The Man Out of Time

by Ultimate10

After a 150 years in ice, Izuku Midoriya finds himself in a new world where meta-abilities or "Quirks" are the norm. His journey to becoming a modern Pro Hero will have its challenges keeping his old identity a secret, facing old and new foes, and learning to let go of the past. Does the world even need Captain America anymore? Or is he just too old-fashioned? Marvel/MHA AU World.

10. Chapter 9: Press, Training, & Downtime

The Man Out of Time

Chapter 9

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"Successful people are always looking for opportunities to help others. Unsuccessful people are always asking, What's in it for me?"

– Brian Tracy

---

FROM: CAPTAIN AMERICA

TO: COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF

SUBJECT: FIRST IMPRESSIONS OF UA'S HEROICS CLASS

THE FIRST DAY OF THE FOUNDATIONAL HEROICS FIELD CLASS WENT AS I EXPECTED WITH THE CLASS PARTICIPATING IN A COMBAT EXERCISE.

IN SUMMARY, ALL MIGHT DIVIDED THE CLASS INTO TWO GROUPS, HEROES AND VILLAINS, AND PAIRED US RANDOMLY WITH CLASSMATES TO SIMULATE THE UNPREDICTABLE NATURE OF REAL WORLD HEROICS. THE COMBAT EXERCISE WAS A SCENARIO WHERE THE VILLAIN TEAM HAD PLACED A BOMB IN AN OFFICE BUILDING AND THE HERO TEAM WERE TASKED WITH STOPPING THEM. THE HEROES COULD WIN BY EITHER CAPTURING THE VILLAINS OR TOUCHING THE BOMB BEFORE A 15-MINUTE TIMER ENDED WHILE THE VILLAINS COULD WIN BY CAPTURING THE HEROES OR WAITING OUT THE TIMER.

A FAIRLY ADVANCED EXERCISE FOR THE FIRST LESSON. ALTHOUGH, I WOULD'VE REMOVED THE CONDITION WHERE THE HERO TEAMS COULD WIN BY TOUCHING THE BOMB AS THAT DOESN'T CARRY OVER INTO THE REAL WORLD, UNLESS YOU ACTUALLY KNOW HOW TO DISARM A BOMB. IT WOULD'VE MADE VICTORY HARDER FOR THE HERO TEAM, YES, BUT REALISTICALLY THAT'S HOW DIFFICULT VICTORY WOULD'VE BEEN FOR MOST HEROES IN THAT KIND OF SITUATION. IN ADDITION, I WOULD'VE MADE IT POSSIBLE FOR THE VILLAINS TO WIN BY SIMPLY USING THE BOMB AS A COVER FOR THEIR ESCAPE. THAT MAY HAVE BEEN TOO ADVANCED FOR A FRESHMEN CLASS, HOWEVER.

A GOOD START TO THE SEMESTER. I WOULD'VE PREFERRED TO START THE YEAR OFF WITH A RESCUE EXERCISE OF SORTS. AFTER ALL, THAT'S WHAT BEING A HERO IS ALL ABOUT. I PRESUME THAT LESSON WILL COME SOON ENOUGH, THOUGH.

---

Musutafu, Japan - April 2197

Sitting in his office, Aizawa Shota switched off his computer monitor after reviewing the Battle Trial that All Might conducted earlier in the day. With no classes scheduled on Tuesday, he spent the day fine tuning his curriculum for the semester ahead as well as making pitches to any Hero firms that were willing to hold a summer internship for the Hero Course. He had already sent out several emails and received a few responses, but understandably they were all on a 'play by ear' basis with their work as Pros.

The closest one was a two-hour drive to the mainland of Honshu to a national park where the Wild, Wild Pussycats–who specialized in forest and mountain rescue operations–were located. He'd likely stick with them, but the internship camp would be something he'd have to consult with Dean Nezu and the university board members anyway.

Pro Heroes hardly had any days off; something his freshmen class would have to learn. At this point, the internship camp was only an idea. Hopefully, the people at the top would approve and the Pussycats weren't tangled up with any rescue missions at that time.

In addition to all of that the haggard man had also worked on getting some much-needed rest.

He turned in his chair and looked out at the city and its many lights polluting the night sky. He would've preferred having an interior office as they were darker, but even he'd admit he enjoyed the nighttime view this room offered.

The black-haired man sighed deeply and took a sip of coffee. Being an Underground Hero meant zero endorsement deals, but the government pay was twice and sometimes triple the normal rate. After all, Aizawa had to deal with the most heinous of Villains who rarely ever show their faces in daylight. Being an instructor at UA's Hero Department was a decent change of pace and provided a much safer salary.

Still, the man had the itch for investigating; the thirst to uncover the truth. Right now, there was a certain student that had been on his mind.

Turning back to his desk, he picked up a manila folder with the label "Midoriya Izuku" on the tab. He opened the folder and pulled out several documents, each detailing and noting Midoriya's background and application information. After taking several moments to read over the documents, he pulled out a blank sheet of paper and grabbed a pen.

BACKGROUND FACTS:

- Born in Musutafu, Japan in July 2174. Family immigrated to and became American citizens in 2177.

- Lived in Fresno, California, USA; attended Janus High School.

- Both parents died within a year of each other. Mother - terminal cancer. Father - car accident.

- Stayed with living relatives until joining the US Army at age 17. Served 3 years.

- Acquired a 5-year visa to Japan in January 2196.

IZUKU RELATIONS: Parents deceased. Claimed living relatives in Fresno according to application.

- No mention of who these relatives are. More digging is necessary.

He stopped to switch on his monitor again, pulling up clips of Midoriya's fight with Bakugo. Fast-forwarding, he paused at the moment after Midoriya dodged Bakugo's surprise attack with ease.

QUIRK: AUGMENT. All aspects of his body are enhanced to an unknown degree.

- Does this include his mind? Would explain his impressive reflexes and remarkable skill in wielding his shield.

- Need to learn more.

He un-paused the video to play the rest of Midoriya and Bakugo's short brawl. He stopped it again at the moment Bakugo was knocked unconscious and shifted his focus back to his paper.

HERO COSTUME: Militaristic blackops-like suit. Manufactured by Eagle Industries in New York City, USA, according to application.

- Find more info on "Eagle Industries".

SUPPORT GEAR: Shield. Manufacturer unknown, made from unknown materials, and claims to be a family heirloom according to application.

- Can shred exam robots like paper; bounce off objects like rubber.

- Even Power Loader seemed clueless on the shield's metal.

- Reach out to a metallurgist?

Aizawa clicked play and finished watching the rest of the battle once more. Midoriya and Tsunotori communicated well and executed their plan flawlessly. Granted, Bakugo did them a huge favor by rushing in headstrong to fight Midoriya solo instead of working together with Iida; regardless, the Hero Team performed very well.

The Underground Hero rewound the video and played through Midoriya's fight with Bakugo for a third time.

'He certainly carries himself like a trained soldier…' Aizawa inwardly noted. 'He didn't waste any time or movements. When Bakugo didn't surrender, he went straight for the kill… so to speak.'

He paused the video and zoomed in on Midoriya's face, taking note of the look in his emerald eyes. Intense, focused, and searching for openings and weaknesses to exploit; the quickest and most effective way to get past an obstacle. The look of someone who was ready to kill if absolutely necessary. Aizawa had seen that look many times in his veteran Underground colleagues.

EXPERIENCE: 3 years in the US Army.

- Review military background further.

- What kind of training did he receive? What did the US military assign him to do?

- Any other forms of combat-related training?

OBSERVATIONS:

- Unknown connection between Izuku and All Might.

- Support Item behaves similar to the First Hero's shield.

- Unclear reason for coming to UA University instead of any American Hero Academies.

Aizawa stopped writing to review everything he had noted so far. He certainly had his work cut out for him, he thought. The disheveled man was correct in his hunch the other day about having more sleepless nights.

He then took a moment to pause. Was this really necessary?

After all, Midoriya had the makings of a model student. In fact, he reminded him of Togata Mirio, an exemplary senior who was in Class 101-B three years ago and had been one of the most prodigal UA students to date.

Still, Aizawa couldn't shake the feeling that was nagging at him regarding the verdette. Even with the small sample sizes of the Entrance Exam and Battle Trials, Aizawa recognized that Midoriya was very experienced in combative situations. Could three years of standard military service as a teenager really earn him such skill?

After a moment of consideration, the Underground Hero decided to go through with his personal investigation. In his mind, it'd be better to discover his concerns were unwarranted rather than ignore his gut feeling, and then come to find out later on that Midoriya was a spy…or worse an assassin. Maybe that last one was extreme, but one could never be too careful these days.

'Alright… Where to start then…' His gaze shifted near the top to the "Izuku Relations" section.

Might as well start from the beginning. Perhaps he'd find some clarity on things if he could find out who these relatives were that took care of Midoriya after his parents' untimely deaths.

---

The day following the Battle Trials, Midoriya and Uraraka left their apartment complex together as per usual and met up with Yaoyorozu outside the campus–only to be nearly crushed by a swarm of reporters and paparazzi laying siege to the main gate. Upon noticing their Hero Department attire, the trio was instantly surrounded with cameras, phones, and microphones being thrown in their faces.

"You three are Hero students, right?" A female reporter looked at Uraraka. "Have you had classes with All Might?"

"Y-Yeah…" the brunette said hesitantly.

"What is he like in person?"

"I…uh… he's muscly?" Uraraka cutely replied.

Yaoyorozu flinched from having a microphone shoved in her face. "Can you tell us anything about the Hero Department now that he's teaching?" another reporter questioned.

"I apologize," Yaoyorozu squirmed in discomfort, "but I can't discuss that. It's school policy." Her reply prompted an annoyed grunt from the reporter.

"How do you think All Might is doing as a teacher?" a third reporter asked Midoriya, who was standing between the two girls.

While Uraraka and Yaoyorozu were uncomfortable from the sudden media attention, Midoriya only seemed mildly annoyed.

He externally groaned. 'The press here really is crazy over anything All Might-related.'

Midoriya calmed himself and adopted a straight-face. "We've only had one class with All Might, so it's not fair for us to say whether he's a good teacher or not. As far as first impressions go though, I believe he's done an exceptional job so far."

'Though he did have to use his teaching notes quite a bit yesterday, but the media doesn't need to know that.' He inwardly mused.

His response only invited the attention of the other reporters.

"Even if you've only had one class, what's it like being taught by Japan's Symbol of Peace?"

"What have you learned from him so far?"

The reporters around them bunched closer toward Midoriya, forcing Uraraka and Yaoyorozu to huddle closer to him. The verdette felt his face flush from the close contact with his beautiful female friends. He needed to end this quickly!

"As I already stated, I believe he did an exceptional job. And, without getting into specifics as it's against school policy." Midoriya kept his tone even, "we essentially learned that the margin of victory for Pro Heroes is small, but in spite of the odds, we fight on."

Midoriya brought up his arm to find the time on his watch. "Listen, we need to get to class. So, if you'll please excuse us." Gently pushing the mics away, he took Uraraka and Yaoyorozu by their hands and guided them away from the crowd, making the two young women blush from the contact.

Uraraka looked away shyly. 'Geez, why am I getting so flustered?'

A small tint of pink dusted Yaoyorozu's cheeks. 'My heart is beating faster… just from a touch…?'

"Hold on!" Another reporter called out. "I have a couple more-"

"ENOUGH!" Reporters and students alike covered their ears as Present Mic used a fraction of his Quirk to get their attention.

Midoriya flinched from the sharp pain and let go of Uraraka and Yaoyorozu's hands to cover his ears. 'DAMN THAT HURTS!'

"You all know the rules," Present Mic said when the ringing stopped; his voice was now much friendlier. "The press isn't allowed to harass the students, or your networks are gonna hear it from our legal team. Now go on, get outta here." The reporters grumbled, but retreated to a respectful distance.

He turned to Midoriya, Uraraka, and Yaoyorozu with a megawatt grin. "Don't worry Listeners, we figured the mob would show up sooner or later. Come on inside and get to class."

"Thank you, Mic-sensei!" Yaoyorozu bowed before Midoriya and Uraraka followed suit.

Present Mic gave a thumbs-up. "Don't mention it. Yah still got some time before your class, but I'd recommend heading there just to avoid annoying Aizawa."

Nodding at the Pro's advice, the trio increased their pace to a brisk walk down the pathway to the main building.

"You handled those questions quite well, Midori-kun." Yaoyorozu complimented.

"Yeah!" Uraraka added, smiling. "You were talking like an actual Pro back there!"

"It's nothing… You learn to handle the press with practice." He offhandedly replied.

"Practice?" Yaoyorozu raised an eyebrow. "You have experience with the media, Midori-kun?"

"Uh, y-yeah, just a little." He chuckled nervously, realizing his slipup. "I–uh… I was filmed and interviewed a few times when I was in the Army. They were putting a documentary together for Basic Training. The key is to be yourself but don't give them anything to run with. If they ask a question you don't like, just decline to answer and move on."

'I mean, it's partially true. Doing all those shows and performances helped me control my nerves better around cameras and microphones… and lots of people.' Midoriya mused.

Uraraka and Yaoyorozu nodded at his answer, but his nervousness didn't go unnoticed by them. Perhaps he had bad or awkward experiences when he was on camera back in America?

"That makes sense." Uraraka then tilted her head curiously. "Huh… Do you think any media-related lessons will be on our Heroics curriculum this semester?"

"I'd be surprised if there wasn't." Yaoyorozu said. "A big part of being a Pro Hero is having cordial interactions with the press."

Midoriya nodded, frowning slightly. 'And if they don't like you, they'll do everything in their power to break you down. But you have to stand tall in spite of it.'

The trio arrived at their classroom door and pulled it open to find Tokage as the only occupant.

"Looks like I beat you guys again. That's 3 for me and 0 for you." Tokage leaned back on her desk and folded her hands behind her head. "You stop for coffee or what?"

"I didn't know we were keeping score." Midoriya sat his bag by his desk. "Did the media outside give you any trouble, Tokage?"

"Nah!" She shook her head. "I sneaked in right as they were setting up their equipment outside."

Midoriya turned to Uraraka and Yaoyorozu with a competitive glint in his green eyes. "Hey, since Tokage is making it a competition, maybe we should start getting up earlier?"

Uraraka quickly shot down that idea. "No way! 6:30 is already early enough, Midori-kun!"

"Also," Yaoyorozu chimed, "Tokage lives much closer to campus than us, so she'd beat us either way."

"You bet I would." Tokage grinned. "Gotta be number one at something around here. Heh-heh!"

Later, the rest of Class 101-A filled the room and started conversing. Midoriya and his friends sat together, along with Jiro, at their usual spots at the back of the room. Bakugo sulked into his room with his usual scowl–not even glancing in Midoriya's direction.

'Well, at least he isn't glaring at me anymore.' Midoriya inwardly noted.

"Sup, guys," Sero walked up, "You were here early again, right? The paparazzi outside give you any trouble?"

"They did ask us some questions," Uraraka replied. "Luckily, Present Mic was there to make them back off. Did they bother any of you?"

Tsunotori shook her head. "No. Mic-sensei and Mr. Hound Dog made sure they stayed away from all of us."

"From my understanding," Iida chimed in, "the press is usually more respectful of Heroes' personal space, but I suppose All Might-sensei being at UA has riled them up."

"News must be slow or something," Tokage remarked. "I mean, I know All Might is popular and all, but isn't him teaching kind of a boring topic?"

"Yeah, no kidding." Sero agreed. "They're really scraping the bottom of the barrel, huh?"

"Well, I think I remember seeing online one time where they spent two days talking about how his hair was five degrees lower than normal." Midoriya mentioned, recalling his prior online research on Pro Heroes.

"Seriously?" Sero's eyes widened a bit.

"That's… something." Tsunotori blinked in surprise.

"Kero," Asui touched her chin, "guess when it comes to All Might-sensei, they'll take anything and make a huge deal of it."

The door slid open at that moment and Aizawa stalked inside. "That's something you all may risk if you become Pro Heroes. Thankfully, I'm an Underground Hero, so I don't have to deal with any of that nonsense." He glanced at several of the students who weren't sitting down. "You'd all better be seated by the time I blink or I deduct 20 points off your first exam."

Not willing to see if he was bluffing, there was a rush of air as everyone jumped into their seats.

"Better. Now, All Might gave me a report of everything that happened during his class." He pulled out a stack of papers and lazily started passing them to each student. "Along with All Might's grading and feedback, I've included some notes of my own."

After handing out the rest of the papers, Aizawa lazily stalked back to the front of the room–giving everyone a chance to review their scores and feedback. "Most of you did well, or at least received valuable feedback. I expect to see marked improvements in the coming weeks, but if you don't take honest criticism to heart," he gaze shifted to a certain ash-blonde, "I won't hesitate to kick you out of the Hero Course."

Bakugo's frown deepened, but discreetly nodded in acknowledgment nonetheless.

With his message sent, Aizawa's eyes then shifted to the back of the classroom. "Midoriya, Tsunotori, Yaoyorozu, and Uraraka received top marks. Although, Yaoyorozu and Uraraka, if I had to critique you both I'd suggest not being too elaborate in your planning. If one thing goes wrong, it can all fall apart. But given your opponents' abilities and the environment, I won't rag too much on it. You communicated with each other clearly and performed exceptionally well too. Nice work."

"Thank you, sensei." Yaoyorozu and Uraraka both bowed.

"Midoriya and Tsunotori," he turned to the two foreign students, "you both communicated very well with each other too, and formulated a plan to effectively counter your opponents while keeping property damage to a minimum. You aced it."

"Thank you, Aizawa-sensei." Tsunotori bowed.

"Yes. Thank you, sir." Midoriya smiled.

Not everyday the shaggy instructor would give out praise like this, he thought. He glanced to his right to see Uraraka giving him a wink and a thumbs-up, which he returned. Up ahead, Bakguo's shoulders slumped just a little. He guessed that the ash-blonde was still salty over his loss yesterday.

"Tokage. Asui." His gaze fell on the two greenettes. "You both performed well, but be more flexible next time. If a plan isn't working, don't be afraid to change strategies; otherwise, you did good despite your setback. Learn from it and keep your heads up."

"Yes sir." Tokage and Asui replied.

"With all that said, let's get started with class."

---

In an alleyway near UA's front gate, a young man wearing gray baggy pants and a black hoodie stood waiting. His hoodie concealed most of his face yet strands of teal-hair and dried skin were visible.

With his hands stuffed away in his front pockets, he gazed at the crowd of reporters gathered in front of the prestigious university's gate with a sneer.

Ah the media, he thought. Vultures that picked at every little piece of fame they could get their grimy little hands on. Trying in vain to share in the spotlight, trapped in the spur of the moment. Completely forgetting about the main point of anything.

Chasing after Pro Heroes and groveling at their feet, worshiping them like the old gods. The young man internally scoffed at that comparison. Pro Heroes were nothing like the old gods, he thought.

The old gods summoned the forces of nature whenever they didn't get their way–destroying everything they disagreed with. They brought order and justice by their rules alone. Their merit made them kings, and it was their right.

Pro Heroes, however, were nothing but cheap knock offs of the old fictional superheroes, and pale imitations of the 21st century Vigilantes. Breaking and implementing justice whenever it suited them. Puppets of the government tangled in strings at the bottom of a chest, waiting for real players to come out.

To him, that's all this was. A game between those who had their eyes opened to see the pieces. To see who was really in control.

He looked out over the crowd of vultures pecking at the castle of his final boss. So close yet out of reach like all pesky invisible barriers. He'd get rid of it and go straight for the prize on the other side. Why shouldn't he, after all? Why waste hours of gameplay fighting the mooks and throwing away NPCs that ultimately won't matter?

He was the only player, the main protagonist of his story. This was the start of his game of righteous retribution to bring down the twisted society that had ruined his life.

His first move…start the main quest.

---

The rest of the morning went by at a moderate pace.

Using a ceiling-mounted projector, Aizawa dedicated the class period to dissecting footage of the Battle Trials with the class. Multiple students flinched when it was their turn to be called out by the haggard instructor. Aizawa was accurate yet fair in his critical assessments in Midoriya's opinion. He pointed out mistakes and possible alternatives while also giving subdued praise when it was due.

Shortly after Foundational Heroics was General English 101 with Present Mic. The blonde podcaster playfully called on both Midoriya and Tsunotori a lot to state out sentences for everyone to repeat, and then others were called upon.

Bakugo was decent when he spoke in the American tongue. Tokage, Tokoyami, Sero, and Ashido had rougher times with the latter muttering 'song lyrics were easier'–prompting a subdued chuckle from Midoriya. Some of the best were surprisingly Aoyama and Jiro, with Todoroki and Iida both being very eligible as well.

Aside from Midoriya and Tsunotori, Yaoyorozu was the clear winner in speaking fluent English. No surprise there, he thought.

He had to admit that listening to Yaoyorozu, Ashido, and Uraraka talk in English was a sliding scale of angelic to downright cute! But Midoriya could sense an aura of boredom descending upon the classroom. He could understand as he knew from personal experience that learning a new language was often boring and tedious.

Following English, Class 101-A headed to the cafeteria for lunch as they had over an hour before the start of Modern Literature 102.

Midoriya sat at a table with his group of friends that included Yaoyorozu, Uraraka, Tsunotori, Tokage, Iida, Sero, Asui, and Jiro. Meanwhile, Ashido and Kirishima were sitting at another table with other members of class for the day.

Lunch Rush's food was incredible as always. He had even gone back for seconds as he was hungrier than usual after increasing his morning training regimen.

"So," Tsunotori said, "what did you guys think of the feedback from the Battle Trials?"

"I believe it was fair and constructive." Iida dutifully responded while chopping his right hand. "From both All Might-sensei and Aizawa-sensei respectively. I shall take their critique to heart and apply it going forward!" He dramatically proclaimed.

Yaoyorozu nodded. "I believe there's plenty of room for improvement for all of us."

"Except for you, Yaomomo," Jiro smirked wryly. "Didn't you and Uraraka-san both get near perfect scores?"

Yaoyorozu smiled sheepishly, "We both received a 97. The instructors took a few points off for the potential pitfalls of our plan had Tokage and Tsuyu decided to split up."

"Still," Uraraka beamed, "not bad for our first lesson!"

"Wish I could say the same." Jiro sighed dejectedly. "Can't believe I lost to the pervert's team..."

"Eh, don't take it too hard, Jiro-san." Tokage waved off. "Besides, Tokoyami-san's Dark Shadow is pretty strong. No shame in losing to a team with him on it."

"To be fair, the environment did work in Mineta-san's favor. Also," Midoriya added, "Dark Shadow seems to be stronger in the dark. So the low-light conditions in the Villains' hideout gave him a sizable advantage until Kaminari-san unleashed his electricity."

He lowered his head thoughtfully. "Speaking of which, Kaminari-san should talk to the Support Department about adding some kind of aiming gear for his costume. His attacks would be much more effective then. Perhaps even a Support Item that can prevent that kickback of his…"

"That's smart. I'll mention it to that dunderhead when I see him." Jiro suppressed a grunt recalling when Kaminari had accidentally electrocuted her during the exercise. 'Anything to prevent something like that happening again.'

Midoriya looked at the purplette across the table. "You could also talk to the Support Department too, Jiro-san. Your Quirk lets you channel the sound of your heartbeat through your earjacks and whatever you plug them into, right?"

"That's right." Jiro confirmed with a nod.

"Have you ever tried plugging your jacks into your phone before? Or any device with an auxiliary port?"

Most devices–particularly phones–in Midoriya's time had moved away from auxiliary ports to wireless. But, ever since the end of WW3 and the Dark Times, technology advancement had stalled and had even regressed for a while before slowly beginning to rebound in the last several decades. As a result, most modern phone models still included ports.

"Actually, yeah." She replied. "That's how I'll usually listen to my tunes."

He rubbed his chin contemplatively. "Then it sounds like your Quirk can also take in, amplify and redirect any sound that a device you're plugged into can produce. I'd suggest testing that out as soon as possible since your Costume's boots have directional speakers built into them."

Jiro blinked and then looked shocked. "I… I never even considered that." She breathed out. "I'll try that out in my next training session. Thanks, Midoriya-san!"

"You're welcome." Midoriya smiled. "Hopefully it'll work out for you. It could open up so many possibilities for your Quirk if it does."

"What about me?" Sero raised his hand. "I mean, I know my Quirk isn't much, but–"

"I'll stop you right there, Sero." Midoriya interjected. "I think your Quirk is pretty cool! It has quite a few applications. You can fire off your tape and reel it back in, so you already know the mobility applications."

Sero nodded with a grin.

"How much have you experimented with it? Can you change the type of tape? Like, make it double-sided or duct tape, for instance? Change the tape's color? Or fire off more than one strand per elbow?" He asked.

"Actually, I figured out how to make double-sided tape last year. It was touch and go for the first few months but I eventually figured it out. I think I can do multiple strands at once but it does dehydrate me faster. As for changing the type or color, I've never actually tried," Sero responded with a thoughtful look.

Midoriya hummed thoughtfully. "If you can't change the type drastically you have other options, such as altering the tape's thickness or controlling the adhesiveness. Color may or may not be out of your reach, but it could be good for catching the eye of other Heroes in the field. That way they can be alerted to the direction of a fleeing Villain that you're in pursuit of, or if you find yourself needing backup.

"Other than that I'd suggest trying to fire multiple strands of tape from each elbow. You might even look into firing a single strand but splitting it as you do. You could potentially make a net or barricade in a single shot with proper control," Izuku theorized the different applications of Sero's Quirk. "I'd also keep a water bottle on you for hydration if you're not already."

"I see what you're saying." Sero nodded, thinking over Midoriya's analysis and suggestions. He looked thoughtfully at his elbows. "Guess I've got some work ahead of me. Thanks Midoriya! I'll start practicing your suggestions in training ASAP."

"No problem," Midoriya nodded. "Let me know how it works out. It could open up a whole new aspect of your Quirk."

"Kero. You sure are knowledgeable on Quirks, Midoriya." Asui pointed out.

"He is!" Tsunotori said excitedly. "He even gave me some pointers with my own Quirk after the Entrance Exam."

Uraraka–who was sitting to Midoriya's right– giggled and patted his back. "Midori-kun's a Quirk-otaku. He gave me and Yaomomo good advice when we were making notes for our costumes before the start of school."

Yaoyorozu smiled and nodded. "Yes. He even designed my current Costume."

The rest of the table turned to the super-soldier with surprised looks.

"That's quite impressive, Midoriya." Iida complimented. "You know how to design Costumes and Support Gear?"

"Well," Midoriya scratched the back of his head, "I don't know how to make blueprints for complex Support Gear or anything like that. I just drew up Yaomomo's costume and my own after taking our Quirks' applications and–more importantly–practicality in mind."

"I see. Hmm…Come to think of it," Asui said, "your costume is pretty militaristic."

"Makes sense." Tokage grinned at him playfully. "He is a soldier boy."

The lizard-eyed girl adopted a thoughtful look. "Now that I think about it, you do seem kind of disciplined and usually always stand up straight all the time, Midoriya. I can't believe I didn't make that connection sooner." She glanced over at Iida. "Kind of like Iida. Were you in the military too by chance?"

"I was not." Iida shook his head. "My upbringing and the interactions at my family's agency is what helped mold me into who I am today."

The table turned to Iida in curiosity.

"Agency?" Sero repeated.

Iida blanched, realizing his slipup.

Midoriya looked at Iida and suddenly felt a lightbulb turn on in his head. "Iida, I just realized something… You wouldn't happen to be related to the Turbo Hero: Ingenium, would you?"

That question caught the group's attention as they looked at the navy-haired young man intently.

Iida shifted in his seat from the attention and sighed. "I was afraid of all of you finding out, and potentially treating me differently if you did…" He then puffed out his chest. "But yes. He's my older brother!"

"WHOA!" Most of the table gaped. "That's awesome!"

"The Iida family has been Heroes for generations. It runs in our blood." Iida further elaborated.

Midoriya smiled and shook his head. He had run across Ingenium-related articles during his time researching Pro Heroes. He was very popular and employed over several dozen Sidekicks at his agency in Tokyo. "I feel embarrassed. I can't believe I didn't connect the dots sooner. You basically have the same Quirk!"

"Your family is famous!" Uraraka added excitedly.

"Yes, well," Iida pushed his glasses up, "I am a normal Hero Course student like the rest of you. The admiration I hold for my brother is what inspired me to become a Hero." He smiled proudly. "As the second eldest Iida son, I strive to be just like him!"

The group paused as they momentarily stared at the young man.

"This is the first time I've seen you smile, Iida." Asui noted. "You should do it more. Kero."

"Yeah," Tokage agreed. "It'll make you more approachable."

Iida blinked, confused. "What are you talking about? I smile all the time."

"Could've fooled us." Sero lightheartedly commented, prompting chuckles from the rest of the table at Iida's expense.

The group's discussion was suddenly interrupted by the blaring of an alarm. Everyone in the cafeteria was startled by the sudden noise, and those with sensitive ears–like Jiro and Midoriya–clapped their hands over their ears with cries of pained shock.

"ATTENTION!" A loud, mechanical voice blared over the loudspeaker. "Security Level Three has been breached. All students must evacuate in an orderly fashion!" The message proceeded to loop after that.

Midoriya could immediately recognize that this was not a drill due to the message's urgency and how the cafeteria was descending into panic.

"Hey, you!" Midoriya grabbed the attention of an upperclassman as they stood up. "What's security level three?"

"It means someone has infiltrated the building! This has never happened in the four years I've been here! Hurry up and get out!" The senior student yelled back as he ran.

Midoriya felt his heart rate begin to increase as various memories played through his mind. Taking a deep breath, he shook his head and quickly got ahold of himself. Now was not the time to have a PTSD flashback.

The group quickly proceeded to the nearest exit where the corridor was extremely congested with panicking students. In the chaos, Midoriya instinctively grabbed onto the closest of his classmates. In this case he'd grabbed Yaoyorozu and Uraraka's hands and pulled them near the windows to avoid the crowd.

"Stay together guys!" Tsunotori tried to shout over the noise.

"HEY!" Jiro yelled as she was shoved to the side and into Asui.

Midoriya looked around to survey the situation. "People are going to get hurt if this keeps up…"

"OOF!" Sero was suddenly pushed against the wall close to Midoriya, Yaoyorozu, and Uraraka. "Yeah… us."

"Our peers have swift responses to danger! As expected of UA!" Iida commented while being shoved into the wall.

"Don't think this is something to commend…" Midoriya looked out the windows and gaped when he saw a crowd of reporters on the campus grounds. He then saw several other people in security guard uniforms rushing towards the incoming reporters.

'The press? How'd they get past UA's defenses?' He shook his head. 'Questions for later. We need to stop this panic!'

"So... what's up, Greenie?" He almost yelped at the air being blown into his ear. He turned to see a floating mouth and a floating ear.

"Tokage?"

"The one and only!" The mouth smiled. "So, do you need help with any of this stuff or...?"

He glanced at Yaoyorozu by his side and Tokage's mouth as he hatched an idea.

"Actually, yes. I do need your help." He turned to the right. "Yaomomo!" Garnering the ravenette's attention, he asked, "Do you know how to make a megaphone?"

She nodded. "Yes, but why does that–" Her eyes widened when she realized what Midoriya was getting at. "Oh!"

Yaoyorozu proceeded to unbutton her vest and the lower half of her shirt, revealing her flat and smooth stomach. Midoriya quickly looked away out of respect, and to hide his reddening face. One of Tokage's eyes noticed her fellow verdette's reaction and grinned in amusement.

'This guy is gonna be easy to tease.' Tokage slyly mused.

In a multi-colored flash, Yaoyorozu created a white megaphone from her abdomen.

"Here you go, Midori-kun!" She handed the megaphone to him.

"Thanks!" He turned back to Tokage's mouth. "Alright, Tokage, I need you to detach your upper body and pull me above the crowd."

"Basking in the limelight like a Pro Hero, huh? Yeah, I'll help you out, Green Buddy." The shark teeth girl said, her mouth and ear flying off to reconnect with her body. She grinned as her upper body–waist and above–disconnected, the surrounding people staring at the action with wide eyes.

"Jiro!" Midoriya called out. "Might wanna cover your ears!"

Further down the wall, the purplette rocker girl was confused but complied with his request anyway.

Tokage's upper body returned to Midoriya. "Hold on, Greenie."

She cupped him from under his armpits and pulled up. She would admit, he was heavier than she imagined, and sturdier as well. It made her lick her lips. With a pop, Midoriya was above the sea of frightened students, though no one seemed to notice at all.

Midoriya flipped on the megaphone and adjusted the device to its highest volume. "EVERYONE!" His amplified yell blared down the hall, causing nearly everyone to wince and cover. "MAY I HAVE YOUR ATTENTION! STOP WHAT YOU'RE DOING AND LISTEN!"

The majority of the crowd looked up in confusion at the verdette man with the megaphone being held up by a levitating greenette woman split off at the legs. Weird, but it was a world of Quirks; stranger things had been seen in the past.

Midoriya lowered the megaphone's volume by a couple notches. "Please settle down!" He spoke in a firm, commanding tone. "There's no need for panic. The reporters from this morning have somehow trespassed onto the campus. University security is dealing with them now." He informed them.

"Reporters?" Was the confused statement that followed.

Midoriya continued. "Yes, it's just the press. No one's lives are endangered. Please, walk to your designated evacuation point so the staff knows your location. After this is done, we can continue on with our day."

The mass of students began to calm down and, at a steady pace, made their way through the doorway. As the crowd dispersed, Tokage lowered Midoriya to the floor in an open spot where Yaoyorozu, Uraraka, and Iida gathered around him.

"Well, that was one heck of a show, didn't know you had it in you to yell like that, Greenie!" Tokage smiled as she reconnected with her lower body.

"Heh, you learn to find your voice when going through bootcamp." Midoriya sheepishly commented.

Tokage smiled and patted him on the back, "Well, good job!"

Midoriya smiled.

"Yes! Good work, Midoriya!" Iida bowed to him. "You utilized our classmates' Quirks and took control of the situation! As expected of our class's top student!"

Uraraka giggled at Iida's seriousness. "Coming on a little strong there, aren't you, Iida?"

"No kidding." Tokage snickered. "You bow any further and you may hurt your back."

Iida straightened up and blushed in embarrassment.

"Still, that was sound thinking on your part, Midori-kun." Yaoyorozu complimented after buttoning her vest and shirt back up.

"Couldn't have done it with you and Tokage. Thank you both." Midoriya said, making the two girls smile.

"Let's all walk and talk." Yaoyorozu suggested with a smile. "We don't want to keep Aizawa-sensei waiting."

They proceeded down the hallway and eventually met up with the rest of their group of friends further down the hallway, heading towards their designated evacuation spot.

However, Midoriya couldn't shake the feeling that something felt off about the situation. The famed "UA Barrier" was designed to keep out anyone who didn't have a Student ID Card or Special Entry Permission ID. How in the world did the press manage to get past the gates then?

---

Nezu, the UA Dean of Heroics, normally enjoyed his lunch; it was a time for quiet relaxation when he was alone, or easy conversation when he had company. However, he did not enjoy having his lunchtime interrupted, especially by an actual emergency.

He stared at the security footage, his lunch forgotten; his gaze was completely focused on the gaping hole in the main gate. This was certainly a problem.

He and the Heroics Department staff–All Might included–were sitting around a table in one of the department's offices. Like Nezu, they were concerned and angry about what had happened. Someone had turned a section of the outer wall to dust, setting off the level three security alarms across the campus.

"Grrr… I don't like it." Inui Ryo, also known as the Hunting Dog Hero: Hound Dog, growled. He was 196 cm (6'5") tall, had a scruffy blonde mane sticking straight out behind his head, and had the overall appearance of a canine due to his Quirk, Dog. He served as a member of UA's campus security team as well as a psychologist for Hero Department students.

"There were no reports of unauthorized personnel," he said through his growls and yips. "Either the alarm scared them off…"

"Or they got what they wanted," Dean Nezu finished. "Until we discover otherwise, we must assume the latter."

"Any ideas what they could have been after?" Midnight inquired. "Or better yet… who could've done this?"

"Sadly, even I am not certain." Nezu admitted. "Earlier, I got off a teleconference call with the president and head of campus security regarding this incident. The university will assure the students that everything is fine, but increase security across the campus."

He then directed his attention to a certain haggard instructor. "Eraserhead, can I ask you to bring in a few of your underground associates? If they can keep an eye on things from outside, the university would appreciate it."

Aizawa Shota looked as tired as ever, but his eyes were focused. "I have a few people I can call. They'll stay in civilian clothes; if the intruder is still around, they won't want to spook them."

"Thank you." Nezu nodded. "Next week, Hero Classes A and B are scheduled to go to the USJ on Monday and Tuesday respectively. I would like you to accompany the Field instructors on both trips, just in case."

Aizawa glanced at All Might, who was in his shrunken form, and then nodded in understanding. "Sure, I can do that."

"It might be overkill, but better to be safe than sorry." Nezu stated. "I don't believe there's anything else from my end at this time. I'll inform you if anything else comes up. If there are no other matters, you should all return to your classes."

The instructors stood and filed out of the room, yet Nezu remained in his seat while staring intently at the images of the damaged wall. It had been turned to dust somehow and none of the reporters possessed a Quirk capable of that. Nezu already had Power Loader analyzing the remains of the gate, but even he was baffled by it.

"It's clear that this was an attack of some kind." The chimera asked himself; his intelligence quirk, High Spec, was hard at work trying to put the pieces all together. "But what was the objective? A shot across the bow? A declaration of war? Or did something evil slip in while everyone was distracted…"

---

With the police overseeing the removal and arrests of several reporters, order had been promptly restored at UA University and regular school activities resumed. With 15:30 (3:30 PM) rolling around, Class 101-A was waiting in their Foundational Heroics room for their instructor All Might to show.

Midoriya glanced at his watch and frowned. 'Toshinori's running late again. He can't make a habit of this, it sets a bad example. Is his body giving him issues, or was he dealing with the press?'

Before he could ponder the thought further, Kaminari walked up to Midoriya's desk.

"Hey, Midoriya-san, got a minute?" The blonde asked.

"Huh, yeah. What's up?" He was a bit confused why Kaminari suddenly wanted to speak with him. He didn't dislike him or anything like that as Kaminari seemed to be a cool laid back dude–not too dissimilar from Sero, actually.

"Jiro was telling me you had some ideas I could use to improve my Costume. Think you could tell me, soldier dude?" He asked, sounding eager.

"Sure! But first, why don't you tell me a little more about your Quirk first?" Midoriya reached into his bag and pulled out the notebook he was using to catalog his classmate's Quirks and skills.

Kaminari grinned. "Well, my Quirk Electrification allows my body to produce large voltages of electricity and fire it off into my surroundings. My current limit is 1.3 Million volts, actually!"

"That's impressive!" Midoriya quickly jotted his max-limit stat down, already having a fair amount of information on Kaminari's profile after witnessing his match yesterday. "Although, I'm guessing you have no way to direct said electricity as of now, huh?" He inquired. "Your lightning went everywhere when you unleashed it yesterday… you even shocked your own teammate."

"Y-yeah…" Kaminari chuckled sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck. "Hit the nail on the head there. Also, if I exceed my wattage limit, it'll cause my brain to short-circuit for an hour… like you already saw yesterday."

"Hmm…" Midoriya cupped his chin and his eyebrows scrunched, processing the information. "Control rather than power will be your best friend, Kaminari-san. I'd talk to the Support Department ASAP. Have them develop a Support Item that functions similar to a circuit breaker of sorts. Anything that'll prevent you from short-circuiting your brain again."

"Yeah, that makes sense." Kaminari nodded. 'Honestly, I feel kinda stupid for not thinking of that sooner…'

"Also, I'd look into Support Items that can channel your electricity or allow you to launch it with accuracy… Oh!" He perked up as another idea entered his brain. "Since you can cover yourself in electricity, why not utilize that? Ask if the Support Department can rework your costume into adding wiring or something into your Costume. That way, you could use your power for offense and defense without having to release it from every part of your body!"

Kaminari's expression lit up. "Dude, that'd be freaking awesome! Man, I can't believe I never thought of any of that. Thanks, man! You're a genius!"

"Heh-heh, I wouldn't say I'm a genius, but you're welcome…" Midoriya smiled bashfully. "Hopefully, it helps, Kaminari-san."

"I'll go straight to the Support Department after class. Thanks again, dude!"

Meanwhile, Uraraka and Yaoyorozu–who had been chatting with the other girls–discreetly glanced over at Midoriya. Overhearing his conversation with Kaminari, they couldn't help but smile proudly at their friend. In just one afternoon he had provided insight and good advice for three classmates: Jiro, Sero, and now Kaminari. It reminded both girls of how he had helped them with their costume designs a month prior.

'Midori-kun is so helpful.' Yaoyorozu happily mused. An idea then occurred to the ravenette. 'I wonder… Could he provide insight for all of our classmates?'

Before she could entertain the thought further, the class's larger-than-life instructor finally arrived.

"Sorry that I am late, ladies and gentlemen!" All Might, having adorned his Golden Age costume, entered the room with a rush of air behind him. "But a Hero's work is never done. Now, if all of you would take your seats, we can begin!"

As everyone sat down, Kaminari patted Midoriya's shoulder in thanks before returning to his desk with many ideas bouncing around in his head.

"Yesterday, all of you got a taste of using your Quirks against another person. Today, we will be moving on to part two of our combat lesson with this!" He pulled a card out from nowhere, which had the word 'Outnumbered' on it in bright, red letters.

Bakugo smirked savagely. "More fighting!"

Other students were also particularly excited to continue their combat training.

"Being outnumbered is a common combat scenario that Heroes often find themselves in!" All Might elaborated. "Oftentimes Villains will work in groups to pull off crimes. A Hero must be prepared to face down multiple opponents alone if the situation calls for it!"

'True. If you want to stay alive in this line of work, knowing how to hold your own against multiple opponents is essential.' Midoriya nodded, agreeing with All Might's statement.

Pressing a button, the wall split open with the costume briefcase racks sliding out. "Get dressed into your Costumes and then meet me at Gym Alpha. Remember, time is of the essence!"

"Yes sir!" The class responded.

Class 101-A quickly suited up into their costumes and though Midoriya was still the last one ready, he managed to finish in time to walk out with the rest of his classmates. He definitely needed to consult with Coulson on options to decrease 'suit up' time.

The students were now standing in front of All Might inside a large concrete gymnasium dubbed Gym Alpha, one of UA's training facilities for Hero Students.

"Listen up, newbies!" All Might called out, having the class's undivided attention. "For today's lesson, each one of you will be facing off against three opponents."

The class quietly chatted amongst each other; some were excited, others not so much. Midoriya could already feel Bakugo glaring at the back of his head again. The ash-blonde clearly wanted another shot at him.

"Now then, do we have any volunteers to be the first Hero?" All Might asked, and multiple hands immediately shot up.

"Hmm…" All Might quickly scanned over the group of students and decided. "Let's have young Yaoyorozu go first."

An annoyed Bakugo lowered his hand, grumbling to himself.

"Yes, Sensei!" Yaoyorozu stepped forward.

"For your opponents," the blonde titan looked over the class. "Let's have young Tsunotori, young Aoyama, and young Mineta!"

The foreign pony-girl, sparkling French-Japanese man, and the purple-headed pervert stepped up and stood across from Yaoyorozu. Meanwhile, the rest of the class stepped back further down the street while All Might explained the rules.

"The matches will be decided by capture or time limit. If the Hero is restrained and unable to move, the Villain Team wins. If all three Villains are rendered unable to move or if 5 minutes pass, then the Hero wins." All Might explained. "The same combat rules from yesterday still apply. I want everyone to give it their all but do NOT try to seriously hurt your opponent. Does everyone understand?"

"Yes, Sensei!" The class acknowledged.

"This should be good," Midoriya murmured as he reached into his belt's pouch and pulled out a notebook and pen, eager to take notes on his classmates.

Standing close to him, Uraraka saw this and smirked in amusement. He was so cute when he got excited. She blinked at that thought. Wait…

"Alright… Begin!" All Might yelled while leaping backwards to give the students space.

Yaoyorozu instantly created a metal staff from her arm. With a swift spin, she 'caught' several of Mineta's purple balls on the pole.

'Great reflexes! Yaomomo did mention one time that she practiced Bōjutsu growing up. We're finally getting to see her skills on full display.' Midoriya thought excitedly, jotting down notes.

Yaoyorozu leapt to her right to dodge Aoyama's naval laser. She then demonstrated her flexibility by bending backwards to avoid a pair of Tsunotori's flying horns. Not wanting to give three ranged fighters space to work, Yaoyorozu dashed forward.

Creating a net from her stomach, she tossed it at a backpedaling Mineta. The Pop Off user threw his balls at the net but the move didn't stop it from covering him and sticking the net to the ground.

"Ah crap…" Unable to force the net off, Mineta realized that his own Quirk had been turned against him. His balls stuck to everything but him, and now they'd stuck the net to the ground. And he didn't possess anywhere near the strength needed to tear the net!

"Young Mineta has been captured."

With Mineta out, Tsunotori and Aoyama split up to try and pincer Yaoyorozu.

"She's fast." Tsunotori commented while jumping on top of a pair of horns and flying forward. "But not as fast as me." She grinned confidently.

"Oui, nor as fast as my sparkles either, mademoiselle!" Aoyama called out, firing his laser at the ravenette.

Yaoyorozu managed to dodge in time and multi-colored light shone off her right hand. Seconds later, a canister rolled along the ground. With a hiss, the canister erupted into a thick white plume of smoke that obscured Tsunotori and Aoyama's vision.

"Oh no…" Tsunotori stopped in midair. "Where'd she go?"

"I don't know!" Aoyama looked around frantically.

Tsunotori dislodged her horns from her head, with another pair immediately re-growing to take their place. She telekinetically guided one to Aoyama's position while keeping the other close to her.

"Here! Grab onto that! I'll get us out of–WHOA!" Tsunotori was taken off-guard by Yaoyorozu jumping out from the smoke with her staff. Put on the defensive, she tried to hit her with her spare horn, but the ravenette surprisingly shattered it with a hard swipe from her metal staff.

With a heave, Yaoyorozu tossed the staff directly at Tsunotori's head.

"OOF!" With no time to dodge, the hit knocked Tsunotori off her horns and to the ground. As she tried to sit up, she discovered that the pole was stuck to the left side of her face and the ground with Mineta's Pop Off balls, effectively pinning her down.

Tsunotori grunted in frustration at realizing she couldn't free herself. "I'm not done yet!" Before she could disconnect two more horns, an object emerged from the smoke cloud and something sticky splattered onto the blonde's head.

"Huh?!" Tsunotori yelled, slipping into English. "What the hell?!"

She tried to dislodge her horns, but they were effectively stuck to her head by a viscous instant-drying glue. The other girls nearby grimaced and inwardly sympathized with Tsunotori at the sight of glue in her long hair. Yaoyorozu certainly didn't mess around.

To make matters worse, she was positioned in a way where she was facing away from the action and couldn't readjust. The pony-girl came to a quick conclusion.

"Aw darn…" She slumped her shoulders in defeat.

"Young Tsunotori has been captured." All Might announced. "Three minutes remain."

As the haze cleared away, Aoyama nervously looked around to see both of his teammates captured. "Ce n'est pas bon…" He slipped into French.

Spotting Yaoyorozu rushing towards him, he fired his laser once more. Yaoyorozu, however, had already made everything she needed under the cover of smoke. Attached to her right forearm via straps was a circular mirror that deflected Aoyoma's laser off to the side.

With her free left hand, Yaoyorozu held up a single-shot riot gun and pulled the trigger. A sound of compressed gas rang out as a large rubber bullet slammed into Aoyoma's torso above his navel belt, forcing him to double over. The Frenchman collapsed to his knees as he hacked and wheezed, the breath knocked out of him.

"My tummy…" He painfully uttered.

Forming a new staff, Yaoyorozu held up the staff to Aoyoma's neck. "Surrender."

"Exercise over!" All Might called out. "Yaoyorozu wins!"

Yaoyorozu withdrew her staff as she heard the cheers and applause from most of her classmates.

'That was awesome!' Midoriya internally cheered. 'She used her opponents' strengths against them. Well done, Yaomomo!'

Checking to make sure that Aoyama wasn't too injured, the sparkling Frenchman assured Yaoyorozu he'd be fine; regardless, he was definitely going to Recovery Girl after class to heal the bruise on his torso. Making a box cutter, Yaoyorozu cut the net trapping Mineta with a single swipe and walked over to Tsunotori. Yaoyorozu then made a solution to dissolve the glue in Tsunotori's hair and carefully broke her staff with a small amount of acid, leaving only a small section and Mineta's Pop Off ball stuck to Tsunotori's face.

The short boy assured Tsunotori that the ball would fall in a couple hours, much to her dismay. She didn't enjoy having something that was a part of the class pervert stuck to her face.

As the four walked back to the class, Uraraka consolingly patted Tsunotori's back. "Don't worry, Tsunotori!" She encouraged her. "You'll do better next time."

"Thanks," Tsunotori smiled appreciatively.

"No hard feelings, I hope." Yaoyorozu asked hesitantly.

Tsunotori smiled and waved off. "Nah! One loss isn't gonna get me down. I'll learn from this."

"That's the spirit!" Tokage slapped her smaller friend's back.

"Good attitude," Midoriya complimented. "Besides, you still got your match as the Hero to look forward to. So you could still get a win today."

"Right!" Tsunotori nodded in determination.

"Excellent work from our first group!" All Might praised with his signature smile. "Congratulations to you, Young Yaoyorozu. A most excellent match!"

"Thank you, Sensei." Momo bowed with a smile.

"You made excellent use of both your Quirk and your opponents' Quirks!" All Might nodded to the ravenette. "That's the kind of thinking and resourcefulness that will take you far in the Hero field!"

"I was just using what I knew of their Quirks beforehand." Yaoyorozu replied. "I learned the value of being able to quickly analyze a person's Quirk firsthand." The ravenette glanced at Midoriya.

Looking up from his notebook, the verdette smiled brightly at her and Yaoyorozu felt her cheeks heat up slightly. 'His smile is very nice…' She mused as a warm feeling swelled in her chest. As brilliant as the heiress was, she couldn't identify what it was at that moment.

"You applied it very well!" All Might nodded to her.

"Thank you, Sensei." Yaoyorozu bowed again before returning to the class.

"Now for our next matchup…" All Might's gaze shifted to a certain individual in the crowd. 'Let's set the bar higher. That way everyone else will push themselves further.'

"... Let's have young Midoriya as the Hero with young Iida, young Sato, and young Sero as the Villains." All Might instructed and the four young men stepped forward while Bakugo groaned in mild frustration. He badly wanted a round two. Iida inwardly wasn't too thrilled at playing a Villain again but he'd do his best regardless.

Putting his notebook away, Midoriya straightened up and put on his helmet. He stepped near the center of the gym with Sato, Sero, and Iida standing in front of him several meters away.

'In an open setting like this gym, I don't have many rebound options for throwing the shield...' Midoriya inwardly noted. He looked at his three opponents with a keen eye. 'Sato's Sugar Rush gives him enhanced strength and durability when he consumes sugar. Sato's Tape greatly enhances his mobility and gives him many options for capturing opponents. Iida's Engine makes him really fast and he can dish out powerful kicks. Strength, mobility, and speed. It's a formidable team...'

Midoriya pulled the shield off his back and slipped his left arm through the straps. He resumed a fighter's stance while adopting a stern, focused expression. 'Let's see if they can put it all together.'

Uraraka nudged Yaoyorozu and whispered, "He's in the zone again."

Yaoyorozu wordlessly nodded in agreement.

Both girls looked at their three classmates pitted against Midoriya and their minds briefly flashed back to the scene in the alleyway. They knew firsthand that Midoriya could hold his own against multiple opponents, so the exercise wouldn't be anything new to him. The brunette and ravenette were admittedly curious to see how he'd fare against stronger, more competent opponents.

If only they knew.

"Begin!" All Might called out.

"Hey Midoriya!" Sato called out while Sero and Iida split off to cover Midoriya's back. "Let's find out who's enhancer Quirk is the strongest!" With that said, the brunette teen pulled a container off his belt and dumped the contents into his mouth. Sato's body bulked up and he charged at the verdette headfirst.

Midoriya waited to expertly sidestep Sato's charge, causing him to put on the brakes and turn to face his opponent. Losing his momentum, Sato followed up with a series of punches that Midoriya dodged or parried.

'Sato's strong in this state, but…' As Sato threw a right haymaker, Midoriya grabbed the extended arm and tossed the bulky brunette over his head and into an unsuspecting Sero standing off to the side with a comical slam. '...his moves are way too predictable.'

Hearing the sound of a revving engine, Midoriya turned to see Iida blitzing in with a roundhouse kick aimed at his head, which he swiftly ducked under. As the Engine user's feet returned to the ground, he pressed forward with a series of high-powered kicks.

'With his Quirk, Iida's fighting style naturally revolves around kicking.' Midoriya internally rationalized. 'So I have a good idea of what moves he'll use.'

With a keen eye and quick reflexes, Midoriya managed to duck and pivot away from the kicks which were breaking apart the concrete floor around them. With his opponent avoiding his kicks to the head and legs, Iida switched tactics and aimed a right kick for the midsection.

Midoriya quickly brought up the shield in time to block the kick, causing him to stagger back from the force but the impact also shattered the armored plating on Iida's right boot in the process.

"WHAT!?" Iida's eyes widened in shock as the broken pieces of his mufflers clanged to the floor. 'His shield broke through my armor?!'

While his opponent was distracted, Midoriya adopted a Savate stance and executed a jab into the side of Iida's helmet. Iida painfully grimaced from the powerful hit and was shocked to see that his face guard had caved in too. Midoriya followed up with driving the tip of his boot into Iida's midsection, denting the metal pipes on his costume, and then sent a right cross into Iida's armored temple.

With Iida staggering back, Midoriya pivoted on his right leg to deliver a swift left roundhouse kick into Iida's head that knocked him off to the side. Iida groaned with his head ringing inside his now dented helmet.

"Tu es sérieux!?" Aoyama exclaimed in French, before reverting back to Japanese. "It's Savate!"

"Huh? What's that?" Kirishima asked.

Most of the class was bemused as well.

"Boxe française, or Savate, is a Frenchmen kickboxing sport that involves using feet and hands." Aoyama explained. "My word, I am positively surprised that Midoriya-san knows it."

"Huh… that's kinda cool." Kirishima commented.

"Yeah, look at those moves!" Uraraka exclaimed excitedly.

"Hmm…" Yaoyorozu cupped her chin thoughtfully. "I wonder if he learned it in the military…"

"Who the hell cares," Bakugo tersely remarked. 'If it were me out there, I would've already ended this stupid fight. Some stupid french fighting moves won't save him from my explosions.'

"You should feel proud, Aoyama-san." Ashido grinned, patting his armored shoulder. "He's kicking butt in honor of your country."

This fact made Aoyama sparkle brighter in pride.

"Yeah," Tokage chimed in, "since you lost badly, Midoriya's having to pick up the slack for you."

That comment made the blonde's shine momentarily diminish.

"RRAGHH!" Sato charged at Midoriya like a raging bull. At the last second, the super-soldier spun around the raging brunette's lunge and immediately kicked his opponent in the back of his head, sending Sato stumbling to the ground in a daze.

At the distinct sound of Sero's tape dispensing, Midoriya immediately jumped back to narrowly avoid a strand of tape aimed for his legs.

Sero grinned confidently behind his helmet's visor. "Can't dodge me forever, Midoriya!" Holding out both arms, Sero proceeded to shoot off an onslaught of tape. The green super-soldier demonstrated his acrobatic skills by jumping, somersaulting, and flipping around and in-between Sero's tape lines.

Off to the sidelines, Ashido was bouncing in glee from the acrobatic display. "Oh wow! His dodging is incredible!" She squealed.

"Man… they teach everyone in the military those moves?" Kirishima commented.

Yaoyorozu furrowed her brows thoughtfully. 'That's a good question…'

Sero, meanwhile, was growing more frustrated that he hadn't landed a single hit on his target. "C'mon! Just hold still for a second!" He continued firing multiple strands of tape… all without paying any attention to where the tape was going after Midoriya avoided them.

"SERO!"

The plain-looking man paused and finally noticed that all the tape he had been dispensing had hit Sato while he was dazed on the floor behind Midoriya, effectively trapping him in a tape-cocoon on the floor.

"Your aim stinks, dude!" Sato yelled as he struggled to break free.

"Uh… look out?" Sero said sheepishly.

Aside from Bakugo and Todoroki, most of Class 101-A laughed at the comical scene; even Yaoyorozu couldn't suppress an amused chuckle.

Chortling to himself, All Might asked, "Young Sato, can you move?"

Sato felt the effects of his sugar wearing off and, with his arms pinned to the floor, he couldn't reach for more on his belt.

"No…" He sighed in disappointment, slumping in defeat.

"Young Sato has been captured." All Might announced. "Two minutes remain."

"Sorry man…" Sero said apologetically.

'One down. Two more to go.' Midoriya thought.

Wanting to make up for his blunder, Sero fired off even more tape from his elbow-dispensers. Midoriya did an impressive job gracefully avoiding most of the strands, but one finally managed to land on his right forearm.

"HA! Gotcha!" Sero exclaimed victoriously.

Midoriya smirked. "You sure?"

Grabbing the tape, the verdette spun around and pulled Sero off his feet. He then swung Sero into an unexpecting Iida, who was just regaining his bearings.

'These guys are way too reliant on their Quirks.' Midoriya analyzed while pulling the tape off his arm. 'Their moves are predictable.' He briefly paused.

'Well… they are amateurs, so I guess I shouldn't be too hard on them.' After all, he had once been a complete novice at fighting not too long ago… relative to him, that is.

"You okay, man?" Sero grunted, picking himself off the concrete floor.

"I'm fine." Iida assured.

"This guy knows what he's doing. Any ideas?" the Tape user inquired.

The second Iida son shifted his gaze to their mutual green-clad opponent and devised an impromptu strategy. "Sero, go high and tape him up." He said quietly. "I'll run around and take him down once he's restrained."

Sero wordlessly nodded and shot a tape line at the gymnasium rafters, quickly pulling himself up. However, with his keen ears, Midoriya overheard their planning and immediately reacted by throwing the shield upward. Sero was too slow to react as the metal disk struck him in the torso, bouncing off to the adjacent wall.

Sero broke free from his line and collapsed to the ground in a pained heap, trying to catch his breath.

"Ow…" Sero painfully groaned.

"SERO!" Iida shouted out.

"Young Sero is out." All Might declared at seeing how winded the Tape user was. Better to play it safe than be sorry, he thought.

'Two down.' Midoriya caught the shield, which had bounced off the far wall and then the floor back to him, with his outstretched right hand. He then shifted his sights to the white metal-knight. 'One to go.'

"You won't succeed, Hero!" Iida dramatically declared while rushing toward him at incredible speed even with his right boot setup broken.

Midoriya didn't try to dodge; instead, he rushed forward to take the knight head on, much to everyone's surprise. Iida was confused. Surely his friend didn't think he could overcome him when he was going this fast? When he realized what Midoriya was doing, it was already too late.

At the right moment, Midoriya slid to his knees–bracing the shield in front of him with both arms–and took Iida's legs out from underneath him. Iida flipped over and his back slammed on the ground with a loud thud. Before he could recover, Midoriya somersaulted and landed on Iida's armored chest.

He placed the shield's circular edge at Iida's neck. "Yield."

"Exercise over!" All Might called out. "Midoriya wins!"

With that declaration, Midoriya's demeanor took a complete 180 as his intense, steely-eyed look was replaced with a bright, confident smile.

"Good match." Withdrawing his shield to place it on his back, Midoriya stood up and offered a hand to Iida–which he accepted–and pulled him to his feet. "You alright, Iida?"

"I am fine. Well done, Midoriya!" Iida complimented while making chopping motions with his arms. "Your skills are quite impressive. You must have worked hard to learn them."

"Heh, you could say that…" He chuckled sheepishly.

Midoriya and Iida walked over to Sato and freed him from Sero's tape using the former's shield to cut through it. The three young men then came to Sero's side and helped him back to his feet as he was beginning to catch his breath and walked under his own power.

"Excellent work, young men!" All Might gave a thumbs-up to them. "Young Midoriya, you kept calm and nullified your opponents' strengths. A job well done!"

"Thank you, All Might-sensei." Midoriya bowed respectfully, making Yagi feel giddy.

All Might continued. "Though you three on the Villain team lost, there is much you can take from this exercise that I'm sure Aizawa will debrief on tomorrow. Still, well done! I'm impressed with how far you've come in only our second combat lesson."

"Thank you, Sensei!" The three bowed to the Number One Hero.

As the four moved to rejoin their class, Midoriya finally noticed the damage done to Iida's costume. "Hey, sorry about your costume, Iida." He sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck.

Iida pulled off his damaged helmet, revealing several bruises on his face. "It's quite alright, Midoriya." He smiled, placing the helmet under his right arm. "I'll visit the Support Department after class and have them repair it for next week."

"Still, sorry for the inconvenience."

"Again, don't fret over it. Accidents like these are bound to happen in the Hero Course." He stated while making chopping motions with his left arm.

Midoriya nodded in acceptance and briefly studied Iida's costume. 'I wonder if he could make improvements to the mufflers on his legs to provide extra thrust when needed? Something to consider…'

Meanwhile, All Might discreetly glanced in Midoriya's direction. 'You could've ended that fight sooner, Cap, but you chose to give them opportunities to work together.' He smiled to himself. 'I suppose I'm not the only instructor here.' He chuckled internally.

"Alright! The next group will be—"

With that, class continued with everyone getting one turn as the Hero and fighting on the Villain team at least a few times.

---

Two days later, the first week of UA University's spring semester was completed. Saturday had arrived and Midoriya and Uraraka were visiting Yaoyorozu's house for the first time today.

After a few minutes of discussion over text, the trio agreed to meet up around 10:00 (10 AM) with Uraraka managing to convince Midoriya to ignore his "15-minute early rule" for the day, and then spend the day doing whatever came to mind. There was no real plan, but Yaoyorozu suggested something relaxing, like spending time in her family's library. The point was to enjoy each other's company.

Midoriya and Uraraka left their apartment building together at around 9:30 (9:30 am) to jump on a train, taking the best route to Yaoyorozu's home. After disembarking the train and a 10-minute walk, the pair had finally arrived at their heiress friend's house at exactly 10:00. Only one word could be used to describe it.

"Whoa," Uraraka whispered.

"Yeah…" Midoriya nodded, wide-eyed. "I mean, I knew she was rich, but… yeah… whoa."

The Yaoyorozu estate was massive; calling it a mansion would've been a disservice. Only the front could be seen from the pair's spot at the front of the fancy metal gate, and though it wasn't as tall as their apartment building, it likely still exceeded it in pure mass alone.

Midoriya glanced down at himself and felt underdressed as he was wearing his red ankle-high laced boots, blue jeans, and his brown leather jacket over a white t-shirt with 'T-Shirt' printed on it. He also had his yellow satchel hanging from his right shoulder.

"Maybe I should've worn one of my buttoned shirts…and a nicer pair of pants?" Midoriya commented, feeling a little more than out of place in such a high-end neighborhood.

"How do you think I feel?" Uraraka said, a hint of worry in her tone. "I'm even more casual."

The brunette was wearing pink shoes, black leggings and pink shorts that reached to her mid-thighs, and a white shirt with the number 13 printed on it with her black school bag strapped to her back. Her hair was done in her usual short messy ponytail, leaving two strands to frame her face.

"Well… she did say to dress casually, so maybe we're just overthinking it." Midoriya noted, and then pressed the button on the side of the gate.

A few seconds later, Yaoyorozu's voice came out of the speaker.

"Oh, wonderful! You're here! One moment, let me open the gate for you."

Midoriya chuckled as he could almost hear the smile in Yaoyorozu's voice. "She sounds really happy, huh?"

Uraraka smiled ruefully. "I guess we're the first friends she's had over, huh?"

"Probably…" He smiled determinedly. "Let's make this a fun, relaxing day. That's what this is about."

Uraraka nodded, grinning. "Right!"

The metal gate slid open and allowed the pair to walk down a cobblestone pathway toward the main doorway. The large doors opened right before they approached it.

Yaoyorozu stood in the doorway and beamed. She was wearing a fancy yellow blouse, white mid-thigh shorts that showcased her smooth defined legs, and brown sandals with her long raven hair let down.

'Oh wow… She looks really good with her hair let down. And her smile is so beautiful…' Midoriya felt his face get a tad warmer.

"I'm so glad you made it! Welcome to our home!" She ushered them both inside. Midoriya and Uraraka put their shoes onto beautifully carved wooden shelves near the entrance.

Yaoyorozu then took them on an abbreviated tour throughout the mansion. Needless to say, Midoriya and Uraraka were blown away by the amount of rooms and ornate objects filling their vision. They couldn't help but wonder what Yaoyorozu's family did to earn such a fortune.

Along the way, Uraraka stopped to look at one of the paintings hanging in the hallway. It was an oil painting of Captain America from the chest up with his helmet on, and the edge of his shield taking up most of the bottom right corner. With a few freckles dotting the exposed area of his face, he was looking forward with a strong, confident expression; his bright emerald eyes were a stark contrast to the darker blues, white, and reds on the canvas. In the far bottom right-corner were small black initials that Midoriya couldn't quite make out without getting closer. [1]

Midoriya blinked in surprise. 'Wow… that's pretty spot on. The artist even got my freckles and eyes right. That's a first.'

He then noticed the small bronze tag on the frame labeled, "The Man of Courage".

'That's quite the title…' He suddenly felt sheepish.

"Oh wow, Yaomomo!" Uraraka gushed. "I have a poster of this painting in my room back at my parents' place."

Yaoyorozu smiled proudly and stepped toward the painting. "This has been in our family for many generations. This is number 1 out of the 5 original Man of Courage pieces, believe it or not."

"No way!" Uraraka was stunned. "I thought all the originals were in museums or something!"

"Well, from what Father told me," Yaoyorozu explained, "this was painted for someone in our family not too long after the Captain's death. The rest were safely stored away for the historical archives. It was a good thing too as the Dark Times shortly followed after. Many things were lost or destroyed during those terrible years…"

Midoriya's curiosity was peaked. Yaoyorozu had previously mentioned that someone in her family had known him well. But who was it?

"You said one of your ancestors knew the Captain. Do you know who they were?" he inquired.

The ravenette shook her head. "Father hasn't told me their name yet. He told me he'd share it with me someday soon… whenever that is."

"Why such a big secret?" Uraraka tilted her head, confused.

Yaoyorozu lowered her head thoughtfully. "I don't know, actually… I suppose he has his reasons."

The trio then proceeded down the hallway but Midoriya stopped to glance back at the old painting. He stared at it momentarily with a wistful smile before following after his two best friends.

"So, random question…do you guys think the Captain had blue or green eyes?" Uraraka asked.

"Green." Yaoyorozu quickly answered.

Uraraka blinked. "Really?" She clearly hadn't expected that answer.

"Well, that painting was done only a year after Captain America's death. His likeness was undoubtedly still fresh in the artist's mind." Yaoyorozu explained.

"Yeah, that makes sense." Uraraka admitted. "I always thought it'd be blue since it matches his suit better…"

Midoriya smiled awkwardly off to the side. 'That doesn't determine a person's eye color, Ochako…'

Uraraka turned to her verdette friend curiously. "What about you, Midori-kun? Green or blue?"

"Green. For the same reasons that Yaomomo pointed out." He then remembered something else. "Although, I do believe he wore blue-colored contact lenses when he was doing those shows in America… for the same reason you pointed out, Uraraka-chan. That's likely where most of the eye color debate stems from."

'Though neither were my original eye color anyway.' He inwardly noted.

"A silly decision on the Captain's part quite honestly." Yaoyorozu adopted a cute frown. "There was no reason for him to hide his true eye color. Personally, I find the Captain much more attractive with green eyes anyway."

Midoriya turned away, trying to hide his blush.

"Do you now?" Uraraka grinned slyly before she leaned closer to her friend's ear. "By the way, speaking of the Captain, how's the next chapter coming along?"

"It's already done. I'm just doing some last-minute edits." Yaoyorozu whispered back. "I should have it out by this evening actually."

"Looking forward to it." Uraraka winked. "You really left everyone hanging with that crazy cliffhanger."

Yaoyorozu giggled. "Well… it does give readers a reason to come back for more."

Midoriya could overhear what his female friends were discussing, and cocked an eyebrow in confusion. 'Cliffhanger? Is Yaomomo writing a book or something?' He'd ask her about it later.

The tour soon ended in an enormous dining hall.

"Please, make yourselves comfortable while I get the tea." Yaoyorozu happily requested.

Midoriya and Uraraka both took a seat on an oak that, despite its fine craftsmanship, was incredibly comfortable.

He chuckled a bit. "I feel like I should be paying to sit down, yah know?"

Uraraka glanced around the room before looking back at him. "I could fit every relative I have in just this room—it's bigger than my parents' house!"

The verdette nodded. "I get the feeling. My old apartment back home wasn't half the size of this room…"

"Is something the matter?" Yaoyorozu pushed a trolley that held a set of teacups that were likely worth more than the stipend Midoriya received from SHIELD in several months combined.

"It's nothing." Midoriya was nonchalant. "I guess we weren't expecting your house to be this big. It's really cool."

"Oh, thank you." Yaoyorozu began handing out tea and slices of cake. "To be honest, it's wonderful to have you both over; usually, it's just the staff and my parents' business partners."

Midoriya nodded. 'I see… Though she's not technically alone, this is probably the first time she's had friends her age over like this…' In a way, the green super-soldier could empathize with the creation heiress.

"Thank you for all of this, Yaomomo." He gestured to the tea, and then the room in general.

"Yeah," Uraraka echoed the sentiment. "It's really nice to get to hang out with you like this."

Yaoyorozu blushed. "Please… it's the least that I could do."

Uraraka giggled. "If this is the least, what happens if you pull out all the stops, Yaomomo?"

"I'd imagine gold-plated robots serving meals from a five-star restaurant." Midoriya lightheartedly remarked.

"Well, actually, we… do have those." Yaoyorozu became bashful, her cheeks turning pink.

Midoriya and Uraraka both blinked, equally dumbfounded by the ravenette's confession. 'So much money…' Both collectively thought.

Some time passed as the trio settled in and became comfortable. They enjoyed the tea–Imperial Golden Tips, Yaoyorozu's favorite–and slices of cake, having casual conversation regarding their first week at UA.

"I gotta say," Uraraka sighed as she sat her teacup down, "I wasn't expecting us to hit the ground running in the first week."

"Yes," Yaoyorozu nodded, "but it is par for the course of attending a prestigious academy such as UA. Much is expected of us."

Though the non-heroic courses were fairly standard, their two Heroic courses were tough and didn't leave them much room to breathe. With a sudden Quirk Apprehension Test on the first day, Battle Trials on the second day, and more combat-related lessons filling up the rest of the week in the training gyms, things had certainly been busy for the trio.

"The first week's always the toughest. Once we get our bearings though, we'll adjust to the craziness." Midoriya stated.

"You seem to have handled it all quite well, Midori-kun." Yaoyorozu pointed out.

"Yeah," Uraraka added, "I don't remember seeing you really struggle at any point during the exercises."

"Well," Midoriya scratched his cheek bashfully, "with all due respect to UA, my first week in the Army was a lot tougher."

'Peg-chan made sure that that week of training was Hell for me…' he sheepishly mused.

"Also," he continued, "at the time when I enlisted, I was nowhere near as strong as I am now. So, it was definitely a struggle for me starting off."

The revelation took both girls off guard.

"Really? That's kind of surprising, Midori-kun." Uraraka said in disbelief.

"Hmm… odd." Yaoyorozu adopted a cute thinking pose. "Given the nature of your augmentation Quirk, I would've presumed physical-related exercises would come naturally to you."

'If only you knew…' the super-soldier internally sighed, and then proceeded to give his modified backstory.

"I know it may sound crazy… but for most of my life, my Quirk remained dormant. I'm not sure why, honestly." Midoriya shrugged. "Because of that, I wasn't as strong as I should've been and was significantly behind everyone else in anything physical-related. But when I enlisted in the Army, a Quirk doctor at the base I trained at recognized my issue and she helped me overcome it."

"So, this doctor essentially helped bring out your inner strength then?" Yaoyorozu asked.

"Yeah… That's a good way to put it."

Uraraka giggled. "That is pretty cool… but also kind of cheesy if you think about it, Midori-kun."

"Yeah… heh-heh," He smiled awkwardly. "I guess it is, huh?"

'It's not a complete lie, I guess. Just the truth being retold in a modern setting.' Midoriya assured himself, but still felt bad deep down.

After the tea and cake, they were brought a light lunch—which looked like something Midoriya and Uraraka had seen on a high-class cooking show—by several maids, whose uniforms were probably more expensive than their nicest clothes.

Once that was done, Yaoyorozu brought them to the library, a large room with huge shelves carrying books on practically every subject that Midoriya could imagine.

"Wow…" Uraraka gaped. 'This is almost as big as the public library…'

"Yeah…" Midoriya dumbly nodded.

"The library in this house is a tad smaller than the ones in our other homes." Yaoyorozu casually noted. "But I do hope it will suffice for our needs."

Uraraka whirled towards her, wide-eyed. "You have more than one house?!"

"Oh… um, yes. Our family has several estates throughout Japan." Yaoyorozu answered casually.

"One for every season, huh?" Midoriya playfully commented.

Yaoyorozu smiled brightly. "Yes! That reminds me, if possible, I'd love to take you both to our winter and summer homes in the future."

Midoriya was taken aback. 'Oh, she was serious?'

"That's awfully kind of you, Yaomomo." He smiled.

"Yaomomo!" Uraraka embraced her ravenette friend, happy tears brimming in her eyes. She struggled to comprehend not only her friend's fortune, but her incredible kindness as well.

Yaoyorozu truly was born with everything… and yet had few–if any–friends before meeting her and Midoriya. 'It won't be that way anymore. We're here for you, Yaomomo!' The gravity-girl inwardly resolved.

After Uraraka finished hugging her friend, Yaoyorozu gave them a brief tour around the library. As they passed through the science section, Uraraka surprisingly took interest in a beginners guide into Physics. Both Midoriya and Yaoyorozu encouraged her to read it, saying it could help her in understanding and applying her Quirk more. The brunette agreed with their logic and Yaoyorozu happily loaned the book to her.

What really caught Midoriya's attention was an entire section on Pro Heroes. As they walked down the row, he noticed one shelf entirely dedicated to Captain America. There were a variety of older and newer books neatly organized on the shelf.

Uraraka playfully nudged Midoriya in the ribs. "Yaomomo may have you beat for the Number One Cap-otaku, Midori-kun."

"You know," Midoriya rubbed the nape of his neck, "you may be right, Uraraka-chan…"

Yaoyorozu turned away with a small blush. "Yes, well… My parents were big fans of the Captain; my father, especially. I suppose his passion rubbed off on me as well growing up."

"Some of these books look really old." Uraraka pointed out. "Actually, I don't recognize most of them."

"Most of these have been in our family for a while. Some aren't even in publication anymore." Yaoyorozu informed her. She reached up to grab one of the books. "This is one of my favorites. It was a firsthand account from one of the Howling Commandos."

As the girls conversed over the book, Midoriya walked ahead and scanned the shelves of books that covered various Pro Heroes throughout history. A few names he recognized from his private studies, but most he was unfamiliar with. One shelf with a yellow plastic bookmark sticking out caught his attention. Right by the marker was an older, black book titled "Astro" in yellow lettering going down the spine.

Curious, he tentatively reached out to grab the book and looked at the cover, which displayed a faded image of a raven-haired woman in a black, sleeveless bodysuit with yellow gloves and white boots flying above city buildings.

"Astro: The Trailblazer for Female Heroes"

He carefully opened the book to the front page's publication information to see it had been printed in 2160.

"That's a biography of Shimura Nana," Yaoyorozu said as she and Uraraka walked up to him. "Astro was her Hero name. My mother was a big fan; she even met her once."

"Astro, huh?" Midoriya glanced back at the book's cover. "I'm guessing her Quirk allowed her to fly?"

Yaoyorozu nodded. "Yes… she also seemed to have some kind of super-strength as well. Some argued if she possessed two Quirks or not, but Shimura-san always dodged the question when she was asked about it."

'That's interesting…' Midoriya mused.

"Shimura Nana?" Uraraka looked lost. "Who was she?"

"She was the first woman to get into Japan's Top Ten Heroes." Yaoyorozu eagerly answered. "Most agree she was the one who helped women break into Japan's Pro Hero business. If I'm being honest, Shimura-san inspired me more than any other female Hero."

"Really?" Uraraka shrugged. "How come I've never heard of her?"

'Her name was never mentioned anywhere in my Pro Hero research…' Midoriya thought.

Yaoyorozu adopted a sad look. "Well, sadly, she died in a fight with a Villain a little over thirty years ago. Heroes dying to Villains, especially the more popular ones, isn't something the government wants covered; so, they let her fade into obscurity. I think they pulled all of her merchandise within a few months after her death. They didn't even say who the Villain was, or if they were caught."

Midoriya's face contorted into a scowl. "That's no way to honor a fallen Hero."

Yaoyorozu nodded solemnly. "Yes, I agree. But I suppose it is the reality of entering the Pro Hero business."

'Right… Not everyone's sacrifice will be remembered.' Midoriya shook his head to dispel that melancholic thought. He looked back at the book in his hands.

"Is it okay if I read this, Yaomomo?" Midoriya asked.

"Yes, by all means," The ravenette happily said.

With their books selected, the trio sat down in a nice lounging area with very comfortable leather couches and started reading. A set of large windows let in sunlight, providing adequate natural lighting.

Every now and then, either one would speak up to casually converse and comment over what they were reading. Uraraka was starting on her introduction book to physics, Yaoyorozu was in the middle of what appeared to be a romance story of some kind, and Midoriya was reading through Shimura's biography.

During that time, Yaoyorozu called her personal butler–a kind old, bespeckled man with short grey hair and light-blue eyes–to serve another round of tea.

Midoriya was enthralled as he read through Shimura's life story and the many obstacles she faced and overcame. During his readings, he sometimes couldn't help but pause and admire the images of Shimura spread throughout the book. She was very beautiful, and her tough, strong demeanor described throughout the bio reminded him an awful lot of Peggy.

However, there was one matter regarding the flying Heroine, Astro, that concerned him.

'Astro's Quirk, Float, allowed her to levitate in the air. But only a few years after the start of her Hero career, it's reported she started suddenly displaying feats of super-strength. Plus, her speed while flying had increased significantly too.' Midoriya cupped his chin thoughtfully. 'Her faster airtime speed could be explained away through training… or even a Quirk Awakening possibly. But the super-strength? That just seems to come out of nowhere.'

Midoriya silently gasped as a possibility entered his mind. 'No… it couldn't be the super-soldier serum, right? I mean… the formula was lost. Unless…' his eyes widened slightly. '...All For One was able to replicate it? He did have the prototype serum in his blood. Maybe he had his blood studied and developed something similar to Teruko's superior version? That's a scary thought… Still the timeline isn't matching up. Theoretically, Astro would've had to receive the serum up to a hundred years after the war. No way All For One and his supporters would still be around after that long, right?'

"Um… Midori-kun, are you alright?" Midoriya glanced up to see Yaoyorozu was looking at him worriedly.

"Oh…uh, yeah." Midoriya replied. "I was just… getting really into Shimura-san's biography. That's all."

Uraraka, who had been sitting across the couch from him, was curious and scooted closer towards him. Glancing down at the book, she noted the full-page picture of Shimura (in her young adult years) wearing casual clothing that emphasized her curvaceous body.

This mildly irked the brunette. "Midori-kun, are you sure you weren't just gawking at that picture of Shimura-san?" She narrowed her eyes, her tone suspicious.

"W-what? N-no, it's not like that." Midoriya's face flushed. "I mean, she is beautiful, I'll admit… but I wasn't thinking those kinds of thoughts. It's just… From what this book says about Shimura-san, she sounded like an amazing woman… and an even better Hero. I wish I could've gotten to meet her." He was sincere about that.

"Oh, I see…" Uraraka felt a little bad for calling out Midoriya, and then glanced back at the picture with new interest. 'I wonder though if she's the type of woman that Midori-kun is attracted to?' She briefly considered that thought.

"Hey… Midori-kun, do you think I could borrow that book after you're done?" Uraraka asked.

"Yeah, sure." He smiled. "I'm almost done with it, actually."

"Really?" Yaoyorozu then noticed Midoriya's place near the end of the book. "Have you read that far ahead already?" She sounded impressed.

"Yeah." He nodded. "My mental processing is enhanced along with the rest of my body, so I can read pretty fast."

"And you don't miss anything while reading that fast?" she questioned.

"For the most part, no." He smirked. "Not to sound arrogant or anything."

'I see. So he does have eidetic memory then.' Yaoyorozu thought.

"Ugh! I'm so jealous." Uraraka bemoaned. "That'd make studying so much easier."

"It does help, I won't lie." He bashfully admitted.

"Speaking of studying," Yaoyorozu earmarked her book, "perhaps we should stop and do a study period together? We can recap on everything we've learned this week, and maybe even get a head start on this coming week's material?"

Midoriya smiled and nodded. "I'm fine with that. It'll prepare us for any pop quiz Mr. Aizawa might give us."

Uraraka sighed tiredly. "Yeah… that would be smart. Plus, I could use some help understanding the evacuation procedures that Aizawa-sensei covered on Friday."

The trio sat up and relocated to a small table in the lounging area. Midoriya and Uraraka pulled out their school material from their respective bags while Yaoyorozu temporarily left to retrieve hers. From there, the three spent the next half-hour discussing the topics covered in their regular classes and Foundational Hero class with Aizawa-sensei.

After that, they moved on to discuss everything covered so far in the Heroics Field class.

"I know we've already received appropriate feedback from All Might and Aizawa-sensei," Yaoyorozu turned to Midoriya, "but, as a trained soldier, I was curious about your thoughts on our performance in the Battle Trials, Midori-kun."

Uraraka looked at the verdette, equally curious.

"Well," Midoriya briefly paused to collect his thoughts, "lemme say that using cameras to give you a live feed across the hideout and making the spray foam bombs to trap the Hero Team was pretty well thought out on both accounts. Also, creating a net gun, an airsoft gun that fires adhesive paste, and pepper spray during your fight with Tokage was very impressive. You would've won that fight in most scenarios against any other opponent. Overall, you performed admirably in strategizing and in battle, Yaomomo."

"Th-thank you, Midori-kun…" Yaoyorozu covered her cheeks with her hands as she blushed.

A genuine compliment, free of any ulterior motives, was something Yaoyorozu had rarely received from anyone aside from her parents and members of the estate's staff she was close to. Coming from such a capable young man like Midoriya, it was no wonder the heiress was flustered.

"And, Uraraka-chan," he looked at his brunette companion sitting by him, "good on you for using Zero Gravity to build that makeshift barricade. Also, you were pretty cool fighting off Tsuyu using those air thrusters in your costume. You did pretty well considering it was your first time using them, right?"

"Yeah, it was." She confirmed with a nod.

"You'll get better at it with more practice. Overall, I'd say you did a good job at supporting Yaomomo. I was impressed, for sure." Midoriya sincerely said.

"T-thanks, Midori-kun…" Uraraka shyly looked away as her perpetual blush marks turned a shade darker. She didn't know why but it was suddenly hard to look her verdette neighbor/best friend in the eyes without feeling butterflies in her stomach.

'What in the world is coming over me all of a sudden?' She thought, feeling bemused.

"There is one thing I'm curious about," Midoriya continued, snapping the girls out of their flustered states, "Yaomomo, was it part of your plan to let Tokage and Tsuyu get past you both?"

"Well, yes and no." Yaoyorozu replied. "The Spray Foam bomb was really there to mislead the Hero Team, and for insurance in case Uraraka-chan and I couldn't wrap Capture Tape on our opponents."

"So, you both were aiming to defeat them in the hallway then?" he inquired.

Yaoyorozu and Uraraka nodded in confirmation.

"Well, you both trying your hardest to capture them did sell the deception that the room you were guarding had the real faux bomb in it. So, I give you both props there." Midoriya complimented. "Although, if I had to give critique…"

He looked at Uraraka, "Uraraka-chan, with your Quirk, you can take nearly any opponent out of a battle just by touching them and sending them flying. I'd recommend improving in close-quarters combat. I can help out in training if you're interested."

"O-okay then." Uraraka nodded.

He then turned to Yaoyorozu. "Yaomomo, you've practiced Bōjutsu, right?"

"Oh, yes!" Yaoyorozu said eagerly. "I've been learning since I was twelve, actually."

"Bōjutsu?" Uraraka repeated.

"A martial art that involves using a staff for offense and defense." Yaoyorozu quickly explained.

"Would you say Bōjutsu is your default fighting style in close-quarters then?" Midoriya questioned.

"Yes, I'd say that's accurate." Yaoyorozu nodded.

"Against most unarmed opponents, it's a very effective fighting style," he stated. "Tokage is one of those exceptions given the nature of her Quirk. You were doing well using the net and adhesive paintballs to trap her body parts. I would've kept doing that or used other methods until she was completely pinned, buying you enough time to wrap Capture Tape around one of her body parts."

"Hmm," Yaoyorozu considered her friend's suggestion and agreed. "Yes… I suppose that would've been more effective."

"Still though, you both did very well for your first battle assignment. With more experience and training, I know you both will be a force to reckon with." He grinned confidently.

Yaoyorozu and Uraraka beamed, feeling a surge of confidence run through them from his praise and constructive critique.

"Well, hopefully we can catch up to you one day, Midori-kun." Uraraka patted his back. "I know I said it before, but you were awesome!"

"You were quite efficient in how you fought." Yaoyorozu added. "You were the clear MVP of the trials that day."

"You guys are too kind…" Midoriya became mildly flustered, making the girls giggle in amusement. He was way too easy to tease!

Yaoyorozu then recalled something that day regarding the verdette that had piqued her interest. "By the way, right before your match your demeanor drastically shifted. I was wondering, is that the result of your military training?"

"In a way, yeah," Midoriya nodded. "I was putting myself in the right mindset for the match." He looked at them apologetically. "I'm sorry if I came off as rude…"

"It's not that. It just took us by surprise is all!" Uraraka reassured him, and then happily grinned. "Besides, seeing you so focused and acting so professional was really cool! And seeing that jerk Bakugo get what was coming to him was a nice bonus too."

"I've noticed that Bakugo-san hasn't been as loud or pompous as he was the first couple days of class." Yaoyorozu offhandedly mentioned. "Which I'm grateful for…"

"I think we all are…" Midoriya deadpanned.

Uraraka snickered slyly. "Guess getting a shield to the jaw will do that to yah."

At that, Yaoyorozu remembered another matter she had wanted to discuss with Midoriya and felt this would be the perfect segway for it.

"Speaking of the shield," Yaoyorozu turned to the green-eyed hero, "Midori-kun, your shield operates identically to Captain America's shield, don't you think?"

Midoriya managed to keep a straight face. He knew it was only a matter of time before someone made the connection, and wasn't surprised that someone as intelligent as Yaoyorozu had realized it first.

"Yeah, you'd be right." he confirmed.

"Ugh, I can't believe you kept it hidden from us!" Uraraka cutely pouted.

"Heh, I'm sorry." He scratched his cheek. "I wanted to surprise you both since I know you're fans of the Captain and all."

"Well, you certainly succeeded." Yaoyorozu conceded, smiling. Her mouth then straightened. "But that does beg the question… where did you acquire that shield, Midori-kun?"

He carefully answered with the cover story he had committed to memory. "It's an old family heirloom that's been passed down for several generations. I can't prove it, but… we think the same person who made Captain America's shield made mine too."

The table went silent as shock was plastered across both girls' faces. "What?!" They collectively exclaimed.

"I know… Crazy, right?" Midoriya chuckled bashfully. "Guess you could say it's one of the reasons why I liked Cap growing up."

"Wait… Are you serious!?" Uraraka cried, slamming her hands on the table—accidentally touching it with all of her fingers.

"Um… Uraraka-chan?" Yaoyorozu pointed to the now floating table.

"Oh… s-sorry. Release!" Placing her fingers together and canceling out her Quirk, the table gently returned to the floor.

"It's quite alright." Yaoyorozu reassured her before she turned back to Midoriya. "But is that really true?" She sounded stunned.

"Well, at least it's what my father told me, what his father told him, and so on." He explained. "Again, I can't prove it… but given how my shield is indestructible and vibration-absorbent, I'm inclined to believe it. It's quite possible that my shield may have been a prototype for the Captain's."

"That'd be so cool if it was!" Uraraka pumped her fist excitedly. "You have an actual piece of Pro Hero history, Midori-kun!"

'Well… she's technically not wrong.'

"Indeed. Even if it isn't directly connected to the Captain's shield, it would have to be constructed from similar materials." An idea came to the heiress's mind. "Midori-kun, you wouldn't happen to know what your shield is made of, would you?"

'I know I'm supposed to say some experimental metals… but…' Midoriya carefully weighed his options, and responded, "Yeah. Um… have you heard of Adamantium or Vibranium by chance?"

"Mhmm?" Uraraka tilted her head as a question mark appeared over her head.

Yaoyorozu was also clueless. "I… no, I haven't." Her eyebrows knitted together as she tried to recall any mention of those terms in her studies, but came up empty. "In fact, neither of those two elements are listed on the periodic table."

Midoriya had suspected this answer; very few people even back in his era knew of the existence of both metals. He figured it wouldn't hurt to ask in case their existence had been made public knowledge.

He nodded. "That's no surprise. From what I understand, Adamantium and Vibranium are both uber-rare metals; most metallurgists even doubt their existence."

Yaoyorozu's eyes widened at the implications of her friend's statement. "Are you saying that your shield is composed of two practically unknown metals?"

"Possibly." He smiled while sheepishly rubbing the back of his head. "I mean, I'm inclined to believe it since the shield can do things that steel, iron, and other known metal alloys can't do."

"That's really cool, Midori-kun!" Uraraka exclaimed enthusiastically.

"This is fascinating." Yaoyorozu cupped her chin thoughtfully, processing the implications of having an item made of not one but TWO mythical-type metals within her reach. She was eager to study the shield, but remembered that it belonged to Midoriya. Anything she would want to do would have to be run by him first.

'Perhaps I could convince Midori-kun to let me study the shield's molecular structure sometime after our final exams when we have more free time?' Yaoyorozu internally rationalized.

The ravenette looked back. "Thank you for sating my curiosity, Midori-kun. Perhaps we can discuss this at another time?"

"Sure, no problem." He shrugged.

"Why don't we end our study session here? I'd say we've covered enough, yes?" Yaoyorozu suggested. 'With all this new information, I don't believe I could focus on studying anyway.'

"Sounds good to me!" Uraraka gleefully said.

As they put away their school books, Uraraka pulled out an artist notepad from her bag. "Oh, Yaomomo! I did a couple sketches from a scene in your last chapter on the last page. What do you think?" She handed the pad over to the heiress, who took it and flipped the pages to search for the sketch.

"This is very good!" Yaoyorozu excitedly replied. "It's exactly how I imagined it in my head."

'They were talking about something similar in the hallway… I wonder…' He figured this was a good opportunity to ask the ravenette. "Are you an author, Yaomomo?"

"That's right…" Uraraka blinked in realization. "Yaomomo never told you about her hobby."

The pair turned to the heiress, who suddenly became shy.

Yaoyorozu shrunk a little. "Well, y-yes… I am writing a story. It's nothing serious or anything. It's a historical-fiction that I've been working on for the last couple of years just for fun." She then frowned. "I know that it perhaps doesn't suit me, but–"

"I'll stop you right there." Midoriya interjected. "What you love to do isn't about if it suits you or not. It's about if you really enjoy doing it." He looked at Uraraka. "You like drawing, right, Uraraka-chan?"

"Yeah!" the brunette smiled.

He turned back to the heiress. "And you like writing, don't you, Yaomomo?"

"Yes, I do." Yaoyorozu nodded resolutely.

Midoriya smirked. "Then you don't have anything to be embarrassed about, Yaomomo."

"Well… yes, I suppose so." Yaoyorozu said timidly. "It's just that I'm an amateur at writing, so I guess I'm not as open about it as I would be with my other hobbies."

"Don't sell yourself short, Yaomomo!" Uraraka encouraged her. "Your writing is really good! Honestly, once you finish the story, you could totally publish it if you want!"

"Well, I'm not certain about that…" Yaoyorozu sounded unsure. Publishing something anonymously on a fanfiction-based site was one thing, but trying to publish it as a book? That was a completely different beast that Yaoyorozu wasn't ready to face…maybe she never would.

"I'd be interested in reading your story, Yaomomo." Midoriya smiled. "What's it about?"

"It's so cool!" Uraraka's eyes practically sparkled. "The story's called Save the Date. Basically, the main character's this police detective and part-time historian who lives for solving unresolved mysteries and learning the true character behind famous historical figures. She gets pretty famous. But here's the kicker!" Her excitement blossomed. "She has a Quirk that allows her to time-travel!"

Midoriya blinked twice. "That does sound pretty interesting." He cupped his chin in thought. "So… she uses her Quirk to go back in time to solve cases, huh? That is a fascinating ability, even if it is fictional… and well within the realm of possibilities these days." He murmured to himself.

'These days?' Yaoyorozu blinked at that phrasing.

"Can she stay back in time for as long as she wants, or is there a limit? If she leaves the present, does she return to the exact moment she left or relative to how much time she spent in the past? How far can she travel in the past? Is she allowed to have any effect on the past? Or is she just a spectator like watching a movie? Is she–"

Before he could descend further into his mumbling, Uraraka shook him by the shoulders and snapped her fingers in front of his face. "Oh… uh, s-sorry!" He blushed in embarrassment. "Please continue!"

"Pft!" Uraraka suppressed her laughter. Midoriya could be really cute when he started mumbling like that.

"It's no trouble. Really." Yaoyorozu dismissed his concern before she looked at the verdette, "To answer your questions Midori-kun, the main character, who is Detective Mukashi Kumiko, has a fictional Quirk that I dubbed Chrono-Jump… silly name, I know. Essentially, it allows her to travel to any point in the past as long as she knows the exact time and location she wishes to visit. And, yes, if she stays in the past for say an hour, then she would return to the present an hour after she left. As for your other questions, well… I don't want to reveal all of Kumiko's secrets."

"Fair enough. So, what's the main premise?" He inquired.

Yaoyorozu's expression brightened from his genuine curiosity. "Well, Kumiko-san has resolved a lot of historical mysteries and uncovered the truth behind historical figures using her Quirk. However, she gets bored and seeks out a new challenge. After Heroes rescued her from an impromptu Villain attack, she gets the inspiration to resolve the biggest Pro Hero-related mystery to this day."

She leaned in closer. "The mystery behind Captain America's disappearance."

Midoriya's eyes widened slightly. "That… sounds really cool, actually. Very ambitious on her part too." He chuckled, feeling a tad nervous.

"I know, right?!" Uraraka chirped. "It doesn't stop there! Kumiko-san is also investigating Captain America's character to see if he was what the legends say he was."

"Right…" Midoriya said, understanding what the brunette was implying. "I can imagine that Kumiko found a lot of skeletons in the closets of these past people she was investigating, right?"

Yaoyorozu nodded eagerly. "Exactly! Naturally, her expectations aren't very high for the Captain, as a result."

Uraraka giggled to herself. "That is until she meets him for the first time…"

"Why, what happens?" he asked, curious.

"You'll have to read for yourself." Yaoyorozu grinned. "If you want to know more, I could send you the link…"

Midoriya nodded. "I'd like that. I'm looking forward to it."

Yaoyorozu smiled and looked away to hide a small blush.

"You know," Uraraka let out a gusty sigh, "I was reading through Yaomomo's story last night, and I couldn't help but wonder… Does anyone ever wonder what Heroes in the early days were like? People who just did the right thing for its own sake, not because it got them attention or money?"

Midoriya nodded. "I'd say they were living through tough times, and wanted to use their abilities to help out others in the best way they could."

"It's quite noble. These days, however, that's technically being a Vigilante," Yaoyorozu pointed out. "Many of them are people who couldn't get a license for Hero work, but still want to help. Many of their intentions are noble, but it's still illegal to use your Quirk outside of special circumstances. Still, most of them are left alone if they're just picking up trash or helping people cross the street. Some Heroes actually don't mind if they're around in a crisis, because they help evacuate civilians. It's just the ones that try to fight Villains and cause trouble that are the problem."

Midoriya opted not to respond to that statement. It was a complex issue that wasn't so black-and-white and he'd rather not get into it. However, it did remind him of something he did want to ask his two best friends.

"Speaking of being Heroes," Midoriya said, his tone innocently curious. "Can I ask you both a question?"

"Sure, Midori-kun," Uraraka said while Yaoyorozu nodded in affirmation.

"Why do you want to be Heroes?" Midoriya inquired. "What's driving you both?"

Yaoyorozu looked a tad embarrassed. "Well, I've been blessed with a comfortable life, and a very useful Quirk. The stories of the Captain and Shimura Nana both inspired me. I feel that I should do all I can to give back to the world as a Hero… like they did."

Midoriya and Uraraka both smiled at her reply. It was refreshing to see someone with her background have a caring, altruistic spirit.

"I think you're well on your way, Yaomomo." Midoriya stated, making the tall girl blush again.

"Mhmm!" Uraraka eagerly nodded in agreement.

They both turned to their brunette companion. "What about you, Uraraka-chan?"

Uraraka looked down and was quiet for a moment. "Um… If I answer, will you promise you won't make fun of me?"

The super-soldier and creation heiress were bemused by the gravity-girl's request, but they unanimously promised.

"Well… for the money."

Midoriya and Yaoyorozu both blinked, not expecting that answer. However, given the look on Uraraka's face, they both discerned that it wasn't that simple.

Midoriya glanced at the brunette. "Really? I mean, there's nothing wrong with that. Being a Pro Hero is still a job, but—"

"No, it's not that." Uraraka looked down at her lap. "My parents… they have a construction company, but it's a very demanding job and they don't always get that many contracts. They're doing fine at the moment, but when I was growing up, they struggled to keep it afloat. Yet... they always made time for me."

She looked at Midoriya and Yaoyorozu, who both listened with understanding looks in their eyes. She gave them both a grateful smile and continued, looking down again. "I know it sounds unheroic, but part of me wants to become a Pro Hero because it pays a lot. I want to give my parents the comfortable life they deserve."

Uraraka looked back up, smiling bashfully. "I've always wanted to be a Hero, ever since I was little… especially when my parents told me the bedtime stories of the Captain saving all those poor people in the meta-concentration camps… and then seeing a Pro Hero in action one time and how happy and safe he made everyone feel."

"I want to help people, yes. But I also want my parents to be happy, first and foremost. I know it seems a bit selfish and all…" She said sadly.

"No. Not at all." Midoriya immediately responded.

Uraraka looked at him in surprise. Midoriya had a serious look in his green eyes. "I think it's great that you want to take care of your family! I don't think it's selfish because you'll still be helping people and putting your life on the line. Besides, your parents are people too, right? Heroes help people."

"Yes!" Yaoyorozu chimed in. "It's very noble of you to sacrifice part of your future to help them. You shouldn't feel ashamed in the least, Uraraka-chan."

Time seemed to pause as Uraraka simply stared at them with wide eyes, processing what they had told her.

Midoriya and Yaoyorozu were concerned that they may have said something wrong until a big happy smile spread across Uraraka's face. "I've never thought of it that way before. I've always believed that I was greedy to become a Hero for something like this. But… you've both given me a new way of looking at it."

She looked deeply at Midoriya and Yaoyorozu, her eyes shining with gratitude. "Thank you both! You've really made my day."

Midoriya felt his face heat up and turned away in embarrassment. "Well… I'm just… happy I could help."

"Pft!" Uraraka couldn't help but laugh. 'He's so strong and professional during training, but he's so cute when he gets all flustered like this.'

Yaoyorozu smiled at the display, but when neither were looking, she made a note on her phone to talk to her parents about possibly hiring Uraraka's family for any construction projects in the future.

Both girls shifted their attention to the young man. "What about you, Midori-kun? Why do you want to be a Hero?" Yaoyorozu inquired.

Midoriya paused for a short moment. "Well… It just felt right to me. I joined the Army because I was given a chance there, and I genuinely wanted to give back to others." His expression fell a little. "I believe my mom inspired me to do that."

Uraraka and Yaoyorozu looked at their friend sympathetically, already aware of his mother's passing. Many things were made possible in a world full of superpowers and advanced technology. In spite of those drastic changes though, cancer always seemed to be one step ahead.

Uraraka, being the closest one to Midoriya, gently laid her hand on his shoulder. He looked up to see her and Yaoyorozu giving him soft, supportive smiles.

The verdette smiled wistfully at their compassion. "My father wasn't ever around." He continued. "It was just me and mom growing up, and we didn't have much money. She was a full-time nurse and worked a lot of hours. It was very stressful on her. Despite all that, she always had a smile on her face. Though there were heroes I loved throughout my childhood, my mom was my Hero."

Balling his right fist, a determined smile plastered across his face. "I want to be a Hero because I love helping others. I want to honor my mom's memory too… and all the other people throughout my life who helped get me where I am today."

There was a pause as both girls stared at the green-haired young man. Midoriya's expression slightly faltered, feeling himself get flustered from their stares.

Before he could respond, Uraraka and Yaoyorozu both beamed at him.

"You really are amazing, Midori-kun." Uraraka stated.

Yaoyorozu simply nodded, the brunette already vocalizing her thoughts.

"Oh… uh, t-thank you." Midoriya felt his face flush pink, quickly turning away.

The two aspiring Heroines couldn't help but giggle in amusement at their friend's flustered expression.

'Midori is so cool… I want to be a hero just like him.' Uraraka internally decided.

Yaoyorozu was having similar thoughts. 'He has such a pure, noble heart…' A mental comparison between Midoriya and the Captain immediately came to mind. 'They said there'd never be anyone else like him again, but… maybe that's not the case.'

Yaoyorozu smiled warmly at him. As she gazed upon her green-haired companion further, she noticed something peculiar. 'His eyes are the same green as in the painting…'

---

The sun had set and Yaoyorozu had insisted that they stay for dinner. Like before, the meal was incredibly expensive but it tasted amazing and nobody complained. Afterwards, they gathered their bags and prepared to leave.

"We should do this again soon." Yaoyorozu suggested while Midoriya and Uraraka put on their shoes. "At the very least, we can have a good place to study for tests."

"Sounds good to me!" Uraraka eagerly replied.

"Me too." Midoriya agreed. "We could also invite the others as well if that's okay with you, Yaomomo?"

The ravenette vigorously nodded as her eyes sparkled. "Yes! That's a wonderful idea! The more, the merrier."

'She'll definitely enjoy having more friends over. Just wait till they all see this place.' He happily mused.

"By the way, Yaomomo," Uraraka carefully placed a book in her bag, "thank you for letting me borrow this book on Shimura-san. I'll be sure to give it back soon."

Yaoyorozu smiled. "I hope you enjoy it." She turned to Midoriya. "Did you get the link I texted you, Midori-kun?"

Midoriya nodded. "Yeah. I'll start reading tonight and tomorrow, and give you feedback after. Sound good?"

"J-just remember to be nice with your criticisms, okay?" She said nervously.

The super-soldier grinned. "Of course." He glanced at his watch. "We should get going, Uraraka-chan. We don't want to miss our train."

Waving goodbye to Yaoyorozu, the pair walked down the pathway to the main gate. After they left and the gate closed behind them, Yaoyorozu began walking back to her room. She'd had a fun day, but there was a chapter that she needed to finish reviewing and then post online.

As the heiress walked, she pulled out her phone and added another reminder to bring up with her parents when they returned from their business trip.

Ask Mother and Father about Adamantium and Vibranium.

Meanwhile, upon leaving the Yaoyorozu estate, Midoriya and Uraraka proceeded down the sidewalk toward the train station.

As the pair walked, Midoriya glanced at his brunette companion as a question came to mind.

"Hey, Uraraka-chan, could I ask you a question?"

She promptly gave him her attention. "Sure."

"Well, I was curious why you were interested in reading Shimura-san's biography all of a sudden. This was your first time hearing about her too, right?"

"Oh… well, from the way Yaomomo talked about her, she sounded like an amazing Pro Hero. It's honestly kind of confusing that she isn't more well-known these days." she commented. "And, as an aspiring Heroine myself, I'd like to know a little more about her, yah know? Our Quirks are kind of similar since I can make myself float too. Maybe I could learn something to help me when I use my Quirk on myself."

Midoriya smiled and nodded, satisfied with her response. "That makes sense. Well, I don't think you'll be disappointed. Lemme know what you think when you finish reading."

Uraraka nodded before she looked forward. 'Also…if Shimura is the kind of woman you like, Izuku, then maybe I could learn a few things from reading about her.' Her eyes then widened as her face turned red. 'Wait… what am I thinking!? I shouldn't be thinking of him that way! He's my best friend!'

"Everything okay, Uraraka-chan?" Midoriya asked, concerned. "You're getting really red all of a sudden…"

"UH! Y-yeah!" Uraraka stammered, waving her hands frantically. "N-nothing's wrong! Everything's fine! Heh-heh…" She looked away as her blush intensified.

Midoriya was bewildered by her reaction. 'I'll have to keep my eye on her. Don't want her to overheat or anything…'

The super-soldier serum had enhanced many aspects of Midoriya Izuku beyond his physical prowess and heroic heart. However, his denseness with the fairer sex had also been one of them much to the amusement of others.

---

Stepping into his apartment, Midoriya shut and locked the door behind him before setting down his yellow satchel by his desk. He had just returned from the train station with Uraraka and was preparing to get a head start on Yaoyorozu's story before turning in for the night.

"A PHONE CALL IS HERE! A PHONE CALL IS HERE!" All Might's voice rang out.

Midoriya nearly jumped from the sudden noise, but quickly calmed himself when he recognized the ringtone. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out his phone to see that it was Coulson calling him. Curious, he pressed the Accept button and lifted the device up to his ear. "Coulson? It's kind of late…" He said in English.

"It's only 21:00 (9 PM)," he countered, "besides, this couldn't wait; especially since you requested that we look into this matter."

Midoriya realized what Coulson was referring to. "Right… the incident with the press on Wednesday."

"We analyzed all the footage we could gather." Coulson continued. "From both the members of the press there that day and from street cameras nearby."

"Did you find anything?" He took a seat at his desk.

"Yes and no. We didn't find the one responsible for destroying the gate. But we did discover that there's ten seconds of footage missing… from ALL the recording devices present in that area."

Midoriya furrowed his eyebrows suspiciously. "Lemme guess… the UA Barrier was compromised in that ten second blackout." He stated rather than asked.

"Was it that obvious?" Coulson playfully replied. "UA and the local authorities have likely already noticed as well. What's even more baffling is that none of the media members who were arrested reported seeing anything suspicious before the gate was destroyed."

He pinched the bridge of his nose and groaned. "That's because they were so focused on trying to get an interview from All Might to notice anything else." His eyes shot open in realization. "Wait! The press… could they have just been a cover?"

"I'm willing to bet my autographed Captain America trading card collection that they were." Coulson said, half-joking and half-serious. "It's no coincidence that after UA announced how All Might was starting as a faculty member on Tuesday evening that this whole incident occurred."

He was right. There was definitely a connection.

"None of the media members had a Quirk that could destroy the gate?" the verdette asked.

"Not even close."

Midoriya hummed, processing the information. "It all seems too elaborate to be some kind of prank from a school rival. Someone definitely took a shot at UA then."

"That does seem to be the case." Coulson agreed.

"Any leads or ideas on who did this? What their motivations could have been?" He inquired further. "A single person or maybe even a group?"

"No, but UA has no shortage of enemies. There's plenty of people who'd jump at the opportunity to damage the school's reputation."

"There has to be more to it than that. Someone used the media as a cover to sneak in AND somehow had the capability to temporarily disable all recording devices around the gate." Midoriya narrowed his eyes. "They wanted something they could only get from inside the campus."

"My thoughts exactly…"

"Any clues on what it could be?" He asked.

"None so far. Without an official investigation, there's only so much SHIELD can do from the outside without violating international laws." Coulson replied.

Midoriya rolled his eyes. 'Like that's ever stopped them before…'

"If I had to guess, it's likely that whoever was responsible could have been seeking direct access to the university's mainframe…or perhaps the plans for the upcoming Sports Festival."

"Maybe…" Midoriya said.

The agent sighed on the other end. "But I don't believe you need to stress too hard about it, Cap."

"Kind of hard not too since my friends and I attend UA." Midoriya retorted sardonically.

"UA has already fully repaired the gate and significantly increased their security." Coulson mentioned. "They've even called upon Underground Heroes to guard the campus incognito."

"You think that will be enough?"

"At the very least it should deter the ones responsible from returning to the scene of the crime." He pointed out. "Besides, UA's new security system is based on the Triskelion's. No one is entering that campus unauthorized without tripping any alarms."

He wasn't entirely convinced, but opted not to push the issue further. Getting worked up over a situation he had no control over wasn't going to do any good. The school was likely already in the process of making the necessary changes to upcoming events and increasing security as well.

It should be fine then, right?

He sighed heavily. "Alright. Guess we'll just have to trust that UA knows what they're doing here."

"You wouldn't be there if we didn't think they were competent." Coulson remarked, laughing a little. "They're one of the three best Hero academies in the world for a reason."

Midoriya nodded, feeling himself ease up a bit from the agent's sound rationale. "Yeah. You're right."

"Change of subject, but you said you were going to spend the day with those two girls today, weren't you? How'd that go?"

Midoriya cocked an eyebrow. That seemed random. "Uh… yeah. Ochako and I went to Momo's house. And it was fun."

"Already on a first name basis with them, huh?" He could practically see Coulson's teasing smirk.

He rolled his eyes, smirking. "No, I'm only using their first names with you. I don't think they're comfortable with that."

"I wouldn't be so sure…" Coulson paused. "For all you know those two may be waiting for you to take that step. Keep at it, Cap, and you'll have two potential love interests."

Midoriya felt his cheeks heat up, taken aback by the question. "W-What?! N-NO! It's not like that!" He stammered.

"Sure…" the agent drawled, sounding unconvinced. "It sounds like you're in denial right now. I'm sure you'll figure it out in time."

The super-soldier went beet red from his neck to the top of his head. "I…" He trailed off, his thoughts shifting to both young women.

He'd be lying to himself if he tried to deny that the gravity-girl and creation heiress had many qualities about them that greatly appealed to him. Obviously they were both very beautiful, there was no disputing that. In their own unique ways they were strong, talented, driven, and supportive of others. Above all that, he greatly admired their earnest, altruistic reasons for pursuing the Pro Hero career.

He cared very much for them. Uraraka had a cheery, bubbly personality and—ironically—the girl-next-door vibe that warmed his heart. Yaoyorozu, meanwhile, had an elegant beauty about her that was unrivaled, and possessed a sharp, intelligent mind to back it up. Though she was prudent and dedicated most of the time, the bouncy and enthusiastic side of her personality that he and Uraraka had seen on multiple occasions was very endearing.

However, as Midoriya tried to think of himself in a romantic relationship with either one, he felt guilt swell inside him.

"Cap? You there?" Coulson called out.

Right. He must've been quiet for too long.

"Oh… uh, sorry." He apologized. "But I… I don't think I can date Ochako or Momo."

"Why not?" Coulson sounded confused. "They both seem like lovely young women. Why not give one of them, or heck, even both of them a chance?"

He was about to respond until he fully processed what Coulson had said. Did he hear that last part correctly? "Uh… did you suggest I date both of them?"

"Sure. Don't get me wrong, it's not exactly common or anything. But it's not unheard of either, especially with some Top Heroes across the world." Coulson mentioned offhandedly.

He blinked twice before shaking his head to dispel any inappropriate thoughts. "Even so… I can't date them. Or anyone else for that matter."

"How come?" Coulson asked, bewildered.

Midoriya slumped his shoulders and deeply sighed. "Think about it. How could I possibly date someone, civilians especially, without telling them who I am? I'd be keeping an important part of myself hidden away. That's not fair to them."

"Ah… I see." The American spy understood where the war veteran was coming from.

Midoriya went on. "I'm living a life of half-truths and lies. I couldn't date anyone in good conscience…"

There was a short pause on the line.

"Let's say hypothetically that you could share your identity with whoever you deem trustworthy. Would that be enough to get you out there?"

Midoriya furrowed his eyebrows as he considered the suggestion. On one hand, it would be much easier to date someone without having to worry about constantly blowing his cover at any moment. He could truly be himself. On the other hand, he feared if he told anyone who he was (if they believed him), they'd only be interested in dating Captain America and not necessarily Midoriya Izuku.

Not that it mattered either way. There was still a big hurdle that stopped him from romantically opening his heart to another.

"Maybe… but, I still don't think I could even then." His gaze fell to the floor. "It's still too soon…"

A long pause followed his depressed words.

"Izuku…" Coulson's voice came out gentler, "she would've wanted you to be happy, you know?"

He sighed heavily. "I know that. But…" He pulled out a necklace with a pair of dog tags out from beneath his t-shirt. Taking one of the tags between his fingers, he gazed at the stamped name lamentingly. "...I… I'm not ready, Coulson. Not yet."

'Honestly… I dunno if I ever will be…' He thought melancholically.

---

After hanging out with Uraraka and Yaoyorozu at the latter's house, Midoriya spent Sunday mostly relaxing for the first time in a while. It felt kind of surreal to the super-soldier, but he didn't dislike it though.

He and Uraraka mostly hung out in her apartment studying together with him aiding her in mathematics and English. After that, Uraraka sketched some drawings in her artbook while Midoriya secretly worked on checking some items off his Things To Catch Up On list while listening to popular music from the last twenty years.

It wasn't bad per say, it was just… different?

Later on, Midoriya switched his focus to getting a head start on Yaoyorozu's story, Save the Date. Though Midoriya was still in the first few chapters that mostly consisted of character introductions and setup, he was really enjoying it so far. Yaoyorozu's writing was well-detailed without dragging on, and concise in overall structure. It was beyond him why she was embarrassed about it.

He had stopped at the part where the main character had been struck with the inspiration to investigate Captain America's mysterious death. 'Even though I already know the answer in real-life, Yaomomo doesn't know that. So I'm curious to see what her take on it is.' He mused.

The weekend had taken its time to arrive and–as it always goes–it was over fairly quickly.

Monday had started off like most mornings for Midoriya with his sleep being abruptly interrupted by the same nightmares. He'd wake up early and headed out to train at Takoba Beach Park, working off his frustrations. It was a pattern he was growing very weary of at this point. He briefly considered seeking psychiatric help but dismissed the idea, believing that he just needed more time to move on from his personal issues.

When he returned to his apartment later in the morning, Uraraka was waiting for him in front of his door wearing sleepwear that consisted of a sleeveless t-shirt and pink shorts that did little to hide her curvy figure.

Midoriya's eyes quickly darted away and he was grateful that his face was still flushed from running earlier.

"Hey, I was about to call you. Were you out training at the beach again, Midori-kun?" Uraraka asked.

"Oh… y-yeah, I was." He nodded.

Uraraka sighed. "Training is good and all… but you don't want to overwork yourself either, Midori-kun. You could hurt yourself. You should know this stuff…"

'Not likely with my enhanced healing and durability…' Midoriya inwardly mused.

"Y-yeah," he rubbed his neck sheepishly. "I woke up early again… I needed to work off some stress, I guess."

The brunette wasn't convinced, looking at him worriedly. "Are you okay? Is something bothering you at night?"

Midoriya exhaled heavily. "I'm fine, Uraraka-chan. Just working through some things. That's all…" That statement wasn't untrue.

"You know you can talk to me and Yaomomo anytime, right?" She offered.

He smiled ruefully. "I know. Trust me, it's not a big deal or anything."

"Okay…" She still wasn't convinced, but Midoriya didn't seem like he was ready to talk, so she didn't push the issue further at the moment. Maybe she could talk to Yaomomo about it later and get her thoughts?

"Well, I guess we should get ready now. If she's free, maybe we can meet up with Yaomomo at that teashop she likes?" Midoriya suggested.

Uraraka smiled, nodding. "Yeah! Sounds good!"

---

It was a normal, uneventful day so far.

In Foundational Heroics, Aizawa gave a lesson on Rescue Procedures across various environments. Most of the class was intrigued while the more battle-centric students–like Bakugo–were less interested. English and Modern Literature were mundane as most of the class counted down the minutes in anticipation for the Foundational Heroics Field class in the late afternoon.

After an hour-and-a-half intermission, the Class 101-A students were moving down the hallway towards their Foundational Heroics room. Midoriya, Uraraka, Yaoyorozu, Tokage, and Tsunotori were walking together after stepping out of the library.

"Finally! I was starting to think the Field class would never get here." Tokage grinned to herself.

"Right?" Tsunotori giggled. "Our Heroic classes are much more exciting than the other courses."

"Agreed." Uraraka sighed tiredly. "Why does English have to be so challenging? It's such a dumb language."

Midoriya and Tsunotori both flinched at that statement.

Yaoyorozu smiled and supportively put a hand on her shoulder. "Well, it is essentially three languages mixed together to make one language. But it'll become more clear with time and practice, Uraraka-chan."

"Yeah." Tsunotori added. "Just keep at it and you'll be as fluent as me and Izuku one day."

Uraraka's eye involuntarily twitched as the blonde said Midoriya's first name. She knew it shouldn't bother her, but it still did for some strange reason.

"If it helps," Midoriya chimed in, "your speaking is steadily improving. So that's progress."

"Yeah, I guess…" she relented.

The group stepped into their Heroics classroom and took their respective seats.

"I wonder what we're doing today." Uraraka said, laying her bag by her desk.

"Well, our class this morning was over rescue protocols in different settings." Midoriya pointed out. "Maybe it's related to that?"

"Very astute of you, Midoriya." The class froze in place as Aizawa lazily stalked into the room. No one had even heard him approach the door! "If you would settle down, I might be able to explain...or I can just deduct points from today's exercise."

Everyone quickly settled down and sat with perfect posture.

"Better. Now, today's training will be different. You'll have three instructors. Myself, All Might, and another faculty member will be keeping tabs on you." Aizawa explained.

His words mildly surprised the class.

'Three Pros, huh? I wonder if this is due to the break-in last week.' Midoriya mused. 'Guess they really aren't taking any chances…'

"Hey, Aizawa-sensei." Ashido raised her hand. "Where is All Might?"

Aizawa sighed in exasperation. "Too busy to be on time apparently. He should be present later on."

Midoriya cocked a brow. 'What could be holding Toshinori up? He's supposed to be taking it easy and focusing on teaching, isn't he?'

Aizawa pulled out a card and showed it to the class. "Regardless, today you'll be doing rescue training to prepare you for floods, fires, shipwrecks, and other disasters." The card in his hand did indeed have the word 'Rescue' on it in bright blue letters.

While not met with as much enthusiasm as combat training last week, many of the students broke out into excited murmurs, much to the perpetually exhausted instructor's irritation.

"Oh, I can't wait!" Uraraka smiled brightly, making Midoriya's cheeks warm slightly. "Rescue is what I plan to specialize in!"

'Ochako really is cute when she's excited.' Midoriya thought from seeing how bouncy the brunette was. He quickly shook his head and turned forward, trying to suppress his blush.

"Me too." Asui happily ribbited. "I'll be right at home in flood rescues."

Yaoyorozu eagerly nodded. "I'll be very useful in most rescue scenarios as well."

Bakugo groaned and rolled his eyes. "Boring…" he muttered under his breath.

"Heck yeah! This is what separates the men from the boys!" Kirishima grinned widely. "I'm so pumped, let's do this!"

"Pipe down!" Aizawa commanded, his eyes flashing red and his hair levitating. The classroom immediately went silent again. "Stop making me use my Quirk! You're giving me dry eye." He grumbled out, clearly annoyed as he pulled out eye drops and applied them.

Midoriya knitted his brows together. 'The Erasure Hero, Eraserhead. An Underground Hero. He can nullify someone's ability while staring at them. I can see why Aizawa wants to stay on the down-low with a Quirk like his. I need to thank Coulson later for finding that intel for me.'

"Now," Aizawa continued, "it's up to you to choose whether to wear your costume or not. Some of them may not be suitable for certain scenarios." Pressing a button, the wall shifted open to allow the classroom's costume cases to slide out.

"The location we'll be training at is a bit remote, so we'll be going by bus. When you're ready, come to the main parking lot and you'll see it. That'll be all. Get ready and don't waste time." He gave them a hard stare before grabbing his yellow sleeping bag from behind his desk and leaving the room.

"Rescue training…" Midoriya murmured to himself, walking up to grab his costume and shield cases. "The whole purpose for Heroes." His gaze sharpened with determination as he headed for the locker room.

Despite Iida's insistence on not running in the halls, Midoriya sprinted into the men's locker room to get a head start on changing into his costume. He managed to finish suiting up right as the other guys got their costumes on.

Placing the shield on his harness, he attached his helmet to his belt and closed his locker door.

"Hey, Midoriya!" Sero clapped him on the padded shoulder as he walked past, his helmet tucked underneath his other arm. "So, I tried out those suggestions you gave me over the weekend."

"Oh yeah… How'd it go?"

Sero's grin widened. "Well, as it turns out I can shoot multiple strands of tape at once! Three, to be exact!"

"Really? That's great, Sero!" Midoriya said excitedly.

"Pretty crazy how I never thought to do that myself, huh?" Sero rubbed his neck sheepishly. "Although I found out I can only use that move a few times before I dehydrate faster, so I had the support guys add a water bottle to my costume." He motioned to the plastic white bottle attached to his belt. "It should at least help stave off dehydration if I use it sparingly."

"Good thinking." Midoriya nodded in approval. "Now that you have a baseline, you can work to improve from there. With more practice and finer control, you could be able to make nets or other objects in a single shot."

"Just propose if you love his Quirk that much," Bakugo grunted as he stalked past them.

Sero rolled his eyes when the ash-blonde left the room. "Man… Kirishima must be really brave or dumb to try and befriend him."

"Have you seen any progress on that front?" Midoriya asked as they headed for the door.

"I saw them talking to each other in the library earlier." He paused and thought about it. "Well, actually Kirishima was talking. Bakugo just looked grumpy."

"Isn't he always grumpy though?" Midoriya and Sero stopped as Kaminari walked up behind them.

"I swear that scowl is permanently carved onto his face." He commented cheekily. "You'd think he was designed that way or something."

"Speaking of design, did you make changes to your Costume, Kaminari? It looks sick, dude!" Sero praised his buddy.

Though Kaminari's costume maintained the same theme as his first one–being mostly black–it had indeed been altered. For one, it wasn't as loose anymore, the jacket was noticeably padded and the whole costume was covered in thin silvery lines. On the blonde's hips were two metal batons, and a long, thin chain looped over a special holster to hold it. On his hands were fingerless gloves with studded metal knuckles, and he had a choker-like device around his neck with three small green lights on one side. He still maintained his radio device over his right ear for communication as well.

Kaminari grinned. "Thanks! I just got it back from the Support Department today." He turned to pat Midoriya on his shoulder. "Thanks for the help, Midoriya-san! I incorporated your suggestions and added my own ideas."

"You're welcome. But what changes did you make?" Midoriya asked curiously.

Smirking, the electric blonde pointed to the metal-studded knuckles on his black fingerless gloves. "The metal on my gloves not only pack more of a punch, but they conduct my electricity and act like tasers too!" He then motioned to his batons and chain on his hip holster. "I'll need more practice using them, but I can electrify these metal batons for an extra shock. The chain is lightweight but I can use it to conduct my electricity onto a target at a distance."

"Bada**!" the Tape user exclaimed.

Kaminari continued. "For my outfit, I've had it padded with Kevlar to make it bulletproof for small arms fire and cut resistant for edged weapons too. These silver lines are basically the same stuff that they make electric fences out of. With a bit of power from me the whole costume becomes a defensive piece of equipment!"

Midoriya gave a thumbs-up. "Nice work, Kaminari-san. You made some great changes to your costume."

"Seriously, dude! Your redesign is freaking awesome!" Sero stated excitedly.

"Aw, come on, it's not that amazing." Kaminari chuckled, rubbing the back of his head.

"I disagree." Midoriya retorted. "You have more options in battle now, not being limited to just letting loose electricity everywhere." He then noticed the metal device with green lights on his neck. "What about that thing on your neck?"

"Oh, that?" Kaminari pointed to the choker, "this device operates like a breaker. It'll keep me from overcharging my brain. Thanks for suggesting that idea, Midoriya-san!"

Midoriya nodded, smiling. "You're welcome. I'm glad you added that. No shame in having Support Gear to cover any weaknesses."

"Yeah," Sero chimed in. "Good work, man."

Kaminari chuckled sheepishly. "Well, after getting embarrassed in combat training last week, I didn't want to risk becoming a liability in a real battle, yah know?"

"That's good. Though I'll admit, I will miss seeing you go stupid again." Jiro commented as she and the other girls met up with the boys.

"Ha-ha, laugh it up." Kaminari said dryly.

"I will. By the way, Midoriya-san," the purplette shifted her gaze to the verdette, "I took your advice from last week too."

"What advice did he give you?" Kaminari asked, curious.

Jiro smirked while showing off two smart watches on her wrists. "I preloaded sounds on each watch. By plugging one jack into a watch and the other into my Speaker Boots I can produce a highly amplified version of whatever sound I choose. I have high pitch, super low bass, and even messages to assist with evacuations and stuff."

"That's incredible, Jiro-san!" Yaoyorozu smiled. "Such a simple change, but it'll give you so many options moving forward."

"Well… Midoriya-san is the one who suggested it." Jiro twirled one of her earlobes. "Credit to him."

"I'm always willing to help in whatever way I can. By the way, you guys don't have to use formalities with me." Midoriya shrugged. "Just call me Midoriya."

"Just 'Midoriya'?" Ashido feigned disappointment. "So, we can't call you, Midori-kun? I mean, how come Yaomomo and Uraraka get to call you that?"

"Well…" Midoriya looked away shyly, "I mean… not saying you can't, but I've known Yaomomo and Uraraka-chan longer, so…" He trailed off.

"Oh, I get it." Ashido squeezed between Yaoyorozu and Uraraka and placed her hands on their shoulders, grinning mischievously. "You three are really close then, huh? How far have you each gone in your relationship?"

"How far…?" Midoriya was confused.

Yaoyorozu and Uraraka, however, caught onto what their pink friend was implying and blushed madly.

"N-no!" Uraraka spluttered, turning beet red. "It's not like that!"

"Y-yes! We are good friends, but it's nothing obscene. Shame on you for insinuating that, Ashido!" Yaoyorozu admonished with a flushed face.

"Yeah, yeah," Ashido pulled away, "I guess you're right. My mistake."

Ashido was not apologetic though as she glanced back at Tokage, both of them sharing knowing grins. 'Teasing these three dorks is gonna be so much fun!' They silently communicated with each other.

Class 101-A arrived at the main parking lot where Aizawa was waiting for them by a bus.

Iida tried to get everyone to sit in neat rows until he saw that the bus was an open-seating type. Asui patted his back consolingly as he sat down next to her and everyone else quickly found their own seats.

Midoriya sat between Yaoyorozu and Uraraka with Tokage and Tsunotori sitting on either side of them. Across from them, Ashido directed a sly grin at Yaoyorozu and Uraraka, who both looked away shyly.

Mineta, meanwhile, was glaring daggers at Midoriya from his spot at the back of the bus. 'Lucky bastard!' He clenched his teeth together.

"Ooh, I'm so excited!" Getting over her embarrassment, Uraraka bounced in her seat next to Midoriya.

"I know, right?" Tsunotori grinned. "I'm so pumped to get started!"

"Me too!" Tokage pumped a fist, showing off her pointed teeth. "I'm betting you and I will be pretty flexible out there, Tsunotori." She gently punched Yaoyorozu's shoulder. "Although, I bet Yaomomo here will have way more options than anyone."

"Well," Yaoyorozu cutely blushed, "my Quirk does help me adapt to many situations…"

"Which is a big advantage in rescue missions," Midoriya stated. "Especially if you need specific tools or medical supplies to treat the injured."

'If we had someone with Yaomomo's ability during the war, it would've made our job so much easier.' Midoriya thought offhandedly.

Bakugo scoffed. "All this rescue crap is for Heroes who just can't hack it fighting Villains."

Tokage turned to him with a knowing smirk. "You lost during the Battle Trials, so what does that say about you?"

"Watch your damn mouth, Green B**ch!" Bakugo yelled. "No one asked for your opinion!"

"I know I wouldn't want someone like Bakugo rescuing me. Kero." Asui said matter-of-factly.

"Me neither." Kaminari said flippantly. "I mean, we've only known the guy for a week, so it's pretty telling that we already know he has the personality of flaming garbage mixed with sewage."

The veins on Bakugo's temples throbbed madly. "You wanna go, Sparky!?" He stood up, his gloves popping with tiny explosions. "You'll regret the day you ever applied for this school!"

As Bakugo continued to spout out cuss words at the lackadaisical Kaminari, Yaoyorozu groaned. "This conversation is so disgusting…" She covered her mouth with her hand.

"Yeah, but I like stuff like this." Uraraka replied cheerily.

Midoriya chuckled. "It does take me back." He said mostly to himself, reminiscing on two members of his old team who enjoyed bantering with each other.

"Alright, that's enough! Grow up and act like adults!" Aizawa turned back, his eyes glowing. "Don't antagonize your classmates, so consider that a warning. And Bakugo, don't forget what I said last week."

Bakugo threw himself back in his seat, while the rest of the class sat in more subdued silence. With that, Aizawa slipped into his yellow sleeping bag to take a short nap.

Midoriya, meanwhile, leaned his head back and closed his eyes–mentally preparing himself for the trial ahead. 'I've had my fair share of rescue missions, though most of those involved liberating prisoners, or pulling people out from burning buildings and rubble.' He thought. 'I don't have any experience in other settings, so there's potentially a lot I can learn from this exercise.'

Uraraka and Yaoyorozu both noticed their friend leaning back with his eyes closed. The former gently nudged him in his side. That seemed to snap him out of his trance as he looked between both girls, who smiled at him.

He blinked twice and then returned the smile, feeling his tension fade away. 'They're both so nice.'

"Alright, we're here. Look sharp now!" Aizawa slipped out of his sleeping bag with practiced ease as he stood up, leading the young adults off the bus.

A few short minutes saw everyone off the bus and walking into the gigantic dome-shaped building. When they saw what was inside the facility, most of the students let out excited exclamations.

'Whoa…' Midoriya looked around, impressed. 'How does UA afford all this?'

"Holy crap! Are we at Universal Studios Japan?!" Kaminari questioned gleefully, making several others turn and deadpan at him.

"Not quite!" A voice, one that sounded like it was coming through a speaker, called out to them. Uraraka let out a loud gasp as the group turned to face the speaker. "There's the flood zone! The conflagration zone! The landslide zone! Every disaster you can imagine!" The woman speaking wore a very puffy astronaut-styled suit and yellow shoes. Her arms were held wide as if to welcome them all.

"Oh!" Midoriya exclaimed, his eyes bright as he recognized the Hero. "It's the Space Hero: Thirteen! She's one of the top-rated Rescue Heroes in Japan!"

"I LOVE THIRTEEN!" Uraraka was bouncing up and down in excitement, her brown eyes sparkling as she looked at the Pro. Midoriya and Yaoyorozu looked at each other and smiled, already aware that Thirteen was Uraraka's favorite Hero.

"This training ground that I created is the perfect site to put your heroism to the test! I call it… The Unforeseen Simulation Joint!" Thirteen introduced with a flourish. Everyone could practically hear the smile in her voice, even with the speaker.

"IT REALLY IS USJ?!" Several of them exclaimed, comparing the two acronyms against each other.

"Thirteen, where's All Might? I thought he was supposed to be meeting us here." Aizawa questioned his colleague.

"Well…" Thirteen sighed, before subtly holding up three fingers. "I'm afraid he got caught up in quite a few incidents on his way to the school this morning. He's exhausted himself. He's resting in the breakroom right now."

Midoriya overheard Thirteen and tried to suppress a groan. 'Guess I shouldn't be surprised. He didn't get to be a great Hero by ignoring calls for help. Still though, there had to have been other Heroes around who could've covered for him, right?'

Aizawa shared the same sentiments as the super-soldier. "That man is the height of irrationality. At this point he should just move onto the campus already and be done with it." He sighed while pinching the bridge of his nose. "Well, no point in wasting time, we'll start without him."

"Of course. But before that, I have one or two points." Thirteen said, before pausing. "Or three… maybe four…" Her voice started sounding a bit sheepish as she continued. "Perhaps five… or six?" The entire class deadpanned and sweat dropped. "Well, as I'm sure many of you are aware, my Quirk is called Black Hole. It draws in and breaks down everything."

Uraraka was nodding along with their instructor, her eyes still sparkling. Midoriya and Yaoyorozu couldn't help but find her actions adorable.

'Guess this is what I'm like when I'm fanboying…' Midoriya inwardly chuckled.

"Yeah! You've used it to save countless numbers of people in almost every disaster imaginable! You break down debris and free trapped civilians, even clearing roadways for medical vehicles, police, firefighters, and everything else!" Uraraka was doing her best Midoriya impression without even meaning to.

"That's right! Indeed, my power is capable of saving many lives! But it would also be incredibly, frustratingly easy to use it to kill." That put a damper on the excited mood of the students, bringing down the intensity so they were all paying attention. "Just as I'm sure it would be uncomfortably easy for some of your own Quirks to take a life. In our super-powered society, the usage of Quirks is heavily restricted and monitored. It may seem like a stable system, but never forget that it only takes one wrong move with an uncontrollable Quirk for people to die." Thirteen warned the Hero students.

Midoriya nodded in agreement, frowning soberly. 'She's not wrong. I could easily kill people if I didn't pull my punches in a fight. Not to mention that the shield can cut through anything with enough force.'

"During Aizawa's Assessment Test, you were able to touch upon the true power of your Quirks. With All Might's person-to-person Hero Scenarios, you experienced the danger of using your Quirks against other people! Today will be a different story! Today you shall learn how your powers can be used, not in combat, but how they can be used to save lives instead!" Thirteen had her arms spread wide, as if to indicate the whole of the USJ behind her.

Before the space-themed Hero could continue, the lights all over the dome began to flicker strangely. Everyone looked around in confusion at the odd phenomenon. Kaminari blinked and tilted his head, recognizing the signs of fluctuating electrical output after all.

"What's going on?" Aizawa questioned as he took charge, his students were his first priority in the event anything unplanned happened.

"Has something's gone wrong with the power?" Thirteen sounded confused as she looked up at the flickering lights.

Midoriya frowned as a familiar uneasy feeling arose in the pit of his stomach. 'Something's wrong…'

His attention was drawn by a small distortion forming down in the plaza. The super-soldier glared at the anomaly as he reached down to unclip his helmet off his belt, securing it on his head.

Aizawa had also noticed the distortion and reached into his scarves to pull up his golden goggles.

A black, smoke-like hole tinged with dark-purple had formed in the center of the plaza. Two glowing yellow eyes appeared and seemed to glare at the surroundings for a moment. The smoky mass expanded outwards, swirling wider and wider before a hand emerged from within. Another hand joined the first, acting almost like they were pulling apart a curtain.

What emerged was a man's head, but there was nothing normal about it at all! He had what appeared to be severed hands covering his body. On his arms, around his neck, and even on the front and back of his head. The one on his face was acting as a macabre version of a mask. Between the fingers of the hand-mask a demented red eye glared hatefully at them all.

Then, before the eyes of both teachers and all twenty Hero Course students of Class 101-A, more and more people started coming through the black-purple smoke. The malice in the gazes of everyone emerging from the portal was palpable.

Midoriya instinctively reached for his shield and mounted it on his left forearm.

"Uh… this isn't part of the class, is it?" Kirishima questioned as they beheld the large group coming from the smoke-like portal.

"No." The Captain stated flatly, his tone dead serious. "Those are Villains."

The USJ invasion had begun.

---

[Edited: 9-28-2022]

A/N: Here's another installment to one of the few Captain Izuku stories available out there! A LOT was covered or touched upon in this chapter. Apologies if it seemed kinda jumbled.

First point of order, I do apologize for the delayed update! Things got busy with work and my personal life. In addition, I also added several scenes to this chapter that extended the word count quite a bit. It took time writing everything out and editing it. Hopefully you fine readers enjoyed this update though.

Second, I went back and tweaked the interaction between All Might and Izuku in Chapter 1 a bit. I've listened to some recent criticisms and decided it'd be best to make the change to better align with Captain Izuku's character: someone who is the Izuku we know at heart, but has the skill and confidence of Cap when it comes to heroic matters.

I'm not going to make it a habit of changing things like this, but in this instance, I was convinced it was necessary.

Third, you'll notice there was no Class Representative bit here. That's because UA is a university, not a high school. College courses don't have class reps.

Fourth, I have artwork for Izuku's UA Hero Costume and Teruko Hatsume! You'll find the links on my profile page if you're interested in seeing them. Peggy will be the next art commission I do.

Fifth, the Quirk session scenes with Kaminari, Jiro, and Sero were inspired/paying homage to "Collector Hero: Synthesis" by Kairomaru. Would recommend checking that story out if you haven't already.

[1] - I have a link to the reference I used for the painting at Momo's house. It'll give an idea of how the one in this story looks like. Remove DOT and space. sta(*dot*)sh/ 0b5u83938jf

Fun Fact: Mukashi Kumiko's–the main character for Momo's story–name is related to "time". Mukashi means "old, ancient days" while Kumiko means "a long time" in some translations. Her fictional Quirk, Chrono-Jump, was also inspired by how time-travel works in the Tokoyo: Revengers series.

Alright, we've finally gotten to the USJ Arc! I have cool plans and surprises for this story arc and I'm hoping I can keep it entertaining for you fine readers.

Please leave any comments, critique, or suggestions in the review box below. Thank you for the support as always!