo off.

"Bro, come on!" Kirishima threw his arm over his shoulder, but Bakugo immediately shoved him away. "It's really not that bad! I bet tons of people fail the exam their first try! It's not like you can't retake it. In fact-"

Bakugo couldn't take it anymore. He cut him off with a growl. "Just shut up, Shitty Hair! I don't give a fuck what you think!"

He moved away from his cheerful antagonizer, getting him out of his sight.

"Bakugo, I really-"

"Leave me alone!" Why wasn't he getting this? Bakugo didn't want for him to freaking baby him or some shit, he wanted to go train. He had no interest in just standing around and watching as his classmates soared to unbelievable heights above him.

Looking down on him.

No, he was going to train as hard as he possibly could and make it clear that he was someone to watch out for. Nobody was going to get in his way.

"Bakugo, I need a word." Bakugo whirled around to face the speaker, which was none other than his frustratingly calm teacher. Bakugo wanted to snap at him to leave him alone, same as he did to Kirishima, but something in his teacher's expression held him back.

"Fine."

Bakugo wordlessly followed Izuku-sensei around the grounds, trying to figure out what it was that made this interaction feel different than the ones they'd had before. Maybe it was the fact that he'd just failed his exam and was certain that Izuku-sensei was going to lecture him. Maybe it was because of what he'd just learned from that insane bitch.

Or maybe it was the completely serious and devoid of any trace of humor expression on his face.

Izuku-sensei finally stopped once they'd reached a space that was close to the dorm buildings, but not close enough that they could be accidentally overheard. Bakugo shifted, somewhat uncomfortable.

"...Bakugo, I need to discuss something with you, but I want to ask if there's anything you feel you need to bring up before we have this conversation."

Bakugo resentfully glared at him. "No. There's nothing."

"Are you sure?" Izuku-sensei pressed further. "There's nothing?"

"I just said there's nothing, didn't I?! Just say what you wanna say!"

Izuku-sensei sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Well... fine, then." A brief pause. "I wanted to talk with you about some things I've noticed since the Kamino Ward incident, if you'll please listen to me."

Bakugo didn't say anything.

"You've been... different since that incident, and your behaviour has seen a change since the beginning of the year."

Bakugo remained silent.

"I know Aizawa already approached you about this, but this time I'm going to ask you to reconsider. You need to go to therapy, if not with Hound Dog, then someone else. We're not going to let this continue any longer."

Bakugo finally spoke, and he snapped out at Izuku-sensei. "Therapy? I don't need fucking therapy! And I'm not doing it."

Izuku-sensei pursed his lips and stared at Bakugo. Somehow, even though Izuku-sensei was shorter than him by a little, it still felt as though he were looking down on him. It might be the sharp intelligence almost always gleaming in his eyes.

Izuku-sensei's voice hardened. "Bakugo. I'm sorry if I made this unclear, but you will be going."

Bakugo stared defiantly into his eyes. "You can't make me."

"Bakugo. You will be going, or you will not be participating in any future hero lessons, or anything relating to the hero course."

He sputtered angrily. "You can't do that! I'm going to be-"

Izuku-sensei stared at him with a cold expression. "This is final."

Bakugo felt that rage clouding his mind, the fog swirling around liek a tornado. He gritted his teeth and clenched his fists, staring down at the ground with red in his vision. He has no right to... I'm going to be a fucking hero... I'm going to be... I'm going...

"Bakugo." Izuku-sensei's tone was warmer, but no more kind. "Have you made your choice?"

Bakugo couldn't help it. He blurted out without thinking, "You have no right to decide whether I'm a hero or not when you're a villain in disguise!"

"What-"

"Otherwise," Bakugo barreled on, "Why would you help All For One?"

Izuku-sensei froze.

Part 55

Izuku stared at Bakugo with mounting horror, barely even registering his student's flared nostrils and enraged eyes. In his mind, all that kept replaying were those few words that seemed so small but meant so much.

Why would you help All For One?

Why would you help All For One?

Help All For One.

Izuku did his best to calm his racing heart, his puffy breaths that felt like they were coming too fast, but he still wasn't getting enough air. His mouth was entirely too dry, and he couldn't stop the scene that started playing in his minds eye...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Izuku crouches down as low as he can go, shamelessly spying on his two friends. At first he'd just caught sight of them past his window and thought he'd come down to say hello, but when he got closer he could hear raised voices and saw how they stood opposed to one another.

He chose to turn away in the beginning, not wanting to get involved. More than likely, it was just another one of Aki's rants about staying safe and making sure that there were no flare-ups or anything similar. But this time was different. Aki had yelled out, why wouldn't you just accept the damn ability!?

Aki almost never yelled at Yoichi. Sure, sometimes he would get frustrated and he teased Yoichi more often than not, but he had never outright raised his voice at him, at least not that Izuku had seen. And the discussion about abilities got his attention. Usually, the three of them veered away from that topic of discussion together unless it involved the science or political matters of it.

Personal things... those weren't ever really spoken of.

"Aki, you're not making any sense! I already told you, I'm not really interested! I thought you understood that?"

"What I don't understand," Aki gritted out, "Is why you think having an ability would be so bad. You're my brother! You're supposed to understand this."

Yoichi ran his hands through his hair wildly, clutching at the strands like if he pulled hard enough he could make the situation go away. "Aki, listen to yourself! You're acting like a crazy person! I don't care what points you bring up, I don't care what you think you can do, I don't want a freaking ability!"

The air around them goes silent, and for a moment Izuku thinks it's over. Then Aki says in a dark tone, "If you don't see that this is the right thing for you, then I'll make you see."

Izuku's spine runs cold from his words, limbs going heavy and breath sounding in his ears. He knows, logically, that he should be able to move, and yet he stays stock-still. He's never heard Aki speak like that, so low and ghastly and ominous. It sounded like he was threatening Yoichi, but... he wouldn't do that, would he?

"Aki," Yoichi's voice shook, "What are you doing? Sto-stop!"

As soon as Izuku heard Yoichi's yelped words, he bolted up and saw Aki reach over and grip the bare skin of Yoichi's forearm. It could have been a completely innocent gesture, in any other context.

But looking at Aki's grin... Izuku had this horrible feeling...

"Aki!" Izuku yelled. "What in the world are you doing?!"

The white-haired man didn't respond, staring fixedly at Yoichi's face. Izuku rushed forward without sparing another thought, and tore his arm away, feeling like he would yank it out of it's socket if that's what it would take.

"Izuku?" Aki blinks at him, confused. "What are you doing here? Nevermind, just leave. This is a family matter."

Yoichi was slumped down on the ground, staring at his hands with mounting horror. His breaths was coming fast and reedy, and Izuku wanted to crouch down and see what was wrong with him but didn't want to take his eyes off of Aki.

"Aki... What were you two talking about?"

Aki's gaze hardened, and Izuku saw his fist tighten around nothing. "As I said, that's none of your business. Please leave, now."

Izuku stayed firmly planted. "No, I don't think I will. Tell me what you're doing right now, Aki."

Aki stares at him with cold and impassionate eyes. "Or what?"

Izuku feels like he's never seen him before. The friend he once knew had vanished behind layers and layers of ice and steel. Has he always been like this and I just haven't noticed, or is this a recent change? Should I have done anything sooner? Could I have done anything different?

"I won't ask you again, Izuku."

Yoichi looks up at Izuku with eyes that are too wide and desperate, though he doesn't say anything. He slowly edges between the two brothers, ignoring Aki's bared teeth and glare. Whatever was going on here, he wasn't leaving until he was sure that nothing bad was going to happen.

"...Yoichi, why don't you go into my apartment while I have a chat with Aki?" Izuku brightly suggested. His breath was coming faster, but he was doing his best to even it out. He had no idea what was happening, but he couldn't let Aki see him disconcerted.

He felt like it would be a mistake that he couldn't fix.

"No, Yoichi, stay," Aki ordered. He narrowed his eyes at Izuku, and he realized they were in a standoff. "Honestly, Izuku, what makes you think that you have the right to interfere here?"

"Aside from the fact that I've known both of you for years and don't want anything bad to happen to you?" Izuku didn't wait for an answer before continuing. "I don't... I can tell that you're doing something wrong, and I'm not just going to let you do it."

"You can just tell I'm doing something wrong?" Aki laughed condescendingly, a world away from the friend he had grown to know. "Izuku, you sound absolutely ridiculous."

"I don't care how ridiculous I sound," Izuku snapped. "Tell me what's going on here or I'm not going to leave!"

Aki sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose like he just wanted the conversation to be over. "So if I just tell you what this is about, you'll leave?"

"That depends on what you say."

Yoichi hadn't said a word in their whole exchange, just staring at his hands with a broken look on his face. He was shaking like a leaf, and he refused to look at Aki, no matter what his brother said.

"Yoichi, do you want to head up to my apartment now?" Izuku did his best to keep his tone pleasant when speaking to the younger man. "This will all be over in a minute, I'm sure."

Yoichi didn't move a muscle.

"Yoichi?" Izuku was really worried now. All he had seen Aki do was gab his forearm for a moment, but then Yoichi had acted like he'd been stabbed. Had Aki somehow doen something that he couldn't see?

That's when Izuku realized he still didn't know what Aki's ability was.

He probably should have asked sooner, since they had grown closer, but Izuku didn't really care what Aki's ability was. Yeah, if he ever learned what it was he definitely would have tried to analyze it, but it was a subject that they stayed away from.

They stayed away from a lot of things.

Could Yoichi be under the effects from his ability? Izuku wondered. I... would he do that? If it was something that would hurt Yoichi, would he really make the decision to use it on him? I don't really want to jump to any conclusions here... but I also don't see what else it could be.

"What did you do to him?" Izuku let his tone drop down, a hint of the darkness he was feeling right now.

"He'll be fine," Aki immediately dismissed. "Honestly, he's being a child right now."

"What. Did. You. Do?"

Aki sent a nasty glare his way, and Izuku couldn't help but be shocked by how hateful and resentful it was. He didn't say anything, just stared at Izuku with contempt.

"I'm sick of listening to you. Tanaka," He looked off to right behind Izuku, "Take care of him."

Izuku whirled around, and just managed to catch a glimpse of a tall and burly man holding a gun to him before pain tore through his stomach.

After that, everything faded to black.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Hey! Are you even fucking listening to me?"

Izuku jolted back into awareness as Bakugo shouted in his face. He felt sick to his stomach, the contents being turned around like clothes in a washer. Those memories... he was in no way proud of that particular spot in his past, no way proud of how blind and stupid he had been.

For all he knew, Aki- All For One had never cared about him as a friend at all. Izuku was certain he had cared about Yoichi, at least to some degree in the beginning, but in his darker moments he thought back and wondered if he had ever been anything more than a pawn. He had no idea if he was helping All For One whenever he geeked out about quirks with him, or if he was just an amusing distraction to his criminal life.

"Bakugo, I am listening to you, but let me just say that you have no idea what you're talking about." Izuku regretted confronting him about this right away. Maybe he should have waited until the next day, but he really didn't want to leave Bakugo alone with his thoughts until then. So he didn't wait for another teacher to be present, though it would probably be better to have Aizawa here. He was too off of his game right now.

Bakugo scoffed, a sharp glint in his eyes. " Tch. You think I'm going to be fooled like all the extras who buy that load of crap? I saw what went down at Kamino," Izuku doesn't miss the flinch the boy gives when he mentions the incident, "And I know that you and that fucking villain have some kind of history. Both him and that crazy bitch Toga said that you were friends." He sneered out that last word.

Izuku's patience was almost at its limit. He wasn't happy with his time with Ak- All For One, and hearing Bakugo speak about it like he had the whole situation all figured out was starting to get on his nerves. Yes, he understands that Bakugo has just gone through yet another traumatic incident, and it might be best to just let him get this out of his system, but every word was starting to feel like blunt nails being shot inot his heart.

"Bakugo, Toga was clearly trying to unsettle you, and the fight with All For One..." He faltered. "That was complicated. But let me say that I didn't have and still don't have any intention of helping him."

Bakugo hadn't stopped glaring once during their conversation. "As if I'm going to believe someone who was a fucking villain-"

Izuku finally snapped.

"Bakugo, that is enough! You don't know anything about what happened and it is none of your business! I will never work with.. With... him!"

He dully noted that his hands were shaking.

Bakugo had taken a step back after Izuku yelled at him, and his eyes went wide in shock. "You... It is my business! I know you're a liar! You-"

"That's enough!"

Bakugo pulled back, face blank for a moment. Then his arm tensed, and even though Izuku knew it was coming and could have had time to block, Bakugo's fist made contact with him.

They were both silent for a moment, Bakugo staring at his hand like he couldn't believe it moved. Izuku just watched him, not really even feeling the impact of the blow.

"I..."

"Are you done now?" Izuku wanted to flinch when he heard his tone. It was sharp, impatient, and everything that Bakugo didn't need to hear right now. With the boy's obsession with winning and losing and people looking down on him, it wouldn't go over well to just dismiss his anger.

That was probably something Hound Dog was going to work with him on in therapy.

"No! I'm not done yet. I'm sick of you looking down on me!"

Yeah, there it was.

"I am not looking down on you." Izuku's tone had softened again, and he felt like he had to shove all of the nasty emotions he felt right now into a carry-on bag just so he wouldn't snap again. "That is never what this conversation has been about."

"Bullshit," Bakugo spat out. "You've been looking down on me since Kamino, since was too weak to do anything but run."

Izuku felt like someone had sucker-punched him in the gut. "Bakugo... nothing in Kamino happened because you were too weak. Far from it, actually. If you hadn't-"

"I couldn't do jack shit. All I could do was stand by like a weakling and watch as you and All For One had a whole fucking conversation." Izuku did his best not to think back to the last conversation with the villain he'd had. This wasn't the time to worry about the information that he still hadn't done anything with. Other things were on the line here.

"Bakugo, you know nothing about that situation or what was going on. Just calm down-"

Bakugo cut him off yet again, eyes flashing dangerously as he shouted, "There it is again! You're looking down on me, expecting me to just trust you! Well, guess what? I don't! There is nothing trustworthy about you! Everything you do makes no sense and we just have to follow along with you like dumbasses!"

Izuku watched as Bakugo got himself more and more worked up, face turning red as his voice got louder. "I'm sick of it!"

His student's fist came forwards again, this time aimed at his face, and Izuku resigned himself to the fact that this wasn't going to be resolved with just words. He would have to fight back.

Though he obviously wasn't going to hurt Bakugo, he would only do enough so he could blow the steam off and they could have an actual meaningful conversation. Izuku still wasn't sure exactly what he would say about All For One, but he knew he was definitely going to clear the whole 'you're a villain' thing up.

Bakugo threw another punch at him, with more power behind it than the others had. Izuku leaned back and caught the side of his arm, pushing it away form making contact with his face. Twisted with rage, Bakugo's palms started to spark dangerously, and Izuku mentally sighed. Ugh. This was going to be difficult to explain later, wasn't it?

Izuku dodged and deflected against every blow that Bakugo tried to deal, and he could tell that his student was getting caught up in frustration.

"Why won't you just fight back?! You say you're not looking down on me, and then you don't even bother to try and stop me! You think I'm weak or some shit?"

Izuku grunted as a fist fell down on his stomach. "Bakugo, I'm really not interested with fighting you. Sorry, but I'm not going to beat down one of my students outside of a training match."

Bakugo backed up and laughed, slightly hysterically. "You- you're okay with helping an S-class villain, but you won't even try to fight me?"

"I didn't help Aki!"

Bakugo stopped. "Who the hell is Aki?"

Izuku tightened his fists and looked down at the ground, doing his best to school his expression. This wasn't the time or the place for his convoluted past to come out. This wasn't about his issues, it was about Bakugo's. He's just uncomfortable with how much of this conversation has been centered around his past, honestly.

"He's... he's nobody. Not anymore." Izuku can't help how miserable his tone sounds.

"What," Bakugo scoffed. "Did you kill him?"

"Bakugo," Izuku's words were filled with restrained fury and darkness. "That is enough."

"Did All For One help you do it?" Bakugo just wouldn't stop. "Was that what you were talking about at Kamino? When he said he solved problems?"

"He was the problem." Izuku breathed in and out heavily. You shouldn't punch students, you shouldn't punch students, you shouldn't punch students...

What about knocking them out with a pinch?

Meh, that one's probably not okay either.

"Really? I didn't see you fighting him until All Might showed up." Bakugo hunched his shoulders inward. Izuku could practically see all of the negative thoughts rushing through his head, and he couldn't help but think back to what Bakugo had said before.

Stand by like a weakling...

Too weak to do anything...

Izuku carefully broached the topic. "It's not your fault that All Might's going to retire, you know."

Bakugo sent him a weak glare before giving up and crossing his arms over his chest. "Really? Because last time I checked, he was only there because I let some freak grab me. No one else got caught, just me. I was the only one weak enough to grab, and they knew it."

"They targeted you because you were strong, not weak. And if there is any blame to be placed for that situation, it should lie solely on me." Izuku took a deep breath. "I was the one that failed to stop the villains from taking you, and it is entirely my fault that any of it happened, okay?"

His chest tightened. Izuku didn't just mean what happened at the training camp, but everything that came before that. It was his fault that All For One had even risen in the first place. If he had just seen the signs ahead of time, then thousands of people wouldn't have had their lives ruined over the centuries and all the harm he had done along the road wouldn't have been done.

In reality, he shared a large portion of the blame. The bystanders were just as guilty as the perpetrators were.

"But..." Bakugo looked lost.

"Izuku-sensei," All Might caught sight of the two of them. Or, more specifically, the small burn marks on Izuku's clothes and Bakugo's sweaty form. It didn't take a genius to figure out what had happened there.

Izuku cleared his throat noisily. "Yes, All Might?"

"I...?" The blonde man glanced between the two of them, and Izuku got a strong suspicion that All Might didn't just arrive.

Izuku glanced down at Bakugo and chewed on the inside of his lip. He was still trying to figure out how to answer when Aizawa came along the path to find them.

"... It's too late for this," Aizawa sighed, slouching down and glaring at them through the his eyebrows. His former student silently surveyed the scene while All Might sputtered through some more questions. It took a while before he was finally able to decide on one.

"Is everyone o-"

Aizawa cut him off. "I'm going to assume that Bakugo started a fight here?"

Izuku breathed out through his nose. "Yes, though there are some extenuating circumstances."

Aizawa stared at him. "Usually the punsihment for attacking a teacher would be expulsion or suspension."

"No." As tired as he was, Izuku made sure to make his tone clear and firm. He wasn't going to have Bakugo epxelled because of his own failures. Not in a million years.

God, I hope I don't make it to a million years.

Aizawa sighed. "Fine. Bakugo, you're placed under house arrest for a week." He glared down at his student. "Be glad that's all you're getting."

Bakugo stared down sullenly at the ground. "Whatever," he mumbled.

"Bakugo," Izuku made sure that his tone was bright and unblaming as he said, "Doesn't this seem like a wonderful opportunity to go through what we discussed earlier?"

Bakugo glared down at the ground. In a whisper that could barely be heard, he said, "Fine."

It seemed like their 'fight' had drained all the energy and resistance out of him. He just looked... tired now.

"Great!" Izuku enthused. "I'll make the appointment for... hmm, let's say tomorrow."

Izuku smiled brightly while Aizawa led Bakugo away, giving a gruff and brief lecture. The teen was slouching and glaring down at the ground, but Izuu could tell that he was listening.

All Might and Izuku were left alone, and Izuku gave himself a moments rest before turning to him and saying, "So, how much did you hear?"

Part 56

Some years ago...

Toshinori dropped down into a seat near the middle of the classroom, setting his stuff down beside him. The rest of the class was still filtering in slowly, chatting with their friends about Nezu's newest lesson plan.

For some reason, he seemed to be more involved with the third-year hero students than any other. And while that had been exciting at first, they soon learned that having Nezu be interested in them was not a good thing. It was the opposite of a good thing.

He couldn't count the number of times that they had been given a task to do that was both complex and lengthy, and if they didn't finish it in time then the fire sprinklers would activate only in their classroom. The rest of the school would be kept nice and dry while they were left to deal with the stares of pity their juniors would give them.

But as scary as Nezu was, there was one teacher that Toshinori feared even more than that satanic rat- not that he would ever say that to his principals face. Every student that had known this teacher for longer than one day could confirm that he was... unusual.

For Toshinori, the moment of realization was when his homeroom teacher had walked right up to Nezu after one of his insane cackles and greeted him normally. In fact, not only did he greet him normally, he asked when they would be playing chess again!

And maybe that would just be enough to put him on Nezu's level, but it didn't stop there. No, Nezu had paused his crazy laughter and called him sensei, of all things.

So not only was his homeroom teacher able to stand on equal footing with their genius and quite possibly psychopathic principal, he taught him.

And if that wasn't terrifying, Toshinori didn't know what was.

Well, he reflected, maybe that isn't completely true...

He can still remember the look on his master's face when she told him about the indomitable villain that had killed all of the One For All users before them. The haunted look in her face as she described what had happened to the user before her... Toshinori didn't like seeing his master that sad, not one bit.

She was usually such a bright ray of sunshine, full of life and warmth. If she hadn't come along, then his dream might have always been out of his reach. He might have never been able to provide a stable pillar of peace for others to rely on during tough times.

He'd always be grateful to her for that.

Toshinori absently tugged at one of those strands of hair hanging down from the side of his face. Somehow, he'd found a way to make them stick straight up when he was in his 'All Might' form. And he could somehow stop looking like a little shrimp and bulk up his muscles.

Heat crawled up the back of his neck, and Toshinori turned around in his seat. It felt like someone was watching him, which wasn't altogether unusual considering he was one of the big three, but this felt different than the stares his classmates usually gave him.

He caught sight of who was watching him, and he gave the onlooker a bright grin. Enji just stared back at him sullenly, those electric blue eyes of his practically boring into Toshinori's soul.

Enji could be a bit serious and had a short temper at times, but Toshinori liked to think they were friends. They had a healthy rivalry, and pushed each other to try harder and harder as time went on. Though their battles were getting easier for him as of late. Nana told him it might be because One For All got stronger with each passing generation, so that might be it.

"Good morning!" Izuku-sensei called as he entered the room. "Everyone doing all right?"

Their teacher was in his usual gear, pouches hung from his waist, one of which Toshinori was certain contained a knife.

Training sessions with Izuku-sensei could be terrifying...

"Are there any questions anyone has before class begins?"

There were a few negatives spread throughout the class, but no one really said much. Only Mirai, who was in his unofficial assigned seat at the front and center of the classroom, raised his hand.

Izuku-sensei smiled fondly. "Yes, Sasaki?"

Toshinori didn't think that Izuku-sensei had favorites, but if he did, he would guess that it was Mirai. His friend was smart, and sometimes he was the only one that could follow along when Izuku-sensei went on one of his rants about the science behind quirks and the like. While everyone else was just staring dumbly at Izuku-sensei, Mirai was able to actually contribute to the discussion.

"Good morning, Izuku-sensei. I was just reading a medical article on the nature of emitter quirks the other day and had a question about the..."

Now, Toshinori likes to think that he's not an idiot. He did pretty well in school and otherwise. But every single word that fell out of his friend's mouth after that sounded like complete and utter nonsense. He had to glance to the person next to him to make sure that it wasn't just him that didn't understand a word those two were saying. The student sitting next to him just offered a confused shrug.

"As much as I'd like to continue this conversation, Sasaki, I'm afraid that class must start at some point." Toshinori watched as Mirai nodded curtly, but the furrow between his brows and the downward curve of his lips betrayed him. This might be the closest to pouting Toshinori has seen Mirai get.

It was kinda funny.

"Now!" Izuku-sensei said, clapping his hands together. "This class period is going to be a little different from the others. Instead of analyzing a particular situation or quirk that I give you, I'm going to ask you to analyze something new." He grins at them, full of delight and charm. "Your futures."

He picks up a white board marker and starts writing down some questions on the board, the blue and curvy lines of his letters looking almost perfect.

I wish I could do that, Toshinori thought, almost jealously, My handwriting is so bad even I can't read it sometimes, let alone anyone else.

"Maybe this feels a bit premature to you, but you are in your third and final year of the UA hero course. You've been doing your work studies for a while now, and you should have at least some semblance of an idea of what you want to do when your time here is over. Some of you might want to go into rescue heroics or limelight, and a few of you might have your eye on the underground scene. In any case, this is the time that I want you to really examine what you want out of your future." He gestures to the board behind him, filled with questions. "I've written some starting points out for you, so just think about how to answer them. Where do you want to go? What are your goals?"

Toshinori feels a hot burning on the back of his neck again and turns around. Enji is glaring at him full force, with little wisps of smoke flying off the edges of his hair. The blonde winces but doesn't do anything to warn him. He learned his lesson last time that you really shouldn't imply Enji was anything less than in complete control or you would suffer the consequences all day long.

"I'm going to be number one," Enji declared proudly. "I will burn any obstacle down that stands in my way."

Izuku-sensei gave him a slightly strained smile. "Not everything, I hope. Do we need to revisit that talk on how much your hero insurance covers and the dangers of property damage?"

Enji gives a barely discernable shudder and shakes his head. "No! No, I think I'm good."

Toshinori nods sympathetically. He too had been the target of many of Izuku-sensei's lectures. Toshinori had seen him both while fighting off villains with a snarl on his face and while he was lecturing them on the most boring of procedures, and it was honestly really close for which one was scarier.

He never wanted to hear about the paperwork surrounding work study students again. Let it be said right now that he would never take one on unless he had someone else to do the paperwork for him.

"Good. You don't have to put anything in concrete just yet, but just do your best to answer these questions. If you don't know the answers yet, that's okay. I just want you to think about it."

Almost everyone in the room went silent as they stared at the white board, brows furrowed in deep thought. But there were a few that glanced at the board for a few seconds and then nodded. Like Izuku-sensei had said, the work studies had helped some of them figure out what they wanted out of their careers.

Meanwhile, Toshinori stared at the board with complete confidence. He had been thinking about what he wanted to do for a long time now, and he was sure. America was the place for him, at least for the next few years. If he wanted to achieve his dream of lowering the crime worldwide, then what better place to start than America? They had a high crime rating, and Nana said ti would help him learn other skills that weren't as prominent in Japan.

Izuku-sensei had been going around, speaking to people about their plans. He used a low tone so only the girl with the characteristics of an elephant could hear what they said. Finally, he made his way to Toshinori.

His teacher didn't even have to crouch down to be eye-level with him. And maybe that was partly because Toshinori was well over seven feet, but Izuku-sensei was also just really short.

"Do you have any plans for the future, Yagi?"

"Yes. My master suggested I go to America and learn more there."

Izuku-sensei didn't drop his smile- thank god- but he did seem to freeze for a second. Then he was back in motion and Toshinori was left wondering whether he'd imagined it. "That... sounds like a solid idea. Are you going to start out as a sidekick or are you going to go solo right away? I usually don't recommend it because of the dangers, but I'm confident you can handle it."

"I'm going solo right away." Toshinori got a determined glint in his eyes. "If I'm going to become a pillar of peace for the world, then I need to get right to work. There's no time to waste."

Izuku-sensei laughed a little, but not mockingly. It was more delighted, like someone who had just witnessed the most amusing thing in the world. "You have mentioned that a couple of times. At least." He adds on as an afterthought. "America is going to be lucky to have you as one of their heroes. I'm certain they've never seen a quirk like yours before."

Now Toshinori was the one who felt like freezing. At times, Izuku-sensei would drop obscure comments like these that made him think that just maybe he knew more about his quirk than he was letting on. And then Izuku-sensei would alleviate his worries immediately with a smile on his face.

And Toshinori knew that, logically, there should be no way Izuku-sensei knows about One For All. Even if he had somehow ran across one of the previous holders in the past, it presented so differently every time that it would be almost impossible to connect the dots.

Actually, now that he was thinking about it, that sort of deduction was right up Izuku-sensei's alley.

"Ah," Toshinori laughs awkwardly. "I doubt that. It's just a pretty standard enhancer quirk, isn't it?"

Izuku-sensei gave him a knowing smile and shook his head minutely. "As long as you have an idea, then that's alright."

Toshinori watched him move onto the next student with small shivers racing up his spine. Sometimes Izuku-sensei seemed easy to figure out, and others it felt like Toshinori would never be able to peel back the layers that were his teacher.

One thing was for sure, he would never not respect and fear him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Izuku watched as emotions flitted over All Might's face, washing over one another in waves. Aizawa and Bakugo were well out of earshot by now, and the situation had been handled to the point where Izuku could technically make this wait until morning.

But this was a conversation that he shouldn't keep pushing to the side and procrastinate having. As just proven by recent events, it was better to rip off the bandage before the wound started to fester underneath. And the longer the wound festered, the harder it was to heal.

"Long enough," All Might said slowly. "I heard... most of what was said."

Izuku wasn't sure if that was a good or bad thing.

"Have any questions?" Izuku knew he was dancing around the issue, but he really didn't want to tell his student that his master's grandson had been turned into a villain. Hell, Izuku didn't even want to think about it, let alone talk about it.

"I..." All Might looked like he was at a loss. "Young Bakugo blames himself for Kamino, doesn't he?"

Izuku pursed his lips and nodded, slightly dejected. "Yes... it's something I'm sure Hound Dog will bring up in their sessions, if not tomorrow then later."

All Might ran a large hand through his hair, gripping the strands forcefully. "Young Bakugo shouldn't be left to feel like that. It's not his fault that Kamino happened. If it's anyone's fault, then it's mine. I'm the one who didn't make sure he was dead years ago."

Izuku felt his gut twist, and he didn't know what drove him to say what he did next, but he did. Maybe it was his pain-filled eyes, or the way he was so clearly shouldering so much of the blame, but Izuku pushed out the words, "It's not your fault, it's mine."

All Might looked at him with his shaded eyes, disbelief clear to see. "How could it have been your fault? I'm the one who-"

"I should have realized sooner," Izuku said, his gaze far off.

"What?"

"I should've realized him and Shigaraki were related sooner. I knew the name Shigaraki, but I still ignored all the signs. I didn't want to believe." Izuku gave a humorless laugh. "Guess I ended up not being the one to pay for it, huh?"

All Might didn't know exactly what was going on, but it was clear he was trying to make Izuku feel at least somewhat better. "I'm sure that there's nothing you could have done... it's not your fault," he helplessly said.

"I knew him!" Izuku blurted out.

"What?" All Might said again, this time at even more of a loss.

"I knew All For One before he was All For One." Izuku said the words mockingly, with a slight hint of hysteria mixed in there. "I should've known better. I... could have stopped him before it became this bad."

"Izuku-sensei," All Might finally asked the question he had been dying to that entire conversation. "What do you mean?"

Izuku looked up him helplessly. "All Might, I'm well over 200 years old. You seriously think I wouldn't run into or at least have heard of someone who dominated the underground?"

All Might sputtered for a moment. "B-but..." Izuku could see the moment that Bakugo's words washed over him, and he looked back at Izuku with a newfound horror.

"You wouldn't have..." His gaze hardened. "No. You wouldn't have. Whatever happened, I know there's more to the story than what Young Bakugo said."

In that moment, Izuku was extremely grateful for his student. In his eyes shone unshakable faith, faith that Izuku didn't think he deserved. He'd given up the right to that a long time ago.

"So what is it?" All Might prompted. Izuku could tell that he was trying to not be too pushy, but they were also discussing him helping the person that had killed his mentor and had gravely wounded him to the point of retirement. For gods sake, the man had lost his stomach to All For One. Izuku was impressed he was staying this calm.

"Over a century ago," Izuku began morosely, "I lived right next to these two brothers. One was younger and kind, and the other was older and..." His throat tightened up. "Intelligent and overbearing. Their"

He couldn't bring himself to list Aki's greater qualities. How he was smart with a biting tongue that would often have him rolling on the floor laughing, and how he clearly cared about Yoichi and wanted the best for him, at least in the beginning.

It hurt to think about that.

"We became close, the two of them and I," he continued, "It was an odd day that I didn't see them. The older of the two and I would often discuss quirk theory together- though we didn't call them quirks back then. He was..." Izuku laughed without humor. "He was someone I truly considered a friend."

All Might was giving him his undivided attention.

"Their family name was Shigaraki."

All Might sucked in a breath, though Izuku could tell he already knew where that story was going.

"A-" His voice closed up. "The older Shigaraki would later go and leave on 'business,' he called it. I wouldn't see him for days at a time. Suspicious little incidents would happen, but I brushed them off. I told myself it was completely fine, that he would never do something like that." Izuku's tone was bitter and brittle. "One day, it all came to a head when I found him..." Flashes rained down in his mind of that night, and all Izuku could force out was, "doing something he shouldn't have been doing. Then he ordered one of his early lackeys to shoot me."

Izuku quieted down. "After that, he began his reign of terror. And I could have stopped it if I hadn't been so blind the entire time."

All Might was shocked into silence. "It still wasn't your fault," the man ventured.

"I still should've recognized the name Shigaraki," Izuku said glumly. "Of all people, I should've recognized the name Shigaraki."

All Might's eyes widened. "Wait, is this how you always seemed to know about One For All? Because you knew the first holder?"

Izuku smiled grimly at him. "All Might, I knew almost all of the holders. There were certain points in time when the quirk would go off the grid, like the fourth and fifth users, but it somehow always popped back up in my peripheral again."

"Then you knew Nana..." All Might muttered.

Izuku nodded. "Yes, I did. And..." This has already been so much. Should I tell him?

Yes.

Izuku took a deep breath. I can do this. I can do this...

"And speaking of Nana... There's something I probably should have told you sooner." Izuku forces himself to look up from the ground and into his no longer young student's eyes. "When I visited All For One in the prison, he told me something. He told me that he had found Shigaraki on the streets as a child, and that Shigaraki wasn't his real name..." Izuku felt sick as he shattered All Might's illusions about their enemy with these next fe words. "His real name was Tenko Shimura."

All Might gave a startled cry and fell back some, watching Izuku with wide and disbelieving eyes. "That's... that's not possible."

"I looked into it. It is." Izuku just wanted to walk away and leave this conversation, but he couldn't. If he was going to drop a bombshell of this size, he had to be there for the aftermath. "Nana Shimura gave up her son for adoption some years ago... and that man had a son named Tenko Shimura."

"Why isn't he still with his family? If Nana gave him up, then they should've been safe. All she ever wanted was for them to be safe," he muttered.

Izuku flinched. This was the hardest part. "I looked into that too. When Tenk-Shigaraki was just a child, his entire family was killed."

"What? How?" All Might demanded. "Did All For One find them? DId he kill-"

"As far as I can tell, Shigaraki did."

All Might turned horrified eyes back to him.

"But he was just a child." His voice shook.

"WIth a quirk like his..." Izuku sighs. "Mistakes happen easily. It's not his fault, not the fault of any child who has that happen to them. And maybe he would have had the chance to move on after that, to start fresh and get past it, but All For One got his hands on him."

They were both silent for a long time after that, pondering what might have been. A lot of 'shoulds' had been said and imagined, and as much as Izuku wishes he could go back in time to fix what he hadn't been able to do in the past. He was forced to live with his mistakes, and others were forced to live with his mistakes.

"I... I think it's time that we went to bed," All Might said weakly. "But... I would like to hear more about this some time. Just... not right now."

Izuku nodded and bade him good night, watching as All Might walked away with an uneven gait. It wasn't until the blonde man was out of sight that Izuku allowed his knees to give out and he slumped to the ground.

He stayed like that for a long time. Time blurred, and it felt like hours before he was able to work up the will to stand. He trudges along up to his small little apartment in the teacher's dorms, and he catches Aizawa sitting with coffee in the common area. They made eye contact, but neither of them said anything. Aizawa just gave him a small but tired nod, and Izuku returned it.

Once he was in his bedroom, he slumped down into the mattress and fell asleep almost instantly.

Everything else could wait for tomorrow.

Part 57

Shinso awoke to someone shaking him awake.

"What the...?!" Shinso blindly swatted out with his hand, hitting a slim forearm. "Go away!"

"Nuh-uh-uh," A much too cheerful voice chimed. A feminine voice. "Time to wake up, you lazy little insomniac!"

Shinso bolted up. Even before his vision focused he could tell who it was. "Mina? Why on earth are you in my room?" His hand held the blanket up protectively over his chest. "You're not allowed in here!"

"Oh please," Mina said, rolling her eyes and crossing her arms. "It's not like we're going to do anything." She raised her eyebrow at him. "One, you're gay, and two-"

"Hey!" Shinso objected. "You don't know that!"

Mina gave him a pitying glance. "Uh, yeah, I do. I'm pretty sure almost everyone knows."

Shinso stopped just short of a pout. "Ugh. Why are you in here?"

"Just because we have today off doesn't meant that you can sleep all day," she said, cuffing the side of his head gently. "Come on, you've already slept half the day away! Up and at 'em!"

"What even is the time?" Shinso asked, rubbing his hand over his face.

"Too late! You know," She started, a devilish glint in her eyes. "Kaminari would've come and got you but-"

"He had more respect for my personal space?" Shinso said dryly.

Mina cackled. "Sure, if that's what you want to think." She wiggled her eyebrows. "Though I personally thought there was another reason! Wanna guess?"

Shinso groaned, grabbing the pillow he had previously been lying on and throwing it directly at her smug, smirking face. "Leave me alone. I'll be down in a second."

"Okay!" Mina flounced off of the comforter and into the hallway, taking her obnoxious energy and pep with her. He took a longing look at his pillow before halling himself to his feet and shuffling over to his phone. When he opened the homescreen, he wanted to cry.

It was only seven thirty.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After Shinso had managed to wake up at least moderately, he slipped downstairs as quietly as he could. If Mina going out of her way to practically pull him out of his bed was any indication, this morning was going to require coffee before he could physically deal with it.

He made it through the common room with no trouble, but he got spotted by Iida while crossing the threshold of the kitchen. The blue-haired boy hurried over, and Shinso prepared himself to dodge the Hands of Propriety- a nickname that Kaminari and Mina had come up with while giggling a week ago.

"Shinso!" His classmate exclaimed, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose. His jacket was perfectly pressed even though it was one of their days off, and he looked completely awake. Why is this class filled with so many morning people...?

"I didn't expect for you to get up this early!" Shinso resentfully glared at Mina, but decided not to say anything. As much as he would love to throw the girl under the bus, the following lecture about the importance of dorm rooms divided by sex was too daunting of a prospect.

"Yeah. Speaking of, I really do need some coffee, so I'm just gonna..." Shinso moved to enter the kitchen completely.

Iida blocked his way. "Of course! But I do need to give you some information before anything... unpleasant happens."

Shinso wants to cry. He could deal with the craziness when he was caffeinated, but ambushing him before he'd gotten his fix? That was just cruel.

"Okay, okay, just let me get my coffee-"

Iida drags him into the kitchen, away from the others. "There was an... incident last night."

When is there not, Shinso thought glumly.

"I don't know all of the details, but from what I can understand Izuku-sensei had pulled Bakugo away to talk- I'm not sure about what- and their conversation somehow ended with Bakugo attacking Izuku-sensei."

Now that got Shinso's attention. "Whoa. Does he have a death wish or something? How is he still here?"

He glanced back, just to make sure that he wasn't imagining Bakugo on his way down there. The blonde was sitting there, but he was a whole lot more... reserved than normal. A lot of the class was giving him a wide berth, and Bakugo appeared to be deep in thought. There weren't any open bruises or stab wounds in him, so Shinso was guessing that Izuku-sensei didn't take the fight seriously. If he did, then there probably wouldn't be much left of Bakugo.

"He hasn't been expelled," Iida continues, misinterpreting Shinso's words. "Though he has been placed under house arrest for a week. As he should," Iida sniffed. "Attacking a teacher is deplorable and not model student behavior at all. I only told you this so you would know to not ask him any questions on the subject."

Iida pulls himself up tall. "It is my duty as class president to-"

"Right, right, that's great," Shinso dismisses, finally making a beeline for the sweet nectar sitting in a pot on the counter. "I agree completely. Please leave me alone."

Iida shook his head silently before walking away, and Shinso finds himself content with the relative silence of the kitchen. Sure, he could still hear sounds from the commons, but it was all muted and he considered that a plus. Now that there was no one with him, he could safely observe the rest of his classmates.

Some of them were lounging around on their phones, still tired from the previous day, while others were already running at full speed. Ahem, Mina, ahem.

In particular, he found himself staring at Bakugo. He didn't know what had possessed the blonde and made him attack Izuku-sensei, but he did know that Bakugo didn't seem as... unstable as he had before. There was a lot less superiority and annoyance resting in his gaze. It almost made Shinso want to tolerate him.

The only classmate that risked setting him off was Kirishima, who clung to his side like he was a sloth and Bakugo was the tree. And the strange part was that Bakugo was letting him hang all over him, without complaint.

Shinso felt better as soon as 25% of his blood was pure caffeine. He could already tell he'd be able to cope better with his class's shenanigans, whatever they may be today.

He turned to sit down at the table and came head-to-head with Todoroki.

"Gah! Todoroki! What the hell... where did you come from?"

Todoroki opened his mouth to answer, and Shinso remembered how literally he took everything and quickly retracted that.

"No, no, nevermind. Why did you just... are you a ghost?"

"Not that I know of," Todoroki replied, completely serious.

"That's... that's just great. Why did you have to ambush me?"

"Because I thought we should have a conversation." Todoroki explained, fiddling gently with the edge of the table. It was the only way Shinso was able to tell that he wasn't completely comfortable with the exchange. "Uraraka said that open and honest communication was important in a friendship." He frowned. "Then she told me to pass on that she thought it was important in a relationship too."

Shinso was wrong. He was oh so very wrong. There wasn't enough coffee in the world to deal with his classmates.

"Fine," he sighed. "Let's talk. What did you need?"

Todoroki took a deep breath. "I wanted to... apologize for how I acted yesterday. I thought at the time that my behavior was just, and in hindsight I can see that I was wrong. I... Should not have treated you that way just because I was upset."

Shinso eyed him warily. It was clear that Todoroki hadn't had to apologize often during his life. He did look genuinely repentant, so that was a point in his favor.

"What did Inasa even say to you?"

Todoroki got a dark glare on his face. "He said I was exactly like my father and... other things. At the end of the exam, when it was clear taht we both failed, he said that he was sorry he didn't work with me, but he still didn't like me."

Shinso was quiet. From what he could understand about Todoroki's relationship with his dad, it was very strained. He hadn't really been brought up much after the Sports Festival, so Shinso wasn't sure what was going on there.

"But," Todoroki continued, "That's no reason to do what I did. I'm incredibly sorry."

There was a long moment of silence.

"It's fine," Shinso finally said. "It's not like you were screaming obscenities at me or anything like that, though you were being an asshole."

Todoroki hung his head. "I understand. I assume this means our friendship has been terminated."

Shinso wrinkled his nose. "One, that's ridiculous and there's no need for that, and two, you think Uraraka would let us terminate our friendship?"

Todoroki gave a small but real smile in return. "I don't suppose she would."

"Iida would throw a fit if he thought that our 'petty squabbles' were getting in the way of our hero work and friendship."

"There would be no survivors from his wrath," Todoroki gravely said.

"So... uh, how did Endeavor take the news about you not passing the exam?" Shinso awkwardly asked.

Todoroki brightened, just a little bit. Enough that the corners of his mouth weren't weighed down like they usually were when the topic of Endeavor was brought up. "He was... surprisingly accepting. I think..." Todoroki trailed off. "I think that he's trying."

Shinso felt uncomfortable whenever topics that involved too many feelings came up, but he was glad that Todoroki was doing at least a little better with his dad. From the few comments he would sprinkle in here and there, he was... concerned at first.

"That's... that's good."

Todoroki and him basked in the relative silence for a while longer, before the dual-haired boy excused himself because some of their classmates were calling him. Shinso was just starting to think that today might be quieter, giving everyone a chance to recuperate before classes started again tomorrow. Then he remembered who he was dealing with.

"Shinso!"

Someone wrapped their arms around him from behind, nearly bowling him over. His elbow comes up and almost makes contact with that person's nose, but they yelp and jump back before he breaks their nose.

"Eep! Sorry, sorry! I didn't realize you would be so mad, I won't do it again!"

"Oh, it's just you Kaminari." Shinso relaxed his defensive position, refraining from the punch to the diaphragm he was about to throw. "Have you ever thought of maybe not sneaking up on someone who's been trained in martial arts?"

Kaminari tugged at his hair sheepishly. "Yeah... maybe not my best idea."

Shinso just raised an eyebrow at him, but he couldn't hold it before breaking into one of his admittedly creepy grins. Who cares if they were 'scary'? Being an underground hero meant that he didn't exactly need the same bedside manner that other heroes had to have.

"Is there a particular reason you were looking for me, or...?"

Kaminari grinned, nice and bright and so unlike Shinso's chilling half-smile. He really couldn't take his eyes off of the blonde, and with a sinking feeling in his chest he realized that Mina and Uraraka might not be so far off from the truth. He... enjoyed Kaminari's company.

Shinso refused to think more on the implications of that sentence. Nope. Denial was the name of the game, and he was a pro.

"Yeah! Some of the others and I were playing around with the hero database now that we have access to things with our provisional licenses, and I wanted to see if you would join us." Kaminari wagged his eyebrows at him. "It'll be fu-unnnn."

Shinso rolled his eyes, but inside his heart skipped a beat. "Ugh. Fine, whatever. That wouldn't be completely terrible."

Kaminari stared at him like he could see right through him, and Shinso felt picked bare to the bone. He gave Shinso a toothy grin and proceeded to drag him into the common room, where everyone was gathered around a small laptop. The forceful yanking on his arm didn't go unnoticed by Uraraka and Mina, both of which gave him knowing smiles.

Shinso resisted the urge to hiss at the two of them.

"Hey, Shinso!" Kirishima rushed towards him, and Shinso's eyes widened. He felt the urge to shove Kaminari in front of him and use him like a human shield. "You're here! I think it's so manly that we have access to this now! Hero licenses are-" Kirishima has a small milisecond of hesitation, just enough for Shinso to notice his eyes flicking towards Bakugo and Todoroki. "Pretty cool. But not like, really cool or anything like that. Just moderately cool. Let's just look!"

"I will abstain," Todoroki stated. "I have not yet earned the right to look at something that is restricted to licensed heroes only."

"That's stupid as hell," Bakugo grumbled. "If you've got an advantage, take it."

Todoroki shrugged but didn't say anything else, turning his face away so he couldn't see the screen but remaining close to them. Privately, Shinso agreed with Bakugo. If you have any advantage anywhere, and it was relatively morally right for you to do so, then take the opportunity.

That's what his dad had always taught him.

"I'm glad that you are such a devout follower of the rules!" Iida exclaimed. "Though, Bakugo-"

"Let us stop talking and descend into the darkness," Tokoyami interrupted. And it was a good thing, too. As sedate as Bakugo seemed to be today, one of the things that was guaranteed to set him off was a long Iida lecture about rules.

And nobody could blame him for that.

Tsu nodded and tapped away at the keyboard, pulling up the hero commissions main page. There were a number of the most recent arrests right at the top and center, and All For One's battle with All Might was still heavily featured. His eyes caught on a few sentences near the middle of the article, and he almost burst out laughing when he saw it. An unbidden snicker sneaked out.

Tsu stared at him with large and unblinking eyes. "What was that?"

"Huh.. ha-" Shinso couldn't stop the little laughs from escaping.

"You have an awesome laugh," Kaminari said.

That shut Shinso up quickly. All it took was a couple coughs to clear his throat and collect himself, and then he answered Tsu. "That article... the one at the top? Read the..." His eyes scanned down to find the specific sentence. "The sixth paragraph down."

Tsu frowned at him curiously, but did as he asked. Reading outloud, she said, "'But the notorious villain All For One was not successful. Our Symbol of Peace, All Might, fought the villain in a grueling battle that had its darker moments. In the end, he was able to succeed and triumph over the dark overlord that ran the underground, locking him away securely in Tartarus, where he shall remain for the rest of his life with no chance of reestablishment into the world. In the process, All Might protected all of us, but two children in particular'," Tsu frowned. "Two? Wait- 'A young boy taken by All For One's criminal organization, The League of Villains, named Bakugo. And another young teen, unnamed, with green- with green hair. Both children have been reported to have made a full recovery, though nothing more has been said on the identity of the second child.'"

Everyone stifles a giggle, though they quickly sober when they remember the state Izuku-sensei was in.

"...Do you think Izuku-sensei's seen this?" Mina whispered.

"I... maybe?" Iida looks torn. Shinso could imagine the internal war going on inside his head. Bonding all together as one? Great! But... disrespecting an authority figure... that's not good! What should I do? Scold or praise? Both? NEITHER?!

"Should we show him?" Everyone froze when Sero asked the question.

"I... I don't think there's any reason to do that..." Yaoyorozu trails off with an awkward laugh. "Really, it doesn't change anything and there's no reason to bring up something like this. Though... it is a little amusing."

Mina pointed dramatically at her. "Yes! Thank you! It's not every day you have a teacher that passes for a child."

"Can we quit it with the dumbass discussion and just look at what we can do?" Bakugo glared at the ground. He looked uncomfortable discussing Izuku-sensei, which made sense if what Iida said was true and he did attack him last night. Shinso would really like to know the details, but he knew that it was unlikely anything more would be said on the subject. As usual, anything including Izuku-sensei was shrouded in mystery.

Sometimes he wondered if they ever really knew anything about his teacher.

"Fine, kero." Tsu logs into the account, and a new screen pops up. "Looks like there's a searching database... and you can see how long prisoner sentences are and how much they've served..."

"What's that?" Kaminari asked, pointing to some small text on the screen.

Tsu clicks a few more times, making it actually readable. "It says... this is where heroes go to place warrants on a certain individual. It looks like you have to directly contact the police through here if you want it to be legitimate. And... here's the hero patrol schedules, kero."

Shinso winced. "Yeah, you really don't want that falling into enemy hands." If villains ever found out where and when heroes would be at specific places, then you could bet more organizations like the League of Villains would be popping up. It would be a widespread panic among heroes. If someone like Stain ever found that... heroes would've become hunted like animals...

"Yeah..." Uraraka laughed, uncomfortable. "Let's just... make sure we log out, okay?"

Everyone nodded solemnly.

"Wait-" Mina got one of her Grins again. "Go to the name-searching data-whatever."

Tsu silently exited out of the patrol schedule and paused when when she got back to where they started, awaiting more instructions.

"Alright," Mina said deviously, "Now type in...hmmm... Aizawa..." She blinked and glanced at Shinso. "Um. What's Aizawa-sensei's first name?"

Shinso's eyes widened. "If we do this, he will ki- well, maybe he won't kill us, but the next few weeks or months or... years... won't be very fun for us."

Especially for Shinso.

"All that means is that we won't let him find out," Mina dismissed, waving her hand airily. "So c'mon, spill!"

Shinso has a brief moment to consider all of his life decisions that led him to this point, this point of no return. Then he sighs and decides to throw caution out the window.

"Aw, what the hell. It's Shota."

Mina grins. "Tsu, hit it!"

"I think I'll just type, kero."

Everyone watched in rapt attention, with Todoroki promising to keep a lookout for any unsuspecting teachers that would report them. The loading didn't take much longer than a few seconds, and then the results popped up.

Shota Aizawa Eraserhead

Tsu started reading outloud again. "Shota Aizawa, hero name Eraserhead, underground hero. No patrol hours are listed... and it doesn't mention the areas he patrols."

Shinso butted in. "No underground hero is going to have that information anywhere other than the hero commission actual building, in a securely locked vault." Everyone looked at him. "Oh, come on! I've lived with them for ages! How would I not know this?"

"Just who exactly is 'them'?" Uraraka grinned scarily similar to Mina. "Wait-wait-wait. Check to see if it says his marital status!"

Shinso feels a cold and foreboding shiver as Tsu obediently scrolls through the information. Not today... I knew that getting up when Mina called me would be a mistake...

"Marital status: Classified."

Shinso can't stop the corner of his mouth from quirking up as the more rambunctious members of his class groan over the information. Todoroki, however, was watching Shinso. He sees the dual-haired boy pull out that infernal notebook of his and quickly scrawl something inside.

"Gahhhh..." Mina pouts. "And I just got my hopes up, too!" She bangs her head dramatically on the nearly solid object, which just so happens to be a solid oak bookshelf standing innocently next to them. She yelps when her head makes contact with the wood, and Uraraka reaches over without a thought and rubs her head comfortingly.

Kaminari and Shinso make eye contact , then look back at the scene in front of them. Hypocrites, Shinso thinks bitterly.

"What else does it say?" Kirishima asked, curiously peering from around Bakugo at the screen.

"Hmm, kero, it says a lot about his arrest records and takedowns."

"Yes!" Mina perks up. "Show us those!"

Quite a few members of the class had wandered away and opened the site on their own devices by now, and there were just a few of them gathering around Tsu. Still, Kaminari was just as close to Shinso as he had been before, and Shinso both doesn't know how to step away without making it awkward and doesn't want to in the first place.

"Misdemeanor crimes stopped: 394 last year." Shinso hears a low whistle from somewhere in the room. "Felonies: 198 last year. Villain takedowns: 57 D-rank villains last year, 43 C-rank villains, 12 B-rank villains, 4 A-rank villains, and one S-rank villain assist. All last year alone"

They're all silent for a moment. Then, " Holy shit, Aizawa-sensei's a badass," Kaminari breathes from beside Shinso.

A beat. "So, we're, like, never going to tell him we did this, right?" Mina nervously asks.

Iida clears his throat and pushes his glasses up. "I... don't see why it would come up. Unless we're discussing role models!" Iida brightened at the thought.

Bakugo scoffs, but it's without heat or derision. "Whatever. I'm sure that that's..." He looks down. "Yeah... that's pretty great."

Shinso feels like this is a moment that they need to celebrate and not make it a big thing at the same time. Kirishima looks shellshocked and ecstatic at the same time, and Shinso can see the coiled tension in his arms as they shake, fighting what Shinso assumes is the urge to throw his arms around Bakugo.

"Yeah it is!" Uraraka jumps in, desperately trying to make it seem like this is normal. "I just looked it up, and the average for underground heroes is well under that. Like, by half!"

Shinso stifles a proud smile. He does not need Uraraka and Mina jumping in on the 'make fun of our introvert friend' train right now. It had already left the station, thank you.

"Okay..." Mina taps her chin thoughtfully. "What else should we do? Oohh..." Her eyes sparkled. "Should we look up Nezu? What would the profile of... whatever he is look like anyway?"

Uraraka shakes her head with a slow smile spreading on her lips. "I have a better idea... Search up..." She pauses. " Crap, I don't even know what his family name is. Umm... Search up... Fumetsu!"

Part 58

Mina clapped her hands wildly and laughed like she would die if she didn't get the air out. "Yes, yes, YES!"

Kaminari felt similar twinges of excitement when Tsu started to type it in. Shinso was standing so close next to him that he could feel the heat radiating off of his arm, and he was all there for it. Neither one of them had made any motion to move apart once the space had been cleared up, and Kaminari didn't feel like he should be the one to change what they had going on there.

And he really hoped that Shinso wouldn't feel the need to either.

"Alright, kero." Kaminari feels the extreme urge to clear his throat, but doesn't want to draw attention to how red he knows his face is. Mina's already been giving him the side-eye all night, and he's afraid of what she's going to do to embarrass him. She already did the work of facilitating their first actual interaction, now she could kindly stay back, thank you. He had already done the hard work of making a long list of pickup lines to seduce Shinso with, and he was just waiting for the right opportunity to use them.

"Okay, okay, okay!" Mina was grinning so wide it seemed as if her cheeks were splitting apart. "There it is, what is it- what?"

Mina's voice dropped down into a disgruntled questioning tone and Shinso leaned in, accidentally brushing his somehow perfect hair right under Kaminari's nose. Seriously, how was it this perfect when he just woke up? There was no mercy in this world, because if there was Shinso wouldn't have the most gorgeous locks this early in the morning. One of these days, Kaminari was going to lean too close and pass out from how soft and silky they were.

"What is it?" Kaminari asked, not wanting to move away from his awkward positioning with Shinso. "What happened?"

"...There's nothing," Shinso said disbelievingly. "There is literally nothing. It's all so heavily redacted that all it says is his... actually, nevermind. It doesn't even say his freaking name."

"Wow," Todoroki breathed, still facing the other direction. Kaminari didn't know what the point of turning away was if he was just going to listen to every word they said, but he never claimed to know Todoroki's mind. He barely knew his own mind. "One day I strive to reach that level of anonymity."

Yup. It was official. Kaminari was never going to understand him.

"There's gotta be something," Uraraka said. "Not even his arrest numbers?"

"No!" Mina wailed in despair. "You'd think after catching the S-class villain to end all S-class villains he would be at least a little known, but nooo! I bet he's one of those people that have the completely anonymous social media accounts so no one can find them."

"I bet he doesn't even have a social media account," Uraraka grumbled.

Shinso finally stepped back, and Kaminari praised whatever deity was out there that he didn't sneeze in his crush's hair. That would be a failure he could never come back from. The embarrassment would haunt him to the end of his days, and there would be no chance that Shinso would ever go out with him, and he would die a sad, lonely bisexual, living voraciously through Mina's wild escapades that he would forever miss out on because he would be too busy crying over-

"It doesn't even have a birth date!" Mina shouted. "This is a tragedy, an utter tragedy!"

Shinso narrowed his eyes, which Kaminari definitely wasn't watching, and asked, "Do you think Izuku-sensei ever faked his own death?"

Uraraka frowns curiously at him. "Weren't you the one that told us he had a special move based on it?"

"No, no, no," Shinso said, shaking his head so loose strands brushed across Kaminari's ears. Am I in heaven or am I in hell? Which one do I want to be in? "I meant, like, do you think he's ever done that one thing where he fakes his death and comes back pretending to be his own son?"

The room was quiet.

"I... maybe?" Iida looked lost. He was so lost that he didn't even comment on how they were theorizing about their teacher's life and how it was disrespectful to do such. Honestly, Kaminari's stood through enough of Iida's lectures that by now he can practically make them for himself in his head without Iida's help.

And if that was Iida's plan this whole time, to get some sort of responsible voice going inside of Kaminari's head, then he couldn't even be mad because that was such a genius plan. Seriously, if he could get Kaminari to get some sort of impulse control, then the man was a god and should have his own group of worshippers that Kaminari would gladly lead.

Right after his fan club dedicated to Shinso's fluffy locks, that is.

"I... we shouldn't ask him that, right?" Kaminari hesitantly asked. "Like, that would probably be rude?"

Uraraka snorted. "You think we would get a straight answer if you did?"

Everyone silently gave her that one.

"I know of a way we could find out," Yaoyorozu offers, with some trepidation. is a great source of information. I actually found some of my family members that way."

Tsu was already typing into the computer.

"You're there?"

"Yup, kero"

"Great, then all you need is his first and last name..." Yaoyorozu trailed off. "Does anyone know his family name?"

Kaminari waves his hand dismissively and gives a light laugh. "Of course we do! It's..." He frowns. "It's... shit, does anyone know what he's called?"

"Come on, we've got to have heard it somewhere!" Mina desperately looks around at their classmates for information. "There's no way we've made it this long without at least hearing it! What about those class registries?"

"He's not on there," Iida says, chopping his arms anxiously, "I remember being annoyed that UA didn't have their faculty website up to date so close to the start of the school year."

"So that's it then?" Uraraka asks incredulously after a long pause throughout the room. "We just have no idea what his name is?"

"What whose name is?" Sero asks, strolling into the room while munching on some chips. "Have I met them?"

"We're talking about Izuku-sensei," Mina laments despairingly, "And how we can't find out if he's ever pretended to be his own son because we don't know what his full name is, and even though Izuku isn't an overly common name we're still not going to be able to find him that way!"

Mina's out of breath by the end of her rant.

"Hmm? Oh, it's Midoriya." Sero throws another handful of chips in his mouth, oblivious to the wide-eyed looks everyone's throwing at him.

"...Sero, how in the ever-loving-" Iida shot a warning glare- " world do you know that?"

Sero shrugged nonchalantly. "I think I heard Nezu announce it once on the speakers a while ago. Didn't you guys?"

Heads were shook mutely. Tsu added in the new information to the search bar, and they all watched as the search bar loaded and loaded. In the end, it only came up with five different choices, none of which matched their teacher. Mina and Kirishima grumbled loudly together, discussing what they would do now.

"Is everyone-" Kaminari's spine rocketed up so he was straight, and he bashed his forehead against Shinso in the process, sending them both tumbling down onto the floor.

They landed uncomfortably in a pile, and Kaminari didn't even think before he blurted out, "Do you have a bandaid? I totally just scraped my knees falling for you."

Shinso scrambled away from him with a face as red as Kirishima's hair. "What? No! I mean... are you sorry? Wait! I mean, I'm okay. Wait! I uh..."

Kaminari grinned as Shinso tripped over himself trying to get a full sentence out. Success! It wasn't every day that one of his pick-up lines actually worked, let alone on someone he cared about as much as Shinso. Now he only has to make the rest of them land that well...

"That's not..." Shinso floundered.

"Shinso, are you okay?" the newcomer, also known as Izuku-sensei, asked. "Do I need to call Recovery Girl for you? Is it possible that you have an unknown injury from yesterday that we missed?"

Kaminari gets to watch the absolute masterpiece that is Shinso's face as it burns red and he pushes himself up to a more stable position. "No... I'm forn. Fink. Fine. I'm fine. I'm just... fine."

Kaminari opened his mouth gleefully, but then realized that the line he was about to use was one he had used before. And he couldn't have Shinso think he was a one-trick pony.

"Are you sure?" Izuku-sensei was watching him with concern, but then Kaminari saw his eyes glance between him and Shinso and his shoulders shook a little bit with laughter. Why, Kaminari had no idea, but he stopped questioning Shinso about his wellbeing.

"Izuku-sensei, what are you doing here?" Uraraka asked. "I thought we didn't have any work for school today?"

"No, no, I was just checking up on you to make sure that everyone was okay and didn't have brain damage, and also to speak to Bakugo for a moment."

Everyone froze.

Kaminari's eyes slowly slid over to where Bakugo was sitting on the couch, staring down with an embarrassed flush on his face. Not a single person was staring directly at him. Even Kirishima was studiously avoiding his gaze. Which was strange, because Kirishima would do anything for Bakugo. It was obvious.

"Fine," Bakugo muttered, trudging off to the hallway with their teacher, out of sight.

Kaminari avoided the urge to walk over there and instead turned to Todoroki. "I thought you were supposed to be watching for someone coming?"

Todoroki blinked blankly. "Oh. My bad. I was thinking."

"About what?" Mina draped herself over the back of the couch like a cat would, languidly stretching out.

"I was just thinking that Ms. Joke and Izuku-sensei share quite a few traits. And given how close Ms. Joke and Aizawa-sensei seem to be, that leads me to the conclusion that they're romantically involved. Which means that Izuku-sensei is Shinso's grandfather."

Shinso stares at Todoroki in horror. "NO! No, no, no! Never, that's not what's happening on so many different levels. That will never-"

Todoroki barrels right over Shinso's vehement protests. "Which makes you ask the question, who is Izuku-sensei's lover?"

"Don't say lover," Iida shudders. "Especially not when it's about our teacher."

"Fine- whatever they were to one another. The first thing that this person would have to be is old enough to have been with Izuku-sensei when Ms. Joke was born. They would also had to have been close enough to have a child together. If you put the information and facts together, then there is truly only one possible outcome, and that is that Recovery Girl is Shinso's grandmother."

A quick glance at Shinso confirms he's too horrified to speak.

"I don't know, Todoroki..." Kaminari reluctantly says. "I mean, it sounds okay in theory and everything, but it's not like Recovery Girl and Izuku-sensei have ever done anything to make us think that they'd be together."

Todoroki leans in, more animated than Kaminari had ever seen him. "But they wouldn't let us know! They would hide it, especially from us!"

Mina leans in, just barely managing to hold on to the edge of the couch. "Do say more."

Todoroki beams, or as close to a beam as Kaminari has ever seen him get. "For one, their relationship would be kept out of the public eye because of the PR nightmares. It might have looked fine when Recovery Girl was a young adult, but now she's older and he's... well, he's just not. And obviously she can't look like she's dating a child, so they have to hide their relationship."

Shinso's waving his arms frantically in the air, desperate to get their attention. "NO! No! Stop it! None of that is true! The only true part about that is that Aizawa-sensei is my dad. Ms. Joke likes to make fun of him so she pretends that they have some epic love story or whatever, but it's not true. It is literally cannot be farther from the truth for so many different reasons. Please, please stop making such far-fetched theories."

Todoroki squinted at him. "If you just told me who your other parent was then I wouldn't have to do all of this."

Kaminari stepped back from the debate of why Shinso wouldn't tell them his other parent's name and rested his hand on Kirishima's shoulder, who was still staring blankly in the direction Bakugo and Izuku-sensei had gone. Kaminari could see the slight concerned furrow in his brows, and the way he bit down on his bottom lip.

Wordlessly, he sat down next to him. Mina and Uraraka hadn't quite set their sights on his red-haired friend and Bakugo yet, but Kaminari was sure that as soon as they were done with him and Shinso, Kirishima and Bakugo would be their next targets.

"You good, bro?" Kaminari asked. Kirishima hadn't looked up at him once since he sat down, and he's not entirely sure that his friend knows he's even there.

"Hmm? Oh, yeah. Just..." He bites his lip. "Do you think Bakugo''s going to be okay?"

"Aw, c'mon... it's not like Izuku-sensei's going to hurt him or anything..."

"No, I mean like..." Kirishima sighed. "I know that Izuku-sensei's not going to beat him up or anything but he's been... off... ever since he got back from the first part of the exam. I dunno... I just think that something's goin' on with him."

Kaminari stayed silent. If it was anyone else, he would have said they were crazy and that Bakugo was acting the same as he always had. But Kirishima had always had some sort of sixth sense for Bakugo. He was the only person that Kaminari had ever seen sling an arm around their volatile classmate and live.

He heard a rumor that a kid from Bakugo's middle schoo had done that. No one had seen them since.

"Maybe..." Kaminari said hesitantly. "I'm sure that Izuku-sensei's taking care of it, though. I wouldn't worry that much."

Kirishima nodded distractedly, but he was still staring fixedly at the same spot.

"Is it Nezu?" Wait... what?!

"What is wrong with you!?!" Shinso screeched. "Todoroki, seriously, what the hell?"

Kaminari watched in horror as Todoroki tapped his chin thoughtfully, not at all perturbed by Shinso's yelling. No, he just barreled right forward with another prediction. "Is it All Might?"

There was a beat of silence. Then:

"NOOOOOOOOO!!!!" Shinso yanked the stands of his hair down over his eyes. "Make it stop! Make it stop!"

"All you have to do is tell me the identity of your other parent, and all of this can stop," Todoroki lightly threatened. Or at least, that's what Kaminari thought he was doing. He was never really sure what his classmate was doing. He could be complimenting Shinso for all he knew.

"Never," Shinso solemnly swore, "as long as I live, will I give in to this blatant blackmail."

Todoroki narrowed his eyes. "That's what you say now, but we'll see how you feel once I move onto my other theories."

Yup, definitely threatening him. Honestly, he's not even surprised at this point. Todoroki was surprisingly dismissive of laws and morals.

Shinso stood his ground. "You can try."

They stared into each other's eyes hostilely, and Kaminari's pretty sure that everyone felt like they were living in a western drama. He almost expected Shinso's fingers to sway slightly around his waist like he was reaching out for a gun. All they needed was deep music and a tumbleweed blowing through and the scene would be complete.

And wasn't it just great that that's the moment Izuku-sensei walked back in with Bakugo? Kirishima jolts slightly to his feet, but rolls back when he realizes what he did. A faint blush stains his cheeks. Shinso and Todoroki don't break their little staring contest until Izuku-sensei asks, "Are the two of you all right? It looks like some sort of stand..." He trails off. "Oh. Well, then, carry on."

He starts to turn, but Mina calls out, "Wait!"

He glances back. "Yes, Mina?"

"I had a question to ask you..." Kaminari, who's out of Izuku-sensei's line of sight, starts to gesture frantically, crossing his arms over one another in a cross. Don't do it, Mina, don't do it...

She ignored him. Of course. "We were just ahh... playing around with , and as a joke we put your name in there. But we didn't really see anything so we were wondering..." She eyed him expectantly.

Izuku-sensei just smiled pleasantly at her, making her actually ask the question. "Yes?"

"We were wondering if Izuku Midoriya isn't your real name?" They all held their breath as they waited for his response.

"As a matter of fact, it is not," Izuku-sensei said. All eyes were on him as he continued, his eyes drifting to the side like he was watching something they couldn't see. "When quirks first appeared, it wasn't a good thing to have them. For years, many of us hid our identities so we wouldn't be discovered by the government, or anyone else. I had mine changed when I was... hmm... somewhere in my twenties." There was a mysterious gleam in his eyes.

"What was it?" Mina asked eagerly.

Izuku-sensei froze, then laughed it off. "It was so long ago, I couldn't remember if I tried to. Honestly. Plus," His eyes got that far-away quality again. "It's not as if the name I chose meant anything more than the name I was born with. It was just something that was chosen for me."

He stayed silent for a few moments, then laughed again. "Anyway, I should be getting back now. There's a few things the staff needs to talk about before classes start back up again tomorrow. Bakugo, I trust you'll remember what we talked about?"

He looked at the blonde expectantly.

"Yes," Bakugo mumbled. "I'll remember it. And... I'm sorry. For... before."

Izuku-sensei smiled gently at him. "I know. Just make sure to be there on time, all right?"

Bakugo nodded and Izuku-sensei walked out the front door of the dorms.

"Late for what?" Sero asked off-handedly. His fingers stopped tapping at the screen he was holding when he relaized what he said, and all attention was on Bakugo and his answer.

The blonde boy glared down at his legs, angrily scuffing at the floor. "Therapy," he finally muttered.

Kaminari's eyes widened at Kirishima, who met his gaze with shocked eyes of his own. The redhead looked like he was debating the merits of throwing himself over Bakugo in delight. Evidently, the cons outweighed the pros, because all he ended up saying was, "That's great, bro."

He rested his hand lightly on Bakugo's wrist, and Bakugo stared at it but didn't remove the offending appendage. "Whatever."

Kaminari wasn't sure what to say. Good luck? That didn't seem quite right. Obviously, Bakugo could use the therapy, but Kaminari was sure that you weren't supposed to point that out. When his cousin had started going to therapy for her anxiety, his parents made sure to mention that he wasn't to bring it up because it would be rude.

So he stayed silent, and so did everyone else. Eventually, Todoroki, seemingly immune to the affects of the Awkward Silence, chose to say, "Are we still going to try and find out Izuku-sensei's real name now?"

Uraraka raised a brow at him. "Oh, are you participating now?"

Todoroki held up a single finger. "I was only not participating in the use of the hero database before I had my license-"

"Which was dumb," Bakugo not-so-quietly said.

Todoroki didn't acknowledge Bakugo's remark. "So?"

Tsu closed the laptop. "I don't think that we're going to get anywhere with that, kero. Izuku-sensei didn't tell us what his old name was, even thoguh I'm pretty sure that he wouldn't forget, so he obviously doesn't want us to know." She shrugged. "Nothing more we can do about it, kero."

It was quiet for a while longer, until Kaminari couldn't stand the quiet any longer and blurted out. "Are we just going to stand around all day?"

"It's our day off. What else would we do?" Shinso said, though he looked somewhat open to suggestions. Kaminari could tell because instead of his eyebrows dipping down into a scowl, one of them was slightly lifted.

And yeah, Kaminari had been studying his eyebrows. Sue him. They were interesting.

"What about a game," Yaoyorozu offered after a moment. "We might have to have several going though, since there's so many of us."

"Excellent idea, Yaoyorozu!" Iida practically shouted. "It'll be a good bonding exercise for all of us. Does anyone have any ideas?"

"I have jenga in my room," One of Shoji's hand-mouths said. "I could go get it if you guys want."

"Great!" Shoji nodded and made his way up the stairs to fetch it without another word. "Anyone else have any ideas?"

"I have the game of infinite darkness that destroys all bonds," Tokoyami said. "Does anyone wish to play?"

Iida stared at him for a moment. "What game is that now? The name that everyone else calls it," he clarifies.

Tokoyami sighed, seeming disappointed. "It's Monopoly."

"That's perfect! And I have the Settlers of Catan in my room. I will go get it now!"

Kaminari grinned. This sounded like it was going to be a fun day.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Five hours later, Kaminari could conclude that this was not a fun day. Half the class was crying on the floor while a small percentage cackled at the other's misfortune. Resources had been gained, promises had been broken, and friendships had been shattered.

Monopoly was brutal.