Month 3 (June)

"I want to meet the person that's been training you two," Inko said suddenly while they sat down for dinner.

Izuku's head snapped up in surprise while Ochako almost floated away her bowl of rice as she choked down her food. "What?! What do you mean?"

Inko gave Izuku a leveled look, "Izuku, did you really think you'd be able to keep something like this a secret from me?"

Izuku glanced over nervously towards Ochako, who gave him a look that screamed 'don't look at me.'

Inko took a bite of her food before reaching down underneath the table to pull out a small stack of papers, which both teens recognized as their older workout plans from the last couple of months. "You two have only ever shown me the meal plans you had been given. If I had seen the rest of this earlier, I would have wanted to meet your trainer then."

Despite the serious situation they were in, Izuku at least could breathe easier now that his mother did not know he was being trained by All Might.

Still, this isn't exactly great, either. I thought I was being careful to keep Mom out of the loop. I guess I got careless…

"Um, Mom...why are you suddenly so concerned? Uraraka and I are doing just fine."

"You two for a while now have been training non-stop, and lately I've been getting more and more concerned. You both seem to be pushing yourselves so hard. And now that I know what you two have been doing, I want to make sure you aren't doing anything else that could get you hurt. Or that someone isn't pushing you two too far."

There was a moment's pause as Inko looked from Izuku to Ochako, both teens growing more uncomfortable under the woman's stern gaze. Finally Inko said, "So, why don't you invite him to dinner, then? That should give him ample time to explain things to me. I'm sure your trainer would be able to make it tomorrow. Right?" From Inko's tone, both teens knew she wasn't really asking.

Izuku quickly excused himself and hurried to his room. Closing the door behind him and grabbing his phone, Izuku frantically pulled up All Might's contact number and mashed the call button. As soon as he heard it stop ringing, he did not give All Might a chance to even say hello before blurting out in a loud whisper, "AllMight! Youneedtocomeoverfordinnertomorrow! Mymomismadandknowsstuffnow!"

On the other end of the line, All Might blinked in confusion. He waited a few moments until he finally heard Izuku stop breathing so hard. "Young Midoriya. I am going to need you to take a breath and try that again. Now, from the top…"

After taking a few deep breaths, Izuku tried again, "My mom found our old workout plans you'd given us. Up 'til now I've only given her the meal portions you wrote out for us. So after reading through it she's worried it's a bit too much for us, so she really wants to meet you to go over it."

"She does? She wants to meet me?"

"Well, not you in particular. She wants to meet our trainer. She….I still haven't told her that you are training us. So would you be able to come for dinner tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow? That's very short notice…"

"My mom also wasn't very happy we kept this from her. She's worried Uraraka and I are pushing ourselves too much. Or really, I think she's worried you are pushing us too much."

All Might frowned. I suppose I was a little too distracted by their strides in their training, and I may have overlooked how their training might appear to others from the outside...

"She's not going to take no as an answer here, is she? Alright, I will be over tomorrow."

"Thank you."

"However, I still believe we should continue to keep our more sensitive secrets from her." Before Izuku could respond to that, All Might quickly continued, "Let me add, it's not that I do not think your mother is trustworthy. I've had many friends over my time as a hero that I have trusted my life to, but at the same time, I've never told them about my power. I've wanted to, but once a secret is known by a few, it doesn't take much for it to spread. A couple people here or there adds up after a while, Young Midoriya."

Izuku found himself nodding, even though no one else was in the room with him. "I understand. Then what should I tell her?"

"Let her know I will be over for dinner and am more than happy to address any concerns she may have. Besides that, leave the rest to me. I'll have a good story and everything ready for tomorrow."

Ochako numbly took another bite of her dinner as she and Inko sat in silence. It took a considerable amount of effort not to stare towards Izuku's room. Fortunately, before the silence became even more unbearable, Izuku hurried back into the room and got in his seat. "Mr. Yagi said he'll be more than happy to have dinner with us tomorrow and to talk with you."

Inko smiled a very frosty smile. "That's excellent. I'm looking forward to talking with him."

Both Izuku and Ochako tried to swallow the nervous lumps that formed in their throats. Neither of them were looking forward to tomorrow's dinner.

The next day was clouded with a haze of distractions for the two. Neither Ochako nor Izuku could focus on their school work or their training that day, which All Might had been absent for. Izuku got caught by their teacher muttering under his breath as he went over everything that could go wrong at dinner. Ochako had drifted out over the open water while practicing floating herself, much to her soaked dismay. Now, much to their chagrin, the day was over and they sat alone in Izuku's room, waiting for All Might to come over.

"So," Ochako began, "You don't have any idea what All Might is planning?" She already knew the answer, but the stifling silence was beginning to take its toll on her nerves. Izuku sat quietly on his bed, giving no sign that he had even heard her. Ochako's fingers drummed softly on Izuku's desk. The soft tapping almost echoing like drums in the silence.

"I'm sure we're overthinking this. It's going to be fine."

More silence, and no reaction from Izuku at all. Ochako watched Izuku carefully. She could tell this dinner was making him nervous. It made her nervous too, but she knew something else was eating away at him. Every once in a while throughout the day, she would see a look come over him, a look she remembered him having the morning they had started training.

"Deku? What's on your mind?"

Nothing.

"You know if there's something bothering you, you can talk to me."

Again, nothing.

Okay, no more nice girl. I'm done with this silent treatment. Just need to get some kind of reaction from him.

Ochako rubbed her chin before a slightly wicked thought crossed her mind. It was cheap and dirty, but Izuku was not leaving her much choice in the matter. Ochako was not going to just sit in silence when she knew something was bothering her friend. Getting up, Ochako made her way over to stand in front of Izuku, and bent down slightly so that she was leaning next to his ear.

"D-e-k-u," Ochako started, making her voice as sickly sweet as she could, "I can't hide my feelings for you anymore. I love you." Ochako paused and then added, huskily, "and I want to kiss you so much it hurts."

There was a pause over a few heartbeats as Ochako waited to see if her words would finally get a reaction out of Izuku and break him out of his silent stewing. Much to Ochako's delight, she soon got her wish. Izuku's head snapped up fast enough that Ochako was worried he'd have whiplash. His eyes went wide and his face turned several shades of red before settling on a shade not unlike a ripe tomato. He leapt up, tangling himself in his bedsheets in the process, and tumbled to the ground in a stuttering mess.

"U-U-Uraraka! I, I you, YOU, KISS! You-!"

Ochako doubled over in a fit of laughter, unable to hold herself back from Izuku's priceless reaction. Izuku soon clamped his mouth shut and glared daggers at Ochako, "THAT WAS MEAN!"

After finally getting her laughter under control, Ochako sat down on the bed and offered Izuku a humorous but genuine apology. "Sorry, sorry. But you didn't leave me much choice."

Izuku huffed as he got up and plopped down next to her, cheek puffed out slightly in a pout. "I think I prefer when Kacchan bullies me. At least with him, he just goes for the kill. You are way too creative."

Ochako scrunched her face in disgust. "Ew, please don't compare me to Bakugou." She rubbed the back of her head briefly. "I am sorry. I probably shouldn't have teased you like that."

"No kidding," Izuku replied, but without any real bite to his words. While his face was still flushed, he was at least smiling, much to Ochako's relief.

"So, Deku, you have something on your mind? You've been really out of it all day."

Izuku's smile dropped as he slumped down and let out a sigh. "Maybe? Honestly, this has been bothering me for a while now, but I've been so focused on stuff like school, or our training, or studying for the written exam that I've been able to kinda put it out of my mind. But now that All Might is coming here, it's kinda front and center. Makes it hard to focus on anything else, really."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"Yes? I think." Izuku answered while nervously twiddling his thumbs. "It's kinda hard to put into words."

Ochako waited patiently as Izuku collected his thoughts before he turned to look at her. "You know, I've wanted to be a hero ever since I was a little kid, right?"

"Yeah, I've seen the baby pictures to prove that."

Izuku groaned but continued on. "And now, I'm taking real strides to make that dream a reality. In ways I couldn't have ever imagined."

Ochako smiled. "Yeah, I bet getting trained by All Might really is a dream come true for you, huh?"

"I'm not just getting trained by All Might, though. I'm also getting trained with someone who's now my best friend."

Ochako nudged Izuku in the side softly. "Careful there. I might think you're putting me and All Might on the same level."

"I am." Izuku stated matter-of-factly.

"Eh?!" Wait, what?

Izuku smiled sadly. "It's true I always wanted to be a hero, but I also...I also wanted a friend. Growing up, no one wanted to risk Kacchan coming after them too, so everyone just ignored me or joined up with him to get on his good side. So I never really had friends. But now, just like how I could never have dreamed I'd be training with All Might to become a hero, being friends with you, Uraraka, was something I could have never dreamed would have happened."

All at once several thoughts and feelings rushed through her: how sad and lonely Izuku must have been growing up, how the temptation to see just how high she could throw that jerk Katsuki into the sky was starting to get very, very hard to ignore. And while these thoughts rushed through her, Ochako felt a few butterflies flutter in her stomach as she was suddenly keenly aware of just how close she and Izuku were sitting next to each other, on his bed no less, and how much warmer it had gotten in the small room.

"It, um, it sounds like you're getting everything you could want, Deku."

Izuku nodded. "Everything is going so well, or at least it was."

"I'm sure All Might will be able to handle this, Deku. He'll get your mom to not be so worried about everything."

"He'll get Mom to trust him, and us too?"

"Yeah! It'll all work out."

"By lying to her?"

Ochako started to speak, but her words died in her throat. Oh…

"Uraraka, I know how crucial keeping All Might's secret is. I really do. He trusted us with something so...so important, and I would never think about betraying that trust. I know how important keeping One for All to ourselves is."

Izuku tapped his forehead lightly. "I've drilled it into my thick skull just to make sure I don't screw up and let something slip. To become a great hero, I have to keep this a secret."

Izuku lowered his hand and placed it on his chest over his heart. "But here? I can't help but wonder: for me to become a great hero, do I have to become a bad son?"

"Deku…" Ochako whispered, at a loss as to what to say.

When I think about it, Ochako thought sadly, Deku wears his emotions on his sleeve. He's so earnest and open about everything. Keeping secrets like this really does go against his very nature.

Reaching out, Ochako took Izuku's hand into hers and gave it a gentle and firm squeeze. "Deku, the fact that you are so worried over this tells me all that I need to know. A bad son wouldn't be worried about what his secrets were doing to his mother. You are a good son, and a good person, for that matter. Don't let anyone tell you different. Especially yourself."

Izuku smiled and unconsciously moved his other hand to fold over Ochako's. "That being said, Deku," Ochako continued, "One for All is All Might's secret. And it's up to him when and who gets to learn it. Like you said, we have to respect that. We have to keep it secret."

With a nod, Izuku agreed. "I know. I really do know that, Uraraka."

"However," Izuku blinked as Ochako continued on, "when it becomes your secret, then you'll get to be the one that decides who knows what."

When it becomes my secret? Oh, OH, "OH!" Izuku's face lit up as it came to him, "I never thought of that. One for All is...is going to be mine, isn't it?"

Ochako nodded. "Yes it is. But until then, we have an important responsibility. We have to make sure All Might knows he put his trust in the right people."

"Right," Izuku agreed. I can do this. All Might trusted me. I won't let him down.

When the two heard a knocking coming from the front door, they both snapped out of their trance. Both looked down and, seeing that they were still holding hands, gasped before letting go of each other, blushing and laughing nervously.

Izuku stood and quickly composed himself, at least he hoped he had. "Let's...let's go. I'm sure that's All Might. Don't want to leave him outside too long." Ochako nodded and followed after him, trying to desperately rub the blush from her face while he wasn't looking. What, what was that!?

Opening the front door, Izuku welcomed All Might, who was in his smaller form. Ochako eyed him as he walked in, impressed that he had thought ahead to get dressed up for the meal. All Might wore a bright yellow pinstripe suit that looked several sizes too big, but at least it looked clean and pressed.

I guess since he has to be ready to bulk up, all his clothes have to be like that. Ochako thought to herself.

"Welcome to my home, All-"

At once All Might put a finger up to shush Izuku while Ochako elbowed his side. Izuku had the good grace to immediately realize his mistake and quietly apologize.

With an exasperated sigh, All Might bent down and whispered, "Lets just go with my actual name for right now."

Both Izuku and Ochako nodded just as Inko came into the hallway. "Izuku, is our guest here?"

All Might stood up, and he was suddenly very grateful for the years of heroics that had taught him to remain calm and keep a good poker face. Outwardly he was the picture of calm and professional, but inside, he was suddenly reeling. She was shorter, and perhaps a bit more plump, but there was no denying what he saw.

That, that is a hell of a resemblance. She looks just like…

Mentally, All Might shook his head and buried the old memories that had started to creep up.

Izuku turned towards his mother. "Yeah, mom. This is Mr. Yagi Toshinori, our trainer."

Inko smiled as she welcomed All Might into her home, though Izuku could see a coldness behind her eyes. "Welcome to our home, Mr. Yagi. I'm so glad to finally get a chance to meet you."

Scary, all three thought.

For All Might, it became clear he was in an uphill battle for sure. Bowing his head slightly, he replied, "Thank you for having me. I'd hate to think I've been troubling you. I hope I'll be able to put to rest any concerns that you have tonight."

There was a brief pause while Inko stared at All Might. Her smile never wavered, however. "Well then, you are just in time. I was just about to start plating, so please follow me and we can eat and you can...talk."

The three each gave an almost audible gulp as they followed after her. As All Might walked into the house, he shuddered from the brief glare he had been given.

And I thought Aizawa had a mean stare.

For the first few minutes of dinner, Inko made polite small talk with Izuku and Ochako. Asking about their day, how school was going. While they talked, All Might was left to sit in relative silence as he waited for his turn.

She definitely has no issue making sure I know my place here, huh. I'll get my turn when she says so, I guess.

"So, Mr. Yagi."

Upon hearing his name, All Might snapped to attention. "Yes, ma'am?"

And here we go.

"Please, tell me about yourself. I would very much like to hear how you got to become a trainer for potential heroes. I'd also love to hear about how you came to know my son and Ochako."

"Yes, yes, of course. I actually have something I would like to give you before I start, which I hope will explain my job a little better."

Reaching into his coat, he pulled out a small business card and a sealed envelope, which he handed over to Inko.

"This card is…" Inko, despite herself, had a startled stumble as she looked over the card. "You work for All Might's hero agency?"

All Might nodded but refrained from speaking, letting Inko look over the card before moving on to the envelope. Opening it, Inko pulled out a folded-up letter and carefully began to read it over, her eyes lingering on the signature and seal at the end.

"This is a reference letter signed by the principal of U.A. High, Mr. Nezu."

Izuku started to lean over to try and read the letter too, but a quick under-the-table kick from Ochako got him to straighten back up. She leaned over and whispered, "maybe let All- Mr. Yagi finish before you do something to blow his cover?"

Shrinking down into his seat, Izuku nodded in agreement.

Inko gave the letter one last look before folding it up. "These are...impressive credentials. But I find it difficult to believe that you can work at both these places when they are so far apart. And I am still interested in how you met my son and Ochako."

"You are of course welcome to call the number on the card if you wish to confirm my employment. My work at U.A, however, will be a bit more tricky, as I don't technically work there. My involvement is more unofficial. I was honestly lucky the principal was willing to write out that little referral letter, to be honest."

Inko frowned lightly. "Unofficial? So you are not a member of their staff, then?"

"A better term for me would be 'talent scout.'"

"Oh?"

"Working at such a high-profile hero's agency gives me a unique perspective on what qualities make a good hero. So U.A. had me use my unique perspective to look out for young talent with special qualities that might fall through the cracks and go unnoticed. And when I find potential students who I believe have the unique qualities to become great heroes, I make sure they are ready for the exams."

All Might watched as Inko mulled over his explanation. So far, so good.

"And how does someone like you end up meeting my son, then?"

"Honestly, by pure chance. A few months ago, your son was involved in an incident with a dangerous villain." Everyone at the table frowned as that memory was brought up. "I was in the crowd that day, and I saw Young Midoriya rush into that situation to save his friend," Ochako coughed, shooting All Might a quick frown, "er...to save his classmate."

"So my son rushing into danger like that was the special quality that you noticed?"

"Er...yes."

Inko let her gaze shift over to Izuku. "That special quality got him grounded, Mr. Yagi."

"As it should have, ma'am. But when you break it down to its simplest form, being a hero is rushing into dangerous situations. And both Young Midoriya and Young Uraraka displayed this tendency that day."

Inko blinked and turned to look at Ochako in surprise. "Wait, what does he mean, Ochako?"

Ah, looks like they hadn't told her that fact...whoops, All Might thought to himself sheepishly.

Ochako fidgeted nervously as she explained. "I was...I was there too. During the villain attack. When Deku rush out, I sorta...chased after him. The crowd of people grabbed me before I could get him, though."

Inko sat there stunned for a moment as several emotions flashed across her face. "Well, thank goodness that they did. You could have gotten hurt."

"It's just, I was worried about Deku. I guess I wasn't really thinking," Ochako explained.

Inko's eyes started to brim with tears. "Well, thank you for worrying about him. And you, Izuku, you mustn't make your friends worry like that."

Izuku gave his mother a nervous smile. "I know, Mom. Uraraka already made me promise not to do it again."

"Well, at least there's that."

After a few more moments, Inko turned her attention back to All Might, who had kept quiet as the three had talked. "Please, go on, Mr. Yagi."

All Might noted that some of the frost in her voice was gone now as he continued. "Of course, Mrs. Midoriya. Upon seeing the young man's bravery, after the incident, I decided to see if the two had any desire to enter into the field of heroics. Fortunately at the time, they were discussing how they planned on training together to prepare for the entrance exams. After explaining who I was and hearing my pitch to help them train, they took me up on my offer. Since then I've been helping them get ready to enter U.A."

"Okay," Inko began as she mulled over All Might's story. "But let's talk about this training, then. I've only just yesterday finally seen the regiment that these two have been doing, and I can't help but feel it's too much."

All Might nodded slowly before he leaned forward. "Ma'am, not to sound condescending, but are you aware of what awaits your son at U.A.?"

Inko frowned. "Do you mean the entrance exam?"

"Yes, U.A. has a rigorous entrance test that it uses to select its students. And while I personally feel it's limited in scope, that doesn't change the fact that it relies heavily on a student's combat potential. Which, and I mean no offence, you son was lacking to an extreme degree when we started."

Izuku groaned in embarrassment while Ochako stifled a laugh. All Might looked over at Ochako and added, "Don't laugh too hard, Young Uraraka. You were just as bad."

Ochako blushed and shot Izuku a quick dirty look, which clamped his mouth shut before he could say anything or laugh at her as well.

"Still, how much combat potential would a new student need at that point? It's only an entrance exam."

"They have to fight a horde of giant robots."

"Oh…"

"What's more, the students are split into large groups, so not only are they supposed to destroy these robots, but they are competing against each other to see who can destroy the most."

Inko sat in silence as she mulled over everything she had heard. Put together, everything did make sense. In truth, after everything she had heard, she knew she should feel elated that her son and his friend were able to find this man, that they were getting the best chance to achieve their dreams to become heroes. There was just one last thing she needed to know.

"Mr. Yagi, one last thing. You said you were a talent scout, correct?"

"That's correct."

"A talent scout. Not a talent trainer."

The room was silent at that. Again All Might was grateful for his poker face while internally he was beginning to sweat. Oh...well, shit. I guess the boy gets more than the tears and Quirk from his mother.

"That's...correct."

Inko leaned forward and looked All Might dead in the eye. "So why are you so invested in these two? Why are you putting in all this work, when from everything you said, it's only your job to find people. Not train them."

All Might sat in silence as he mulled over how he would respond. Finally, he gave his answer. "Because I can see the future in them. These two, their drive, their desire to become heroes, is more than just a dream for them. Even before I met them, they were already taking steps to become heroes. That ambition, that drive...I suppose I want to see where it leads."

Both Izuku and Ochako flushed from All Might's words while Inko smiled, no longer as frosty as before. "Then I suppose I have only two things I want you to do for me. If you can, then I have no problem trusting these two to you."

"Of course, ma'am."

"I want regular updates from the three of you. No more being kept in the dark. Understand?"

"Yes, ma'am," the three said in a chorus.

"And from you, Mr. Yagi, I want you to promise to look after them. If you are so invested in their future, I want you to help keep them safe to reach it."

All Might put his hand over his heart as he spoke. "Mrs. Midoriya, I give you my word. I will do everything in my power to make sure they will reach their future."

The rest of the dinner passed without incident as the four passed the rest of the time with light conversations and simple pleasantries. When dinner was over, All Might said his goodbyes and promised to return some time soon to give Inko a proper update on his two trainees' progress. He offered to give Ochako a ride back home, and Izuku followed after them under the pretence that he wanted to send them off. When the three reached All Might's truck, as one they breathed a sigh of relief and collapsed against the vehicle.

"Young Midoriya. Are you sure your mother was never a professional hero. I've been in rooms with trained interrogators that didn't scare me as much as that woman!"

"She wasn't that bad!"

Ochako shook her head in exasperation. "Really? Says the boy who looked ready to run away every time she looked at him."

Izuku puffed up as he countered, "You're one to talk! I've seen you look less pale after you've puked all over the beach!"

There was a brief pause before the three broke into a fit of laughter as, at long last, all the stress of the evening began to fade away. When their laughter began to finally die down, All Might straightened up and got into his truck, with Ochako following soon after him.

"Well, tonight has been...an experience. But fortunately my story should help keep your mother from asking any other questions for now."

"Actually, All Might," Ochako began, "I was wondering about that letter you had. How'd you get that? Did the principal of U.A. owe you a favor or something?"

"Oh, that? Well, just between us, I'm going to be teaching at U.A. this coming year. So I didn't really need any favors to get that letter."

"Wait, really!?" Ochako and Izuku were both shocked by this revelation.

"All Might, does this mean you'll be teaching Uraraka and I? Are you going to be our homeroom teacher!?" Izuku asked quickly as he pulled himself into the truck through the opened window in his excitement.

"Easy, EASY! Down, boy! DOWN!" Ochako laughed as All Might tried to push Izuku back outside. "I'm going to be teaching heroics, so I'm not a homeroom teacher."

"Who are the homeroom teachers? Do you know them? How high are they in the polls?"

"Deku! Deku, calm down already. You should probably focus on getting in before you worry about all that."

Bashfully, Izuku lowered himself back to the ground outside All Might's truck. "Sorry, sorry. I guess I got a little excited that All Might would still be teaching us after our training is done."

A little, he says, Ochako and All Might thought.

"Don't you worry, Young Midoriya. Even after you and Young Uraraka get into U.A., I know for a fact I won't be done with you. That's when your work will really begin."

Ochako and Izuku glanced towards each other, both thinking along the same line: that was both incredibly reassuring and terrifying.

With a few quick goodbyes, All Might pulled his truck out of the parking lot and left Izuku alone to walk back up to his home, hopeful that the upcoming months would be conflict-free, and without any more surprises.

Notes:

A huge thanks to the beta reader of this chapter Deadliest Sin Bin. Thank you so much!

Hey, I posted a new chapter without a multiple months break in between. A new record! Part 3 is chugging along nicely since work has slowed down some. With luck, it'll be out soon. I hope you all enjoyed the new chapter. Please leave a review if you want. I love hearing from you all :D