After saying his goodbyes, All Might left the Midoriya apartment with a smile on his face. It had been some time since he had gotten to see Inko, and he had truly enjoyed the time they spent together talking over lunch. At first it had been about Izuku, and how he was recovering. Then, Ochako was briefly brought up. While Inko was coy when talking about her, not wanting to gossip too much over something so private, All Might guessed that something had happened last night that had brought a change in how the young women saw her relationship with Izuku. While he was happy that the two's bond was getting stronger, he did worry some. Becoming a top hero more often than not meant that personal relationships had to be sacrificed. His master, Nana Shimura, had been forced to sacrifice being a mother in order to continue her role as a hero and torch bearer for One for All. He himself had also followed in those footsteps, never settling down or having any kind of relationship out of a feeling of responsibility as the symbol of peace, and perhaps a small bit of fear that anyone he got too close to would be put in harm's way.

Balancing a personal life and a heroic one was tricky by itself. Adding the legacy of One for All to it? That made it all but impossible. At least in All Might's view. He didn't view it as right or wrong; it was just the way things were for him. Though, perhaps it wouldn't have to be that way for Izuku. Maybe he and Ochako could find a way to make it work. If indeed they did end up together. Though, by the sound of what Inko had said, it might not be as smooth sailing as he might have wanted. Inko had let it slip that Himiko was also interested in the boy. That brought up a whole host of concerns. Inko was not aware of the girl's past, but All Might was. And her past made the idea that she was interested in Izuku very concerning for the pro hero.

I'll need to talk with Midnight about this. She's said that Young Toga has made progress since she first came to U.A...and I suppose she has in some ways. She did help protect Young Midoriya and Young Uraraka during the attack. Still, considering her past action with those she had become infatuated with...that poor boy from jr. high and her time with Stain, I need to make sure she isn't a threat.

He had agreed with Nezu that bringing the girl into the school was her best chance at some kind of recovery. But if he had known her reasoning for turning herself in at the start, he might have objected. Or at least asked for more restrictions to be put on her. All Might frowned at that. He didn't like viewing the young woman with such scrutiny and distrust, and he felt that she could become a hero herself, albeit a harsher one. But as with everything, One for All complicated everything. Izuku was going to one day inherit this power, and All Might needed to be sure that he would have a safe place to train and learn to master it. Knowing that Himiko was going to be around Midoriya constantly put All Might on edge.

Still even with my concerns, I mustn't do anything that interferes with Young Toga's rehabilitation. At the very least, being around Young Midoriya and his new friends seems to be helping her...To think the first person that he knowingly saved with his quirk was her. Fate is so strange.

A soft beep from his phone interrupted All Might from thinking on the subject any further. Pulling his phone out, he raised an eyebrow at the name that popped up.

Young Midoriya?

Tapping on the message, All Might wasn't sure what he was expecting to read.

Midoriya: Help

Underneath the message was a GPS map location.

All Might's eyes went wide as a feeling of dread filled him. Could one of the villains from yesterday's attack have gone after Izuku? He remembered Tomura's words, that he should have killed Izuku when they had run into each other in the teachers office. Filled with panic and worry, All Might buffed himself up and launched into the air. He was so preoccupied with reaching Izuku and Ochako, he didn't hear his phone beep again as another message came through.

Midoriya: We ran into a little girl. She was worried someone was after her before she fell unconscious. Should we take her to a police station first or a hospital?

Midoriya: Oh Uraraka says I should mention that we are fine.

Midoriya: Says my first text might make you panic.

"This is pretty bad, isn't it?"

A tall bald man grumbled to himself as he and his two comrades walked down the busy street. The trio were given a wide berth by everyone as they walked by. Their masked faces alone were enough to make the crowd lery of them. Looking around constantly, their eyes scanned through the people around them. A shorter man with blond hair nodded, fingers scratching at the edge of his plague mask nervously, "If we don't find that kid soon, Chisaki might actually kill us. Hey, Tabe, you see anything?"

The final member of the trio, with a large burlap sack tied over his head, sighed a negative, "Nope. Haven't seen hair or horn of the girl. If we're going to die, I want to stop and get something to eat first. I'm hungry, hungry, hungry!"

Hojo, even with half his face hidden behind his white surgical mask, was obviously not bothered by the threat of death, "If that's what happens, that's what happens. No need to worry about it until it happens. Hey Setsuno, how'd the kid even escape?"

The blond haired man, Setsuno shrugged, "Hell if I know. Maybe someone left a door open."

"Someone's dying over this, that's for sure."

Making it to a cross light the two looked down both ways of the street, "Which way you wanna go?" Setsuno asked.

Before Hojo could make up his mind, a small group of people rushed by them, and headed down the street to the right.

"Did you hear, All Might was spotted near by!"

"Yeah, he just landed a couple blocks away!"

"If we hurry, we might be able to get an autograph!"

"Come on! Let's hurry!"

As the group hurried on, the three men glanced at one another, "All Might, huh?"

"We keep looking for the girl," Setsuno then pointed to the left, "but that way."

Nodding in agreement, the three headed in the opposite direction, away from where the number one hero had been spotted.

"I have to admit, I was hoping we would be seeing eachother again for at least a little while longer." Detective Tsukauchi said as he walked into his office where All Might, Izuku and Ochako all sat.

All Might chuckled softly, "It does seem like any chance we get to talk recently is always because of some unfortunate event."

Tsukauchi nodded, before he closed the door to his office, "There. We can talk privately now if you want. I imagine holding that form so soon after your big fight isn't easy."

Izuku and Ochako shared a surprised look while All Might waved them off, "It's alright you two. Tsukauchi knows about me, and knows I've been training you two. Relax. And I'll stay like this for now. No reason to take any chances. Plus, we should be staying for much longer. You already got your statements from these two, right?"

"That's right. You all will be free to go just as soon as the report is filed."

"Um, Detective Tsukauchi, what about the girl?" Izuku asked while Ochako nodded, "Has she woken up yet? Is she alright?"

"She's still asleep. The doctors are already getting her ready to be taken to a hospital so they can run some tests, but they said that she was suffering from exhaustion. Once she's had a chance to rest, we'll be able to figure out how to help her...And know the extent of any wounds she may have."

"She was so scared that someone was after her...and she had on all those bandages…Who would do something like that?" Izuku's question hung in the hug for a few seconds. Neither All Might or Detective Tsukauchi wanted to answer, even though they were fully aware of the kind of person that could hurt a small child like her.

Ochako reached over and put a comforting hand on Izuku's shoulder, "It's going to be alright now, Deku. The police and doctors will make sure she's looked after."

"I promise we'll make sure she gets the best care, and we'll also begin an investigation into what happened to her."

Izuku and Ochako were both grateful for that.

"I also want to commend how responsible the two of you were. You both kept a level head and were able to call a hero for help."

Ochako covered her mouth as she coughed to hide a laugh while Izuku sank into his seat a little when All Might's gaze turned towards him.

"Yes, though perhaps Young Midoriya needs to learn to explain a situation a bit more clearly the next time he sends out a text asking for help."

With the last of the paperwork filed, the three were free to go. Walking outside the office and into the waiting area, Izuku was about to thank All Might for getting to them as quickly as he had, but was cut off by a sudden cry.

"Izuku! There you are!"

"Wait? Mom?"

Inko, who had been standing next to the receptionist, quickly made her way over to the three.

"Mom, what are you doing here? I told you everything was fine over the phone."

Inko took out a hankie and dabbed at her eyes, "I know, I was just worried about you. I just wanted to be sure you were alright."

"All Might was with us, Mom. Of course we were alright."

Inko turned and looked up at All Might who smiled brightly down at the woman, doing his best not to give any hint that they had actually just had lunch together, not that long ago, "You were lucky that he called to check on how you were recovering Izuku when he did. I suppose this does give me a chance to thank you personally for saving my son and Ochako yesterday."

"Think nothing of it. As a hero and a teacher, it was my duty and privilege. I only regret I was not able to stop the attack from happening in the first place."

"Come on Mom. We should be getting back home now."

Inko nodded, "Yes I suppose we should. It's almost time for dinner."

"Then this is where we must part ways. Young Midoriya, Young Uraraka. I will see you in class."

"Of course."

"Goodbye All Might, and thank you."

Izuku and Ochako waved goodbye as All Might started to walk off. Inko however looked at him a little harder and called out, "Excuse me, All Might. May I ask you something before you go?"

"Er...Of course."

" You know a Toshinori Yagi, correct? The man who helped my son and Ochako get ready for U.A. He works for your agency."

"Um...Yes. I know him..."

All Might trailed off while Izuku and Ochako went stiff. All three were watching Inko very closely now. Inko however didn't notice and continued on, "I'm sorry, it's just… you're wearing the same suit is all."

Izuku nearly swallowed his tongue while All Might put a hand behind his head and laughed, "Is that so? That's quite funny. Perhaps the man decided to copy my sense of fashion. He's a good one, that Toshinori. Ha ha haaa…"

While Izuku tried not to freak out, and All Might pulled out all the stops to show his best poker face, Ochako felt a question nagging her, "Wait, how do you know they have the same suit?"

"Oh well, Toshinori came over to the apartment earlier to check on you two. Since you two were out on your date," Izuku started to sputter out an objection, but stopped when he remembered his conversation with Ochako, "and he was wearing that exact same suit. Though, his was way too big for him. I swear the man needs to find a better tailor."

"Mr. Yagi came over?"

"Yes. We even had a little lunch and we got to catch up. It was nice."

"Oh, that sounds like fun, Mom."

While Izuku didn't think much on the subject, Ochako slowly turned to look over at All Might who, feeling her eyes on him, did everything in his power not to meet her gaze.

Young Uraraka, please! It was totally innocent! Don't look at me like that! I didn't do anything wrong! I didn't do anything at all!

"Well! I must be going now. You three do take care."

Turning on his heel, All Might was gone in a flash. Inko blinked in surprise, "Oh my. He certainly left in a hurry."

Izuku nodded, "Yeah... he does that during class too."

"It's a shame. I was thinking of inviting him to have dinner with us to thank him. Oh well."

Shrugging, Inko looked back at the two, "Is there anything else you two have to do here?"

Izuku and Ochako glanced over at Detective Tsukauchi who shook his head, "Everything is taken care of. The girl is in good hands now, so neither of you need to worry. I will give you a call if there's anything you need to know. Don't worry."

With that squared away, the three left the police station and made their way back to the Midoriya apartment. While Izuku filled his mother in on what exactly happened, Ochako fell back a few steps as she took the time to think back over what she had almost done just a little while ago.

I can't believe I was about to tell Deku how I felt. What is the matter with me?

The more she thought about it, the more she was strangely thankful for the incident with the little girl. Instantly, it had been like some had doused her in ice water, snapping her out of her little fantasy, and cooling her off. She had fun today. She had really enjoyed spending some private time with Izuku after everything that had happened. Maybe she had let herself get a little carried away, pretending their lunch and time together was more than it really was, but that wasn't necessarily a bad thing. It had been the perfect distraction. But that was the key. It was a distraction. Today, it had been a distraction from something horrible, but if she let these feelings keep going- if she let herself focus too much on them, or worse, even dragged Izku into them, then that would ultimately make a distraction from their studies and work to become heroes. And she wasn't going to do that to herself, or Izuku.

I love Deku. I do. But right now, there's no time for this. It's like I was saying last night. We have too much work ahead of us to let my feelings get in the way. We need to focus on what's important.

Nodding to herself, Ochako let her gaze fall on Izuku.

I owe it to both of us to keep this under control. Focus on the here and now, then worry about...other things later.

"Are you sure this is the right address, kero?"

Tsuyu asked, looking over Hitoshi's shoulder as the boy brought out his phone and swiped to the map screen again, "Yep this is the right address and building name."

Himiko whistled as she craned her head back to gaze up at the tall luxury apartment building, "and what floor are we going up to again?"

"51."

Ochako started counting the windows up the side of the building, but gave up about halfway up, "Iida lives in the penthouses... I should have really pushed for that cash bribe when we were voting for class rep."

Izuku patted Ochako's shoulder in mock sympathy which she swatted away with a laugh.

"Come on, guys; I'd hate to see what Iida would be like if we were late," Izuku said as he led everyone inside the building.

Himiko snickered before straightening herself up and began mimicking Tenya's habit of chopping his arms, "Shame on all of you! As not only students of the most prodigious school in the country but as upcoming heroes as well, we must all strive to ensure we are punctual."

That got a chuckle out of the group.

Walking up to the front desk, the man sitting looked over the group, "Are you expected?"

"Oh, um, yes. The Iida residence is expecting us."

The man nodded and pulled out a clipboard and ran his finger down a list of names before stopping at near the bottom of the page, "Ah yes, here you are: party of five. Please take the elevator to the left, I'll buzz you in."

Stepping into the elevator and pressing the button for the floor, the group rode up in silence for a bit until Tsuyu asked, "So did Iida say what we'd be doing when we hung out today?"

Hitoshi scratched his head as he thought about that, "Um, now that you mention it, he didn't."

"He'll probably want to do homework or something to catch on the time we missed with the break," Izuku joked. However a feeling of dread came over the group as they all thought about it- they could all see Tenya pulling something like that.

"I swear, if he tries to make me learn on the weekend, I might actually kill him. I had to agree to so much bullshit to get let out today," Himiko said while crossing her arms.

Ochako nodded. "Sounds fair."

Tsuyu glanced at Himiko. "What'd they make you agree to?"

Himiko blinked, "Oh did I say that last bit out loud?"

"Yep."

"You did."

"At least I just mutter."

Scratching her neck Himiko groaned a little before answering, "I have to join a couple of teachers for a meeting. Which I'm not looking forward to."

"Are you in trouble again?" Izuku asked.

"No, no nothing like...wait...what do you mean again?"

Himiko glared at Izuku who instantly looked away, whistling and putting Ochako between himself and the angry, fanged blond.

The elevator dinged, and the group walked into the hallway. Reaching the door, Izuku reached up and rang the bell. Almost instantly, Tenya swung the door open and greeted them, "Everyone! It is good to see you all in good health. You're also right now time. As expected of my fellow classmates and future heroes. You know the value of being punctual."

Himiko snorted as she tried not to laugh too loudly as everyone came inside, thanking Tenya for his hospitality. Leading everyone inside, they were all blown away with how nice the apartment was. Roomy enough to be a house, the large windows in the living room gave a great view of the city from up above.

"Mother and father are out for the day, but my older brother will be here in case any of you need anything. He helped me set out a wide assortment of snacks and drinks for us to enjoy."

While Ochako noticed that Izuku perked up slightly hearing Tenya mention his brother, which she found a little weird. Hitoshi decided to be the one to bite the bullet and asked, "So what's your plan for us today?"

"Ah! I'm glad you asked." Tenya motioned to a table that had books stacked on it, "Since I suspected that none of you were using your time off to study, I figured that I would take the opportunity to help you all prepare for next week. I'm sure we will have to cram for the days we missed."

Silence greeted him for several seconds before Himiko groaned. Loudly.

"Welp this is my villain origin story, I guess. Hitoshi, would you please open the balcony door so I can throw Tenya out of the building."

"Yep."

"Deku and I can each get a leg."

"I'll get one of his arms, kero."

When everyone started to advance on him, Tenya waved his arms around frantically, "Wait! Wait it was a joke! Brother, help! Your joke is going to get me killed!"

A boisterous laugh got everyone's attention as a man walked into the room, clearly amused by what he was seeing. "Please don't kill my little brother. It'd be a pain to have to explain everything to the authorities."

Putting some distance between his friends, Tenya introduced the man, "Everyone this is my older brother Iida Tensei."

While everyone took the time to greet Tenya's brother, Izuku, after hearing the man's name, started making little squeaking noises and started to bounce excitedly. Tsuyu looked at him curiously. "Do you need to use the restroom or something?"

"It's really Ingenium!"

In a flash, Izuku had his notebook out and opened with a pen in hand, "Can I have an autograph, please!"

Tensei laughed as he took the pen and began to write out his name, "I have a fan, it seems."

Tenya's looked at Izuku in shock, "Wait? Midoriya, did you know about Tensei being my brother and a hero already?"

Izuku blinked, "I mean...yeah? It was pretty obvious...Right guys?"

When Izuku looked back to see everyone else was in no hurry to answer that question.

"Guys? Come one, Ingenium boasts one of the premier hero agencies in the country, Team Idaten. It has dozens of sidekicks and whole teams of patrollers, navigators, and all other kinds of support staff. Not only that, but the Ingenium name has been around since the very start of Pro Heroes. The Iida name spans generations. Did no one put it together?"

"Err…"

Izuku shook his head, and looked at his friends with pity, "You guys... None of you even knew about Todoroki either… This is really sad."

While everyone tried to come to terms with the idea that Izuku was so disappointed in them, and thinking of ways to bring him down a peg, Tenya coughed into his hand, "To be fair, I was trying to not bring attention to the fact…"

"...That was you trying?"

The awkward silence hung in the air for a while before the group got seated and finally started to hang out. Tenya pointed to his brothers Game Station that they were able to use. After going through a list of games, they decided on a karting game: All Might Grand Smash Prix. Everything started out fine enough, with everyone picking little chibi Heroes and their karts. Izuku, surprising no one, picked All Might. Ochako picked Hawks, Tenya picked his brother. Hitoshi selected Best Jeanist, Tsuyu chose Gang Orca, and Himiko picked Endeavor.

Then, the racing began, and Hitoshi realized that he was sitting in the worst possible spot: between Ochako and Himiko.

The moment items were allowed, the two immediately started going after each other.

"Stop hitting me with those stupid feathers!"

"You threw a fireball at me!"

"I missed!"

"You still threw it!"

Hitoshi, seeing they were so distracted with each other, set up a trap that caught both of the girls' karts in a net, holding them so he could pass and leaving them tied for last place. Suddenly two sets of hate-filled eyes were on him. Hitoshi moved to a new seat that was outside of the girls range and wisely never attacked either of them in the race again.

Tenya was also starting to get upset with Izuku. His kart's specialty was its boosting, but Izuku was constantly countering that by having the chibi All Might smash huge pot holes into the track, which Tenya kept hitting.

"You are being most unsporting Midoriya! Spamming like this."

"Just stop hitting the pot holes. It's easy."

While Tenya was stalled on the track, Tsuyu raced up behind him and blasted him off the track, much to his horror.

"Out of my way."

"Asui! I wasn't even moving!"

"Get good, kero."

After several more races that had everyone ready to throw down, they decided to try and play something that wouldn't have them at each other's throats. Tenya recommended a board game, since those were calming. After searching for a little bit, he came back holding a box for everyone to see.

Monopoly.

This did not go quietly as Tenya had planned. While he played the game seriously, following each rule to the letter, everyone else started cheating right off the bat.

Himiko frowned as she looked at all the properties Izuku had been able to snatch up during the game. She needed some spaces, or she was going to be the first to be kicked out of the game. Glancing over at Izuku, she gave him a sultry smile and slid over. Leaning into his side, she brought her lips right next to his ear, and walked her hand up his arm until she was resting on his shoulder.

"I-z-u-k-u," Himiko whispered, making sure each syllable ended with a light blow into his ear. Izuku, who had already stiffened up at Himiko's touch, was now red and steaming as she started talking.

"I'm not doing so hot in this game. I don't have a lot of money left. Do you think you could give me some of your spaces? I'd be," Himiko's hand started to travel down Izuku's shoulder and over his chest where she could feel how fast his heart was racing, "so very, very, grateful. I'd give you anything that you wanted in return."

"I...I...I…"

"I'LL PAY TRIPLE!" Ochako screamed in a panic as she thrust a hand full cash right into Izuku's face.

"Eh? EH!? Uraraka wait thats-!"

Himiko was about to rip into Ochako for getting in the way, but stopped when she noticed that not only was there a lot of money in her hand, but she also had a lot of money stacked up besides her.

Way too much money in fact.

Sitting up, Himiko pointed right at the large pile, "Hey hold a second. What's that!?"

Ochako blinked, "What? It's my money."

"Bullshit. There's no way you have that much."

"Um…" Ochako nervously looked around as everyone else now had their eyes on her, "I've been saving…"

"Saving? You landed on the boardwalk space every other dice roll at this point! You should be more broke than me!"

"N-no! My apartments have been-"

"Um is it just me, or is the bank cash really low?" Tsuyu asked.

Now everyone looked over at where the cards, spare pieces and cash were, and sure enough there was a lot less money than there had been a few turns ago. Ochako, who was sitting right next to the stash, gulped.

"You...you robbed the bank!?"

"I mean...maybe a little?"

Ochako was quickly forced to declare bankruptcy and was the first to lose the game. Unfortunately, from there everyone else's cheating ways were exposed. Hitoshi on more than one occasion was caught trying to brainwash people into selling their properties for prices that were way too low. Tsuyu tried to snatch a few extra properties with her tongue when no one was looking. Unfortunately for her, Himiko caught on and grabbed her tongue during one of her attempts. Even Izuku was not above trying to cheat. During a dice roll, he tried to hide the fact he was using his quirk to make the dice roll the way he wanted them to by coughing. Ochako reached over and smacked him upside the head, reminding him that he glowed every time he used this quirk.

At this point, Tenya was besides himself, disappointed that everyone would stoop so low as to cheat at a board game. When he started to rant that they, as upcoming heroes, must hold themselves to a higher standard, everyone broke into a fit of laughter. By the end of the day, everyone ended up enjoying themselves, but they all agreed that perhaps they should find games that don't bring out the worst in all of them.

The next day everyone in the Midoriya apartment were finishing lunch when they received a phone call from Detective Tsukauchi. While he didn't want to get into too much detail over the phone, he summed it up by saying there had been a few complications while the doctors and investigators had been working with the girl Izuku and Ochako had brought into the station. He asked if the two of them and Inko would be able to come to the hospital and meet with him. They immediately agreed, much to the detective's relief. He said he would have an officer come by to pick them up. Before hanging up, Izuku asked if the girl was alright. Tsukauchi paused before saying that was a complicated question to answer, and that it would be easier to talk in-person.

Soon the three were picked up and driven to the hospital where they found both Detective Tsukauchi and All Might waiting for them. He explained that since All Might had been with them when they brought the child in, it made sense he should be here for what happened next.

"What exactly is going on Detective?" Inko asked. "You were so vague over the phone. Is the little girl alright?"

"As I said over the phone, there have been some complications in our investigation. All Might had a suggestion that might help the case, but I wanted to make sure that you three were as informed as possible before I make any requests of you."

The three glanced over at All Might, but the hero kept himself back behind Tsukauchi, letting the man take the lead in the conversation and keeping his own thoughts to himself.

"To start with, we were able to get a name from the girl. Her name, at least according to her, is Eri."

"'According to her?' That's a strange way to put that." Inko said.

"She only gave us her first name, and we only got it after a long struggle as well.; she couldn't give us a family name. Unfortunately, Eri seems to have lost a lot of her memories. Almost all of them, as far as we can tell."

"Oh my," Inko put a hand over her mouth, while Ochako and Izuku shared looks of shock.

Izuku began to panic as he thought back to his encounter with Eri, "She has amnesia? But I didn't see any head wound though. Did I miss something?"

Tsukauchi held up his hand, "You didn't miss anything. We don't think the amnesia is from any kind of wound. Or at least not one she currently has. We think that the girl's own mind has blocked them out to protect herself."

"She made herself forget her own past? Why would she...wait? Wait what do you mean 'not the one's she currently has?'" Izuku asked.

"We found signs of abuse. Extreme abuse. Those bandages hid multiple scars."

Ochako's eye went wide as she remembered something, "She said something about a bad man when we found her."

"What's more, these scars aren't from random beatings. They're methodical. Almost surgical in nature."

Inko closed her eyes as she repressed a shudder. Ochako shook her head, not wanting to think about what kind of horrible person could hurt such a small girl like that. Izuku felt his stomach twist in revulsion while his hands clenched in anger.

"Can you...examine the wounds. Maybe get a clue from them about who was hurting her?"

"That would be difficult enough if Eri wasn't terrified of the doctors."

"Huh?"

"When she came too, she was very scared of the officers with her. Being surrounded by strangers is scary enough for a little girl as is. We were able to get a name, and were able to confirm she didn't remember much else, but when one of the doctors came in, she went berserk. She was terrified; we tried to reassure her that the doctors and nurses were only there to make sure she was okay, but every time one got close, she panicked and tried to run. She got so bad that finally they had to bring in someone with an Anesthetic Quirk to get her to calm down long enough for them to examine her, but even that was tricky."

"Why?"

"The orderly with the Anesthetic Quirk told me that normally he can keep a person under for hours at a time for long surgeries with minimal effort. With Eri however, she was coming too almost as soon as he stopped using his Quirk on her. For almost the entire time she was being examined, he had to strain to just keep her calm. He wasn't ever able to put her under completely. We don't know why that is; she might have some kind of healing Quirk beside her horn, but we just aren't sure. We have only a few more questions we'd like her to try and answer before we move on, but the orderly doesn't want to keep using his Quirk to keep her calm. He's worried he may end up hurting her by mistake, and he's also exhausted himself from the strain. That's where I was hoping you two could help."

Izuku and Ochako glanced at each other before turning back to the detective, "Us?" Izuku asked, "How can we help?"

"Well, multiple times throughout our questioning and examinations Eri asked, 'where the two nice people were?'" When we asked her who she meant she described the two as, "the green fluffy one with warm hands and the lady with kind eyes and pink chipmunk cheeks.'"

Despite the serious nature of the conversation, All Might turned his head to the side to hide the laugh that was threatening to erupt from his chest. Inko too also had to take a moment to compose herself while Izuku reached up and ran a hand through his messy hair, and Ochako pressed her hands to her cheeks. After taking a moment Ochako looked back at the detective and asked, "She was asking for us? But she was only awake for a few minutes after she ran into us."

"And in that time, you left an impression on her with your kindness."

"If only a few minutes of kindness left such an impact on the poor girl, one wonders what kind of treatment she's more accustomed to."

As All Might's statement sunk in for everyone, Izuku turned his attention back to Detective Tsukauchi, "What do you need us to do?"

"I'd like the two of you to go see her. Stay with her while we finish up our last few questions. While she was being sedated it made getting answers from her hard. I'd like to see if your presence will be enough to keep her calm. Will you two do that?"

"Of course," were Izuku and Ochako's immediate reply. With their consent, and making sure with Inko, Tsukauchi led everyone to Eri's room. Pausing to look through the large window that let them look into the room. Inko leaned forward when she didn't immediately see anyone inside, 'Did she run away?"

Tsukauchi shook his head, "We have the room monitored. She's just hiding under the bed again."

"Again?" Ocako asked, as she peered inside.

"I told you, she's very scared of the doctors here."

"Can she see us?" Izuku asked.

"It's a one way observatory window. She can't see us. We didn't want her to know we were keeping a close eye on her and upset her any more than we already have."

"Is there...is there anything you want us to do when we go in?"

"Just be yourselves. You've already shown her kindness. Just do so again."

Nodding, the two opened the door to the room and stepped inside. The room was brightly colored with pink walls and stuffed toys lay on the floor. In theory, it could pass as a child's room, but everything felt too clean and the machines that stood next to the bed hummed and made just enough noise to remind you that you weren't in a real room. Closing the door behind them, they walked towards the bed. As they got closer, both could make out a small whimper that was almost deafened by the background noise in the room. When they made it to the side of the bed, there was shuffling as Eri scurried around, pressing herself against the wall, putting as much distance as she could between herself and the two visitors while still being hidden under the bed.

Kneeling down, Izuku was tempted to crawl under to find her, but Ochako shook her head, whispering, "You might spook her reaching in after her."

Nodding, Izuku stayed knelt down but didn't move to go under, "Hello, Eri. You don't have to be afraid."

"That's right. We met the other day when you ran into Deku. Do you remember?"

The soft whimper quieted some and there was a little more shuffling, "the nice people?"

Eri's voice was barely above a whisper, but both teens could hear her.

"That's right. My name is Izuku."

"And I'm Ochako."

Izuku slowly put his hand out, not reaching under the bed, but leaving up open for Eri to take, "Would you like to come out? We'd like to see you."

"...I don't want to be sleepy again. It makes me feel sick."

Izuku and Ochako glanced at each other, both remembering what Detective Tsukauchi had said about the orderly and their worry that their Anesthetic Quirk might end up hurting Eri if he kept using it.

Izuku looked back towards the bed, "I promise you won't be sleepy or sick."

It was a few more seconds before Izuku felt a small hand reach out and take his. Looking down, Izuku gently closed his hand around Eri's, and helped the little girl come out from under her bed. He never pulled or tried to hurry her, he made sure she got to move at her own pace

Both smiled down at Eri as she stood up and looked up at them. Her hair was a little cleaner and straighter, though it mostly looked like someone had given up half way through brushing. Given her skittish nature, it wasn't hard for either Izuku or Ochako to guess that one of the nurses had stopped out of fear of hurting the poor girl as she struggled to get away. She was wearing a fresh hospital gown now, not the tattered rags she had on before, and the dirty stained bandages she had been wrapped in were gone, letting both of them see just how badly she had been scared along her arms and legs. They both however did their best not to let the shock show.

"I didn't know where you two were. When I woke up all these people were around me asking me questions, then the scary people kept poking me and I...and I…"

Eri trailed off, tears starting to run down her cheeks, but then something happened. Izuku and Ochako wrapped their arms around her and held her. Both whispering how they were sorry. That they hadn't meant to make her so afraid by leaving her alone with strangers.

The feeling of being held, of being comforted, was so foreign to her, even with her memories scattered, she knew that this hadn't happened to her in a long, long time.

Outside the room watching through the one way window, Detective Tsukauchi couldn't help but shake his head in amazement as he saw in a matter of minutes both teens make a connection with Eri that none of the social workers, nurses, doctors or officers were able to come close to all day yesterday; it was something to see. Over the next few minutes, the two sat Eri on her bed and either just talked with her, or Izuku, using his Quirk, began to have the little stuffed animals dance around, which Eri followed in wonder, clapping at the little jaunts Izuku had them do.

"Ah, Detective Tsukauchi sir. I am here as you requested."

Turning at the new voice, Tsukauchi was happy to see the other officer, "Good to see you, Tamakawa. Glad you were able to make it."

Inko looked away from the room to see who had joined them. A cat man, in a police officer's uniform, was standing next to the detective.

"All Might, Mrs. Midoriya, this is Officer Tamakawa. I asked for him to join us today because I wanted him to finish asking our questions to Eri while Midoriya and Uraraka are keeping her calm."

The cat man nodded, "Detective Tsukauchi hoped that my appearance would help avoid causing the girl any unneeded stress. Children love cats after all."

Inko wasn't entirely sure that that logic worked the same on a man with a cat head.

"Is the girl ready for the questions?"

Tsukauchi glanced inside the room and saw that Eri was the most calm, and collected he had seen her.

"I guess now's as good a time as ever." Reaching up, Tsukauchi tapped lightly on the door, getting the three insides' attention.

When Ochako heard the light tapping, she quickly looked down to see how Eri was, and was relieved to see that she was more interested in the floating teddy bear that Izuku was holding up.

"One sec, let me go check the door."

That did get Eri's attention, and she reached out and grabbed hold of Ochako's sleeve, "Are you leaving?"

Ochako shook her head and put a comforting hand atop Eri's head, "I'm just going to see who's at the door. I'll still be here."

Eri looked troubled but let go of Ochako, "Just...no scary people in the masks please."

Ochako and Izuku shared a look, and then both glanced at the large mirror. Ochako smiled down at Eri, "No scary people in masks." She said. Loud enough that anyone on the other side of the one way glass would be able to hear her.

Walking up to the door, she cracked it open and peered outside, only to be greeted with a face that if she hadn't seen before, probably would have made her jump out of her skin.

"Oh," Tamakawa started, "You're one of the students from U.A. I took a statement from. A pleasure to see you again."

"H-hello officer. Are you here to talk with Eri?"

"I am. If you think she's ready?"

Ochako looked back towards Eri, who was once again captivated with Izuku and his puppet show. Clearing her throat, she got both of their attention, "Eri? There's someone here that would like to see you. Is that okay?"

Eri looked over at Ochako then towards Izuku who reached out and took her hand, "We'll both be right with you. You don't have to worry."

Eri's face scrunched up as she thought about for a bit, until she finally nodded, "Okay."

With her consent, Ochako opened the door to let the officer in. While Izuku smiled and gave the officer a polite wave, Eri's mouth dropped and she pointed right towards Tamakawa, "Kitty!"

Tamakawa smiled, "Hello there, Eri. My name is Tamakawa; it's a pleasure to meet you."

Eri tilted her head to the side as she tried to repeat the name, "Tama..awa?"

"Officer Kitty will work just fine if you want."

Eri nodded quickly getting a small chuckle from everyone.

"Eri," Tamakawa continued, "I'd like to ask you some questions."

Nervously, Eri glanced around. Izuku reached over and took her hand into his while Ochako sat down next to her, "It's okay Eri. Both of us will be right here with you."

"O...okay"

Pulling out a pad of paper and a pen, Tamakawa began going through a list of questions for Eri, but almost all of them were answered the same way.

"Do you remember your last name?"

"No."

"Do you know your mommy and daddies names?"

"No."

"Do you remember running into these two?"

Eri nodded vigorously, "Yes! Izuku, he wrapped me up so I didn't get hurt when we fell."

"Do you remember where you were running from?"

"No...I'm sorry, I can't remember anything…"

Ochako leaned over to give Eri a reassuring hug, "It's alright; it's not your fault."

Tamakawa asked a few more questions but it soon became clear that Eri could not remember anything before running into Izuku and Ochako the day before. At least almost anything.

"Eri, can you tell us about the Bad Man?"

Eri looked away from the officer, pulling her knees up to her chest.

"The doctors said you were having some very bad nightmares last night. Were they about him?"

Eri shuddered and pulled herself into a tighter ball. Izuku gave her hand a squeeze, "we're here for you, Eri. Uraraka and I won't let anything happen to you."

"That's right! We'll be sure that nothing bad happens to you, so don't worry."

Slowly, Eri relaxed some. She kept herself balled up, but she wasn't wound up like a coiled spring anymore, ready to bolt. When she spoke she kept her head down and her voice was quiet, with an almost tangible fear behind it.

"The Bad Man...he...he's always looking. Looking at me...looking in me..." Eri's fingers brush along the many scars that ran across her arms. "He takes...parts of me and then puts me together again...It always hurts."

"Can you describe him to me? Tell me what he looks like. His name maybe?"

Eri shut her eyes as she went taught again. Her body started to shake and tears started falling down her cheeks. Tamakawa was about to tell her she didn't have to try and force herself to remember, but Eri finally said, "he had...a long...pointy mouth that he took off when he wore his...his mask to look into me."

Eri put a hand out infront of her mouth and pressed her fingers together, mimicking the shape of a cone.

"He took off…" Tamakawa trailed off as he wrote down that detail, glancing back towards the glass with a raised brow. "When you say mask, do you mean like the ones the doctors are wearing."

Eri nodded but kept silent.

"Alright, I think that's all the questions I have for you Eri. You were very brave. If you two won't mind staying with her a little longer, I need to go and talk with Detective Tsukauchi and All Might."

"Oh course we'll stay with her."

"It's no problem at all."

As the two started praising Eri for being so brave to answer the officers question, Tamakawa silently got up and left the room.

"A long pointed mouth...Could she mean a beak? Perhaps the man has an Avian Quirk of some kind."

All Might rubbed his chin as he thought over Eri's brief description.

"Possibly, though there might be more to it than that if he's actually able to take his mouth off to wear a mask." Tamakawa said as she put his notebook away.

"At least that explains why she's so afraid of the medical staff here. Everyone either had or was wearing their surgical mask. If the person hurting her also wore one…"

The adults all humed in agreement over the unpleasant idea.

"What she said does match up to the report I got from the staff here when they woke her up from her nightmare. She was screaming for someone to put her back together."

"True, I just wish we had more information to go off of. What I was able to get from her won't make tracking down any leads very easy."

"What about missing person reports. Have any come in that match up with Eri?"

Tsukauchi shook his head, "No. No one has reported this girl missing. If the person who was abusing her was a family member, they might not even report her missing at all. I'll still make sure to check of course, but I doubt we'll get any clused from that avenue."

"We may not have much, but it's still more than we had."

"True, it was a good idea to bring those two kids in. They helped keep her calm and open her up more than I could have hopped."

"Those two are special. It was an easy idea to come up with."

"Why thank you, All Might. I'm sure my son and Ochako would be elated to hear such praise from you."

Inko, who had stayed near the window, had turned her attention over to the three when her son had been brought up.

"Ah! Yes. They do um...stand out in class after all."

Inko smiled, "You only had a few lessons, and he's already made such an impression. That makes me so proud."

All Might nodded vigorously, being careful not to let on just how he knew Izuku and Ochako would be perfect for helping with Eri. Fortunately for All Might, INko's attention turned back towards the three in the room, "Detective, what's going to happen to Eri now?"

Tsukauchi rubbed the back of his neck as he gave his answer some thought, "Honestly, I'm not entirely sure. Normally, Eri would be given to child services and they would either place her into some kind of protective custody and medical care, or she would be sent to a foster home to be looked after while her case is ongoing. However I'm not...over fond of those ideas. She would not do well staying at a medical facility. She's just too terrified of the doctors, and sending her to a place filled with strangers I don't think would work either. Her skittish nature makes me worried how'd she react to being around people she doesn't know. You've only seen her around those two. How she was acting before, it was as different as night and day."

"Considering she was hiding under her bed, I think I can guess," Inko said as she turned away and went back to watching her son and Ochako work with Eri. They had, after some urging, gotten her back to how she was before the questioning. As she watched them, her mind kept going back to what the detective had said. Soon an idea popped into her head and she started weighing some options. All Might was watching her closely. He could tell that something was on the woman's mind.

"Mrs. Midoriya, are you alright?"

Inko nodded, "I…" At first she seemed unsure, but Inko's face soon set into a look of determination as she looked at Tsukauchi, "You said she would be sent to child services and they would either keep her at a medical facility to look after her, or move her to foster care correct?"

"Thats right?"

"And neither option was very appealing given Eri's nature?"

"Yes?"

"And those are her only options?"

The officers looked at each other while All Might's brow shot up, "Mrs. Midoriya, what exactly are you asking?"

When there was another soft tapping at the door, Izuku offered to be the one to answer it. Cracking it open, Izuku was a little startled to see his mom standing on the other end.

"Mom?"

"Izuku, would you come with me for a second. I'd like to talk with you for a bit."

"Oh um sure. Just give me a second."

Closing the door, Izuku walked back over to Eri and Ochako, "Hey, Eri. I need to go outside for a second, okay?"

"No, no. I'll be right back, and Uraraka will stay with-"

Eri frowned, hugging the teddy bear Izuku had been using to play with her tightly. Soon though she nodded, "okay, if you promise you'll be back."

After promising that he would come back, Izuku exited the room and found his mother waiting for him. Along with the Detective and All Might.

"Is everything alright, Mom?"

"Yes, everything is fine. The officers were very impressed with how much progress you and Ochako have been able to make with the little Eri. I'm very proud of you."

Izuku rubbed the back of his head, embarrassed, "I wasn't really doing that much though…"

"Oh nonsense. He said you got her to open up more than any of the staff here."

"I'm just glad I'm able to help. She's so sweet, I hated just leaving her before with the police."

"So...you'd want to make sure she's taken care of before we left today then?"

Izuku nodded, "yeah. I'm worried what's going to happen to her after we leave."

"I was too, so I asked the officers what their plans were."

"Oh? You did?"

"Yes. Detective Tsukauchi told me honestly that he was worried that Eri's immediate future wasn't going to be very pleasant for her. She was either going to have to stay here for a while…

"A place that's filled with people she's afraid of"

"...Or she'll be moved into a foster home…"

"With people she's never met. I don't think she'd like that."

Inko agreed sadly, "I'm afraid that's right."

"I wish," Izuku started but stopped as he chewed over his words.

"You wish what? What is it?" Inko asked. She was watching her son carefully now, as were All Might and Tsukauchi.

"I wish we could bring her home with us. That way she could be somewhere safe and be with ochako and me. We could keep looking after her, and help her. She could stay in my room. We could get a bunk bed for us and…" Izuku trailed off, shaking his head, "Sorry, I know that not something we can just do. I just want to help her…"

"Izuku, would you really be okay with her moving in? And sharing your room? It would be a pretty big change."

"Of course, Mom. I meant it."

Inko smiled warmly, "Well that's good. Because that's what's going to happen."

Izuku blinked several times before that sunk in, "Wait? Really?"

"I spoke with the Detective. Because of how well Eri has reacted to being around you and Ochako, and the high recommendation from All Might, he's going to be able to fast track the paperwork that will let us foster her."

Izuku's jaw hung open which got a small chuckle out of Inko, "Officer Tamakawa left to go find her some clothes for the next few days before we go shopping for her, and All Might was even kind enough to say he would cover any costs that come up to get her settled in. It'll take a little bit more time, but if everything works out, Eri will be coming home with us today."

Izuku started crying as he wrapped Inko in the tightest hug he could. He couldn't find the words to describe just how happy he was. It took him a good while before he calmed down enough to let his mother go, "I guess, I guess we go make sure Eri is going to be okay with this too. Do you want to come in with me and meet her?"

Inko nodded, "I would like that very much."

When Izuku came back inside, Ochako was immediately able to tell he had been crying. At this point she could see every sign as clear as day. No matter how hard Izuku tried to hide them. But at the very least, the giant smile he had said that what got his water works going was good news.

When Ochako gave him a quizzical look, his smile just got bigger and he gave her a quick wink.

"Eri," Izuku asked, "there's someone I'd like you to meet."

"Who?"

Following behind Izuku, Inko walked into the room, "Eri, this is my mom."

Eri looked at Inko then Izuku, "You have a mommy?"

"Yep."

"Whoa."

All three chuckled a little at Eri's surprise while Inko walked over to her and knelt down, "It's very nice to meet you."

"Hello."

"I'm sure you haven't had a lot of fun these past couple of days, have you?"

Eri shook her head before grabbing onto Ochako, "I'm better now that Ochako and Izuku are here...but," She looked at the two sadly, "You'll both have to leave, won't you?"

Ochako shifted on the bed, a small frown forming on her face, "Eri...I promise we'll-"

"Actually Uraraka, if you don't mind, there was something I wanted to ask Eri."

Ochako shut her mouth, wondering what Izuku had planned.

Izuku knelt down and took Eri's hands into his, "Eri, I've talked with my mom and we were wondering: would you like to come live with us?"

Eri's eyes went wide and her mouth opened and closed a few times before she was finally able to talk, "You want...me to come with you?"

"That's right. You wouldn't have to stay here anymore. You'd get to come home with mom an- urk!"

Eri didn't let him finish. She leapt from the bed and wrapped her arms around Izuku's neck as she hugged him tight, weeping into his side, "Yes! Yes please!"

While Izuku held onto a very excited Eri, Ochako looked over at Inko, clearly looking for some kind of explanation. Fortunately, Inko was ready with one, "I talked with the officers. They think Eri staying with us would be the best for her right now. Give her a chance to start learning to trust people. They also hope that staying somewhere where she can feel comfortable will lead to her regaining her memories so they'll be able to have a better chance finding whoever hurt her."

"I see. I guess I do feel better knowing we'll be able to keep an eye on her like this. I was a little worried how she'd be after we left."

"So was I. I'm glad this all worked out."

After Eri had calmed down, Officer Tamakawa returned with a couple of bags for Eri's clothes and toys, and some paperwork for Inko to sign. While the three were busy, All Might pulled both Izuku and Ochako to the side to talk with them privately.

"I imagine this wasn't how you all thought your first week was going to go, was it?"

Izuku and Ochako started counting off everything that had happened.

"Surprise threat of expulsion."

"Advanced battle simulation."

"A break-in.

"A villain attack."

"I almost died."

"And now rescuing little kids...It's been a busy week."

The three shared a small chuckle, "Well, I want you both to know that I am very proud at how well you two have done. You've both shown maturity and a level-headedness well beyond what first years are normally asked of. You've shown you understand that a hero is more than just muscles, power and fighting. A hero is also about protecting the hearts of those around them. Again and again, you are both showing I made the right decision to train you two. I'm proud of both of you."

"Thank you, All Might." They both said, blushing some from the high praise they were receiving.

"Now I have some work I have to get done before classes start up again tomorrow, so I will see you both then."

With his goodbye said, All Might watched as the two hurried back to Inko and Eri's side as they took care of everything to let Eri stay with them. Taking one last proud glance, All Might hurried out of the building and found Tsukauchi waiting for him in his car.

With the matter of Eri settled, at least for the short term. All Might and Tsukauchi had quickly driven to U.A. where the other teachers were setting up to have their final meeting before they reopened the school. All Might, who had returned to his shrunken form for the drive, buffed himself back up as they neared the meeting room.

"Doesn't everyone in the meeting know about your other form? Why are you going back?"

All Might shrugged and pulled out his phone, showing his friend a message he had gotten from Principal Nezu, "He recommended it. Didn't say why though."

"Strange."

"Er, not really. Our principal is known for his...unconventional methods."

Reaching the room, All Might opened the door and the reason why he needed to be in his muscled form became instantly clear. Nezu, Midnight, Vlad King and Snipe were all waiting for them. Along with a surprising addition.

"Fucking finally. All Might's here. We can start the meeting and then I can get out of here."

Next to Midnight was Himiko Toga, who was reclining back in one of the large office chairs with her feet up on the heavy wooden desk. Her bored look turned sour when she looked past All Might and saw Detective Tsukauchi to his side, "Oh, great. The walking dick is here too."

Midnight reached over and knocked Himiko's feet off the desk. Judging by the look on her face, this wasn't the first time she had done it either, "Toga. Language."

Himiko rolled her eyes, "Seriously?"

"What is she doing here?"

Tsukauchi's eyes were locked on Himiko who just smirked at how just her presence was able to get under the detective's skin, "Nice to see you still hate me."

"Toga."

"Oh get off my case already, Mom. I'm not doing anything.

"Please let's keep things civil," Nezu asked. Motioning to the empty seat for All Might while Tsukauchi took a place in front of the heroes to deliver his report.

"As this meeting was to go over the League of Villain and its leader, I thought it might help if Toga took part so she could give her perspective. She is, besides All Might, the only one here to have actually confronted the man. And as we are aware, Toga has a unique talent for understanding and reading people."

While Tsukauchi wasn't a fan of the idea, he couldn't argue with the logic behind the principal's decision. "Very well. If this is everyone, then I'll go ahead and start. Unfortunately, at the moment, I don't have a great deal to share with all of you. The police have investigated the group calling themselves The League of Villains, and there does not appear to be anyone registered with the name Shigaraki. In his 20's or 30's, he has a Quirk that lets him decay anything that he touches."

Himiko suppressed a shudder, remembering the horrible feeling of her own body breaking down before she was able to rip off her disguise to save herself.

"It should be noted that this is the same situation with the villain with the Warp Gate Quirk, calling himself Kurogiri. Since neither of them are registered there is a good chance they are either not citizens or they are using false names. What's more, the name Shigaraki has only just started popping up in the underbelly of our society according to our contacts."

Himiko frowned, and looked over Midnight for some clarification.

"He means that until the attack, none of the criminals had ever heard of him either."

"So in short," Vlad started, "We don't know anything."

Himiko sunk into her chair. "Well shit."

"The lack of information isn't the only concern we should have," Snipe said after some thought. "Once the League's ringleader gunshot wounds heal, there's a good chance they'll try this again."

Vlad frowned, "Do you really think there is a chance of that? The first attack was bold enough as it was. To try it again now that we are prepared for it seems foolish to me."

Nezu leaned forward, "It depends on the mindset of their leader. A cautious man wouldn't be so reckless to try the same thing twice."

Himiko huffed while All Might hummed in thought. Nezu's ears twitched hearing them, "It sounds like you two have an opinion on that matter. Would either of you care to share?"

All Might motioned towards Himiko, "The floor is yours, Young Toga. You had the first encounter with him. I'm interested to hear if his actions were different before I arrived."

Sighing, Himoko glanced over at Detective Tsukauchi, "I don't suppose you got the statements from Ochako, Tsum and Boom Bitch on hand? Since they were with me."

Tsukauchi started going through his papers, but stopped at the last name Himiko mentioned, "I'm sorry. Who?"

"Bakugou Katsuki," Midnight quickly answered before giving Himiko a leveled look.

Pulling the papers out, Tsukauchi read through the statements, "Overall, the three said the same things, though Bakugou was much more...colorful in his description. They called him unhinged, deranged, and…" Tsukauchi was momentarily thrown off kitler when he read over Katsuki's statement, "I'm not going to repeat this one, though you all have copies."

"Any of them mention anything along the lines of 'child-like?'"

Tsukauchi nodded at Himiko, "There are a few mentions that he had a temper and got upset when his plan wasn't going the way he thought it would."

"A temper? That's one way to put it. One second the guy throwing a tantrum like his MMO raid was getting wiped. The next, he's just bored with everything and just wants to go home. More or less, the whole attack was a game to him. He was even using video game terms too, like 'game over' and 'continue.' The guy was a huge cry baby...That being said..."

A few heroes leaned forward as Himiko paused.

"...He had a horde of people following him. How many did you all arrest?

"There were 72 arrests made."

Himiko whistled, "Yeah, some of them were clearly afraid of him. I'm betting they got to see what his Quirk could do to a person. But the rest? I don't think it was fear pushing them."

"What do you think it was then?"

"He was doing a lot of talking about destroying the society that had wronged them and getting rid of the pillars that held it up, heroes and you specifically, All Might. There are a lot of people who...hate this world. Who want it to change to suit their needs and whims. Put someone in front of them that's saying all the things they want to hear, and is willing...evil, enough to actually do the things that need to be done to go through with those convictions. Tantrums and acting like a kid aside, you have someone that people are willing to put up with that and follow them into hell."

Nezu scratched his chin, "You think so? You almost sound like you're projecting someone else's qualities onto him."

For the first time in the meeting, Himiko looked uneasy. Everyone knew who Nezu was talking about.

The Hero Killer: Stain.

That man, even though he operates alone, has his own group of followers who live by his ideals and reject the way society is, with its false heroes.

Taking a moment to collect herself, Himiko waved off Nezu's guess, "Look maybe they could have some similarities. But their maturity levels are night and day. And besides, sometimes bad people just want to follow other bad people so they can do bad things. You don't have to look too deep there."

"I agree with Young Toga's assessment. This Shigaraki acted like nothing more than a man-child. During my fight with that Nomu not only did he go on and on with his wild statements, he openly bragged about the Quirks and abilities of the monster, and his plan on how he was going to have me killed. That wasn't just overconfidence but a complete lack of awareness of the kind of situation he was in. Then there was how he acted when things started to turn against him. To become upset is one thing, but this is just like Young Toga said. He was throwing a tantrum."

Nezu agreed, "Yes, to go so far as to throw away his advantage of having a villain with unknown Quirks, that was very foolish indeed. Especially when fighting against the number one hero."

"Like I said, totally different maturity levels." Himiko muttered under her breath.

"With everything I saw, on top of Young Toga's statements, I think that this Shigaraki still has not outgrown his sense of childlike omnipotence."

Vlad groaned, "Great, that's just the kind of threat we need. A child with a god complex that wants to kill heroes...great."

"What's concerning is that if one were to look at him as a child. You could draw some similarities between him and our students. He's a child now, but if given time, he could mature or find someone to back him, one wonders what he could be capable of."

Nezu's statement grabbed All Might's attention. A cold feeling of dread filled him as he thought of the unspoken thought behind it.

"At least for now we have some breathing room, he has to recover, and I think almost all of his forces were arrested. After this attack's failure, we shouldn't have to worry about him getting more men. The street thugs aren't going to want to follow him again." Snipe added.

Midnight frowned, taking a glance at Himiko before saying, "If you take into account his wild statements about wanting to destroy the current order, his Quirk, and his childlike actions...it makes me wonder if he ever received Quirk counseling as a child to help try and... temper him."

At the mention of counseling, Himiko tensed, her jaw set, and her teeth ground against themselves as for a split second, a dark aura seeped out of her. It lasted only a second, and after a breath, Himiko had calmed back down, but in that time, every hero had been put on edge.

"Toga?" Nezu asked, keeping his voice calm.

"Sorry, touchy subject."

"Of course. We understand. You've already given us a good insight into Shigaraki. So if you would like to leave…?"

Himiko started to get up, but stopped. Her face twisted in annoyance before she sat back into her seat, "I'd rather stay and hear everything you all say about this guy. I doubt this is stuff that's going to be covered in class tomorrow."

"Oh?"

Himiko shrugged, "Better to know everything I can about my enemy."

Nezu made a face that might have passed for smug, if not for that fact he was a little mouse dog animal thing."To kill him? Or to protect you little green lamb from him?"

"Okay one, yes. Two, never make that face again. It was creepy."

Nezu offered up a very insincere, "sorry," which Himiko ignored.

"Three, I'd like to add something. Snipe Sensei, you said this attack was a failure?"

Snipe poked his thumb over at All Might's direction, "The big guy's still alive and all the students made it out alive."

"That's not how the people in the dark alleys are going to hear it, you know. What they're going to hear is that Shigaraki walked up to U.A and gave you a bloody nose. No one is going to care that the pawns got taken out. They're just going to care that the guy that made the plan, and got really close to killing All Might is still out there planning his next move. That's how people on the streets think."

Nezu scratched his chin, "That is an interesting perspective."

"Well, I lived it for awhile. I know how those kinds of people think. So really, it's not a question of if he's going to get more members for his league. It's a question of what kind of followers he'll get next."

The meeting came to a conclusion, giving Himiko the opening to quickly make her escape. Soon after Detective Tsukauchi also left, promising to continue the investigation into the league. This left the heroes to collect their things and start preparing for tomorrow's school day. A prospect that All Might was not looking forward to. As he looked through his planner, wondering what lesson he was going to teach, Nezu walked up besides him, "There was one last thing I wanted to discuss with you All Might."

"Of course."

"Right now, I'm still not sure if Aizawa will be able to return to his teaching duties tomorrow when classes resume."

"You're not...asking me to take over as homeroom teacher are you?"

Nezu laughed, "oh, of course not."

All Might wasn't sure if he should feel relieved that he wasn't going to have to take that responsibility or slighted at how long Nezu laughed before answering.

"While I'm not yet sure who will be teaching in the morning, I would like to ask you a favor. If you would be so kind as to let Midoriya know that since he got first place in the practical examination he will be giving the opening speech for the Sports Festival."

Oh, the boy is just going to love that. All Might thought with no small amount of sympathy.

"I was planning on speaking with him tomorrow anyway. I'll make sure to let him know."

Notes:

Hi everyone! I hope you all liked the new chapter! I gotta say this one gave me some trouble I wasn't expecting. It was just so slow. So I decided to split it in two. Part two will now be chapter 18 and will lead up to the start of the sports festival, which boy of boy, I have brackets and notes and everything ready for that...(he says knocking on wood). but yep, little Eri is living with the Midoriya's now. I'm sure nothing bad will happen because of that change :) It was also fun to have the Dekusquad just act like kids for a bit. Mario Kar...I mean All Might Smash Grand Prix is where you learn who your friends really are, and Monopoly is where you learn just how little it takes for you to want to murder them. I hope to have chapter 18 out really soon since I have a large section of it already written so please look forward to that :) Of course Xenoblade might take up some of my time, cause I love this game. Loved X and Loved XC2 as well. Good JRPG's.

Again I really hope you liked the new chapter and thank you for reading. If you have any comments or critiques please feel free to leave them!

A big thank you to the IzuOcha Discord for the kind words of motivation, and to the True Believers chat in Epsi's Hoard! Thank you all.

Big thanks to my beta reader Tmalasia! They catch so many mistakes.