The next morning, Izuku and the others said goodbye to his mom, who had been put on bed rest and couldn't come with them to go volunteer.

"You all be good and thank Mr. Aizawa for me when you see him." Inko said.

The girls gave his mother a sly look, which his mom brushed off, unwilling to give into their teasing this time. Izuku nodded, promising to do so for her, and they headed off, using the crude signs that were nailed to the walls to send them in the right direction. Kacchan walked next to him, hands stuffed in his pockets as he pretended to listen to Chieko's excited chatter next to him.

"Can we go to the medic wing after everyone's done? I want to talk to Nurse Shin today if he'll teach me." Chieko asked.

"Sure." Kacchan said.

That was enough for the girl to smile, giddy with excitement. She could barely hold back the skip in her step. How much her attitude had changed since they left the hospital was a welcome relief for Izuku and he knew Kacchan felt the same the way he tolerated her antics.

They head to the outside gathering where most tables lined the field with different groups providing help for the civilians, while others were grouping together to head get ready for their tasks. His group walked around for a bit, getting a feel for the different jobs being offered, but Izuku had his focus on searching for the training classes that Aizawa had mentioned.

"Bakugou!"

Their group turned at the voice, not expecting anyone to call out to them since they had yet to talk to anyone outside of the teachers since their arrival. Izuku noticed the familiar circles of pink on the beaming face of Uraraka Ochako, who was waving at them from a distance. She continued to call out to them and Izuku glanced over to Kacchan, who let out a small smile at the sight of the other girl.

Izuku's fists clenched, so he covered them up by stuffing them in his pocket before anyone noticed.

"You finally made it!"

The girl ran over to them and she reached out to hug Chieko without hesitation. The other girl returned the hug, her face happy to see the familiar face.

"Uraraka! Aren't you a sight for sore eyes!" Chieko said.

"I was wondering if you all would ever reach the school." Uraraka said.

She continued down the line and hugged Kacchan without hesitation and the blonde rolled his eyes, but didn't push her away as he patted one of her shoulders in return. Izuku frowned, but he did his best to push the feelings aside and smiled when Uraraka looked at him, her welcoming face making him feel guilty about his less than pleased reaction to her appearance. As she went to hug him, Izuku kept his hands in his pocket, but thankfully she didn't notice as she pulled away.

Chieko took the lead in introducing her to the group, and they all greeted the girl in return.

"Everyone, this is Uraraka. We met her family back when we were still heading to the hospital. They had planned to come to the school, so we went our separate ways after a night." Chieko explained.

"It wasn't easy, but I remembered Bakugou's words that time and kept me motivated to push forward until the end." Uraraka said.

"Good. Hopefully, you've gotten better since the last time I saw you." Kacchan said.

The girl smirked as she showed off her arms, which had gained muscle during her stay in the school and Kacchan smirked in response.

"I'm part of the rescue crew now. Let me introduce you to some of my friends." Uraraka said.

She led everyone to her group. It was a decent size for a rescue team and most were a mix of older teens and a few side kicks that Izuku recognized. Uraraka took them to some of the younger teens, who turned to her as they approached. Uraraka introduced her friends to Izuku's group.

"Everyone, these are the people I told you about. They finally made it to U.A."

The one closest to them greeted them. His smile revealed a line of sharp white teeth, but he didn't look menacing in the slightest as he reached out to offer his hand to Kacchan.

"Hey, nice to meet you. My names Eijiro Kirishima."

"The name's Katsuki Bakugou." Kacchan said.

Kacchan glanced down at his hand, an eyebrow raised before he accepted it with a handshake of his own. Their grips looked a bit too tight for a customary handshake, but they were grinning at each other, so Izuku decided not to be too worried by it. There was a black-haired boy standing nearby by watching them with an amused smirk on his face and he pulled a hand out of his pocket to give them a simple wave.

"Hanta Sero."

He said nothing else and Kacchan finally let go of the other boy's hand; he didn't make it obvious but Izuku could see the way he clenched his palm as if forcing the blood to flow back to his fingers while the red-haired boy rubbed some of the scorched soot from his palm.

Introductions continued as the tallest boy went next. His hand adjusted his glasses on his face, his greeting rigid as he addressed everyone.

"Hello, my name is Tanya Iida. It's a pleasure to meet everyone." Iida said.

"Iida was part of the rescue crew who found me and my parents and helped us get to U.A. He's the reason I joined the team to help others." Uraraka said.

The taller boy actually looked embarrassed, his cheeks turning a light pink at her praise. He adjusted his glasses again, even when they didn't look out of place. He changed the subject, using one of his hands to direct everyone's attention to the two girls standing off to the side. The two waved in greeting.

"I'm Yui Kodai and this is Itsuka Kendo. We're still pretty new to the team ourselves." The girl said.

Izuku introduced his friends in return, and their group talked easily with the others. Maybe it was meeting teens their own age, but the atmosphere was good as everyone got to know each other and even Izuku relaxed, his earlier apprehension easing for the moment as Uraraka caught them up on how her parents were doing.

"Dad is all better now. They've been helping the school by reconstructing the rooms for sleeping areas that can fit more people." Uraraka said.

"That's good to hear." Izuku said.

After a while, their leader showed up, asking if they were ready to head out. He was an older boy, though his smile was as soft as his blonde hair. Izuku couldn't tell the color of his eyes from the yellow visor that covered them. He greeted Izuku's group, his face open and welcoming to the newcomers.

"Do we have new recruits?"

"Lemillion, no although I wouldn't mind if anyone was interested in joining the team. They're just people I had met before joining the school." Uraraka explained.

"Well, I hope some of you consider joining my team, the more the merrier." Lemillion said.

He was like sunshine by the way he smiled down at Izuku's group. His very presence seemed to encourage everyone to relax and trust him, but that only put Izuku on edge. Not that he suspected the older boy of being untrustworthy, but Izuku didn't think he was ready to put his guard down so soon.

"We're still looking around, but some of us were considering joining in training?" Izuku said.

"Oh! We have a few classes if you're looking for something specific. I can take you to the instructor who can give you the rundown." Lemillion said.

Before he could agree, there was a loud bang from a distance that made everyone jump in surprise at the sudden explosion.

"Is that normal?" Kaminari asked.

Lemillion face turned grim as he motioned for his team.

"No, I suggest you stay here. Third years with me. Iida, I want your team to follow and focus on making sure there aren't any civilians in trouble." Lemillion ordered.

As they all left, Uraraka gave them an apologetic smile for cutting things short before they ran out of sight towards the main gates, where a billow of smoke was already reaching high into the sky.

Izuku noticed other heroes who left in the same direction while others escorted people back into the school, where it was safer.

"Midoriya?" Shinso asked.

Izuku turned to his friends, who were waiting for his directions. They could follow the crowd to head back inside and be safe, but there was a pull as another set of explosions went off in the distance.

"Lets go see if we can help." Izuku said.

Kacchan was already stretching as if he knew what Izuku would decide. His knuckles popped as he cracked them in anticipation, his face sporting a malicious grin.

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Kacchan asked.

Izuku nodded, his face much more grim as he motioned for his group to follow. Hatsume and Chieko covered the rear with Shinso as Kaminari and Kacchan flanked either side of him.

When they reached the gates, there was chaos as Uraraka's team pulled civilians from the rubble that had appeared from a destroyed building nearby. The structure itself looked like it was teetering on its last leg, ready to collapse at any moment.

"Whose fighting, who?" Kaminari yelled.

Izuku scanned the area, trying to understand the situation. It seems like those from the school were split between helping those in the crossfire and stopping some kind of fight that had broken out in front of the gates.

He noticed Aizawa in the crowd, as he was directing some of the other heroes.

There was a couple to their left who were trapped in the cross file between two groups, but neither side looked like heroes, as they seemed to ignore the frightened couple who were doing their best to stay out of the line of fire.

"Kacchan." Izuku said.

"Yeah, yeah I'm on it." he said.

He grabbed onto Kaminari from the back of his collar and although the other boy protested; he followed his lead and Izuku nodded in approval as they went to help.

Izuku looked to Hatsume, but she was already using one of her gadget to help some of the rescue crew with the rubble that had pinned some civilians.

"Shinso, see if you can capture anyone who seems to attack the school. Either you can use them to help, or we can hand them over to the school for interrogation." Izuku ordered.

Shinso nodded as he moved away from the gates, already in search of someone he could find that would be easy enough to capture.

"What about me?" Chieko asked.

Izuku wasn't sure what to order her to do. Chieko was a healer and although he knew she could be useful for anyone injured, he wasn't sure he could ask that of her.

"Why don't you see if anyone needs help to move the civilians into safety?" Izuku said.

He could tell Chieko didn't appreciate being left out, but she nodded as she went over to help Hatsume.

Izuku headed to Aizawa to get an idea of what was happening, but a sharp pain struck his head and Izuku reacted with activating One for All as he shot forward before the area became scorched in a blue fire.

He turned to look at who had attacked him, but realized he had only been in collateral of a fight by a familiar-looking man. Izuku's eyes widened as everything around him went to fore ground until he could see nothing but the purple burns of the man's face. His scarred face was one of a handful that Izuku had carved into his memory the day they murdered his mentor for all to see.

Izuku was hyperaware of his own blood rushing through his ears as he did his best to catch his bearings, but all he could focus on was the slow thumping of his chest as he watched him, but the other man hadn't even noticed Izuku as he shot another wave of blue flames towards his opponent. Izuku didn't recognize the other man, but he made a note of his masked beak that covered the lower half of his face as he brought up a wall of cement to cover himself from the flames.

"Chisaki, the boss is asking for you." the scarred man said.

The man named Chisaki didn't respond as he slammed his hands down onto the ground and it morphed under their feet. Izuku had to steady himself before he toppled over. The burned man escaped as one of his colleagues used their quirk to move him out of the way. He landed on the roof of the crumbling building that Izuku had noticed earlier. Chisaki morphed the concrete beneath him to elevate him up towards the other man.

"Dabi! Tell your boss I'm not interested. I have better things to do than follow the senseless dreams of a madman." Chisaki said.

"I heard that you've lost something precious. Maybe we can make a deal and help you find it?" Dabi offered.

"Not interested." Chisaki said.

Izuku activated his quirk and followed the two men as their voices faded away the farther they moved away from him. He wasn't sure what he planned to do, but he needed to keep Dabi in his sights. He couldn't let him get away.

'Kid.'

Izuku gritted his teeth, ignoring the voice that appeared in his thoughts as he jumped up to reach the higher ground that the two men now were on. It wasn't the easiest feet, as the building was about eight floors and unsteady enough that Izuku had to be mindful of where he landed or risk the floor falling out beneath him.

'Young Midoriya.'

"Not now!" Izuku yelled.

He jumped, grabbing onto the edge of the of roof and as he hauled himself up. He saw as someone suddenly captured Dabi, his arms and legs encased in blocks of ice as it reached up to his torso.

"Toya!"

Izuku glanced over to his right and found a boy the same age as him glaring at Dabi from across the clearing, his arm outstretched and covered in a blue layer of the same ice. Dabi looked more amused than worried as he eyed the younger teen.

"I'm too busy to play today, little brother. Why don't you head on home now?" Dabi said.

Although his face was covered, Chisaki's brows furrowed as he eyed the third person before crouching down to shoot the changing concrete into sharp spikes towards him. The boy tried to block with his own ice, but the concrete crashed through it with ease.

Izuku had enough time to run forward, grabbing onto the other boy as he pushed them both out of the way of the layers of spike that appeared jagged from all angles where he once stood.

Dabi had melted most of the ice from his hands by this point as he eyed Izuku, who was now standing in their line of view. Izuku met his gaze, the anger boiling beneath the surface of his eyes. He couldn't hide his hatred for the other man at that moment.

"All Might's successor. I figured you were dead." Dabi said.

"Successor?" Chisaki said.

Izuku now had the attention of both men as they turned to look at him. Like predators, Izuku felt cornered as they took a step towards him. He wasn't sure what either of them would want with him, but he could take a guess what Dabi had in mind as he moved back. The boy Dabi called brother was still behind him and Izuku had to push him back, as he was uncooperative. Izuku took a chance to glance behind him towards the other boy. He was now close enough to see the scar that covered one side of his face as he looked at Izuku in question.

"I don't know what you have to do with Dabi, but we're going to need to work together for now if we want to get out of this alive." Izuku whispered.

"He's my brother." The boy said.

Izuku paused, wondering if he had guessed wrong in protecting the boy, but he had seemed angry with Dabi and had thought he was someone from the school.

"Are you on his side?" Izuku questioned.

Dabi smirked as he leaned forward, blue flames in either hand as Chisaki stood back, his bare hand on the surface of a nearby wall.

"Shotooo, I didn't know you had befriended All Mights's successor. It's pretty rude to be whispering to each other. Why don't you introduce me?" Dabi questioned.

Shoto's two toned eyes darkened as he eyed Dabi. Izuku's worries eased before he even attempted to explain. The matching hatred in his eyes for the man was enough for Izuku.

"No, he… he killed my family." Shoto said.

"You with me then?" Izuku asked.

There was a bit of hesitation, but Izuku could understand since they had only just met, but Shoto nodded in agreement and Izuku smiled.

"Okay, then let's get out of here." Izuku said.

He shot forward, which took Dabi by surprise as he reeled back his flames, shooting forward one after the other towards Izuku, who evaded them before moving forward to punch the older man in the gut.

Dabi shot back to crash against the floor, but Izuku didn't have the chance to check that he was down when the stab returned to his head and he jumped up in time to avoid a barrage of spikes from Chisaki's attack.

"Shoto!" Izuku yelled out.

The boy seemed to understand as he threw his own iced spikes towards Chisaki, who turned to block them with a wall of his own. Izuku landed a few feet away from Shoto. He had enough time to look up at Chisaki, whose mask had fallen off as the spike that had broken through missed his face by centimeters. A thin line of blood appeared on his cheek. Hives appearing all over his skin and across his face as he panted in shock while staring at them.

His hand reached up to touch the cut on hi face.

"You're dirty quirk…. touched me."

The angry cry that came from Chisaki startled both boys as he slammed both hands down to the ground, making the already unstable building shake.

The ground exploded in spikes that ran in all directions, and Izuku avoided being impaled by jumping off the building while Shoto used his ice to escape over the edge. As Izuku dropped, Shoto grabbed onto his outstretched arm in time.

The building rumbled from the strain as it broke under the force. There were screams from those around them and Izuku looked down to see a few beneath the building trapped as the chunks of concrete fell around them, forcing them in place.

"We need to keep the building from falling on everyone!" Izuku yelled.

Shoto nodded and Izuku let him go. Shoto turned to focus on using his ice to control the collapse of the building while Izuku allowed himself to fall forward as he activated All for One. The voices came through in full force, but one stood out from the rest, demanding Izuku's attention at that moment.

'Use it! Like last time use Black whip, Kid!'

Izuku stretched out his arms in front of him as the ground sped closer towards him, but his focus was on the civilians as they crouched low, their hands covering their heads as a feeble attempt to protect themselves. He allowed himself to be taken over in that moment. His only thoughts were to protect them as the black wisps shot forward to stop the surrounding concrete from landing over their heads. Izuku jaw clenched from the strain to hold everything in place, he felt stuck in mid air unable to move while he waited for the civilians to escape. They looked up at him in surprised and Izuku forced his words out.

"Please get out of here while you can." Izuku said.

The civilians nodded in gratitude as they hurried away from the danger. As they disappear into the safety of the heroes nearby, Izuku sighed in relief, which was his mistake as he released his hold on the quirk.

The whips of black still attached to the rubble twisted out of control as Izuku tried to call them back, but it was like they were ignoring him as they threw the pieces of rubble around, crashing into the building that was now half encased in ice.

"What are you doing?" Shoto shouted.

"I can't… control it! Get out of here!" Izuku shouted back.

It was like he was being engulfed by the quirk, his arm being dragged back and forth as his own quirk flung his body about like a rag doll. Izuku's vision grew dim as the voices yelled at him and Izuku felt like he was finally losing his mind.

"Deku!"

Kacchan's voice reached his ears and Izuku tried to turn towards the source when his body slammed into the side of the building. Blood splattered from his mouth as he tried to gasp for breath.

"K.. Kaccha... Stay… away." Izuku said.

"Idiot, don't tell me what to do!"

Izuku whip forced him forward as it flung him into the sky when Kacchan crashed into Izuku from the side, covering his vision in platinum strands. Kacchan's arms locked to hold him in place, not that Izuku could fight him by this point.

"Now Pink Cheeks!"

Izuku tried to grasp what Kacchan was saying, but his thoughts were a muddled mess, that he could only focus on the warmth pressed around him.

The sun became blocked in the sky as concrete slabs surrounded them in a protective barrier and forced the black whips into a contained area as it crashed into the concrete as if to escape. Kacchan cursed, his face pinched in pain as one of them caught him across his back and Izuku became hyper aware as he pushed back the haze of darkness to stare at Kacchan as another slammed into his side.

"Kacchan, please, I don't want to hurt you." Izuku said.

Kacchan glared at him, his eyes squinted half shut as they were both pummeled from either side by Izuku's quirk. He grabbed onto Izuku's face and slammed his forehead against Izuku's.

"Then breathe, idiot. Just focus on me and breathe." Kacchan ordered.

Izuku didn't realize he was hyperventilating until he did as he was told and took a long pull of air into his starved lungs. Kacchan directed him to exhale, and so Izuku did as he was told.

"Good, just keep breathing." Kacchan said.

Izuku felt the whips dissipate as his head cleared and they ended back on the ground, the walls of concrete dropping around them.

"Are you two okay?" Ochako asked.

Izuku glanced up to see the girl standing over the rubble to look down at them. Her worried frown made her lips down-turned as she hurried closer. Shoto appeared from the other side landing to crouch next to them, his face schooled as he looked at Izuku.

"Todoroki?" Ochako questioned.

"Shoto!"

Izuku looked up to see Dabi looking down at them from a distance. Chisaki was nowhere in sight, but Dabi's men surrounded him.

"When you finally decide to use that fire, then maybe you can come after me, little brother. Until then." Dabi said.

He gave his brother a mock salute and glanced over to Izuku as a smirk grew across his face, but he didn't address Izuku directly as he turned towards a dark void that had appeared behind him and they all walked through it, disappearing from view.

"Who the hell was that douche?" Kacchan asked.

Before anyone could answer him, there was a cough as someone cleared their throat and Aizawa came over to stand over them. His face was harsh as he glared at all four of them.

"You all are coming with me." Aizawa said.