Edited 4/12/2023

Chapter 2:

Training

[8.5 months until the UA exam]

"Mom, I'm heading out!" Izuku yelled into the hallway, his hand on the doorknob of his family's apartment.

"What, again?" his mother Inko called from deeper inside. The boy could hear the frown in her voice. "Izu, this is the sixth day in the last week. Where are you going so much?"

"Just… out with friends?" The boy did not like the way his sentence pitched at the end. It wasn't technically a lie, but that was one of the things Nekoi and Keeper had told him was his biggest mental weakness. He'd slowly gotten better with lies of omission and half-truths, but lying to his mother just seemed like something he could not do. Not well, anyway.

Inko Midoriya emerged from the bowels of the apartment, the woman drying her hands. She had long, green hair and was on the heavier side, but her eyes shown with motherly concern. Said eyes hardened.

"Is it a girl?"

"I… No, we… I mean, I… Mom! I'm not in a relationship!"

Izuku felt his face burn, the sting of the force of his blush almost as potent as the way his mother's face fell. He couldn't tell if she was relieved or disappointed. It shifted back to worry quickly, either way.

"Izu, have you joined a gang?"

"What, no!" Izuku sputtered, trying to comprehend the absurd idea of him in a gang. "Of course not! Why would you think that?"

"It's just… you've left as soon as you finished your homework every day these last few weeks and you aren't back until late. I'd hoped you'd met a nice girl, but…" She sighed, her shoulders slumping. "I've seen the bruises, Izu. I know you tried to hide them, but there's blood in your laundry, too… It reminded me of when those boys attacked you and you tried to hide it. I'm just worried for you."

Izuku let go on the doorknob, the verdet walking over to wrap his mother in a hug. Unshed tears hung at the edges of her eyes.

"I've been training," Izuku admitted, his head on his mother's shoulder. "I made some friends recently and they offered to help me train to get into a good Hero school. Maybe even UA. They even have some contacts that could help me get another job if things don't work out. I didn't want to tell you because I know what you think of my dream to be a pro Hero."

"Oh Izu," Inko sobbed, returning her son's hug. Her baby boy was almost as tall as her now, muscle she didn't know he had rippling under his clothing.

"I'm sorry for not telling you, Mom. It's just… I was scared you'd try to stop me if you knew. I wanted to be able to show you results so you could see it was working."

"I…" She sniffed, trying to wipe away her excessive tears to no avail. "You know how dangerous hero work is, Izuku. Why don't you become a businessman like—?" She paused, knowing that subject had always been a sore one. "How about construction? There's always buildings that need rebuilt after Hero fights. It's a lucrative business with the right company."

"I have to at least try, Mom," Izuku said, pulling himself from her grip. "I know I don't have a flashy Quirk like some of the pros out there, but I want to give getting into a Hero school my best shot. If I don't, then I don't. Ok?"

"Ok," Inko relented. "I suppose at the very least you'll learn how to defend yourself in case you get jumped by some minor Villain or something."

"Yeah. Look on the bright side." What Izuku failed to mention was just how much he knew he would end up using his 'self-defense training' should he complete his training and become a full-fledged member of the Assassins' Brotherhood. With a light squeeze, he ended the hug and let go, allowing another second without movement so Inko could relinquish her grip as well. "Alright Mom, I'm heading out. I'll be back for dinner tonight."

"Please be careful."

Izuku nodded in response, opening the door and stepping outside. He held his breath until the door clicked shut, the boy waiting until he heard the receding footsteps of his mother before he relaxed. Emotion rushed through him, the boy leaning against the doorway as his stomach flipped. Bile burned the back of his throat and his nails bit into the palms of his hands.

He stood there for half a minute, wallowing in the mental spiral, before shaking his head and shoving such internal sensations aside to be sorted through and dealt with later. Focusing on his task at hand, Izuku loosened his muscles and, with barely a pause, threw himself over the guardrail.

He plummeted for ten feet or so before his fingers latched onto the branch of a tree, the verdet swinging with the momentum before letting go and hopping or swinging through the branches before coming full circle to the building again, only now two floors down. He leapt. Latching onto the small ridge of the second-floor walkway before blinking, his eyes taking on a slight golden glow.

The world dimmed, but no colors appeared to stand out against the darkness. Izuku blinked the effect away as light and color returned to him. With the coast clear, he dropped the rest of the way, landing on the concrete in a crouch. True to his genetic ability's (though he sorely wished to call it a Quirk) sight, there was no one about to see his athletic feat. Free of any eyes, Izuku took off at a jog toward the Dagobah Municipal Beach.

Nekoi was there to greet him as Izuku rolled through the Dagobah portal, the boy settling on his feet and wiping the sand from his clothes. She tapped her foot, her cat ears quirked to either side while her head tilted slightly. One eyebrow rose.

"You're almost late, Midoriya."

"My mother had questions," he answered.

"And?"

"I told her I'd met some friends and that they offered to help me train for a chance to get into a Hero school. She didn't like it but agreed to let me try and that it would be nice if I knew how to defend myself."

"Half-truths are the best lies," Nekoi said, nodding approvingly. "Easiest sort to keep track of."

"How do you deal with it?" Izuku questioned. "Do you have it? The guilt? That churning in your gut at having to lie to those you care about?"

The cat-woman eyed the Assassin Novice with a sigh, gesturing for the boy to follow her out of the portal room so they could have this conversation where there would be no traffic. Izuku followed quietly but found himself surprised when, rather than leading him toward the changing rooms where he could put on his weighted Novice training robes, she took him down another hallway before waving her hand at a doorway.

The inside of the room was a soft beige with a maroon carpet. A small coffee table sat between two recliners and a loveseat in the center of the room while a refrigerator hummed softly in the corner beside a table with a coffeepot and water heater. Reading the atmosphere, Izuku sat in one of the chairs, Nekoi walking over to the fridge.

"Water or soda, Midoriya?" the woman asked. "Tea? Maybe coffee?"

"Just water, please." She tossed him a full bottle, the boy snatching it out of the air before twisting the cap off. Nekoi grabbed some milk for herself and settled in the other chair, facing him. They sat there in silence for a minute, both sipping their drinks.

"You asked about guilt," the Assassin began. "I want to make sure you're ok. We haven't asked you to do anything that would warrant true guilt yet, so what is it?"

"I…" Izuku felt his tongue twist as so many conflicting emotions rose to the surface, the boy unable to put such into words. He pieced them apart slowly, testing how certain thoughts affected the knot so he could tease out the core reason. "I'm not sure yet."

"…Are you having second thoughts?" Nekoi asked.

"I'm still set on becoming or, failing that, helping the Assassins," the Novice answered quickly. As a Novice and not yet a true Recruit or one raised in the life, Izuku was still in the dark enough for Keeper to erase what his knew of the Assassins without any major, life-affecting mental problems.

"Then what's brought this on?"

"It… It's my mom." Izuku's eyes dropped, the boy staring at the bottle of water in his hand so he wouldn't need to face the way Nekoi's eyes softened. "She's everything to me. My father went missing shortly before I was born —lost in a Villain attack according to police reports. We aren't exactly well-off even with the trust fund he left behind, but she does her best to give me a good life. With me being Quirkless, though… She worries. She worries a lot. I know she loves me and wants what she thinks is best for me, but she doesn't approve of me trying to become a pro Hero. What would she say to me training to be an Assassin? A killer? I just… I feel like I'm betraying her trust by training to take peoples' lives."

His hands squeezed the bottle, a hiss of air squeaking out from under the cap. Nekoi mulled over his words, considering everything he'd said and how best to respond. She leaned forward slightly.

"Midoriya?" she said. "Why do you want to be a pro Hero?"

"Because they bring hope to people." The boy looked up, but the woman could see that his gaze was a million miles away somewhere in the past. "They protect others when Villains or natural disasters strike, making people smile and feel safe."

"Is that what a hero is to you? Is that why you want to become a pro? To protect your mother?"

"I…" Again, Izuku faltered. "I hadn't thought about it."

"Listen, we Assassins aren't here to bring hope to others, though we oftentimes do. We aren't here to right every wrong or catch every thief or Villain. Some of us are fellow Assassins, after all. The mission of the Brotherhood is to safeguard the free will of humanity, to give each person the choice to pick acceptance or denial, right or wrong. If the Templars got their way, there would be no Villains, no Heroes, and no choices. Not because everyone gets along, but because they would remove anyone who stood against them." She paused, seeing that the boy would still not look her in the eye. "Midoriya, have you ever heard the name Destro?"

Izuku's eyes scrunched, the boy pushing the limits of his memory to see if he did. It sounded like an alias, so whomever Destro was, they were probably from after the Dawn of Quirks. Still, he drew a blank.

"I don't think so, Nekoi-sensei. Who's Destro?"

"He was a pawn for the Templars, manipulated by them through the years of Quirk discrimination. Do you know about those?"

"When Quirks were still new, a lot of people were scared of those who had powers. They were feared and sometimes rejected or even killed for being different, especially if their Quirks were a Mutation type."

"An almost complete 180 from where we are now," Nekoi nodded, Izuku remembering his own abuse at the hands of those with power when he had none. It wasn't much of a surprise that several of his classmates —usually his worst tormenters— showed red in his Eagle Vision. "Destro… He was a freedom fighter and a rebel in the name of Quirk Equality, though many called his ideals closer to Quirk Superiority. Back then, they were still widely called Meta Abilities, and after his mother's murder for her support of him, Destro started the Meta Liberation Army."

"And he was a Templar."

"I'm afraid not." Izuku blinked, surprised. Nekoi gave him a soft, weak smile. "The world isn't so black-and-white for us to call every Villain a Templar, Izuku, and many historical figures who did good we know to have had ulterior motives. No, Izuku. Destro got played like a flute. The Templars… We've heard several heralded the Dawn of Quirks as God's grace falling on his children for their devotion, even though plenty of Templars don't believe in religion. They infiltrated the ranks of the MLA at the end of the last century and used it to take out key political figures and spies during his short revolution. The Templars then filled those voids in the government with their own operatives. And when Destro's role had been played, they arrested him and finished him off so he couldn't spill anything he'd learned. They called it suicide, but Destro didn't kill himself."

"That's horrible!" the Novice gasped.

"That's history, but I didn't tell you that story just to pass the time. Sometimes, the ideals of free will mean allowing the fearful and the ignorant to run rampant, and they can cause a lot of grief and pain. It is not our job to determine what is true and what is not for the people. There is a teaching from the greatest Assassin of our order that reminds us that you cannot force knowledge and learning onto others; they must seek that knowledge for themselves. Those who do not want to learn will turn a blind ear. We can try to show them the error of their ways, to show them that what they believe is destructive, but to change must be their choice. If they do not wish to learn, then we must wait for the next generation and hope that they do not have the same prejudices or ensure that, if someone is harming others for their own gain, that they can no longer do so."

"Nothing is true…" The phrase still confused him, but Izuku felt at least one of the small pieces that made up the philosophical puzzle fall into place. He breathed and, letting his Eagle Vision flare for a moment, noticed that the blue aura around Nekoi had darkened in shade, showing that his positive connection with her had strengthened.

"Back to the matter at hand, I understand that lying to family can be hard. Mine are gone, but they were still around when I was in your shoes. I wasn't born into the life, funnily enough. Keeper screwed up and I forced the truth out of him when we were little. I always told myself that I was protecting my family from the horrible truths of the world by not telling them what I got involved in, and that helped me keep the Brotherhood's secrets from them."

"But you just said—"

"I'm a hypocrite," Nekoi interrupted. "I said it's not our job to determine what others cannot know, yet we keep our order secret. We can't operate if we are compromised, so we work from the shadows as today's definition of vigilantes. You could say the circumstances are different, but that's just an excuse. Our mission is hard, but we do it because someone has to in the face of the Templars." Izuku was silent for a moment, his fingers tensing and relaxing as he mulled over their conversation.

"…Thank you, Nekoi-sensei. This shadow war, the manipulations through history… it's a lot to take in. If my mother knew about all of it, it wouldn't change anything for her except make her worry." He stood, finishing his water before throwing the bottle into the garbage. Nekoi followed, doing the same with her milk carton.

"What we just touched on is one of the ironies of the Assassins. We praise and look forward to the peoples' want to learn, but don't want them to learn about us. Where others refuse to see their contradictions, we study ours. But I think that's enough heavy talks for today, Midoriya. Keeper and I have set up a new challenge course for you to test your Eagle Vision. You ready?"

"Yeah…" Izuku muttered. "I'm ready."

[7 months until the UA exam]

Eagle Vision worked so much like a Quirk, it was weird to think that it was not. Izuku mused on this as he laid in bed, considering everything he'd learned during his training. Each week, Keeper and Nekoi put him through a new set of tests to determine the limits of his historic gift and what it could do astounded him. Allies glowed blue while enemies or those with malicious intent glowed red. That was not all, however, for they discovered that targets and goals glowed gold and places where he could hide himself glowed white, rare as piles of hay were in the city. That piece of information came when, for one training session, Keeper had placed a note on a touch-sensitive dummy in a room of similar models and it was Izuku's task to pilfer the note without being felt.

Izuku had turned on his special sight and walked right over to the dummy, not-yet-so-subtly snagging the paper before returning. The looks of shock on his teachers' faces when Keeper admitted to having wiped his own memory so he didn't know which one had the note brought about the discovery.

Now, outside of his training and with only the burn of his overused muscles and his thoughts to distract him, Izuku considered how such an ability would be beneficial for work as a pro Hero. Currently, his thoughts were skewing toward rescue. With his Target Glow, as Keeper called it, Izuku would be able to find people buried in rubble or trapped in other difficult positions. Even if he did nothing but direct other Heroes to their locations, his input could still save countless lives just by finding them.

The muscles in his right arm twitched, spastically repeating the motion needed to activate the hidden blade every Assassin was trained to use. Izuku's training was set to an odd schedule, the boy constantly reminded of such from his sore body. In the terms of becoming a full-fledged Assassin, he had plenty of time to perfect his form before adulthood, but in the terms of having a snowball's chance in Hell for the coming UA entrance exam, he was rapidly approaching the deadline. He supposed that he could have accepted the offer to have a UA teacher get him admitted through the easier recommendation test, but Izuku, much as he appreciated the sentiment, still wanted to get into the hero program on his own merit. He just needed to catch up to those who had been training for years for it.

All that said, he wasn't above asking what he should prioritize in the short term. The UA entrance exam (according to a teacher there that was also an Assassin) would consist of a written test followed by combat against robots in urban areas. With that in mind, Izuku's training was mostly in the Assassins Fist fighting style and endurance training interspersed with Eagle Vision testing or mechanics while resting. No moment was to be wasted, for time was a precious commodity.

At least, that's what Mentor said.

Deciding that he wasn't going to get to sleep any time soon, even with the soreness of his body, Izuku pushed himself up and shuffled over to his desk where a notebook sat. He opened the book, a blank page meeting him. He picked up a hawk's feather, dipped it in liquid, and started writing, but nothing appeared where he wrote.

That was another neat trick that his Eagle Vision was good for. Nekoi had told him how several of the Master Assassins of the past like Altaïr Ibn-LaʼAhad, Ezio Auditore da Firenze, or Desmond Miles could see invisible writing using their eyes. Thanks to these legends, they tested and found that Izuku could do the same. His Assassin Analysis Notebook was to be written only in invisible ink to help safeguard the secrets within from any wayward human or Templar that might get their hands on it. If worst came to worst, there was a tiny, remote-detonated flare in the back that would incinerate the pages if it could not be rescued.

Musing on this, Izuku wrote late into the night.

"Izu? Are you awake?" Before he knew it, a knock startled him. He was slumped over the desk, his back aching. His quill had fallen out of his hand when he'd fallen asleep late in the night, his journal sitting just out of range of a small puddle of drool. The boy quickly wiped his mouth and cleared away the puddle before his door opened, his mother stepping inside.

"Sorry, what?" he asked, turning slightly as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes. "What time is it?"

"It's almost 25 after," the woman answered. "Half an hour later than you usually get up. Oh Izu, were you up all night?"

"I don't think so." He yawned, the action causing him to recognize the crick in his neck. "I wanted to do some last-minute studying, but…" He blinked, his mother's words registering. "25 After‽ I'll be late for school at this rate!"

Ignoring the protests of his muscles, the verdet ran to his dresser for the day's clothes before pushing past his mother, rushing to the bathroom with a speed she had no idea he possessed. The door down the hall slammed shut, the sounds of running water following a moment later. Inko shook her head with a chuckle.

"Well, I suppose I should prepare a breakfast to go," she said to herself, only for something odd to catch her eye. Sitting on Izuku's desk was an open book. Unlike all the rest of the notebooks he'd shown her, she could see no writing at all. Confused, the woman stepped into the room.

True enough to what she'd thought, there was no writing to be seen on the open pages. Even weirder, the feather of a bird rested next to it. Activating her Quirk: Small Object Attraction, Inko pulled the feather to her, giving it a closer inspection. Other than a small, slightly-rounded point on the end, it looked like any other feather. Still, in the Age of Quirks, even the most normal of items could have an unseen function.

Down the hallway, Inko heard the running water shut off, indicating that Izuku was about to finish his abridged morning routine. She replaced the feather as quickly as she could and made her exit, sending a backwards glance over her shoulder. Something just didn't feel right, but she would trust Izuku to introduce her to these teachers of his eventually.

[1 month until the UA exam]

"The UA entrance exam is scheduled for the end of this month," the Assassin in black said, the man staring at the recently- promoted Recruits assembled before him. There were ten in total, each dressed the standard white robes of the Assassins with the hoods up. Now beyond the unofficial rank of Novice, each Recruit's robes were decorated with colored embellishments selected by the Recruit under the guidance of whomever was in charge of their training so the trainers could more easily tell them apart. Despite differing heights, shapes, skills, and length of training, each Recruit here was the same age with the same aspirations. "Shiketsu will have theirs on the 17th next month, followed by Ketsubutsu and Seijin on the 24th and Seiai on the 25th. UA's test happens early so that applicants who do not make the limited Hero Course have the chance to apply at the other schools. We hope that there will be two of you in each. Having Hero students among our numbers spread across the various academies improves our ability to connect with and recruit informants, builders, and support, allowing the Brotherhood more discreet resources. Are there any questions?"

One recruit raised her hand, the girl's robes trimmed with a light blue.

"Master, wouldn't it be suspicious if many separate Hero students had similar fighting styles? We are we all trained in the Assassins Fist style. Surely that may tip off Templars to our loyalties."

"An excellent question, Recruit," the man nodded. "However, the Age of Quirks gives us an advantage in this field. Each Hero and Hero student has a unique method of fighting thanks to their inherent abilities… or the lack thereof." He paused, glancing at a recruit among them, his robe trimmed in a dark green. "Assassin Heroes are expected to not have any sign of their connection to the Brotherhood while performing hero duties save the burn on a full Assassin's finger which can be covered by a glove or ring. This primarily refers to your choice of costume. Though every Assassin is trained in the same style, it is overall defensive, something that is easily explained away as many styles focus on defense and Heroes are typically defensive and reactionary by the nature of their job. Does that answer your question?"

"Yes, Master." The Recruit gave a small bow with one hand over her heart, a gesture that only held meaning for the Brotherhood. "Thank you."

"Anyone else?" Another Recruit raised her hand, this one with robes trimmed in a light green. "Yes?"

"I would assume you will have all of us try the UA exam because it's so limited, ribbit," the Recruit said. "There are five schools and ten of us. What will happen if three of us or more succeed the UA exam, ribbit?"

"Another good question, and a situation we have dealt with many times. We will have more than two weeks to look over those who passed the exam and decide among ourselves who we believe to have the best chance and who would do better at another school. If need be, we will perform a personal tournament and decide that way."

The female Recruit in green nodded, giving her own bow.

"Master?" the male Recruit in dark green trimming questioned, his hand raised. "What methods of training do you plan to give us to better prepare for the exam?"

"Another good question. You all possess different skills and body types, so no one training will help you all. As such, Master Assassins from around Japan have agreed, as we always do this time of year, to train you individually, in pairs, or in groups as works best. The hours for training will be set by your trainers around their public schedule and they will focus on your strengths and possible improvements. That segways well into introducing you to those who have offered to train you."

Five figures stepped through the doorway, joining the Assassin in black before the recruits. Three of them were easily recognizable with their hoods down, the pro heroes Midnight, Edgeshot, and Miruko standing proudly in robes of gray, maroon, and white respectively. The others, both men, stood in tan with red trimmings or robes of dull yellow with a very pointed chin.

"The six of us will divide the ten of you for training," the first man continued. "Recruits Midoriya and Intelli, I will be instructing you two."

"Sir," the Recruits bowed. They followed as the man exited, refusing to waste time listening to the others be claimed when there were plans to lay down. Izuku had to push to keep up with the man's quick pace, the verdet being shorter than the girl beside him. He recognized her as the first Recruit to ask a question, but he did not try to start small talk.

In moments, they stepped into a room Izuku recognized as the lounge. He blinked, having expected to be taken to one of the training areas. The girl beside him, Intelli, seemed similarly confused, but both sat on the couch as their trainer lowered himself onto the recliner and dropped his hood. He was pale with black hair and eye bags.

"I know you're confused," he said, "but to establish the most efficient training method, we need to be on the same page and have the same end goal. To do that, we need to know each other. I am Shota Aizawa, the underground Hero Eraserhead and a teacher at UA. My Quirk is Erasure, so I can temporarily erase the Quirks of those whom I can see, barring Mutation-style Quirks. You, girl. Introduce yourself."

"I am Saiko Intelli," the Recruit said, dropping her hood to show a pretty, if somewhat plain, girl, her periwinkle hair in a hime-style cut. She had pale skin and blue eyes. "My Quirk is IQ. I hear it is very similar to that of the principal of UA in that my intelligence increases when I drink tea. The type of tea I drink affects my manner of thinking. Some boost my strategic and tactical planning while others can help my mechanical understanding and so forth. This connection seems related to what the region of origin is known for."

"Now you," Aizawa said, turning his eyes on Izuku, the boy also lowering his hood.

"I'm Izuku Midoriya and I am Quirkless," he began. "Despite this, Nekoi-sensei says I have some of the strongest Eagle Vision of the age. It allows me to see allies, enemies, targets, and hiding spots. Keeper-sensei believes it can grow with time to show more, though we don't know how at the moment."

"Good. Now that we know each other, I can tell you why I wanted to train the two of you." Aizawa leaned forward, the children responding in kind without thinking about it. "To be blunt, neither of you are suited for combat in this superpowered age. Like me, your bodies are limited to the times of old and you need to use your brains and wits to survive against those who can manipulate the laws of the world at their whims. I will train each of you in close-, mid-, and long-range weaponry to find each of you a weapon or two that can put you on an equal playing field without the need for our signature hidden blades. Personally, I use a capture scarf. It is a flexible fabric that can still take blows from knives and restrain targets, ideal for all ranges but very difficult to use. I will give each of you a minute to think before I want you to suggest a weapon for your fellow Recruit. Be prepared to explain your reasoning. Begin."

Izuku took a second to reel at the sudden assignment, his mind awhirl with what weapons he knew of and what little he knew about his fellow Recruit. She stood, the boy watching her movements as she made her way to the table and began making herself tea. She was slightly taller and of a lithe build, or he assumed so based on the make and movements of her robes. As such, heavy weapons would probably be unwieldy for her, allowing Izuku to narrow his suggestion to lighter choices.

"The robes hide the body types of the Assassins, an advantage in the overall spectrum of keeping our identities secret from Templars and authorities but a detriment for this assignment. Still, the robes can contain a multitude of small weapons such as knives, needles, and even shortswords, but anyone could deduce such a thing. As such, the optimal type of weapon to train with to catch others off-guard is something with reach that can be collapsed for easy storage. A spear might work as bojutsu is a common practice that can be explained separately and collapsible designs are accessible. Tonfa and nunchaku may also be decent choices, but they do not have the same range. Though more limited, a bow or crossbow would provide a long-range option without upsetting authorities too much. Ideally, a theoretical weapon or two with all these forms would help situationally. Based on her Quirk, however, it's reasonable to assume that she will have better choices than I could come up with…" He trailed off, realizing that both Master Aizawa and Recruit Intelli were staring at him, the latter with her steaming tea an inch from her lips. "Sorry."

"Recruit, what was that?"

"It's a bad habit of mine," Izuku answered with a small chuckle, rubbing the back of his neck. "Being Quirkless, I loved analyzing the Quirks of others, breaking down the most likely origins, limits, and potential they had. Since my training started, this has broadened into weapons and fighting styles as well. I didn't mean to interrupt."

"Don't apologize," Intelli said. "That was… well-reasoned. I had not yet considered a weapon with shifting forms or how authorities may react to certain types. I had assumed we would soon be Hero students and, as such, would not be questioned." She closed her eyes, taking a sip of her drink before releasing a relaxed sigh. "Midoriya, what trainings have you focused on and what sort of Hero do you hope to be with no true Quirk of your own?"

Izuku tried to hide a flinch at the reminder, but Intelli's eyes were closed, so she did not notice despite his failure. Their trainer, however, did notice.

"Much of my training has focused on physical endurance, relying on dexterity over strength. That's not to say I haven't been gaining muscle mass, but I want to be more of a dodge-and-retaliate fighter over a tank. As for my Hero type… With my Eagle Vision's Target Glow, I want to be a rescue Hero. I can more easily find people trapped in rubble with it even without a physical Quirk."

Intelli nodded slowly, absorbing the information. She took another sip of her tea.

"In that case, the ideal weapon for you is one that is sturdy and has length that can be wedged under rubble and leveraged, similar to a crowbar. A bo would work incredibly well for you for the same attributes you ascribed to me. Your fighting style should center around maneuverability and speed, two factors bojutsu thrives on. As for a long-range option, I would recommend a rope-dart."

"A rope-dart?" Izuku parroted as Aizawa raised an eyebrow but said nothing. "Why?"

"Multiple reasons, but the defining factor is how it would assist your movement," she explained. "Though we, as Assassins, are trained in parkour and climbing, being too good at such could be suspicious in the Hero profession. They are easily-recognizable skills if used in public as high-profile figures. A rope-dart, however, would allow you excuses and methods in climbing. In addition, if the rope is made of something similar to Master Aizawa's capture scarf, then it could also be used to pull trapped and/or injured civilians closer for rescue."

"Excellent observations, both of you," Aizawa said. "However, it would be suspicious if you both had a transforming weapon, much less the same one. They are not common enough among first years to pass of with any lame excuse and could trace you back to the Brotherhood."

"Never compromise the Brotherhood," the Recruits intoned.

"Exactly. Therefore, which of you has the best chance of explaining possession of a multi-form weapon?"

"Intelli," Izuku answered quickly. "With her knowledge-based Quirk, that would explain her reasoning and the formation of the weapon. I shouldn't have access to that because of my background; it would raise too many questions. My best bet would be a bo and a homemade rope-dart. They can then be improved on after I'm in UA."

"If you make it," Aizawa reminded him. "The entrance exam is illogical in its focus on destructive Quirks, so Quirks like mine that cannot affect machines are next to useless. Without any Quirk of your own, you will need to outperform others with an advantage in a way that does not tip off certain teachers to who trained you." He shifted, turning to Intelli. "You are in the same boat."

"UA is not my preferred school," the female Recruit replied. "I would prefer a smaller school like Seiai, but I will test my skills anyway to increase the chances of achieving our goal."

"Good. That's the sort of commitment the Brotherhood needs. Between this training and the pro Hero programs, each of you should be ready for final assessments around the middle or end of your second years. More importantly, we will do our best to ensure you can survive the rigors of both Hero work and your duties as Assassins. Now, let's stop in with the blacksmith to discuss your weapons with her so we can start that training tomorrow."

[3 days until the UA exam]

Izuku panted, his muscles aching as he tried to catch his breath. His main weapon of choice, a metal bo, was extended behind him. The obstacle course he'd just run flashed through his memory, the free-running, climbing, hiding, precision, combat, and assassination phases having tested everything he'd learned up to this point in his training and more. He glanced at the clock that held his final time: four minutes and 28.64 seconds.

"Damn," he muttered to himself.

Of all ten Hero-aspirants within the Brotherhood, Izuku had been the last to go through the obstacle course that was meant to show the rest of the trainers what he had learned and how far he had come in his month-long boot camp under Master Aizawa. Considering this, his current time was leaps ahead of the ten-minute finish he had had at the beginning of the month. Make no mistake, he was happy with his improvement, but he paled in comparison to the two minute 45 second time of the Recruit in light green. She had taken first place because of her amazing parkour abilities, having scaled that portion of the course in less than a minute with the help of her Quirk.

Getting his breathing under control, Izuku eased out of his final stance and shrunk his bo back into its carrying state, the weapon falling in on itself until it was the size of a can of pepper spray. He slid it onto a designated slot on his utility belt beside his rope-dart and stepped through the doorway where the other trainers and Recruits were waiting for him.

"Fourth place," Master Aizawa nodded as the boy stepped through the doorway. "You have more than doubled your initial run and proven yourself a capable fighter. You have worked hard, Recuit Midoriya."

"Damn!" Master Usagiyama laughed. "Aizawa said you were Quirkless, but you sure showed your stuff! I mean, you're that fast after, like, ten months of training? Don't know if it'll be enough to get into UA, but I'm sure any of the other Hero schools would take you after a showing like that. I'd try to push you through if I were a teacher."

"Do not get his hopes up," another Assassin said, this one a man without a nose dressed in ragged, tan robes with crimson accents. "He is still Quirkless. A worthy Hero he may become if given the chance, but many with the spark are denied such in these unfair times."

"He won't be Quirkless for much longer," Master Aizawa commented. "We have pulled strings to change his entry in the Quirk Directory. We should be able to pass off his Eagle Vision as a Quirk. We have chosen to call it Empathetic Eye. Though not flashy, it will give him more of a chance without the stigma."

"Still, come find me if all the schools reject you, kid," the rabbit-woman said. "I'll get you a license the old-fashioned way."

"It's not old-fashioned when you're the only one to have forced your way into the HPSC and demanded a Hero license, Usagiyama," the Assassin with the pointed chin put in.

"Be that as it may, my students scored the top two placements," Master Kamihara, the pro Hero Edgeshot, preened. "They will earn the spots at UA."

As the adult Assassins discussed Izuku's and the rest of the Recruits' chances, some being more pessimistic than others, several of the other Recruits walked over to the green-haired boy.

"That was an excellent showing, Midoriya," Intelli said. "You beat my time by 40 seconds since I lost so much locating and overthinking in that target assassination section."

"You made up a lot of time on the precision section, though," Izuku responded. "You've gotten really good with those hand crossbows of yours. I missed five of my throwing knives."

"Don't sell yourself short, ribbit," the recruit that won first place put in. She had dark green hair like his own, but hers was tucked into her light-green-accented robes. Her dark eyes were wide and her mouth sat in an unexpressive line, a side effect of her Quirk. Even so, Izuku considered her, like many of the other female recruits, to be pretty enough to fluster him. "I doubt many Hero students could pull off a time like that. From what I've been told, most of them are brute-force types."

"She's right," another Recruit agreed, this one with purple accents on his robes. "I think I'm going to need to consider other schools with you in the running for the UA spots."

Heat rose in Izuku's cheeks as all this praise was heaped on him all at once. A hand rose, rubbing the back of his neck.

"I… Thanks," he said. "It wasn't that special, though. I mean, you scored first place, Asui. You're a shoo-in for UA."

"Call me Tsu."

More heat rose to Izuku's face as he considered the possibility of referring to a girl his age by a nickname. For a moment, he forgot that every person in this room —himself, the other teens, and the adults— were all training or have been trained to kill others for their definition of the good of humanity. Everything seemed so normal when one forgot about that little detail.

"M-Maybe that can wait?" Izuku tried. "I-I mean, if we both m-make it into UA, it would b-be weird if we were so familiar w-with each other, right?"

"Hmmm." The girl tilted her head, considering the argument.

"I agree with Recruit Midoriya," Intelli commented. "We may act familiar here, but until we all have time in the same public spaces, there would be too many questions about how we know each other. We must keep each other at arms' length lest we slip up outside."

"I suppose," Asui said. Izuku guessed she was disappointed, but her facial expressions were hard to read because of her Mutation-style Quirk. "In that case, I hope to meet you outside soon, Midoriya."

"S-Same to you, Asui," her fellow verdet replied. The boy in purple opened his mouth.

"Well I think—"

"Recruits," Master Aizawa said, clapping his hands twice. All ten Recruits cut off their conversations mid-word, each snapping to attention. The UA teacher's eyebrows rose appreciatively. "You have each shown remarkable progress this last month. The UA exam is in two days' time and we will not meet again until then. You all need that time to rest and recover. Training will resume once the exam results come out. At that time, we will discuss who would fit best at the other schools." He gave a small smile, one of the first Izuku had ever seen from the perpetually-tired man. "We do not say it enough, but we are proud of how far you have come. Some of you were born into this life; others were recruited, but we are sure you will each bring honor to the Brotherhood. Dismissed."

End of Chapter 2

Note: The Assassins Fist style name is in reference to "Shinobi's Creed" by Leaf Ranger, an excellent Naruto/AC crossover I highly suggest.

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-SwordOfTheGods