AN: Professor Donger: We couldn't help ourselves, we have a new chapter. This one was a bit of a pain in the ass to write, but I think it turned out well!

Damian: I definitely like it, but I feel like that's biased, so I guess my opinion isn't valid XD. Anyways, enjoy, and I'm gonna go play Titanfall.

Izuku was waiting in his room, hiding under his blanket, waiting for the perfect moment to call out. After a moment, he raised a hand to his mouth and shouted, "Someone save me!"

Why did he sound like Mom?

The door opened with a thud, and a voice he vaguely recognized as his own when he was three years old announced his arrival. "I am here!"

He felt himself get hit by something and looked up; where was he? This wasn't his room… He looked around and found himself surrounded by thugs.

…

Hadn't he just been playing a game?

He stood on shaky legs and began looking for an escape route, his eyes flitting back and forth before he looked behind him at the young lady he had been protecting.

"I am here, don't worry…" He whispered as he prepared to fight.

"You just don't know when to quit, do you?" One of the thugs mocked.

Izuku shook his head to clear the dizziness and held his fists up. "I can do this all day."

He dodged a blow from one of the thugs with razor fingers, slamming his fist into his face and sending him stumbling back and falling over. He then used that momentum to take down the other one, charging at him and carrying him into a nearby wall…

That left the last one, who almost immediately used his quirk, targeting the lady he had been in front of.

Steaming water burst from the guy's hands, and he moved without thinking, diving toward the woman to protect her with his body.

He expected scalding pain to hit him; instead, he heard the telltale sound of water hitting metal before a loud clang and a groan caused him to look up from where he was hugging the woman.

Standing before him was some hero he had never seen before, her white cape flapping in the wind as she scoffed at the guy she had presumably knocked out. "Three against one, with quirks, and you were still getting your asses kicked."

"H-how did..." Izuku asked in a voice he barely recognized…

Was that All Might?

"Trash can lid," the lady scoffed with a shrug. "Blocked the water, and then pimp slapped him with it, Captain America style."

"No! How did you know where we were?"

The lady gave another shrug. "I don't know, luck, I guess. I was in the neighborhood." She looked at him curiously, "But kid, protecting this lady took a lot of guts," She paused as Izuku helped said lady up, who thanked both of them profusely before running away.

The lady hummed as she saw the proud smile on Izuku's face. "Why'd you help her?"

Izuku blinked at her in confusion. "Huh?"

"Why'd you help that woman? It was three-on-one; I assume that you didn't know her; I didn't see you use a quirk, so I'm assuming it-"

"Doesn't exist," Izuku cut her off. "I'm quirkless."

The woman's eyes widened in surprise. "Quirkless? Then the odds were even more stacked against you, and still, you put yourself in harm's way for no reward. Why?"

Izuku responded quickly, "She needed help, so I helped; I needed no reason to."

The woman stepped to the side of the alley and leaned against the wall, crossing her arms as she kept her eyes on him. "Everyone has a reason to stand and fight, even if the reason isn't materialistic. So what's your reason?"

Izuku sighed as he made his way to the opposite wall and allowed himself to sit on the ground, leaning against it, giving his legs a break. "It's… It's nothing. An impossible dream."

The woman sat down, too. "Go ahead and tell me anyway; I'm curious."

"Really?" Izuku raised an eyebrow at her.

She scratched the back of her head. "Well, I also need to wait for the police to get here to hand these thugs off."

"Ah, true." Izuku sighed. "I… want to be a symbol."

"A symbol?"

He nodded. "Yeah, a symbol… a symbol of peace and comfort."

She adjusted her position and rested her head in her hand. "Explain it to me."

Izuku shook his head. "It's… It's dumb."

"Humor me."

"...I want people to see me and their worries to disappear. I want them to see me and feel like everything will be okay, that I'll help them and keep them safe. I want them to hear my name and smile."

"..."

"Like I said, it's-"

"What's your name, kid?"

Izuku looked up. "Huh?"

"Well, you got a name right? If you want people to know your name, you have to have one. So what is it?"

"...Toshinori Yagi."

Izuku shot up out of his bed, his body drenched in sweat and his head aching. He took in a few desperate gasps of air as awareness quickly returned to him; he quickly looked around his room before wiping his face with his sheets.

"What the hell?" he muttered as his mother knocked on his door.

"Izuku? Honey? Are you awake?" Inko asked. "You need to hurry up and shower; Ochako will be here in thirty minutes for your run!"

Izuku glanced at his clock and whispered a quiet curse before jumping out of bed. "Yeah, I'm up! I'm up!"

As he showered and then dressed to prepare for his run with Ochako, Izuku tried to make sense of the vivid dream he had just experienced. It all felt so fast and yet slow at the same time, and it was all so clear, so much information to process at once; it was sending him on the verge of a headache before dying down. It didn't help that his thoughts were running through his mind faster than Ingenium.

He was himself, but he was also somehow… someone else? How the hell did that make any sense?!

He groaned as he ran his hand down his face. He figured it would be better to ignore it all for the time being, especially if it was going to do nothing but frustrate him.

Besides, it was a dream and not worth getting worked up over.

"You keep bouncing up and down any faster, and they'll have to stop the train," Izuku chuckled.

Ochako bounced in her seat several times before turning to face him. "I can't help it! I'm just so excited and pumped, ya know?" She raised a fist, and Izuku swore he saw stars in her eyes. "Today is the first day we have an actual heroics class!" She pointed at him with a playful frown. "You, of all people, should be excited!"

The train stopped, and Ochako almost rushed out at top speed, only for Izuku to hold her back by her backpack before she ran into somebody. He realized then that the moment he'd let her go, she would almost do the same thing. He then figured it would be easier to lift her up via said backpack and carry her through the crowd until they were in a more open space.

"I am excited; I'm just better at containing said excitement, unlike some people," he said as he set her down.

"Screw you an' your fuckin' busted ass super strength quirk," Ochako muttered, blushing from the humiliation of being carried, one-handed, by her backpack like she was some kitten.

"I wasn't even using my quirk, but okay."

"Bull fuckin' shit!" Ochako pointed at him dramatically.

"Did you see any energy coming off me?"

"B-but…"

"My mom always told me that most girls like being told they don't weigh that much, and you don't weigh that much; I don't understand your problem here…"

"My problem is that you can effortlessly lift me without your quirk… with one hand!" Ochako shook him by the shoulders a little. "Are you even human?!"

"I curl a hundred pounds as a warm-up now, so lifting what? Around a hundred pounds? One-handed, it's nothing."

"What about the crap in my bag?" She pointed at said backpack.

"Ochako, I ran through sand carrying heavy things for ten months, including cars that people somehow managed to dump on that beach. I think picking you up easily shouldn't be surprising."

Ochako stopped and stared at Izuku as if he was some sort of impossible being before shaking her head as she continued walking while muttering, "My best friend is built differently, I guess."

Izuku blinked before continuing to walk as well. "Huh, my trainer said the same thing once."

The two continued their walk briefly before Ochako started the conversation again.

"So, who do you think will be teaching heroics? It's UA, so it has to be someone good, right? I just hope they're more relaxed than Aizawa…" They both shivered at that. "We've only had him one day, and he's already the scariest teacher we have…"

"That's because he can just ruin our lives with a snap of his fingers," Izuku said before he could stop himself.

Ochako let out a dramatic yell as she covered her ears. "Why'd ya say that?! I didn't wanna think about that!"

"I'm sorry! It just came out. Anyway, I wouldn't worry; the heroics teacher is probably less threatening than Aizawa." Of course, Izuku knew precisely who their teacher would be, but he couldn't tell Ochako that.

Oh well, if anything, it'll just mean he'll get to see her reaction when she finds out.

"Come on! The last one to the door pays for Mochi!" She yelled as UA came into view, beginning to run towards the school.

"Getting there faster doesn't mean heroics class starts sooner, you know that, right?" Izuku called after her.

"Can't hear you over the sound of you eating my dust!"

He sighed before mimicking his mom from that morning's breakfast. "'Oh Izuku, honey, she can have some mochi; it won't cause any problems.' Easy for you to say that when you don't have to keep her out of trouble, Mom," he grumbled, and then he gave chase. "Ochako, wait up!"

He quickly caught up to her, and the two decided to run the rest of the way to UA. Along the way, Izuku had to restrain himself from running any faster to keep pace with Ochako but still noticed that she was running faster than he expected her to be capable of. He supposed the morning runs were paying off.

They made it to class with about ten minutes to spare.

"Hah! I won!" Ochako cheered, panting at the door. "Free mochi!"

"Darn," Izuku pretended to be devastated as he stopped at the door, hardly out of breath himself. "Oh no, I have to buy mochi for you now because I definitely wasn't buying it all before. What a blow to my wallet."

The two chuckled as they each went to their seats; Izuku was about to go to his seat behind Katsuki when he noticed Tenya sitting there instead. He raised an eyebrow and was going to approach to ask why he was in his seat when Aizawa rolled out from behind his desk, inside his sleeping bag still.

"Ah, Midoriya, I moved your seat."

"Uh… not complaining, but why?"

Aizawa glanced at Katsuki and then back to Izuku before raising an eyebrow. "I'm not blind, kid, you two have issues, and I'm not dealing with that shit; you're in front of that weird pixy girl you walked in with."

"You… you mean Ochako?"

"Yeah, her," Aizawa shrugged, or at least Izuku thought he shrugged; he couldn't tell with the sleeping bag in the way. "Enjoy your ten minutes of peace; I'm going back to sleep."

"Sir… Class begins in eight minutes."

"You interrupted my nap; class begins after I've finished it, not when the bell rings." With that, Aizawa rolled back behind his desk.

Ochako blinked. "...I'm a pixie, what?"

"You have the energy of a pomeranian hooked up to an electric generator, so..."

"I thought I was a husky."

"You digivolved." Izuku deadpanned.

"This feels like a downgrade…" Ochako pointed across the classroom to Katsuki. "I mean, I don't wanna be related to that rabid pomeranian over there."

Izuku twitched a bit as he felt a murderous glare land on him before he looked away from Ochako and glanced across the classroom at Katsuki, who was staring daggers at him.

He should have corrected Ochako; after all, Katsuki was…

Well, okay, Katsuki was complicated, at least in Izuku's mind he was.

Instead, though, he did something he probably wouldn't have done if he hadn't been under the influence of Ochako Uraraka for the past few weeks.

He snarked back.

At Katsuki's expense.

"Hey, don't be rude to the pomeranians; it's not their fault he's related to them."

Ochako grinned and giggled as she went to her seat, Izuku following quickly.

The girl who sat in front of Izuku, Tsuyu if he remembered, let out a croak as she said, "God damn, I just witnessed a murder. Or animal abuse, take your pick, kero."

"The fuck did you just say, Frogger!" Katuski slammed his palms on his desk, careful not to set off an explosion as he stood up, seemingly ready to fight.

Aizawa, however, was having none of that as he groaned and sat up. "Well, guess I'm awake now." He got out of his sleeping bag and popped his back before looking around the classroom, his eyes landing on Katsuki. "Sit down; you break the desk your buying it and Nezu will inflate the price to fuck with you." He glanced at Izuku, Ochako and Tsuyu. "I am already regretting putting you three in the same spot, and it's not even five minutes into the second day."

He quickly read the room; seeing that everyone had arrived early, he nodded in appreciation.

"You are all early, already taking the lesson from yesterday to heart, I see; good job." He didn't give them time to preen at his compliment, "Your timetables are in your desk, homeroom is only really ten minutes long, and your first period and every period after being fifty-minute classes. Your lunch period is twelve thirty to one twenty, yada yada." He shrugged, "These timetables are subject to change depending on what the school needs you to learn, so keep that in mind."

He waited for the class to retrieve their timetable before continuing, "Look those over, and then make sure you have everything you need for your classes. Other than that, you're free to do as you please; I'm going back to sleep."

'Is this going to just… be my life now?' Izuku thought as he glanced back at Ochako, who was probably thinking the same thing, though she smiled at him.

He smiled back before turning back around to get what he needed from his bag. 'Well, at least it isn't full of bullying.'

He flinched when he heard a loud snap behind him and turned around to see that Ochako had accidentally broken a pencil in one of her hands.

"Uhm… oops?" She said very innocently.

Classes went by quickly, though Izuku enjoyed every second of his time in those classes. Learning from Pro Heroes in every class was a dream come true for the One For All inheritor, so he paid avid attention.

But other than their teachers being all heroes, the classes were nothing out of the ordinary. It was still very much like a regular school, even the rush to head to the cafeteria for lunch.

Along the way, Izuku somehow managed to get separated from Ochako (it may have had something to do with her running ahead, but if Izuku ever made that claim out loud, she would deny it and say he was just slow). Oh well, he'd just meet her at the cafeteria.

However, that plan changed as he bumped into someone on the way there.

"Oh, I'm so sorry-" he began before cutting himself off as he saw who he had bumped into.

"Ah, Young Midoriya, watch your step, my boy!" All Might, in his skinny form, smiled down at him.

"Al-" Izuku covered his slip-up with a cough. "I-I mean, Mister Yagi! What are you doing here?"

"Why, I'm on my lunch break. Since I've found you, I wanted to know if you had a moment to chat.

"Oh, uhm…" Izuku looked down the hall that led toward the lunch area. Ditching Ochako, even for All Might, didn't sit right with him, especially without telling her where he went.

Almost as if sensing his inner turmoil, All Might added, "This won't take up much of your time. lunch is an essential meal, and I wouldn't want to take that away."

That helped Izuku feel better about delaying his arrival, and it seemed All Might wanted to talk with him. "Alright then, I can spare a few minutes."

"Excellent! This way." All Might lead them to a nearby empty classroom since he wanted to avoid dragging Izuku too far from the cafeteria.

"This'll do. So, Young Midoriya!" He turned to face his successor. "How has UA been treating you so far?"

"It's been amazing!" Izuku immediately began gushing over how he'd already met so many great pro heroes and how weird it was to be taught regular school subjects by them. He would have gone on for the rest of the lunch period if All Might hadn't stopped him with a hand on his shoulder.

"That's great to hear, my boy. Though I understand you have Aizawa as your homeroom teacher, correct?"

"Oh, yeah." Izuku scratched the back of his head as he frowned. "He's… definitely a character."

"Indeed, I've had a few encounters with him in the teacher's lounge… when he wasn't sleeping, that is."

"I swear he looks familiar, but I can't put my finger on where I've seen him." Izuku entered his thinking pose, which consisted of him bringing his index finger up to his mouth and lightly nibbling on the knuckle as he talked. "Obviously, he's a pro, but which one? Probably Underground, and he really likes black… At first, I thought maybe Shadow Man, but he's been confirmed to dress rather properly, a gentleman of sorts, and Aizawa… yeah, no. That, and the severe lack of anything squid-related."

"You know I could just tell you," All Might offered.

Izuku, however, waved him off. "No, it's fine. I'll figure it out eventually."

All Might nodded with a chuckle. "Is there anything you want to ask me before I return you to your friends?"

Izuku was going to say no, that he was fine and that he didn't really need any advice or help right now, but then he paused as he thought of his strange dream earlier that morning.

"I mean… it's probably nothing but…" He hesitated.

"What is it, Young Midoriya?"

"Well… I had this weird dream last night." Izuku said. "And yeah, I get that doesn't sound weird at first, but it didn't feel like a dream, which was the weird part. It all felt so real like I was there, and I was myself, but also… wasn't myself."

All Might's eyes widened slightly in surprise. "That definitely sounds odd, even for a dream."

"Yeah, I looked like me, I sounded like me, but I acted a little different, and I… I said someone else's name, though when I try to remember that part…" he rubbed his foreheads. "It just hurts."

Izuku let the slight throbbing in his head settle down before asking, "I know it probably sounds ridiculous, but you don't think this is… quirk-related, do you?" He refrained from using the actual name of his quirk, just in case.

"Actually, maybe," All Might said, to Izuku's surprise. "I admit, I, too, have experienced strange dreams and visions of sorts in the past, though they never lasted long, and the details were always very muddy. Though I have had a theory in the past."

All Might paused as he went over to the door to the classroom and peeked out to make sure they didn't have anyone eavesdropping. He closed the door and returned to Izuku, whispering, "My theory was: what if One For All's stockpile ability stockpiled more than just power? What if it stored memories? Skills? Abilities? What if it pulls an Assassin's Creed-"

"A what?"

"Uhm… retro video game, I suppose you wouldn't get it."

"Oh… wow, it's weird to think you once used to be a kid who played games."

"...I'm going to choose to ignore that in favor of getting back on track." All Might scratched his cheek nervously. "What I was referring to was something in the game called the 'bleeding effect,' where the main character had the abilities of his ancestors 'bleed' into him as he experienced their memories. What took years for his ancestor to learn only took him days. Now, it's a rough comparison, but maybe… maybe something similar may happen with you." All Might huffed a laugh. "Hell, it might have honestly happened to me, now that I think about it."

Izuku nervously chuckled and nodded, though, for some reason, he was getting the distinct feeling that All Might wasn't being entirely truthful with him… like he was leaving something out.

He couldn't really place why he thought that, but he felt a tingle in the back of his mind that told him something wasn't right.

It was a problem for later, and All Might seemed to agree as he rested his hand on Izuku's shoulder.

"Thoughts for later. Listen, my boy, heroics is next; this is what you've been waiting for, what this school is all about." All Might gave Izuku one of those smiles that showed how proud he was. "You must focus, especially since we'll be diving into the deep end with this first class."

"This feels like cheating; you telling me this," Izuku smirked.

All Might let out a boisterous laugh and patted Izuku on the shoulder, ushering him out the door. "Well, it is! Which is why I won't tell you anything else! Just consider this a pep talk from mentor to student. Now, get on to lunch before Young Uraraka hunts you down!"

"You're right; she'll probably start lifting up tables soon to look for me," Izuku joked as he headed for the door but paused before he left. "Wait, how would you know Ochako would hunt me down?"

"My boy, I can see the friendship you two have. Even if I've rarely seen you two together with my own eyes, from the few times I have, I can tell you two, despite only knowing each other for a short time, are rather close. And that's good; it means you clicked together like two matching pieces. It's a bond like that that you have to hold close and cherish. Because such a bond will only grow stronger, having someone like that who can watch your back in this line of work and in life itself is important. We may be powerful, but we are not immortal."

Izuku found himself in awe of All Might's wisdom, nodding enthusiastically while wishing he had one of his notebooks on him. All Might, however, was feeling both proud of himself for coming up with something so cool sounding on the fly while also feeling a bit melancholy because, well…

He floundered when it came to making those cherished bonds; he could count the number of people he truly had let into his life and know his secrets on one hand…

Izuku felt his awe subside a bit and felt a pang in his heart, though he didn't know why.

All Might quickly shook his melancholy off and waved Izuku away. "Off you go, my boy! We can talk more after school."

Izuku let himself be ushered out of the classroom, and the two went their separate ways, with All Might giving Izuku a thumbs up and a quick "good luck in Heroics" before disappearing around a nearby corner.

Izuku quickly found himself walking into the bustling cafeteria, his eyes scanning the tables before landing on where Ochako was waving at him. He walked toward her with a grin, expertly stepping over Katsuki's outstretched leg.

He ignored the bomber's curses and sat beside Ochako, who pushed a bowl of katsudon before him with a grin.

"Izuku! The food is so good! And it's free!"

"Did they have katsudon on the menu?" Izuku asked, confused, though not displeased, as he opened his chopsticks.

"There is no menu! You just tell Lunch Rush what you want, and he makes it, then the robots we smashed during the exam come out and give it to us!"

"Wait, you got to talk to Lunch Rush!?"

Ochako raised an eyebrow. "That's what you're focusing on?"

"Did you get an autograph at least!?" Izuku pleaded, his eyes desperate.

Ochako stared at him for a second, her face giving nothing away before she snorted and slid a piece of paper over to him. "You're lucky I like you so much. He was going to sign your food, but I told him you'd never actually eat it if he did that."

"...I mean, you're not wrong, but-"

"I mean, you would probably freeze the food to keep it from spoiling and preserve it or something as part of your collection," Ochako joked, but her smile faded when she noticed Izuku's nervous look.

"...Izuku, would you actually do that?"

"..."

"Answer the question, Izuku."

"..."

"Izuku, I swear-"

"Oh look, here comes a distract- I mean, Iida!"

"Greetings! Do either of you mind if I sit with you?" Tenya asked as he walked up to the duo's table.

"Yes!" Izuku immediately said. "Please, join us. Change the subject."

"This conversation isn't over," Ochako said past the smile she put on.

Izuku, with a matching smile, said, "What conversation? There was no conversation. So Iida, how's everything going?" He quickly said in hopes of avoiding being exposed.

A croaking laugh caught the trio's attention as they turned and saw Tsuyu walking up with her own tray. "You two are something else, kero." She sat next to Tenya without asking, though Tenya seemed to mind more than Ochako or Izuku did.

"It's not my fault that Izuku's a little shit," Ochako muttered as she took a bite out of her own katsudon; Izuku raised an eyebrow, surprised that Ochako hadn't gone for something he'd usually see her eat, like udon or other soups, or rice with some meat, usually chicken.

Maybe she just felt like trying something new.

"Uraraka!" Tenya chopped, scandalized. "That's not the type of language one should use as a prospective hero!"

"Oh… Shit it's not?" Ochako asked, tilting her head, causing Izuku and Tsuyu to snicker. "Fuck, I mean… Izuku's a very cute little shit?"

Izuku choked on his food, but no one seemed to notice as he quickly scrambled for a drink of water.

"Much better." Tenya nodded before eating his curry.

"What the fuck? That worked?" Ochako whispered.

"I may want people to speak properly and not use foul language, but I can't control everyone's tongues, and I wouldn't want to if I could," Tenya said after swallowing his food. "Freedom of Speech is important."

Tsuyu nodded. "That's surprisingly based of you Iida."

"Based? Based on what, Asui?"

"Call me Tsu, kero." Tsuyu began to eat, but not before saying, "You'll understand when you're older."

"But… we are the same age."

Everyone chose to ignore him, with Ochako grinning. "Well, if you insist on being called by a nickname, then I insist on being called Ochako!"

"You extroverts and your rapid friendships…" Izuku muttered around a piece of pork.

Ochako and Tsuyu grinned and started chanting, "One of us, one of us!"

Izuku sighed good-naturedly before nodding, "I guess you can call me Izuku if you want."

Tsuyu nodded happily before digging into her food, Tenya looking on in confusion as if all the social etiquette he had been taught was being discarded needlessly.

Lunch went by quickly after that, with Izuku enjoying Ochako's antics and his two new friends' company…

He really had two new friends, didn't he? He couldn't believe that his luck had changed so suddenly after only a year! As the bell rang and they made their way towards Heroics, he felt his smile grow as he listened to Ochako and Tsuyu chat about their favorite desserts.

Things were looking up; hell, he was so high up on cloud nine that he even managed to ignore Katsuki's glare!

"Izuku, you gotta help; you gotta tell this heathen that Mochi is way better than boring old jelly!" Ochako interrupted his ruminating, and Izuku chuckled.

Yeah, things were looking up.

"This is it!" Ochako whisper-shouted, reaching over her desk to hold Izuku's shoulders and shaking him lightly. "This is what we've been waiting for!"

"Do you mind not doing that?" Izuku managed to say through the shaking slowly.

"Oop, sorry!" Ochako ceased her actions but didn't remove her hands from Izuku. "I'm just dyin' to get into it, ya know? And we still don't know who our teacher's gonna be!"

'You don't,' Izuku thought to himself with a smirk. He tilted his head up and looked at Ochako upside down. "If you're This excited now, I can only imagine your reaction if you saw your favorite hero."

Ochako gasped. "Meeting Thirteen would be a dream come true. Wait, could she be our hero's teacher? Izuku, don't give me false hope!"

"I-I'm not!" He quickly said. "I didn't even suggest she was. She probably isn't; she's primarily rescue-focused, so as awesome as she is, she isn't qualified to teach overall heroics."

"Dammit!" Ochako pouted. "Overall heroics, huh? Well, who would be the best at teaching that?"

Tsuyu turned in her seat to face the two. "Well, obviously All Might, but let's be honest, the chances of UA getting someone as busy as him to teach us are slim, kero."

Ochako let out a laugh. "Yeah, if it's All Might, then I'll start shaking Izuku again, much more violently, might I add."

"At least get a guy's permission first," Izuku grumbled.

"Fine, I'll ask nicely before I shake your brain out of ya skull."

"Thank you."

Tsuyu tilted her head to the side and touched her chin. "You two are rather close. Did you know each other before UA?"

The two blinked at her before Izuku explained, "Oh, uh, technically no. We actually met at the entrance exam. She stopped me from face-planting, and I stopped her from getting squashed by the overkill- I mean, the Zero Point robot."

"Yep!" Ochako stood proudly. "I was almost a pancake!"

"Ochako, that's not something to be proud of. We could have died…" Izuku deadpanned

"But we didn't!"

"Yeah, but we could have!" Izuku groaned as he put his head in his hands.

"Yeah! But we didn't! And that's the important bit!"

"...I mean, you're right, but-"

"Anyways, now we're battle buddies, and if anyone messes with us, we'll break their dick!"

"Ochako!" Izuku whipped his head back to look at her.

Tusyu croaked. "And if that person doesn't have a dick?"

"Don't encourage her!"

"Then we'll break their pu –"

"Let's not finish that sentence, please!" Izuku squeaked, his face burning red.

"Hey, the strawberry look is back!" Ochako cheered with a grin.

"You do kinda look like a strawberry, Midoriya, kero."

Izuku somehow turned even more red. "What is taking him so long?" He whispered.

Almost as if sensing it was the perfect time, a loud, boisterous laugh echoed through the halls and drowned out the chatter in the classroom.

"HAHAHAH!"

"Oh, thank God," Izuku sighed before blinking and correcting his response, feigning surprise. "I-I mean, oh, my God!"

The other students all turned towards the door, various comments of disbelief sounding around the classroom as they all instantly recognized the iconic laugh. Ochako's grip on Izuku's shoulders tightened, yet her pinkies remained up, probably due to muscle memory, which Izuku would have found interesting if all his attention wasn't elsewhere.

"Izu, can I…" Ochako whispered as she started shaking in excitement.

"One moment," Izuku held a finger up and began to brace himself.

"But-"

"Not yet.'

"I am coming through the door like a normal person!" Suddenly the door was thrown open, and the giant form of All Might himself stood tall and proud, his form seemingly framed in a bright light.

"I AM HERE!"

Izuku lowered his finger. "Okay, now."

"Awesome," Ochako nodded before she began to scream while violently shaking Izuku. "EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEI!"

The rest of the class quickly followed suit, cheers, and shouts of excitement mixing into a cacophony of noise that was sure to be heard throughout the entire school.

All Might's laugh was full of joy as he marched into the room and took his place at the podium. "Oh, it's so good to be back at UA and as a teacher of all things!"

The excitement started dying down as the Symbol of Peace began to speak, everyone giving him attention and respect.

Well, almost everyone. Someone was still screaming while shaking her best friend.

"Why, I remember… uhm…"

"EEEEEEI!"

"Uhh… Young Uraraka?"

"EEEEEEI!"

All Might coughed into his fist. "Would somebody mind…?"

"On it." Izuku took a deep breath before signing his death warrant. "Mochi is overrated."

"EEEE- wait… WHAT?!" Ochako glared daggers at he who dared to speak such heresy. "Izuku, you traitor, I oughta-"

"Ahem!" All Might cleared his throat rather loudly, cutting Ochako off and getting her attention. "Are you with us now, Young Uraraka?"

Ochako felt her cheeks heat up, and she nodded as she sat.

Izuku momentarily turned around and said, "I'm so sorry, I didn't mean it; please don't kill me!"

"...I'll think about it," she said before they both refocused on the front of the room.

"Now that I have everyone's undivided attention, I would like to welcome you all to the highlight of the heroics course: Heroic Foundations Class! This is where you'll truly start your journey to becoming heroes. You'll be taught the basics of everything you'll need to know about being a protector of the people, a keeper of peace, a tool of justice!"

Whispers of excitement were heard from most of the students, but All Might's speech marched onward. "First thing's first, you need to suit up! After all, what good is a hero without their gear!?" He lifted a remote towards the wall and pressed a button. A couple of compartments opened up to reveal numbered cases attached to racks that slid out. "These cases are numbered based on your seating chart. Each one contains your hero costume, which you should have submitted the design for before the school year started. Grab your cases and go to the locker rooms; get your gear on, and meet me at Training Ground Beta!"

All Might's smile widened, and in the blink of an eye, he was at the door. "Quickly, young ones, time is of the essence!" He saluted before disappearing as if he just teleported away.

Everyone scrambled for their cases, Izuku managing to muscle his way through the crowd and grabbing his and Ochako's cases. He turned quickly, spotting Ochako at the edge of the group, and tossed her case toward her general direction with a shout of, "Heads up!"

She quickly removed her gravity and jumped up to intercept the case. "Got it!" She returned her gravity and headed for the door, Izuku not far behind her, as they rushed to their respective locker rooms.

"See you there!" Ochako said as she rushed into the girl's locker room.

Izuku himself was already inside and in the middle of changing when the other boys arrived.

"Damn, dude," Denki Kaminari nudged him as he passed by. "You and Uraraka hauled ass!"

"Yes," Tenya nodded as he went to his locker. "I must admit your speed was quite impressive, though I must remind you there is no running in the halls!"

"Iida, you ran too."

"I was power walking."

"You were the fifth one to get here."

"I was power walking very fast."

"Whatever, man."

Izuku chuckled at the scene before going back to change, only to cringe as he was roughly shoved to the side by someone pushing past him right when he was about to open his case to see his costume. He turned to see who it was before flinching at the glare he was met with.

"Can't wait to show everyone how fucking pathetic you are, Deku," Katsuki growled. "And showing you up in front of All Might will be the cherry on top." He chuckled as he turned and walked away.

Izuku watched him leave before turning back to his case. He moved to open it but paused when he realized his hand was shaking.

Katsuki's taunt made Izuku realize something, this was his chance to prove that he belonged at UA. He had already proved that he deserved the opportunity with the Sludge Villain all those months ago, cleaning the beach and passing the exam. Now, he had to prove he deserved to stay. He had to demonstrate to his classmates and All Might himself that he wasn't just here because of dumb luck. He had to show them all the hard work he had put in. He had to fight to stay. He had to prove he still deserved One For All, and that him being chosen wasn't a mistake.

Right?

His frown softened into a smile as he opened the case and saw the dark green of his costume. 'Dad's favorite color…'

He quickly put on his costume, glad he had brainstormed ideas with his Mom. The original idea had been a light green jumpsuit with no real protection built into the suit itself outside of a mouth guard that looked like All Might's smile. He called that "Costume Alpha" in his notes, and after a bit of revision, he finally landed on his finalized costume.

Costume Beta.

It was pretty simple: a dark green jumpsuit with shoulder armor, thick black leg and knee pads, and black elbow pads. His red boots were slip-resistant and light, allowing him to kick with One For All if he needed to, and he followed Recovery Girl's advice, getting gloves that protected his hands during rescue operations and fights, with the knuckles being padded for when he punched.

The finishing touches had been the two homages to his mentor that he had left in, even if his Mom thought they were silly, a thick metal mouthguard that emulated All Might's iconic smile, and two "bunny ears" as his Mother called them, to symbolize his iconic hairstyle.

He didn't think he'd wear the hood unless he was interacting with kids, and as he looked at the completed suit in the mirror, he did think the mouth guard looked better as a neck guard, but the thought was still there.

He'd honor the man who gave so much to him and allowed him to follow his dream!

Speaking of which, it was best not to keep his mentor and class waiting.

Not realizing he had activated his quirk, Izuku sped out of the locker room and toward Ground Beta at top speed.

The remaining boys, that is to say, all of them, stared at the door as it slowly closed, barely avoiding being launched off its hinges.

"...Did… did he run off using his quirk?" Hanta asked.

Tenya took a few deep breaths to avoid giving himself an aneurysm thinking about how fast Izuku was running down the halls.

Toshinori stood at the entrance to Ground Beta, a mock city much like the ones from the entrance exam. He was currently in his Small Might form to conserve energy. He'll need every second he can scrape by for the class ahead.

A noise from the tunnel leading into the site had him buffing up to keep his cover from being blown. He prepared to greet the first student to arrive, only for his smile to widen and his muscles to relax as he saw a blur of green energy quickly approaching him.

"ALL MIGHT!" Izuku shouted as he sprinted into the open

All Might laughed boisterously as he greeted the young man. "Young Midoriya is here!" He stretched his shoulders as steam started to emit from his body. "My boy, I hope you don't mind if I relax a bit when it's just the two of us," he said as he deflated, his hero costume hanging on his much skinnier form.

"Oh, not at all." Izuku shook his head. "You need to save your time after all."

All Might chuckled. "Indeed." He looked Izuku up and down. "Nice costume, it suits you well. Though uh…" he pointed at Izuku's hood. "What's with the bunny ears?"

Izuku groaned. "You too?!"

"What? They look like bunny ears!"

"They're supposed to be your hair bangs!"

"...Oh!" All Might slapped his forehead as he laughed towards the sky before coughing a bit. "My boy, I'm sorry, but they don't look like my bangs at all!"

Izuku deflated before grumbling. "It was supposed to be an homage to you."

All Might's laughter slowly died down, and he placed a hand on Izuku's shoulder. "Well, I appreciate the attempt. Thank you, Young Midoriya. Heck, I did the same thing with my mentor!"

Izuku couldn't help but smile; it was enough for him to know his mentor appreciated it, even if others wouldn't get it off the bat.

"So," All Might continued, "you ready?"

Izuku nodded. "As I'll ever be."

"Good," All Might looked down the tunnel as he heard the rest of the class heading their way. "This is it, my boy." He looked down at Izuku, giving him a thumbs up. "Show them what you're made of."

"I will!"

As the noise of the other students drew closer, All Might flexed his muscles and buffed up into the form everyone else knew him as.

"Showtime."

Once everyone arrived, All Might laughed boisterously. "They say the clothes make the man, and ladies and gentlemen, I'd say they, whoever they are, were correct! You're all looking positively heroic!"

Izuku turned to look at his classmates, and his eyes lit up in excitement as he admired their outfits. He resisted the urge to pull out one of his notebooks and take notes; they were all so cool!

~Damn!~

Izuku twitched as he turned around, his eyes widening as he noticed his best friend; her gaze lowered before she looked up from wherever she was staring and glanced away from him, her face red.

Izuku, at the same time, quickly looked her up and down, noticing how her costume insulated her curves and other… assets.

'Holy crap, thighs.' Izuku thought as he glanced away, not noticing that Ochako's face started heating up even more.

"I – I like your costume, Ochako," Izuku muttered after a slight pause, his face still on fire. Ochako nodded again, though Izuku couldn't see that, what with his eyes glued to the wall of one of the buildings on the street.

"Not exactly what I submitted, but…" She nervously rubbed her arm. "I guess it's okay. Y-your costume looks cool too! Basic but nice. And I like the bunny ears!"

Izuku swore to every god that existed that he heard All Might snicker.

"Oh, come on!" Izuku looked back at Ochako, momentarily forgetting her attire. "They aren't bunny ears!"

Ochako finally could look him in the face as a smirk started forming on her own. "They look like bunny ears. Hence, they are bunny ears!"

"They aren't!"

"Henceforth, you shall be known as Darth… Bugz!"

"I don't think I'm allowed to use that name."

"Indeed, Disney owns the copyright for the word Darth, unfortunately." All Might interjected. "Enough about that! It's time for you zygotes to learn what you will be doing in my class!"

"A mock city like the one from the entrance exam," A suit of armor with the voice of Tenya said before raising his hand. "Sir, am I to assume we'll be doing some sort of cityscape maneuvers?"

"Not quite, Young Iida. We'll get into the finer details of everything in a moment, but first," All Might reached behind his back and pulled a box out of nowhere. "Everyone step forward and pull a marble out of the box. This lesson will be done in ten teams of two, so once you grab a marble, check it for a letter, and pair up with whoever has a matching one."

"We don't get to pick?" Kyoka asked, voicing the concerns the rest of the class was probably feeling.

All Might decided to turn this into a teachable moment as he addressed her. "Nope, it'll be randomized; any of you have an idea as to why?"

Izuku opened his mouth to answer but was beaten to the punch.

"Oh! Oh! It's because we might have to work with random heroes on the scene to work an emergency at a moment's notice!" Ochako said, glancing at Izuku and seeing his raised eyebrow. "What? You think I didn't listen when you rambled about that villain fight we came across on one of our jogs?"

All Might nodded with a thumbs up. "Excellent answer, Young Uraraka." He grinned. "She is correct; for most of your hero career, you won't necessarily get to choose your partners during emergencies or villain attacks. Most of you will start off as sidekicks to already established pros, and they will use you where they think you will be most impactful; even when you become full-fledged pros yourself, there will be times when you arrive at a building on fire and don't get to pick who your allies are."

Everyone was silent at that, absorbing every word All Might said as if it were gospel, though Katsuki dared to scoff a bit, not that anyone paid him any mind.

Izuku beamed at his mentor; this time, he didn't hesitate. Reaching into one of his utility belt pockets, he pulled out a mini-notebook and started scratching down everything he could.

"There he goes again," Ochako shook her head fondly.

"Now, back to business." All Might held the box forward. "Step forth and find out who your partner will be!"

Izuku allowed some of the others to go first so he had time to finish his notes before putting his notebook away and taking his turn. As he stepped up to the giant of a man, he caught the shift in his smile and subtle nod. Izuku swore he could hear All Might tell him ~Good luck, my boy.~ even though the man's mouth didn't move at all.

He reached into the box and pulled out a marble with the letter A on it. He noticed movement to his side and saw Ochako trying to sneak a peek at his marble.

~Yes!~

He looked at her and saw that she was also holding a marble with the letter A as well.

Before either could celebrate, however, they were roughly pushed to the side as Katsuki marched past them with a grunted "Out of the fucking way."

"Someone really pissed in his cornflakes, didn't they?" Ochako muttered as she and Izuku moved off to the side, though her grin returned. "But look!" She flashed the marble at him again. "Battle buddies! It's destiny!"

"Speaking of battles, I suppose now is a good time to tell you what you'll be doing," All Might said as the last students paired up. "Today, you'll be going head to head with another team in a battle trial! The scenario: Heroes versus Villains!"

The class started letting out shouts of excitement at the promise of a fun first lesson. However, Tsuyu raised her hand and said, "It's only the second day, All Might-Sensei. Should we really be fighting each other already?"

"A valid concern, Young Asui. Allow me to put this into perspective. All of you are working to become the best heroes you could possibly be, and to do that, you'll need the best training possible. Now, I could just have you fight the basic robots like in the exam, or I could have you fight what you'll really be up against, thinking human beings who can improvise and adapt to you in real-time."

"Oh, I get it!" Denki slammed his fist into his open palm. "It's like playing an online game versus a bot compared to actual players!"

"That's stupid," Kyoka said, making Denki slightly deflate.

"And yet, still an accurate comparison. Well done, Young Kaminari." All Might's praise raised Denki's spirits. He continued. "But yes, while this is a step up from the robots, it's necessary for me to get a proper read on all of your skill levels and see where improvements will need to be made. So be sure to give it your all out there!" All Might'sdemeanor turned serious for a moment. "But remember, this is still a class exercise, so don't overdo things. I'll monitor every match, and if I feel things are going too far or you have stepped out of line, I will end it immediately and expect you to follow my orders. When I say it's over, it's over. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, sir!" The class said as one.

"Alright, then. Everyone, pay attention to the hat!" Everyone looked as All Might pulled out a stereotypical magician's hat. "I am going to draw teams!"

"Oh my God, All Might's a dork," Mina whispered, causing a few of the others in the class to snicker or giggle.

"Alright, Zygotes, the first match will be…!" All Might started digging through the hat and actually stuck his tongue out as if he was really focusing on pulling the correct teams out of the hat. When he felt two marbles in his hand, he pulled them out and put them in his palm before looking at them. After a moment, he grinned. "Team's A and D!"

Ochako cheered, and Izuku would have joined her if he hadn't suddenly felt a chill run down his spine. He turned and glanced over his shoulder to see Katsuki Bakugou glaring at him with one of the most sinister smiles Izuku had seen on his face in a while.

He turned back to face Ochako, who was talking about how they would crush the competition or something… Izuku wasn't listening as he swallowed his spit and exhaled to calm himself down.

His mouth felt like it was full of ash…

After the students were all given their opponents, All Might gave everyone the rundown of how the actual matches would work, with villains being given fifteen minutes to set up while the heroes had fifteen minutes to plan their attack. The win conditions were simple: knock out or capture the villains and touch the bomb for the heroes. Knock out or capture the heroes or defend the bomb until time runs out for the villains.

The win conditions didn't matter to Izuku all that much; what mattered to him was that he was fighting Katsuki Bakugou.

"Here," All Might walked up to both teams and handed each of them earpieces. "You'll use those to communicate with your teammate. I'll also be able to speak to you directly if necessary." He then turned to the rest of the class. "Alright, the two teams will head to the building we'll use for this exercise. The rest of you will come with me to the observation room." All Might proceeded to lead them away, leaving Teams A and B to get ready.

As Izuku and Ochako walked to their waiting area, he ignored her concerned looks and pokes; instead, he focused on his feelings and how he would handle his childhood friend turned tormentor.

He couldn't tell if he was excited or scared…

Katsuki couldn't believe his luck. He ignored Glasses as he started rambling about boring shit like teamwork and plans. He only had one plan, and that was to fucking destroy Deku. If he could get a double kill and wreck that bitch that followed him around, then even better.

He clenched his fists, he had already checked over his gear and made sure it was all in working order, now he just had to field test it, preferably by making Deku a pink smear in the concrete.

Sadly Glasses had to go and interrupt his thought process.

"Are you even listening to me!? Izuku and Ochako are formi–"

"Izuku?" Katsuki sneered. "Ochako? What is this a fuckin' book club? Are ya gonna paint each other's nails and fuckin' sing some girly ass songs?"

"They… they insisted I call them by their given names." Glasses tried to justify it.

"Yea, and Deku insisted he was fuckin' quirkless for fourteen years, and now he's here," Katsuki growled. "I don't care if you think someone like Deku is strong; you just haven't seen real strength yet. And Deku? He's still the weak, useless bastard he always was."

All Might's voice came over their earpieces. "One minute left."

Katsuki cracked his neck before heading for the door. "Give me five minutes, and I'll show you," He smiled. "If that shitty pink bitch makes it past me, you can have at her, but that's a big if. Just stay out of my way."

"Bakugou!" Tenya tried to call out to his teammate, but All Might interrupted.

"Begin!"

Katsuki rocketed out of the room, blowing the door open with his quirk as he did so.

Tenya could do nothing but sigh in exacerbation and watch. "I don't like his attitude. Not at all…"

Five Minutes Earlier With The Hero Team

Ochako sat on the hood of one of the cars out on the street as she looked over the floor plan for the building they would be "raiding."

"Huh, I don't know why I expected anything elaborate. This is just a normal building layout," she said. "There's even bathrooms."

Izuku was still in a bit of a daze, but he managed to hum out a response, "I keep forgetting that your parents work in construction."

"Yeah, I guess all the things I picked up are gonna be handy for hero work, huh?"

"Sounds like it." Was Izuku's non-committal response that caused Ochako to pout.

"Okay, what's eating you, sunshine?"

"It's… it's nothing." Was Izuku's poorly veiled lie.

"Don't pull that bullshit with me; I've known you for like almost a month now!" She narrowed her eyes. "Is it Triple B?"

Izuku blinked before turning to her. "Triple… what?"

"Triple B. You know, Bitch Boy Bakugou." Her answer caused Izuku to snort, and she pumped her fist into the air. "I made him laugh! Victory for Ochako!"

Izuku sighed and pinched his nose, shaking his head. However, he couldn't quite get the smile off his face. "Let's just come up with a plan? Katsuki will come after me; I know that for a fact. Do you think you can handle Tenya?"

"I could always send Bitch Boy into low earth orbit, you know that, right?"

Izuku shook his head. "No, I need to do this."

"Is this a masculine thing I'm too female to understand?"

'No, he was just my childhood bully for the past decade…' he wanted to say but couldn't bring himself to. His courage failed him. He knew she wouldn't judge him but he couldn't just break years of conditioning…

Izuku flinched as the sound of metal crunching caught his attention. He looked over to see that Ochako had somehow managed to squeeze the hood of the car with her hands enough to crush part of it under her hand.

"You aren't giving me less motivation to send him into the sun," Ochako growled out.

"I know for a fact I wasn't muttering when I said that," Izuku muttered, though All Might's one-minute warning prevented him from touching that subject with her. "Okay, look, I'll just distract him if anything while you find out where the bomb is. We both can't waste time trying to deal with him."

Ochako didn't like it but nodded; she knew Izuku was right. "Alright, fine, but just remember what I said in the classroom."

"Uhm…" Izuku raked his brain as he tried to remember which thing Ochako was talking about.

"Izuku," she said as she placed her hand on his shoulder. She raised her other hand and clenched it into a fist, raising it to her chest. "He messed with you for ten years. Break his dick."

"Oh my god…" Izuku muttered as he sighed.

"Nobody fucks with the Battle Buddies!" She yelled, raising her fist to the sky. She gasped as she thought about something. "Say, do you think he fights worse when he's mad?'

Izuku raised an eyebrow. "Uh, he gets a bit more reckless with his explosions and tends to not really care where he's aiming when he's mad. Why?"

"Remember those Adam West films we watched?" Her smile was so evil Izuku couldn't help but feel drawn in by it and replicate it himself.

"The one with the shark repellent?"

"The very same, my good chum!" She gave a devilish laugh. "Let's fuck with him a little."

"...You know… normally I would be against this…"

"But this ain't a normal situation."

"No… no it isn't."

All Might's voice was then heard in their earpieces. "Begin!"

"Lezduit!" Ochako exclaimed in what Izuku assumed was a bad Scottish accent as she jumped off the car's hood and began sprinting full tilt toward the building.

Izuku shook his head fondly and ran after her, intent on making sure he got to Katsuki before she did.

He didn't know if it was for Katsuki's safety or Ochako's at this point.

"Izuku! Door!" Ochako dodged out of the way as Izuku rolled his eyes, though he instinctively knew what she wanted him to do. He crossed his arms in front of him and let One For All flow through his body as he made contact with the closed door, shattering it and the wall around it for a "heroic" entrance.

Ochako's cheer behind him made him smile as he lowered his arms and let his arms fall to his sides.

"We're here to fuck shit up!" Ochako threw out a punch as she announced their entrance.

"...There's no one here," Izuku said.

"Dammit! Moment ruined!" Ochako whined.

"I'm sure the rest of the class enjoyed watching that."

However, the moment was further ruined by heavy footsteps sounding throughout the building as Katsuki appeared in the front lobby stairway. "Found you two shit heads! Straight for the front door? That's stupid, even for you, Deku."

"Egad! Green Bean! One of the dastardly villains we were warned about has appeared!" Ochako shouted in mock alarm, putting on what Izuku assumed was her approximation of the positively ancient Trans-Atlatnic Accent. She pointed at Katsuki. "Holy ravioli, Green Bean! That must be one of the foul villains we were sent to apprehend! Explodo-Bitch!"

"The fuck did you just call me!?"

Izuku didn't have time for any of this as he stepped in front of Ochako and flexed his hands. He decided to run with the insanity Ochako was spitting out. "You're correct, Pink Justice; we must stop his PMS Rampage before it grows out of control!"

Ochako laughed, and Izuku could swear his life flashed before his eyes as Katsuki jumped from the stairwell with an explosive leap. "Oh?" He sneered, "Deku's got jokes now?"

"He also has hands," Ochako pointed at Katsuki once More. "And he's more than ready to throw them with you, you sorry excuse of a best friend!"

"I was never this fuckers friend!"

Izuku ignored the sting that comment caused. "We've wasted enough time; go after the bomb!" he growled out. "We can't both be tied up dealing with him, We only have fifteen minutes, and we can't waste all of it on him." He didn't take his eyes off Katsuki as he told her what to do, just in case his former friend decided to attack both of them.

Though he doubted it, Katsuki was only there for him after all.

Ochako puffed out her cheeks at him and scowled at Katsuki before sighing. "Fine, you're right, but make sure to hit'em good for me!" With that, she ran off, not before giving Katsuki the bird, which he didn't even acknowledge.

"Fine, you want to play, Deku? First, I'll deal with you, and then I'll go make sure that little slut can't run her mouth off anymore." Katsuki popped a few explosions in his hands as he prepared to lunge. He was expecting Izuku to cower like he always did but was surprised when he didn't.

Instead, Izuku muttered in a low growl, "What did you just call her?"

Katsuki grinned. Fear was great, but demoralization was even better, so he said, "Oh? I called her a little slut. What are you going to do about –" That was as far as he got before his face met a One For All empowered fist, sending him crashing through the receptionist's desk.

"Talk shit, get hit." Izuku wasn't exactly sure what compelled him to say that, but he didn't regret it one bit as he opened and closed his hands.

It was incredibly unheroic, and he knew his Mother and All Might would probably be appalled, but Izuku couldn't lie to himself.

That felt good.

"Come on, Kacchan." Izuku said, "That wasn't even one percent of my power; I know for a fact you aren't knocked out; get out here so you can put me in my place." Izuku mocked.

He didn't know where the sudden confidence and anger (especially the anger) were coming from, but he was going to roll with it.

Katsuki exploded out of the rubble with a roar and tried to hit Izuku with a right hook, which Izuku blocked before kneeing him in the stomach with another One For All-infused attack, sending the other boy sliding away from him.

Katsuki held his stomach and winced, though he quickly recovered.

Izuku wasn't lying about holding back. He didn't know what his current percentage of One For All would do to someone who wasn't All Might. He may be angry at Katsuki, but he didn't want to seriously injure him!

Katsuki, however, didn't have such weaknesses.

"I'm going to fucking break you in half!" Katsuki screamed as he brought his arms forward and let loose one of his bigger explosions, which prompted Izuku to try and leap out of the way. The shockwave sent Izuku flying into a nearby wall, knocking the wind out of him and sending him into a coughing fit.

"Okay… that hurt," Izuku groaned as he tried to stand, but Katsuki wasn't giving him the chance as the explosive teen rushed him, aiming a grab for his throat. Izuku luckily managed to scramble out of the way in time, causing Katsuki to miss and slam his exploding palm through the concrete wall.

Izuku didn't have time to process the fact that the palm was aimed at his throat. Instead, he hit Katsuki in the back with a roundhouse kick, causing him to complete his transition into a wall person and tactically giving Izuku enough time to retreat up the stairs.

'I hope Ochako is having a much better time than I am.' Izuku thought as Katuki's enraged scream followed him up the stairway.

Ochako kept to the shadows as she tried to sneak around Tenya, who was busy practicing his evil villain speech since he obviously had nothing better to do. She sighed internally. 'Why the hell did I get stuck with the ham?'

~That's rich, coming from you.~

"Shut up, imaginary Izuku! Now's not the time for your backtalk!" She muttered and quickly let out a squeak as Tenya immediately noticed her.

She must have been louder than she thought.

"What's this? Do my ears deceive me! I believe I have heard one of those vile do-gooders!"

"Who the fuck says do-gooders!?" Ochako shouted as she dove out of her cover and faced her would-be foe.

~Who says 'holy ravioli'?~

"I'm going to ignore that," she whispered to herself.

"Have you come to stop me, hero? Well, you're too late! The weapon is armed, and soon this city will be nothing more than a crater! Mwahahaha!" Tenya gave his best villainous laugh.

Ochako crossed her arms and cocked her hip. "Wouldn't you die when the bomb goes off? Not a very well-thought-out plan, is it?"

"It's called suicide bombing."

"Oh," Ochako's eyes widened. "Wow, this… this got dark real quick."

"...You're right," Tenya put his hand to the chin of his helmet. "That may have been a tad too far, apologies."

"Let me kick your ass and touch the bomb, and we'll call it even?" She asked hopefully.

"No."

"Mother Fucker!"

"Enough talk! Have at thee!" Tenya posed before sprinting toward her full-bore, his engines emitting flames.

If this were any other universe, Ochako would have tried to dodge and use the objects in the room as well as her gravity quirk to give herself whatever advantage she could get…

This, however, was not any other universe, it was this universe, and in this universe, Ochako was irritated, worried about her best friend, and wanted to hit something or someone really, really hard.

It was just unfortunate for Tenya that he was the closest punchable thing.

As he stretched his arms out to tackle her, Ochako crouched slightly before lunging forward and bringing her leg up. She kicked forward with all her strength and nailed Tenya right in his armored chest. The force of her kick was enough to stop him dead in his tracks and even launch him back a few feet.

Ochako landed on her feet with a bit of a stumble. "Whoa… didn't know I could kick that hard," she muttered.

Tenya rubbed his chest, thankful that he had his armor, though he flinched when he noticed it was already dented.

'Just how hard did she kick me?' He thought. He was honestly surprised. His quirk didn't just increase his running speed, his reaction time was top-notch to compensate for it, but Ochako had moved fast enough that even he was caught off guard.

"Congratulations, Hero. You've managed to land a hit on me, but that will be the only one you get!"

Ochako was about to respond when the entire building shook, and she had to brace to prevent herself from falling, Tenya doing the same. "What the hell are those two doing?!" She shouted, "I really hope they aren't damaging any of the Load-bearing walls…" She muttered.

"Worry about yourself! Hero!" Tenya blitzed her again, and Ochako had to scramble to dodge his oncoming strike in time.

She really hoped Izuku was okay…

The door flew off its hinges as Izuku blitzed his way into the hallway, the ball of fire and anger known as Katsuki hot on his trail. The two jumped around the hallway, Izuku dodging explosions and Katsuki barely blasting himself out of the way of enhanced punches. When he narrowly dodged one of these punches, Izuku's fist whizzing past his face, he lifted his hand and let off an explosion that sent Izuku flying down the hall. Izuku recovered and started running again, causing Katsuki to growl in frustration.

"You've been mocking me this whole time, haven't you, Deku?!" Katsuki yelled as he chased after the One For All inheritor. "Hiding this quirk, pretending to be some weak nobody, all to swoop in and steal my origin story!?"

"What the hell are you even talking about!?" Izuku shouted back, skidding to a halt and turning to face his opponent. He quickly raised a fist to try and punch Katsuki before he could stop, but Katsuki was quick enough to dodge out of the way, but not before slamming a fist into Izuku's stomach and grabbing him by the front of his costume.

He pulled Izuku up to his eye level. "You've been looking down on me the entire time! But look at you! I could capture you right now, and you'd be out of the game, but that's not what I want." He threw Izuku away from him and waited as the boy stood. "That's right, keep standing up, make this last for me. I'm gonna beat the shit out of you until you can't stand up anymore, and then you'll realize you don't fuckin' belong here!"

"Wait… is that what you think?" Izuku stood up and stared at Katsuki in disbelief. "You think I would hide a quirk like this? For our entire life?! Why would I do that?!"

"Because you're a piece of shit who has always looked down on me! Me, who was always stronger than you, who always will be stronger than you! Thinking I would ever need your help!" Katsuki popped explosions in his hands, a feral smile on his face. "Well, look who needs help now. Weak, pathetic, defenseless, little Deku."

Izuku stared for another brief moment before turning his gaze toward the ground and clenching his fists. He felt something stirring beneath his skin, a heat that spread throughout his entire being, and felt like it was literally making his blood boil. His heart felt like it began to beat faster and faster, and his arms shook against his will.

"Ochako was right about you," he said, his gaze still on the ground. "You are a straight-up asshole. An asshole who doesn't know what he's talking about."

"The fuck you say?!" Katsuki snarled.

"I'm saying you're wrong, Katsuki. I'm not weak, I'm not useless, I'm not defenseless." Izuku lifted his gaze, and Katsuki faltered as he saw how Izuku's eyes looked like they had a raging fire burning behind them.

"And I don't need help… not to kick your ass." One For All pushed itself to its maximum, and Izuku moved.

Within the blink of an eye, Izuku was right in front of Katsuki.

'How the fuck-' Katsuki barely had time to think before he was tackled through another wall.

"Damn, those two are really going at it, huh?" Toshinori heard the students talking behind as he watched over the monitors, though he didn't bother to reply.

He was tense, ready to move at a moment's notice if need be. Of course, he would first relay to the teams that the match is over and only interfere directly if he had to.

Truth be told, he was tempted to end the match now after seeing that Izuku and Katsuki had seemingly all but forgotten about the exercise in favor of beating each other into the ground, but he held off on it for now. It wasn't like they were breaking any rules… yet. He was more worried for his protégé than anything. Still, he reminded himself that Izuku would need to fight more dangerous foes eventually, so he might as well let the young man get some combat experience.

So why did he feel so nervous?

~Take a swan dive off the roof~ a faint voice in the back of his mind was heard, distorted and unrecognizable. Not an active thought, Toshinori realized, but a memory.

He saw Izuku throw a punch, Katsuki barely avoiding it as he dodged out of the way, though the wall behind the boy wasn't spared as Izuku's strike put person-sized hole through it.

'He's using his max output,' Toshinori thought. It wasn't 100% of One For All, he knew that. For some reason, Izuku wasn't able to tap into an output exceeding what they believed was 10%, as the two of them had discovered during the few spars they've had on the beach to help Izuku gain control over what the boy had dubbed his "Full Cowl" technique.

Izuku was fast then, not fast enough for Toshinori to block each and every one of his attacks, but still fast, and he hit hard. But now, though… Toshinori could swear Izuku was moving faster.

Toshinori watched the fight progress with interest and a not-so-insignificant amount of worry.

"Don't go too far…"

Katsuki narrowly dodged another punch, barely. He raised his hand to blast Izuku away, but he disappeared just as Katsuki was about to let his attack fly, and the blond felt a fist get driven into his back. He was sent flying across the hall and rolled to a stop, his back burning in pain.

"What the fuck?" He coughed as he stood back up, glaring daggers at Izuku. "You've been holding back on me, huh, Deku?! You're still looking down on me?!" He snarled, and then he noticed a faint red glow emit from one of his grenade gauntlets, and his snarl turned into a grin. "Fine, I'll stop holding back too."

Katsuki raised his arm, readied his gauntlet, cooking back the safety on it, and hooked his thumb in the pin. "EAT SHIT AND DIE!"

Katsuki pulled the pin, and a wall of fire erupted down the hallway.

"No!" All Might's voice came over their earpieces, not that it would be heard over the roar of the explosion.

Within those few seconds, so many things happened in quick succession.

Izuku's eyes widened at the wall of flames that threatened to swallow him up. The world felt like it was moving in slow motion, and Izuku could do nothing but watch as the fire slowly approached him. He knew he couldn't dodge it. Maybe if there were somewhere, he could dive out of the way, but this hallway didn't have any doors or intersections where he could take cover.

He could bust through one of the walls, but he didn't even know where they led or if they were one of the Load-bearing walls Ochako had told him about. And even if he did know that information, would he be able to dodge in time?

And so he stood there, like a deer in headlights, watching the explosion slowly close in around him, not knowing what to do.

~...Push…~ a voice echoed in the back of his head, sounding like his mother. He felt an encouraging hand on his back as if she were beside him.

His eyes somehow widened even more before he narrowed them and lifted his hands. He felt a surge of energy flow through his arms and into his hands as he did as he was told.

He pushed.

The wall of fire seemingly froze in its tracks as if hitting a barrier. Izuku gritted his teeth as he felt the force of the explosion push back against him as if he were holding back a speeding truck. He didn't back down, though. He didn't budge. He stood his ground and kept pushing. He released a mighty yell, giving one final shove and forcing the explosion back towards its origin point.

The fire dissipated as the force of the explosion rocketed through the building. Izuku had somehow managed to contain and then redirect enough of the explosion so that the force of the blast didn't just hit him; it hit everywhere. The walls were cracked so badly that they started shaking, confirming that they were indeed Load-bearing walls like Izuku had feared. Katsuki was knocked on his ass by the explosion, and Izuku fell to his knees and felt his arms shake with pain. In fact, his entire body felt like it was on fire.

Blocking the force of the explosion must have cracked something…

More cracks started to appear along the walls, and the ceiling shook.

"Ah… crap."

Ochako was getting fed up with this bullshit. Ever since Tenya had realized he wouldn't be able to get close to her without risk of getting kicked or having his gravity negated, he opted to play Keep Away with the bomb, picking it up and running it to the opposite side of the room out of Ochako's reach.

It was infuriating!

Though if she was being honest, while infuriating, it shouldn't have been enough to make her as angry as she was feeling. It wasn't worth overthinking about, especially when she could punch the anger away.

"Tenya, as your friend for all of one day, I am obligated to tell you that I really want to kick your ass for this right now!"

"Foolish hero!" Tenya committed to the role. "How could you possibly kick my posterior when I am over here and you are over there?"

"...I'ma kill him," Ochako muttered and moved to do just that when the entire building shook. "What the hell?"

Everything stood still for a moment, before a tremor erupted throughout the building.

"...Oh fuck." Ochako's eyes widened when she realized what had happened.

"W-what is this?" Tenya stumbled. "What is your plan here, hero?!"

"Tenya, stop roleplaying for one fucking second!" Ochako yelled. "The building is coming down!"

"WHAT?!"

"They broke enough of the load-bearing walls to bring the damn thing down!" She told him.

"We need to get out!" Tenya tried to make his way over to Ochako, but a more violent tremor caused him to lose his balance and fall to the ground.

"Shit shit shit," Ochako started muttering urgently as she struggled to stand. She looked around, trying to find some sort of escape, but there was nothing. There were no windows since the room was closer to the center of the building. They were trapped.

"Izuku…" She realized. "He's gonna get crushed!"

"Wouldn't the building start coming down all at once?!" Tenya shouted.

"That doesn't matter when we're all still in here!" Ochako's mind started racing as she tried to think of anything to get them out of this situation. "Think, think!"

~Have you ever tried… using your quirk in an area around you?~

The question rapidly played through her head. She remembered that first hangout session where Izuku had grilled her about her quirk; he had brought up something about "area of effect" or "spread."

"What do you mean?" Ochako had asked.

"Well, some touch-based quirks can spread to their surroundings or any objects that are in contact with the original object affected. So, say you touch a couch, doesn't everything on the couch, including cushions, people, and pets, all start to float?" Izuku explained.

"Huh… never thought about that."

"Well, if it only affected individual parts of an object, then you would have had to touch each and every separate part of the robots at the exam to use your quirk on them."

Ochako had to admit her green bean had a point, but she wanted to wait till they were in UA before trying it; her quirk already caused her to throw up when she exceeded her limits… she didn't want to risk anything when she was outside of the school…

But desperate times called for Plus Ultra results!

"Please work…" She prayed as she hovered her hands over the floor. "Please… work!"

She slammed her hands into the ground and immediately felt resistance from her quirk as if it were refusing to try to negate the gravity of an entire building. It was a familiar feeling to Ochako; she'd get the same feeling when her hands touched the ground. it was like her quirk was saying, "No, I'm not going to try and negate the gravity of the entire planet, stupid."

Before, Ochako never tried to force it, but now things were different. Her best friend was in danger; their lives were at stake.

She didn't have time for her quirk's bullshit.

"DO IT!" She yelled to herself. A pink glow began to spread from where her hands were planted on the ground and slowly continued to spread along the floor before faltering and beginning to recede back toward the origin of the spread. "NO! DO IT DAMN YOU!"

She pushed past the resistance. She could already feel the nausea and headache. She was pretty sure her nose was bleeding, but she didn't care.

~I'm sorry Izuku… I'm sorry!~

~You can be a hero!~

She needed to save her friend! Nothing else mattered!

She didn't even notice the pink lightning that began emitting from her body as she tried to push her quirk.

With one more yell and push to break past her protesting quirk, the pink light of Zero Gravity erupted from her fingers, spreading rapidly across the floor, to the walls, the ceiling, and beyond. The pink glow covered the whole building, and the shaking ceased as gravity no longer threatened to bring the whole thing crumbling down.

"Ochako!" Tenya started floating. "What is the meaning of this!?"

"PLUS ULTRA!" She screamed, she was seeing spots, her nose was bleeding a lot, she wanted to throw up…

Where was All Might when you needed him?

A wall burst open, and a blur of red, white, and blue blitzed through the room.

"I AM HERE!"

"Oh… there he is…" Ochako noted.

"Don't worry Young Uraraka, I'll have you out in a jiffy!" All Might had already grabbed Tenya and was moving to grab her.

"Yay…" Ochako trailed off. She started to pass out before she forced herself awake. "Save Izuku! Save him quick!" She sputtered, swallowing whatever was trying to make its way up her throat. "I can't… hold it!"

"Right, Young Iida, you're feeling pretty light right now, and we're only four stories up. Do you think you can prepare a landing strategy?"

"My legs can take a landing from at least six stories! I'm ready!" Tenya nodded.

"Good, take Young Uraraka!" All Might handed her off to him and rushed toward the hole he had made, "Young Midoriya and Bakugou are on the second floor; hold on!" All Might jumped, using his free hand to dig into the wall and slow his fall down the building, letting go of Tenya the moment he reached the second floor, "Young Uraraka! Release your quirk!"

"Kay…" Ochako muttered as she shakily moved her fingers to do so, "R–release…"

The building started shaking once more, and All Might slammed through the second-story wall. At the same time, Tenya and Ochako plummeted safely to the ground, Tenya landing on his feet and rushing toward the waiting medic bots.

He stopped just before them, but before he could hand Ochako over, she held her hands over her mouth before letting out a colorful mess all over the street.

"That's uhm… I'm sure that's fine." Tenya tried to convince himself.

He failed.

The last thing Ochako thought as she lost consciousness and was handed off to the medic bots was that she hoped Izuku was okay…

Izuku didn't know what to do. The building was coming down, and he didn't know where the nearest way out was.

To make matters worse, One For All was not working. When he tried to call upon it, he felt worn-out and hot, like an overheating runner who needed a break.

"Oh, geez, thanks, quirk," he couldn't help the snark despite his life being in danger.

To make matters even worse, Katsuki didn't receive the memo that their lives were in very real danger!

"Get back here, Deku!"

"Are you serious right now?!"

"I'm not done-" Katsuki stumbled, "-kicking your ass!"

Izuku was about to yell back that they needed to get out of the building but was distracted when a bright pink glow flooded the entire hallway. It spread throughout the floor, and when it got to him, it spread over his body before quickly fading. He then began to float into the air slowly.

His eyes widened as he recognized it. "...Ochako?"

"What the fuck is this bullshit!?" Katuski shouted as he started floating as well.

Izuku felt the building shake again, and his eyes widened; All Might had probably just entered the building to get everyone out! "Look, Kacchan; the class is over; All Might's going to be here any second. We need to make it easier for him to-"

"Stop trying to pussy out of this!" Katsuk screamed.

"Just shut the hell up for two seconds and get over here!" Izuku reached his hand out. He felt energy spread into his palms once more.

~Pull~

Katsuki jolted as he suddenly began to float over to Izuku quickly. "What the fuck are you doing?!"

"I have no idea, but it's working!"

"Yeah! Working to bring me into striking range!" Katsuki grinned as he raised his fist.

"Oh, for the love of-" Izuku was cut off as their gravity suddenly returned, the two boys falling to the floor and the building once more beginning to come down.

Before either could crash into the floor below them though, a gust of wind slammed into them, and they were both grabbed by the strong arms of the Number One Hero.

"Hang on!" All Might shouted as he looked up. "Texas… SMASH!" He threw a fist up toward the roof, the weaponized air pressure creating a hole through every floor, creating an exit out through the roof. All Might jumped with the boys in his arms up through the hole as the building finally gave in to gravity's influence and came crashing down around them.

As they reached the apex of All Might's jump, Izuku could feel the cool open air on him, a welcomed feeling compared to the heat currently burning up his body.

"All Might, I think I'ma pass out…" Izuku muttered. "...again."

All Might let out a chuckle. "Feel free to, Young Midoriya. I'll have you to the infirmary lickety-split."

"Kay, thanks." With that, Izuku let darkness engulf him once more, and he was blissfully given a reprieve from his overheating body.

If he had stayed awake, he would have noticed All Might's worried glance toward him or the fact that he was burning up so hot that he was starting to make even All Might uncomfortable holding him.

But that was a problem for future Izuku.

"What were you thinking?!"

Katsuki refused to look up, instead staring at the ground as All Might tore into him. He didn't want to see the frown on the man's face. It was… unsettling.

"I may have allowed the fight to get a little rough, but I expected you to have more restraint than that, Young Bakugou. That attack could have been lethal to Young Midoriya!"

"If he had just dodged-" Katsuki started but was cut off.

"That is absolutely not an excuse!" All Might yelled, yelled. "Because of your actions, you not only put yourself in danger, but you put classmates' lives in jeopardy during a training exercise!"

"Me?!" Katsuki finally looked up at All Might. "Deku was the one who blasted the walls!"

"And you were the one to fire the attack!" All Might sighed. "Get back to the rest of the class. I will be talking to Aizawa about this. Be glad I can't hand out detentions."

Katsuki narrowed his eyes but did as he was told. As he walked away, though, he heard All Might say, "Those gauntlets of yours will be taken away and reviewed by Aizawa, Power Loader, and myself personally, by the way. So I hope you weren't too attached."

Katsuki stopped, his eyes wide, before he let out a growl. But he didn't say anything else. He may be hot-headed, but even he knew when the hole was deep enough.

All Might watched him go before sighing. He quickly pulled out his phone and sent the necessary texts to Aizawa, Nezu, and Power Loader before he started walking back toward the class.

He may be worried about Izuku and his friend, but he still had a class to teach, so he put on his best smile as he entered the observation room.

"All right, Zygotes! Since our first group of students got a little overzealous, let's move to a new building and start the next few rounds, shall we?" He looked around at the shocked and somewhat worried students' faces and quickly addressed them, "Don't worry, Young Uraraka and Midoriya are in good hands. They'll be right as rain in a few hours! For now, focus on your studies!" He nodded toward the screen. "Before the situation went out of control, who would you say was the VIP in this exercise?"

Momo Yaoyorozu raised her hand. "At first, I would have said Iida for understanding the nature of the exercise, but due to the events unfolding the way they did, I have to say Uraraka deserves MVP for keeping the building stable long enough to allow you to rescue everyone."

All Might nodded as the students started discussing amongst themselves; he let them go on like this for a few more minutes before he stopped the conversation and called the next match.

Like Gran Torino always said, never miss the chance to turn a fucked up situation into a teachable moment.

Izuku didn't know where he was when he opened his eyes. There was seemingly nothing in every direction, stretching out for what seemed to be eternity. He felt like he'd been here before but couldn't remember when.

That was a problem for later, as the sound of a roaring fire drew his attention towards the "sky."

"...Why is the Sun green?" He asked no one in particular.

"Well, it's not exactly the Sun, but I understand how you would get confused."

"Ah!" Izuku yelped as he jumped back from the white-haired man sitting in a chair that hadn't been there before and had seemingly appeared out of nowhere.

"Hello, Ninth," the man gave him a kind smile. He snapped his fingers, and another similar chair, which Izuku noticed looked more like a throne, appeared facing the man. The man gestured to the chair. "Have a seat."

"I think it's about time we had a little chat."

"...Is it weird that this still isn't the weirdest dream I've had?"