Izu-10

by Searchsnake00103

When a powerful device called the Omnitrix clamps itself onto Izuku midoryia, he must learn to use his powers to help him on his journey of becoming a hero. Will he be able to make it to U.A, or will he fall to an evil warlord bent on universal conquest?

8. A small problem

Hello everyone, Searchsnake00103 here to bring you the newest chapter of Izu-10. Now, you're all probably asking the same thing. Where was I? Well, I decided to take a brief break during the winter season (because I really hate the cold) and start back up once it warmed up again. I'm really sorry for keeping you guys waiting for almost a whole year and I'll try to pick up production. Sorry about keeping you guys waiting.

In this chapter, we'll be introduced to a fan favorite alien that'll be added to Izuku's arsenal. So I hope you're all excited for that.

Before I begin however, there's something I would like to address. In the reviews, I saw that someone was questioning my choice of aliens for Izuku. Like why I have two "fire" aliens or two "ghostly" aliens. And with that I only have this to say.

While yes, some aliens do possess similar abilities, they also have their own strengths and weaknesses as well. No two aliens are the same.

Take Heatblast and NRG for example. While it is true that they share some similarities, such as generating great heat, being fireproof, and surviving in cold climates they also have some powers that separate them. NRG fires beams of pure radiation rather than fire and his containment suit greatly increases his durability and strength, but without it he can fly and his agility is enhanced, and he can create lava geysers by channeling his heat into the ground. Heatblast on the other hand only shots out flames, though he can actually control the shape of these flames and can make them explode if he wanted, plus it's stated in the wiki that he can actually teleport and if he wants to fly he either needs to continuously propel himself with his flames or use a piece of burning rubble like a surfboard.

Another example would be Ghostfreak and Big Chill. Yes, they both have "ghostly" powers, but one uses cyrokinesis to freeze enemies in place while the other one can possess people and imitate them.

My point is, no two aliens in the Ben 10 series is the same. They all have their own unique strengths and weaknesses. Even aliens like XLR8 and Fasttrack, who on the surface just have super speed, have their own differences.

Sorry if it seemed like I was ranting, I just wanted to get that off my chest.

Speaking of, just one last thing to discuss before I get on with the chapter. In case I wasn't clear on their designs, I'll be going over a very brief explanation of what Izuku's Aliens look like real quick.

Heatblast: Classic design

Fourarms: Classic design

Upgrade: Classic design

Diamondhead: Classic design

Ghostfreak: Combination of his Classic/Ultimate Alien/ Omniverse designs. Classic voice.

Snare-Oh: Omniverse design with Classic voice.

Waterhazard: Ultimate Alien design

Big Chill: Alien Force design

NRG: Ultimate Alien design

Goop: Alien Force body with Omniverse U.F.O/Omnitrix device

Anyway, without further a due. Here is:

A Small Problem.

My Hero Academia is owned by Horikoshi

Ben 10 is owned by Cartoon Network

---

If there was anything Izuku hated about school (other then the constant bullying by his peers and teachers, the general state of disrepair, and the staff that did the bare minimum of their jobs), it was the fact that his teacher was just so goddamn boring. Class has been in session for about twenty minutes already, and the teachers flat monotone voice was already making his eyelids feel heavy. And, as he tiredly glanced around the classroom, he could see he wasn't the only one as students were either quietly yawning, resting their heads on their desks, or both. Hell, some of them were already asleep, and he couldn't really couldn't blame them.

"-nd that students is how the entertainment industry was forever saved by the emergence of quirks in the early 22nd century." Their teacher, a balding blonde middle-aged man, was currently going over the history of quirks. However, judging by the heavy bags and tired look on his face, Izuku could easily tell this man would rather be anywhere but here. "Now if you turn your notebooks to page…. 203? Eh, somewhere around that, we can discuss how-."

Izuku couldn't help but roll his eyes over the lackluster job his teacher was doing. Seriously, he gets teaching him and his classmates isn't exactly something one would call glamorous, but he could at the very least try to put some effort into his job. Izuku was glad he was one of the smarter students here, cause if he got his education from this guy, he doubted he'd be able to find a job as a cashier, let alone a business worker. Honestly, Izuku was amazed this man was allowed to become a teacher in the first place.

Letting out a bored, weary sigh from his lips, Izuku glanced out at the window and stared at the earlier morning sky. As he looked out, his mind thought back to how things had been as of late.

It'd had been a week ever since the "arcade incident" with Himiko, as he liked to call it, and things had certainly been different for him. The first being with All Might. Ever since he told the Number One Hero about Himiko discovering his secret, the blonde wasn't too pleased to hear. As soon as the two of them met up, All Might had been quick to scold the boy for his "recklessness", before asking the greenette several overwhelming questions about the girl. Thankfully for Izuku though, he was able to calm All Might down after assuring the man that Himiko didn't seem like the type to expose his secret. Though, while he might've been able to talk the blonde down, the Pro Hero was still weary, and has been constantly telling Izuku to keep a close eye on the girl. Izuku thought the Hero might've been acting a wee bit paranoid, but after thinking about it for awhile, Izuku could see what he was getting at.

The second, and major, change lately though was the fact that he now had a friend. An honest to God friend that actually thought he was cool, and wanted to talk with him. Him, of all people! And while yes, they haven't really seen each other in person since the arcade, Himiko had been frequently calling and texting him almost none stop. Everyday, after finishing up with school and his vigilante training, the two of them would talk over the phone about how their days went, with Himiko gushing over the latest escapades he did as a "hero". Over the week, as the two would spend hours talking with one another, they were able to learn many things about one another as well. Both of them were able to learn each other's favorite colors, foods, genres of music, movies, as well as a little bit about their families and lives too. Though, only little tidbits. Izuku couldn't tell her everything about himself after all.

Regardless of that, however, Izuku was finding himself becoming more and more attached to the girl as the days went by. It had been so long since he's had someone to whom he could talk with without fear of ridicule, and the fact that she already saw them both as friend's was actually rather touching for the greenette. To finally have someone, (other than his mother), that he can call a friend is quite honestly something he enjoys greatly. And suffice to say, Izuku was actually looking forward to the next time the two of them would meet together in person again. Himiko had been texting him crazy about that after all. Maybe this weekend the two of them can meet up at the mall again and see where the day takes them.

'Yeah.' Izuku thought, as he felt a small smile tug at his lips. 'That actually sounds pretty nice.'

---

If you were to pick one word to describe Katsuki Bakugou, you'd have a long list to pick from. For the many people who had the (unfortunate) pleasure of meeting him, they would describe him as wrathful, egotistical, narcissistic, petty, smug, cruel, and etc. However above all else, one of Katsuki's most defining traits is his hatefulness.

Now, there were a lot of things Katsuki hated. The constant squawking of his old hag, his worthless lackeys that did nothing but kiss his ass, (though his ego certainly did enjoy the praise), rescue heroes or heroes with weak quirks, and the quirkless. He especially hated those genetic freaks of nature with a passion. However, right now in this moment, the one thing he hated was the annoying ass droning of his so called "teacher". Seriously, this worthless extra is so damn boring he's tempted to pop off his quirk to stay awake. Hell, maybe the sudden noise would surprise his teacher enough he'll start speaking with some type of emotion.

"-nd that is why the Australians lost the second great Emu War. If it weren't for Emu's laser eyes, then perhaps those poor unfortunate souls wouldn't have been lost so soon. Moving on, shortly afterwards they-."

Katsuki threw his head back as he mentally groaned in annoyance. Here he was, sitting around listen to some worthless ass history lesson when he could be doing something a thousand times better, yet he's stuck here with no way out. This was such bullshit! He was going to be the world's number one hero! He shouldn't be wasting his time with something the lower class scum should deal with!

"Psst, hey Miku." Behind him a few desks back, Katsuki heard one of his classmates, a male one, whisper to another. "Did you see the news last night?"

Another voice, female by the sound of it, answered back. "Uh, not really I had a lot of homework the other night so I didn't really get the chance too."

"What!? So you didn't see that story about the armored vigilante then?!." The male responded back.

"Ooooohhhhh." Miku whispered in realization. "Yeah I did see that! One the way to school I got a notification regarding that, and I watched it one the way here!" The girl explained, much to the students glee.

"Well I'm glad you did! Did you see how crazy that guy was?! He was all like 'phew! phew!' with those lasers of his, and they melted that one guys steel barrier thing!" The male student explained, sounding like a giddy child as he did so.

Miku giggled at her classmates excited tone before responding. "Yeah, that was cool. But what about the part where the villains tried running him over with that armored truck? You gotta admit that, that was much cooler!"

"Oh God your right!" The male said, remembering that part. "I was worried the guy was a goner at that moment! But when I saw the truck slam into him, I was amazed that he wasn't even phased by it! Hell, I don't think he noticed the thing slamming into him like that!"

"He must've." The girl chimed in. "Cause shortly after that he melted the driver's door and tossed him out on the street. God, the look on the villains face was just priceless."

"You're telling me." The student said with a chuckle. "But man, those vigilante guys are so awesome! I swear, every day there's a new story featuring them and they just keep getting more awesome with each one!"

"Right?" Miku said. "Seriously, how're those guys not Pro's? With how they act, you could swear they were trained by U.A!"

The male shrugged his shoulders. "Beats me. Though if they were Pro's, I have no doubt they'd end up in the top ten. Hell, they could probably even be better than All Might himself."

The girl rolled her eyes. "Pft, as if. They're good, but there's no way they could be better than All Might. Heck, nobody could match that guy. Though, I'm sure they could best Endeavor and Hawks with no trouble."

"Hehe, true that." The male laughed.

As the two students continued to silently whisper back at one another Katsuki, who had been listening to the whole thing, gritted his teeth in anger as he felt his blood start to heat up. That was another thing he hated deeply with a burning passion. Those good for nothing, loser vigilantes.

Ever since those freaks started popping up it's been 'vigilanites' this and 'vigilanites' that! Everywhere he went those worthless extras would always be the talk of the town, and not even his own home was safe as they'd always pop up on the damn news every night! And it was seriously starting to piss him off! If anyone should be deemed worthy of praise it was him! Not a group of nobody freaks who weren't even heroes! So what if they stopped a bunch of villains, if those extras could do it then he most certainly could without a doubt! He was going to become the next number one hero! Not those abominations! And once he was number one, he'd make sure to put those freaks in their place by finishing them off!

But for now though, he'd have to bid his time and wait. He can't risk ruining his chances of becoming the number one by breaking the law. Even if he did find it infuriating.

With an irritated sigh, Katsuki looked around the room to get his mind off those no good vigilantes, but unfortunately the room was filled with what he'd expect. Bored, tired students who looked ready to fall asleep. Deku looking out the window with a smile on his face. The teacher mindlessly spouting out some worthless crap he'd probably repeated a thousand times over. The same boring walls and floo-.

'Hold up a second.' Katsuki thought as realized something. Turning his head back, the blonde saw that Deku was indeed looking out the window. But most importantly it looked like he was…. smiling?

What the hell was worthless, quirkless Deku so happy about? Everyone else in class looked ready to pass out from sheer boredom, and yet the damn nerd looked like he was in complete bliss, as if he was having a pleasant thought or something? Which is just bullshit, cause honestly, what kind of reject would have a pleasant thought? The only thoughts he should be having are ones of misery and pain, that way he'll be reminded everyday that he's a good for nothing defect in society.

Actually, now that he thinks about it, the damn nerd has been a little high in spirits lately, especially this past week. The worthless scum might not have shown it on the outside, but Katsuki could tell that there was something going on in the greenette's head. And it infuriated him to no end.

Was the little shit still thinking about applying to U.A, even after he gave him a vicious gut punch and told him off weeks ago? That has to be the reason, it wouldn't make much sense otherwise. U.A and heroes are the only things that'll put a smile on that spineless crybabies face anymore.

Damn that Deku! How many times does he need it to be beaten into that thick skull of his that he has no chance at a place such as U.A?! Hell, Katsuki doubted that the scrawny nerd couldn't even get into some crap ass highschool in the worst city in Japan! Yet no matter how many times he's told, that useless freak just keeps trying no matter what! It was a trait Katsuki loathed the most!

It looks like that useless Deku needs to be put back in his place again. It's been a while since he gave the damn crybaby a good beat down anyway, so he thought it was time for a good workout. Though he'll have to wait till after school to do so. The last thing he wanted was to listen to the worthless extras hoot and holler when he's trying to workout, he just wants to be alone for that moment. But that was fine he could wait until he and his punching bag were nice and alone, he's patient enough for that. Though he will have his two henchmen on standby. He needs someone to keep the nerd still after all.

Cracking an evil smirk, Bakugou quietly snickered. He couldn't wait to dish out the freak's punishment. He'll be sure to savor every second of it.

---

The day progressed as usual for the students of Aldrea Junior High, and by the time the sun was high in the sky, they were already halfway through with the "torturous" experience they call school. Currently, a large majority of students could be found in the messhall, chowing down on their bento boxes or whatever food the school provided, talking amongst one another about God knows what. Though there were a few students either hanging out in the hall having conversations of their own, sitting around the library studying, or gathered up in the bathrooms smoking some well…. psychedelic substances.

Though for one Izuku Midoriya however, instead of doing any of those things, he was peacefully eating his packed lunch in the one place he considers to be safe here. And what place is that you might be wondering? Well, it's none other than the school rooftop of course. More specifically, it was the spot directly behind the stairwell leading up to the roof. Cause usually when someone came up here, they'd just glance around at the rooftop entrance before going back down. So Izuku didn't have to worry about anyone finding him here.

Speaking off, Izuku was currently gazing up at the clouds above while taking a bit from his lunch now and then, which was homemade takoyaki his mother prepared. As he ate, his mind wandered as he simply took in the fresh air around him. He wasn't thinking of anything serious however, just typical things any teenage boy thinks about. Or at least, typical for him. He was wondering if there'd be any news on his favorite Pro Heroes after school, or if he should get some new notebooks for his quirk analysis on the way home, or if he should head on down to Dagobah to get in some training. He wasn't really too sure to be honest, guess he'll have to see once classes are over.

And thankfully, Izuku doesn't have to wait that long. Once lunch finishes up, there'll be three more classes left to worry about, and after that he can finally leave this dump. That might've sounded mean, sure, but considering the schools poor staffing and that he's treated like less than dirt because of his quirklessness, Izuku could care less about what he has to say about this pathetic excuse for a school. If anything, the whole building needs to be razed and replaced with something better, like a parking lot or something. At least then the property would be put to a better use.

Finishing off another takoyaki ball, Izuku let out an annoyed huff. He was doing it again, he was letting this fucking school get into his head and ruin his mood. He doesn't need that right now, not during this alone time. Taking a deep breath, Izuku began to push out any thoughts of Aldrea from his mind and focus on other things. Like what he should do to help with his training and how to get a better grip on his aliens. There is something he has been wanting to try out with Heatblast lately regarding his Pyrokinetic abilities and flame absorption, so perhaps he'll do that once he gets the-.

Ping!

Izuku jumped slightly at the unexpected sound before calming himself down once he realized it was his phone letting him know of a notification. Looking down at his left pant pocket, the greenette raised a brow as he began pulling the phone out. Who on Earth could be trying to reach him during school hours? He made sure to shut off any notifications from the various hero sites he frequented and his mom and All Might wouldn't text him, so who could be trying to contact him, a scam caller or something?

Pulling out the phone and turning the screen on, Izuku was surprised to see that the thing responsible for the pinging sound was a text from none other than Himiko. Or as he put down in his contacts, Toga.

This caused him to raise a questioning brow. What the heck was she doing trying to text him during school hours? Shouldn't she be in class or something?

Toga: Hey there Izu-Kun! Sorry if I'm bothering you in class right now, but I just wanted to see what you're up too.

After reading the message Izuku, unsure of what to do, decided to quickly type in his response with his thumb.

You: Uh, hey there Himiko. I'm just having some lunch right now, so you're not really bothering me. Though, you did kinda surprise me by sending that text.

Shortly after hitting send, it took almost no time for him to get an immediate response.

Toga: Hehe, sorry about that Izu-Kun, but at least you didn't get it while you were still in class at least. I know that was probably dumb of me, but I was so excited to get ahold of ya that I really couldn't wait.

While Izuku couldn't help but agree that what she did was pretty reckless, he couldn't exactly fault her for her actions. He knew how eager she could be, if their phone calls this past week were anything to go by.

You: It's fine Himiko, you texted during lunch so there's no harm done. Though, if you don't mind me asking, why are you texting me right now of all times? Don't you have classes or something, or are you also on your lunch break too?

After sending his message, Izuku reached for another takoyaki ball in his bento and placed the delicious morsel in his jaws. The second he began chewing on it, he received another text.

Toga: Actually, that's why I'm texting you right now! Earlier there was an incident in one of the school's chemistry labs. Apparently some dumbass tried mixing ammonia with bleach and didn't know it was the recipe for mustard gas, and as a result a good chunk of the school was flooded with a cloud of poison. Luckily though everyone was able to evacuate the building in time. So while health officials are busy cleaning the school of the gas, the principal decided to give us all the rest of the day off!

"Jesus." Izuku mumbled. While he was glad no one was caught in the toxic cloud, the greenette couldn't help but feel discomfort after reading that sentence.

You: Geeze. Well, I'm glad to hear you and your schoolmates are okay Himiko. I hope the official's will be able to safely get that poison out of the school as soon as possible.

After a second he got a response.

Toga: Aww, thanks Izu-Kun, that's so sweet of you! Don't worry about the gas though, I'm sure those guys will be able to get everything all fixed up by tomorrow.

Toga: But anyway, besides that noise, I thought that since I'm outta school much earlier than usual, I thought we could meet and hang out once you got out of school. It's kinda been a while since we last saw each other face to face, and I figured it was time we had another fun outing. Hopefully no stupid villains decide to turn up like last time, lol.

Izuku slightly blushed at this unexpected text. Earlier he thought about asking her to hang out once the weekend started, but to see she already wanted to hang out this soon was certainly something he didn't see coming. With a hum, Izuku thought about her offer. Usually, during a school day Izuku would be busy with either vigilante work or training down at Dagobah Beach. Buuuut, considering someone his age wanted to hang out with him, (and it being a cute girl no less) Izuku thought that it wouldn't hurt to take one day off. After all, Musutafu had plenty of Heroes to work with, and he's been making a lot of progress on cleaning the beach. So why not?

You: Sure Himiko, that sounds nice. Where do you want to meet up at? Should we go to the arcade from last time, or maybe meet at the mall fountain?

After sending his text, Izuku reached for a bottle of water resting beside his bento and took a swig from the drink. As the cool refreshing liquid traveled down his throat, he got another text from Toga.

Toga: Actually, I was wondering if you could give me the address of your school. That way once your classes are over we could meet up just outside the main doors and we'd be able to talk about where to go.

"PPPHHHHHFFFFTTTTTT!" Water sprayed from Midoriya's mouth as his eyes bulged widely from their sockets. Once he was done spraying like a fountain, Izuku tightly clutched his phone and stared intensely at the small screen, hoping that he misread what she texted. Sadly though, no matter how many times he looked over it, the text said what he had read, much to his horror. With the speed of a mad man, Izuku began frantically texting back.

You: What! You wanna meet me at my school?! Why?! What's wrong with meeting at the arcade or mall?! Surely you don't wanna meet up at my old, dinghy school?! If you wanna meet up someplace, there's this nice little restaurant I know, it's definitely better than here! Ahehehe.

Sending the text, Izuku silently prayed that she would just say yes to meeting at the small little diner he and his mother would frequent sometimes. He knew he might be acting a little…. Irrational, but could you really blame him? If his schoolmates, or worse Kacchan, saw him with her, there's no telling what could happen. They could make the torment he suffers here even more, or start harassing her for being associated with the school loser, or worst of all, what if she accidentally blabbed his secret to them?!

While she knew he had a secret identity, Toga had no idea about his quirkless status at school. So if one of his schoolmates told her about it she'd probably be confused and state that he did have a quirk or something, and you can bet news like that would spread quickly. Some students might brush off such a claim, but he knew that if Kacchan heard that he had some kind of "secret quirk", the explosive boy's harassment would get far worse and might actually demand that he'd show off his "quirk". And we all know Izuku can't do that no matter what.

Before Izuku could continue thinking about the worst of the situation, a new text from Himiko broke him from his spiel.

Toga: Hey, chill out Izu-kun! You aren't having a heart attack or something are you?

Well, she wasn't exactly wrong there. His heart felt like it was gonna explode any second.

Toga: What's the deal with not meeting up outside your school? You don't want your classmates to see me with you or something?

Upon reading the text, the gears in Izuku's head began to turn ever so slowly. Yes, his classmates! They're all total jerks! If he told her that they were complete pricks, that might be enough to keep her away from the place!

You: Yes. Though not because I'm embarrassed of being seen with you though! You see the area my school is located in isn't exactly what I'd call ideal, so my schoolmates aren't really the type of people you'd want to meet. And I'm not exactly the most well liked person here, so I don't want them messing with you too.

Sending his message, Izuku felt confident that would be enough to deter her from coming anywhere near this godforsaken place. Sadly though, her next few messages would prove him wrong.

Toga: Wait, what? What do you mean by that Izu-Kun? Are you saying that you're bullied or something?

Crap! Izuku was at a lost, he had no idea what to say?! He can't just go sharing something so personal like that with someone he's only known for a week! He had to change the subject!

Sadly though, as he was halfway through typing up a (poor) excuse, he got another message from Himiko.

Toga: Actually you know what, don't answer that. This sounds like something that should be asked in person. We can talk about it when we meet up later. For now though, I just wanna say that whoever or whatever must be the biggest pricks ever if they mess with a guy like you! Seriously, even if they don't know about the whole vigilante thing, why would anyone want to pick on you of all people?! You're an awesome guy to talk with and be around, even if we've only been doing it for a short while!

Izuku would've felt somewhat touched by what the girl had to say, if that feeling wasn't canceled out by the uncomfortable dread he held towards the conversation they'd have later. He would've been hoping that she'd just forget it later, but he doubts that would be the case. Same with trying to get out of it.

Toga: And you know what, I think I know the perfect place we can hang. I know this awesome little cafe that serves the best food ever! We can hang out over there, eat and talk. Don't even worry about paying, it'll be my treat. Just give me the name or address of your school and I'll be out there to meet up with ya. And don't worry about little ol me either. I've had my fair share of dealing with shithead schoolmates, so I can take care of myself.

Izuku frowned as he read over the text but not about her offer, oh no, rather about her instance of meeting up outside his school. He didn't want to give her the name of Aldrea or it's location, but he knew if he didn't give her them, she'd probably be upset at his refusal, leading to one of two things. Either A, she decides to just call off their hang out, potentially damaging their newly found friendship or B, they do hang out but in turn she might ask about the school, something he wasn't all that keen on sharing.

Biting his lip, he weighed his options briefly before finally deciding on an answer.

You: Well, alright then. The place is called Aldrea Junior High on 1977 May street. You shouldn't be able to miss it. Just to be safe though, come over at 3:13 and meet by the fountain. That's when most of the students are gone by then so you won't have to deal with anyone.

Sending the message, Midoriya nervously swallowed down a wad of spit. He knew he was gonna regret doing this later, but he saw no other option. He just hoped that the cosmos above would take pity on him this day.

Toga: Ooo, that's convenient! Your school isn't too far away from the cafe! Bit of a walk to get there from where I'm at. Lol, oh well. See you in a few hours then Izu-Kun~!

You: Yup, see you then.

Sending the last text, the greenette let out a sigh as he pocketed his phone before looking up at the baby blue sky above, his lunch long forgotten about.

"Well this is just fantastic." He muttered sarcastically, not too thrilled with his situation. He had known Toga for like, what, one week? They only hanged out once for about a few hours and now she wanted to know about his school life. His shitty, miserable, school life.

Hooray.

Personally, he'd rather not discuss such things with her in the first place. Not because it was personal mind you, even though that did play a part, but because it was something he'd prefer to forget about as soon as possible. It's already bad enough his mom's gotta remind him of this wretched place everyday by asking him 'how was school' when he got home, but now a girl, one he's mostly talked to through his phone, wants to know if he's being bullied.

"Why me?" Izuku asked no one as he placed a hand on his face, dreading the eventual meet up. Maybe if he's fortunate enough, the questions she'll ask will be easy for him to deflect or lie about. Sure, that might seem rude to do, but it's not like he was proud of it. Plus, could you really blame him?

BBBBRRRRIIIINNNNGGGG

Midoriya was broken from his thoughts as the bell chimed throughout the school, signifying the end of lunch and that the students should begin making their way back to class. Deciding it would probably be best to think about this later, Izuku quickly picked himself up from the ground and grabbed his bento before making his way towards the roofs exit.

At least the rest of this day couldn't turn out worse, so there was that. Right?

---

(Time Skip)

---

BBBBRRRRIIIINNNNGGGG

As the final bell rang out through the building dozens of students, ranging from freshmen to seniors, began pouring their way out from their dinky little classrooms and crowded into the once empty hallways. The sounds of excited banter, lockers opening and closing, and hundreds of footsteps permeated the air as the middle schoolers began making their way towards the exits in large droves, elated that they were finally free to leave this place for the day.

It didn't take long for the students to clear out of Aldrea, in fact it only took five minutes or so for them to leave the premises, and by the time those students left there weren't that many people left in the building. The only ones who were still there were teachers who had to stay behind to grade papers and do other work, and a few handful of students who had to take a few remedial courses to keep up with their classmates. Though it wouldn't be long until they left as well.

However inside one of the school's now empty classrooms, there was one student who had decided to stay in place until everyone else left the school. That of course was one Izuku Midoriya, who was currently placing the last of his school supplies into his backpack at a leisurely pace. Once he had finished placing the last of his belongings into the yellow bag, the greenette slowly closed it up and quickly slung it over his shoulder as he began making his way out into the empty halls of middle school. His footfalls echoed slightly off the walls as he made his way.

Earlier after having disposed of his lunch and returning to class the rest of his school day went by rather uneventfully for the nervous teen as he simply had to listen to his teacher drone on about a lesson he really didn't pay that much attention to in class. Thankfully nobody seemed to notice that he wasn't really paying attention to class, so he didn't have to deal with his teacher calling him out or his classmates being annoying little pricks like they usually do. All he really did for the last few hours was simply stare down at his desk and pretend that he was taking down notes when in actuality he was counting down the clock until the final bell rang.

And now that school was finally out he had to head down towards the school courtyard and wait at least fifteen minutes until Toga showed up, something he wasn't really looking forward to. Even though the school was for the most part empty and a large majority of its students were long gone by now, Izuku knew that a few of his classmates liked to stick around and do whatever God knows what, meaning there was a potential risk of him being seen with Toga. And that was the last thing he wanted right now, so he had to keep an eye out.

Fortunately for him though, as he traveled through the barren hallways, he didn't see nor hear anyone nearby. And when he passed by a window that showed the courtyard below outside, he didn't see any students lingering around as he took a glance out. It seemed that the entire place was completely devoid of any life, besides the koi fish in the courtyard fountain of course.

'Maybe today's the day I catch my lucky break?' Izuku thought optimistically as approached an upcoming bend in the hallway he'd have to take to reach the exit. However as he began to round the corner-

Thump

-he felt the bottom of his leg bump into some unknown object, causing him to trip and fall down into the ground with a thud.

'Or I guess not.' Izuku thought bitterly as he rubbed his forehead, which had slammed hard into the tiled floor, though thankfully it wasn't too painful for the teen.

The teen, curious as to what it was he had tripped over, got up to a knee and was about to take a look. But before he could turn his head back, a snide nasally voice from behind him stopped him in his tracks. "Whoa Deku, that was a nasty little trip you took there."

Izuku's back stiffened in cold fear as he instantly recognized the voice, and knew that whoever was behind him could only mean one thing. Turning his head around, his emerald green eyes widened as his fears were confirmed. Standing behind him were the two bullies he had chased after as Ghostfreak days prior, and the perpetrator of the voice being the long fingered one. Both of them stood there smiling smugly, no doubt finding Midoriya's fall to be quite amusing. However they weren't what had the greenette all worried, no. Standing directly in front of the two delinquents was there no good ringleader, Katsuki Bakugou, with his signature scowl on his face.

"Deku." Bakugou venomously spat out as he eyed the frightened teen below him, no doubt pissed off about something, (When is he never?). What it was, Izuku couldn't tell in the slightest.

Nervously gulping, Izuku began to slowly pick himself up and getting ready to run should the need arise, (Which was a 99% guarantee.). "O-Oh, um, h-hey there K-Kacchan."

The second those words had left Midoriya's mouth, Bakugou immediately grabbed him by the collar of his uniform and lifted up into the air before slamming him into nearby lockers. "How many times do I have to tell you not to call me that you freak!" He screamed as he slammed Izuku's head into the lockers, causing the greenette to winch and the lackeys to giggle.

"Listen here, and listen well you Deku! You might think I haven't been noticing your damn attitude lately, but you're damn wrong about that! I saw the way you're acting earlier this morning, probably thinking you were hot shit or something! Well I got news for you shithead, you're not! You're nothing but a worthless freak who's not even fit to be a pebble on my road to greatness!" Bakugou slammed Izuku into the locker again, more forcefully this time.

Meanwhile, Izuku was scared and confused about what was going on. What the heck was Kacchan talking about?! His attitude?! How he acted earlier in the morning?! H-He acted the same way he does everyday! "W-What are you t-talking about?! I've b-been behaving th-the s-s-same way I d-do everyday?! I-I-I haven't b-been acting w-weird!"

One of the bullies behind Katsuki snickered. "You here that boss, he thinks you must be stupid or something. Can you believe this guy?"

Izuku's eyes widened further as he began stammering. "W-W-W-What?! Nonononono, I-I d-d-didn't say t-that! I-I ju-just have n-no idea w-what h-he's talking abo-!"

"SHUT IT NERD!" Katsuki howled, cutting off the greenette's ramblings. "Don't play dumb with me you no good wimp! I've seen the way you've been! Acting all happy and crap despite being a useless nobody! I saw the way you were smiling earlier in class! What exactly does a nobody like you have to be happy about?! Your plain looking ass shouldn't be able to feel such an emotion! The only thing you should feel is nothing but misery at the fact that you'll never amount to anything in this world!" As he listened to Bakugou bark out his cruel and unjust little rant, Izuku silently processed the blonde's words and was finally able to figure out what exactly had him so pissed off.

Kacchan was angry because…. he had been a little positive lately. What?

That, that was just ridiculous! Sure, Midoriya knew the explosion quirk user didn't like him, but to get so angry over someone being happy is just stupid and….petty. Really petty. He's fought against some small time villains before who had some really petty motives, but this was just something else. If it weren't for how terrified he was right now, Izuku would be ashamed by how Kacchan was acting.

"And I know exactly why you've been acting all happy-go-lucky too Deku." Bakugou said as he raised up his other hand and popped a few explosions threateningly. "You're worthless ass is still thinking about applying to U.A, isn't it?" Izuku didn't respond, instead he just stared at Bakugou's raised hand in fear. Snarling, he raised his hand closer to his victim's face. "Isn't it!"

"Y-Yes!" Izuku croaked out as he fruitlessly tried to squirm away from the small explosions popping near him. While it might not have been the exact reason why he was happy, Izuku knew answering anything else wouldn't do him any favors. Plus he still was intending on going to U.A, so he wasn't technically lying.

"Tch, what a surprise." One of Katsuki's lackeys, one who could enlarge his teeth, said with a sarcastic eye roll while the other one snickered.

Their leader on the other hand though was not so pleased, as his already furious expression just got a whole lot more vicious. "Grrrrh, you fucking reject! How many fucking times do I have to tell you to give it up?! It seems that no matter how many times I try to beat it into your thick skull, you never seem to take the fucking hint!" Then, as if a flip were switched, Katsuki gained a cruel smirk. "But that's fine with me! That just gives me a reason to test my quirk out on you!"

Lifting the frightened teen and spinning around, Katsuki threw the greenette at his two lackeys who easily caught him. Albeit, with some of the air knocked from their lungs.

"N-No! Let me go!" Izuku pleaded as the two lackeys clamped down on his arms and held him in place, causing him to frantically wriggle in a poor attempt to break free.

"Keep that fucking loser still you two extras! I like my punching bags to be still when I pulverize them!" Bakugou barked at the two, who complied immediately, before looking back at the squirming Midoriya. "As for you Deku, quit your whining and take your beating like the scum that you are. Quirkless losers like you have no right to even be thinking about U.A, and you especially have no right to even feel happiness! The only emotion your loser ass should feel is pain and misery at the fact that you're good for nothing! So learn your place, and accept it you fucking Deku!"

The two bullies holding Izuku down laughed cruelly while the frightened boy simply continued to squirm in their grasp. He couldn't believe what was going on, he was about to get beaten into a pulp all because he's been in a better mood lately?! Why the hell was he being punished for something like that?!

As Midoriya frantically continued to try and pry himself out of the grasps of Katsuki's henchmen the one that was holding onto his left arm moved on of his hands to grip Midoriya's wrist, but paused momentarily when he felt something rather odd beneath the sleeve. Curious, he rolled it up and saw that device that was clamped to the greenette. "Whoa, hey Bakugou, check this thing out!"

Everyone stopped in their tracks and turned their attention to the device on Izuku's arm, each person displaying a different reaction. Katsuki and the other bully were confused by the sudden interruption as they turned their gaze at the watch. Izuku on the other hand was completely white as a sheet, mortified that his tormenters are looking at the Omnitrix.

"What the hell is that thing?" The other bully asked as he leaned down to take a better look at it, only to be smacked in the head by Katsuki. "Gah!"

"What do you think it is extra?! It's obviously just a shitty watch! Have you gone blind all of the sudden?!" Katsuki yelled at the now frightened delinquent, clearly pissed off at the question.

"N-N-No Bakugou! It's just that, well, I've never seen a watch that's ever looked like that before!" The scared bully said as he pointed down at the device, before rubbing the spot Katsuki had struck earlier.

"H-He's gotta point boss." The other bully chimed in nervously. "I mean, just look at this thing. It's all bulky and is almost covering the nerd's entire forearm. Plus, I don't even see a clock or something on the face."

Katsuki clicked his tongue as he moved in for a closer look. "Let me see!" He yelled as he grabbed Midoriya's arm and brought it closer to his face. Inspecting the device, Bakugou could see what his two henchmen were getting at. He's not the most tech savvy person out there, but even he could tell that something wasn't right with this damn thing. For starters, why was it so huge and cumbersome? Smart watches, hell even regular watches, have come a long way these past hundred years. The technology is so advanced now that every wristwatch on the planet has a sleek and compact design. Second, what was up with the display? All there was, was just some dumb hourglass symbol on it. Where was the clock? Was it some kind of digital timer or something? Like, when activated would pixelated sand show up at the top and go down the bottom? If so, what kind of dumbass would design something like that?!

"Tch, where the hell did you find this piece of crap Deku? This ugly thing can't even tell time." Bakugou asked as he continued to inspect the strange device.

"He probably got it from a dump or something Bakugou." One of the bullies said mockingly. "After all it would make sense, seeing as he's a worthless piece of trash himself."

The other bully chuckled at his friend's cruel joke. "You got that right. I guess it's kinda fitting he has it. They're both worthless and ugly to look at! Hahahah!"

As the two delinquents laughed at their little joke, Izuku lowered his head in shame as he felt his self esteem take a blow. Even though the Omnitrix was being manhandled by Bakugou, he couldn't help but feel his mood go down.

"Heh, you two got that right. This stupid watch really is just like Deku." Bakugou said as he eyed the device, before gaining an evil smirk as an idea popped in his head. "Although, seeing as it's clamped to his damn wrist it must be pretty valuable to the nerd. Right Deku?"

Midoriya paled as he looked back at the blonde, unable to say anything due to fear. Unfortunately, his expression was all Katsuki needed for an answer. "And seeing that it is, you'd probably be all devastated if something were to happen to it."

At this point the two lackeys were quickly catching on to Bakugou's painstakingly obvious implications, and couldn't help but chuckle darkly. "Your right boss, the sniveling nerd would probably bawl his eyes out like he always does if his piece of crap got blown to bits or something."

"Yeah," the second bully chimed in. "Just like a few months ago when you completely charred his stupid hero diary and tossed it out the window. Keke, you remember the look he had on his face? Freaking priceless."

"Kinda," the first bully said. "It's been a while. Memory's a little foggy. What about you Bakugou? You remember the worthless freaks expression as you torched his journal."

At this, Katsuki's deranged smile grew more feral. "No, but I know a quick solution for that." Placing both hands on the watch, Katsuki stated. "Right before we beat him into a bloody heap, let's smash this damn thing into a million different pieces right in front of the freak and see what his face will look like after!"

"Haha, good idea boss!" The first bully said as he and his friend laughed while Katsuki began to try and pry the device off Midoriya. All while said boy could only look in horror as he was held tightly in place, unable to escape.

Now, he knew Kacchan was unable to pry the Omnitrix off of him. After all Tetrax said it was bound to his body, and removing it wasn't as easy as taking off a hat. Most likely it would have to be surgically removed by trained professionals. However, as he watched his childhood tormenter fiddle with the device Midoriya was afraid he might either accidentally activate it and transform, or worse tear his arm off in the process. Both were unsavory outcomes. "W-W-Wait K-K-K-Kac-cchan! I-I don't t-think yo-you sh-sh-should-!"

"Shut the fuck up Deku!" Katsuki interrupted. "Nothing you say will keep me from blasting this damn thing to pieces! Heck, think of this as payment for your soon to be ass kicking!" Katsuki continued to try and pry the watch off Izuku's wrist, but no matter how much he pulled or tugged it wouldn't budge an inch. It was starting to piss him off even more. "God damnit! Just what the hell is this piece of-?!"

Katsuki didn't get to finish that sentence, for as he still tried to tear the device from Midoriya's body it began to do something strange. The device began to quickly glow a bright green as green sparks emitted from it, gaining the attention of all three boys. However before any of them could question what was going on a massive translucent sphere of green energy erupted from the device, sending both Bakugou and his lackeys flying off Izuku, crashing into nearby lockers before hitting the floor, while said boy dropped to his knees from the force. As soon as it came, the energy dissipated and the Omnitrix returned to it's original state. Though, it did blink briefly before doing so.

"Wha-?" Midoriya panted heavily due to the air being knocked from his lungs as he raised his arm up and looked down at the watch in shock, clearly caught off guard by this sudden new…. feature, he guessed. Just what the heck caused it though?! It's never done anything like that before, so why now when Kacchan…. was…. wait. C-Could that have been some sort of security measure or something?! If so then why did it only activate now?! He tried removing it before and it didn't do that?! Was it because it was someone else, or is it something else?! Was it Kacchan's intent? Anger? Gah, so many questions! Why did he have to get stuck with a piece of hardware way too advanced for him to understand?!

"Grrrrh." Izuku was broken from his thoughts as he heard the pained, and angered, groan coming from Katsuki's mouth. Looking up he could see that the spikey blonde was slowly, but surely, raising himself off the ground. In that moment, any questions about the Omnitrix immediately died out as he knew he'd be dealing with a very pissed off Bakugou very soon, and that was never a good thing for him. With his fight or flight instincts kicking in, Midoriya quickly scrambled to his feet and made a mad dash down the hall. Leaving the trio of bullies behind in his wake.

"Gahhh," One of the bullies, the long fingered one, moaned in pain as he steadily raised himself off the floor and rubbed his aching head. "Wha- What the hell was that?"

"Grrrrh," The second bully, whos right arm had struck the lockers hard, got to his feet as he cradled the aching limb. "Shit, why are you asking me dude? I'm as lost as you are." The bully hissed slightly as he tried moving around his arm. It wasn't broken, but it definitely wasn't fine either. "Honestly though, I'm more worried about my fucking arm. Feels like it was twisted or something."

"At least it wasn't your head," The first bully responded. "Mine stings like a son of a bitch. There's definitely gonna be a bruise later." As he tried to soothe his aching scalp, the long fingered delinquent then remembered that their leader was also with them. Turning towards the blonde, who was now on his feet crouched next to the lockers, the bully asked. "Hey Bakugou, you okay ma-?"

"FUCKING DEKU!" Katsuki roared as he sprung up and began to bolt down the hallway after Izuku, startling the two bullies a bit.

"Oh, nevermind then. He's okay." The second bully said, in an almost joking matter.

The first bully however wasn't laughing. Their leader was now completely enraged, and it didn't take a genius to figure out who exactly he was going after. Turning to his friend, he motioned for them to follow. "C'mon, the boss is already pissed off as is. We don't need to add more fuel to the flame by keeping him waiting." And with that, he rushed after the blonde punk, with his friend tagging along behind.

Up ahead meanwhile, Katsuki was practically foaming at the mouth with his already furious expression cranked to eleven. He had no idea what that blast was or why it came from the losers stupid watch, but frankly he didn't give two damns about any of that crap. Right now, he was completely focused on finding the little shit and beating him into a red stain for tossing him aside like he was nothing. Him, Katsuki Bakugou! How dare that worthless, quirkless abomination humiliate him like that!? How dare he humiliate Japan's next number one hero!?

"I'M GONNA BLOW YOUR HEAD OFF YOU GODDAMN QUIRKLESS FFFFFRRRRRREEEEAAAAKKKK!"

---

Midoriya ran as fast as he could as he maneuvered around the halls of Aldrea, making sure not to slip every time he quickly turned a corner without slowing down. With every step he took his heart would thump hard in his chest due to both his body pushing itself against the limit and the panic that seemed to rise with each second.

Now, Midoriya was no stranger to running away from Kacchan and his lackeys, in fact it was a part of his daily school life as far as he could remember. Today however was different, for today he had involuntarily done something that was a big no-no in Kacchan's mind, and that was bruising the blonde's ego. There was no doubt in the greenette's mind that Bakugou was practically fuming at the thought of being tossed like that by a 'worthless, weak Deku' of all people and was probably ready to restore that damaged pride in the most violent way possible.

But there was no way in hell that Izuku was going to let that happen. No, he needed to get far away from this school as humanly possible and just wait for the blonde's rage to die down. That was his only chance of getting out of this mess intact. Thankfully though, it seemed like he was making some good progress as he doesn't hear anyone chasing behind. This brought a smile to his face. Perhaps lady luck was finally shining down on him after so lo-.

"I'M GONNA BLOW YOUR HEAD OFF YOU GODDAMN QUIRKLESS FFFFFRRRRRREEEEAAAAKKKK!" Kacchan's voice boomed from behind as the faint sounds of angry stomping and explosions became audible, and we're slowly getting closer and closer.

Oh come on, why?!

Okay scratch that, lady luck was definitely not on his side. He might've been a fast runner, sure, but if he knew Kacchan the blonde was most definitely using his explosions to speed himself up, meaning that he'd catch up soon. That meant running wasn't going to be a valuable option anymore. He needed to get out of dodge fast, and he knew there was only one way to do it.

Lifting up the Omnitrix, Izuku was prepared to turn into either Ghostfreak or Big Chill to escape this hell called school. Thankfully the halls were deserted and the school was so poor that it couldn't afford security cameras, meaning Izuku could transform without risk of exposure to his secret. Pressing one of the buttons, the dial of the Omnitrix shot out, but instead of being met with the familiar alien silhouettes he's become so used to he was instead met with…. a blinking green four-sided diamond. Actually, all of the green components were blinking.

WWWWhhhhhhaaaaatttttt?!

"Are you freaking kidding me right now?!" Izuku said as he stared at the device in both shock, confusion, and terror. You gotta be kidding him, is this thing busted or something?! Did that blast earlier mess it all up?!

Blindly rounding another corner, Izuku tried fiddling with the faceplate but was constantly being met with the same green blinking. Oh come on, this can't be happening right now! His childhood tormenter was getting closer by the second and the Omnitrix decides now of all times to fail?! Give him a freaking break alread-!

"Opfh!" Izuku cried out slightly as he felt himself collide with something hard right in front of him, though thankfully he did lose his footing. Looking ahead Izuku's stomach dropped when he saw the thing he crashed into was a simple wall, no doubt a dead end. Shit, he should've been paying more attention to his surroundings! Turning around, he was about to leave the small hallway and take another path, buuuut-.

"GET BACK HERE SO I CAN FLATTEN YOU YA DAMN FREAK!"

Kacchan's voice, along with his footfalls, were getting closer. And if he tried to run the way he came, there was a high probability of him getting caught by the blonde.

"Crap, crap, crap, crap, crap!" Izuku began to grow panicked, unsure of what to do in this situation. As he frantically moved his body about, trying desperately to find any salvation, he weighed several choices in his head that might lead to safety. Should he try to run back the way he came? Maybe he could slip past Kacchan quick enough and make a mad dash for the exit! O-Or maybe the lockers! He could probably hide in one of the lockers or something?! ….No, no that's dumb! Kacchan would hear them open and close! M-M-Maybe his backpack had a solution or something in it!

Taking it off his back, Izuku quickly unzipped the yellow bag and dug his left hand into it, going through the contents inside for anything that could help defend himself or get out of this mess. Though deep down he knew there was nothing that could save him. "Come on, come on! There's gotta be something that can help?!"

"I HEAR YA YOU DAMN NERD!" Katsuki's voice called out, nearing the hallway Izuku was trapped in. "HOPE YOU KISSED YOUR TEETH GOODBYE, CAUSE YOUR SORRY ASS WILL BE EATING OUT OF A STRAW FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE WHEN I'M THROUGH WITH YOU!"

Midoriya's eyes widened as he rummaged through his bag much more frantically now. This was it, he thought, in just a few short seconds he would be on the receiving end of the most violent beating mankind will ever know. He was done for!

Little did Izuku know however, at that moment his frantic movements would end up saving him. For as his arm moved about quickly in the backpack, the Omnitrix would slam into one of his notebooks with enough force to slide the faceplate back into the device. And like usual, it resulted in the same green flash.

Bwoosh!

---

Katsuki was fuming as he soared through the corridor, using his quirk to speed himself up every now and then. First the nerd humiliated him and now he couldn't even face his own ass kicking like a man, oh he couldn't wait to turn the useless freaks head into a thin red paste!

Thankfully though, that wouldn't be long. He could hear the quirkless freaks muttering coming from the upcoming hallway on his left, and if he remembered correctly, (which he does thanks to his superior mind), that hallway leads to a dead end. Katsuki let out an evil grin, that useless nobody was trapped! Haha, nothing could save him now.

"HERE I COME YOU FUCKING FREAK!" Bakugou yelled as he reached the hallway. As he turned the corner he held his hands out in front of him and was ready to fire off a massive. "GET READY DEKU BECAUSE I'M ABOUT TO- Huh?!"

Katsuki paused as he entered the hallway, confusion marking his face as he took a good look inside. Instead of being met with the trembling form of his favorite punching bag, his back pressed up against the wall, the explosive boy was met with the sight of…. nothing. Besides the lockers that lined the walls, the hallway was completely deserted. There wasn't even a single strand of the quirkless nerd's green hair.

Anger and confusion began to swell in Katsuki. Just what the hell is this?! A second ago he swore to God he heard Deku's panicked muttering just a freaking second ago! Is he hiding in a locker or something?! No, that's not it, he would've heard the freak opening them! And there's no way in hell he bolted right out, Bakugou would've seen him!

Walking further down the hall, Bakugou looked around to try and find some evidence of the nerd's whereabouts. The need had to be hiding somewhere, he couldn't have just vanished without a trace!

Thump.

"Huh?" Katsuki looked down as he felt his foot lightly bump into something on the ground, and his confusion grew more as he saw what it was.

Laying directly in front of him was the nerd's yellow backpack. The one he has been using since the beginning of middle school. Everywhere that damn loser went, that backpack would always be clung to him. So why was it just sitting there before him, without it's owner present?

This was just confusing and enraged him even more. Just what the hell was happening?! Was this some kinda trick to throw him off Deku's trail or something?!

Katsuki wanted to scream, to kick the bag at his feet and blast it to dust. However, before he could do anything the sounds of footfalls echoed from behind and grew more audible. Turning around, Bakugou saw that his lackeys had finally caught up and we're looking a little winded.

"Ha…. Ha…. Jesus Bakugou…. Ha…. don't run off like that…. Ha…." Long fingers said as he panted heavily, his face red and slick with sweat.

"Yeah…. Ha…. you know…. Ha…. that we can't…Ha... keep up with you when…. Wheeze…. you use your quirk for extra speed." Big mouth added, his state similar to his friend.

Bakugou merely growled at his henchmen. "Shut it extras! Ain't my fault your shitty bodies ain't capable of keeping up with me!" The blonde turned his body around and stomped past the two now startled teens. "Now c'mon, we're leaving!"

"H-Huh, where to?" Fingers asked.

"Where else moron?! To find and pulverize that shitty Deku! Fucking worthless shit, think he can make a fool of me!?" Katsuki yelled as he turned back towards his lackeys.

"W-What, but ain't Deku right-?" Fangs slowly turned around as he spoke, expecting to see the quivering Izuku behind him. However upon taking a good look at the hallway, he saw that it was empty, save for the yellow backpack on the ground. "O-Oh, I guess not?"

"Exactly!" Katsuki barked. "That nerd somehow slipped past me, and instead of helping me chase him down you idiots are wasting my time asking all these stupid questions! Now, are you gonna be useful or do I have to kick your asses instead!?"

"N-N-No boss, y-you can count on u-us!" Both Fingers and Fangs said simultaneously as they began following their leader out of the hall. However, as they were about to leave, Fangs turned back and gave the stranded backpack on last look. "U-Uh, hey Bakugou, what about the loser's bag?"

"What about it!? It's just a dumb bag! Now come on, every second we waste we're allowing the nerd to go free!"

Fangs gulp. "R-Right, sorry about that." And with that, they left.

The sounds of the delinquent's footfall's began to grow distant until eventually they were out of earshot, leaving the hallway in total silence. However, this silence would not last, as it would be broken by the sound of the backpack beginning to rustle as something crawled from underneath.

"Oh thank goodness, that was a close one! Ah man, I thought I was done for when Kacchan bumped into my bag." A shrill, high-pitched voice said as an incredibly small figure stood up straight, dusting themselves off as they looked down the hall. "Fortunately though, he didn't seem to notice me. Hopefully I can make it out without my presence being noticed, as the last thing I want is to be noticed…. by…. Kacchan." The figure's words slowly died in his throat as he glanced down at his body, eyes widening as he bared witness to his form.

Previously, his mind was too preoccupied with fear for him to truly take notice of his environment. When Bakugou had shown up, he merely closed his eyes, curled himself up into a ball, and prayed for him to go away. Now however, with his fear dissipating and his rational mind returning, he's finally taking notice of his surroundings. The first thing he saw was instead of having regular human hands he had large, grey, four fingered ones Instead. The second thing he noticed, which should've been the first actually, was the fact that the entire hall, no, the entire building was gigantic! Seriously, the lockers were the size of short buildings and his backpack the size of a car!

"W-W-W-What in the world?!" The figure asked, trying to wrap his head around what was happening. Everything was so massive, A-And he was in a new form! But that didn't make any sense, I-It was simply preposterous! There couldn't be a new form, c-could there?! Gah, this was too much! "M-Mirror, I require a mirror!"

Without thinking clearly the figure moved towards the backpack and quickly crawled inside, moving whatever school supplies laid inside until he found a small pencil case that just so happened to contain an even smaller mirror inside. Pulling the case out and popping it open, the figure looked into the tiny piece of reflective plastic, and what he saw shook him to the core.

Staring back at him with wide green goat-like eyes was a grey skinned creature that almost resembled a frog of sorts, or at the very least some type of amphibian. The creature had a massive head compared to the rest of his body, sharp shark-like teeth, thin lines on his cheeks which somewhat reminded him of gills, and he had a large vertical stripe on his forehead going all the way to the back of his head. He wore a skin tight jumpsuit that resembled his school gakuran that covered everything except his three fingered/toed hands and feet. Strangely, he didn't see the Omnitrix anywhere on his body, so logically he had to assume it was somewhere on his backside.

Not that it mattered though. He was too busy freaking out over this sudden change. Why was he this weird, frog, thing?! Was this some kind of temporary form, or was this something permanent?! Oh man, he really hoped this was simply a new addition to his roster and didn't replace one of his existing forms! How the hell did this even happen in the first place?! The Omnitrix's never done something like this before, so why now?!

"Okay okay, calm yourself Izuku, panicking won't do you well! Just take a breather and think! Did anything happen today that might have caused this?!"

Let's see he got up, ate breakfast, got to school, and went through the tedious day like usual, and was harassed by Kacchan and his goons. Okay, so far nothing was out of the ordinary.

"Confound it! Nothing during the day could've happened to cause my current predicament! The only other event that could've possibly warrant this unfortunate circumstance was the…. strange energy blast from…. earlier."

Oh. Oh! Oh now it made sense! How could he make such a witless mistake?! Of course it was the strange blast from earlier, there's no other explanation! But how did Kacchan's attempt to remove his Omnitrix cause the blast and transform him into this new form?

Could his tampering with the device somehow caused some sort of security measure to kick in, and if so, could that have caused the device to recalibrate it's central dna core, leading to a new lifeform to be unlocked? If he thought about it, it would make sense in a way to have the central dna core and security maintenance system all rolled up into a singular-.

Wait a second, time out there. Where on earth did that come from?! That wasn't how he usually communicated? His vocabulary was always…. normal, in the general sense.

Actually, now that the general panic has subsided somewhat he could now notice that his head felt a little…. different. Not in a painful or negative way, but more akin to feeling clearer, sharper. As if his human comprehension has been expanded upon. Curious, what exactly is this new form capable of?

Izuku snapped out of his thoughts, he was getting ahead of himself. No was not the time to ponder the situation or capabilities of this new transformation. Right now, he needed to find a way to quickly and stealthily exit both the school and it's surrounding parameters before he transforms back. He might not know much about this new body, but he could at the very least use it's small stature to his advantage. Question was though, how would he do it? Despite his size, he was certain Kacchan and his lackeys would spot him in the empty halls, so those weren't a reliable action. What else is there, what-.

Izuku stopped himself when he noticed something grey and metallic on the wall right near him from the corner of his eye. Turning his gaze, he saw that it was a grate for a small…. air vent in the wall. By All Might's smile of course! He can use the vents to safely traverse the school with any hindrances! I mean, he didn't exactly know their precise layout, but it was better than walking in the open hall with the screaming blonde on the prowl.

But, that brought him to his second problem. How would he be able to get out of here quickly once he was on the outside? With his height, half of the small school courtyard was like a football field in both size and vastness. Anything larger than him could easily spot and catch up to him without issue whether they be Kacchan or something else. And even if he did get past the school gates he would still have to worry about factors such as other people or random animals lurking in the alleyways. Plus, there was no doubt Kacchan would traverse the surrounding perimeter of the school, and if he were to revert back to his human form then the explosive blonde would easily spot and catch up to him.

Hmm, quite the conundrum. The only feasible way he could safely and quickly leave the school area without being caught would be if he were to, I don't know, have someone or something carry him away to safety. But that was of course improbable as the teachers always worked late, so they wouldn't be leaving anytime soon and the students would be here for another hour or so. Not to mention he'd have to stealthily sneak onto a person as he highly doubted anyone…. would…. wait a second.

"Toga!" The small amphibian cried out, remembering his admirer. Of course, she could help him get out of here! After all she knew of his secret, so all he has to do is get to her and she'll help me escape this nightmarish place!

With a plan in mind, the little alien raced over to the vent and began to unfasten the bolts holding the grate in place. Once it fell down with a small metallic bang, he quickly clambered inside. Hopefully, by the time he reaches the courtyard she'll already be there, as well as not getting lost in the vents. Because if he were to turn back while in there, well…. it wouldn't end quite well.

---

Himiko couldn't help but feel excited as she skipped down the sidewalk leading towards Aldrea. It had been awhile since she's last seen out with her precious Izu-kun, and while texting was fine and everything, hanging out with her hero was certainly better than just talking on the phone with him.

As she skipped down the road, she could see a large building coming up in the distance. That must be Izu-kun's school, it looks the same as those pictures she found online when looking this place up. That meant she was getting close to meeting up with him! Eeee, she couldn't wait to take him to that cafe she told him about, he was just going to love that place! Plus, it would give her the chance to ask some more questions about him that she couldn't ask on the phone.

One in particular, and one that hasn't crossed her mind until today, was what exactly was his school life like? When she texted him earlier he mentioned that his schoolmates were…. not so pleasant to be around, and while her jovial attitude didn't show it, she was slightly worried about the greenette. She knew what it was like to have…. difficult schoolmates, so to think that someone as cool and nice as Izu-kun was being picked on just didn't sit right with her, and she intended to find out just how bad it was. But that wait for later, right now she needed to meet with Izu-kun.

Reaching the front gate of the school, the happy blonde made her way into the property before stopping to take a look at her surroundings, looking for something particular. "Let's see, Izu-kun said to meet him by a fountain. Now where would-?" Toga turned her neck to the right, catching sight of a small stone fountain resting a few feet away right next to a tree. "Bingo!" Himiko cheerfully said as she skipped over to the fountain, humming happily as she did so without a care in the world. Though as she got closer to it she noticed that the entire courtyard was completely empty, with no sign of Midoriya in sight.

Stopping in front of the stone structure Himiko continued to look around, now with a puzzled expression, yet couldn't find neither hide nor green hair of her hero. Weird, did she show up early or something? Pulling out her phone and flashing it on, Himiko took a look at the digital clock on the screen. It read as 3:15, so if anything she was late, though not by a lot. Yet there was still no sign of Izu-Kun anywhere.

"Where is he?" Himiko asked herself as she continued to look around, expecting him to pop up from out of nowhere. The blonde began to worry a bit as dark little thoughts began to creep in her head. He didn't just leave without her, did he? Sure she was a little late, but he could've waited for a bit before heading off, right? O-Or maybe that wasn't it. What if he- what if he lied about meeting up? What if he just told her that but didn't want anything to do with her? No, that was ridiculous. Why would he do something like that? Even though she only knew him for about a week, something told he wasn't the type to just lie for now reason. What reason would he have to, right?

….right?

'Stop it Himiko, you're overthinking things again.' Toga mentally chastised herself as she banished those thoughts away in favor of a more reasonable solution. 'He's probably still in the school doing something right, like maybe finishing up some extra work or even taking a dump, who knows? Jumping to conclusions won't do anyone any favors.' taking a seat on the edge of the fountain, Himiko continued her inner dialogue. 'I'll just sit here and wait. Heck, I bet any second now he'll come walking right out that school super excited to hang out. Just gotta be patient is all.'

Looking at the school in expectation, Himiko mindlessly hummed as a way to pass the time. However, not thirty seconds after she did this, she looked back down at her phone with the same unease as before. Sure, she might've been acting a little irrational, but she wasn't exactly the best when it came to interacting with others due to…. reasons.

'Though, just to be safe, it probably wouldn't hurt to shoot him a quick little text to tell him I'm here. After all, another possibility is that maybe he lost track of the time.' Himiko thought as she typed in a small little text before pressing send.

You: Hey Izu-kun, it's me Toga! Sorry to bother you, you're probably busy at the moment which is cool, but I just wanted to let you know that I'm right outside your school where you said to meet up. Just…. I dunno, shoot me a text back or something. C U Soon! Bye~!

Hitting send, Toga pocketed her phone as she looked back to the school. Hopefully her text might get Izu-kun to wrap up whatever he's doing soon, as she wanted to get their day together started already. Not sit on her butt and wait around for whoever knows how long.

Unaware to her however, her precious Izu-kun wouldn't be getting her message anytime soon, as he was currently dealing with his own problems at the moment.

---

Inside Aldrea's ventilation system, Izuku was trying to traverse the network of vents as best he could, however that was much easier said than done as he more often than not either ended up going the wrong way or reach a dead end, both resulting in him having to backtrack, much to his annoyance. He knew navigating his way through the vents would've been anything but easy, but the sheer complexity of it was absurd! Whoever designed such a thing was either lazy like the teachers, or simply didn't know what they were doing. Not to mention, the thick sheet of dust on the floor made it difficulty to get his footing, causing him to almost slip a few times.

Fortunately though, there was some silver linings to his predicament. One being that, according to his memory, he's only been in here for approximately two minutes, seventeen seconds, and point three milliseconds, meaning he still had plenty enough time to make it out. Second is that, while cramped, the vents did provide enough space to allow him to move at a brisk walk. So there was that, he supposed.

Coming up to an intersection that splits into three paths, two on either side and one in front, Izuku quickly weighed his options for a second before picking the path on the left. Walking down the tight corridor, he saw that it was the last, save for the grate that lied directly on the floor, filling the mostly dark vent with a little light.

"Hmm, what have we here?" Izuku muttered as he approached before stopping right in front of it and peering through the narrow slits. He couldn't see much, but he could tell that it was by no means a classroom. There was a small counter with a microwave and toaster on top, and right next to it appeared to be a refrigerator or freezer of some kind. He couldn't really tell which because he could only see the side of it. Besides that though, he couldn't really see that much else of the room, other than the floor and the wall the fridge and counter was against that is.

Regardless, Midoriya hummed curiously as he pieced together what the room could be based on the info. Could this be the school kitchen, he wondered? I mean the appliances do make sense and, if his mental map was correct, he should be on the east side of the building where both that and the cafeteria were at, as well as the courtyard. If so, that meant he was getting close to exiting this place.

That was certainly a pleasant thought, however it was far too early for him to celebrate just yet. Regardless if he was close or not to the courtyard, he still had to get to the ground floor and out of the vents first. Fortunately that was just below him, so if he can just find some safe way down he'll be one step closer to leaving this stuffy vent. He was tempted to just pop off the grate and hop down, however, he wasn't exactly sure just how durable this new form was and he wasn't really eager to test that out. So for now, he'll play it safe.

Moving forward, Izuku set out to look for a path leading down to the lower floor. Unfortunately though, as he walked across the grate, he seemed to have overestimated the strength of it as, well-.

Creak

Began to buckle underneath his weight.

"Uh oh." Izuku muttered as he looked down, fully expecting what's to come next.

Without missing a beat though the grate immediately gave way, causing both it and him to go falling into the room below all while Midoriya let out a high pitched shriek as he did. While he was fortunate enough to land on the counter rather than the floor below, the little grey alien had fallen directly on his left side, and relative to his size the fall from the vent was the equivalent of jumping off a second story roof. Not to mention he also landed atop the metal grate which did the opposite of cushioning his fall.

"Gah! Curse it all, right on my deltoid and brachialis!" Midoriya yelled as he slowly lifted himself up, rubbing the arm he landed on as both it and the left side of his body ached in pain. Thankfully though, the latter didn't seem to hurt as much. Getting to his feet, the teen looked down at his arm in worry as he continued to soothe the appendage. "Oh yeah, that's definitely gonna leave some bruising on my integumentary system, no doubt about it. Hiss, at least it doesn't feel like my humerus, radius, or ulna broke in the fall, so there's that…. I think? Not sure if this form even has those to be quite honest?" Normally, the tiny alien would've stopped and pondered where exactly those words came from like before. However the throbbing pain made it so that his brain didn't fully register what he just said, so he wasn't going to delve into it.

After a few seconds of soothing his banged up arm, the pain Midoriya felt had simmered down to a slight throb that, though not pleasant, wouldn't hinder his task at hand. With his mind less preoccupied, the teen looked back up at the vent above and clicked his tongue in slight annoyance. So much for using the ventilation system to reach the cafeteria he guessed. At least he was on the ground floor though, so that was a silver lining. As long as he was swift and stealthy he should probably be able to make it from here to the mess hall without being spotted by anyone…. hopefully. Though, as he scanned the room, he questioned where exactly here even was. Because this was clearly not the kitchen by any means.

From what he can make out of the room it was small, smaller than any classroom he's been in. The only furniture that could be seen was a moderate sized coffee table with a few plastic chairs in the corner of the room, right next to the door, while in the opposite corner there were two vending machines that served dried goods. Several generic inspirational posters you'd find in an office firm decorated the walls and, aside from a small radio and a little potted plant that was clearly plastic, the table had several important looking sheets of paper strewn about all over.

While Midoriya might've never once set foot into this room before in his life, he knew right away what this place was as he has seen enough small glimpses of the inside through the narrow window on the door whenever he would traverse the halls. This was the teacher's lounge, or more specifically, the one that was closest to the cafeteria.

This revelation caused a tiny smile to grace Izuku's lips as it felt as though his luck was finally turning around today. This was just too fantastic! All he needed to do was to simply traverse the halls for a minute and his freedom from this place was merely just a hop, skip, and a jump away! All he needed to do now was to just simply exit the room. Easy enough.

…..

Or at least, it would've had it not been for one little thing. That being: how the hell was he gonna turn the knob when he was as big as a toad?

That was a major issue.

Hopping off the counter (which thankfully wasn't a very big drop), the minuscule munchkin made his way across the floor and stopped once he was in front of the oak door, gazing up at the dull silver handle with an inquisitive look. Hmm, how to go about this he wondered? Was there anything in his environment he could use to help aid him perhaps? Looking around, the teen tried to find anything useful for his endeavor but sadly it was for naught. The entire room was devoid of any useful for his task, and he doubted posters and kitchen appliances would be of any use to him. So, he had to think of something else.

"Hmm…." The alien placed a hand on his chin(?) as he stared down at the ground, trying to formulate some kind of plan. However, not ten seconds after he began brainstorming, he paused when he took notice of his own body and noticed how eerily similar it looked to some rana temporaria species. Granted there were some obvious differences such as the grey pigmentation of his flesh, his bipedal form, and the human level sentience. But besides all that he didn't look too far off from the common frog, you could probably even pass him off as some kinda quirked animal even. With that thought in mind, the gears in Izuku's head began to seamlessly turn as a new thought popped in his mind. Aside from how his skin felt slick and slippery, just how frog-like was he exactly?

"I wonder?" Izuku murmured as he glanced down at his legs, before turning back up to the doorknob and getting into a squatting position. Like many times before as Four-Arm's, Midoriya concentrated on pouring as much as he could into his legs before leaping upward into the air. And much to his surprise, he actually did jump high into the air, almost reaching the handle in the process. After safely landing back on the ground the tiny teen looked up at the handle with shock, not believing he was able to almost reach the handle before looking down at his body, his shocked expression turning into one of glee. He couldn't believe it, this form was actually capable of enhanced jumping! This would certainly help aid in his escape!

Turning back towards the handle with a determined look in his eyes, the alien squatted down once more and jumped up towards it, almost able to caress the underside of it with his fingers but not quite reaching it. After landing safely back on the ground, he attempted to try and jump up again, failing like before. So, he tried to do it again. And again. And again. And again. And again.

After his fifteenth attempt, it became clear to the now tired out alien that repeatedly jumping wasn't getting him any results, much to his irritation as he glared up at the handle. There had to be another way to do this, he thought as he looked around the room. Maybe there was something he could use to give himself a boost. There was a small plastic waste bin not too far from the coffee table, so maybe he could drag it over and use it to reach the han-.

step, step, step.

The teen stopped when suddenly, the sounds of footfalls outside became audible to his non-existent ears. Looking at the door, he moved a little closer to it and placed his head against the wood to listen as the steps got closer and closer, filling him with slight worry. They were too quiet to be Bakugou's footsteps, so that was a plus, but that still didn't change the fact that they were getting louder with every second. He had no idea who this was, but for all intents and purposes he hoped that they would just walk past the door and leave him be. That's not too much to ask for, right?

step, step, Step, Step, STEP.

The footsteps outside had just stopped in front of the door, and past the narrow gap underneath the door, Izuku could make out the shadow of someone just standing out in the hall, causing him to quickly back away from the door. Things had certainly gotten a whole lot worse for him now, b-but that certainly didn't mean he had to panic. After all, whoever was standing outside had yet to try making their way in here, so perhaps they were just a student or someone who just so happened to stop right in front of the teachers lounge? Maybe if he waits long enough, they might leave, he just had to be a little patie-.

C-Creak.

Any hope of this stranger leaving immediately died as the handle began to slowly turn and the door moved a bit inwards. Seeing that this was clearly not a student, the tiny alien began to frantically search for a hiding spot to conceal himself from the mysterious person, but as he looked around the mostly open room, he saw that his hiding places were extremely limited. Underneath the coffee table? No, too exposed, he'll certainly get caught trying to hide there. In the trash bin? No, not good either. If whoever's coming in decides to throw something away, he'll be found easily. In between the vending machines maybe? It's a tight squeeze, but maybe it could work? What else was there? There had to be something that could work? But what?! What was in here that could…. possibly….

Midoriya paused as his large green eyes spotted the small, dark little space between the kitchen counter and the floor. It was narrow, no doubt, but it was definitely something he could crawl into with ease. But would that work? Would it be enough to help hide himself from the unwanted gaze of whoever this stranger wa-?

creeaakk!

With the door a quarter of the way open and his window of opportunity rapidly closing, the teen decided to just go with the decision. Turning away from the door he quickly rushed back towards the countertop and, upon getting a few feet close, slid right into the small space underneath it. And just in time too, for not one second after he slid right underneath the counter, the door fully opened and whoever was behind it quickly stepped into the room, shutting the door behind them as they absentmindedly talked with someone on the phone.

While Izuku knew this had to be a teacher, he was still surprised to see that this was none other than his and Kacchan's homeroom teacher, a gaunt man with balding yellow, puffy hair and a quirk that allowed him to fire off his hand on a string, kinda like those old cork cap guns. Thankfully it didn't seem like he noticed Midoriya sliding down under the counter, rather, he looked far too invested in his phone call to notice anything else.

"-es, yes I understand. But surely you can let the loan last a little longer right? I'm barely making enough cash as it is teaching these snot nosed brats." The teacher paused as a faint voice rang from the phone's receiver. Even from underneath the counter, Izuku could tell that whoever was on the line was clearly not happy. "Y-Yes, yes sir I understand. By the end of the weekend or else they're gone by next week. What's that sir? With a butter knife? Y-Yes, I understand. I-I'll see what I can do. Talk to you later."

Ending the call, the teacher quietly pocketed his phone and walked up to the counter, placing his elbows on the surface while he gripped his hair tightly in frustration. "Fuck, fuck! What am I gonna do?! If I can't pay up soon, I'm gonna be out on my ass living in the streets?! How the hell does he expect me to pay off over 5 million yen in that amount of time when I'm working in the shittiest school in all of Japan?! God, I'm gonna have to sleep in my car for the next few months or, worse, move back in with my parents."

As the teacher was busy having his little freakout Izuku, who was now lying on his stomach, simply listened intently, unsure of what to feel. On one hand, the more sympathetic part of him couldn't help but feel some sort of pity for the man's plight, after all judging by the sound of it, it sounded like he was about to lose his home and that's something he would never wish on someone.

But on the other however, there was a part of him that felt some sort of smug satisfaction. After all, this was the same ass that would let Kacchan and his henchmen pick on him in class, so it was a little difficult to feel pity for a man like that. Regardless of how he felt though, he just hoped that this guy would leave already. He can't exactly escape this room with his teacher freaking out like a frightened child. If he's lucky, then maybe he'll quickly calm down and walk the hell out of he-.

"I need a drink." The teacher suddenly said he got his arms off the counter and went to pull a coffee mug out from the cupboard built into the counter. "I just need something to calm my nerves while I figure something out. Maybe if I get some caffeine into my system, I can think rationally here."

As the teacher went to make himself a good old pot of jo, Izuku could only resist the urge to facepalm as a look of disbelief stretched across his face. Really, is this really happening right now?! For crying out loud, he's already working on a narrow time slot here as it is and he doesn't need to waste any of it sitting here waiting for some sad S.O.B to have a cheap cup of coffee! He's got places to be right now, and none of them involve him laying underneath some dirty countertop.

'For my sake, I sincerely hope he'll leave after just one cup.' Izuku thought bitterly as he heard the sound of liquid pouring into a glass pot up above. 'Because if I have to sit here longer than I must, I feel like I would tear out my non-existent hair in pure frustration! Honestly, was it too much to ask for things to go off without a hitch?!' He asked himself as he slammed his massive hand against the floor in anger, slightly kicking up a cloud of dust in the process. As he continued to watch his teacher, one final thought appeared in his mind concerning his little escape attempt.

'Apologies Himiko, but I'm afraid that you'll have to wait just a bit longer for our little rendezvous. I'll try to make it up to you later down the line.'

---

If you were to take one look at Himiko Toga and compare her to any animal in the known world, what would you pick? For most people who's ever encountered her, they'd say cat because of her sharp canine teeth, narrow slitted eyes, and hair buns that almost resembled the ears of a cat. Though, Himiko never quite got why people would associate her with that kind of animal? Sure she did share a few feline-like features, as listed before, and she did pride herself for being a lithe, stealthy, and dare she say cunning. But besides that though she saw no other similarities between her and a cat.

People have also equivalated her to a mosquito, as her cheery and energetic personality did grate on some people's nerves, especially the ones she would buzz around a lot, not to mention that a certain…. craving of hers helped people to make that comparison to her. Though, unlike with the cat one, Himiko did take great offense to being called an annoying little 'mosquito'.

No, If there was one animal Himiko would compare herself too, it would have to be that of a shark. Why a shark, you may ask? Well, like her, they were quite adept at being stealthy. If those Pre-Quirk horror movies about them were anything to go by. The way they seemed to just blend in with their environment and strike before their prey knew it was something that she herself was good at. Though not that last part, she'd be in so much trouble if she just started sneaking up on people and started attacking them. Another thing she shared with the predators of the deep was that they were both fast and nimble, in their own respects that is. After all, that kinda comes with the territory of being stealthy as well. Plus they both shared the same…. craving that Himiko has, as bad as it is.

And finally, they were always moving around no matter what, a quality that she herself shared due to her energetic attitude. Staying still was something Himiko always had trouble with, even to this day. Unless there was something really interesting that caught her attention, (like Izu-Kun), Toga would always be moving around to burn off whatever energy she had. Hell, it was one of the main reasons why she couldn't stand school in the first place. How anyone can just sit still for hours is beyond her.

And it was because of this that she currently found herself bored out of her mind, sitting on the edge of a fountain with her chin resting on her hands, waiting for Midoriya to come out of the school.

"Uuuugggghhh," Toga groaned out as she gazed up at the building beside her, annoyance clear in her tone. "What the hell is taking him so long? If he was just going to use the bathroom or something this wouldn't be an issue, but it's been forever at this point. Honestly, this is just ridiculous."

Looking away from the building, Toga took her head off her hands and quickly pulled out her phone to see if Midoriya had ever responded to her previous text. However upon turning on the screen and seeing no new notifications, her annoyance only grew as she let out another annoyed groan before pocketing the small device. Gah, this was infuriating!

Seriously, while she does like Izu-Kun a lot, she can't help but feel a little miffed with him for having her sit out here and wait this long without having the decency to give her a heads up. Not to mention the fact that he hadn't even responded back to her text was also irritating. Like, she'd get if he was busy or something, but would it kill for him to just shoot back a quick text? Hell, even a simple 'k' would've been good enough.

Did he perhaps simply forget? I mean it would probably make sense, he's probably too preoccupied with something that he simply forgot she was arriving.

….he didn't just leave without telling her, right?

N-No, no, he wouldn't do that. They were friends. R-Right? H-He wouldn't do something so callous like abandoning her without giving a heads up, wouldn't he? He's probably inside doing something super, super important. A-And besides, e-even if he did leave, there was probably a good reason for it. He's a vigilante after all, he probably saw something on the news on his phone and took off to help. Yeah, that could be it, that has it be it. What other explanation could there be?

'You see the area my school is located in isn't exactly what I'd call ideal, so my schoolmates aren't really the type of people you'd want to meet. And I'm not exactly the most well liked person here, so I don't want them messing with you too.'

That sudden, intrusive thought made her thoughts come to a halt as startled realization plastered her face. She had no idea what caused that memory to suddenly just pop up in her head, maybe because she was beginning to overthink things, but she didn't particularly care at the moment as she couldn't help but feel worried for her friend just now. If what he said sounds like what she thinks, then could it be possible that her precious Izu-Kun could be in…. trouble? She knew he had this whole secret identity thing going on, so it wouldn't be possible to defend himself without accidentally revealing his Quirk to people. Shit, what if this entire time he was in trouble, and this whole time she was out here doing nothing but sitting here twiddling her thumbs? But then again, what if he was busy, she didn't want to go in and seem needy now, but she also couldn't just sit around if he's in danger. What should she do? S-Should she go in there? Should she find him?! Gah, this is so frustrating! Why couldn't she be born with some kinda omnipotence Quirk instead?!

Slowly getting to her feet she gave the school a nervous, unsure look as she weighed her options. Maybe, maybe it wouldn't hurt to just go in and check-?

"GOD FUCKING DAMNIT!" A sudden loud voice boomed, accompanied by the sounds of crackling explosions, causing Himiko to jump to her feet in surprise as she snapped over to the source of sudden scream. Only to be met with the sight of a spikey blonde kid exiting the school, followed by two other boys who looked extremely exhausted while the blonde just looked extremely pissed, moving his head around as if he was looking for something.

'Geeze,' Toga thought as he stared at the blonde. 'What crawled up his ass?'

Meanwhile, said blonde was still busy looking around for whatever he was searching for, but seeing that there was no trace, he growled in fury as the urge of blasting something rose in his chest. "God fucking damnit! GOD FUCKING DAMNIT! Where the hell did that Quirkless little fuck run off to?! That little shits got an explosion to the teeth coming for him for making me run around this much."

Himiko couldn't help but scowl in disgust at his 'quirkless' comment. By the sound of it, he was one of those types of people. Just freaking perfect.

"H-Hey Bakugou," one of the other boys said as they grasped for breath, sweating gallons as their face was beet red. "M-Maybe we should, should just -wheeze- give it up? The nerd's probably back home by now or something?"

"What?!" Katsuki yelled as he spun around and got right up into his lackey's face. "And let that little useless shit stain get away with humiliating me like that?! Fat chance! I'm gonna find that worthless freak, and when I do, I'm gonna skin him alive!"

"G-Geeze, alright. We'll keep looking then." The lackey said as he tried to back away from his leader. As he did so, he happened to spot Himiko standing close by. "H-Hey boss, maybe we can ask her if she's seen the little wimp run by? Wouldn't hurt to try, right?"

'Oh God no,' Toga thought as the bully pointed in her direction. 'Whatever you idiots want, don't come over here and actually talk to me, anything but that.'

"Ha?!" Katsuki barked as turned in the direction of the girl with a furious/confused look on his face. Huh, weird. Judging by her outfit she didn't look like a student here. What the hell was some random extra doing at his school? Ah, it doesn't fucking matter. All that does is if she's seen that spineless Deku run by here or not. So, running up to her with his henchmen close behind, he shouted. "Hey, extra!"

"Um, excuse me?" Himiko asked with a look of pure irritation on her face as the trip approached. Not so much asking for what they wanted, but more like that name he just called her by.

However, Katsuki didn't seem to notice that as he just went on. "Hey, I'm looking for a spineless little piece of shit that might've ran by here before. The freaks got messy green hair, ugly as freckles in a diamond shape, green eyes that are about to get blackened. Seen anyone run by matching that description?"

Himiko had to contain her look of surprise at the blonde's rather basic, but perfectly matched, description of her Izu-Kun. These assholes…. were they the reason why Izu-Kun hasn't shown up yet? Oh God, it makes so much sense now. "Nope, can't say I've seen someone like that." She said before her eyes narrowed. "And besides, even if I did, why the hell should I tell any of you?"

"Wha-?!" Katsuki gasped, shocked and pissed at the audacity of this bitch. "Excuse me?! What the hell did you just say to me?!" The explosive blonde asked, raising his hands up and letting out a few explosions to try and intimidate the girl, just like all the other extras do when he wants something.

However, to his surprise, the girl simply stood there unfazed by his little light show. "I said why the hell should I tell you anything? You're clearly bad news if your attitude's anything to go by, and I bet the guy you're going after didn't even do anything to invoke your wrath either. You're probably just doing this because you're nothing but a temperamental bully who picks on others to inflate his own useless ego. Isn't that right, boom-boom baby?"

Katsuki and the lackies stared at the girl in pure shock at what she had just said. Nobody, and they mean nobody, has ever said anything to Bakugou before that wasn't immediate praise towards himself or his Quirk. Hell, even the useless Deku knew better than to insult Katsuki like that.

"H-Hey, you should watch your mouth lady, if you know what's good for you." One of Katsuki's lackeys said nervously as he noticed how red Katsuki's face seemed to be getting. "I-I mean, do you have any idea who you're talking to?"

Toga quirk's a brow at the boy's question. "Should I? Your friend here doesn't exactly scream anything 'important' to me, instead he just seems like your typical everyday thug who thinks might makes right. If he's supposed to be some kind of big shot around these parts, then good for him. But that doesn't mean I'm gonna give two shits about it. If this punk wants my respect, then maybe he can ditch the attitude and be a decent human being, instead of acting like a…." Toga trailed off as she looked for the right word. "Angry little pomeranian? Yeah, yeah that's a good comparison. Maybe if he stops acting like that, then maybe I'll start talking to him civilly. But something tells me that won't happen, so I'm just gonna keep talking to him like this."

The two lackeys at this point couldn't believe their eyes and ears at what Himiko was just saying, as if she just spoke some kind of forbidden demon spell or something. W-Was, this chick just plain crazy, or did she have some kind of death wish or something?

As for Katsuki on the other hand, his face grew a beet red as he ground his teeth together and sparked a few mini explosions in his palms, the urge to splatter this bitches head across the pavement almost irresistible. How dare this nobody, this random bitch he's never even met before today, talk to him like this?! He, Katsuki Bakugou?! Honestly he doesn't know which is worse, being humiliated by Deku or being talked down to by this bitch?!

"Oh? What's wrong boom-boom baby? Mad because I spoke the truth?" Toga asked with a taunting smile. "Maybe you and your little backup dancers should just buzz off already. I'm not interested in listening to some mutt yap it's jaw at me all day."

"Grrrrhhhh!" Bakugou growled as he struggled to reign in his temper. The urge to murder, no, to VAPORIZE this whore where she stood palpable regardless of the consequences. However, it seemed as though his lackeys knew what he was thinking, as they tried to pull him away before he did something reckless.

"H-Hey there Bakugou, forget about this loser, she's just a nobody. L-Let's just get back to finding Deku, okay?" Long Fingers said as he grabbed the blonde's shoulder and tried to pull him away.

"Y-Yeah man, just let it go. She's just trying to get under your skin." Big Mouth chimed, trying to calm his leader down but failing horribly.

"SHUT IT YOU DAMN EXTRAS! DON'T TELL ME WHAT TO DO!" Bakugou barked at the two, causing them to flinch back in fear as he turned back to Toga. "COUNT YOURSELF LUCKY BUN BITCH! IF I DIDN'T HAVE A NERD TO TAKE MY STRESS OUT ON, YOU'D BE NOTHING BUT A PILE OF SOOT BENEATH MY SHOES! BUT THAT'LL CHANGE REAL SOON IF I EVER SEE YOU AGAIN, SO I WOULD SCRAM IF I WERE YOU!" Turning away, he began stomping back towards the school. "COME ON EXTRAS, LET'S GO FIND THAT USELESS FREAK! HE'S PROBABLY STILL HIDING SOMEWHERE IN THERE!"

"S-Sure thing boss." The two boys gulped fearfully as they began following close behind, leaving a irritated Himiko by herself once more.

"Tch, what a bunch of sad dickheads." Himiko muttered under her breath as she watched the trio storm back into the school. Talk about an unsavory encounter. No wonder Izu-Kun has to keep his identity a secret. If someone like that Baka-gou guy knew about it, he'd probably pester him to no end.

Speaking of the greenette, Himiko couldn't help but feel a little worried about the well-being of her friend. If the spiky blonde's intent was what she thought it was, then it was safe to say that her friend was in some serious trouble. But, she wasn't exactly sure what to do. Should she go in there and look for him before boom-boom baby finds him, or should she stay out here and wait for him. Both options had some pros and cons. If she went in, she could possibly find Izuku and lead him to safety but risk another encounter with the annoying boy that could turn nasty. If she stayed out here though, things would turn out okay for her, but Izu-Kun would still be in danger. There was also the possibility that Izu-Kun could've used either his moth or ghost transformations, but she highly doubted it. Otherwise he would've probably called to let her know by now.

After thinking about it long and hard, Himiko decided it wouldn't hurt to do a quick sweep of the place. And if she just so happens to run into that annoying prick and his boy toys, she could handle herself in a fight. After all, she's got Mr. Bowie(1) tucked away in her sleeve for emergencies.

---

'Oh come on, you're pouring yourself another?! You've had three cups already?!' Izuku mentally screamed as he watched his teacher return to his seat with a freshly poured cup of coffee in his hand. It had been nearly two minutes since he's taken refuge underneath the counter, and so far all his teacher has been doing was wallowing in his own self pity while downing cup after cup of cheaply brewed arabica.

Izuku dragged a hand down his face as he fought the urge to scream in frustration. This was getting him nowhere. He had very limited time left in this form, and he was wasting precious seconds by just laying here and listening to this bumbling oaf complain about his life decisions, how frustrating!

'Ugh, if I have to hear one more time about how his father figure didn't support his asinine dream of becoming a dancer, I'm going to start pulling out my teeth!' Midoriya thought as his teacher began to ramble on in the background. 'Honestly, I'm sorely tempted to just run out there and give his achilles tendon a good bite if it meant shutting him up. But alas, due to my diminutive height, I'd just be exposing myself and ruining any chances of escape. Grrrh, damn it all, why can't he just leave?! I can't stay underneath here all day with all this filth!'

Looking around his hiding spot, Midoriya couldn't help but cringe in disgust at the state of the counters underside. Aside from the thick sheet of dust lining the ground and the clusters of dust bunnies here and there, dozens of discarded office supplies such as paper clips, rubber bands, and thumbtacks were strewn all about, and that isn't even mentioning the discarded moldy food scraps under here. Seriously, there was literally a piece of old, rotten lunch meat laying not too far from him! Do these people not clean up after themselves?! Ugh.

Oh, and there was also the fact that he didn't want to be crushed under here when he turned back, so there was that too.

"There's gotta be something I can do?" Midoriya said to himself, trying to rack his brain. He can't just make a run for it as he'll easily be seen by the teacher and most likely get caught, but if he just sat here he'll be caught when he turns human, so that wasn't any better. He's tried to see if he had any mental abilities like telekinesis or telepathy while trapped under here, but no dice. He's unfortunately just small and smart.

'Come on Izuku, think here. You've been in a similar situation like this before. How did you make it out of that?' Izuku thought as he recalled a particular memory back in elementary school. He was hiding in the woods trying to get away from Kacchan and his lackeys by concealing himself in a bush while the three bullies were in the area. 'If I recall correctly, I grabbed a nearby stone and chucked it as far as I could without them looking. And because of the sound, the three of them went to investigate it, allowing me to slip away unseen. But I can't simply distract the teacher with a sound, that simply won't do. I need to get him out of here in a different way, question is though, how and with what? I have nothing on me that could possibly help, and the materials surrounding me are just useless hunks of garbage, there's no way they could…. could….'

Izuku's train of thought derailed as he took another look around his surroundings to see the various pieces of junk lying around. However, with a much more critical line of thinking, the alien teen began viewing these objects in a new light and, without even noticing it, began to think of different ways he could possibly use these materials to help him in his endeavor. On their own, these random office supplies would be useless to him but perhaps, just maybe, he could use them to create something of use, a tool of sorts. Yes, that was it! Why didn't he think of it before? With this newfound intellect, he could make use of almost anything in his surrounding area!

'Question though now is, what exactly am I gonna use this stuff for?' Midoriya thought as he looked back up to his teacher, who was still yammering on about only who knows. He wasn't listening to the man anymore, instead just tuning him out as he analyzed him. There wasn't much he was doing really, just yammering on about his own problems while occasionally taking sips from his coffee, not really much to be…. wait…. wait, that could work!

With a plan in mind, Izuku shuffled around and began collecting the materials needed. Grabbing a few paperclips, two rubber bands, and a thumbtack, he began to use the items to make a small tool, bending the paperclips into a desired shape while slicing up the rubber bands with the thumbtack and tying them to the clips. After a short while, he now had a small makeshift slingshot in his hand. Now all he needed was the ammo.

Turning to the nearby rotten meat, Izuku cringed in disgust as he reached over to it and, uck, grabbed it, feeling it's slimy texture in his palm. Izuku made a mental note to clean his hand later…. with bleach.

Loading the meat up into his slingshot, Izuku pulled back the rubberband and aimed for his teacher, waiting for the opportunity to strike. "Alright Mr. Gehin, open wide."

"-ich is why I'm stuck in this worthless dead end job! 'Oh son, don't go to some stupid dance school and humiliate use further, become a teacher instead.', oh you didn't want me to humiliate you? Well look where being a teacher got me! So much for that I guess!" Mr. Gehin ranted as he threw his hands in the air before lowering his head with a defeated sigh. "God, my life sucks." Grabbing his coffee mug and raising it, the teacher looked down at the steaming liquid inside and said with a sad smile. "At least I have you, old friend."

'Now's my chance!' Izuku thought as he saw his teacher bring the mug to his lips, parting them slightly as to chug it's contents down. Without any hesitation the alien fired the rotten meat at the unaware teacher, hitting it's mark just as the rim of his mug brushed up against his bottom lip.

"Ack!" Mr. Gehin choked out as he dropped his mug, shattering it onto the floor, and clasped his neck with both hands as he felt something slick and moldy crawl down his throat. What the hell was that?! Did he just swallow some kinda fly or something?! Oh God, it tasted awful! Like someone took cyst and covered it in old grease! He had to rid himself of the taste! Maybe if he took a sip of coffee the bitter liquid…. might…. be….

Oh wait, that's right. He dropped it.

Fuck, this was bad. The rotten flavor of decayed meat was assaulting his taste buds and he needed to drown it out with something before he puked, question though was what? Looking around frantically, he tried to see if there was anything to help alleviate the taste. The food in the fridge? No, he didn't want his colleagues getting on his back for eating their food. The vending machines? No, the food in there is as stale as cardboard, that won't help. Maybe brew another cup of joe? No, he doesn't have time for that. Fuck, he felt like he was gonna vomit. Screw this, nothing in here was gonna help. Maybe if he hurried, he could make it to his car and grab some breath mint's before he hurls his lunch.

Jumping to his feet, the teacher wasted no time as he bolted out of the teachers lounge with a hand covering his mouth and ran down the hall, leaving the door to the room wide open. As the teacher ran, his footsteps echoed throughout the halls before eventually fading away. Once it was completely silent, Izuku crawled out from underneath the counter and looked at the passage from where his teacher ran out, somewhat surprised by his teacher's reaction. Initially, when he fired the rotten meat his intention was to get his teacher to drop the mug and leave to gather cleaning supplies. He didn't expect the meat to be that bad.

"Huh, well, I suppose the outcome was still in my favor so…. this is still a victory for me." Midoriya said to himself as he got to his feet and brushed himself off. Looking down at the handmade slingshot in his hand, he spoke to it as if it were sentient. "Thank you for your assistance my fellow. Unfortunately though, I'm afraid this is where we must split ways. So sorry about that."

And with that, he tossed aside the small tool and began running out the room, passing through the lounge's threshold and finding himself back into the familiar halls of the school once more. Due to his size, he wasn't covering that much ground. But that didn't matter to him, he was just glad to finally be out of that teachers lounge. Plus, if he was still quick about it, he should still be able to make it to Toga with roughly one minute and thirteen seconds left in this form, give or take. He just had to make it to the cafeteria.

After a while of sprinting through the halls, Midoriya turned a corner and was met with a sight that brought a surge of elation through him. The double doors leading into the cafeteria, and the one on the left was slightly agape, just as always. Good heavens the things in Aldrea are in a state of disrepair, he wasn't sure how he would've been able to enter the mess hall if the doors hinges fully closed all the way. All he had to do now was enter and find an open window. He knew there was one as everyday when the so-called cooks made that slop they called food, they would open a window or two to prevent the repugnant smells from filling the entire place, and he knew that they always forgot to close them after school, so this worked out well for him.

Now only a few feet away from the ajar door, Izuku brought up a hand to push it open so that he may skip through and continue on his task. However the moment his hand brushed up against the cool, worn metal something from the other side slammed into the doors, causing them to spring open and unintentionally crash into Izuku, who went flying back a few inches before landing Omnitrix first onto the ground. His chest, which had been struck dead-on, throbbed in pain as he brought a hand up to it. Thankfully, because the Omnitrix on his back protruded out slightly, it prevented him from bumping his head onto the tiled floor, so there was that. But still, what on Earth caused those doors to open up the way they did?

Lifting his head up to see who or what was the cause, Izuku's horizontal slit eyes shrunk in fear as he beared witness to the one responsible for his sudden fall.

Standing in the doorway, with a look of fury and annoyance on his face was none other than Katsuki Bakugou, and his two lackeys standing behind him like always.

"Damnit, where the hall is that damn nerd?!" He shouted as he looked around the hallway, thankfully no one seemed to notice the prone alien boy not too far from him. "We've scoured the entire fucking place from top to bottom and we still haven't found that useless Deku! Just where the hell could he be?!"

"Hey man," Long Fingers said as he placed a hand on his leader's shoulder. "I know you wanna beat the nerd as much as the next guy, but maybe we should just call it quits. I mean, it's pretty clear the nerd ain't around this dump anymore, so we should just go too. I don't really feel like wasting my afternoon hunting the loser down, ya know?"

Bakugou snarled as he turned his head back. "Get your goddamn hand off of me extra before I blast your fingers off one by one!" He barked at the boy, who quickly did as he was told. "And call it quits?! Are you brain dead or something?! I'm Katsuki Bakugou, I never give up! Especially when it comes to teaching Quirkless little freaks that their lives are nothing but garbage! Besides, that useless shit stain is still here, I can feel it! So stop your bitching and just do what you're told, otherwise I'll just use you to take my anger out on, got it?!"

"Y-Y-Yes boss." The two lackies nervously said as they instinctively took a step back while their leader turned away and tried to figure out where that miserable Deku ran off too. This was so frustrating, by now he would've had that Quirkless loser on the ground all bruised up and crying yet he's still running around looking for him! If he doesn't blow something up soon, he really will have to resort to using these two extras.

If Bakugou was more observative as he was quick to anger though, he would've noticed that laying just a few feet away from him was the aforementioned Deku, albeit in a form he wouldn't recognize him in. Speaking of, Izuku's small alien heart was currently beating a mile a minute as he stared fearfully at the towering frame of Katsuki Bakugou, who now looked even more frightening due to him being many times larger. No, no, why was this happening now of all times?! He was so close to making it out of this living nightmare. Why does he have to be here now of all times?!

What should he do now though?! He simply just couldn't stay or flee, as both options would just draw the trio's attention. Would sneaking work per chance? It wasn't exactly the best choice for this situation, not by a long shot, but perhaps if he were to simply move slowly back he could at the very least scoot underneath the nearby lockers without getting detected. Y-Yes, surely that could work. He just had to get up and take it nice and slow-

"Huh?" Sadly however, Izuku wouldn't get the chance. As before he could even get the chance to move, Katsuki's lackey, Big Mouth, spotted the small creature just sitting in the hall, stopping him as he looked like a deer in the headlights. Pointing at it, he said to his friends. "Whoa, guys look! What the hell is that thing?!"

Bakugou and Long Fingers looked towards the direction of where the boy was pointing, with the former about to snap at his lackey, before their expressions changed into looks of confusion as they stared at the strange little creature sitting on the floor. "What the fuck?" Bakugou mumbled, unsure of what the hell he was looking at.

'So much for sneaking.' Izuku thought as he fearfully gulped at feeling the gazes of the three bullies before his fight or flight instincts kicked in. And like always whenever he dealt with Bakugou, he of course chose flighting!

Hopping to his feet, the little alien began booking it the way he came from as fast as his little legs could, hoping to put as much distance between himself and the group of boys as possible. But as luck would have it, he didn't get very far. Like at all. For as soon as he took off running, Katsuki closed the distance between them in the blink of an eye and quickly swooped the shrunken teen up in his left head, who let out a panicked 'eep' as he was brought up to Katsuki's face, looking at the blonde with terror while he studied at the creature in his hand keenly, with his lackies looking in awe and intrigue.

"Who, dude! What the hell is that thing?" Long Fingers said as he tried to get a close look at Midoriya, but kept his distance to avoid irritating Bakugou. "It's all freaking looking with that head and those eyes."

"I'll say," Big Mouth said as he took notice of the clothing. "And check out what it's wearing too. It sorta looks like our uniforms. Bakugou man, what the heck do you think this thing is?"

The boy's question seemed to break Katsuki from his thoughts as his inquisitive expression changed to his common one. "Tch, what the hell do you extras think it is? It's obviously a fucking frog." Bakugou said matter-of-factly, as if he was an expert on herpetology. "What the hell else could it be?

"A frog?" Big Mouth said dubiously. "I dunno man, I mean, just look at it? That thing doesn't look like any frog I know of."

"Yeah," Long Fingers chimed. "Plus it's wearing clothing too. No way this is some crumby lizard. It's probably some type of radioactive mutant or something. With how much of a dump this place is, I wouldn't be surprised if there were monstrous pests behind these walls."

"Dumbasses, there's no such thing as radioactive mutants!" Bakugou barked, accidentally squeezing Midoriya tightly as he clenched his hands. "Haven't you braindead morons ever heard of Quirked animals before?! This thing is obviously a frog with some kinda Quirk factor! Just take a good look at it!" He said as he gestured to the little alien, staring intently at it while the lackeys simply analyzed the "frog" with unsure looks.

Being looked down upon by three sets of eyes, Midoriya, with a blank albeit shakey poker face, decided that it would be best to just play along. If they thought he was a simple amphibian then surely they would let him go, right. "Err…. Kero?"

The three boys just stared at the creature with inscrutable expressions before a smug smirk plastered itself onto Katsuki's face. "Ha, see you two? It just croaked like a goddamn frog."

"Well, I guess that makes sense?" Big Mouth said with uncertainty. While he knew Bakugou was smart, something told him that his claim wasn't right. Though he knew better than to voice his opinion around him. "But still, what the heck is it doing wearing some kinda weird jumpsuit? I don't think even Quirked animals can do something like that?"

"Yeah," Long Fingers chimed. "Besides, what's a frog doing here in a school in the middle of the city? Shouldn't it be in some forest or something?"

"Tch, morons." Katsuki mumbled underneath his breath, annoyed by their constant questioning. He knew they were brainless knob-jobs, but he found it hard to believe that they were this pinheaded. "Use your heads! Obviously this thing must've been dressed up and brought here by one of our weirdo schoolmates or something like that. Wouldn't be too surprising given that most of the people here are mental freaks."

Normally, Midoriya would've frowned at Katsuki's derogatory insults towards his fellow students and defended their good name, though as he thought about it he…. couldn't exactly blame Katsuki for that train of thought. Half the students here who weren't Quirkest pricks weren't exactly all there in the head, so to speak. If it weren't for his Quirkless nature, he had no doubt those individuals would be on the receiving end of the students bullying and staff's indifference.

"If you say so dude?" Big Mouth shrugged to his leader, before looking back down at the "frog" again. "What should we do with it though? I heard Quirk animals were supposed to be like, extremely rare or something? You think we could sell it on the internet?"

Long Fingers scoffed. "And what? Make a few measly yen off it? Fat chance! I say we put it in a microwave and see what would happen! I bet it's head would burst like a melon!"

Midoriya's complexion paled as he looked back and forth at the two lackeys, completely horrified by their suggestions before looking back at Kacchan for his answer. There's no way he'd actually entertain their fundamentally corrupt ideas? S-Sure, he wasn't exactly the best when it came showing compassion to…. well, anything other than his parents, but surely Bakugou wasn't so tactless as to sell him on the interwebs or, worse, place him in a microwave oven? It wasn't like he was some kind of monster, right?

"Idiots, the only thing I care about right now is finding Deku and pummeling him into next week. I ain't got time to waste on whatever dipshit ideas bouncing around your thick skulls." Bakugou said indignantly, much to the dissatisfaction of the lackeys and the relief of Midoriya. He shouldn't be so surprised by this, he thought, after all Kacchan wouldn't waste his time with something as trivial as a "frog". The temperamental blonde would most likely just release him so that he may continue on his pursuit of 'weak, Quirkless Deku', completely unaware that the creature in his hand was that said Deku.

Unfortunately for the teen though, that relief would be short lived. As if almost on a whim, Bakugou's next words would chill him to the core.

"Though I suppose you may have a point, Teeth. Quirked animals, especially ones with obvious mutations, aren't exactly something you can find in a pet shop, so it'd be extremely idiotic to just leave the little fucker in the hall. Plus, it would just be plain rude for the janitor to clean up. So I was thinking," Bakugou gave the little creature a malicious smirk. "Maybe we should swing by Mrs. Kamata's class and see if she's interested in purchasing a new frog to dissect."

'Wait, what?!' Izuku thought fearfully at what Bakugou was referring to. Their biology teacher, Mrs. Kamata, was a woman who had an unhealthy fascination with dissection to an uncomfortable degree. Even though she was one of the few teachers that did not engage in the schools bullying she was one of, if not the most detestable teacher to Midoriya as she would not waste a single opportunity for her class to cut open some poor animal corpses she got her hands on, causing him to almost lose his lunch more than a few occasions. She was so obsessed with the topic that there were even rumors about her abducting people for her to experiment on, and honestly, Izuku couldn't blame others for thinking such things.

"Oh yeah," Long Fingers said with a sinister chuckle. "That's a great idea Bakugou! I bet Mrs. Kamata would pay us a fortune to get a chance at cutting open a Quirked frog! Haha! She might even give us full straight A's for the rest of the semester!"

"Eh, I don't know guys?" Big Mouth said with an unsure attitude, not sharing his friends twisted glee at feeding a live animal to the biology classes snake. "I mean, is that really necessary? Not that I'm against getting some cash or even a higher grade or something, you know how freaky she is. I don't wanna be anywhere near her longer than we're suppose to. Can't we just wait tomorrow to give it to her in class?"

"Oh cram it crybaby," Bakugou said as he turned over to the boy, giving him a sharp glare. "If you think I'm gonna carry around this little freakshow until tomorrow, then you've got less brain cells in that deformed piece of meat you call a brain! I don't care what you think about the broad, we're gonna swing by her class real quick so we can get rid of this fucker, and after that we're going back out on the hunt for Deku! So I suggest you keep your lid shut, unless you want me to take all my pent up rage out on you! Got it?" Bakugou finished before raising up his free hand, letting out an explosion to get his point across.

"Geeze, alright alright. Don't gotta be so aggressive about it!" Big Mouth said as he raised up his hands in a dismissive manner. "Let's just…. get it over quickly okay?"

"Don't tell me what to do extra." Bakugou said with a low voice before beginning to make his way down the hall, with the two lackeys in tow.

All the while, Izuku was trying his best not to hyperventilate as he was being carried to a fate far worse than having his secret identity exposed. Being an unwilling participant of Operation was definitely not how he wanted his life to end. He had to get out of Kacchan's grasp asap and make a run for it. Question was, how? He lacked the physical strength to simply pry the blonde's fingers off, and he lacked the nails that would be necessary to claw his way out. The only thing he had that could cause any real damage would be his….

Oh.

Oh no.

Must he really have to use that new part of his anatomy?! Yes, it could provide him with a means of escape, but it would also leave him with a bad taste in his mouth if he were to go through with it.

But then again, what other options did he have? If he didn't go through with this, he'd either end up being dissected almost immediately by Mrs. Kamata, or stuffed in a glass jar that would no doubt kill him once he turned back, which would happen any minute now. So really, it was either do or die at the moment, and there was no way he was doing the latter.

So, with a defeated sigh, Izuku reluctantly placed his hands on Bakugou's thumb and index finger and stared down at the thumbs nail in trepidation.

"Huh?" Katsuki muttered as he felt something slick place themselves on his digits before looking down at the "frog" that was…. well, looking down at his thumb. "What the he-?"

Before the Explosion Quirk user to utter out the last word however, the tiny creature threw his head back and opened his mouth as wide as he could before clamping down at the tip of Bakugou's thumb. His tiny, but also incredibly sharp, teeth broke through the blonde's skin and nails with a simultaneously sickening crunch and squelch as blood erupted and filled Izuku's mouth with the taste of copper.

"FUCK!" Bakugou screamed as he immediately dropped the small alien from his grasp and quickly clutched his thumb which was starting to bleed considerably.

'Oh man, I can't believe I just did that! I'm so sorry Kacchan!' Izuku thought as he landed on the floor feet first with a brief stumble, before quickly straightening himself out and making a mad dash away from the trio of miscreants behind him. Fortunately, with Bakugou too preoccupied trying to stem his bleeding and his strong leg muscles, he was able to quickly run/hop/skip? (You pick whatever's fastest) to a nearby corner and disappear from their sight. Escaping through the cafeteria was now a bust, but the front entrance was also a viable option too! He just hoped he was quick enough.

Back with Bakugou and the others, Big Mouth and Long Fingers rushed to their leader's side as the former asked in a worrying tone. "Holy shit! Bakugou, you okay man?!"

Almost immediately, the explosive teen snapped his head at the boy and shouted with a mix of pain and anger. "NO I'M NOT FUCKING OKAY DIPSHIT! THAT FUCKING FREAK OF NATURE BIT ME!"

"B-Bit you?" Long Fingers dumbly parroted. "H-How the heck does that work? Frogs ain't got no teeth."

"APPARENTLY QUIRKED ONES DO YOU MORON! GOD IT FUCKING HURTS!" Bakugou screeched, sorely tempted to pummel the lackies face in for asking such a question. However before his tempter got the better of him, Fangs chimed in to defuse the tension.

"A-Alright man, let's just calm down now. Why don't you let us take a look and see the damage, I-I'm sure it can't be that bad?"

"Grrh." Katsuki growled at the boy, seemingly ready to unleash an explosion at his face, but quickly collected himself before he did anything irrational. Normally he wasn't one to listen to the suggestions of some useless extra, but given his newly acquired injury, deep down even he knew this wasn't the time to let his ego get the better of him. So, indignantly, he uncovered his wound and showed it to the two. And oh boy, it wasn't pretty.

The sight the two lackeys were met with was one that made their stomachs mix. The nail on Bakugou's thumb was completely split open, still oozing crimson as the soft pink flesh underneath was exposed to the air, slightly stinging at the wound. Thankfully it seemed that whatever the little toad did, did not fully split the entire tip of Bakugou's thumb wide open, so it wasn't too bad. Still though that also didn't mean it wasn't good either, and they knew it would only get worse if not treated soon.

"O-Oh damn!" Long Fingers said as he took a step back, cheeks turning a little green at the sight.

"Y-Yeah," Fangs agreed, doing the same as his friend. "T-That looks real bad."

"Gee really, what gave you that impression genius?!" Bakugou sarcastically/irritatedly said as he covered his thumb back up, wincing slightly as the applied pressure stung a bit.

"U-Uh, right. My bad." Fangs replied meekly. "B-But, uh, I mean it ain't super bad though, so there's that at least." Placing a hand on his leader's shoulder, he suggested. "C'mon man, let's just go and get you patched u-."

"Get your damn hand off me! How many times do I gotta tell you that you worthless fucks ain't even worthy of breathing the same air as me!" Bakugou barked as he violently shook off his minions hand. "And get patched up?! Hell no! I ain't doing nothing until I catch that little grey fucker for daring to do this me! I swear to God, when I get my hands on it it'll be nothing but a scorched outline on the pavement!"

"H-Huh?!" Fangs asked, completely appalled along with Long Fingers at his leader's claim. "But dude, your injury! You can't go around looking for it with something like that, you gotta get it patched up before it gets worse! I get your pissed at that little freak, but do you honestly think blowing it up is gonna make your thumbnail instantly heal?!"

"No, but it'll make me feel better!" Katsuki growled. "Nobody gets away doing something like this to me, especially some inbred toad! I don't care how bad this wound is, I'm not gonna rest until I find it and grind it's organs into paste with my heel! And If you two dipshits aren't gonna help me, then by all means, piss off! I don't need dead weight slowing me down!"

And with that, he bolted. Heading off in the direction of where he thinks the little frog creature took off at, leaving the two boys in the hall. They both have each other a look of perplexed confusion, silently debating on what they should do. With Bakugou off chasing the cause of his injury, the duo should've probably left the school and spend the rest of their afternoon doing whatever they pleased, after all who wanted to spend their free time helping their (abusive) leader hint down a small amphibian. On the other hand however, they knew that Bakugou could act rash when by his lonesome. They couldn't control the blonde's actions, not in any sense of the word, but they did at least help him think a bit more clearly whenever his temperament got the best of him…. sometimes. And while they didn't really care who Bakugou blew up at, both figuratively and literally, they knew he could make his split thumb much worse if he didn't get it treated soon.

So after briefly thinking it over, and against their better judgement, the two silently decided to chase after the loudmouth teen to make sure he didn't do anything stupid and, hopefully, convince him to go to the nurse.

---

"Oh man! Oh man! Oh man, oh man, oh man!" Izuku hyperventilated as he quickly ran down the long hallways of Aldrea, using his little legs to cover a considerable distance. "I can't believe I actually bit Kacchan like that! What was wrong with me back there?! If Mother and All Might were to find out about this they'd be so ashamed!"

As the transformed teen continued to run, he was still berating himself over his previous actions. He still had trouble wrapping his head around the fact that he had actually brought physical harm to his childhood friend in such a violent manner. Yes, you could chalk it up to his fear getting the best of him, leading him to perform such a desperate act, but that hardly excused him of doing such a thing! He was supposed to be a hero, or well, er, trying to become one. Heroes don't bite people!

….

Well, except maybe Hound Dog and similar type heroes, along with ones with Quirks related to biting. But still, he shouldn't be biting others like that!

Doesn't matter now though, what's done is done. He needs to focus on making it out of here before Kacchan and the rest catch up with him. Now the cafeteria exit was a bust, but maybe, just maybe, he can find a way out through or near the front entrance. If he can just find an open window or a similar opening, it would be just a simple run towards the front gates, he just had to make his way through the massive halls and avoid detection. Thankfully he hasn't heard or seen anyone just yet, so maybe things are finally-.

"Where you at you little shit! I'm gonna make frog legs outta you!" The irate and bombastic voice of Kacchan cried out in the distance, with a few micro explosions going off as well.

Midoriya's blood dropped as he swiveled his head back while still running, expecting to find his childhood 'friend' right behind him. Luckily he didn't see him, but he did hear his footsteps in the distance gaining closer and closer. It would only be a matter of moments until he caught up, which meant he had a very small window of opportunity to do something, but what? Should he hide, should he continue as is? He had very little time left to turn back to simply wait, and Kacchan would simply vaporize him on the spot. Oh dear, what would All Might d-?

"Gah!" Before Izuku went into mumble mode, he felt himself crash bump into something in his path while he was still looking back, making him fall flat on his rear. Thankfully, whatever he crashed into wasn't all too hard, so he wasn't injured. But still, he slightly cursed himself as he should've been paying far more attention to his surroundings. Kacchan's hot on his heels and here he goes bumping into a…. wall? Not wait, it's too soft to be a wall, and come to think of it he still had plenty of hallway left to run, and there were no obstacles in his way as well. So what had he-?

"What the heck?" A familiar, female voice said from above, causing Izuku's eyes to widen in shock. Craning his head up, Midoriya couldn't help but feel alleviated to see that what he had bumped into was none other than Himiko Toga, who was looking down at him with a quizzical expression. "What's a frog doing in the middle of the hall? And why is it wearing clothes? Are you supposed to be someone's science project little guy? Cause I gotta say you don't look all too cute."

"Oh Toga, thank goodness! You have no idea how relieved I am to see such a familiar face!" Izuku stated as he quickly got to his feet, ignoring the girl's comment. However, this had unintentionally caused said girl to take a step back.

"What the hell?! A talking frog?! How the hell does it know my name?!" She yelled out, freaked out by the fact of a talking animal knowing her name. She was almost tempted to stomp on the little creature had it not been for his next words.

"No, no, no! Toga, it's me Izuku!" The small alien explained, raising it's hands defensively. Turning around, he showed Toga the familiar hourglass symbol on his back that was present on all his other transformations. "See, look I've got the symbol and everything!"

Upon noticing the hourglass symbol on his back, Toga slightly calmed down but was still understandably a bit…. apprehensive. "I-Izu-kun, i-is that really you? W-What the heck are you supposed to be? I thought you only had ten forms, have you been holding out on me?"

Izuku nervously laughed as he turned back around. "Ah, well not necessarily. You see it's a long story and I'd be happy to tell you over a cup of tea, but-."

Before he could try and explain further, a shout not too far off caught their ears. "FROOOOGGGG! SHOW YOURSELF YOU LITTLE COWARD! YOU GOTTA PAY ME BACK FOR THE THUMB TO SPLIT OPEN! WITH YOUR BLOOD!"

Looking back at the hall with a fearful expression, before frantically looking back up at Toga, he quickly finished his sentence. "But right now's not the most opportune time! I'm being hunted down and need to get out of this school quickly! Toga, please, I beg of you! You must help me before it's too late!"

Now under normal circumstances, hearing that her hero needed her help would've, without a doubt, made Toga giddy with joy at such an opportunity. However because of the desperate look on his little grey face and the sound of explosions fast approaching, she knew now wasn't the time to fangirl out. She needed to act for her Izu-Kun and fast. So, with some quick thinking, she knelt down and picked up the diminutive by the waist, much to his surprise.

"H-Huh? Toga what're you-?" Izuku was about to ask, but was cut off by the blonde.

"Just keep quiet and stay still." She said as she got back up. "I'll let you out once we're away from this place okay." And with that, she stuffed the vigilante teen into her cardigan's right pocket, making sure he was tucked away nice and deep while also making sure his body didn't bulge out from underneath. Thankfully it was baggy enough though that, that wasn't much of an issue.

A good thing too, because no sooner was she done, Bakugou immediately appeared in the hall, barely stopping himself from crashing into the wall as he frantically searched around for his target, palms sparking.

"Where the fuck did you go you little shit?! Your tiny ass couldn't have gotten far?!" Bakugou yelled as he looked back and forth, checking every nook and cranny with hawk-eyed precision, before stopping when he noticed Toga standing a few feet away. "Eh?! Bun Bitch?! What the fuck are doing here?! Didn't I tell you to beat it earlier?!"

Toga had to hold back a snarl at the explosive boy's tone and insulting name. Of course, it was just her luck to run into this prick again. "Oh, it's you again boom-boom baby. Gotta say I wasn't expecting to see you again so soon. Where are your little boy friends? Shouldn't they be here to reign your leash in to stop you from doing something stupid?"

"What. Did. You. Just. Say?!" Bakugou growled as he let off a mini explosion in each hand, trying and failing to intimidate the frustrating girl before him. Though while Toga simply remained unphased, Midoriya was sweating bullets inside her pocket. Just what was she doing?!

"Oh, hold your britches boom-boom baby, I just came in to use the restroom. Don't need to get so uptight over it." She said annoyed as she turned away, ready to leave. "I'll get out of your hair. No need to throw a tantrum about."

'Please stop! Don't upset him more than he is already! You have no idea what he's like!' Midoriya silently pleaded, hoping she could hear him. He knew how volatile Kacchan could get when insulted, and right now in the state that he's in, it was fully guaranteed that he would lash out at the nearest thing with extreme prejudice. And he didn't want Toga to be on the receiving end of that not one bit!

"Not so fast Bun Bitch!" Bakugou called out before she could take a step. "You're not going anywhere! Not at least until you answer me some questions!"

"Tch, oh? And why would I do that?" She asked, turning her head back to face him.

"Because that's the least you're disrespectful ass can own me! So answer me! Did you see some weird Quirked frog running along here?! Bipedal! Wearing a jumpsuit! About to get it's ass beaten! Well?!"

Of course, Himiko knew what exactly he was talking about, but decided to feign ignorance and shot him a strange look. "Eh, a walking frog In a jumpsuit? What the heck are you even talking about? You on something, or do you just got toys in the attack?" She asked, spinning a finger next to her head at the end.

"Grrr, don't look at me like that! I ain't crazy!" Bakugou defended, bringing up his damaged thumb. "The fucker did this to me, see! And I intend on paying him back for it tenfold! So did you see him or not?!"

'Oh damn, Izu-Kun did that? That looks like it's gotta hurt.' Himiko though before playing dumb again. "Sorry buddy, but I didn't see any walking frogs. But even if I did, what makes you think I'd tell you? When we first met outside, you've been nothing but a total ass and kept calling me Bun Bitch. So If anything, I think ya earned your little mark there as a bit of karma. Hell, probably why whatever bit you did what it did. You should probably work on your manners sometime."

'Wait, Toga already met Kacchan?' Midoriya thought, pulled from his fear a bit by that little revelation. Though thinking about it, the way they interacted did seem to imply that.

"Why you little…." Katsuki growled, clenching his fists as his body palpitated with unbridled wrath. He was about to scream his head off again, but was silenced by Toga.

"Look boom-boom baby, as much as I'd love," Toga's voice dripped with sarcasm. "to stay and chat, I've got other places to be. So, good look on your little frog hunt. Tootles!"

And with that, she sped walked off, leaving Bakugou alone in the hall before he could get another word in. He just stood there, staring dumbly at the spot where Himiko once stood and contemplating on what the hell he should do next. Part of him wanted to chase her down and tear those stupid buns off her head for daring to speak to him with that kinda disrespect. Part of him wanted to keep looking for that damn frog and burn it alive. And another part wanted to find something to take his rage out on. He was so…. pissed! This whole day has been nothing but shit and just wants to do something to help alleviate his street. But what though? But between all those options, he wasn't sure on what to do.

He didn't get to think about it long though, as to his left, his lackeys appeared beside him, looking completely out of breath after running after their leader.

"Ha…. Ha…. B-Bakugou…. Ha…. oh thank God…. w-we finally caught up to ya man." Fangs panted, sweat dripping from his brow.

"Yeah," Long Fingers said in a similar state. "It ain't easy keeping up with yeah man." Long Fingers looked up at his leader, noticing the look of indignation on his face. "Hey, uh, did you catch the little freak? We saw you standing all by yourself when we turned the corner. Must've made quick work of it I guess. Where's the body though, I don't see it so did ya-?"

"Shut it," Bakugou venomously said, shutting the two lacky's up. "Both of you, I don't want to hear another fucking word outta your mouths."

Turning right, Bakugou began to walk down the hall he and his lackeys came from, violently shoulder bumping Long Fingers in the process. Watching their leader storm off, the two bullies gave each other a worried, puzzled look before Fangs spoke up. "But, uh, Bakugou? What about the-?"

"I said shut the fuck up!" Bakugou yelled out as he spun around to face his followers, giving them a feral glare that made them flinch back. "This whole fucking day has been nothing but a long piece of shit, and all you two morons have done was be nothing but completely nuisances throughout it! I'm done with the both of you today! I don't care what you two idiots do now, just stay far fucking away from me!"

"B-But dude," Long Fingers timorously stammer. "W-What about D-Deku or th-the fr-?"

"Forget about them alright! Just fucking forget about them! I got better shit to do than look for those fucks anyway!" Bakugou yelled before turning back around, looking down at his injured hand. "I gotta bandage this shit up before it gets any fucking worse anyway. So you two idiots are free to do as you damn please. Just keep your distance."

"Bu-." Long Fingers was about to speak, but was stopped by his friend who gave him a pleading look and whispered. "Forget about it dude, let's just go and leave him to it. No need to stick our noses where they don't belong."

Grabbing his friend by the shoulder, Fangs ushered his comrade down the hall opposite of Katsuki's direction, leaving the blonde alone once more. Though they might not have gotten their way today, there was always tomorrow. They just hoped their leader would be calmed down by then.

---

Himiko passed through the front gates of Aldrea and briskly walked down the main street before turning into a nearby alley, as to not be tailed. After walking down the narrow path for a bit and making sure that the coast was clear, she dug into her cardigan and pulled out a Midoriya who had a nervous pallor and was breathing sighs of relief.

"Oh thank goodness!" Izuku said as Toga gently placed him on the ground. "Finally, I'm free of that infernal hovel of an institution, and not a moment too so either! Ah, thank you Toga. Had you not shown up when you did, I'm not certain what would've happened."

Himiko smiled as she looked down at the vigilante teen. "Hehe, don't mention it Izu-Kun. I couldn't just leave you there after all, especially with that nasty boom-boom baby after ya. What kinda friend would I be?"

"Yes, well, regardless. Thank you for your assistance." Izuku said, rubbing the back of his head slightly. He still wasn't used to this whole friendship thing. "I'm not sure how or when, but I owe you a great debt, one I intend to pay back in full."

"Aww, how sweet." Toga said, somewhat touched by his flattery, before something crossed her mind. "Well, if you're willing to pay me back, then maybe you can answer a question or two?"

"Oh?" Izuku asked, intrigued. "Such as?"

"Well, the most obvious one I can think of is this?" Himiko gestured at Midoriya's small stature. "I thought you told me you only had ten transformations, so, where'd this form come from then. Also, what was the deal with boom-boom baby back there? What'd you do, piss his cereal or something? Cause he kept screaming his head off."

Crap this could be a problem, Izuku thought. How the heck was he gonna explain this new form to her? "Ah, well, to answer your questions in order, this form is, um, a new transformation that…. I-I created! Yes that's it, it's a new transformation that I created with my Quirk."

"Created?" Himiko parroted, tilting her head to the side.

"Y-Yes, that's how my Quirk works. I can…. restructure…. my own genetic structure to grant myself new forms that…. my support equipment on my wrist…. saves to allow me to…. access them more quickly! And I created this form just today! Yes, that's why I've never mentioned it before, ahehehe!" Izuku nervously said, hoping Toga would buy into this impromptu lie.

Thankfully, it seemed to work, as Himiko's eyes widened with glee. "Whoa really?! That's gotta be like the most powerful transformation Quirk ever! No wonder you're such an awesome vigilante!"

"Ahehe, well I wouldn't say that. It, um, takes a lot of time to think of new forms to make." Izuku explained, still lying through his teeth.

"Ah, that makes sense I guess." Himiko nodded, before asking. "So, what do you call this form then? Leap Frog, Grey Toad, something like that?"

"This form? It's, uh," Izuku looked down at his hands, trying to think of a name. "Grey…. Matter. Grey Matter. Yes, that is what this form goes by, as I appear to have a heightened intellect while in this state, and that is what the brain is made up of."

"Grey Matter huh?" Himiko said as he placed a hand on her chin and mulled it over. "Not bad, it certainly fits the look."

"Why thank you."

Beep. Beep. Beep. Bwosh!

In a flash of red, the newly named Grey Matter returned back into Izuku Midoriya, much to his reli and to Toga's annoyance.

"Gah! Why is it so bright?!" The blonde asked as she rubbed her eyes to make the spots go away.

"O-Oh crud, sorry Toga! That's just an unintended side effect of my Quirk!" Izuku frantically explained, while also thinking to himself. 'At least that wasn't a permanent transformation. So there's that.'

"Gah, it's fine. I just gotta…. keep that in mind I guess." She said, regaining her vision. "Anyway, back on track here, what about boom-boom baby back there? What the hell was his deal?"

"Boom-boom baby?" Izuku asked before realizing. "Oh, you mean Kacchan. I…. wait, you met him before?"

"You could say that." She dryly remarked, before explaining how her first encounter with the blonde went with him asking her about where 'Deku' was, and how she told him to rightly piss off, before going inside the school to check and see if Midoriya was okay. "After searching for a while I happened to bump into you and well, you know how the rest went. I have no idea what the hell his problem was, and frankly, I don't care. He seems like a douchebag in my opinion."

"H-Hey!" Izuku exclaimed, flustered that someone even said that about Katsuki. "K-Kachhans not a…. a d-douchebag. T-That's just how he is, that's all. H-He's really a great guy once you get to know him."

"Great guy?" Himiko repeated with a skeptical tone. "Izu-Kun, you sure you're talking about the same guy I am? Cause to me, yelling at others and calling me Bun Bitch doesn't exactly scream something like a great guy to me, and he called you a useless freak who he wanted to give black eyes too. If anything, he almost reminds me of a-." Before Himiko could finish that sentence, she stopped as her face scrunched up in confusion, before horrified realization crept upon her face.

"Reminds you of what?" Izuku asked, curious on what Kacchan reminded her of. However, when all he got was just silence, he became a bit uneasy. "Himiko, is something the matter?"

Again, he was met with silence, though eventually she did answer in the form of a question. "Izu-Kun, why exactly did he and his friends chase after you?"

"H-Huh?!" This threw Izuku off guard, but he quickly tried to defend himself. "Uh, n-n-no reason, really. It's j-j-just something he does from time to time. Wh-Why do you ask?"

"Well after my first encounter with him, I thought back to what you texted to me earlier, about how the people here weren't ideal and how you weren't the most well liked guy at school? Well, I wasn't too sure about what you meant earlier, but after hearing that blonde prick talk about you in such an awful way, I can't help but feel like you're being bu-." Again, Toga didn't get to finish her sentence. Though not because of her own volition however, but due to Izuku loudly cutting her off.

"I-I'm not being bullied!" The greenette said defensively. "Especially not by Kacchan, he and I are friends! S-Sure, he can be a bit abrasive sometimes, but he means well, honest!"

"If that's true, then why did he sound like he wanted to curb stomp you when I met him? Why was he chasing after you in the first place? That doesn't seem like something friends would do Izu-Kun?"

"T-That's just how he is. It's not his fault he's like that. S-Sure, he might come off as a bit aggressive, but he isn't all that bad. Heck, he was honestly better when we were kids really." Izuku explained.

"Then what changed?" Himiko pointed out. "If he was better when you two were little, what made him change for the worse?"

"W-Well when his Quirk, Explosion, came in, the teachers and our classmates did shower him with a lot of praise about how he was going to be a great hero with that Quirk, and I'll admit it might've gone to his head a little. But it's not like they were wrong, Kacchan is so amazing that he'll become an amaz-." This time, it was Izuku who was cut off by Himiko.

"Are you kidding me?!" She yelled, sounding furious at the explanation. She's heard stories about this before, stories about how people with supposedly 'amazing' and 'flashy' Quirks treated others like trash. "No wonder that pompous prick was such an asshole! He's just another Quirkist bastard who's probably never been told no before in his life!"

"H-Hey, Kacchans not a Quirkist!" Midoriya defended, though, even he wasn't fully convinced with that claim. "H-He's just really boastful, that's all. I-I mean, in the world we live in, something like that isn't too crazy, right?"

"Oh really? Then answer me this, has your 'friend' snapped back at others over the littlest of things? Has he ever flaunted his Quirk around at others in a threatening way just so that they 'know their place'? Has he ever treated his peers and seniors with any semblance of respect in his life, or does he treat them like garbage because he thinks he's above them all." Himiko listed off, making Izuku feel more and more unsure with each question. Before he could say anything, she continued with clear certainty, almost as if she had a similar experience. "Because let me tell you something Izu-Kun, If does done any of these, then that doesn't mean he's your friend. At best, he's a jerk. At worst, he's a bully."

"H-He's not- You- I-." Like before, Midoriya tried to find a counter argument for her claims, but couldn't. Her words were just…. too truthful. Deep down she knew she was right, but he didn't want to, couldn't, admit it. So, shamefully turning away from her and looking at the pavement beneath him, he just futilely murmured. "Y-You don't know him like I do. He's…. different okay?"

"What?" She replied, completely dumbfounded. "Izu-Kun, why are you trying so hard to defend this jerk? He clearly doesn't seem to like you all that much, and yet you're calling him a friend and junk? You're clearly way too kind and awesome to spare him the time of day so what's the de-?"

"Because he was my first friend okay!" Izuku cried out, stopping Himiko in her place and allowing him to continue. "Look, I know Kacchan can be a bit of a jerk with his Quirk sometimes, and his behavior towards others could definitely use some work, but you gotta understand that we've known each other since we were in diapers. We used to do everything together from playing, watching heroes, collecting bugs, we were practically brothers which wasn't too far off considering our moms are such great friends. But when his Quirk came in and the praise went to his head, he started acting less like the Kacchan I knew and more like, well the one you saw today. I know he doesn't treat me with any respect, and that I should probably just stay far away from him, but I can't. Despite it all, I still see the same strong, determined guy I used to play with."

"I-Izu-kun," Himiko whispered sympathetically, completely floored by what she just heard. Don't get it wrong, she still thinks Izuku is too good to spare the likes Bakugou even a simple glance, but the way her hero spoke so fervently about his past with the spikey blonde made it clear to her how he still regarded him. "I'm so sorry, I didn't know."

Izuku gave an exasperated sigh as he turned his head back to her, but still kept his eyes down. "It's fine Toga, just…. let's not talk about this anymore okay?"

"U-Uh, yeah. Sure thing." She uttered out, mentally kicking herself for the direction her lines of question went. This wasn't how things were supposed to go down, she wanted to brighten his day with a small get-together at one of her favorite cafes, not bring him down in the dumps by prodding at some personal stuff. Ugh, that downtrodden look on his face was making her gut twist, she had to rectify this.

"H-Hey Izu-Kun," Toga drawled, making sure she picked the right words. "I know this might not mean much now, b-but I want you to know that I still meant everything I said earlier, over the phone I mean."

Izuku looked up a bit, his downcast expression becoming a bit perplexed as she continued to speak. "I really think you're an amazing guy, not only because of the stuff you do but also because of the way you act. I know we haven't known each other for very long, and pretty much all of our interactions have been over the phone, but you're the first person I've ever met aside from my parents who actually listened to me, like genuinely listened. Most people usually get annoyed by my eccentricity and tend to avoid me, but you, you would actually talk to me and didn't get to seem annoyed by it, heck it almost sounded like you were excited when I would call. I guess what I'm trying to say is, you're actually a pretty amazing guy even without the vigilante stuff and while I might not know the full extent of what's going on at that school of yours, and this might sound a bit strange, I want you to know that if you ever need someone in your corner, I'd be happy to defend you in anyway I can. So don't be afraid to ask." She finished with a toothy grin.

Meanwhile, Izuku looked at her somewhat curiously. "Do…. do you really mean that?"

"Of course, what kind of friend would I be otherwise?" She asked rhetorically, her grin beaming even brighter to the boy.

There was that word again, friend. She was his friend. God, he doesn't think he'll ever get used to something like that anytime soon. With a smile he said. "T-Thanks Toga, that really means a lot."

"Aw, don't mention it. And enough of this formal stuff, I already told you you can call me Himiko." She said, waving a hand nonchalantly at him. "And If that yapping little Spicy Pomeranian comes barking, I can easily deal with him."

Himiko's eyes widened a bit and she almost slapped her hand over her mouth. Shit, she didn't mean to blurt out that last part! Ugh, now Izu-Kun's mood might drop again because of that little reminder.

"Pffff!" To her surprise though, Midoriya actually let out a slight snicker at the remark before asking. "Spicy Pomeranian?"

"Uh," She muttered, deciding to go with it. "Y-Yeah. I mean, with the hair and the little explosions he was popping off, you can't help but make the comparison, you know?"

"Hehe, I guess so." Midoriya chuckled, somewhat agreeing with that logic. And seeing that her little slip of the tongue didn't upset him further, Himiko lightly laughed alongside.

"You know Izu-Kun," Himiko spoke up. "We've still got plenty of daylight left to just hang and unwind, especially after the last few crazy minutes. So what do ya say? Wanna get outta here and check out that cafe I told you about?"

Izuku hummed in thought as he considered Himiko's offer, before answering with a smile. "Sure, after all this craziness I could use the relaxation. Lead the way."

Himiko squealed in delight as she grabbed Izuku by the arm and began leading him out of the alley, all while the boy had a slight blush at action. So far, today might not have been the most stellar in Izuku's opinion, but things were certainly beginning to look up for him.

Heck, he even got a new alien and if that was anything to go by, he might get more. Question is, he wondered, how many? Only time will tell for the greenette.

---

And done. Holy crap, I am so sorry it took me so long to get this chapter done. This is why I hate Winter, my body basically shuts down from the cold. I'm like a plant, I need heat and natural light to be active.

I sincerely hope you guys liked the chapter, and I'll try to get the next one out as quickly as possible while also focusing on my other projects. Thanks for waiting for this one to come out, and again, I'm really sorry.

The real main purpose for this chapter was to introduce Grey Matter (as he's one of my more favorite Aliens and I didn't know how else to introduce him) and to plant the seeds of Izuku's disdain for Katsuki. That little bit at the end where Himiko asked about Katsuki was there for a reason because I'm not really a fan of Bakugou, even in recent chapters. So he and Izuku won't be friends in this story.

Also, when writing Izuku as Grey Matter, I imagined him speaking like Double D from Ed, Edd, N Eddy. I also decided to give him some enhanced speed as well because of his frog-like legs, though not a whole lot. Just enough where he can make it to places quickly without being hindered by his stoutness. He's not gonna have XLR8 quickness.

And before you say anything, if it seems like I'm misspelling Gray as Grey, I'm not. That's how I've been spelling it for all my life and that's how I'll keep spelling it.

References:

1: Mr. Bowie is a reference to James Bowie, inventor of the Bowie Knife.

2: Mrs. Kamata is a reference to Tatsuro Kamata from Junji Ito's story about dissection.