A/N: Hello all! How are you, well I hope :D? I've decided to begin this chapter after the events of the work placements. Izuku had developed Full Cowling, he, Todoroki and Iida had their battle with Hero Killer: Stain and everything had begun to settle. From here on out, I'm going to change a few bits and pieces up. The canon will return in parts, but I want to keep it as much my own as possible :D

Other than that, I'd like you to get to read the chapter, so on you go! X3

After the events of the past week, Izuku had seen everything he felt he could manage. He'd developed 'Full Cowling'; his own method in which he could control the unwieldy power of One For All. He'd had a run-in he won't soon forget thanks to Iida, and everything else was a blur.

Stain had drained every bit of his motivation and energy and his mood was less than peak after he was made to hide that he, Iida and Todoroki were the real victors in the battle against Stain. Now the ego hero Endeavour had taken the light from them and everyone was probably going to see him as an even bigger weakling than they did before.

Of course, there was a lot to take from this and he would do just that, the battle experience was perfect for helping him understand just how powerful some villains could be, it showed Izuku how considerate you had to be against someone who's Quirk was unknown to him, he'd gotten experience in working as a team, everything would help him in the future but, there was still the fact that he'd have to play the damsel in distress, he had to pretend some 'number-two-hero' was the savour when in reality he was nowhere nearby, no pro heroes were, that's why Izuku, Todoroki and Iida were forced to battle Stain in the first place.

"You okay there?" Todoroki perked up, his voice sounding calm and serious as it always did as he stopped in front of Izuku, who was sat on a bench staring at the floor with a glare tense enough to crack the concrete.

"Hm? Yeah... I'm alright." He replied with a half-hearted grin and a sigh as the Half-Hot Half-Cold Quirk user took his place beside his new greenette friend.

"For some reason, I don't believe that." Todoroki replied with a small smile, pushing his hands into his pockets, and looking up to the clear morning sky.

"What about you?" Izuku asked, trying to change the subject.

"I'm good, as usual." He replied coolly, closing his eyes and relaxing into the wooden bench.

"Didn't it bother you?" The One For All Quirk user asked, turning to Todoroki with a confused frown to which his friend replied with a sound to show he was listening.

"That Endeavour was given credit for something he never bothered showing up for. I know you were frustrated by it, but you seem so... Relaxed now." He continued with a little bit of spite in his tone that even surprised him.

"It still does, but I've come to understand the circumstances we were in, so I can accept it." He explained with a shrug.

Izuku could only sigh at this. As usual, Todoroki seemed relaxed about the whole thing. Even he started off being reluctant about going along with the story offered to them. Izuku did understand the circumstances and he wasn't massively bothered by that. He was mostly frustrated that Endeavour was given the credit he didn't deserve. Usually, Izuku was calm and understanding about things like this but, for whatever reason, he just couldn't shake this aggravated feeling.

"Please don't let it concern you too much. I know it sucks that we have to hide what really happened, but it still happened. We can still take away everything about the battle, even if no one can know what really occurred on that day." Todoroki explained calmly, smiling over at his friend, and patting his shoulder.

After everything that had happened, Izuku felt closer to Todoroki now than ever before and he wasn't as intimidating as he first seemed, he just gave off that feeling of sternness.

"I guess. Hey Todoroki... Thanks, for everything back then. Without you, I would've been dead for sure." Izuku smiled, a little anxiety awakening in his stomach as he spoke. He wasn't as nervous around him as before, but he still gave off an unnerving air of intimidation, even if he was in a good mood.

"That's alright, it's the same for me. We would all be dead if it wasn't for your strategist skills, strength and your blood type" Todoroki smiled in a jokey tone, patting Izuku's shoulder before getting up from the bench with a groan. Izuku laughed in response to his usually blank friend and smiled up to him as he stretched

"I'll see you in class, my friend." He smiled, adjusting his backpack on his shoulders, and starting off back up to the school's main entrance. This was okay, although it would be difficult to convince himself he would manage it in time, and it would all be okay.

He was alive, he was breathing, smiling, feeling and still here at U.A. He should be grateful he wasn't less fortunate. Best of all to him, was that he was about to return to school thanks to the story that was made up for them. He could see his friends again, Iida, Todoroki, Uraraka and Mina and everyone else he held dear were waiting for him. He finally could see them all again and it was an amazing feeling.

He missed them all, but he missed Mina the most. This past week the two had been so busy they had no time to talk, and they hadn't spoken either, not a word since the start of the internships. He missed her bouncy personality, her adorable smile, the way she always cocked her head a little when she spoke to him, he missed everything about her, it wasn't the same when she wasn't with him. He wanted to hear her voice again and feel the warmth of her simply being with him.

"MIDORI!" A voice hollered as heavy, sprinting footsteps thundered towards him. Slowly he turned to look at the source of the voice and instead he was met with a tight and happy embrace.

"A-Ashido!" He exclaimed with a half terrified, half joyful tone as he slowly put his arms back around her. He was terrified if people were looking at them and he could practically feel their eyes on the, but he didn't really care, and it felt good not to.

"I've been so worried!" She whimpered, wrapping her arms around him a little tighter and burying her head under her taller friends' neck, treasuring the feeling of having him in her arms.

The last she'd heard of Izuku was him simply sending his location in the group chat and hearing he'd been attacked by Hero Killer: Stain. For all she knew, he could've been dead.

"I-I'm okay. I'm sorry I worried you." He chuckled, awkwardly petting her pink hair as she kept her head buried in his neck. He was quite shocked at her reaction but not because it unsettled him, it felt really nice to hug like this. It was mainly because he never expected someone like Mina to act this way towards anyone, especially him.

"But you still got so beaten up, dummy." She complained, grabbing his right arm gently, gazing down at the bandages.

"It's okay, it wasn't as bad as I expected it to be." He replied, awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck with his free hand as she quickly looked back up to him with an expression of shock.

"Midori. Hero Killer: Stain, that's no joke, you may be able to play off other injuries like they're nothing, but not when it's a serial killer." She said sternly, holding his right hand in her own and looking him directly in the eyes. He had to look away, he could bear seeing the worry in her usually happy sclera eyes. It was almost painful to see someone who was usually so happy, look upset.

"I'm just, I'm really glad you're okay." She added a little softer, pulling him into another gentle hug as the bell to start heading to class sounded. "Anyway..." She sighed, letting him go and stepping back before starting off ahead towards the school's entrance. "How was your internship? I went off with someone called Ms Joke, it was the best thing." Mina started, her usual energetic smile coming back to her as the two friends made their way into the school.

"Ms Joke huh? I got an offer from Gran Torino. He taught me how to control my power so I should be able to fight without hurting myself again." Izuku explained with a small smile.

"Yeah! That's so cool!" Mina beamed, lightly punching Izuku's shoulder to which he responded with a light grunt, rubbing his arm and chuckling as they headed to class. "Seriously though, that's really good news." She muttered, a little more seriously than before but still with a smile.

"Yeah..." Izuku replied with a small laugh. "What about you? Did you learn anything new?" He asked curiously.

"Pfft nah, nothing as interesting as what you did." She replied, sliding open the classroom door whilst smiling over her shoulder at Izuku. As soon as the door was opened, all attention diverted to the greenette and his Acid Quirk friend. It looked like Todoroki and Iida had been getting quite a lot of attention whilst he was gone, but now he was here, he could tell he was next.

"Good luck." Mina muttered before quickly slipping away as Uraraka threw herself into Izuku with teary eyes.

"Deku, you're okay! You're really okay!" She croaked, slowly increasing her grip around the awkward teenager.

"Yes I-I'm okay... P-Please let go!" he hissed urgently as all eyes diverted towards him and the brunette girl.

"Do you have any idea how worried I was?" She asked with a serious expression on her face which caused Izuku to tense up a little. It was like he was being scolded by his mother; it was kind of scary. "You and Iida, I haven't been told anything other than you'd been attacked by Stain." She barked.

Izuku felt really bad and he wanted to apologise but, was there really much point in apologising for something like that? Then again, he was the one who decided to go to Iida's aid in the first place and Iida was the one who ticked off Stain so, he should apologise.

"Uraraka... I'm really sorry... I didn't mean to worry you, or Ashido, or anyone! I just... I didn't want to leave Iida alone..." He muttered, doing his best to keep his eyes locked with hers.

"I-It's okay I just... I was really worried about you. We all were." She muttered, trying to keep their conversation private, away from the prying ears of their classmates.

"I know..." He muttered, almost inaudibly. He didn't know what to say, nor what he was meant to say in a scenario like this. But then, the sound of the classroom door sliding open brought them all to the attention of Aizawa, who was now making his way up the front of the class.

Uraraka fired Izuku a quick wink and a smile before jogging off to her own seat.

"Good morning." Aizawa announced enthusiastically.

"Good morning Mr Aizawa!" Some of the more energetic students replied. Izuku wasn't one of them, he just wanted to go back to bed. Of course, he was excited to be back at U.A and about learning new things but, he lacked the motivation after how consuming last week was.

"I hope you all worked hard on your internships. I'll be reading comments from your Internship Leaders about how you all work later today, so don't think you'll get away with it if you didn't put in any effort." He said, almost as if trying to threaten them with it, which didn't seem to work as he'd planned.

"Fourth Kind was so stern." Kirishima complained, leaning over the back of his chair with an exhausted tone.

"I know the feeling. Sir Jeanist would stop pissing around with my hair and changing my 'style'. He was a pain in my ass!" Bakugo barked with a fiery expression and gritted teeth, pulling everyone's attention to him.

"He seems like he had fun." Kaminari remarked with a chuckle making the group around them laugh. Izuku shared in this light-hearted banter and fired his explosive old friend a glance before looking back over to Kirishima and the others.

"Pay attention. I understand you all may be excited but please leave the conversation until after I've finished." Aizawa perked up in an unusually calm manner. Usually, he would've barked it as an order, so Izuku found it pleasant to see him not shout at them for talking a little. That and, even when it wasn't directed at him, it scared him. Aizawa had a talent for managing to do that to people.

"Moving on from the topic of Internships, you have your final exam coming up." He continued, pushing his hands into his pockets, and leaning against the blackboard.

After hearing this, Izuku's body tensed up. How could he have forgotten about their Final Exam! It wasn't like he wasn't prepared for it but he didn't feel like he'd trained hard enough. Of course, this couldn't really have been helped since, for the last two weeks, he'd been mostly unable to train due to injuries, but it would mean he'd have to work twice as hard to prepare himself for whatever could be in the exam.

"Because of this, most of your school time and own time should be used to train your Quirks, strengthen your bodies, practice your fighting in a controlled environment! and prepare yourself for everything that could be coming up in the exam." Aizawa instructed, putting more than enough emphasis about the 'controlled environment' for combat practice.

He probably knew that just training anywhere would more than likely cause damage to public property, especially with Quirks like Bakugo's Explosion, Todoroki's Half-Cold, Half-Hot, and Izuku's own One For All.

"So, after lunch I want you to change into your P.E uniforms, head out to the school field and well do a little of our own preparation. But just because you've worked hard this week, don't expect me to go easy on you." He warned before pulling his sleeping bag out from under the lectern and proceeding to do what Aizawa did best. Nap during Homeroom.

"So, Midori!" Mina exclaimed, wrapping her arms around his neck suddenly and resting her head on his with a beaming smile.

"Ashido! Y-You scared me..." Izuku stuttered in reply as most of the class, excluding Todoroki and Bakugo, flocked over to where he was and began conversation with one another.

"I know!" Mina beamed, squeezing him a little tighter which caused the blush on his cheeks to grow ever brighter. He wanted to get used to being in contact with people but, now it was happening it was much easier said than done, he felt like he was about to melt off of his chair and land as a pulp on the floor.

"How was your Internship Midoriya? Besides... Stain... Of course." Mineta asked, pulling Izuku into the group conversation as Mina took her place beside him on a chair, she'd stolen from the desk beside them.

"It was fine..." Izuku muttered half-heartedly with an awkward chuckle. Now, this wasn't a lie, his internship had been very enjoyable and he'd learned a hell of a lot from it but, with the fight with Stain still fresh in his mind he was finding it hard to gather enthusiasm about the week just passed.

"Sorry we didn't help you Midoriya, you too Iida, Todoroki." Tsuyu perked up with an apologetic tone. Izuku quickly began waving his hands around in panic and tried to utter out a sentence.

"No... No, it's my fault for just sending the location to you all... I wasn't specific enough." He blurted quickly, putting on a smile to try and reassure his friend.

"Don't blame yourself." Tokoyami started, looking up at Izuku as he leaned on the wall beside Kirishima. "What happened was no-one's fault." He added calmly. Izuku slowly nodded and awkwardly chuckled before his eyes fell on Iida, who was averting his gaze from his friend.

*It's no-ones fault.* Izuku repeated to himself, keeping his eyes on Iida as if wanting to tell him telepathically.

"I don't think we should talk about stain, the last thing I think they want is to be reminded of the events." Momo perked up, speaking to everyone although her eyes were fixed on a slightly absent looking Todoroki.

"Yeah... What about the final exam! I'll bet you're excited for that!" Uraraka perked up with her usual joyful smile, although this statement sparked the opposite response. A few groans of dismay echoed around a few of the students, but there was a handful who seemed as excited as Izuku was.

"I wasn't ready for an exam..." Mina complained with a pouting expression, leaning over and resting on Izuku's shoulder which caused him to flinch at the sudden contact and begin blushing again.

"Neither was I." Sero replied with a nervous expression but smiling all the same.

"Well, after everything we've gone through since coming to U.A, I'm sure It'll be no problem." Ojiro smiled reassuringly, trying to push a little more enthusiasm into his more disheartened classmates.

"Easy for you to say. If Aizawa is helping us train, then it must be pretty extreme." Jiro grumbled, resting her head in her arms with a frown. The mixed responses from the class were a little unnerving, people were unsure as to what the exam was about, why it hadn't really been mentioned at any point before this and that it was happening in merely a week, it was all a lot to take in and it was a little unsettling to Izuku.

Although he did agree with what Ojiro was saying, that after everything they'd been through their final exam couldn't be much of a problem but, the fact that the teachers were withholding as much as possible about the contents of the exam from the students wasn't helpful.

No one knew what to expect, how much training they would need to do, whether or not it was a written exam or a physical, or both even. There was obviously a reason for this because they wouldn't just hide a thing like this away for no reason, but it wasn't reassuring in the slightest.

"How about we all go to the leisure centre gym after school? Training as a group could be a lot of fun, even if it's only for today." Toru suggested to which Mina bounced up from her position on Izuku's shoulder and pointed at Toru with a loud gasp.

"That's a great idea!" She yelled, scaring everyone who was a little out of it, back to reality. "Who's in?" She asked with a beaming smile. Izuku couldn't help but smile too. Her bubbliness was toxic, but it was one of the things he liked most about her.

"I'll come." He smiled a little quietly, glancing around at everyone before meeting Mina's happy amber eyes.

"Yeah sure, I'm down." Kirishima sighed, picking himself up from the desk and smiling and showing off his sharp teeth.

"Sounds fun." Tokoyami said with a small smile and, after having they'd agreed everyone else felt a little more encouraged and almost everyone was going.

"I'll pass. I'm sorry but I find it easier to train alone." Todoroki muttered, a slightly apologetic look on his face before looking back down at the desk.

"Bakugo?" Kirishima asked, turning attention to his blonde friend.

"Sure, but don't get in my way! I don't need you all holding me back!" He barked, slamming his fist on his desk.

"Likewise." Tokoyami retorted quickly to which Bakugo jumped up from his seat and pointed a raging finger at the Shadow Quirk user.

"What'd you say KFC!" He snarled. Izuku chuckled lightly as Tokoyami began laughing at Bakugo's response whilst Kirishima did his best to stop Bakugo blowing his top.

"Was he always like that when you were friends with him?" Mina perked up, folding her arms, and leaning on Izuku's head with a sigh. He was starting to feel like a human desk because of how much she'd been leaning on his since class began, but he didn't mind, he enjoyed being close to her.

"Yeah, kind of." He replied with a light chuckle as Kaminari stepped in to help his redheaded friend.

"Huh, how do you put up with it?" She asked, leaning over his shoulder to see his face. He shrugged in response but couldn't really think of anything to say, still, she seemed satisfied with his answer and remained resting on him as more of the class tried to stop the argument that had now ensued.

He didn't answer mostly because he didn't actually know himself. He never really called it 'tolerating', he just acted how he usually did and treated Bakugo how he always had, he never felt like he was 'tolerating' the blonde-haired, Explosion Quirk teenager. Sure, he was hard to deal with sometimes and the way he acted hurt Izuku sometimes, but he never held anything against the boy, he was his childhood friend after all, even if he didn't feel the same way towards Izuku.

"I don't think it's fair." She muttered, gathering him from his thoughts, although he didn't really see a point in reply to the statement. He hadn't had the best conversation with Mina, but he was still happy to be spending time with her.

"What is?" He asked curiously.

"That you're so patient with him." Mina responded, getting up from his head and sitting on the now free desk in front of him.

"W-Well, he's my oldest friend. It's just how he's always been. I admire him for his strength and determination, s-so I want to be there for him no matter what happens." He replied, firing a smiling glance over at the raging blonde.

"Huh... That's kinda sweet." She replied quietly. How amazing could you be, having some who clearly hates you and still want to be there to help them if ever they needed it?

Lunch had finally begun and Izuku had some time to himself and some time to spend with Mina. He'd seen Uraraka over the weekend and seen Iida during the fight with Stain, which was less than desirable, but he'd still seen them all the same whereas, with Mina, they hadn't spoken since Internships started unless he counted this morning. Hands in his pockets he strolled out of the school and towards the boy's lockers to prepare for Aizawa's 'training class'.

"Yo Midoriya!" Kirishima called, running up after his greenette friend, a smile on his face and his sharp teeth on show.

"Oh, hey Kirishima." He replied timidly, stopping to allow the redhead to catch up.

"Dude, stop with the formalities, you're making me feel old." Kirishima laughed, patting Izuku's shoulder as the two made their way towards the changing rooms.

"So, listen man, I gotta ask. What's going on with you and Mina? Your pretty close huh?" He asked with a smirk to which Izuku quickly began to develop a bit of a blush, turning away from his friend to hide his embarrassment at the sudden question.

"Well... I think we're good friends but, nothing more than that..." He muttered with a timid smile as Kirishima started him down with a suspicious smirk.

"Yeah? She seems to like you quite a lot huh?" He asked, pushing his hands into his pockets as they neared the boys changing room.

"Well, I'm not sure... I haven't really noticed..." Izuku replied with a shrug. Of course, this was only half true. He'd noticed Mina was quite a bit more affectionate towards him than she was to her other friends, but he'd brushed it off and assumed she was just making fun of how easily flustered he was, which was probably the case.

"You know, for someone who pays so much attention to every little detail of anything, I'm surprised you missed it." Kirishima laughed, pushing the first door open and following Izuku inside as they headed through the second door and into the actual changing room where most of the boys were already changing.

"Really? Missed what?" The greenette muttered, quickly turning to Kirishima with an expression of shock.

"Mina isn't really 'cuddly' with any of her friends." Kirishima replied with a chuckle.

"What's this about Ashido?" Mineta perked up, grabbing Izuku's wrist as he and Kirishima tried to find a place to change. He shifted uncomfortably as chuckled at his small friend as the Pop-Off Quirk user breathed with a filthy expression on his face.

"Oookay, that's enough of that!" Kirishima exclaimed, separating Mineta's hand from Izuku's wrist with a chopping motion. "Come on." Kirishima muttered whilst firing Mineta a dirty look.

"Oh r-right..." Izuku chuckled, shaking himself and leading Kirishima off towards Kaminari and Todoroki.

"Kirishima, I thought you were bunking off." Kaminari perked up, bumping fists with the Hardening Quirk user.

"Ouch, waddya take me for buzzkill?" Kirishima mocked with a chuckle as the two began changing out of their school uniform and into their P.E kits. 'Mina isn't really 'cuddly' with any of her friends.' was all Izuku could think about.

As of right now, it was the thing glued in the back of his mind that he was unable to shake away. Why was he any different from anyone else, if anything he should be the one who was furthest from her. What Kirishima said wasn't entirely true, she was huggy with Uraraka, Tsuyu and Toru sometimes.

Now he thought about it, Mina was pretty close with him, especially after their week apart for internships but he just assumed it was because she missed him and even that thought felt a little far-fetched. Mina was a strange and unique girl, however, both inside and out, so he wasn't too shocked by this turn of events. Still though, it didn't quite add up in his mind.

Anyhow, this wasn't the time for thinking about things such as that, this next class was special and extremely important in training them for their final exam, and he wanted to focus everything he had on training himself and One For All as hard as he could. That was the only way he had a chance at keeping up with the class. No, in exceeding the class and becoming number one. That was what was important right now.

"This first task will be a simple one. A ball throw, same as the entrance exam. I would like to compare your results from then and now to see just how big, or small an improvement there has been in your power." Aizawa began, addressing the class as they lined up at the same spot they had at the very start of the term.

"Really? So, it's just the same thing as before?" Shoji asked, firing a glance down at an equally curious-looking Rikido.

"Yes, same as before, no catches, just take a ball and throw it with all your might." Aizawa explained, although he didn't really sound like he wanted to.

No one else said anything after this so Aizawa took a deep breath and turned, pointing to a bucket of tennis balls.

"Aoyama, you're up first." He muttered, shocking the camp member of the class from his self-absorbed thoughts and back to reality.

"Prepare to be dazzled my dears." He sang, pushing through Shoji and Todoroki, strolling towards the plate. The more Izuku thought about it, the more his mind began to race. How would he increase the distance of this throw without dealing the same damage to himself? Full Cowling was a tamer and more controlled version of what he had before, so with that in mind, how would he manage it?

"Midoriya, your muttering again." Tokoyami grumbled in Izuku's ear, shocking him out of his muttering phase.

"S-Sorry!" He blurted, locking his arms down at his side whilst trying not to look at Aizawa.

"Continue Aoyama." Aizawa muttered, slowly turning away from Izuku and back to the Naval-Laser user. This was going to be a little bit harder than he anticipated.

A/N: So finally, Izuku is back to school with Mina and his friends, but how she and Uraraka acted towards him was pretty surprising huh? Maybe Mina likes him in which case, Uraraka could have a little rivalry on her hands.

But training is the first thing to greet Izuku, Todoroki and Iida. Now Izuku has Full Cowling at his disposal how will he handle the training. Will Izuku impress everyone in the way he hopes? We'll have to wait and see.

As always, if you enjoyed, let me know with a review, follow and favourite and I'll see you in the next chapter. Take care!

-ElliottChap