Out at the training ground, the entire class gathered in front of All Might. He stood proud and patient as he waited for everyone to trickle in.

"Now that you're ready, it's time for combat training." All Might began.

"Sir," Iida asked with a hand raised, "this is the training ground from the practical exam. Will we be fighting robots today?"

All Might replied cheerfully with a peace sign. "Not at all! You will be facing off against each other instead!"

The class began nervously checking their classmates. Several of the students had immensely powerful combat Quirks, others wouldn't fare so well in a one on one fight.

"Don't fret my students! You will be put into teams!" He smiled at them. "Many of the fights you see on the news take place outdoors, they're ones that get the most media coverage." All Might waved off the thought. "However, many villains operate indoors. Lairs and lackeys compose the backbones of major fights. Powerful villains, the intelligent kind, will rarely be operating in broad daylight."

Tanya grew excited upon hearing this. Not that she would be practicing fighting indoors, but that most fighting would be taking place somewhere she wouldn't be expected to be.

The number one hero held up three fingers. "For this exercise you will be split into teams of three. Every team will go twice, once as the heroes storming the lair, and once as the villains defending their base."

Next to Tanya, Tsuyu asked "Isn't this a little advanced?" while shaking her head to the side. She was nervous about the scope of this exercise.

All Might flexed into a combat pose. "The best training is the kind you get on the battlefield! Getting your hands dirty is the fastest way to improve! Fighting actual people rather than robots is the best way to learn to adapt. Real villains adapt and shift tactics midfight, repurposing existing skills, something only a human could do!"

Tanya put her hand up before the other students began posing their questions.

"Sir, will you be deciding who wins?" Asked Momo.

Tanya glanced at the scantily red clad heroine. '... Who else would be the judge?' Her opinion of Momo only lessened further.

"How much can we hurt the other team?" Bakugo asked with a furrowed brow.

'He's concerned about the threat his Quirk poses.' Tanya noted to herself, her hand still raised patiently. 'A Quirk that fires off explosions can easily be fatal. Knowing when to drop the fight is important.'

Laced with worry, Uraraka asked, "Do we need to worry about the losers being expelled again?"

Despite Iida having his hand up, he blurted anyway. "Will you be splitting us up based on chance or comparative skill?"

The image of Midoriya, Bakugo, and Todoroki being on the same team flashed across Tanya's mind. Needless to say, it scared her.

"Isn't this cape fantastique?!" Aoyoma asked while posing under his ridiculously sparkly cape. His entire costume was an eyesore to Tanya. His armor was so painfully bright.

In an attempt to end the onslaught of questions, All Might pointed at Tanya's raised hand. "Yes Young Tenikari!"

Tanya cleared her throat as she slipped her hand behind her back, as she stood at ease. "Will our fights be restricted to indoor combat or may we engage our opponents outside?"

The next sentence that came out of All Might's mouth nearly destroyed Tanya on the spot. "These fights are restricted to indoors only. Heroes want to keep the fight's scale to a minimum, and Villains don't want their face on the news."

Despite her stone face upon hearing this, her wings acted on impulse and drooped. Being forced to fight indoors was out of her comfort zone, but she was sure she could find a way to make it work.

"Now!" All Mights spoke up as he pulled a folded up piece of paper from his pocket.

"Here's the deal!" The number one teacher read from his script. "The villains have hidden a bomb somewhere in their hideout. The heroes must try to foil their plans. The heroes win either by subduing the evil doers or recovering the bomb. However, the villains can either defend until time runs out or subdue the heroes."

Tanya's wings perked back up upon hearing this. 'So it's attack/defend? The villains can set up however they'd like indoors, likewise the heroes can gain information from the outside. After that, the strategy revolves around the objective. Depending on where the bomb is placed and who is on the teams will drastically change the dynamic of the fight.'

All Might zipped out of sight before reappearing with a box. "Time is limited so I'll be drawing lots!"

"Certainly there must be a better way to go about this?" Asked Iida. He feared the possible team imbalances that can come from this.

Midoriya excitedly spoke up with a raised finger. "Well it makes sense. Heroes have to work with whoever is available and villains don't necessarily get to choose their partners."

Iida gasped. "I should have figured! Please forgive my rudeness!" He cried as he bowed.

All Might pointed his hand towards the box's opening. "Now! Let's Get To It!"

In a flash of movement his hand went in and out. "Team A will consist of… Izuku Midoriya."

As he continued to repeat the process, something struck Tanya. 'He can move faster than the untrained eye. If he wanted to, he could draw a slip, read it, and try again and we wouldn't know. He's hiding his choice behind random chance.'

She watched carefully with senses sharpened from the frontlines. Her eyes bored holes into All Might's fingertips as he reached into the box. Time felt like it was slowing down to a snail's pace, creeping along. His hand emerged from the box, he read the little slip of paper, and then she saw it; All Might's fingers twitched and the paper changed positions.

A frightful pulse shot through her core. 'H-he can move faster than I can see!' She forced her wings to stay in posture, her tension had almost made them open. While All Might read off the names of his choice, she glanced around. No one else seemed to notice, or if they did, they weren't showing any signs.

Team A was Izuku, Ochaco, and Mina Ashido.

Izuku was shaking in nervous fear as Ochaco got too close to him. She was hyped they were on the same team. It wasn't to say he wasn't excited, he was just too bashful to form a coherent sentence yet.

Meanwhile Mina popped up behind the pair, pulling them both close. "We're going to do great! Between the three of us, no one's going to stop us!"

Izuku almost shut off. At least he stopped shivering.

"Team B shall be…" All Might announced as he drew from the box of many choices, "Young Tenikari."

She couldn't help but wonder who her teammates were going to be.

"Rikido Sato." He read off the next slip.

Rikido walked up to Tanya. "Pretty sweet, we're on the same team huh."

Tanya gave a small nod and hum of approval, not entirely paying attention to her recruit. She was more concerned with who their third was going to be.

She watched as All Might swapped through several options. "Katsuki Bakugo."

'Fuck.' Both of the blondes thought in unison as they locked eyes with each other.

'I would have taken anyone else.' Tanya thought to herself as Bakugo stomped over to team B. 'I'd even have taken Kaminari, I could have used him. Despite being an idiot, he'd at least try to listen to my orders.'

'Any other team!.. Except Midoriya's!' Bakugo thought to himself as he forced himself towards his new teammates. 'Bitch beat me yesterday and now I have to fight with her! How am I supposed to show I'm better if I'm chained to her side!'

Rikido Sato just smiled, head completely empty. Or at least, he wished it was. Given the strength of this team, they were likely to be put up against some strong opponents and his gut wasn't liking the storm on the horizon. Or the storm Bakugo brought with him. Sato could feel the sweat forming under his mask.

Bakugo growled at Tanya. "Angel Bitch."

'Ok, ok, I can salvage this. He offered a greeting, we can start from there.' Tanya reassured herself. "Hello Bakugo." She said in the gentlest voice she could manage, with a small, forced smile.

He gave an accusatory point at her, he was almost vibrating with rage. "Don't you get smug with me! After the shit you pulled yesterday, you should count yourself lucky we're on the same team!"

Tanya threw her arms wide open, "I'm not even trying to be smug!" She shouted in an attempt to match his energy.

"Then explain yourself, Angel Bitch!" He barked back.

"I was trying to be courteous! Apparently that voice doesn't work with you!"

Rikido could only stand and watch as his teammates all but broke out into a fight. Not even a minute in and they were already butting heads. He knew Tanya was a bit awkward, but it wasn't helping that Bakugo couldn't chill out long enough to see past it.

As the two blondes clashed for dominance of the group, he watched the class get into groups. There were some menacing groups like Todoroki, Shoji, and Momo. Some were less threatening; like Ojiro, Hagakure, and Sero or Koda, Jiro, and Kaminari.

The teams that truly scared him were Iida, Mineta, and Aoyoma, because his strength wouldn't help against them, and Uraraka, Ashido, and Midoriya. Sato knew what the greenette was capable of, he's heard the rumors and he's seen what that powerhouse was capable of with a single finger. That kind of power was on par with All Might, even if it could only be used once.

"And our first fight shall be!" All Might announced as he shuffled lettered cards. "Team A vs. Team B! Young Midoriya, Uraraka, and Ashido vs. Young Tenikari, Sato, and Bakugo! Team A will be the heroes and Team B shall be the villains!"

Midoriya whimpered as he looked over to his high school bully. Bakugo was currently preoccupied shouting at his classmate, who was paying him no mind as she glared into Midoriya's soul. She had dropped out of the argument the moment All Might had announced her fight.

The chill of a dissecting tray ran up his spine under her gaze. Every one of his flaws were being picked apart by eyesight alone. In defiance, his courage ignited as he clenched his fists. 'No! It's not going to turn out like high school! I'm not going to be pushed around anymore!'

Bakugo turned to see his opponent. Deku, the punk that defied the odds despite what was best for him. The bastard who pulled a powerful Quirk out of thin air after years of neglect. He was here now, and for the first time, Bakugo couldn't see fear in Deku's eyes.

All Might pointed over his shoulder at the training building. "Teams, split up! The Villains will have 5 minutes before the Heroes are set loose. The battle will start when the Heroes enter the building."

"Yes sir!" Tanya replied before leading her squad into the lifeless husk of a building.

Before they could get in the door, All Might appeared beside them in his heroic pose. "Young Heroes, the key to victory in this fight is to become bad guys. Think like you're villains whose lair has been breached."

Rikido Sato gave a small wave. "Yes Sir!"

"If things go too far, I'll step in."

The 'lair' was a series of tight hallways devoid of character. The lighting was a pale white, produced by cheap ceiling fixtures. Each building segment could be seen in the walls as the entire thing was built from pre produced pieces. Like a scale model building set. The walls were a crisp white, the floors a dark gray tiling. The service hallways which comprised the bulk of the space didn't even have a paint job, fully showing their modular structure.

Each floor was designed like a horseshoe. There was a main room inside the horseshoe, with a series of hallways and stairs composing the outside. Each floor's main room was littered with random props, mainly various boards and oil drums.

They had chosen the second to top floor. It was the furthest from the ground and yet not the top floor. They didn't want Mina to melt in through the roof and fall onto the bomb.

Bakugo growled in frustration, his fingers were twitching with anticipation. "Do you really think Deku has a Quirk?"

Rikido looked at Tanya, who could only sigh through her nose. "There's no point in denying what the boy can do. I saw him in action during the practical, he could level this entire building if he felt like it."

As Bakugo grunted, Rikido could only gulp in fear. There was power beyond reasonable measure contained in those bones.

Before Bakugo got the chance to spout anything about his fury at Deku, he was cut off by Tanya.

"We need to take him out of the picture as early as possible." She said with complete calmness, a hand firmly placed on her hip. Her wings couldn't hide her thrill of the coming fight, already stretching, flexing, and getting warmed up.

"You… you can't be serious?" Rikido began to shake. "The guy can oneshot us!"

"The damned nerd isn't going to do anything!" Bakugo shouted as he spun around to his teammates.

"I want to make sure of that." Tanya replied. She turned to her recruited brute muscle. "And you're going to handle him."

Rikido paled at what was being asked of him. To go toe to toe with the one shot wonder, this was suicidal.

Tanya waved her hand in dismissal as Bakugo looked confused. "There's a crucial difference in your strength. You get it consistently and he gets it all at once. If you apply pressure, he'll never get the chance."

The rage machine gathered his thoughts. "I'm going after Deku! I'm putting him back in his place!"

She tilted her head at him, she finally knew what to use Bakugo for. "Then go for it. I'll take Ashido and Uraraka on my own. We'll blitz the enemy and win. They'll be expecting a defensive tactic, we'll flip it and put them on defense."

'If the rageaholic wants to target the enemy's most dangerous asset, let him. He's intelligent enough to know who to target on their team.'

Sato took a step back in shock. "That's a two on one! You can't be serious!?"

Tanya smirked, a familiar and comforting feeling of power returned to her. "Completely. I can blow away Ashido's acid, and if Uraraka uses her Quirk on me, I only become more mobile. Besides, it's only two on one till Midoriya goes down."

She stared at Sato. "Oh and Sato, his Quirk breaks his bones. Don't be afraid to do him a favor and break them first. Recovery Girl is on standby and Midoriya is going there anyway."

Rikido Sato was a dead man standing. Not only was he being asked to take on someone with All Might levels of strength, he was being encouraged to break bones to ensure he won.

Bakugo gave a grin. "Aggression. I like your style, Chicken Wings."

Over the loudspeaker, All Might's voice rattled through the building. "The heroes have entered the building! The time starts now!"

Without a breath, Bakugo and Tanya shot off like rockets. They twisted and turned through the air, quickly zipping around and trying to find their targets.

Bakugo bounded through the halls, propelled by his explosions. He wasn't going at full strength though, he knew better than to overshoot and crash into walls.

Tanya meanwhile, couldn't fly at full speed in such a small space. The corners were too tight and the halls too narrow. However, she was still mobile and agile enough to be nothing but a blur.

Rikido stood and stared at the door, a blank look in his eyes. All he could do was clench and unclench his fists, inches away from his sugar packets. 'I, I'm scared. It's our second day of college and I'm already expected to hurt somebody. This Quirk… it's not me on the other side. Not in a fight.'

He shook his head, reached up and slapped at his cheeks. "No! I can do this! They need me!" He started sprinting after Bakugo's smoke trails. In his hands were five packets of sugar, enough to last him the duration of the match. He just had to survive using his Quirk for 15 minutes.

Bakugo swiftly bounded around a corner before firing off a blast at the hero team. Smoke and sound filled the hall from his surprise attack.

Midoriya tackled Uraraka out of the way of the blast as Ashido staggered back.

From the wall of smoke, a flurry of white feathers dashed forth. Tanya swung her legs out in front as she soared over the grounded duo.

Ashido coughed up her wind as Tanya drove her feet into the pink girl's stomach.

Bakugo walked through the hole of smoke Tanya left behind. "C'mon Deku, where's your fighting spirit?!" He stepped into his opening right hook, his palm was sparking and ready. "You wanted to be a hero, right!" He spat.

Before he could finish his hook, Midoriya dove in close for a grapple. He let the attack sail over his shoulder as he stepped under, wrapping his arms around Bakugo's swing.

"Grrr,haaa!" Midoriya gave his effort-strained battle cry as he flipped Bakugo onto the ground. The room shuddered under the weight of the slam. "You can call me Deku!"

He struck a brave combat stance, a small shiver threatened to shatter his composure. "But I'm not the scared, defenseless kid anym- Ahh!"

He screamed as a massive arm wrapped around his chest and lifted him off the floor.

Meanwhile, Tanya had driven Ashido down the hall. As the pink girl rolled and bounced back onto her feet, Tanya flipped back around to send a roundhouse kick into Uraraka's side before she could get her bearings.

"So it's that kind of a fight." Ashido smiled, ready to go and hyped for the challenge. "Let's go then!" She cheered as she leapt into action.

She mustered up her gloopy white acid onto her palms before attempting to splash it onto Tanya. Her arms swung up in an action often seen as playful but here was dangerous.

With the wave of Tanya's wings, a wall of wind sailed down the hall to catch the acid. It sprayed everywhere, even damaging a light fixture, but never coming close to her.

Tanya changed tactics. She let pressure off of Uraraka and reapplied that pressure to Ashido. 'If I fight too close to the others, I'll get caught in the crossfire. I need to push this fight down the hall."

She skipped past Uraraka's telegraphed punch only to push the girl in the back with her wings.

Uraraka stumbled but before she fell, she put her fingers together to make herself weightless. She flipped down the hall and landed by Ashido's side.

Uraraka and Ashido stood in wildly different combat stances. Uraraka looked like she's never so much as seen an action movie; her posture was wildly off balance with her knees together and fists tucked close to her shoulders.

Ashido, on the other hand, caught Tanya's eye. She had a semi wide base, her hands down and palms out. The acid ran down her arms and gathered in her cupped hands. There was a gleam in her eye, she was having fun.

Tanya walked towards them in order to stall for time. Her wings unfurled to fill the entire hallway, the view of the other fight was entirely blocked. 'We can win either by wipeout or by running the clock. Every minute spent fighting me is a minute they're not disarming the bomb. I can win through attrition; all that cardio wasn't for nothing.'

She smirked at the two girls before her. "I believe a battle is best enjoyed winning, wouldn't you agree?"

"Absolutely!" Mina replied cheerfully as another sleeve of acid dripped down her arm. "I'll be sure to tell you how it feels later!"

Down the hall, Midoriya was cut off by a grab around his chest. The floor left him behind as he was hoisted with ease.

Midoriya was shoved like a ragdoll into the wall, spun around by his opponent. As the wind was evicted from Midoriya's lungs, he could see him; a yellow beast with a rage in his eyes. Its massive mouth was caught in a twitching snarl as muscles bulged beneath a stretched jumpsuit.

The beast let go of Midoriya before winding up for a massive haymaker punch. It led in with a step, its entire weight was put behind this one attack.

"Sweet-shot!" Sato shouted as he swung.

Midoriya scrambled to dodge, barely having dived out of the way as Sato drove his fist through where Midoriya's chest would have been. It pierced the wall with a resounding crash, cracks shot out around the impact.

'That could have killed me!' Midoriya cried to himself before his ears were sent ringing and smoke obscured his vision.

Bakugo had blown him up from behind. The familiar pain of Bakugo's blast ran up Deku's side as he was knocked into Sato's backhanded swing. He had pulled his hand free from the wall and hadn't wasted the movement.

Thwuch! Midoriya's world spun as blood ran down his face. He was flat on his back, his nose was broken, and both his team and his noggin had been scrambled.

Tanya was holding out both of Midoriya's teammates. Keeping Ashido's acid splashes at bay had been difficult, but doable. Between her gust attacks and her mobility, there wasn't much the acid could hit. Uraraka wildly telegraphed her movements as she showed no sign of combat experience. Tanya didn't even have to look at her to hear her large hooved boots exposing her movements.

Midoriya glanced down the hall to see Tanya kicking Uraraka in the back while also dodging out of the way of Ashido's acid by flying to the side. 'I, urgh, I need to help them.'

He rolled out of the way of Rikido's boot, only to be bounced off the floor by Bakugo's blast. Pain shot through his entire body as his ears rang. 'But I also need to escape these two!'

He brought up his left hand and held it like a gun. An electric green glow crackled through his pointer and middle fingers as he let loose a flick.

"NEW HAMPSHIRE, SMAAASH!"

Wind filled the hallway as Midoriya was knocked back, out of the way of Bakugo's next blast. He bit down his tears as he slid before rolling onto his feet, he had to make his escape. The bomb was the only path to victory.

Down the hall, Tanya got blasted by the air force. With a surprised yelp, she was flipped and launched past her targets. Her light frame and large wings made Midoriya's wind attacks especially effective against her.

Ashido had melted a handhold into the wall and was holding onto Uraraka's boot. "Don't let goooo!" She cried as she held back a chuckle.

Uraraka looked down at her friend, "I couldn't!"

The wind roared as it passed them by. It had lifted the duo and left them hanging parallel to the floor. Just like it had with Tanya, it too threatened to carry them off.

Sato had dived in front of Bakugo to take the brunt of the force. He wrapped Bakugo into a hug as the wind launched them against the wall. Just before impact, Sato swung his shoulder behind Bakugo.

Sato crashed into the wall, his shoulder and back buried into a freshly made crater. Despite the shaking of his bones, he had taken the hit for his teammate.

The moment he was let go, Bakugo went into a blind fury as he began blast jumping down the hall in pursuit of Midoriya. 'Where did he get this power! This confidence! When did he get so strong!'

Sato looked around, dazed and confused. His world was small, cramped, and it rang like a dropped pot. Pain was felt in almost every joint. The green haired one had disappeared. As he pulled himself from his wall crater, he saw Tanya rolling down the hall. Her opponents were standing and ready for action already.

He let loose a roar before charging towards his friends' assailants.

Ashido and Uraraka took one look at the charging yellow beast, then another look at Tanya who was righting herself, wings flexed and ready for take off.

Uraraka was scared and desperate. "Ashido! What are we going to do?!" She cried.

Ashido gave a big, toothy smile, "We'll go up!" It never mattered how bad things got, Ashido's outlook never wavered. There was a beautiful simplicity in it.

'What I wouldn't give to have that kind of strength.' Uraraka thought to herself as she gathered her will.

She touched Ashido's shoulder before lifting her towards the ceiling where the pink girl could begin spraying the ceiling. She kept her head down, shielded by her helmet as spare acid dripped onto it. The flimsy armor began hissing under the corrosive drizzle.

With a smile on her face, Ashido melted a hole through the ceiling. "This way!" She yelled.

After floating through, Uraraka released Ashido. With a huff, Uraraka hopped up. She puffed up her cheeks and curled into a ball as she gently floated up towards the hole.

"I got you!" Ashido cheered as she reached down and yanked the weightless girl through.

Down beneath, Tanya was furious. She dodged out of the way of the showering acid, the hole had become dangerous; soggy with acid. "Sato! Go after Midoriya, those were the orders I gave you!"

Before Sato could respond, Tanya had taken off down the hall to the stairwell. She needed to find and fight the others and couldn't waste any more time with Sato.

"You looked like you needed help." He whispered to himself. Guilt flooded his system, unblocked thanks to his Quirk reducing his mental functions. 'I need to find greenie, I need to put things right!'

He began his hunt as he followed his nose. Bakugo left a trail of nitroglycerin scented smoke wherever he went. To find Bakugo meant to find Midoriya as well.

Midoriya wasn't panicking as he ran, that would be a gross understatement. It wasn't like his life long bully had just allied himself with perhaps the scariest students in the class. He knew how to deal with Bakugo, he knew his moves, his thoughts, everything. Bakugo, while terrifying, was a familiar threat… but Rikido and Tanya, they were different.

There were no thoughts behind Rikido's eyes as he fought. He had nearly killed Midoriya twice in 3 hits, and the young hero knew it wasn't on purpose. Rikido towered over him, and had the strength of a half dozen body builders. They were a force of nature, not something easily stopped.

Then there was Tanya; she scared him even more. There was something behind those big blue eyes, an evil that had decided righteousness was the better investment. She had the same look in her eyes that Bakugo had before beating him up after school. A self assured certainty to victory, obtained through any means necessary.

'I had expected Bakugo to rush me and abandon his teammates. Instead, they all rushed us. Even now, with everyone being split up, they're in the winning position!' He ran with labored breath, his broken finger cradled by his side like a handgun. The sounds of explosions echoed around him as he scrambled for dear life. 'I hadn't wanted to use my Quirk in this match, but at the very start, their offensive push was so strong that I had no other choice!'

The loudspeakers turned on once more. "Seven minutes have passed!"

In the observation room, All Might lowered his mic. He was worried about what he had seen so far.

'Young Midoriya had told me about Bakugo's pride, but not of his aggression. He's targeting Midoriya and leaving everything else behind. Midoriya's sudden burst of strength poses a threat to Bakugo's pre-established idea of how the world works; a threat he can't turn away from.' All Might gripped his mic a little harder. 'Please Young Midoriya, be careful.'

'... Perhaps allowing the students to go all out on their first day of training was a mistake. Maybe the capture tape was a good idea.' He reprimanded himself. 'No! I must put faith in my students' strength!'

"Did you see that power!" Kirishima shouted in amazement. "Sato's so strong! And his desire to help his team is totally manly!" He hardened his skin into armor while striking a combat pose. "I respect that!"

"Kerro?" Tsuyu croaked as she stood up from her squat. "Is he crying?"

"What?!" Kirishima quickly turned to Tsuyu in shock then back to the screen. "Oh, he is!"

On the monitor, Rikido charged after Bakugo's smoke trails as tears ran down his face. They weren't tears of the pain that wracked his body, but of the guilt and shame he was feeling. He had failed his team.

Momo stepped forth with insight, her hand placed on her collarbone. "It appears Tenikari has neglected the feelings of her teammates to focus on the objective. With Sato's reduced mental state, everything becomes a one track mind. When he fought Midoriya, all he felt was adrenaline, now all he feels is guilt."

"C'mon bro!" Kirishima shouted at the screen. "You can do it!"

As he hid, Midoriya held his breath. The pounding sound of Bakugo blast jumping past his room. His heart raced in his chest, clawed to escape, but was buried under the tactical muttering.

"Bakugo is unlikely to turn back around. I have to take this opportunity to escape!"

He ran out of the side room and dove into the smoke. The soot stained his mothers jumpsuit and stung his eyes but pushed through. This was the only opportunity to escape Bakugo's search and reunite with his team.

His thoughts were cut off as he met a wall of yellow at the corner of the hall. He skidded to a halt.

Tears stopped running down Sato's face the moment he locked eyes with Midoriya. An aggressive grin tore his face in two as he opened his arms into a massive bearhug that threatened to engulf the small green boy. He leaned into his attack to bring his shoulder down to the stomach height.

Midoriya threw himself against the wall to dodge the gigantic tackle that soared past him.

As Sato spun around, he caught a glimpse of Midoriya aiming a punch for his face. With a slight backwards stagger, he stood up to his full height. Midoriya's punch collided with his chest.

It was a moment too late as Midoriya realized his mistake. 'That's not counterable! I need to be faster!' He leaned back and tried to rip his hand away. 'I need to retreat!'

Sato reached across the inside. His grip clenched around the greenettes bicep. Bones crunched as his fingers dug into the boy's arm.

With a yelp, Midoriya was swung against the other wall.

Cruck! His arm broke free from its socket.

"Aeehhh!" Midoriya screamed in pain as he was ragdolled around the hall. The arm flopped against its nature as Sato continued to violently manhandle him.

'Break your landing!' His brain began to race to find a way to survive.

Sato swung him with all his might, attempting to further batter Midoriya against the walls.

He brought his feet up and broke his crash by squatting against the wall. It still hurt, but it wasn't like last time.

"Gruh!" Sato growled as he swung Midoriya the other way.

Unable to twist in time, he felt something shoot up his back as he slammed shoulders first against the opposite wall. It felt like an electric knife had been plunged into his spine.

'I'm sorry Sato!' He cried to himself as he brought his left hand up, curled and locked his ring finger. 'I can't let this go on!'

"Smaaash!"

With a super charged flick to the air in front of Sato's face, the air cracked like a whip. The bones in his finger shattered like glass.

Sato's head whipped back, his lips flapped as his mask was ripped off by the wind. His eyes lost focus yet his grip never loosened.

"Uehhh." The giant groaned.

Midoriya jerked but was unable to escape. The giant lumbered forward as they struggled to regain their grounding.

In a desperate attempt, he jumped up and kicked off Sato's stomach. They both grunted as Sato's grip gave out on Midoriya's bruised noodle arm.

He crashed to the ground as Sato came back to their senses. His right shoulder and arm dangled by his side, only the hand and fingers were willing to work. On his left, his three middle fingers were purple and broken. He grit his teeth, mustered his will, and began to think.

'The difference between our size and strength is too much. We can't trade blows unless I sacrifice more fingers but Bakugo and Tanya are still out there. He's tanked a finger smash to the face, as well as the side blow of two more, I don't want to know how much is needed to bring him down.'

As Sato locked on to Midoriya, the boy crouched down the slightest bit. 'He's going to open with another grab. I'll dodge it and escape after Bakugo.'

Sato reeled back his right arm, Midoriya went to duck past him.

"Sweet shot!" Sato roared over the sound of cracking ribs. His punch sent Midoriya flying with a pained scream. He had changed from a grab into an undercut.

The greenette went into a forced roll. The wind had packed up and left his lungs. He tried to breathe only to feel his lungs seize and shudder as they lit on fire.

"You like dodging under my attacks." Sato monologued as he walked over to Midoriya. "Quit it."

Upstairs, Mina and Uraraka ran into a large open room littered with props and items. Uraraka was out of breath, hunched over and gasping. Mina on the other hand was doing just fine for herself, acid and sweat rolled off her skin.

"It's," Huff " the bomb!" Uraraka pointed to the massive black aluminum bomb that sat in the middle of the room. She picked up her energy and began to dash towards it.

Thood! Tanya dashed into the room so quickly the two hadn't realized she was there. Her boot drove through Uraraka's side, almost knocking her out on the spot.

"Aaack!" She yelped as she collapsed to the wayside.

Tanya dashed away from the heroes to place herself between them and the bomb.

"You will go no further!" She commanded, her finger outstretched at them. 'I had underestimated them, that will be the last time. They're more resilient than I had thought.'

'Uraraka needs a breather, she can barely get up! She took a beating earlier and it's starting to show.' Ashido thought to herself as she eyed her companion. She was clutching her side and crawling away.

She let the acid pool up along her skin. Instead of her laid back splashing stance, she swapped to a more traditional boxing stance. She bobbed on her toes.

"Gotta say, winning is feeling pretty good." Mina smirked as she threw a few playful jabs to the air. Her acid splattered around, the room began to hiss.

"I fail to see how this is winning?" Tanya tilted her head, she was willing to play along. Out of the corner of her eye, she kept track of Uraraka. 'If she gets her hands on props, she'll be another ranged opponent. Another nuisance but easier than dealing with her melee in this open room.'

"Uraraka is holding on by a string and Midoriya is nowhere to be seen." Tanya began slowly strafing around Mina, in Uraraka's direction. "How long do you think Midoriya will hold out against Bakugo and Sato? By the looks of it, you're all your team has left."

"Man, you're really selling this whole 'evil' thing." Ashido replied. She refused to budge. She had faith that Uraraka would pull herself together soon. She also knew that she could hold off Tanya with her acid. As long as the stalemate continued, her team could rally themselves for a win.

"Are witty remarks your defense when you're in a corner?" Tanya began visually dissecting Mina. 'She favors acid on her arms. It's unclear if she can expel acid from all of her skin or only certain portions. If it's her arms, that means her back is her weak spot.'

Tanya reached up and pressed the communicator on her ear. "Ashido and Uraraka have reached the bomb room!"

The blonde was immediately blasted in the ear by Bakugo's screaming. She winced and recoiled away as she plucked it off. "Ok, ow."

Ashido broke the stand off first. She charged Tanya, arms slathered in acidic gel.

Tanya disappeared from view. She became a blur of white and black that flickered and dashed throughout the open space. 'In here, I can finally move at full speed!'

Mina grimaced as she knew what was coming next. She ejected acid from her shoes. At the last possible second, she slipped beneath Tanya's head height dive kick.

"Woo!" She joyfully cried as she skated back to her feet.

Before she could retaliate, Tanya had spun away. Her wing wind sent Ashido sliding across the room atop her acid.

The fight quickly evolved into a display of movement and agility as the two slid and flew through the room.

Tanya would dash in and out, no two attacks came from the same angle. Her movements were so fast and jagged that Ashido could barely keep up with her. Tanya would fly, brace against the wall and jump off like a swimmer, then rapidly build up speed again. Ceiling, wall, pillar, pillar, ceiling, left, right, she was everywhere.

Mina was put on the defensive by Tanya's aggressive offense and overwhelming agility. She skated around the room in an attempt to cut off the winged menace's attack paths. Everytime Tanya vanished from view, she would dive into a dodge. Her acid coating kept Tanya from getting too aggressive, but she couldn't dodge forever.

Tanya vanished into a streak of white again. She darted around the room, bounced from wall to pillar, and lined up a shot on Mina.

Mina saw all but the final dash. She knew she was coming from the right, so she slid into a clockwise spin that brought her downwards. Her feet left a bed of acid while her hands glided through the white goo. By this point, she was level with the floor and ready to bounce back up.

Tanya darted overhead. She wasn't aiming for Mina. Throughout the whole fight, she had kept track of Uraraka.

She flew across the room to dive at her.

"Yah!" Uraraka heaved a weightless oil drum at Tanya. It spiraled and tumbled through the air, devoid of any gravity or sense of momentum.

'Her power ignores air resistance if desired.' Tanya reminded herself. Rather than wind blasting it, she air rolled to the side to dodge it. She went into a spin before planting a roundhouse into the side of Uraraka's helmet for what felt like the hundredth time that day.

Rather than being hurt, Uraraka bounced off Tanya's boot and speedily floated away. 'She made herself weightless! Without inertia, my kicks won't do anything.'

Tanya ran after Uraraka, propelled by her wings. She grabbed the girl's ankle. With a grunt, she threw Uraraka away with her whole weight.

"Aahuhhuhh…" Ochako moaned from motion sickness as she spun across the room.

Downstairs, Midoriya was scrambling away from Sato. He was out of breath, broken in several places, and being assaulted by a towering yellow demon.

He jerked out of the way of another of Sato's haymakers. He drew more power from reserves he didn't know he had as he pressed his shoulder against the wall.

Midoriya brought up his functional arm with almost no functional fingers and slapped the wall. His bright red shoes squeaked as he scrambled to bring his feet underneath him.

He cried as he forced himself to his feet. Every inch of his body was alight with pain. 'I need to save my team, I need to help them!'

"Sugaaar RUSH!" Sato shouted as he let loose a flurry of blows.

A miracle struck Midoriya at that moment. He staggered back, just barely managing to keep himself out of reach of Sato's fists. The massive knuckles breezed just past his nose as he skipped back.

In an act of seeming stupidity, Midoriya turned his back on Sato. He leaned forward, and with everything he mustered, broke out into a run.

On his communicator, the sweetest sound he could have heard at that moment graced his ears.

"Deku," Uraraka grunted in pain. "Can you hear me?!"

He brought up his left arm and pressed his thumb against the device. "C-clearly!"

Midoriya could hear Sato's boots chasing after him. He limped along as fast as he could, propelled like a wounded animal, barely outpacing the giant that jogged after him.

"I have a plan. Get to the northeast side of the building, by the window." Her voice was full of determination. She wanted more than anything to match the strength of her teammates.

Midoriya could already picture what she wanted from him, a Detroit Smash through the floors! "Understood!"

He forced himself out of his frantic limp and into a proper run. 'It hurts! That doesn't matter! I want to collapse! Heroes always hold out! I'm not a hero yet! Everyone believes in us! Uraraka, Ashido, Mom, All Might Himself!'

"Gaahuhhh!" He screamed in pain as he pushed himself upright. He forced his stride open, forced his legs forward and back, forced himself to move! 'If I go any slower, Sato will catch me! I need to lose him!'

Bakugo was furious. He had searched what felt like the entire floor and couldn't find that damned nerd. Cowards always had the special ability to disappear AND IT PISSED HIM OFF!

Then he saw him, the beat up bastard had limped himself into a corner. The nerd propped himself up, barely able to stand at all.

Bakugo dropped out of his explosive jumping. He bounded onto his feet, ready to meet his old friend.

"Deku." He growled. "You've been holding back all these years! Now you show up here and let off that kind of power! Explain yourself! NOW!"

Midoriya glared at him, tears stained his face. He couldn't even say.

"Well I have my own firepower too!" He primed his grenade styled gauntlet and took aim. "These contain my sweat! They've built up a blast just for occasions like now!"

"So go on DEKU! SHOW ME WHAT YOU'RE MADE OF!"

All Might yelled over his comm. "No! You'll kill him!"

"NOT UNLESS HE BLASTS FIRST!"

His gauntlets clicked as he pulled the pin.

Midoriya glanced down the hall he came from. Sato was charging from one direction, and Bakugo was about to kill him from the other.

He propped up his broken right arm, curled his middle three fingers, and shut his eyes.

"SMAAASSHHH!"

The halls erupted into a torrent of wind. Everything went deaf to its howl. Windows shattered into harmonious chaos, glass was flug everywhere. Lights were ripped from the ceiling, their electric guts tangled through the wind as they held on for dear life.

Midoriya was shoved up the wall, all the way to the ceiling, his spine creaked under the force. His shattered extremities flapped mercilessly until the wind died down. Only then did he return to the ground with an unceremonious thud.

Bakugo's fire blast was repelled and extinguished. Then he too was repelled. He roared in fury as he was launched down the hall. Trapped within his smokey ball, he tumbled all the way down the hall.

Sato threw himself to the ground, chest first. He drove his fingers through the floor, broke through the cement, and clawed at the ground for purchase. The drag lifted him up, along with the patches of floor he had desperately tried to anchor himself to.

He too was flung down his hall. With a sickening crunch, he crashed head first into the wall. He slumped to the ground.

Upstairs, Tanya let Uraraka spiral away. She was going away from the bomb and Mina was the more immediate threat.

Before she passed the last one, Uraraka hugged onto a pillar as she let go of her Quirk. She collapsed to the ground, The pillar held tightly in her grasp.

The room shook as a sound only describable as a tornado assaulted their eardrums.

Mina continued to slide and weave with Tanya. The winged menace had landed a few clean hits, but it wasn't enough to take down the pink monster. Meanwhile Tanya hadn't taken a single hit yet.

Bakugo dove for Midoriya once more. He pulled the second pin. "AGAIN DEKU! IS THAT ALL YOU HAVE TO SHOW!"

Sato picked himself up again, his balance was barely holding out. His vision swam but in its center he could see Midoriya clearly enough.

Uraraka screamed "NOW!"

The world stopped once more. The floor erupted as if an invisible monster tore through the building. The wind shot through the roof and brought daylight into the tower.

Mina threw up a blanket of highly acidic goo to defend herself from the debris. Cement chunks splashed down only to melt before making contact with her.

"NO!" Tanya screamed as she dove past Mina. In a blur of movement, she made it to the bomb first. She brought her wings close, folded tight for what was about to happen. 'I need to succeed! I need to impress All Might!'

Uraraka cheered "Home Comet Run!" as she swung the freshly freed pillar into the barrage of rubble.

The room became a projectile hell. Debris flew like cannonballs as they punched through pillars and props that weren't already launched by the wind.

Mina's acid defense had gotten picked up amidst the storm. This had gone from a tornado to a hellish hurricane of acid and rock.

Tanya unfolded her wings at full speed, to full extension. Her own wind fought the torrent. She didn't need to overpower Midoriya's blast, just deflect the projectiles.

The debris arched and curved around her as her windwall held up. Nothing but the smallest and fastest of projectiles made it through.

All but one. Uraraka, who had jumped towards the bomb, who was weightless and could ignore air resistance on demand as she had shown during the apprehension test. She quickly floated over Tanya.

Before Tanya could do anything to stop her, the hurricane sent Mina's acid slashing into Tanya's exposed backside. She let out a scream of pain as the acid first ate at her clothing, then at her skin. It had been a long time since her muscles had felt open air.

Uraraka hugged onto the bomb. "Yay!"

"Hero team… WINS!" All Might yelled over the mic.

Mina got up and frantically ran to Tanya, who was curled up and holding back screams. "Nononono, it'll be ok! We'll get you to recovery girl! It'll be ok!"

Downstairs, Sato began to fade out of consciousness, the last thing he saw was Midoriya. The purple colored monster with his hand to the sky. 'I, should have, stopped him…'

His Quirk time limit ran out, darkness engulfed his vision and silence rang in his ears. A weightlessness overtook his limbs as they stretched away from him, far from reach. He finally slipped under.

Bakugo picked himself up, tears held back as he stared at Deku. The two had crazed and pained looks on their faces.

"This is the best I could do." Midoriya whimpered as his legs began to shake, his arms flopped to his sides. "I never wanted to use it. It's too much for me. It's too powerful to be used."

"I'm. Not the same Deku. You remember." He said before collapsing.

Bakugo could only stare and grit his teeth. 'He's that powerful?! All these years, holding back that kind of power! Always acting the hero, always throwing himself in danger's way.' He shook at the sight of Midoriya's unconscious body being carried away by the medic bots. 'I had tried to stop his stupid dream for years! Those without power can't win, and heroes need to win! Villains don't go easy on anyone! All this time, he could have - you could have blown me away…' Something snapped inside him.

Tanya had curled up on her stretcher as she was hauled to recovery girl. She folded her wings across her back in a desperate attempt to stop the gentle breeze that swept across the exposed red flesh. Tears ran down her face as she bit back the screams that wanted to be let loose. She longed for her magic so she could just seal it away behind pain nullifiers. Without them, they ran and bit and hissed along her back.

In the control room, All Might set down his mic.

Kaminari took a step back in fear. "This was brutal!"

"There were heavy losses on both sides today." Tokoyami bowed his head. "May we be lucky that they were an outlier and not our fates."

"I." All Might spun around, his cape twisted up and threatened to hit him in the face. "Have things to attend to!"

All Might made a mad dash out of the control room. He had to make sure everyone made it to Recovery Girl's office before he returned to class.

Back in the classroom, the only three members of the match left standing were lined up for review. Mina had lost her smile, her face was red and eyes puffy. Uraraka had an ice bag on her head, she had been kicked senseless by Tanya. Bakugo couldn't look his classmates in the eyes, there was nothing he could say.

"Well now." All Might spoke, scared of what he was about to say. He cleared his throat. "You all failed today."

Mina gave a small whimper as she looked away.

"But sir," Iida asked with a hand raised. "The hero team won the exercise?! How could everyone have failed?"

"Anyone care to answer that?" All Might asked as he already saw Momo's hand raised. "Young Yaoyorozu?"

Momo cleared her throat before stepping ahead of her class. "The hero team had endangered the lives of everyone present. Midoriya's actions alone could have been fatal. Ashido used her Quirk too freely and had threatened everyone around her for the entirety of the fight. And Uraraka had set up an incredibly risky plan that involved leveling half the building."

The entire class, even All Might, was taken aback by the level of depth Momo was going to.

"On the villain team, they had failed the exercise in its purpose. This was a team battle, but they had operated without cohesion. Tenikari had discarded the feelings of her allies to focus on the task at hand, failing as a self chosen leader. Sato failed to show restraint in both tactics and emotions, in a more dangerous environment that could have spelt death for his team. Lastly Bakugo had denied helping with the bomb, instead focusing on Midoriya when he could have contacted Sato to find out he was doing well on his own."

Momo put her hand over her collar. "In short, the hero team failed due to their reckless tactics while the villain team failed due to their lack of teamwork."

All Might held his jaw up. 'She got all that from the broadcast room!' He cleared his throat. "Correct Young Yaoyorozu! You nailed it!"

"A strong and thorough education is the necessary background of any diligent hero." Momo claimed. She stood proud in front of the class.

The other teams felt uneventful in comparison to the first match. The only important note anyone took away was that, unless you had a Quirk that came with anti-ice measures, Todoroki was a serious problem.

"That's all folks!" All Might waved. "You did well today! Now watch how a hero leaves a scene!" He dashed away with a boisterous laugh.

'I can't hold this form much longer!' He thought as he scrambled to a faculty office before deflating.

His suit hung off of him as he slid down the door. He coughed up more blood, a violent lurch raked his body. "Ugh… just, got to take a breather is all."

Three injured students laid around in Recovery Girl's ward.

"What kind of a Quirk was that anyhow?" Tanya asked Midoriya. She was angry but kept it under wraps, just like her back. Her armor rested by her bedside along with the tatters of her half melted shirt.

Midoriya scraped the back of his head with a cast. His entire left arm had been casted and put in a sling, his right only needed a minor hand cast and a brace for his forearm. The costume he had come in was beyond repair which left him here in the lower half of his costume. "I-it's just a strength enhancer. I just don't have any control over it yet."

Puberty had blessed Midoriya through highschool. His rounded face had sharpened out into defined features, much like how All Might had sculpted his body over a year of brutal training. Like some guys, he had grown like a weed, now sitting at 5'8" and lean.

Sato was sprawled across a bed too small for his size as he stared at the ceiling. His feet dangled over the edge of the cot that was way too small for him. Only his mask had been destroyed in the fighting, not that his skintight costume left anything to the imagination. "I don't know what kind of strength enhancer you've got." He chuckled. "Puts mine to shame though."

The main thing Sato had received for surviving through highschool was size and bulk. All his years of hard weight training had paid off, not just with strength, but with a solid and well built figure. Barrel chested but not top heavy. 6'10 and wide enough to fill a doorway. Of course, his Quirk boosted that even further when activated.

"Don't say that Sato!" Midoriya pleaded as he wiggled a cast at him. "Your Quirk is amazing! You really had me there for a minute. I didn't think I could be tossed around like that!"

Tanya called out to him, unable to turn around lest she aggravate her back. "A bit of training and focus and you would have taken out Midoriya."

Sato gave a soft smile. It felt good to hear something like that. Being complimented was a rarity for him. He went back to staring at the ceiling like Recovery Girl told him to. He had a nasty concussion, and while her Quirk made healing extremely fast, it still took time. But he would happily take a few hours of ceiling staring over a few days of concussion treatment.

"Hey Tenikari," Midoriya prodded, too shy to look at her. "No hard feelings over what happened, right?"

She waved it off. "If our positions were switched, I would have fired off the big one as soon as possible. It's a shame it breaks you to use it, but if there's no way around that drawback then it would be more cost effective to win fights as quickly as possible. Minimize the number of moves necessary, maximize the effect."

Izuku's eyes widened. 'Break myself with efficiency! By holding back with One For All, I had drawn out the fight, resulting in more overall damage. All Might often opens up with a massive punch, one-shoting the opposition!'

'Does he always mutter?' Tanya found herself asking as the greenette began burying the room in loose thoughts.

He still refused to look at her in fear of exploding, but proudly proclaimed anyway, "Of course! I shouldn't be afraid of my Quirk! Every fight will cost something so it's my job to lower that cost as much as possible. Thank you Tenikari!"

"Don't worry about it, and please, call me Tanya." She forced a smile onto her face. 'Good, I got the most dangerous student in the class to see me in a positive light. If he takes what I said to heart, he'll take himself out of the fight. It's easier to clean up the mess afterwards than sit around and wait for it to happen.'

'A girl is smiling at me and gave me permission to use her first name!' Midoriya lit up, the green and red turned him into a Christmas display.

The door slowly swung open to reveal a hesitant Mina. She slowly panned across the beds until she saw Tanya.

"You're OK!" Mina immediately burst into joy at seeing Tanya. She ran past everyone else to dive into a hug. "IWasSoScaredThatIMeltedYouAndAhhhh!"

Tanya grimaced at the level of contact she was being submitted to. Between her tender back, her dislike for physical affection, and Mina's figure, she was feeling a mixed bag of emotions with a dash of pain thrown in. "Yes, yes, I'm very much ok. Recovery Girl said I'm lucky it didn't hit my spine or her Quirk wouldn't have been enough."

"Actually, I'm only still here because I don't have the stamina to heal it all at once. Unlike some people." She pointed that last statement to her hardy meatshield.

Sato gave a weak thumbs up. "Doc says I've got the heart of an Ox. I'll be fine."

Ashido shimmied her backpack off, she had already changed out of her hero costume unlike the patients, and pulled out a stack of colorful sticky notes. Without a word, she whipped a mechanical pencil with a fuzzy sleeve grip, and scribbled something out.

She slapped the sticky note on the cot headrest. "My number! GottaCatchMyTrainBye!"

Like a whirlwind made manifest, she was in and out of the room before anyone could fully process her. The only proof she was ever there was a single polkadot sticky note with a phone number and a doodle of her horns over them.

Before the door could even finish closing, Recovery Girl marched in like clockwork. "Tchtchtch. Midoriya, what am I going to do with you. You've used your Quirk a total of three times and have been to my office after all three. A 100% turnover rate. I'm beginning to think you like it here."

Midoriya tried bowing. "I'm so sorry Miss Recovery Girl!"

"You're all lucky your injuries aren't permanent. Anyways, aside from Tanya, you're both free to go. Midoriya, wear your braces until tomorrow. Sato, avoid stimulation and for safety's sake, sleep no longer than in three hour intervals. Otherwise you're fine." She stepped aside for her shuffling patients.

"Thanks Doc." Sato gave the tiniest of nods.

"I'm so sorry Recovery Girl. I promise next time it won't be as severe!" Midoriya bowed before scrambling for the locker room.

Tanya sat in relaxed boredom as she watched Recovery Girl yell after Izuku, "DON'T PROMISE THAT YOU'LL BE IN HERE!"

The old nurse gave a sigh before turning back to Tanya. "That poor young man. Anyways, let's get those bandages off and I'll heal you again."

She winced as she picked herself up onto her knees. The teeth slid out of the bandage before she started spinning it off. There wasn't any pain on the outer layers, but as they unraveled, it began to get hotter and more painful. Her hands never wavered as she was fully in control.

'It's hard to think how much I relied on magic to dull pain. Going from high on morphine at command to at the mercy of your senses is quite the change.' Her hands began to shake ever so slightly as the layers reached a depth that loosened the wrapping against her skin.

As it peeled from her skin, the cooler air ran along the reddened burn. She bit back any visible reactions while she kept her hands moving.

"It looks like it's healing nicely. One more round should do it." Recovery Girl stated before puckering up. "Smoooch."

Tanya flopped back onto the bed as she felt her soul practically leave her body. At least her back stopped hurting.

"I'm sorry sweetie, it's just how it works. On the bright side, you're healing up wonderfully." The nurse said as she fixed her glasses. She was straining her eyes to watch the red recede beneath the skin.

"Than you doror." Tanya muttered from the pillow. Her wings flopped over the edges of the bed.

"Get some rest, please. You did well today, it was a stroke of bad luck." Recovery Girl left again, she had a certain giant blonde to yell at.

All Might dashed across the school in search of his students. 'Find 'em, find 'em, find 'em.' He chanted to himself as he sped around corners and dodged students and faculty alike.

"Young Ashido! I found you!" He declared as he manifested behind her in his proud pose.

"Might Sensei!" Mina cheered as she spun around.

'A nickname! So cute!' He cleared his voice, he had a job to do. "Young Ashido, I'm sure you're aware of why you failed today, yes?"

The smile dropped off her face instantly. Underneath was a face of guilt and sadness. "I nearly melted Tanya with my Quirk today. That's why I failed…"

All Might waved a finger. "You're only half right. You failed today, not because of your Quirk, but because of your application. Any Quirk can be dangerous. Tell me Mina, who do you think is the least threatening in our class?"

"They're all so amazing though!" Mina replied. "But, if I had to pick, probably Koda?"

"All Koda would have to do is give one misspoken order and a flock of birds will give their lives to take your eyes." All Might stood up to full height. "Any Quirk can be dangerous, we are here to train our techniques and application!"

He gazed into her pitch black eyes. "Mina Ashido, I'm sure you experienced a taste of what threat your Quirk poses. It may not be as flashy as Bakugo or Todoroki's, but it's dangerous all the same."

Mina gave a weak nod.

"Take Young Tenikari's wound to heart, as evidence of your power. Power can be used to hurt and to help, we'll learn how to do both." He leaned back to give a full hearted laugh. "So pick that chin up! There's more to learn!"

The smile snapped back up as Mina fist pumped the air. "Yeah! Let's give it our all!"

"Now, where are they?" All Might asked as he sped away, his massive cape flooded the air behind him.

He dashed towards where 1-A would be getting out of homeroom.

Uraraka stood at the window. She winced as she lifted her ice pack from her head.

"Young Uraraka!" All Might cheered as he flipped over her to stick a perfect Y-shaped landing. "I've come to talk about today's exercise!"

"We failed. What more is there to talk about?" Uraraka gently asked. There was defeat and determination in her voice, the desire to overcome. She just didn't know what though.

"It is because you all failed that we must talk. Do you know why you failed?" All Might asked as he didn't indulge in the window view, but maintained eye contact with her.

"It was my stunt, wasn't it?"

"It was your recklessness. Your Quirk is incredibly versatile and defies concepts of power." All Might began. "You failed, not necessarily because of the stunt you performed, but because there was no control over it."

"Hmmm?" She hummed as she adjusted her ice pack.

"Sure, leveling the building may not have been the optimal option, but you showed eagerness, competitiveness, and quick thinking. Those all are great traits I want to encourage. However, your attack was indiscriminate and potentially lethal. It wasn't the stunt, it was the performance of said stunt that failed you today."

"Young Uraraka," All Might spoke with clarity and strength, "You are an amazing student. You have everything you need, except for experience. That's why you're here after all! Ha!" He threw back his head with a sharp laugh. "So look forward! Improve! You showed a bit of it today, but using your Quirk as a scalpel or a hammer, that's the best strength your Quirk offers. Apply that and there's no limit to what you're capable of!"

Uraraka beamed at him, her full smile could match the brightness of his own. "I will All Might Sensei! Go Beyond!"

"PLUS ULTRAAAA" He replied with a yell as he backflipped away before running off to the nurses office.

Rikido was walking from the medical ward, head held high with a natural expression. It only brightened into a small smile on the arrival of the number one hero.

"Yooooouung Sato!" All Might yelled as he sped down the hall towards his student. Without even a grunt of excursion, he stopped all his speed the moment he was next to Sato.

"Good evening sir!" Rikido said as he gave another tiny nod.

"I'm sure the news got to you that you failed today's exercise?" All Might cut to the chase. "Do you have any idea why?" He kept his tone calm and comfortable.

Sato rubbed his arm as he avoided the piercing gaze of the number one hero. "I… I wasn't strong enough? Compared to Midoriya's Quirk, mine doesn't really do anything powerful."

"Tell me Sato; do you have pride in your Quirk?" All Might asked straightforwardly.

The orange light of the afternoon sky filled the hall. The two giants stood and waited. The larger than life one stayed quiet as he waited for the answer from the smaller one. They scrunched up their face as they tried to choke back the truth… and failed.

"No." He said without emotion despite the sadness in his eyes.

"Why." All Might didn't ask, he prodded.

Sato snapped, tears rolled down his face. "IT'S WEAK! Only strong enough to bully others! Only good enough to push people around till they fight back! I have no control over it! Five times multiplier, brain limiter, and I'm supposed to fight people like Mido -" He was stopped.

All Might gently clutched Sato's shoulder, his smile never wavered. "Five times strength sounds like a perfect starting point."

"But -"

"Do you think my Quirk was always this strong?" All Might stopped him with a question. "There was a time when I wasn't much different from you. I dove headfirst into my training, only strong enough to get by but not to go big, not at the time."

Sato sniffled.

"If you don't believe me, you can look up the old spots festivals and compare them to where they are today. I wasn't much older than you now, and man was I weak compared to today. Reckless mistakes, nearly lost to a trickier opponent." All Might chuckled at the memory.

"My brain limiter though?" Rikido asked. He hoped for something to help him, to tell him there was a way to continue without that horrendous drawback.

"I didn't think it limited your heart." All Might stated. "Every Quirk has its drawbacks, even mine. But we train our Quirks till our weaknesses disappear. I don't think your opponents will be thinking about your mental limits while they're worrying about your strength."

"So remember Young Sato," He patted the young man's shoulder, "Listen to that heart of yours. It'll guide your strength. UA will sharpen your instincts, strengthen your already strong Quirk. Stick to your training."

All Might poked Sato's chest. "As long as you listen to your heroic heart, your strength will never be misplaced."

Rikido rolled back his feelings. He looked his hero in the eyes and proudly declared, "Yes Sir!"

"That's the spirit I want to see!" All Might responded with an infectious pride as he walked into the medical ward.

'You have no idea how much that means to me.' Rikido thought to himself as he watched All Might nervously approach Recovery Girls office.

The door creaked open as he poked his big head in.

"Do you have anything to say for yourself?" Recovery Girl questioned sharply. Even in her old age, she scared him a bit. "Three students were sent to my ward in their first class."

"They were all so strong though." All Might wearily defended as he stepped in. "I didn't know just how strong."

"Oh, so you plan on letting the injuries stack up then. Test their limits by breaking them?" She stalked up till she was under him. Her big, gray glasses peered into his soul to find the part of him that was still scared of the dark.

"O-of course not!" He nervously waved in defense. "Now I know everything I need, I promise the next exercise won't be so dangerous!"

She slapped his knee with her syringe staff. "You just confirmed my fears!"

"I'm here to see Young Tenikari." All Might tried to change the topic. "I wanted to talk to all my students who struggled today."

Recovery Girl sighed. She lifted her glasses and pinched the ridge of her nose. "She's in the rest ward."

All Might squeezed past her towards the foggy glass door that separated the rest ward from Recovery Girl's office.

"And All Might." She said softly. The tone caused him to stop and listen to her. "Please, be gentle with them. I know what you've been through, but not everyone is built like you."

"Of course," All Might replied. "Everyone is different, their Quirks are evidence enough of that."

"I'm not talking about their Quirks… I'm talking about their hearts. Not everyone is unbreakable like you." Recovery Girl's soft tone reached into All Might's heart and dragged out the memories of his grandma.

He thought back to Sato, who despite his great physical performance, had his spirits crushed. There's more to a person's strength than their body and mind.

"I know." All Might smiled. "Don't worry, everything will be fine. I'm here after all."

Tanya finished buttoning up her coat. 'If I waste time going to the locker room, I won't be able to make it to my train on time. I also gotta ask Aizawa if I can have a copy of the footage of the fight, gotta figure out why we lost.'

She was already planning her next route to victory. Wasting time and energy moping was inefficient and counter productive. Something for the sappier hearts.

Her heart nearly froze as All Might's massive frame squeezed into her ward.

"Young Tenikari," He stood up to full height. "I've come to talk."

Outside, under the golden light of the afternoon, two young men were spilling their hearts to each other for the first time since they were children.

Bakugo threw back his head and laughed in an attempt to hold his heart at bay, his spiky, hay colored hair shone like gold in the light. Unlike Midoriya, puberty hadn't granted him much he didn't already have. He stood at 5'11, always irked that he wasn't 6 foot. His musculature was top heavy with well defined shoulders. Even beneath his saggy coat, they still were broad and strong.

"Man, I messed up today!" There was something falling apart behind his eyes. "Beaten by you! Of all people, you! Even that extra, Sato, was doing better than me! Bhaaahaaaha!"

"I was so close to passing too! All I had to do was talk to either of them, but I was so caught up that I couldn't even do that!" Bakugo glared at Midoriya, his scarlet eyes bored into the emerald eyes. "You were too powerful! What happened!?"

Midoriya glanced at Bakugo's shivering hand. He knew what each twitch meant. "I'm sorry. It wasn't a fair fight."

"DON'T GIVE ME THAT CANNED SHIT!" Bakugo spat. He swung his bag off his shoulder and began gesturing wildly. "You blew us away, end of story! So how! All these years, you were 'Quirkless, Defenseless, Pitiful, Deku', now you show up and blast apart buildings! What were those years! Were you just building up pity! EXPLAIN YOURSELF!" He ended with a shout.

"This power isn't mine!" Midoriya cried out. "It's just a gift, nothing more."

Bakugo huffed as he looked away. "So you think I'm an idiot."

"I'm telling you the truth!" Midoriya tried to put his heart out. "Last month, I couldn't do any of this! This power, it's not mine!"

He turned away from Deku, whatever that meant now. "Mark my words Deku; this will be the last time you pull a win over me."

With his line drawn, Bakugo threw his bag up over his shoulder again and strode off. He had to rest up before he went back to winning. Midoriya could only stare as his childhood friend walked away.

"Do you know why you failed today?" All Might asked Tanya.

Tanya stood at attention in his presence. Inside, her mind was racing to come up with a plan. 'Shit, shit, shit! I need him to like me! He's a teacher, so I have to give him the reins of this conversation. However, I can't come across as dull.'

"We lost today." Tanya began her explanation. "I underestimated Midoriya's strength and led the team to defeat."

"Winning and losing were not the metric for passing and failing." All Might responded. He noticed her wings droop a little. 'She's like Young Bakugo, perceiving victory as the end goal, and not the path to it as any more important.'

'W-what?' Tanya could feel the rug pulled out from under her. 'If losing wasn't why I failed, then why?!'

"You failed as a leader." All Might answered the invisible question. "Your strategy was sound, and your fighting exemplary. However, I saw how you took control of the group. A good leader does more than come up with plans and give orders, and a good hero does more than beat up bad guys."

Tanya gulped as she felt her goal shatter around her. 'He… he doesn't like me… my route to retirement. No! It's not over yet!'

"Sir, I had failed to readjust my strategy on the fly!" She interjected. "They were operating under flawed orders! After Midoriya's first attack, I should have rotated to a full 3v1."

All Might put up his hand and waited for her to stop. "You're missing the point. You failed to read their hearts. Again, you succeeded as a fighter, as a strategist, and your desire to improve is proof of your success as a student. However, a leader, like a good hero, must take heart into account."

'Who?! Where did I mess up!' Tanya racked her brain as she hunted for memories of their expressions. 'They pushed forward, their morale was fine!'

"Both Sato and Bakugo were going off the deep end and pushing themselves too far." All Might began to scare Tanya as he seemed to pluck her thoughts out of the air.

"I won't go into the realm of 'had you's as that is a realm of too many possibilities. I'll tell you this though, had you taken the hearts of both your team, and your enemy, into account, you could have won." All Might placed his hand on her, comparatively, tiny shoulder.

'It's worse than I thought.' Tanya admitted defeat. 'I failed to achieve expectations I hadn't even known were there. I had to find a way to defeat Midoriya.'

All Might watched her wings sag further. "Don't worry though! I'm sure you'll do better next time! We're a school, failure is part of the learning process!"

He removed his hand and turned for the door. "All Might, AWAAY!" He cheered before awkwardly ducking out the door.

'I… failed, and I didn't even know why.' Tanya felt frustrated. Frustrated, small, and alone.

She could practically feel Being X's influence looming over the school. She felt it every day. Even though they hadn't spoken in years, a creature like him could wait as long as he wanted. His influence even wormed its way into her name. Tenikari; borrowed. Or, and what scared her more, Ten Ikari; heavenly anger.

As she left the ward, she thought to herself. 'I see that fighting him is going to be harder than just winning over the favor of the number one hero. Of course that would have been too easy.'

On the other end of the nurses office, a creature of soot, ash, and bright pink dreads was forcibly walked in.

"Hey Doc." Power loader greeted the nurse as he refused to let go of the creature's shoulder. "Could you look after her, I don't think she's doing so hot."

"It was one miswire!" Mei tried to justify. "I'm fine!"

"She's been grumbling something about a Customer X, ruining her '6 to 72 sleep/awake ratio'. She almost got herself electrocuted, she needs rest." The tiredness was more prevalent in Power Loader's voice than in any of Mei's actions.

"X?!" Tanya muttered to herself in shock. She immediately regretted her slip up as the girl's bright yellow eyes seemed to light up.

She ducked and slipped out of Power Loader's grip, his fingers left a trail of not soot marks on her shoulder. Like a blur that rivaled Tanya's speed, she dashed up to her. "I knew I wasn't crazy, you know him too!"

Tanya felt confused once more as Mei started rambling about 'free work, invasive tactics, and failed business model'.

'She knows him!' They both thought.

Author's note; Tanya takes her first L to plot-doriya. She'll get stronger, everyone does, it's shonen. How different are Mei and Tanya, really speaking? Also, man, that was a long chapter. Who's ready for the USJ!

I realized that, because they're in college now, some of the students are going to look a lot different. They're 18 now, not 14. Some of them aren't going to change much, others will change a lot. I'll save some descriptions for when the 'camera' is more focused on them while also not damaging the pacing. Like when they would be drawn in higher detail.