Green Tea Rescue

by ss3dj

When Midoriya Izuku was 4 his quirk finally manifested. The doctor named it psychokinesis, but his friend Bakugou Katsuki called it worthless. For the next 10 years, Izuku would grow up bullied and isolated. Then, when a new student named Uraraka Ochako transfers into his class the last year of jr high, everything changes. Rated M for eventual themes.

28. Remember, This Will be on the Test

3:35 AM.

Himiko glared at her clock, hissing as the alarm went off and ripped her from her pleasant sleep. Despite setting the alarm herself, she still hated it.

Rolling out of bed and silencing the clock, Himiko left her room and crept her way down the dark halls of U.A. as silently and carefully as she could. At such a late hour, there was no one to make any sounds and only the dim moonlight to illuminate the dark halls. Not that Himiko needed the light. In fact, she made it a point to avoid it all together, hugging the darkest shadows and using every skill she had learned to avoid detection. The school was empty, but only a fool would think there still weren't eyes watching every nook and cranny.

Himiko had lived in this school for months. More than enough time to study it, to learn where all the different motion sensors were and the limits to their ranges. The infrared lasers that criss-crossed throughout the halls, invisible unless you knew where each one was pointed. The many, many cameras and when and where their blindspots overlapped.

The journey from her room to her target, the teachers' office, was normally only a couple-minute walk, even at a leisurely pace, or when the halls were packed with students. But tonight, to avoid detection, it took Himiko almost half an hour.

Reaching the office, Himiko slipped inside. Once inside, she almost expected to find Nezu waiting for her, but the office was dark and empty. Her yellow eyes were almost fluorescent as she glided through the room, scanning each desk until she reached her target. The desk of Shouta Aizawa. With great care, Himiko began flipping through papers and files, making sure she remembered where everything was so that she would leave no trace she had been in the room. Flipping through the papers, she passed over everything quickly. Lesson plans. Quizzes and tests. None of it interested her in the least. There was one single piece of paper she was looking for.

Tenya's internship application form.

She had watched him go through his list of applications for most of the day, strangely looking like he was trying to pick his internship based on location and not the quality of the hero, which was weird and set off some alarm bells in her head. She just couldn't explain why. Then, of course, the boy had to up and vanish after apparently picking a hero, which didn't sit right with her. She needed to know what the hell her friend was doing. When she had asked Aizawa about it, he had said that applications were private. Himiko didn't give a shit about that, so here she was, sneaking around looking for her answers.

Finally, she found a folder with a few pieces of paper in it.

'Hero Intern Application forms. Bingo! Lets see what we have here.'

Class 1-A - Asui Tsuyu
Desired Internship Agency: Oki Mariner - Sea Rescue Hero: Selkie

'Nope, though good for her getting an aquatic hero… but can frogs swim in sea water?'

Class 1-A - Bakugou Katsuki

Desired Internship Agency: Central, Tokyo - Fiber Hero: Best Jeanist

'Best Jeanist... Best Jeanist... Wait, isn't he that guy that wears all that denim? And has that collar and... the hair... You know what, not pulling the pin on that grenade right now, or else I'll break out laughing and get caught for sure.'

Class 1-A - Shinso Hitoshi

Desired Internship Agency: Ketsubutsu Academy High School - Smile Hero: Ms. Joke

'Guess he did what Aizawa told him to do. Still don't know why exactly, but one mystery at a time, girl.'

Class 1-A - Yaoyorozu Momo

Desired Internship Agency: Esuha City, Kansai Region - BMI Hero: Fat Gum

'I have no idea who that is. Is he a nutritionist? Some kind of candy maker? Maybe he makes those Gomu Gomu no Mi candies or something. Like that Wonka hero from the states... I know I know that because of Izuku, but I can't for the life of me remember when he said it. That's scary. Still, Momo picked him for some reason, I guess. Oh wait, here we go! Tenya's application!'

Class 1-A - Iida Tenya

Desired Internship Agency: Hosu City, Tokyo - Normal Hero: Manual

Himiko blinked rapidly as she looked at the form. On autopilot, she slipped it back into the folder. She counted to ten and then pulled it out again, thinking for sure she had just been mistaken in what she had read. The lack of light in the room playing tricks on her eyes. A second look however only confirmed what she had seen the first time was right.

"Fuck!"

With her mind racing, and her blood pressure spiking, Himiko made sure everything was put back where it was and left. The whole journey back to her room, Himiko fought to keep her composure. She couldn't believe it. She could not believe that Tenya was this dumb, this much of a complete and utter idiot.

'Tenya's supposed to be one of the fucking smart ones!'

When Himiko finally reached her room, she raced for her school bag, digging through it and pulled out the list of hero applications she had been sent. Collapsing on her bed, Himiko started reading through them, eyes scanning as fast as she could. Once she had gone through a sheet, she tossed it away and moved onto the next. Throughout the night papers flew until they littered her floor, and she was left with nothing. Her list of heroes hadn't included Manual, or a hero from Hosu City.

"Fuck!"

---

With still a couple hours until the start of class, Midnight had hoped to have a relaxing cup of coffee as she got ready for the day. She had a feeling that classes were going to be a little stressful considering what she, Thirteen, Aizawa, and All Might had planned. So she wanted to make sure she was in the right state of mind before the day began. Unfortunately, that was now looking like it was going to be impossible. No sooner had she poured herself a cup and sat at her desk in the teachers' office than Himiko barged in on the warpath. "We need to talk. Now."

"Okaaay. What exactly can I help you with?"

"Send me to an internship in Hosu City."

Midnight blinked, then immediately replied, "No."

Himiko's face twisted into a snarl. "What?"

"No. I think that was a pretty clear answer to your request. Now why don't you—"

Himiko slammed her hands down on Midnight's desk, jolting the computer screen and keyboard. "At what point did you think I was asking you? I'm telling you; send me to an internship in Hosu City."

Midnight returned Himiko's glare. "Toga, why in the hell would we let you intern there? Out of all the places in the world, that is the last place we'd let you go to."

"The last place you'd let me go? What about Tenya?"

"Iida? What does he—"

"I came down here to play by your rules—" Himiko started, leaving Midnight to almost do a double take. The idea that this was Himiko playing by their rules was almost scary "—but if you aren't going to help me, then I'll go there myself."

Alarm bells were going off in Midnight's head. She needed to get control of this situation quickly before things escalated more than they were. Tensions were now way past the red, and she did not want to be forced to use her Quirk to knock Himiko out before she did something she'd regret. Midnight looked at Himiko. She looked hard, looking for something. Anything to help give her a clue as to what to say or do next. She was walking a razor's edge, and if she slipped up, there was a good chance someone was going to get hurt.

She mentioned Iida. Why?

Himiko had stormed into the room, made her demand and had snapped when she was rebuffed. Midnight could see the anger swirling around the girl, but the closer she looked, the more things seemed out of place. She had dark bags under her eyes, so she must not have gotten enough sleep. Speaking of her eyes, while every other part of her looked mad. The snarl, the tense muscles, there was something in her eyes that didn't mesh. There was anger, yes, but something past it. Something that the anger was just barely hiding.

Fear.

Himiko was afraid, and that changed everything. Lack of sleep and fear had obviously thrown Himiko off her game. She had come into this situation stupid. Himiko was unstable, sure. You could even call her crazy, but she wasn't stupid. You don't survive, thrive, like she did by being stupid.

"Toga, what's wrong? Talk to me, please."

Midnight reached out and took Himiko's hands. Himiko tried to yank them back, her body jerking like a wounded animal, but Midnight held on. Not with some vice-like grip, but firmly, not willing to let Himiko get away. "Toga, I can tell you're scared. Please. Please just talk to me."

Himiko's eyes darted around, making it obvious to Midnight that the girl's mind was working overtime. She was thinking. Hard. Which was a very good sign as far as Midnight was concerned. She wasn't just reacting now. Her body relaxed, and she closed her eyes. Midnight could still feel the tension in her, but she wasn't in full on fight-or-flight mode anymore. Himiko took a step back, but Midnight still didn't let her go, "Tog—"

"I have to get something. From this room. Not running away."

When Midnight let Himiko go, the girl stood still for a few seconds, rubbing her hands together before turning and walking straight for Aizawa's desk. 'What could she need from there?'

Before Midnight could object to Himiko going through the teacher's desk, Himiko quickly pulled open a cabinet and yanked out a file, then snatched a single piece of paper from that. Midnight blinked a few times, eyeing Himiko suspiciously as she walked back over. "You seemed to know exactly what you were looking for."

Himiko rolled her eyes and handed Midnight the paper. "Upgrade your security."

Midnight glanced down and winced. It was Tenya's internship application. Himiko crossed her arms. "Yeah, got anything to say about this? Got anything to say at all? How about I spell it out for you then. Mr. Stain is in Hosu, and your incompitant bosses were doing jack shit about it until they could make a good headline out of it. While they're sitting around doing nothing, Tenya's brother gets attacked by Mr. Stain in Hosu. Now, all the official news sites are saying he's recovering, but I saw how Tenya looked and the way he was acting all day yesterday.

"Obviously there is more to it than that. So I watch him. He's my friend and I have to make sure he's okay and all that crap, and I see him going through his list, paying more attention to the locations of the heroes than the heroes themselves. Which is fucking weird. Then at the end of the day, he picks his hero name, which is his brother's hero name, and rushes to turn in his form. Now Tenya, his family has pedigree. The Iida name means something to heroes. So he could easily have gotten an application from some big shots, but instead he picks some guy who's listed in the two hundreds. Now why would Tenya, a smart but little stiff good guy who preaches doing your best and setting a good example, pick someone like that? Hmmm, could it maybe have something to do with the fact the hero he picked is located in fucking Huso City?"

As Himiko breathed deeply after unloading, Midnight looked down at the form again. "You think he's going to try and find Stain and to get some kind of revenge?"

"Is that a serious question? Of course that's what he's doing. Because even one of the smartest people I know can't avoid acting like a fucking idiot."

"And you're afraid he'll find Stain?"

"Fuck no. I'm afraid Mr. Stain will find him while he's looking for him."

Midnight sat in silence as she thought over everything. Finally she looked Himiko in the eye. "Let me ask you something Toga. What exactly do you want?"

"I want to keep my friend from getting his dumb ass killed."

"So you don't want to see Stain again."

"Of course I do," Himiko said without missing a beat, "but I have priorities now. No thanks to you driving a conscience into my head."

Midnight sat silent and still while Himiko watched her. Maybe being so honest hadn't been the right move just then, but as much as it was a pain in her ass, lying to Midnight wasn't as easy as it used to be. The truth sometimes was just the simpler option. When Midnight got up and put the paper back into Aizawa's desk, Himiko wasn't sure what was coming next. She however was ready for either, a long and boring talk explaining why she wasn't going to get what she wanted, or some kind of house arrest. Since she had pretty much said she was going to leave. In hindsight not the smartest move on her part. When Midnight sat back in her seat, Himiko raised an eyebrow when she saw that Midnight had brought something back with her. A stack of papers that looked just like her list of hero applications. With a sigh, Midnight handed them to her. "Here."

Himiko frowned, "Aaaand what this?"

"Your hero internship applications."

"Um?"

"Your prescreened hero internship applications."

"My what? Prescreened?"

"Principle Nezu, myself, All Might, and Aizawa screened the heroes that sent you internship requests. The list we gave you... omitted a couple of heroes we thought were a bad fit or might cause issues down the line.

Himiko started going through the stack. For the most part, it was exactly the same as the one before, but after a few pages, a name appeared that was highlighted in yellow she hadn't recognized. Nothing about it stood out so she kept flipping through until near the back, she stopped and stared. "Normal Hero: Manual... I got a request from him?"

"Toga. I want you to look me in the eye and tell me what you will do if I let you apply for Manual's internship."

Without hesitation, HImiko answered, "My only concern right now is making sure Tenya does't stupid himself into an early grave. That's it."

"Not Stain?"

"Bitch, you think I'm gonna have time to go find my blood sugar daddy while keeping my eye on a boy with super speed and making sure he stays out of trouble? Please. I'll have time for that later. Right now, Tenya is getting my full attention."

"...Okay."

Himiko tilted her head. "Okay?"

"Fill out your application for Manual. I'll make sure it gets taken care of."

"You... you will? Wait why?"

Midnight leaned back in her chair, sipping on her coffee. "Because you just looked me in the eye and told me you wanted to protect your friend and not go find Stain. Because, Toga, I'm going to trust you."

Himiko stared at Midnight, her jaw hanging open before she snapped back to reality and quickly filled out her application and handed it to Midnight, who took it with a solemn nod. "Okay then. Now unless there's anything else, I need to get ready for class on top of now dealing with this. So I suggest you... go take a nap or grab a lot of coffee."

---

"And now that we're done reporting on those horrible Stain updates, we got some juicy gossip for you shipping fans. We have some raw footage of the first and third place Sports Festival winners letting their secret love peak through the cracks. Captured on a cell phone, we can see first place winner Midoriya Izuku getting pulled aside by some cute fans, but watch out, it looks like Uraraka Ochako wasn't too keen on letting some girls get too close to her man. Look at her trying to rush in, it's so cute. And when things start to get a little too much, our little green boy pulls her out of the train. Look at that hand-to-hand action. That kind of public display can get you sent to the principal if you're not careful, kids. It looks like all that high flying teamwork a few days ago makes a lot more sense now. We have ourselves a future power couple, folks. Though it makes you wonder; did they go into that Sports Festival planning on working together? Not very fair for all the single students though, don't you think? We'll just have to keep an eye out for these two. After the break, more romance than you can shake a tree at. Could Mt. Lady and Kamui Woods be together? Eyewitnesses saw two waiters talking about a dinner they served the heroes. All that and more, after the break."

Izuku's chopsticks dropped onto the table, followed closely by his jaw as he looked at the TV in horror. To his side, another pair of chopsticks clattered off the table as Ochako slapped her hands against her face and floated up towards the ceiling. While the two teens suffered from a horrific case of existential crisis, Inko was doing her best not to break out into a laughing fit.

"MOM!"

"Pfft, I'm sorry but—" Inko turned away because if she wasn't looking at her son, then he wouldn't hear her start to laugh.

"MOM!"

"—but you both looked like a couple eloping. It was cute."

'Me and Uraraka... a couple. Eloping? But that... that means us running away to get, to get... married!'

Izuku's face started heating up. Images of him and Ochako eating together, watching TV together and training together flashed through his mind. To calm himself down, Izuku quickly reasoned that he and Ochako pretty much did this already, what with Ochako over at his house every day, so there was no reason to get all flustered. His reasoning hit a small bump though when his day dream changed and now they were doing all these things, but their personal space was none existent. Small lingering touches, brushes against each other while washing dishes. Cute smiles and leaning against each other while watching a movie on the couch. Covered up in a blanket. Holding each other's hands.

It was a nice dream that made Izuku's heart flutter, but he tried to refocus. Ochako was his friend. What they had now, how could he ask for anything else? How could he risk what he had now for anything else? Besides, it was like he already figured. He and Ochako pretty much spent all their time together anyway. The only difference was that they didn't live together, or sleep together.

'...Sleep... together…'

Izuku's heart ran wild, grabbing the wheel of his imagination away from his brain and letting ideas and thoughts flash before him that he always tried to keep away. His own worries and insecurities made this so easy. Ochako and him, wrapped in each other's arms. So close Izuku could easily imagine the heat of her body, the soft scent of her shampoo from her hair.

Taking a breath, Izuku tried to force himself back under control, away from his impossible and foolish daydreams and back to reality. His heart and hormones, though, were not going to let him get away without a scratch though. They drove one last thought into his mind. Reminding him of something he had seen from that Wild, Wild Pussycats magazine that Pixie-Bob had worn, along with other things.

'Sleeping together could mean other things…'

Bright rosey cheeks with a hungry smile and a twinkle in her eye. A pink sheer nightgown with white lace pillowing over in the front and pink silk flowing over ample round hips.

Izuku's whole body overheated and his brain short circuited. With a strangled gasp, he collapsed into his seat, steam rising out of his ears.

Inko looked at her son and shook her head, doing her best to hide the knowing smile on her face. Then she looked up at Ochako in sympathetic understanding, as Ochako recovered just in time to watch Izuku break.

'Poor girl, my boy is not going to make this easy for her. Hopefully they get this settled soon. I refuse to let Toshinori win our bet. I may have to stop being so subtle with them.'

---

"I was not aware that you and Uraraka were a couple."

After finally recovering from Inko's teasing, Izuku and Ochako were now on their way to class. Once they had reached the school grounds they had ended up running into Shouto. The three had walked in silence before Shouto had dropped that bomb. Hearing those words come out of Shouto's mouth, Izuku promptly turned on his heel and started back down the school steps, deciding that the day was a wash and he was going back to bed. Ochako latched onto his collar and dragged him along, blushing but keeping herself under control, unlike the sputtering Izuku.

"We're not, Todoroki. I guess you saw that same lame gossip show. They don't know what they're talking about."

Shouto nodded. "Ah. I see."

"I didn't picture you as a gossip follower though," Ochako said, looking at Shouto with a raised eyebrow. "You don't seem the type to care about that kind of thing."

"My sister watches it before she heads to work."

A horrific thought hit Izuku. "You don't think anyone else saw that report, do you?"

Ochako sighed. "Ashido saw it for sure. And she's probably already told the whole class."

Izuku tried to turn away again, but Ochako yanked him on. "Be strong, Deku."

Shouto looked at the two before casually observing, "For not being a couple, you two are very familiar with each other though."

Izuku, who was done fighting Ochako to get away, shrugged. "Uraraka's my best friend. And after training and hanging out with her for so long, I guess we know what we can say and do to each other. She knows she can count on me, and I can count on her."

Ochako nodded with a bright smile.

"You mean your training with All Might."

Ochako's eyes went wide while Izuku waved his hands about. "Todoroki, please!"

"Don't worry. I won't go around telling others about it. Obviously you both don't want that kind of attention. Still, you both should get ready for more people to start making the connection."

"What connections are you talking about?" Ocahko asked, still neither confirming or denying Shouto's statement.

Shouto pointed at Izuku. "Midoriya confirmed his connection with All Might by mistake even if he tried to hide it later back when I confronted him at the Sports Festival. And since you two have stated to have trained together, you have that connection too, Uraraka. Plus, your mindsets and actions clearly follow All Might's. Your fighting styles might be different, but you both come from the same mold. I won't say anything, but you both should be ready for others to start putting things together. Hiding this fact won't last. Our classmates aren't fools."

Izuku and Ochako shared looks, before nodding. There were secrets that they could never tell their friends and classmates, but if things got to the point where they were getting asked questions, flat out lies would probably cause more harm than good. They needed to be ready with a story.

And sometimes the best stories have a hint of truth.

There would be time for that later, though. Reaching their class, Izuku opened the door and was greeted with the predatory smile of one Mina Ashido. Izuku and Ochako gulped. 'Today is going to be a long day.'

---

After a good heckling from their classmates that only stopped after Katsuki threatened to blow up the whole classroom for being a bunch of noisy shits and Tenya acting as class rep to remind everyone that as students of U.A. they should be above such trivial gossip, the class regained its composure. Mina rolled her eyes at her fun being cut short, and Himiko elbowed Izuku in the side, asking when he was going to drag her off somewhere. When the bell signaled the start of class rang, and no teacher was present in the room, the students of 1-A looked around, a little confused.

"Everyone, please remain seated. Even if no teacher has arrived yet, class has still started."

Tenya spoke over everyone as they started talking amongst themselves. A few rolled their eyes, but in amusement over their fussy class rep. Denki snorted. "Calm down, man. It's not like we're going to go full anarchist and start a riot in the class just because the teacher is a little late."

"Still, I wonder what's going on, kero?"

"Aizawa sensei didn't mention he was going to be late yesterday did he?" Izuku asked, glancing around while some shook their heads.

As the class continued to question what could be happening, the door to the room opened up and Aizawa, Midnight, Thirteen, and All Might walked in. Ochako perked up as she saw her favorite hero, now fully healed up and back to teaching.

"Good morning, class," Aizawa said as he took his place at the podium.

"Good morning Sensei," the class immediately replied back.

"Sorry we are getting a late start, but we had to wait because someone," Aizawa turned to look at All Might, who rubbed the back of his head nervously, "didn't remember that our classes are state of the art and are equipped with projectors. So we don't have to roll in a TV on a cart."

A few students snickered. "A cart? That's so old school."

"I feel like I've been robbed of seeing All Might pushing one, though."

A strong cough from All Might and an attempted stern look got the class to settle down. Tenya raised his hand. "Sensei, does this mean we will be watching something for our class today? Should we not be using this time for the students that have yet to select the hero they plan to intern under?"

Aizawa nodded. "That is correct. While normally this time's for your selection, I believe that recent events call for an adjustment. At least for today."

While the students looked confused, no one spoke up, much to the approval of Aizawa, who was glad they were working on not wasting time.

With the class settled, Thirteen stepped forward. "Recently, the staff here and police have finished our review of the security footage from the villain attack at the USJ. While we have used it to move forward with tightening our security, the school believes that it is also in your interest to watch it as well."

Aizawa continued, "What you can learn here may help you decide what you need to work on and lead to a better internship pick, if you are still undecided. Some of you still have yet to turn in your applications."

Everyone felt the room get colder at the mention of the attack. Some began to fidget in their seats at the idea of watching the footage Aizawa was talking about.

Midnight stepped forward. "The staff understands that this was a very traumatic experience you all went through and some of you may not be comfortable seeing it so soon after the attack."

While some nodded in agreement, not having the most pleasant memories from the incident, several students looked over at Izuku sympathetically. Everyone was very aware that out of everyone present, he had come out of the attack in the worst shape. Midnight also looked over at Izuku before she continued on. "We are not going to force you to watch this footage. If you choose, you may leave, and Ectoplasm and Snipe will hold a special study hall to help you get ready for your internships. However, this is a unique situation that the staff feel you should all take advantage of. Eraserhead, All Might, and myself will be reviewing your decisions and actions during the attack with you and the rest of the class so that you all will have a chance to learn from this."

Midnight waited and watched to see how the class responded to the news. There was a mixture of emotions for everyone. Some had hardened themselves for the lesson while some others looked nervous. Some were uneasy, and seemed to be considering taking her offer to leave. After some time though, it became clear that while some were clearly not comfortable with the idea, they were all choosing to stay and learn. The four teachers were proud of that. Watching footage from this kind of attack could make even some pros squirmish.

Midnight took out a small remote to lower a screen and turn on the projector while All Might hit the lights. "All right, let's get started."

---

The recording started, opening with Kurogiri standing before the class and the immediate assault of Katsuki, Eijirou, Himiko, and Tenya before a black mist started to envelop the class. While some students were able to leap or defend themselves, most were transported Aizawa immediately paused the video and zeroed his eyes on the four attackers. "Explain what you four were thinking. You were confronted with an obvious serious threat that you knew nothing about. Instead of following a teacher's instruction, you four attack blindly, putting yourselves and possibly your classmates and Thirteen at risk."

Eijirou rubbed his head nervously, but it was Tenya that stood up to address Aizawa "With respect Aizawa sensei, 'he who hesitates is lost.' The villain at the time did not seem to be taking any defensive measures against us and seemed more concerned with the whereabouts of All Might. While I can not speak for the others, as class representative it is my duty to look after my classmates. So I took the initiative."

Eijirou nodded. "Yeah, what Iida said. The guy looked like he was leaving himself wide open, so I jumped."

Aizawa nodded and then turned to look at Katsuki and Himiko directly. "And you two? Anything to say?"

Katsuki shrugged. "There was an enemy in front of me. I'm not going to wait around and let him do something. I'm going to blow him the fuck up."

"Kill them before they have a chance to kill you," Himiko added with a dismissive shrug.

Aizawa sighed. "Hesitating in front of a threat can get you killed. This is true, but here's something for you four to think about."

Thirteen pointed at herself on the screen. "I was about to use my Quirk to attack that villain. If I hadn't stopped myself in time, there is a good chance that you four could have gotten hurt. Not by the villain, but by me. It's true in moments like this, decisive action is important, but so are decisions that give plenty of thought and consideration. Your class rep used a quote, so I'll give you all one too. 'Look before you leap.'"

"So we were wrong? We screwed up?" Eijirou asked.

"As students, jumping in as you did is not something we as teachers can overlook without giving you things to think about. Your actions could have had consequences. However, you did act while your classmates were still absorbing the situation and stuck in place." All Might said, addressing the whole class.

Tsuyu tapped her chin. "So we were wrong to do nothing?"

"Not exactly fair," Mezou added.

"Fairness has nothing to do with it," Midnight said. "We're not trying to tell you if you were right or wrong here. What we are trying to show and tell you is that your actions and inactions can and do have consequences."

While the class thought about that, the video was unpaused and soon the black mist vanished, leaving only a handful of students behind.

Tooru fidgeted in her seat, knowing that her big moment was coming up. The students that had been left behind all seemed to puff up a little as they realized their classmates were about to get to see their big moment instead of just listening to them retell it. Ochako, however, was not looking forward to what was about to happen. She had been told how Thirteen had gotten so hurt and turned away as the scene approached. She didn't want to watch this part.

She was so distracted by trying not to watch this part, she didn't notice Thirteen walk over to her and put a hand on her shoulder. "I know this isn't easy. Believe me, I've had to watch this a few times already myself. But not watching and learning from my mistakes won't do you any favors, Uraraka."

Ochako swallowed the huge lump in her throat and nodded mechanically. This was a chance to learn, and she had already committed to it since she hadn't left when given the chance. She needed to be strong right now and remember that everyone had made it out of the attack alive and well. For the most part. A twist in her gut reminded Ochako that Thirteen's injury wasn't the only unpleasant part of this attack Ochako was going to have to relive. Taking a quick glance to the side, Ochako found Izuku watching the footage intently and taking notes. If anyone here had been the first to want to leave, it would be Izuku. But he stayed, intent to learn all he could. So she could show the same bravery.

"Yes Sensei. I understand."

---

Himiko groaned as she rubbed her brow. "I can not believe I'm about to say this."

The class had just finished watching Yuuga, Hanta, Mashirao, and Minoru take down their villain. All Might had let the class comment on the fight first before the teachers added their thoughts. Tooru jumped at the chance to praise Mashirao for fighting so well and coming up with the plan that led to the villains defeat, earning a high five from Denki and a round of back slaps from Mezou. Even Katsuki had commented that he did all right, for a guy with just a tail. Mina rocked Yuuga's seat, saying he did a great job making sure Mashirao was able to get ready in time. Hanta beamed as his classmates commended him on his quick work, getting Mashirao ready and getting the villain wrapped up when he had his opening.

That just left Minoru, and Himiko decided to play nice, and maybe score some brownie points with the staff. "Not a bad job. You don't exactly strike me as the kind of guy to stick around when things get dicey. Sooo, good job."

Minoru puffed up. "Starting to see how cool I am?"

"Don't push it. Your grapes are still in a vise, don't forget."

Minoru yelped.

"Now lets stay on topic. Like with Young Iida and Shinso before, you just watched some of your classmates team up to take on a threat. While before the threat was a large group of adversaries, this time it was against one powerful opponent. Thoughts?"

Momo raised her hand. "That the key to a victory is to ensure you capitalize on each other's strengths. Before they came up with a plan and attacked that villain all once, they were not able to do anything."

Aizawa nodded his approval at Momo's answer. "Well done. That is exactly what I wanted you all to take away from this footage. Just because you outnumber your opponent doesn't always mean you've increased your chances of winning."

"Oh," Izuku said, "you mean like how you were able to take on all those villains at once?"

"Correct. Quantity doesn't trump quality as often as people think. I'll commend you four for being able to pull it together at the end against a superior foe, but remember this: sometimes the best option is still to retreat and regroup. None of you forget this."

"Yes, Sensei," replied the whole class.

Midnight flipped through her list. "I think they're about to get a good lesson in quality vs quantity. Todoroki's segment is up next."

---

"Okay, now who's next on the list... Ah. Young Midoriya."

The mood in the room changed instantly. With Shouto, everyone had been shocked at how quickly he had taken down his group of villains, and some had even taken the opportunity to lighten the mood, but there was no glossing over what they all knew was coming. Izuku fidgeted in his chair as his classmates looked over at him sympathetically. Himiko reached over and gave his shoulder a squeeze, while Ochako was tempted to get up from her seat and trade places with Minoru so she could be next to him.

"Now, Young Midoriya. You had two seperate encounters with the villains that we will be covering."

"Two?"

"Wait, the courtyard stuff wasn't the only thing?"

Mina straightened in her chair as she looked over at Izuku. "Oh yeah! I guess I finally get to see what you did to all those villains before you ran into me."

Katsuki leaned back in his chair to look at Izuku. "What? We get to see why you looked like shit before that Nomu fucked you up?"

Whatever reaction Katsuki had been expecting, the small smile of pride on Izuku's face wasn't it.

'What the fuck?'

The video started, showing a group of villains waiting in a long hallway just as Izuku walked out to meet them. The fact that izuku was just walking towards the group was surprising enough. Everyone watched, not sure what was going to happen next. Izuku suddenly smashing a villain out a window was not what anyone had expected.

"Holy shit."

There were several sharp hisses whenever Izuku got hit, the cut across his chest drawing a few startled gasps. However, the class was in awe as Izuku worked his way through the villains, whittling them down until and using his Quirk to use his surroundings to his advantage. A few of his takedowns made several of his classmates look at him in shock at how brutal he had been. Katsuki had even almost cheered when he watched Izuku in the recording jam the broken lights into the one villain's giant fly trap mouth and slam it shut.

He didn't though. There was no way in hell he was going to be seen impressed with Izuku in any way.

Himiko, as the video came to a close, found her focus split between watching the recording and making sure she didn't jump Izuku right then and there and have her way with him, the rest of the class be damned. She glanced back at Ochako, who she was expecting to be drooling along with her. She was a little surprised to see Ochako squinting at the screen, clearly in deep thought before her eyes went wide and her mouth dropped open.

"Deku! That's the guy from the gym!"

Ochako's sudden exclamation startled the class as Izuku looked back at Ochako, a little confused. "Wait, what are you talking about? You recognize one of those villains?"

"The guy you pulled the wall on, the cow guy. He was the same dude from the gym we went to."

The blank look on Izuku's face made Ochako groan. "The first day we went looking for a place to get ready for U.A. The guy dropped a medicine ball on you."

When Izuku's face stayed blank for a few more seconds, Ochako as well as the rest of the class, looked at Izuku worriedly. Afterall, having a giant man cow drop something on you shouldn't be something you just forget.

Izuku blinked several times before the class could see the lightbulb over his head light up, "Oh yeah! Wow I totally forgot about that."

All Might turned his head, doing him best not to laugh, while several of his classmates looked at Izuku incredulously. Hitoshi shook his head. "How? How do you forget something like that?"

"Brain damage?" Minoru offered immediately.

Izuku laughed. "Please, my head is solid as a rock."

'That would explain so much,' Himiko thought with an eye roll.

"Honestly it wasn't that big of a deal. I'm surprised you remember that, Uraraka."

Ochako blinked, "Er... well…"

"If you all are done chatting, we still need to get through Midoriya's footage," Aizawa cut in.

Izuku frowned. "We aren't going to get to talk about how I kicked those villains' butts?"

"No. We're going to watch all of your footage. And then discuss your actions in detail."

'Oh... well darn it.'

---

As the video flickered, switching to new footage showing Izuku running across the USJ courtyard along with Mina and Fumikage, the class was quiet. No one made a sound because no one was able to. They knew what they were about to watch, and it robbed them of their voices. With the other videos, people still spoke up from time to time, pointing something out or congratulating a student for something they did. Even with the footage with Ochako, Tsuyu, Katsuk,i and Himiko, as bloody as it was, though Himiko swore parts looked edited to cut away or blur her favorite bit, they still spoke up. Now, even knowing that Izuku was right next to them, knowing they were about to watch him almost die changed the mood in the room.

Izuku leaned forward in his seat, watching the events play out. Events that were still hazy, still hard to remember completely. When the three rushed over to their fallen teacher, Izuku had trouble recalling exactly what happened next. But he could remember how he felt. The feelings were shown to him in crystal clarity as his recorded self didn't follow after his classmates as they carried their teacher, but turned away. His face, pale and shocked. Then twisted with fury.

Izuku closed his eyes. He had been so scared, and so angry. The thought that those villains were going to hurt his friends, that they were trying to hurt Ochako… Izuku could feel his muscles tense and his teeth grind together. While nowhere near as intense as they were on screen, that fear and anger clawed at him still. Just from the idea.

'Calm down. They didn't get hurt.'

A growl from Katsuki refocused Izuku back on the screen. Izuku was lifting the group up and out of danger. Which meant it was about to happen.

You're fine. You lived. You're fine. You li—

Nomu flashed on the screen. One second Izuku had been alone, the next, the giant monster was just there, right besides him, hand held up to swat Izuku away. The hazy memories suddenly came into horrific and painful Nomu's arm moved and—

CRACK!

Izuku flinched, his quirk flaring to life at the same time. The green glow enveloped his desk in a flash and cracked it down the middle. The bright light and harsh sound startled everyone in the class as they all looked at Izuku in alarm. Midnight immediately turned the projector off while All Might moved to Izuku's side, putting his giant hand on Izuku's shoulder to try and calm him. "Young Midoriya. Easy there, you're alright."

Izuku looked around, just as startled at what had happened as everyone else. His classmates' concerned faces made him feel guilty and foolish for what he had just done. When he saw Ochako out of her chair and hurrying over to him, he felt even more embarrassed. He was getting tired of making her worry about him.

"I-I'm f-fine." Izuku frowned, wishing his voice wasn't so shaky. "Please, it's all right. I just… Yikes."

"Deku?"

"Please, it's all right Uraraka. I'm fine. You can... you can go sit back down."

Ochako frowned, hesitating for a few seconds before walking back. Taking a breath, and trying not to look at his friends, Izuku did his best to smile up at All Might. "I'm fine now. Really."

"You're sure?"

Izuku nodded, but winced when he saw the state of his desk. "Though now I'm worried I'm about to get in trouble for destroying school property."

Midnight waved off his worries. "This school has a budget for damaged property. A desk isn't even a drop in the ocean."

As the class settled down and Izuku had made sure to reassure everyone he was fine, Aizawa walked up to the front of the class. "We won't watch the rest of Midoriya's footage. At this point, I doubt there is any need. The lesson from the first two clips should be enough. However, instead of everyone offering their thoughts on the footage as we've been doing, I want to let Midoriya answer this himself. We can have the normal discussion after that." When the class nodded, Aizawa looked at Izuku. "Midoriya, after everything you just saw yourself do, what did you do wrong?"

Izuku gulped. He had figured that talking about this was going to be tricky, but he had still bet on it being a class discussion like the other times. To suddenly be put on the spot felt a little unfair. Which honestly matched up with Aizawa's whole teaching method. Izuku was also keenly aware that besides his classmates watching him and his friends, All Might was paying close attention.

Still, it wasn't like Izuku hadn't given his action at the USJ some thought before. Things he could have done differently. Actions he should have taken that might have led to him being more helpful or not in a hospital bed. At the very least, things he could have done to not worry Ochako as much as he did.

"I've thought about what I did when I rescued—" Katsuki growled at the term "—er, helped everyone get away from that group of villains. When I acted before I wasn't really thinking. My body just acted on instinct."

Both All Might and Ochako caught that last bit, recalling how Izuku described how he acted back when he rushed to save Katsuki from the sludge villain last year.

"But I suppose if I had to do it again, I would have made sure that my friends and myself would be able to get to safety. If I brought the group over to me, Uraraka could have floated me and then we could have made our escape out of the villains' range."

It was a simple change, but back then he had never thought of having Ochako float him and move himself with his Quirk. Now that he knew that that could work, it made his new plan so easy to see. When Aizawa stayed silent after his answer, Izuku shifted in his seat nervously. Izuku thought the answer was a good one, but it looked like his teacher was expecting something else. Which was worrying, since Izuku wasn't sure what else to say.

"Midoriya, that's not what I meant. I'm not asking you what you did wrong while helping your classmates. I'm talking about before."

"Before? I don't understand."

Katsuki groaned and twisted around in his chair. "You fucking idiot, he's talking about the dumb-ass desision you made sticking your nose into my fight."

"Oh… Really?"

Several of Izuku's classmates gasped. More than a few couldn't believe what they had just heard.

"Dude, hold on a second," Eijirou said.. "You think you did the right thing?"

"I mean... yeah."

"THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU!?" Himiko exclaimed in horror. "You almost fucking died! Thats pretty much the definition of making the wrong fucking choice!"

Izuku, not used to hearing Himiko this worked up, winced, but didn't back down. "Toga... just because something is the right thing to do, doesn't mean it's the easiest."

"Izuku, you... you got involved with something you didn't need to get involved in and got your head caved in as a result." Himiko didn't like this. She didn't like how the look in Izuku's eyes was getting harder. How his resolve that he was right was getting reaffirmed despite everyone in the class disagreeing.

"Meddling when you don't need to is the essence of being a hero. Isn't that right, All Might?"

"Well... yes, but—" All Might was cut off when Aizawa's eye snapped over to him and he launched his capture cloth around All Might's mouth.

"That's enough out of you. Midoriya, three times that day you threw yourself into situations that could have gotten you killed. Your fight in the hallway didn't need to happen. If you had stuck to your original plan and remained out of sight you, would not have gotten hurt. You did it again in the courtyard and a final third time when you attacked Sigaraki. If you'd taken the time to think things through, you would have to be able to tell that your actions were foolish."

"But people were in danger. I couldn't just do nothing. Heroes don't and you didn't when you rushed all those villains—"

"I am a professional who has years of work to fall back on. You are a student that still has a lot left to learn. Don't think that a few months of special training," Aizawa shot All Might a harsh look that was missed by the rest of the class, "makes up for the next few years of school you still have to take. You lack the knowledge, experience, and real world common sense to be putting a pro's responsibility on your shoulders. Do I make myself clear?"

Dejected, Izuku nodded, "Yes, sir."

---

"A little harsh don't you think?" All Might whispered to Aizawa as class was dismissed.

Aizawa just rolled up his yellow sleeping bag and stored it under the podium. "The kid needed to have someone to give him a proper lesson on how a student should behave. He'll learn and grow."

All Might frowned as Aizawa left the room but let it go. He knew that Aizawa was doing what he thought was best for Izuku. He just couldn't get behind the methods. Calling him out like that in front of the whole class and using his near death experience as a hammer to drive the lesson into Izuku just seemed cruel. Sighing, All Might looked down at his watch and winced. 'Not a whole lot of time left. Better get back to my office. Also need to deal with...'

"Young Uraraka. Do you have a moment before your lunch?"

---

"Tea?"

Ochako nodded. "Yes please."

All Might filled a cup for Ochako and handed it to her before pouring himself a cup and sat down. "A rather tough start to your day. How are you holding up? You looked a little pale towards the end."

"I'm fine. Really. It's still hard to think about... that day and everything."

All Might sighed and sipped his drink. "If I had been there from the start, you all would have been spared a lot of pain."

"I suppose if anything, it gave us a lesson on what we should expect later on. And hopefully reminded some of us not to pull stupid stunts."

All Might chuckled. "I heard you made sure to drive that point home with Young Midoriya that night. I'd say he should follow your example." Ochako puffed up a little with a smile. "But you also rushed head first into danger to rescue him, if I recall. You two are a real pot and kettle."

Ochako blushed and tried to hide herself behind her cup of tea.

"Still, it's good you talked with him. Being open with your feelings and thoughts is important between friends."

Ochako nodded. "Yeah, I let him know how much I hated that he rushed into danger without me like that again. I swear, I don't know what I'm going to do if I have to tell him a third time."

"Hmm," All Might hummed as he looked at Ochako critically. "That he rushed in without you, huh? So it's okay to rush into danger as long as you two are together?"

"Err... I mean…"

"I noticed when Young Midoriya was defending his decision, you were awfully silent. Tell me, was he wrong to act those three times?"

"No."

Ochako's immediate answer startled All Might a little. It wasn't just that Ochako's answer was instantaneous, but the tone in her voice made it clear she stood behind her answer completely.

"Deku did the right thing, but he just didn't do it the right way. He needs to realize that he doesn't have to put himself in harm's way like that all on his own."

"If Aizawa asks you about that, maybe come up with a better way to say that. Or else you'll join me and Young Midoriya in the dog house," All Might said with a laugh.

"Is Aizawa sensei angry with you two?" That was a concerning thought. All Might just waved her off.

"Me, oh yeah. He's not convinced I didn't screw up while training Young Midoriya, and you too, I would guess, if he ever heard you say what you just said. But he's not upset with Young Midoriya at all. He just has a different method to teaching and trying to drive home a point. He wants to make sure the boy has learned to be more careful. So don't you worry about that."

Ochako nodded. "I guess that's okay then. So All Might, was that what you wanted to talk to me about? You don't really pull me aside very often; actually, I think this is the first time you've done it since we stopped training at the beach. You spend most of your time with Deku now." Ochako blinked and realized how that could sound negative and quickly added, "Not that I'm upset about that! With Deku getting One for All, of course you'll need to spend more time with him! I'm sure that's why you did that whole internship thing too."

All Might smiled. "Calm down, Young Uraraka. You haven't said anything wrong. You are correct; because of One for All I need to spend more time with him. That is also why I wanted him to intern with me this next week. However, you are also my protégé and you deserve my attention as well. I felt you deserved to know why I've chosen to take him alone and not you both."

"All Might, it's okay. Really. You don't owe me an explanation."

"But you deserve one. While my responsibilities with Young Midoriya mean I haven't been able to spend as much time with you, you are just as deserving of it."

"Thank you All Might. That means a lot to me. But really, I get it. Getting a chance to work with Deku for a whole week, I'm sure it's a perfect opportunity to help him get ready for everything."

"Actually, there won't be much more time for 'getting ready.' I'm giving Young Midoriya One for All next week, and want to use the time so that he can adjust before he returns to school."

Ochako froze, so startled that she forgot to keep her pinky away from her empty cup and it ended up floating out of her hand. All Might reached up and plucked it out of the air. "You're-you're giving Deku your Quirk... already?"

All Might nodded. "I have a couple more... private matters to talk to him about and a few last things to square away, but by either the second or third day, he will become the next vessel."

"But—but it's so soon! I thought for sure it'd be later. A lot later, like when we could get our provisional license in our third year!" Ochako's mind race. This was a lot to take in. It was always going to happen, but Ochako was floored that it was happening in just a few days. "Wait, you said before at the beach you wanted to wait. You wanted to see how Deku's Quirk continued to grow."

"That's right. That was my original plan."

"Your original plan? But why the change…" Ochako trailed off, something clicking in her head, "The attack. That's what it is, isn't it? Is it because of how much time you have left, or because of the villains?"

"Both, in a way. If my fight with the Nomu hadn't shortened the amount of time I can use One for All per day, I might not have come to this decision. But with that and the growing threat," All Might almost stumbled over his words, pushing down the idea what the growing threat could mean for him, "I felt that if Young Midoriya could show me that he had mastered his own Quirk enough, which he did, then I could pass on One for All to him without too much worry."

Ochako frowned. "Too much worry?"

"Yes. I'm still not sure how his own Quirk will react to One for All. It'll become stronger, yes, as well as his own physical strength, but besides that, how he'll adapt to it is unknown. Having that week to sort everything out is the best time to do this."

"You're worried about how he'll handle the kickback."

"Yes. It's possible that his body's natural resistance will be boosted along with everything else, but I just don't know."

All of that made sense to Ochako. Having the time to work everything out and be in a controlled environment was the best way to do this. She then latched onto something else All Might had said. "How did Deku prove to you he'd mastered his Quirk?"

"The Sports Festival. I had decided that if he won, then that would be the last bit of evidence I needed. Not only did he win, but he exhibited several new skills that showed me he has great control over his power."

Ochako almost brought up that Izuku still hurt himself, but stopped As another thought replaced that one. A frown formed on her face and she eyed All Might. "You didn't tell Deku any of this before the Sports Festival, did you?"

"No! If I did something like that, he might have gone overboard just trying to prove himself. No, I wanted to see how he did with his own motivations."

Ochako sighed. "Good. That's good."

"Also, keep this between the two of us. No reason to get the boy all stressed out before his internship begins."

All Might smiled when Ochako quickly nodded her head. "And speaking of internships, why don't we talk about yours. I know you haven't turned in your application form yet. I'd be more than happy to help you pick out someone."

"Oh, thank you but I think I know who I want to go with. It just took me a little more time to research them all by myself."

"By yourself?"

Ochako nodded. "I guess I wanted to make sure this was my choice without any outside input. The way I see it, this is a good chance for me to learn and gain experience under someone like I did with Gunhead. So I wanted to make sure I took my time."

"Very good. Very proactive and professional. Being your own person, your own hero, is important." All Might paused, a grin tugging at the edges of his mouth."Even if you already have your team name all picked out. Green Tea, huh?"

Ochako flushed and started to babble, making All Might laugh. "I'm sorry, but when I saw the list of names and saw that added to your and Young Midoriya's hero names, I knew I had to get some kind of tease in. So anyway, who did you end up picking?"

Ochako reached over and pulled out her application from her bag and handed it to him. Looking over the paper, All Might hummed at the name. "An excellent choice. She's a real rising star, and you can bet by the time the next Hero Billboard Chart comes up, she's going to be in the top ten for sure. I'd even say she might be in the top five. Though I'm honestly surprised she even sent out application requests."

"Really?"

All Might rubbed his chin. "Yeah. This is all second hand accounts, but from what I've heard, she's not your average hero. Very brash and does things her own way. Still, I think you could learn a lot from her. Just be prepared for some unorthodox lessons."

Ochako smirked. "Well I think you prepared me for that a long time ago."

---

"Hi Recovery Girl. Guess who's back!"

Izuku grinned sheepishly as he, Ochako, and Himiko walked into her clinic. It was the end of the school day, and he and Ochako were ready to do their promised blood donation for Himiko.

Recovery Girl glared at Izuku before pointing towards a couple of chairs, "You're lucky I know you're actually a sweet boy and not a smart aleck. Otherwise I wouldn't put up with you."

"Of course. I'm adorable!"

"Adorable huh?"

Izuku's grin widened. "Sure I am. Just ask Uraraka. She'll tell you."

Ochako coughed into her hand and was very, very proud of herself for not freezing on the spot or actually agreeing with Izuku on pure reflex. Instead she shifted the attention back to Recovery Girl. "Maybe don't upset the person that's about to stick a needle into your arm."

"Er…"

SIghing, Ochako pushed Izuku forward to a chair while she took hers. Once seated, Recovery Girl pulled out a cart with all the equipment she was going to need for their donation. While she got everything set up, Himiko giggled happily as she sat down on one of the beds next to them. "I still can't believe you both are okay with this."

Izuku smiled. "It's not a big deal, Toga. We're happy to help."

"Yeah," Ochako agreed.

"Besides, how could we not help now? You were practically bouncing in your seat the closer we got to the end of the day."

Blushing, Himiko picked at one of her hair buns. "Wait? You noticed that?"

"I mean, yeah. You were pretty obvious. I'm many things, but I'm not blind."

Izuku missed the looks that passed between Himiko, Ochako, and even Recovery Girl, who just shook her head. Pulling up a chair, Recovery Girl started prepping Ochako. As she did this Himiko glanced down at the blood donation kit, then up at Izuku, eyeing the arm he was going to donate from and running a finger over the tube and needle. "Hey Izuku?"

"Yeah?"

Licking her lips Himiko wished her mouth didn't feel so dry. "Would you be okay with letting me do it?"

"Do it?" Izuku then glanced down, "Oh! You mean giving me the needle?"

Recovery Girl paused as she wiped Ochako's arm with an alcohol swab. "Toga."

Neither Ochako or Izuku caught her warning tone. It wasn't that Recovery Girl didn't trust Himiko. After all the work Midnight and the other teachers had put in with her, and from what she had seen herself, Recovery Girl did trust Himiko. To an extent. There were things you just don't want to do with people like Himiko. You don't take an alcoholic to a bar, and you don't give recovering psychopathic hematolagni a hypodermic needle and a vein to stick it in.

Ochako frowned. "Do you know what you're even doing with that thing?"

Himiko rolled her eyes. "Do you even remember what my support gear is? I carry six of these things, you know."

"I remember a lot of almost dead villains after you stuck them with those needles. Which, while nice, doesn't exactly fill me with confidence when it comes to Deku."

"Ouch, that's a little harsh Uraraka," Izuku said with a chuckle.

"Says the boy that we just watched throw a villain out of a building," Ochako countered.

"It wasn't a tall building—"

"And then literally nail one to a wall," Ochako continued, now listing off her fingers.

"Um…"

"Then you shoved that broken glass into one's mouth."

Himiko broke in, "Oh, don't forget when he shot that one chick in the face with those ball bearings when he used his Delaware Smash."

Ochako nodded. "So don't you go telling me what's harsh and not harsh."

"...I haven't done anything as extreme as ripping someone's jaw off and beating them over the head with it. So I still think you got one on me."

Ochako blinked a few times. "Oh yeah, I did do that, didn't I? That was pretty extreme wasn't it?"

"It's cute you both think that that's extreme," Himiko mumbled under her breath.

"Hmm? What was that Toga?" Izuku asked.

Himiko immediately put on an innocent face, which with her fangs, didn't look that innocent. "Oh nothing. So anyway! Can I put this in you?"

"Oh sure. I don't mind at all."

"Wait... REALLY!?" Himiko's eyes glowed, and her smile widened.

Recovery Girl sighed, rubbing her brow. "Young man, do you even know what you're saying?"

"No, no, he does," Ochako said with a resigned sigh, though she didn't look too stressed out. Afterall, she didn't think Himiko would ask if she didn't know what she was doing.

"Besides, even if something does go wrong, you're here, Recovery Girl. So you can just fix me up," Izuku added with a happy grin.

Recovery Girl eyed Izuku as she went back to work on Ochako. "And just what do you take me for young man?"

"The greatest doctor with the greatest healing Quirk in the world?"

"...You are a few years too young, and I'm a few decades too old, for you to be trying to sweet talk me like that."

"Huh?"

Ochako and Himiko laughed as Recovery Girl's comment went right over Izuku's head. Himiko bit back a comment that popped into her head, not wanting the cranky old doctor angry with her. 'A few decades, she says. That's like saying Midnight is only a few years over twenty.'

Himiko felt a cold shiver run up her spin and turned to look at Recovery Girl, who was looking right at her. 'Wait...she's not psychic or some shit, right?'

Deciding she didn't want to find out, Himiko picked up the donation kit and when Recovery Girl didn't stop her, started to help prep Izuku.

Izuku, for his part, watched as Himiko went to work. He wasn't sure why, but he was amazed at how gentle her touch was as she felt along his arm, looking for the vein she was going to draw from. Each touch along his arm was soft, almost like a feather dancing over his skin. She never pressed too much, and as she worked, Izuku finally admitted to himself that her hands felt really, really good.

When she found the vein, she ran the tip of finger up and down it, feeling it pulse under her touch. With each beat of Izuku's heart, more blood flowed through that vein. Feeling it sent excited shivers racing over her body. As she kept running her finger along the vein for a little while longer Izuku started to laugh. Her focus broken, Himiko looked up at him with a raised eyebrow.

"Sorry. A little ticklish, I guess."

Himiko grinned evilly. "Well that's good to know."

"Mistakes have been made. Uraraka help!"

Ochako just rolled her eyes. "Go for the back of the neck."

"Traitor!"

"Ha ha ha!"

Izuku groaned. "You know what, just take the needle and stick it in my back. It'll go great with the knife in there now."

"Oooh, sorry, but it's already in your arm. You'll just have to suck it up, Izuku," Himiko teased.

Izuku blinked in surprise and then looked down, finding that the needle was indeed in his arm, and the small clear tube was already red as it carried his blood into the little pouch. "Wow, I didn't even feel it."

"Like I said, I have experience with needles. I have a lot of first aid experience actually... though it's more field medic kind of stuff."

"Really?"

"When did you learn that?"

When Izuku and Ochako asked, Himiko just shrugged. "When you live on the streets, you have to learn a few things to survive. I can sew a stitch, tie a tourniquet, cauterize an open wound. Those kinds of things."

"Wow, you were out on the streets saving people like that?"

Himiko looked away, scratching at her neck. "Er...not really. I learned because I was doing it to myself. My first year on the street was... rough."

Izuku frowned. "But wait, weren't you staying with someone? Didn't they help you?"

Himiko laughed. It wasn't a happy laugh, like she had heard a good joke, but it wasn't mirthless. It was just cold, cynical, and tinged with a dark humor neither Izuku or Ochako could understand, "He... he was a real believer of 'taking care of yourself.' If I couldn't take care of myself, if I died in some alley, then it would be my own fault. So learning how to fight and how to k—fix myself up were pretty much the first couple things I taught myself."

"That seems... really cruel, Toga," Izuku said with a frown.

Himiko just shrugged. "It's life."

"Doesn't make it right though," Ochako countered.

"It is what it is. Honestly, right and wrong can get pretty muddied up when you're stitching yourself up in a damp alley." When Himiko glanced back at the two and saw how concerned and worried they looked, she winced. "Aaaand I've made this awkward. Sorry."

"Sorry, I shouldn't have pried," Izuku apologized.

Himiko tried to wave off his concerns. She did not want him or Ochako being sad right now. "Nah don't worry about it. It's all…" Himiko paused, thinking about the coming week, "... it's all in the past."

Right now at least. Hopefully it'll stay there, too, after the week is done.

"You ever think about taking some paramedical or first responder classes? I'm pretty sure U.A. offers that when our classes get more specialized heroics courses. You could get an EMT license paired with your hero license so you could treat people in the field."

Ochako's question threw Himiko for a loop, leaving her slack jawed as she tried to even comprehend it. Recovery Girl was also paying very close attention to the conversation now. Izuku was nodding his head in complete agreement with Ochako.

"W-wait? Me? A doctor?"

"You'd be closer to a field medic actually," Recovery Girl corrected, rubbing her chin deep in thought.

"Yeah... I don't think that would work. I'm not... I'm not the kind of person someone wants to see when they're in trouble. Plus, I'd have horrible bedside manners."

"What are you talking about Toga? You were great with me."

"Izuku, you are a special case. Besides, you have to be like... I dunno... a good person to do that kind of stuff."

Izuku looked at Himiko, clearly confused by that last thing she said. It almost sounded like she didn't think she was a good person, which was something he wasn't going to let slip by without correcting her. So he looked Himiko right in the eye, and simply said, "But you are a good person, Toga."

Himiko froze on the spot. "I'm a whaaaa?"

As Himiko tried to figure out how the words 'you are a good person' and 'Toga' could be used in the same sentence without a huge 'not' thrown into the mix, Midnight walked into the room.

"I thought I'd come in a check on…" Midnight looked at everyone and then at the totally frozen Himiko, "...what did I miss?"

---

The weekend came and went, and soon Izuku was standing with his classmates in the lobby of a train station. Rubbing his hands together nervously, Izuku glanced down at the clock on his phone, then towards the entrance to the station. While he fretted around, Aizawa walked in front of his class, making sure everyone was ready before sending them off. "Now, you all have your costumes right? Remember, you aren't allowed to wear them in public until you start your internships."

Izuku winced. He winced harder when Minoru raised his hand, while also pointing at Izuku, "Aizawa sensei! Midoriya doesn't!"

'...I'm going to hit him with a bench. I'm going to hit him with a bench and become a villain.'

Unfortunately, he couldn't exactly say anything in his own defence. While everyone else had their costumes in metal briefcases, he alone didn't have his. Aizawa eye Izuku and then sighed. "Where is your costume Midoriya? Did you leave it at school?"

"No sir. Hatsume was still working on it. She said she'd be here on time though…"

Shouto glanced down at his phone clock. "We got here almost thirty minutes ago though."

Izuku groaned. "I know."

Ochako gave him a pat on the back. "Well at least you don't have to worry about catching a train."

She was right. Unlike most of the class, Izuku was riding with All Might personally to their internship site. Speaking of All Might, he was busy talking to a massive crowd of reporters.

Tsuyu tapped her chin. "Still, she said she was going to have it done. I wonder if she ran into some trouble?"

Izuku winced, which didn't go unnoticed. Ochako gave Izuku a side eye. "Deku...What did you do?"

"Er…"

"Deku."

"Well... my costume was done…"

A few more of his classmates were looking at him now, making Izuku sweat.

"Was?"

Izuku poked his pointer fingers together, and did his best to look small and helpless under his friends increasingly scrutinizing gazes, "I might have asked Hatume if... she could... add one last thing."

"DEKU!"

"She said it would be—"

"MIDORIYA! You're still here! Awesome!"

Izuku twisted around and let out a long sigh of relief as Mei broke through the crowd and came rushing towards the class, a metal briefcase in her hands.

"Hatsume, you made it! I was getting worried you weren't going to make it."

Mei rolled her eyes as she handed izuku the briefcase with his costume in it. "Says the boy who called me in the morning asking about adding more stuff to his costume."

Izuku laughed nervously, fully aware that the eyes of his friends were boring into his back. "Yeah, sorry about that. I was kinda hit by some inspiration and just sorta…"

"Oh, don't be like that. I said I could do it no problem. I just ran into a problem getting the right material."

"Oh?"

"Yeah. Can you believe that some people think that just because you borrow something when you plan on asking for it later, that it's stealing? That's crazy. They totally weren't using that memory cloth. Weirdos."

Izuku decided not to go down that rabbit hole and focused instead on asking the important question. "But it looks good right?"

"Well duh. I made it, after all."

"Yay!"

Aizawa cleared his throat. "If you two are done?"

Izuku nodded hurriedly and fell back in with his classmates. "Good. Then remember to mind your manners when you are with your heroes. I don't want to hear any complaints from them when you get back. Now you all get go—"

"Eraser? It's you, isn't it, Eraser!?"

The students of 1-A watched as something incredible happened. The normally stoic or just bored-looking teacher suddenly went stiff. As he turned to the sound of the new voice, his face morphed into utter and complete annoyance. Everyone else turned to see who could have gotten such a strong reaction out of their teacher. A woman wearing a bright orange and green costume with smiley faces around her waist was walking right up to him, smiling brightly as she waved. "Eraser, it's been such a long time! I couldn't believe it when you left me that message. Does this mean you finally want to get married?"

Mina's eyes bulged as she clasped her hands in front of her, "Oh my god! Is Aizawa sensei getting married!?"

"No," was Aizawa's instant reply.

While Mina pouted at the suddenly crushed romantic scene, the woman doubled over, laughing loudly. "No! Oh, you've still a riot Eraser. Nice to know you're still the same. You know if you marry me, then we can make a family that never stops laughing. Think of all our children's smiling faces."

"Please stop."

Himiko looked at the two, clearly confused. "Okay so anyone know who this is? Izuku, little help here."

"That's the Smile Hero: Ms. Joke!"

The air around Hitoshi went ice cold while Ochako, Himiko, and Tsuyu looked from Ms. Joke then back to him. Himiko doubled over, laughing uncontrollably until she toppled over. She didn't stop laughing and just rolled along the ground. Ochako tried to cover her mouth to muffle her laughs, but all she did was draw more attention to herself when she accidentally made herself float. Tsuyu held onto her, but made it a point not to look at Hitoshi. Shouto and Tenya gave Hitoshi a pat on the shoulder in sympathy. Ms. Joke turned towards the commotion and zero'd in on Hitoshi instantly. "Oh wow. So that's Shinso huh... I had no idea you already made a kid, Eraser."

Hitoshi's eye twitched while Himiko started laughing even louder.

"Welp, no time to re-ignite our burning passion—"

"There is no passion."

"—but I need to get back to my students. So Shinso, let's get going. I want to hear all about you."

Resigning himself to his fate, Hitsohi waved goodbye to everyone and followed after the laughing hero. Soon the rest of the class began to disperse as they headed for their trains to take them to their internships. Himiko sighed and made a little show, wheeping that not being able to see Izuku not the next week was going to be torture.

"I'm sure you'll be fine Toga. I imagine our internships will keep us so busy that we won't have time to think about anything else."

Izuku watched as Himiko's smile fell a little, her eyes drifting to the side as she glanced briefly at Tenya. "You know, you're probably not wrong."

Not sure what that all meant, Izuku tilted his head to the side. 'Um huh?"

"Oh nothing." Himiko's smile was back. "Just thinking about something is all… Hey Izuku, you know that old saying, 'absence makes the heart grow fonder?'"

Izuku nodded, blushing a little as Himiko put her hands on his shoulders and leaned forward so that her lips were right by his ear. "Maybe we can put that to the test when we get back. Just the two of us, hmm?"

Leaving Izuku red and stammering, Himiko pulled back and smiled brightly. Turning to leave, she caught Ochako's eye and winked at her. Ochako rolled her eyes and waved her goodbye.

Izuku was broken out of his flushed daze when Katsuki walked by and poked him in the chest. "You better make sure you don't waste this week. Don't forget I'm gunning for you, nerd."

Not waiting for Izuku to respond, Katsuki left, ignoring Ochako completely and not showing if he saw her discrete middle finger or not.

With everyone else gone or leaving, Izuku turned to see Tenya was also walking away. Seeing this, Izuku hurried after him, wanting to say one last thing before he wouldn't see his friend for the next week. "Iida, wait! I know things have been really hard for you. I just want you to know that if things ever feel like they're too much, please, let me or our friends know. We're here for you."

When Tenya turned to look back at Izuku, smiling, Izuku felt like something was off. Something was behind that smile that he just couldn't read.

"Thank you, Midoriya."

With that, only Ochako and Izuku were left. Clutching her briefcase, Ochako looked at Izuku. "Well I guess I need to get going too."

"Yeah. It's going to be weird not seeing you at all this next week. I guess I've really taken for granted all the time we've had together."

"Hey, at least it's not a whole month like last time."

Izuku nodded. "Yeah. But we still could talk over the phone. I doubt we're gonna have time for that."

"Yeah… But like you told Toga, our internships should keep us busy. So hopefully time will just fly by."

"I guess. Well, good luck, Uraraka. I can't wait to hear about everything you learn at your internship!"

Ochako smiled and flexed her arm. The long sleeve of her uniform tightening around her arm as she did, which Izuku totally didn't take any notice of. "You bet! And you better believe I'm gonna come back stronger than ever."

"I better make sure All Might really trains me really well then. Otherwise, you're gonna be way stronger than me," Izuku said with a laugh.

Ochako grinned competitively. "Who says I'm not already? If I remember right, I won the last time we sparred."

"I can still lift more than you if you don't use your Quirk to cheat, and I won the Sports Festival."

"One: I did that once and only with a couple of the smaller plates. Stop holding it over my head."

Izuku crossed his arms, grumbling about her supposed three-hundred-and-fifty pound bench press.

"And two: you only get to use that victory, like, three more times before it doesn't work anymore."

"Wait, when did that become a rule?"

"Just now," Ochako said with a huge cheeky grin.

With a laugh, Izuku gave Ochako a shove, which she returned in kind. Before they both decided to have an impromptu sparring match and give Izuku a chance to close the win-loss gap, All Might walked over to them. "Now you two. Let's keep things civil."

Both smiled and started to laugh. "I guess you were able to get away from those reporters then All Might," Izuku said.

All Might sighed. "Yes, but I don't think we have long before they chase after me. I said I needed a quick bathroom break, so that'll buy us five minutes, tops. Less if some of those paparazzi reporters get ideas."

Ochako hefted her briefcase over her shoulder. "Then I guess that my cue to leave so you two can get out of here." Ochako glanced quickly at All Might before facing Izuku. "Hey Deku…"

Izuku blinked in confusion. "Yeah Uraraka?"

"Good luck on your internship."

"Oh. Well, thanks. If this is going to be anything like the training we did before U.A. I'll take all the luck I can get."

Ochako nodded and turned to leave, but stopped and glanced over her shoulder, "Oh and before I forget. You take care of him and you don't do anything crazy."

Izuku threw his hands up. "I swear, it's a conspiracy."

All Might put his hand on Izuku's shoulder, giving Ochako a thumbs up. "I'll be sure to take good care of Young Midoriya."

Ochako gave them both a smirk before leaving. "It's funny how you two just assumed you knew who I was talking about."

All Might and Izuku watched Ochako disappear before both started to laugh. "So our roles are interchangeable now, huh. Can't say that I can argue with that."

"Yeah, but if I actually get hurt, she might really kill me. Here lies Midoriya Izuku. He broke his word a third time. So he deserves this. Rest in pieces."

"Well, I'll just have to make sure that doesn't happen. So what do you say, Young Midoriya? Ready to get underway?"

"Yes sir!"

---

After making a daring escape out of the train station, All Might had swiftly dropped his muscled form and the two had loaded up into his truck and driven off, with Izuku ducking down as they passed the mob of press who were all still looking for another interview with All Might. After avoiding the crowd and once out on the road, Izuku noticed that they were going in a different direction than he was expecting.

"Um, All Might, where are we going? This isn't the way to your agency."

"When did I ever say we were going there?"

That... is actually a good point. All Might hasn't really told me anything he plans to do for my internship.

"Then where are we going?"

"I'm taking you to see an old friend of mine. In fact, he was once one of my teachers and trainers."

Izuku's eyes lit up. "Wait really? I don't think I ever heard about anyone that trained you. Are they a famous hero? They'd have to be retired now though, right?"

All Might shook his head. "He was never one for billboard placements. His goal as a hero was different than what you'd expect. He's not retired either, though he's not as active as he used to be."

"Wow, he must be really tough."

"Tough. Yeah that's one way to put it. Used to kick my tail all the time. You see, he was my homeroom teacher here at U.A."

Izuku's jaw dropped. "He could fight you and he was your teacher? He sounds terrifying."

A few memories flashed before All Might's eyes. Memories of being taught hard lessons by them being driven into his skull, while his master watched with a smile and laugh. "Terrifying. Yeah, that's a good word to start with."

Seeing All Might start to shake, Izuku gulped nervously. 'What kind of monster am I getting taken to?'

"Um, what's his name?"

"Gran Torino."

---

"This is the place?"

After the drive, Izuku was a little surprised when All Might park the car in front of a rather shoddy-looking apartment building.

"Think of it as camouflage. It's the perfect way to look if you don't want anyone disturbing you," All Might said as he stood besides Izuku.

Izuku gasped. "Oh so he made it look like this on purpose. Incredible."

"Yes... on purpose."

"All Might, why did you hesitate there?"

Waving his hands about, All Might quickly changed the subject. "Anyway! Let's get inside. I know Gran Torino has been looking forward to meeting you."

"I'll be on my best behavior!"

"Yeah, let's just hope he will be too."

"Wait, huh?"

"Nothing!"

All Might quickly walked up the steps and entered into the building with Izuku hot on his tail. "Hey Torino. We're here—!"

All Might came to a dead stop in the doorway, and his voice cut off just as fast. Izuku, not ready for All Might to stop right in the doorway, almost ran into him. Confused and with the doorway blocked, Izuku glanced around and peered into the apartment. "Is everything okay?"

Looking inside, Izuku saw a surprisingly nice, if simple, room. At a table sat a short, old-looking man. He wore a yellow and white costume that looked just a little too big for him, evident since his bright yellow cape hung past his large boots and pooled up on the floor. Izuku guessed this man was the Gran Torino that All Might had mentioned, but it was the second person sitting with the old man that Izuku recognized immediately. Any true fan of All Might would know who he was as well. A white suit and triangular glasses, and a distinct hair style, green with yellow streaks. Yes, Izuku knew instantly who this other man was, even if he couldn't believe it.

It's Sir Nighteye! He's here too!? I wonder why All Might didn't mention—

"Sasaki?" The shock in All Might's voice startled Izuku out of his thoughts. "What are you doing here?"

Authors Notes:

Hi hi hi! Looks who's back with another thrilling (checks notes), yeah thrilling chapter in the GTR saga! Welp, the internships are in full swing and it looks like Izuku's already out to a bumpy start. Let's hope things get better soon and it's smooth sailing for the rest of the week...(check notes)...Oh, dear.

Huge shout out to all the people who left comments and reviews! Love you all and I hope you all like this new chapter! Please feel free to leave a comment critique or review!

Big thanks to Raef for beta and editing this chapter!