AN: Thanks for reading and leaving reviews everyone!

After discussing costumes with his students, complete with an impromptu explanation of the support department to cover what the students missed at orientation, All Might was ready to begin.

"Alright students," All Might began as he exchanged a notebook for a box full of colored balls. "It's time to select teams for today's exercise!"

"Aww, we don't get to pick our partners?" Aika exclaimed.

"I'm afraid not," All Might chuckled. "Does anyone know the reason why?"

Izuku was ready to raise his hand, but a subtle glance from All Might told him that he'd prefer it if someone else answered. Getting the message, Izuku simply switched the motion to scratch the back of his head sheepishly, earning an amused look from his girlfriend. Fortunately, he was saved from further awkwardness when Tenya raised his hand.

"While you are likely familiar with heroes that inhabit the same city as you, and you also are familiar with those who share similar patrol schedules, when a villain attacks you can never be certain who will come to your aid. Therefore, it is important for us to learn how to work with anyone under any circumstances."

"That is correct!" All Might gave a brilliant smile to the student. "And we will begin that lesson today."

Lining up, the students each took a ball and paired off, forming the ten teams:

Team A - Izuku Midoriya & Mashirao Ojiro
Team B - Shoto Todoroki & Yuga Aoyama
Team C - Momo Yaoyorozu & Ochako Uraraka
Team D - Katsuki Bakugo & Tenya Iida
Team E - Mezo Shoji & Mina Ashido
Team F - Rikido Sato & Koji Koda
Team G - Denki Kaminari & Kyoka Jiro
Team H - Fumikage Tokoyami & Tsuyu Asui
Team I - Himiko Midoriya & Toru Hagakure
Team J - Eijiro Kirishima & Aika Shizu

Once the teams had been chosen, All Might put half of the balls back into the box and drew two of them. With a large smile, he presented them to the class. "Our first match of the day will involve the nefarious Team A, defending the bomb from the noble heroes on Team B!"

Izuku felt the cold stare immediately, and he turned to face one of his opponents. There, standing a handful of meters away, stood Shoto Todoroki, his heterochromatic eyes leveled at him. Smiling awkwardly, Izuku gave his opponent a small wave. "Good luck!"

"I don't need luck to win," Shoto replied flatly. "I will defeat you and reclaim the bomb."

"Oh how wonderful! Our first day of class and already the fires of passion are lit!" Yuga said next to his teammate. "What a wonderful display statement! You shall shine brightly next to yours truly." He ended with a dramatic gesture indicating himself.

Izuku let out a quiet sigh as Shoto turned away before turning to his own teammate. Mashirao, to his benefit, also appeared unphased as he watched the hero team depart. Watching them leave, he turned toward Izuku. "They're not going to make it easy on us."

"No," Izuku agreed. "Although we do have one advantage they don't know about."

"What are you talking about?"

Izuku gave his teammate a mysterious smile. "Let's go take a look at the building and begin setting up. I'll explain once we're inside."

"Heroes, begin your mission. You have ten minutes," All Might announced through the earpieces.

Izuku took a deep breath and looked at his teammate. "Ready?"

"Mhm." Mashirao bobbed his head before he hopped on Izuku's back and wrapped his tail around him.

Activating Full Cowling for extra support, Izuku used Float to hover in the middle of the open room. Sure enough, a few seconds later, they both felt the temperature of the room drop drastically as ice began to cover every surface. Once the room was completely frozen, Izuku released Float and dropped to the ground, his soles shattering the ice underneath them.

"How'd you know?" Mashirao asked as he dismounted.

"Call it a hunch," Izuku explained quickly. "I um, have a thing for quirks, and given his statement earlier and his ice powers, it would make sense that he'd try and disable us by freezing the building if possible. It's the quickest and most efficient way to win."

"I see." Mashiro wrapped his arms around himself to try and retain his body heat. "And even if we are free, it's going to be hard to fight in the cold."

"Actually, I'm still okay," Izuku admitted as he rubbed the back of his head. "My suit is designed to protect against extreme temperatures."

"Of course it does," his teammate let out a dry chuckle. "I'm going to have to go to the support department after this with a long list of requests."

Izuku laughed nervously. "I'm sure they'll help you out! But we've gotta focus now."

"Are you sure you want to engage Todoroki directly?"

"Mhm." Izuku bobbed his head. "I'm confident that I can stop his ice attacks with my own. If I can keep him distracted, that means you only have to worry about Aoyama!"

"Right." Mashirao bobbed his head. "We can't risk them getting the bomb."

"And if they both engage me, I'll radio for backup," Izuku assured his teammate as he walked toward the door. "Since neither of them have a duplication or illusion quirk."

"Sounds good. Try to come back in one piece, Midoriya."

Izuku smiled and threw his teammate a thumbs up. "Don't worry, I will!"

Stepping into the frozen hallway, Izuku heard the ice crunching under the soles of his boots as he descended down to the next level. "With my Full Gauntlets I can punch at sixty percent of One For All without worry," Izuku muttered as he walked, reviewing his strategy. "But All Might has explicitly warned us against damaging the building, explaining we would lose points if we did so. I'll have to hope my Air Force attack will be enough to stop Todoroki's ice. If not…" Izuku grimaced.

Descending one more floor, Izuku stopped at the base of the stairwell and listened. There! Echoing through the frozen hallways, he heard a single pair of footsteps marching steadily toward him. Toggling his radio on, he quietly spoke. "I hear Todoroki, two floors below you. Aoyama isn't with him."

"Roger," Mashiro confirmed over the radio. "I'll keep a lookout up here then. Good luck - and try not to get frozen. I don't want to have to deal with him alone."

Izuku smiled. "Thanks, I won't." Silencing his radio, he took a deep breath, walked out to an open intersection, and waited.

The sounds steadily increased in volume as Shoto moved ever closer, and before Izuku knew it, his opponent, the person he once called a friend and brother-in-arms, turned the corner to face him. But that Shoto was gone, and the new one stared at him with unfamiliar eyes. Or eye, as the case may be, with his costume.

Izuku swallowed the lump in his throat. He hoped he would be able to break through to this Shoto, just like he had done before. Preferably with fewer injuries.

"You're not getting past me, you hero." Izuku raised a fist and took a half step towards Shoto.

Shoto merely looked at Izuku impassively. "I'm impressed you managed to avoid my attack. Then again, given your performance yesterday, I shouldn't be surprised."

"That's what you get for underestimating us!" Izuku did his best imitation of Aika, placing his hands on his hips and laughing.

Shoto's eyes simply narrowed as he launched a glacier at Izuku.

Izuku's laugh quickly became a strangled sound as he saw the incoming wave of ice. Reflexes taking over, he activated his glove's Full Gauntlet and charged One For All to twenty percent, punching the incoming ice and watching it shatter into pieces.

Shoto brought up his arms to protect himself from the icy debris as the force of Izuku's blow sent the shards flying in his direction, a grimace on his face. "H-how were you able to do that?"

Izuku looked down the hallway. "Did you know my quirk is so powerful, I can't actually use it to its full potential without hurting myself?"

Shoto's eyes went wide. "What?"

Izuku held out his hand, his white glove wrapped in crimson bands. "Even with support gear, I can only use a fraction of my power without injuring myself. If I were to use my full power, this would shatter - along with my limb."

"Why are you telling me this?"

Izuku pointed at Shoto's right side. "Your quirk. I noticed this yesterday, but you only use your right side. I don't know why, but if you've got a drawback that is limiting you, maybe support gear would help?"

Shoto's eyes narrowed. Midoriya had figured that out about his quirk? And so quickly? "Support gear won't help me. Also I see what you're doing."

"What am I doing?" Izuku asked.

"You're stalling for time and keeping me from that bomb," Shoto retorted as touched the wall, launching a fresh wave of ice down the hallway. He dashed down the hallway, keeping his hand pressed against the wall as he followed the wave of ice toward his target.

Izuku charged One For All again, raising the percentage in his arm back to twenty percent before launching another attack, shattering the ice. Shoto was prepared, and as he heard Izuku's cry he suddenly stopped, creating a wall of ice on both sides of him to keep him safe - and prevent him from being thrown backward.

The ice in front of him cracked under the residual force of Izuku's attack, but held, protecting Shoto from the strong gust of wind created by his foe. Not bothering to aim, Shoto pressed his hand on the cracked ice wall, causing it to race forward.

Izuku saw the attack and dodged out of the way. Having trained with a much more experienced Shoto, these attacks were far easier to read than he remembered. "If support gear won't help, then what will help?" Izuku asked.

"Beating you," Shoto said flatly, pressing his hand against the horizontal column of ice and extending it sideways, chasing after Izuku.

Spinning around, Izuku unleashed another smash, easily destroying the pillar, although enough of it remained near Shoto that it would continue to pose a threat. "How would that help?"

"My goal is to become Japan's number one hero," Shoto declared, stepping forward with his right foot as he kept up his assault. "And that means beating All Might. You're not All Might, but your quirk mine as well be a copy of his." He heard Izuku gasp and allowed himself a satisfied smile. "You're not the only one who was paying attention yesterday."

"What does All Might have to do with this?" Izuku asked, feigning surprise. Turning around, he unleashed another Smash, halting Shoto's latest attack.

"Endeavor has been chasing after him for decades but never able to surpass him," Shoto explained, holding out his hand and launching another wave of ice. Even though the icy covering of his suit hid his condition, he could feel the frost building up on his left side. He'd have to end this sooner rather than later. "I plan on surpassing him and claiming the title of number one for myself."

"And you plan on doing that with half your body?" Izuku asked, not even breaking his stride as he stopped this latest attack.

"You wouldn't understand," Shoto's voice rose fractionally as he launched two waves of ice one right after the other. However, with each attack Izuku stopped, he felt his chances slipping away.

Father… is this what it's like to chase after All Might? Is Midoriya going to become my All Might?

"I may not understand-" Izuku braced himself and charged both of his fists to twenty percent, slamming his fists together to create a shockwave and shatter the incoming ice. "-but I want to understand!" Izuku noticed Shoto stagger back from the force, barely able to get a barrier up in time to keep himself from falling. "I want to help you!"

With his body wrapped in the signature green energy of Full Cowling, Izuku finally went on the offensive. Kicking off the floor, he jumped to the ceiling, launched off the left wall, then the right, and finally the ceiling again before he began to descend, his leg extended and ready to deliver a massive axe kick.

Shoto gasped at Izuku's speed. He saw hints of it yesterday, but here in the tight confines of the building, it felt so much faster than what he witnessed the day before. Without any other options, he raised his left hand, hoping that if it went numb, he would still be free to use his ice.

Not that he could use it for much longer before his body would begin to shut down from overuse.

For the briefest moment, the crystalline armor on his arm looked like it might hold. Then cracks began to form, a vicious spider web running all throughout the icy structure before shattering into countless pieces, just like the ice Izuku had shattered over and over again. Shoto tried to remain upright, but the force of the blow was too much, and he was sent to the floor, crashing into the pile of shattered ice and the remains of his icy armor.

"I'm sorry I have to do this," Izuku muttered as he grabbed the still-dazed Shoto's hands and wrapped them in the capture cloth. "But you're too dangerous to be roaming free."

Izuku stood up before tapping the earpiece to enable it. "This is Izuku. I"ve secured Shoto, and he has been eliminated."

"I can't believe you've done it," Mashirao replied. "Now all we need to do is find Aoyama."

"Mhm." Izuku smiled. "Do you want to trade places so you can go looking for him?"

"I'm comfortable right where I am," Mashirao admitted. "Why don't you come back and we'll wait out the clock together."

"Sounds good," Izuku agreed. He turned toward his foe. "I'll be up soon - with a guest!"

"Are you sure that's wise?"

"I've immobilized him with capture tape," Izuku explained.

"I understand now. I guess I'll see you when you get here, and we can have a nice chat with our guest in the meantime."

"See you soon," Izuku said before cutting the line and turning toward Shoto. "Do you need help standing? I've got some painkillers and light first aid supplies if I went too hard on-"

"It's okay," Shoto interrupted as he leaned against a wall and braced against it to stand. "What kind of hero would I be if I let something like capture tape stop me?"

Izuku couldn't help but chuckle as he watched his companion's trials. Once Shoto had stood himself up and began to look around in the abandoned building, Izuku decided it was the right time to bring it up again.

"Shoto…"

"What is it Midoriya?"

"I meant what I said. About trying to help, that is! I know the year's just started but if there's anything I can do to help…"

Shoto turned and gave Izuku an empty stare. He tried to read what the other boy was thinking, but Shoto's facial expressions were subtly different, and he couldn't get a good sense of what he was thinking. Hoping it was enough, Izuku began to lead him back up toward their makeshift base, where the bomb was contained.

As they climbed the stairs, All Might announced Shoto's capture. Not wanting to stand idly by, Yuga tried his best to rescue his teammate and secure the bomb, going even as far as to use the ice Shoto had created to reflect his Navel Laser around the room! But in the end it wasn't enough. The heroes laid defeated after nine minutes.

After the two teams returned to the central area, All Might drew the teams for the second round.

"Young Tokoyami and Young Asui, you will be defending the bomb. And your opponents will be Young Himiko and Young Hagakure."

"Oh thank goodness," Toru exclaimed. "I was so worried we were going to have to defend!"

"We'd have figured something out," Himiko assured her, "but this is going to be fun!"

"Kero" Tsuyu studied her opponents before turning to Fumikage. "They won't make it easy on us."

Fumikage nodded once before the team departed to begin their preparation. After receiving their map from All Might, the hero team followed suit and left the observation post to begin their own plan of attack.

"This isn't going to be fair, is it?" Ochako asked Izuku as they watched the monitors.

"No." Izuku shook his head. "Even without having blood for Transform, Himi has more experience than the other three combined right now. Pair that with Hagakure's quirk…"

"At least it won't be as dramatic as your fight with Shoto?" Ochako said.

"Ehehe." Izuku rubbed the back of his head. "Yeah…" He spared a glance across the room where Shoto stood silently next to Momo. Shoto seemed to notice him immediately, and his gaze once again locked with Izuku's, heterochromatic eyes studying green, as if searching for something.

Izuku broke contact first, knowing that it wouldn't do well to challenge Shoto. He could extend his hand, but until the other boy was ready to take it… For now, he was content to watch the match on the monitor. This was just as new to him as it was to Himiko, and he was excited to see what happened.

"Heroes, you may begin. You have ten minutes. Time starts now."

"Well, here goes nothing," Toru said as she made her way to the building.

The two very quickly cleared the first three floors of the building, falling into an easy pace where Toru scouted a room before moving on, Himiko trailing behind her. They both suspected that their opponents would stay grouped up, so they didn't bother wasting much time on the lower floors.

As Toru poked her head out of the stairwell on the fourth floor, she noticed an immediate difference from the lower floors.

"Hey, why are half the lights off here?" She asked.

"They must be here," Himiko whispered from below. "They're trying to make it harder for us to see, to take away our advantage."

"Makes sense," Toru replied before turning around. "I guess it's time for me to go into stealth mode." Himiko bobbed her head and watched as Toru removed her boots and gloves before handing her teammate her earpiece. "Here I go."

Himiko gave her teammate a small wave and heard her climbing the last few steps to the landing. Once Toru was on the move, Himiko looked down at her belt and sighed. Normally she wasn't supposed to be the distraction, but in this case, it made sense. Unhooking a pair of safety flares, she waited until Toru had left the stairs and counted to ten. Stepping onto the floor, she lit the first flare and tossed it down the hallway.

Jackpot!

As she watched, she heard a screech as the flare highlighted the form of Fumikage and Dark Shadow waiting for them in a small side-room.

Himiko gave a fierce grin as she heard Dark Shadow's screech, the quirk seemingly recoiling from the light of the flare. Dropping low to the ground, she charged forward, lighting the second flare and preparing to toss it further down, further illuminating the hallway…

…only to feel a pair of strong legs connect to her back, sending her forward. With a grunt, she landed on the ground, only to immediately roll to her side, the flare discarded as she grabbed a pair of knives.

"Kero," Tsuyu said, landing several feet in front of Himiko. "Where's your partner?"

"Wouldn't you like to know," Himiko teased with a playful grin; she casually tossed a knife at her opponent.

To her benefit, Tsuyu easily dodged out of the way, leaping to the wall before lashing out with her tongue to smack the second knife out of Himiko's hand before she could throw it. Himiko countered by grabbing her opponent's tongue and was rewarded with a surprised croak from her classmate. Her grin shifting to predatory, she pulled hard, forcing Tsuyu to release her grip on the wall as Himiko threw her down the hallway toward her teammate.

Unfortunately, while Dark Shadow appeared to be afraid of the light, Fumikage had no problems and caught his teammate, taking a step back to steady himself from the impact before he set her on the ground. They weren't given any time to recover as Himiko was already rushing toward them, knife in one hand and flare in the other.

The seconds dragged on as Himiko kept both of her opponent's attention on her. She just needed to give Toru enough time! Even fighting two-on-one, she felt secure in her advantage, until Tsuyu finally realized the problems the flares were causing and used her tongue to fling them away.

As the shadows enveloped her fully, Himiko felt a shudder as she saw the golden eyes of Dark Shadow focus on her. She raised her knives to defend herself, only for All Might to suddenly cut into their headsets. "Young Hagakure has secured the bomb, Hero Team wins!"

Himiko couldn't help but grin at her opponents. "Sorry to keep you here. I was just the distraction."

"Of course, kero," Tsuyu croaked. "We thought that we could ambush you and then go find your teammate.

"Sorry not sorry," Himiko said as she slid her knives back into their holsters. "I've had a lot of training. Too bad I couldn't show off more."

"You did great!" Toru's voice called out from down the hall. "It was so scary wondering if they were gonna start chasing after me, but you kept them off my back!"

Himiko flashed a fanged grin in the girl's direction. "Next time, I'm gonna make you be the distraction!"

"Hey, no fair!" Toru complained.

"Why don't we go back to the observation room, kero." Tsuyu looked at the three. "I'm sure All Might is waiting for us."

"Fine." Himiko rolled her eyes. "We can talk more there."