AN: Here's the next chapter!

I totally forgot to tell you about the phone number! It spells EXP-LOS-IONS! Lol.

Note! This chapter does include descriptions of some of what Izuku went through! For warning purposes there will be mentions of vomit, suicide, abuse, torture, and death.

Chapter 10

Izuku and Aizawa silently walked to the teacher's lounge to where Aizawa said there was a private office they could use. Neither one said a word not wanting to interrupt the peaceful atmosphere. Izuku had his eyes trained forward. He felt like if anything interrupted him he would lose his resolve.

'I can do this.'

'It'll all be okay.'

'Things will get better.'

'I can finally move on.'

'Be brave like All Might and tell this new chapter I Am Here!'

Despite his reassurance and hyping, Izuku still felt sick to his stomach. The shakes from earlier crept back in and his heart started beating faster. Everything began to feel heavy and he almost caved into the desire to make a run for it. But he promised Kacchan, Shinsou, Mr. Aizawa, Mr. Yagi, and more importantly, himself that he'd start living. He couldn't do that with these shadows will staring, clawing into his back. He'd never able to look forward if he kept looking back.

Aizawa couldn't believe how full circle this had become. It wasn't too long ago he sat in this very same office with Bakugou talking about the very same boy currently here now. He wondered what Izuku could want to talk about, but the kid seemed so focused on something else he dared not ask. Aizawa had a couple guesses with the most obvious being about what happened in class this morning. Another, the one he hoped for, was that Izuku was going to let him in and tell him how he could help. Right now he felt like he picked up an old book that was missing the full middle section which was one of the most important parts. He had the beginning which he got from Bakugou, he got a sneak peak of the middle from Shinsou that barely scratched the surface, and he was currently living through the end. Luckily no one was in the lounge as Aizawa led them back. He made sure to shut the door which was a universal sign throughout the offices of 'Do Not Enter'.

Izuku sat on the couch instead of the chair and grabbed one of the cushions. He tightly hugged the cushion and buried his face into the capture-weapon. It smelled like Aizawa which reminded him of coffee. Aizawa had helped him get out; he would help him now.

Aizawa could see something was troubling him and took a guess, "If you think coming to school so soon was a bad–"

"No!" Izuku cried out, stopping his sentence before he got a little quiet and started messing with his hands. "It was fine. I just didn't expect someone to have an electrical quirk which is why I wanna talk. I-I'm ready to talk about it. It'll help if I do, right? I can finally get this off my chest and be able to breathe. Oh, um…if I tell you about…those years…do you need to record it?"

Aizawa sucked in a small breath and his heart broke a little. Aizawa was so proud of him. By how ragged Izuku already looked this was taking a lot of him emotionally. No doubt this was going to be one of those days Aizawa was more than happy to skip to go home, watch whatever the kid wanted, and take a nap all day. However, this wasn't one of those days as there was a staff meeting after school that Aizawa wanted to skip, but knew he couldn't. That didn't matter right now. Izuku was ready to talk and Aizawa was ready to listen.

"It would certainly help and that way you don't need to repeat it later. Is that okay?"

"Y-yes." Izuku said.

Aizawa nodded before grabbing a voice recorder out of his desk. He always kept one on him for situations similar to this where he would need to record a student statement or in some cases catch the stupid ones in the act of trying to lie.

"This is Pro Hero Eraserhead taking the statement of Izuku Midoriya. Date XX/YY/ZZ Time: 11:04am. Whenever you're ready, kid." Aizawa said before setting the recorder on the table in front of them and sitting beside Izuku. Aizawa would be whoever he wanted him to be right now. He was a pro hero who was going to find the justice this kid deserved and he'd be the moral support as he recounted his living nightmares.

He could do this. This would help. He was brave. He trusted Aizawa to help him like he already had. Izuku took a deep breath.

"I'm sure Kacchan told you I was kidnapped on my tenth birthday…"

Year 1 (10-11)

Izuku had just turned ten years old when walked through that purple mist in order to save his best friend and family. Just like All Might he made sure his smile would reassure them this was what he wanted so he could save them and everything would one day be alright. However, he would never forget what he just witnessed. This monster killed…mutilated the man that lived downstairs. Sure he was mean to him when he saw him outside, but Izuku never wished him to die by the hands of whatever those things were. There were so many of those things and they…probably killed Kacchan and his parents. There was no way this man would keep his word after killing Mom and ordering to slaughter everyone who lived in the building. As he started to cry he was harshly shoved against a cold floor. Hitting his body into the floor he felt a jolt of pain tremor through him.

"Enough."

Izuku only cried harder as he gripped the floor. There was no way anyone he cared about survived. Sure, he held on hope they were all okay, but he heard the screams. He saw the blood. He saw Kacchan tossed aside like a wooden doll. Izuku questioned over and over if he had done the right thing. Did anyone benefit from the choice he made? Did anyone believe that the act he thought was heroic even close? Was he just stupid and naïve?

"This is the boy?" a voice asked.

Izuku was too much in shock, but when he finally recovered he was in disbelief looking at the quirk doctor his mom took him to see six years ago. He's the one who told Izuku to give up. That he was quirkless and being a hero wasn't going to happen. Like it still hadn't happened.

"Yes Doctor. The monitoring system we set up revealed he does in fact have a quirk despite your initial diagnosis. He may still be of use to us yet." They had been planning this to see if he'd develop a quirk. Was that what that was?

"Oh I can't wait to see. Do we know what kind?"

"No. All it showed was that it manifested. So child, what did you do?"

"I don't know…who are you?" Izuku asked as tears still ran down his face. He refused to look at this…murderer. This man couldn't be good. He killed his Mom. He was villain. He used his quirk to hurt people. Izuku didn't know him, didn't want to know him.

The tall man with the white hair leaned down and roughly grabbed him by the chin to make him look at him directly in the eyes. "I'm your father."

Izuku pulled away as hard as he could, but the man's hand was quicker as he grabbed him by the hair. "Let me go! You murderer!"

The nerves at the root of his curls screamed as he was brought forward. "If I am then so are you my son."

Izuku could only cry more at how true that statement was starting to hold merit.

"After that they did all they could to see if they could get my quirk to show itself again. They tried to people to attack me and even tried to see what it was through blood test, but nothing worked for a while. I didn't know how to do it since I never had to do any quirk counseling and it took months again before I was able to replicate what I did. Even then no one could figure out what I had done. And for some reason my father cursed my quirk saying it like that other one I never got to here about. He said he couldn't take it to figure it out so we would wait for however long it would take until I became useful with it. It wasn't long after that the fight with All Might happened that I only know about because the Doctor was wailing about it. Part of me wanted to thank him because for what seemed like a while I was just by myself most of the time. It was later…"

Year 2 (11-12)

The Doctor, as Izuku was told to refer to him as, dragged him out of his room again. Every day Izuku refused to help this man help his father. That man wasn't his father and Izuku let that thought be known despite knowing he'd only be backhanded for it. Although All Might wasn't coming to save him, he at least was able to give Izuku a much needed break from poking and prodding they submitted him too. He knew it wasn't hero-like but he hoped his father would die. If he died then maybe he'd have a chance to escape.

"Let me go." Izuku said, popping off sparks at the man. For some reason when he used his quirk it only appeared to look like Kacchan's explosions. Despite making him a little sad, it gave him comfort. At least this way, even if Kacchan was no longer…around he'd be able to keep a part of him with him that would always protect him. Kacchan always won and Izuku knew he would have been a great hero. Maybe it would help him one day.

The Doctor made a high pitched scream and Izuku found himself on the floor with a bruised cheek and a dazed head. During that moment of haziness Izuku felt something wrap around his throat. As his eyes cleared he noticed the man standing above him. Izuku feared the man had finally lost it and was attempting to choke him. Trying to push him off with Kacchan's quirk, the man stumbled back before pulling something out his pocket.

"The Master might not like harming you, but I certainly have no qualms about it. What he doesn't know won't hurt me." the Doctor growled before pushing a button.

Izuku screamed and writhed as an electrical shock surged down his body. He couldn't breathe. He couldn't see. He couldn't think or feel anything but the pain surging through. Izuku could feel it come from whatever weight was around his throat and clawed at it. Eventually it stopped and collapsed, exhausted at the energy it zapped away. Izuku laid on the floor breathing heavily, unable to move a muscle. The slightest motion sent another painful surge through him. The Doctor chuckled before quickly tapping the button which sent quick jolts through his body. Izuku bit back a scream and groaned not wanting to give the man the satisfaction he saw when he struggled and yelped when he stuck him with a needle.

"The Doctor apparently heard of man with a regeneration quirk and wanted to see if I could replicate it. He took the collar off that day because I hadn't tried anything in a while. Also it would look rather suspicious if I was seen with it on in public. When we were in a not so populated area I attacked him and made a break for it. It was then I saved Shinsou. He was so angry with me that we skipped out on the meeting and he dragged me back. I didn't know what he meant that I was in for until much later."

Year 3 (12-13)

The Doctor laughed maniacally as Izuku no longer struggled against the cuffs on his wrist. Between those and the collar he knew it was pointless at this point even if it gave him some joy to blast the Doctor's face like he did the first time. The man learned his lesson after Izuku finally understood how to activate his quirk and singed the man's ugly mustache. He would rather sit and behave than experience that pain again. He still didn't know what the man meant he'd get his real punishment for his stunt. The boy he apparently saved had been killed. The Doctor said he sent some villains that worked under their group after the child and to kill him on the spot without mercy. They could take their time if they wanted, but as long as the boy was dead, all he cared about was making sure Izuku understood that it was his fault someone else died. All because he couldn't behave himself. All he could do was sit there as the doctor would flip on and off a device that replicated his father's Quirk Activation quirk. It sent a painful surge through him that would make his hands pop before it would randomly cut off and relief graced him.

"I've finally done it! I've figured out his quirk!"

Izuku perked his ears up to pay attention even though the Doctor wasn't talking to him, but an audio only screen. Izuku knew he was talking to his father who survived the attack and was recovering, very slowly, but still would recover to where he could try again.

"Please enlighten us Doctor."

"Not quite like the marvelous All For One, but a quirk that allows the child to use any quirk he understands. That's why he can only use that wretched exploding quirk. However, when it's not activated to anyone looking he's quirkless. The final base form of all living creatures. The reason you are unable to take his quirk my dear Master is because you've only tried taking while he's not using it."

"Good work Doctor. No matter. I don't have a desire for such a quirk. I can just take whatever quirk I so desire. A good business man cuts out the middle and is willing to get their hands dirty to get what they want. He can keep it."

"Can I see about extracting the factor?"

"It might be useful for your future experiments if you're able to extract each new quirk he learns. Remember Doctor, do not permanently harm him."

"Of course."

"The Doctor was unsuccessful with his attempts when trying to extract it while forcing it on. Granted when it's forcibly activated it uses the whatever quirks I have stockpiled. I only knew Kacchan's at the time. He hated getting burned and could never get close. Apparently my quirk factor shuts off if it's not activated and works only for me. Derivative is compatible with only me. He didn't give up though and sought out for me to learn other quirks. I don't know why, but...that's where all the times I tried fighting back got people killed…"

Year 4 (13-14)

Izuku woke up strapped to a chair in what looked like an operating room he hadn't seen before. The other room was like a simple doctor's office. Izuku almost lost the nothing that was in his stomach seeing what was around him. The floor was covered in blood and he struggled against the bindings. There laid on the table was a man he had never seen before whose eyes were covered. He really hoped they weren't dead or had been kidnapped like him. He really didn't want someone else to go through-

"Who the fuck is there?" the man asked. Izuku jumped at the man's deep, harsh, strained voice. It sounded like he had gone hoarse from screaming, but he did sound rather young. "Don't fucking be a creep, I can hear you breathing."

"I-I'm sorry. I can't leave."

"The fuck? A child? Why the hell is a child here?"

"I-I've been here a while."

The air around them got quiet and neither said a word for what seemed to be quite a while. He could hear the man's harsh breathing and Izuku could see enough of the man's face to see he was in deep thought.

"How old are you, kid?" he said, breaking the silence.

"T-thirteen."

"They take you too?"

"S-something like t-that."

"Fuck. Sorry kid. I might be a criminal, but at least I've got some fucking standards."

"I-it's okay. So what's your quirk? Mine let's me copy others if I know what it does." Izuku asked, trying to make conversation with the man. He liked quirks. That should be a safe conversation.

"It's called Blink and allows me…"

Izuku paid attention to the man as he explained what his quirk did. That explained why they covered his eyes. He felt an itch in his own eyes as he fully thought through what the man's quirk did. Did he? Is that how his quirk allowed him to?

"Do me a favor kid? Use it to get out–"

The man's body lunged off the table as an electrical shock flowed into his body from the cords connecting to him. The man screamed and gagged as blood burst out of his mouth coating everything around him. It was from either internal damage or his shredded vocal cords. With the lights flashing Izuku could see stitch marks littering his skin that also oozed blood painting everything red that shined against the sparks. The floor. The table. The equipment. Izuku.

Izuku's eyes widened as a small amount of blood made distance in hitting his face. He watched as the man's hands gripped his binding so tightly they also started to bleed and his toes curled trying to ground himself. He coughed and when his body lurched fully up Izuku could see something was connected to his spine. Izuku attempted to close his eyes, but wasn't unable to block out the sounds. Eventually a large thud echoed and the screaming stopped. Izuku slowly opened his eyes and saw the man had just completely stopped. Izuku felt tears well up knowing the man was dead. He might have been a criminal, but at least he was kind to him. Izuku looked out the window to the hallway and blinked, finding himself there instantly.

A wave of dizziness overwhelmed him as he then collapsed on the floor and vomited bile. His throat burned as he sobbed. He hadn't eaten in days and for once he was thankful for that. The doctor only chuckled and said Izuku did his job. He learned the man's quirk before he conducted his experiment.

Ever since learning how to use the man's quirk the Doctor made sure to cover his eyes when he was forced to sit there. It just made it worse. Izuku listened to the people scream as their bodies were electrocuted, pulled apart, and attempted to be spliced back together again in pure darkness with only his imagination unwillingly filling in the blanks. With the sound splattering, he still could picture what their blood sounded like erupting from their bodies and hitting the floor. Izuku refused to talk to anyone else. He didn't bother to count how many people died.

Aizawa didn't say a word and felt lucky he only had coffee and a jelly packet earlier. That was…horrifying. It was worse than he thought. Whoever the hell was Izuku's father clearly didn't care about his son and what they put him through. They experiment on him. They physically and emotionally tortured him for some kind of personal gain. Aizawa had so much respect and admiration for the child next to him. He was still here. He decided after being encouraged and seeing life again that he wanted to still be here. Yes, he had been knocked down, but he crawled his way out of the depths of hell when he was finally given the chance. The kid who had given up on chances decided to take a chance on him. Aizawa was so thankful for how strong this kid's resolve was or he might have taken his own life to escape. Aizawa dreaded to ask if at any time in those years…did he? From what it seemed like Izuku's hero admiration, although slowly faded, never truly died.

Izuku's harsh breathing accompanied the new wave of tears and Aizawa caught it in time he looked a little green. Swiftly grabbing the trashcan next to the coffee table he put it under Izuku just in time for him to throw up what he had eaten this morning. Hearing the kid puke his guts and then some made Aizawa wish he had found the kid earlier. There were so many opportunities and now he just felt like he failed this boy who he now supported as he retold his traumas. Even if he couldn't change what happened, he'd made to protect this kid with his life and always support him.

"It's okay. We can stop for today." Aizawa said as he rubbed his back.

"No!" Izuku yelled before steeling himself and wiping his face. "Sorry. There isn't much left. I can do it. I have to do this. For that man…for them…it was then I was where you found me…"

Year 5 (14-15)

The Doctor killed so many more people in front of him and Izuku refused to talk to every single one of them. He also learned that he couldn't extract the individual factors of each quirk Izuku copied because at its base it was still just his quirk. Izuku refused to train it to where he might be able to do it himself. Eventually the old man became so fed up with him and only wanted this child with a blank stare out of his sight. Telling his father, he said just let Tomura and Kurogiri look after him. Maybe this boy would learn something and that was what Kurogiri was made for after all. Not after painfully trying to take his quirk again, but failed. However, his father's grin was unsettling.

"Tomura. This is Izuku." a voice said over the television.

Izuku barely looked up to see a white long haired boy with red eyes sneer down at him.

"What is he, an NPC?" Tomura asked.

Izuku raised an eyebrow at the odd characteristic of this older boy in front of him. It went unnoticed.

"He'll be with you for the time being until I need him. Tomura, this child is important to me. Please see to it you don't touch him."

"As long as he doesn't piss me off then we won't have a problem." Tomura said, picking up a glass placing all five fingers around it.

Izuku watched carefully as the glass decayed into nothing. His own fingertips started to tingle at the sight and he willed his quirk to shut off before he touched anything.

"Whatever you do, don't let him see outside. Keep him locked up in a room without windows if you must." the Doctor commented.

He became Tomura's punching bag after that whenever he was pissed. At first Izuku tried to escape not wanting any more pain. But either using Kacchan's explosions, the man's Blink, or even decaying proved unaffected only pissing him off more. He also learned about the nasty side effects of his quirk. Izuku assumed it was from not properly training with it. He couldn't switch through quirks until like a minute after turning his quirk off and whenever he did so he burned with a fever. The stress of his quirk on his body that wasn't used to it. Izuku learned maybe it was easier to take it. In fear of upsetting his master, his father, although he didn't think Tomura knew about that, he never used his quirk on it. However, bruises would fade over time. Izuku didn't bother. What was the point anyway? Every time he ever tried escaping or helping anyone, someone ended up dead. They all died because of the choices he made. It was best to stop making choices. He wasn't getting out of there. No one was coming to save him and he certainly couldn't save himself.

"Then you found me and said Kacchan was still alive. I don't know. I just…I wanted to see him again. To see for myself that I actually was able to save someone." Izuku sobbed as he leaned his head back looking up at the ceiling as it blurred. He closed his eyes and let the everything out.

Aizawa took the chance to turn off the recorder before sliding over to sit directly next to him. Izuku only sobbed harder as Aizawa gently pulled him into his chest. He let Izuku just cry and hiccup as much as he wanted. The pillow long forgotten as Izuku wrapped his arms around him with his face buried in the capture-weapon.

"No one has died because of you. Bakugou is alive. His parents are alive. Hitoshi is alive. Those people aren't in pain anymore and we probably just like you. They were kidnapped and tortured by villains. You did not have any hand in killing those people who died. You are innocent. You are a child and shouldn't have to worry about anything except giving me gray hairs."

Izuku smiled and let out a small giggle as he finally composed himself.

"With your hair you'd be able to tell."

"I knew you were a little shit." Aizawa said, rolling his eyes and softly tapping him on the back of the head. They finally let go of each other and Aizawa admitted Izuku looked better. Yes his eyes were red and puffy, but those eyes now had a sense of hope to them he hadn't seen since the day he found him. "How are you feeling now?"

"Really proud of myself and I feel better than I have in a while." Izuku said even though the tears still pushed to escape.

"I'm so glad to hear that. I'm proud of you too and it will only continue to get better." Aizawa said getting up and going to the desk to grab something. "I figured I'd give this back to you."

Izuku's green eyes narrowed in on a notebook, but gasping in surprise. Aizawa then handed it to him and Izuku saw 'Hero Analysis For the Future #10' written on the cover. Izuku let out a small smile and shaky breath as he flipped it open just to see it for himself. However, when he reached a page there was another piece of paper nestled in the crease. He didn't remember putting this in there. Izuku carefully opened it.

-Goggles used to not tell who and where he's looking. You're right, kid, good job.

-Does that mean it needs a direct line of sight to work? Could his quirk be used to erase another person's quirk through glass? I just have to see the person. I do however have control of who's quirk I'm erasing in my line of sight.

-Can the quirk bounce off mirrors and hit targets behind him? Haven't tried that yet. Might be useful.

-Hair raises when using quirk. Most likely falls when inactive. Where did you find this info?

-Could he tie it back in order to not give it away when it's active? It breaks out of any holders…I've tried.

-Does this affect the special cloth he uses? Do they resonate with one another? Seriously? Maybe I'll tell you about it sometime. Even teach you how to use it.

-Doesn't appear to work on mutant types. Nope so that's why I don't let them get close. I can, however, erase the expression if something is used from that. Ex. People with gun fingers. I can stop the bullets from firing. The mutation doesn't go away, just stops working.

-A special cloth is used to snare multiple villains at once. Useful support for long distances so those whose quirks he can't erase stay as far away as possible. Yes. It's very useful and designed to only listen to my commands.

-An agile fighter so he needs to be fast and stealthy. You're correct. Where did you find this? I know there's like only a small blurry clip of me.

-ESSENTIALLY QUIRKLESS! Anyone can be a hero. Even quirkless. Quirks are tools in a toolbox and you've got the biggest toolbox ever kid. Even if All Might is an idiot. he's not wrong, quirks are what you make of them.

He answered his questions. And…even quirkless he could have…Izuku looked to Mr. Aizawa and started crying again. This meant so much to ten year old and now fifteen year old him.

"Oh geez kid."

"No. They're happy tears, I promise. Thank you so much. For everything." Izuku said, giving him a smile.

"I'll be here kid. Even if you go somewhere I'll always be there because you deserve to have people in your corner."

Izuku bit his lips. He like Mr. Aizawa a lot. He was so kind and patient with him despite what he may look like or what his students might say. Sure, that room in his apartment was his for as long as he wanted, but when would he have overstayed his welcome? Would he keep Izuku around longer even after guaranteeing his safety? Izuku wanted to stay and not just because he didn't have anywhere else to go.

"Thank you, Shouta." Izuku said.

Aizawa let a slight smile grace his face as he ruffled the kid's hair.

'Finally.' Aizawa thought.

The door then opened and Aizawa's smile disappeared into a narrowed eyed scowl. Who the fuck…

"Ah Aizawa, sorry to barge in." Yagi said.

"No you're not or you wouldn't have done it.

"My apologies. I just finished talking with Tsukauchi. If you don't mind, may I speak with–"

"No." Aizawa cut him off before turning to Izuku. "I texted Bakugou to meet outside the lounge for lunch. Get yourself something to eat. You can come back here or go to the nurse's office if you feel more comfortable than staying in the lunchroom. With your permission Izuku, can I pass this along to Hound Dog as well? The police will take the statement to help build a case once we catch those villains, but as the counselor he might get a better understanding of how to help. That way you also don't need to go through this again unless you want to. I won't without your permission."

"I'd prefer that, thank you. I'm not ready to talk about all that or again right now. I want to learn how to move forward." Izuku answered.

"You will. Thank you. Again, you were really brave and I'm proud of you. I have to stay after school for a while for a staff meeting so will you be alright walking back to the apartment with Bakugou by yourself? It's fine if not, you're more than welcome to wait here. Tonight can be a takeout and do what we want. Does that sound good?"

"I think that'll be okay. Yeah, I would like that." Izuku said. It would be fine. Aizawa's apartment wasn't far from campus and Kacchan would be with him. Walk home with Kacchan. It'd been so long since the last time they'd done that. It would feel normal to do so again. Kacchan would protect him if anything happened and Shouta was a phone call away.

"COME ON NERD! TIME'S A WASTING!"

"Why is he so loud?" Aizawa groaned at hearing Bakugou from across the rooms and out the door.

"Because he's blond." Izuku mumbled.

Aizawa held back the snort and pointed for him to go meet his friend. Bakugou blew up his phone when he first messaged, but told him Izuku would be fine. He also told him about walking home together and Bakugou said 'duh and he wasn't leaving until he got home.' Aizawa didn't want him to or expected him to. Once he was sure the kids had long gone he turned around at the smaller form of the number one hero.

"Now, what the hell do you want with him?" Aizawa snarled as his eyes flashed.

Aizawa took pleasure watching him squirm.

"Hey nerd. Everything okay?" Bakugou asked.

"I'm fine Kacchan. I, uh, told Shouta about what happened. Everything." Izuku answered.

Bakugou didn't let Izuku know that was relieved to hear it. He wasn't going to tell the nerd he also slipped some things out to their teacher when he panicked earlier. If Izuku already told him, then there was no reason for him to know. "Thank you Kacchan."

"Huh? The fuck for?" Bakugou asked.

"For telling Shouta." Well fuck. Izuku already knew and luckily for him Izuku wasn't mad. "I felt better after telling you a little the other night and it was wrong of me to place that burden on you. I was kind of aware when I overheard you and knew I needed to be brave like you and tell someone. I'm sorry and I promise things will get better."

A nag in Bakugou reminded him that this was the part of Izuku that made him hate him all those years ago. That hate which had turned into admiration as Izuku took every situation he was in as a chance to grow stronger. He wasn't going to pry about everything Izuku had gone through until he was ready, but he certainly wasn't going to leave him. This nerd was finally coming back. It was slow, but Bakugou couldn't wait until he set his sights on the boy who challenged him to be better.

"They will so it's whatever. Damn nerd." Bakugou grumbled although there wasn't any bite, but minor fondness. "So I grabbed our food already. It's totally up to you, but can we stop by the classroom for a second?"

"Sure. Did you forget something?" Izuku asked.

"Not exactly." Bakugou said as he opened the door and Izuku was met with the other eighteen faces of 1A.

Izuku's eyes went wide for a second unsure what was going on. He then noticed they all looked like kicked puppies. Shinsou gave him a quirk nod that it was going to be okay. The panic that started to rise died quickly at his reassurance and then them yelling in tandem.

"WE'RE SORRY!" They all chorused.

Izuku jumped a little at the volume before scrambling.

"Oh it's okay! Please don't worry about it!"

"Listen to him! He's adorable!" a pink haired girl said. "I'm Mina Ashido!"

"Right! We should introduce ourselves!" a brown haired girl said. "My name's Ochako Uraraka!"

"My name is Tenya Iida and I am the class representative!"

"Denki Kaminari!"

"Ejirou Kirishima!"

"Hanta Sero!"

"It's a pleasure. I'm Momo Yaoyorozu, the class vice representative."

One by one they all shouted their names. Izuku thinks he's got everyone down. If not, he can always ask Shinsou. He knew better than to ask Kacchan. He'd get some crass nickname and still be lost.

"It's super nice to meet everyone." Izuku said, smiling.

"Dude, I know Mr. Aizawa said we're not supposed to ask because you're in witness protection, but like, are you okay? I mean doing alright?" Sero asked.

Izuku looked at the new smiling faces of people who wanted to get to get to know him better. They were all actually just as Shouta said. A little rowdy, but all kind-hearted teens who all had goals to become heroes. This morning he wasn't sure. He was fidgety and nervous. Now, he felt like someone removed the weight off his chest. He could breathe deeply and not feel anything other than the relaxation that followed.

"I am now."

Izuku and Bakugou walk back together to Shouta's apartment talking about how the rest of the day went. After they apologized they were a lot calmer and the boy that had the electrical quirk, Kaminari, profusely apologized which Izuku forgave immediately because he had nothing to be sorry for.

Izuku was excited after finally meeting the rest of 1A and now had seventeen new phone numbers added to his phone with each one tagged along saying to let them know if he ever needed them. The only person's he didn't get was Todoroki's. Izuku only learned who he was from Shinsou as the boy barely glanced at Izuku before walking out the classroom. Regardless, they were all so cool and had really interesting quirks. His own buzzed with his excitement hearing about them and he wondered which ones he could learn how to use.

They all ate together in the classroom talking about their favorite things that Izuku took notes to check out later. This would be a good way to find things he liked if his new classmates and possible friends recommended it. They finished up with their classes for the day and Izuku felt like a kid again who was excited after his first to go back again. Sending a quirk text to Shouta that he was fine walking home they set out to get there as soon as possible. He may have gotten a response about no detours and if there was a place he wanted to check out they could do so later.

"Well nerd, was UA what you thought it would be?" Bakugou asked.

"And then some Kacchan!" Izuku answered with a hopeful smile. "Even if I don't actually get admitted it's nice to at least have the experience!"

"You'll get in you damn nerd. You're smart as shit."

"Kacchan. UA trains heroes and I can't be one."

"I'm really tired of this can't shit." Bakugou grumbled. He would beat the idea into Izuku if he had too. Izuku Midoriya didn't just give up being a hero. As much shit he was put through before his kidnapping didn't do anything to this resolve. Bakugou knew what this was. Doubt. He went through something similar. For a little while after being told over and over again that Izuku was gone, he couldn't do anything, he thought about it...not being a hero. But he remembered who he is and who Izuku is. They didn't give up for shit and just needed to work past the wall that was put in front of them. Bakugou blew his to pieces, but there were still a few larger sections still getting his way, but at least he knew they could be gotten over. Izuku just needed to do the same.

"But Kacchan–"

The sounds of squishy and popping substance stopped them both in their tracks. They each turned around to see a villain made of grotesque sewage green slime with ugly yellow eyes and large teeth grinning down at them.

AN: Uh oh...an ugly familiar face. I didn't just exclude the sludge villain. He's mainly here just to make a mess of a couple things and pull some explanations on others. A useful plot device :D

Oh, since the readers here aren't used to my writing yet, I'll tell you ahead of time so you're not shocked...it's described as being an asshole. I write cliffhangers like it's a job and I am not sorry. I also tend to make it hurt and/or leave suspense too. You'll see more later. ;)

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