Bone of my Sword

by Brony-wan Kenobi

If an effort to help a quirkless Izuku, his parents take him to the U.S where he will take part in a top secret experiment. There he will meet a certain blonde haired, horned girl which will start him on a new journey...

11. Chapter 11

Mina Ashido let out a small groan of pain as she slid into her desk the next day, her backpack falling to her side as she almost slid off her seat. For a moment, she just stared at the ceiling as her sore muscles began to loosen a little as they were thankful for the sudden relaxation. It wasn't until she heard the familiar sound of a foot being dragged across the floor that she turned her head. As she thought, it was Uraraka still limping as she got into her own seat before face planting onto her own desk.

Yet, despite all the pain she was clearly in, the gravity girl had a smile on her face. One that Mina herself understood and mirrored.

Last night had been intense! When the two girls had first arrived in the gym being used by the 1-B training group (did they have an official name?), the pair had been met with suspicion as well as looks of pure disdain. It was clear that they all knew who they were, which class they belonged to. As such, their expression clearly stated that they did not belong there.

"Alright everyone. Listen up," Izuku had said after clapping to get everyone's attention. "We have a couple new people who wish to join our training sessions."

"Whoa, hold on there," came a gruff voice from the crowd. "Why the fuck should we let them join us?! Didn't we start this group so we could be prepared for the Sports Festival and beat the ever loving shit out of their class? What the fuck man? What the literal fuck?!"

"While I disagree with Awase's crude language, I share his feelings on the matter," said a girl near the front with vines for hair. As the girl spoke, Mina could see several other people nodding in agreement while keeping their narrowed eyes on the pair. Seeing this solidarity of their feelings caused a pit to form in the acid girl's stomach as she understood just how much 1-A was hated by the school. Glancing to her side, Mina could see Uraraka holding her hands together across her chest while her body trembled. It seemed that she was feeling the same thing as well. Yet there was a look of determination in her eyes, a fierce refusal to back down now. One that Mina shared wholeheartedly.

The pink-skinned girl looked away from her classmate to scan the group before her once more until her eyes fell upon one. A blue-haired girl who was half hiding behind another student, this one a boy with untamed purple hair and looking like he hadn't slept in a while. But despite her attempts, it was hard to hide when those snake-like bodies coming out of your back made you stick out like a sore thumb. Their eyes met, the blue-haired girl flinching slightly as she tried her best to hide behind the boy even more while the serpent heads hissed at the acid teen.

So, as Midoriya did his best to calm everyone down with his hands, Mina began walking towards the other girl. With each step she took, she could feel everyone's stares upon her. Their glares sharpened, making Mina's heart pound all the more loudly. But that never stopped her from moving one foot in front of the other until she was finally in front of the pair. The tired-looking teen who kind of reminded her of Mr. Aizawa raised a hand as if to shield his friend from an attack.

Then, Mina bowed deeply.

"I am so sorry for what happened to you today," Mina had said, a pain entering her voice. "I…I should have been there to stop Mineta. I should have insisted that us girls not eat outside so we could keep an eye on the little creep. Because I did nothing, he…just did whatever he wanted! It could have been prevented! I'm just so sorry for what those bullies did to you." Mina never raised her head once, keeping it down as tears formed in her eyes. She almost felt like she had been the one having her ass smacked by that little pervert.

"You think saying sorry is good enough?!"

"Our sister was humiliated in front of the entire school!"

"How do you plan on making up for this?"

"Do you taste like bubblegum?"

Mina winced a little at the three female voices coming in front of her, as well as feeling a little confused by the fourth. But still she kept her head down.

"Sisters, that's enough," came another voice, one much softer and sweeter than the first four. The gym had gone silent for a moment save for the sounds of someone moving forward on the mat. Then, the voice spoke again. "Could you please raise your head?"

Mina hesitated for only a breath, but did as she was asked. Though she was still bowing, she lifted her head up to see that the business course student was looking at her. While the serpents on her back were still shooting her angry looks, the girl's eyes were no longer looking at her with fear. Instead, Mina saw that they had become gentle as they looked into her own teary eyes while a kind smile appeared on her lips.

"Even though you did nothing wrong, thank you," was all the girl said after that, bowing in return as she spoke. The apology had been accepted.

As the two girls righted themselves, Mina noticed that the tension in the room had lessened. Sure, there were still students in the room giving her looks that were certainly not friendly but the overall hostility had gone down sharply. No one looked like they would pounce on her, ready to rip her to shreds or anything like that. So, after seeing this, Mina had taken a deep breath before stepping back to address the rest of the students.

"Listen, I know our classes haven't been on the best of terms," she began. "And that is mostly our fault. We should have done more to stop Monoma from mocking you. We should have tried telling Bakugo to stop calling you extras…though he does that to everyone including us. But, more importantly, I should have done more to show that I want to be friends with all of you. So, I understand what you're all thinking right now. Me coming here, saying all this because I want something from you. I get it. That's why, if you don't want me here, I'll leave without making a fuss. But…just think a little longer about my friend. She has a better reason than I do for wanting to do well in the Sports Festival. Uraraka needs it so much more."

"…Well," someone said in the back before a small murmur began to grow. From where she stood, Mina had seen several of them shifting uncomfortably where they stood.

Then Midoriya spoke, his voice carrying over everyone else's.

"You're here now, and that's what matters," Midoriya had said, a brilliant smile on his face as he had stepped forward. "Listen, I know a lot of you still have negative feelings about 1-A. And that's fine, you're allowed to. But, even when they knew this, both girls still came to us for help! And helping others when they need it is still a core aspect of what it means to be a hero, regardless of how they personally feel about them! I've said it before, we are meant to lift others up! So, let's show them our class spirit, our pride and dedication to being the best heroes we can possibly be!"

"HELL YEAH!" Mina recalled how she turned her head before blinking in surprise at who had yelled that. It looked like someone had brought one of those old comic panels and made a balloon out of it. However, it had taken Mina a moment to realize that it wasn't a balloon but someone's head!

"But…they're not from our class," someone had said, albeit in a weaker tone.

"True, but we also have people here from General Studies and the Business Course," a new girl had said as she walked next to Midoriya. It had taken Mina a moment to recall her name, something Kendo. The Class Rep of 1-B. "I agree with what Midoriya here is saying. I doubt everyone in that class is a jerk. So let's give these two the benefit of the doubt! If they need help, and no one in their class is willing to help them, then we'll do what's right!"

"Well, if that's the case," came the voice of one of 1-B's female classmates. Mina's eyes then widened as various masses of flesh began flying through the air, including a human head of a green-haired girl! Surprised, all Mina could have done was stand there with her eyes wide as these masses dashed towards her with the floating head showing off a fanged grin. Thankfully, those pieces passed right by her. No, rather they rushed right past her to get to their real target: Uraraka! Mina remembered how her heart had pounded in her chest as she turned her body, finding that the green-haired girl was reassembling herself behind the shaking gravity girl. The splitting girl's head seemed to rest on Uraraka's shoulder, her grin sending chills down Mina's spine.

"I think setting some ground rules would be a good idea" the girl had said, her hands resting on Uraraka's shoulders. "Like no telling your classmates what our quirks are. Oh, and don't tell them every little thing we are doing. You can tell them that you are training with us, just don't get into specifics and OUCH!" The girl was interrupted by Kendo who had moved behind her classmate to karate chop the girl's head with an enlarged fist. Turning around, the green-haired girl gave her Class Rep a look of surprised anger while Kendo just gave her a deadpanned look. "Hey Kendo, what's the big idea?!"

"You didn't have to scare them with your antics Tokage," Kendo had said with a sigh. She then turned to Uraraka and Mina. "Sorry about that. But Tokage does bring up a good point. We don't want the rest of your class to find out about our quirks. I'm sure the same goes for you. So, let's make this fair: we won't ask about your class' quirks and you keep ours a secret. Sound good?"

"Y-Yes," Uraraka had agreed. Mina echoed the promise instantly.

Then, she noticed that Tokage was giving Uraraka a once over. Starting from her feet and going all the way up to the permanent blush on her face, the green-haired girl seemed to study her features until a light blush appeared on her face. Then, before Mina could put anything together, Tokage looked away while scratching the side of her face.

"Well, I guess we'll be training together," she had said. "Ah, listen, I don't mean this in a perverted way but…if you're at all bi-curious, give me a ring." Uraraka's face went hot red, steam coming out of her ears as she looked at Tokage.

"Well…it's better than what Mineta usually tries with us," Mina had said, her shoulders slumping slightly as a small smile made its way to her face.

From there, training began in earnest with Midoriya taking the lead in their training. The first thing he wanted to know was what their quirks were, stating that once he knew what they were he could come up with something suited for them. Uraraka had gone first, telling him that she could remove the effects of gravity on anything she touched with the pads on her fingers. This had brought out a hum from the green-haired boy, before looking up.

"I think your best option is to learn a little Judo," he had said. "One of the basic elements of Judo is grappling their arms before tossing them. Adding your quirk into the mix, you have the potential to throw them farther than any normal person without a strength-enhancing quick is able to. Or you can toss them into the air then, once they're high enough, you can release your quirk. Basically allowing gravity to take back control in order to deal a significant amount of damage to the villain. Now, this won't work against everyone, especially those who know mid-air mobility. But it's something simple that I can teach you in a week. Another possibility is to learn the German Suplex. It's not something that I'm personally fond of, but removing the weight of your opponent might make this a more powerful move for you." Mina remembered barely having to glance at Uraraka to see that she was perfectly OK with this. Stars seemed to sparkle in her eyes, almost bouncing from side to side ready to try this.

So, for the next ten or so minutes, Mina watched as Midoriya taught her classmate the basics. Uraraka gave her teacher her full undivided attention, mimicking his stances when told to. Then, once he was done, the teen called Pony over to help Uraraka practice on a living person. Once he was done explaining to the pair how they were going to be training, their green-haired instructor had approached Mina.

"I think I have an idea on how to approach your quirk," Midoriya had said after Mina gave him a detailed run of her quirk. "But before I tell you anything, I need to know: can you produce acid anywhere on your body or is it just confined to your hands and feet?"

"Anywhere on my body," Mina had said as she held up an arm, forming a small amount of her least dangerous acid in her palm. "I guess it's just easier and more convenient for me to form it on my hands and feet. My basic strategy has always been to keep moving, sliding around on my acid while flinging a more powerful type from my hands."

"A decent mid-ranged strategy," Midoriya had said with a nod. "Though, it won't be as effective when you are dealing with someone who has better long-ranged capabilities or can get up close to overpower you. Do you have anything for those types of situations? What about when you are in a narrow area like a hallway? What about when you are in a situation where civilians are nearby, where a single missed shot could seriously harm them?"

All Mina could do was stare at the other teen for a moment before a nervous laugh overtook her while looking away. That had been some of the stuff she had been working on…with little to no success at this point. For example, when she was trying by herself to fight in the narrow hallways of the battle trails, Mina's best idea was to rush straight ahead while flinging as much acid as she could. It was an idea, though one she knew wasn't all that good. If she fought against someone like Bakugo in that situation, he would have unleashed explosion after explosion at her to not just blow her acid back but herself as well. Possibly even burning her badly. She had been telling herself that she was just starting on it. That expecting results right out of the gate was too much and that she would come up with a better plan later. It was just figuring out what to try next was a bit harder than she imagined.

Thankfully, Midoriya didn't seem to have that problem. He gestured for her to follow him to a corner of the gym where several punching bags hung, suspended in the air by specially reinforced chains to keep them from flying off. Anyone with superhuman levels of strength not named All Might would have a hard time sending them flying. But along with them was something a bit more disturbing: ballistic dummies! There were four of them, each having transparent skin that allowed you to see all the bones in their bodies as well as organs and major blood vessels.

Once they were in front of the first ballistic dummy, Midoriya held up a clenched fist. Mina remembered how she looked at it dumbly, wondering what was going to happen before small spikes came out of his knuckles. The pink girl let out a yelp, jumping back in a panic at the sight.

"Back when I first started training with my quirk, this was one of my earliest ideas. Something that would help make my punches more dangerous. However, I quickly abandoned that idea," he had explained. Then, as if to illustrate his point, he began to punch the dummy with both fists. Mina watched in awe as blow after blow was delivered with such grace…until she felt something land on her face. Without really thinking about it, she had brought a hand up to wipe it away before spotting the color. Red. A blood red. That's when she noticed the blood spilling out of the puncture holes Midoriya had created in the dummy, running down its body before dripping onto the floor as well as coating the teen's hands. Focusing more on the insides of the target, Mina was almost terrified at what she saw. The kid with the plain, yet kind face, would have been hauled away for murder had this been a real person. Several ribs were broken, bent inwards to either puncture an organ or had been pulled forward. She could see a massive amount of internal bleeding and the guts along the midsection might have been shredded!

Thankfully, Midoriya was finished and took a step back.

"My quirk, Bone of my Sword, allows me to manipulate my bones," he had said. "I can make them harder than steel and sharper than a blade. That's why I always need to be careful with how I use my quirk."

Mina recalled nodding dumbly to this. She remembered thinking about what Thirteen had said at the USJ, reminding them on how dangerous their quirks could be. At the time, Mina had thought she had understood what the Space Hero had meant. Now, she realized she had been kidding herself! During the battle trials, no one had gotten seriously hurt. Not enough to be taken away to Recovery Girl's office, just cuts and scrapes, and burns. And when Thirteen had described what her quirk could do to a living person, well, that had been left to her imagination. Now, before her, was the proof of what could happen to a person. Just how dangerous a quirk could be. How easy it was to kill someone with it. If that had been her…

"However, I believe something like this would be more suitable for someone like yourself," continued Midoriya.

"W-What?" Mina had asked, taken aback by what he said.

"You can control how powerful you can make your acid," explained Midoriya, a light smile on his face. "I'm sure you know that sweet spot for your quirk, something strong enough to hurt your opponent without killing him. Maybe just leaving them with skin irritation or minor burns. Just coat your knuckles in that solution and deliver some powerful blows to the dummy here. It's a simple but effective combination."

From there, Midoriya worked with Mina personally for some time. It proved to be a unique challenge to the pink-skinned girl. She already knew the pH level he was asking for and she had been able to quickly form the small amounts of it to coat her knuckles. That had been the easy part. The hard part was doing it over and over again. Midoriya wanted her to coat her knuckles with this acid right before every punch until she could do it without thinking. Over and over again, she punched the dummy. Sometimes she would see that the acid was getting weaker, barely doing any damage to its skin. Other times it was too powerful, eating right through it. Yet, Midoriya never lost his patience with her, never told her that he just expected her to get better. Instead he offered whatever help he could, even bringing up some imaging exercises that he himself used. Eventually, she got much better at it.

After a while, Mina and Uraraka were told to move over to the weight machines. There, the pair of girls worked every muscle in their bodies. The other teens around them would not let them settle with what they were comfortable with. No, they all pushed the pair to go beyond. Plus Ultra. By the time this part of the training was over, Mina felt like she was about ready to puke followed by an irritation due to the fact that only Uraraka seemed to feel her level of discomfort.

Were they done after that? Oh hell no! As a group, they ran around the faux city that All Might's battle training had been held in. Starting from the entrance they ran around the perimeter. Then they were all meant to scale the side of one of the six-story buildings, those with quirks not suitable for this needed to rely on those who had the quirks needed. Thankfully, Mina had Uraraka who, despite already feeling like she was going to puke from their workout, managed to remove gravity from the pair so they could make it up with the rest of them. Now on the roof, the running continued. Everyone ran, jumping from building to building and even tightrope walking over a thin wire to prepare themselves for whatever they had to deal with in the Sports Festival. At one point, they even had an automated gun firing paintball bullets at them at moments when they were at their most vulnerable.

When that was finished, they were all split into smaller groups to work on team combo moves.

At least that was the last part of the night's training. As the two girls managed to stumble their way back to the locker rooms, the 1-B students seemed to look at them with a bit more respect. Like they thought they would quit or brag about how easy it had been. Perhaps they saw just how draining it had been for the two yet despite that they pushed forward.

Now back in the present, Mina was hoping she could do all that again. Midoriya had told her before she left that he wouldn't be able to train with them as he and Pony had to meet someone from the States. But he assured her that Kendo would be more than capable to help her. And, if she was too busy, then she could turn to Kan.

Just then, the door to the classroom was swiftly opened making a loud 'thawk' sound. This drew everyone's attention, including Ida who rose to his feet while adjusting his glasses.

"See here you two," he all but yelled, one hand continuing to adjust his glasses while the other arm began making a chopping motion at Mineta and Monoma. "Have you no respect for the property of this fine institution? You could have broken the door that countless fine upperclassmen have passed through!"

Mina managed to find the strength to properly sit up, shooting a glare at the Vice Rep which seemed to go completely unnoticed by him. This got him to react instantly? Someone slamming the door open and not students getting harassed?

"Never mind that!" shouted Monoma as he rushed to the front of the class, standing in front of Aizawa's desk with his phone in one hand. Behind him was his tiny partner in crime, eyes wide and almost looking bloodshot. "We have a serious problem on our hands! The very status of our class, our superiority is being challenged by 1-B! Those fiends!"

Hearing that caused Mina to take in a breath, doing her best to hold in how nervous she felt. Slowly, carefully, she moved her eyes over to Uraraka to see that she was looking right back with clear nervousness in her eyes. Had those two found out about 1-B's training? Well, it's not like it was some big secret or anything like that. There were tons of ways those two blowhards could have found out. But, if they knew then there was a chance that they knew that two members of the class were joining them! Knowing them, they would pressure and harass the two girls into revealing all of 1-B's quirks in order to get an edge!

"The school paper just announced that-"

"U.A. has a school paper?" asked Sero, interrupting Monoma.

"It's digital. Just check out the school's website," said Mineta before pointing up at Monoma's phone which was now being held at arm level. "But never mind that! The stupid paper decided to update their top couples by year! And the cutest couple for first years went to a 1-B couple!" Several students allowed themselves a confused sound before approaching the extended phone. First among them was Tooru who had practically jumped out of her seat.

"Oh my God, they look so cute together," she cried, the floating clothing shaking back and forth as she held in a squeal.

Now curious, Mina rose from her seat as did several other students in the room. What she saw was definitely cute. The picture of the pair was of Midoriya and Pony, both of them sitting under a tree on school grounds. The horned girl was sitting on the bone quirk user's lap, pointing and smiling at something in the distance as a wind blew through her hair. As for Midoriya, he was laughing as well. All throughout the image, you could almost feel the love they had for each other in this moment as if it were a tangible force that was oozing out of the screen. Glancing to the side, she saw clearly that several of the guys were looking on with clear jealousy written on their faces. And while Tsu and Tooru were harder to read, she could see the blush on Momo's face as her hands shot to her face.

"You're right, they do look cute together," agreed Uraraka as she too began to gush over the image.

"This is something we cannot stand for! To not include the superior class of 1-A in such a list is an unthinkable action!" exclaimed Monoma, looking like he was about to burst into tears. Meanwhile, Mineta showed off his jumping ability by leaping onto Mr. Aizawa's desk while still pointing to the phone. As if to make sure everyone there kept their attention on it.

"Such wasted energy," muttered Tokoyami from his seat, arms crossed and looking away from the rest of the class. He was among those who had shown little to no interest in what was going on. Todoroki remained in his seat as well, head resting on his hand as he stared at the wall with a look that seemed to scream that he was bored with everything. Then there was Bakugo, feet on his desk as he stared at the ceiling with his usual pissed-off expression.

"Look, we need to get our class on this list," insisted Monoma. "This is a golden opportunity for our class to shine brightly once more before we become yesterday's news. The public goes nuts for heroic celebrity couples. If the press finds out that we have a superstar couple right here, they will be sure to give our class extra attention! Seeing them together might give them fans before they even make their first heroic appearance. Groups gossiping around the couple shall spam the web, bringing more attention to them as well as the rest of the class. Why, we might even get reporters coming up to us and asking about them!"

"Ah…ok," said Sato, raising himself to his full height as he gave their blonde classmate a questioning look. "But you know there's nothing much we can really do, right? Mr. Aizawa made it very clear what will happen if he catches any of us dating."

"Yeah, but that's only if he catches us," said Kaminari with a laugh of his own before giving everyone a thumbs up.

"…You do realize that if we want people to think there's a couple in the class we have to put it out there, right?" asked Shoji, one of his tentacles moving close to the electric quirk user before becoming a mouth. All while the main head just gave him a deadpanned look. "He's going to find out it's on the school's website."

"Haha! Such an issue is barely an inconvenience for the superior minds of class 1-A!" exclaimed Monoma with a wild grin. "For you see the devil is in the details! None of us shall be dating for it will all be a farce! A ploy upon the school and the media!"

"That doesn't sound very heroic. Ribbit," stated Tsu, she actually frowned deeply at that.

"Hey, as long as no one gets hurt then it should all be good," said Kaminari with a grin. "Besides, it might actually be fun. So, who do you have in mind for this 'forbidden class romance'?

"Ha! Now you are getting it!" exclaimed Monoma. "Yes, we shall craft the perfect narrative that shall capture the imagination of our fellow classmates. They shall watch in awe, cheering them on and, by extension, the rest of us as well!"

"I'm beginning to think that you would have been better suited in the business course," muttered Jiro as she moved back to her seat. "Well, whatever you blockheads decide, leave me out of it."

"Like we would ever use a curveless, flat-as-a-board girl like you," snipped Mineta. Jiro, who had been twirling her jacks, turned to glare at the small grape-themed pervert with a look that would have made Endeavor say 'It's getting hot in here'.

Thankfully for Mineta, Monoma was already on the move.

"Not to worry Jiro, there shall be no need for your assistance in the matter," he said proudly. "For you see, we shall need a pair that is like night and day. A beautiful bell of the ball to act as the stark contrast to the ruggedly handsome beast. A lady whose kindness can peer into the soul of something foul, seeing the good buried deep within! Yes, we need Bakugo and Uraraka!"

"Wait WHAT?!" screamed Uraraka as she was suddenly pulled off to the side.

Before Mina knew what was happening, both Uraraka and Bakugo were brought to the back of the room which was beginning to fill with laughter. The smallest of smiles graced her lips as a feeling she had not experienced in a homeroom since middle school took hold of her. Sure, Uraraka looked like she could die from embarrassment at any moment. Sure, Bakugo's teeth were clenched tightly and his eyes were white while in a narrow glare as Sato and Kirishima used all their might to hold him in place. But the feeling of everyone else goofing off and doing something silly, something she knew they would look back one day with a grin, was much too powerful. Around her, her classmates were pulling out their phones as they laughed and cracked jokes mainly at Bakugo's expense. Even the normally cold Todoroki turned to watch what was unfolding with a hint of amusement.

Then, just as Mina was about to give her friend an apologetic smile, all the good vibes in the room exploded.

"WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH ALL OF YOU SHITS?!" screamed Bakugo as he shoved away Kirishima and Sato, nearly knocking them down. Everyone became silent as Bakugo stood there, back hunched over and arms extended as he panted like some sort of wild animal. Fear now seemed to ripple among the class, some even taking a step back.

Then, Kaminari spoke up. "Hey, relax man," he said with his hands raised in a surrendering manner. "It's fine. Just having a good laugh is all. If you don't want to do this then we can find someone else."

"That's right. There's no need to be so hostile," added Momo whose hands were also raised in a similar manner.

"We shouldn't be doing this at all you worthless extras," growled Bakugo, looking a bit less likely to attack his classmate. Though the danger was still there. Slowly, Mina's attention shifted from Bakugo to Ida before a frown appeared on her face. The taller teen was just standing there. Standing there! Where was all that discipline he wanted to dish out over a door? At least Momo was trying to calm things down, trying to act like a class leader.

"Come now, who better to represent the superior nature of 1-A than you Bakugo," urged Monoma who clearly didn't want to let this go. Yet even as the copy quirk user spoke, Bakugo just brushed past him with an angry huff while returning to his seat. "You, the teen who scored the highest this year in the entrance exam vs the second place holder. The two of you finding love. Surely you don't want to be upstaged by that inferior fool."

"We need to take that guy down!" Mineta yelled, waving his fists in the air. "It's just not fair! How can such a plain-looking loser like him get a hot babe like her while I'm stuck with nothing?! Bet he thinks he's so much cooler than us. Well, just wait until the school hears about you! They'll forget all about that loser!"

"Wait, you mean we were really going to spread this around the school?" asked Momo, suddenly looking scared and nervous. "I thought we were just joking around. Having fun. If I had…Oh my God. I'm so sorry Uraraka." While the wealthy girl was apologizing, Mina's eyes had gone wide. Then, she turned on the pair so quickly that they both jumped back in shock.

"Damn it Monoma," growled Ashido, surprising the class as her normally cheerful and excited tone was nowhere to be found. More people were taking a step away from her, the pink girl's fists shaking in anger as she looked at the blonde-haired braggart along with his sidekick. How could she have been so stupid?! Maybe because the idea of doing something as a class sounded so appealing to her that she had forgotten to look at the source! Well, like hell she was going to keep quiet about this. She had been quiet for far too long already! "That's what this is about? Finding a new way to antagonize 1-B? Is the fact that two of their classmates are happy that upsetting that you have to do something like this? Or is it the fact that the rest of the school recognizing it that's the problem?"

"That's enough Ashido," said Ida, adjusting his glasses with one hand while the other was doing that stupid chopping motion. Seeing that caused Mina to bare her teeth as she shot the Vice-Rep a death glare.

"No! I'm sick of this," exclaimed the pink-skinned girl loudly, causing most of the rest of the class to stop and look at her. Ida tried to approach her, to cut off whatever she was going to say, but Mina pushed him out of the way before returning her gaze to Monoma and Mineta. "I've kept my peace on this because you promised me Ida that you were going to handle it. That you were going to talk to them. Well, it looks like politely talking to them isn't going to get the message across! I'm sick of them bullying our classmates and acting like war heroes after what happened at the USJ." She then returned her glare onto Ida who seemed stunned by this outburst. "I'm sick and tired of you being so slow when it matters! Chip a desk and you're on us before we even know what we did, going on and on about how important they are. But when it comes to living, breathing people you just drag your feet! I mean, you just heard Monoma talking about how they are going to harass 1-B. Did you bother to say anything then about how improper that was? No! What about when Bakugo was swearing his head at us? Nothing from you again! It's me calling them out on their behavior that gets you moving! It's like you're condoning their behavior!"

Ida's face went scarlet, mouth dropping. "N-Now see here," he began only to have the pink-skinned girl cut him off.

"But do you know who I'm most angry with? Myself!" she said with clenched and trembling fists. "I'm angry at myself for not doing more to stop them. Maybe if I had just taken matters into my own hands, we could have been getting along with 1-B this entire time. We could have gone with them to that beach cleanup and party. We could be getting along and having fun while training to be the very best heroes we can be."

It took a moment for Mina to realize that she was panting now while she felt the rest of the class's eyes on her. Some of them actually looked a bit ashamed. Perhaps they agreed with her.

But before she could dwell on it, Bakugo spoke up.

"Listen Raccoon Eyes, we're not here to make friends with all these extras," said the blonde. Quickly inhaling angrily, Mina turned around to see her classmate standing near his desk with his hands in his pockets and a sneer on his face. "I could care less about what they think of us. In the end, their opinion means nothing."

"Hey, speak for yourself man," said Kaminari. "I was actually starting to hit it off with one of the girls in the business course. Now, she doesn't want to be anywhere near our class."

"Oh boo-hoo," spat Bakugo in a mocking tone. "Like anyone cares about whose plug you wanted to fuck."

"Why you!" snarled Kaminari, sparks dancing around his body while crackling in the air. Both his hands were balled into fists, ready to fight at any moment. Yet, despite this showing, all Bakugo did was pull one of his hands out of his pocket. With a confident smirk, he made several tiny explosions go off in the palm of his hand.

"If you want to die right now that's fine by me," he stated, a murderous smile appearing on his face. "One less piece of shit for me to walk over when the Sports Festival arrives."

"That's enough! Both of you!" said Momo as she got in between them. At once, Kaminari's electricity stopped its sparking. As for Bakugo, his smile turned into a look of disdain as he returned his hand into its pocket. "We're classmates. This isn't how we should-"

"Oh would you shut the fuck up about that bullshit!" raged Bakugo, spit flying and landing on Yaoyorozu's body as he screamed. "Hasn't it gotten through your shitty skulls by now? It's every man for themselves! So I don't give a fuck what you think of me or what the fuck you all do. Sparky over there wants to whine about not getting some whore to spread her legs for him? Go right ahead! Those two dipshits want to waste their time on stupid extras? Let them. Racoon Eyes wants to get along with all those worthless no-names? Fine, whatever! Because, at the end of the day, all that shit is meaningless. All that matters is winning! Proving who is stronger than the rest. That's what the pros are going to be looking at. All those shitty people out there will be cheering for the one who is still standing while the bloody corpse we leave behind will be forgotten. So, if you don't want to embarrass both me and your shitty selves, drop this idea that any of us can get by with the power of friendship and motherfucking unicorns. Because that can't happen!" As Bakugo finished his statement, he raised a middle finger in the direction of Momo and Mina. While Mina just shot the teen a heated glare, Momo looked scandalized.

Slowly, the rest of the class began moving towards their seats in silence. Some gritting their teeth and shooting the ashen blonde a hate-filled glare. However, Mina was once more angered by Ida's lack of actions as he just took a seat as well. Perhaps it was just easier for him to make a fuss over objects than defend people. If that was the case, he was a poor excuse of a hero. So many of them were. She couldn't take this. She had to get out of this damned classroom.

Thankfully, she knew how.

[hr]

A bit later, Kan was in the teacher's lounge going over what he planned on reviewing for his afternoon class with 1-B. He had already watched the footage of his class's lesson with All Might, rewatching it several times while making as many of his own personal notes. Now, the only thing left for him to do was to go over All Might's own notes on the matter to see if any of them aligned.

"Ah, Kan? Do you have a moment?"

The blood-themed hero looked up from his work, spotting something you really didn't see every day. It was All Might, nothing but skin and bones as he walked into the room holding two mugs. Kan kept his expression neutral while keeping his eyes on the other man's face. The Number One hero didn't even try to conceal how nervous he was. But despite that his hands were steady, placing a steaming hot cup of coffee in front of Kan before taking a seat directly across from the man.

"I brought you some of Lunch Rush's coffee," said All Might, doing his best to smile…and for once failing in the act that had made him so famous.

Still, Kan smiled at the thoughtful gesture before picking up the mug. "You have my thanks a million times over for this," he said with a laugh before taking a sip. Oh yes. The moment the hot liquid touched his tongue it was enough to make him groan in pure delight. Finally, real coffee.

"There's no need to be so dramatic," said All Might, raising a hand. But there was now a hint of a genuine smile tugging at his lips. However, that died as soon as he lowered his hand. "Especially since I messed up again. I know it's too late, but I wanted to apologize to you."

Kan glanced down at the black liquid in his mug, seeing his reflection staring right back at him. In truth, he had a feeling about what All Might was about to say. There was a part of his that wanted to dismiss the matter entirely. However, he wanted to see where this went. That and to see if improvement was possible. He was, after all, a teacher at heart. So, slowly Kan lowered his mug onto the table along with the tablet in his opposite hand. Then he crossed his arms over his chest while putting on the same neutral expression he used when talking to villains.

"About what?" he demanded.

All Might seemed to cringe at that tone, quickly looking away while scratching the back of his neck. "I messed up with your class," he said, his tone slightly defeated. "I should…I should have contacted you when I found out I would be teaching your class yesterday. But I got swept up in the moment, so excited and wanting to put on a good show for the students that I failed to understand how much you had been covering for my selfish behavior. Because of that, I made a fool of myself and hurt those kids even more. I managed to whip something up real quick though we both know that shouldn't have happened. I should have tried talking to you, asking what you had taught them in my absence instead of assuming that they were still at the starting point." The man's shoulders then stiffened as he sat straight up. Now, there was a fire in the sunken eyes of the slender man. Those orbs locked dead on into Kan's. "As someone who is famous for saying 'I am here', the truth is that I haven't been living up to that. That is inexcusable for me and it is well past time that I started to correct it. So, I was hoping to find out what you have taught those students so that I may start doing just that."

Kan said nothing at first, only picking up his mug to take in a large gulp of the coffee that had cooled down. As the liquid ran down his throat, the blood-themed hero mulled over the words of his fellow teacher. Then, as Kan moved the mug away from his lips, the man let out a sigh.

"I believe we are both to blame for yesterday," said Kan slowly as he sat down the mug.

"No! The blame is all mine and-" began All Might, hands raised only to have Kan silence him with a look.

"All Might, don't get me wrong. You hold the majority of the blame," said the silver-haired man. "It was because you were absent so often that you came into my class unprepared. And yes, you should have been the one to reach out to ask what I had taught them. Like how a teacher should." There was then a sigh as Kan looked down at the desk separating the two. "But…you're not really a teacher, are you? At least not a professional or one that has been doing this for some time. You're still new to this. I should have taken that into account. Instead of waiting for you to come crawling over to me, it would have been better for my students if I had just sent you an email about what we had covered."

Slowly, Kan looked up so that he and All Might locked eyes. Both showing the utter sincerity in their gazes. Then Kan leaned back in his seat.

"I'll tell you what. How about we start over?" offered Kan. "If you have any questions or need advice, feel free to reach out to me." Then a slight smirk appeared on Kan's face. "As long as you can handle some constructive criticism."

That got a chuckle out of All Might, nearly coughing up some blood as he did so. "Well, that is certainly a better offer than what I get from Aizawa," admitted All Might. "Usually the man makes a snide remark about my teaching skills. Like how I'm the living embodiment of irresponsibility."

Kan let out a slight chuckle at that. "Well, sometimes you do deserve that title," admitted Kan, causing All Might's shoulder to slump. "But, saying that and doing nothing isn't going to fix the underlying problem."

All Might sat upright again as he nodded. "Then I'd like to take you up on your offer. Right now, if fact. If you have the time, that is."

Kan grinned, showing off his enlarged canines as he did. "Oh, I have some time. Not enough to go over all your mistakes but…," he began making All Might shiver. However, seeing that his fun was done, Kan shifted back into teaching mode. "Now, first off, I want to know why you wanted to start off with a battle trial as well as why you changed it so obviously. Please, take all the time you need."

All Might blinked at him, clearly showing that he was confused by the question. But, after a moment, he brought a bony hand to his chin as he began to speak. "Well, I wanted to get an idea for myself where they all stood combat-wise," he began. "Using team battles like that saves time, allowing me to see how well they understand their quirks in various situations. I understand that most of these kids have never been in a situation like these before so seeing how quickly they can adapt is also helpful. If they can't figure it out then they need to figure out how they can compensate. Like say scouting the area while staying safe or using hand-to-hand combat. But, most importantly, I wanted to see how well they could work together. For example, Todoroki in 1-A has a powerful quirk. But because it's so powerful he handled the entire test all by himself with barely speaking to his partner."

Kan nodded, understanding the issue at once. "That lack of communication could get someone killed when out in the field," said the 1-B homeroom teacher. "Not to mention the fact that he might panic when he comes across a situation he can't just freeze over. I'm hoping you talked to him about this."

"Well, I sent him an email discussing my concerns," began All Might, only to stop when Kan shook his head.

"Not good enough," said the more seasoned teacher. "All Might, you need to talk to him. Think about how we deal with the people we save from a fire or natural disaster. We don't just set them down, go on our merry way, and then send a postcard asking if they're alright. It's something that needs to be done right away, after the exercise is over. That way it's not just fresh in their minds but also so that they can understand just how serious our concern is. Not to mention making sure that they heard us." Kan let out another sigh. "I am aware of how precious your time is. But if you want to connect with the students you'll have to talk to them more. Even if it's over a screen."

All Might nodded. "That's a fair point. I never thought of it like that," he said. Then, he let out another sigh. "Now, as for why I changed the battle trail, well I didn't want them to think I was being too lazy. Plus, it was an important lesson given in the wake of the USJ."

"I agree with you on that matter," said Kan. "We need to prepare our students for when something like the USJ ever happens again. Still, pretending that you had a different lesson plan all along won't earn you any points with my students. Lying to them will only cause more problems in the long run. While it's too late to change what happened, allow me to give you some advice for if this happens again: tell them what you told me. Yes, they have done that before but you still want to see things with your own eyes. Or you can tell them that you want to see how much they have improved since the last time they did the exercise. Honestly, there is plenty that you could have-" Kan was then cut off by All Might's phone going off. Over and over the loud voice of the pro hero proclaimed 'A phone call is here! A phone call is here!'. The owner of said phone pulled it out, wincing as he saw the contact.

"Something important?" asked Kan. He watched as All Might stared at the phone for a moment or two, clearly having some sort of internal debate. And much to the blood-themed hero's surprise, All Might's finger slid across the red icon to dismiss the call.

"Nothing that can't wait a bit," said All Might while sending a quick text. Then he pocketed the phone before looking back up at Kan. "Now, where were we?"

And so, the conversation between the two men continued until the end of their break was near. While there were times when Kan had to be a little more critical of his colleague, he was glad that the man took it all in stride. There was even a brief moment when All Might began taking notes of his own, reminding Kan of a certain green-haired young man in his class.

When that time finally came to end Kan lecture, both men did so on far better terms than they had than the previous one. All Might was the first to leave, asking if he could count on Kan to give him more advice should he ever need it. The blood-themed hero barely said yes before the other man bulked up before rushing out of the room to get ready to meet 1-A all while shouting his thanks. Vlad King only chuckled at the antics of his co-worker before gathering his own work, knowing that he would have to be careful when going over the notes with the class.

Yet, as Kan stepped out of the teacher's lounge he was met by an unexpected sight that caused him to stop in his tracks. There, standing before him, were two of Aizawa's students. Ashido and Uraraka if memory served him correctly.

"If you're looking for Aizawa he isn't here right now," said the man in a kind yet firm tone. He was then about to remind them that break would be ending shortly and that they should make be heading to their homeroom only to stop when the two presented him with papers. "Ah, what is this?"

"We'd like to transfer to your class," said the two girls together, somewhat close to being in unison.

[hr]

"I'm sorry I had to call you back," said All Might. Lunch was over, his conversation with Kan taking up the entirety of his lunch break. Not that the pro hero minded much. If going into the afternoon slightly hungry was the price he would have to pay to make the needed improvements then it was a price he was willing to pay. His plan for today was to put what he had learned into practice as he gave Aizawa's class the same lesson he gave 1-B's. After all, it was an important lesson. So here he was now, striding down a special hallway that only teachers had access to, allowing him to move about freely in his skinny form. Thankfully there were no cameras in this area either as the sensors detected everyone moving along by their I.D. badge as well as a few other things. If there had been, he really would have looked like a fool moving about in a costume that he was practically swimming in.

"You're lucky I'm not on patrol or in the middle of a case," replied Nighteye over the phone, his tone dripping with annoyance. "Between doing my own hero work and doing favors for you, my free time is precious. So I would greatly appreciate it if you answered your phone during your lunch break. Not dismissing my call."

"Sorry, but I was getting some teaching advice from one of the other heroes," admitted All Might. "I'm in enough hot water with them already. If things don't work out with Midoriya or Togata, we will need another option. And it will be harder if I get fired." What All Might chose not to say was that he needed to restore his student's faith in him as well. For a man whose quirk allowed his glimpses of the future, his vision could be very narrow at times. It was likely he wouldn't see the point in something like that. At least, not for a single class when compared to the rest of Japan.

"…I suppose you have a point," agreed Nighteye, though it sounded begrudgingly.

"So, what's going on?" asked All Might. "If it was an emergency, you would have sent an SOS to Nezu after I hung up."

"It's about that kid you had me looking into," said Nighteye, the sound of paper rustling being carried over the phone. "Now, I haven't scratched the surface much. But there is something here that caught my attention. It may be a problem."

That caused All Might to stop in his tracks. Slowly he glanced at the screen, feeling his heart rate quickening. "Well, what is it?" he asked.

"According to his records, Izuku Midoriya was originally diagnosed as quirkless when he was four years old," said Nighteye. "However his quirk registration was updated during his first trip to the States."

"So? By the sounds of it the young man was just a late bloomer," replied All Might, an annoyed frown forming on his face. Honestly, with the way his former sidekick spoke it sounded like he had uncovered something truly upsetting about the kid. Like wherever he went there would be a string of dead puppies littering the streets.

"On the surface, that is what it looks like," came the calm voice of Nighteye. "However, it wasn't his parents that updated the kid's quirk registration. That was handled by an American company called Houndhunt. The company handles a variety of quirk-related issues, studying various types of quirks to create a wide variety of products. From specialized clothing to medicines designed to help with certain negative aspects of quirks to military assistance. It's also the company that the kid's father works for."

A small hum escaped All Might as he took all this in. "Well, maybe it's a service they do for all their employees. I remember hearing back in the States that registering your quirk internationally was a big headache."

To that, Nighteye cleared his throat. "Possible. However, that wouldn't explain what else I found. Shortly after that visit, their family received a large sum of money from the company and his father was transferred to one of their facilities here in Japan. What that money was for, I have no idea. Somehow I doubt that it was some sort of bonus. All I know is that that money went to pay for a new house out in the country. Furthermore, according to my sources, Midoriya has been making trips back to their headquarters every year." There was then a pause. "I also looked up his quirk. Neither his parents nor their parents had anything remotely similar to what the boy can do. Quirks are genetic. So I decided to broaden my search thinking that maybe the mother had an affair or that the kid was secretly adopted. Or worse. What I found…did you ever hear of the American Hero Bonesaw?"

All Might let out a hum, his eyes moving to look up at the ceiling as he tried to recall the memory. Bonesaw? Why did that name sound so familiar? Finally, the man admitted that he couldn't recall.

"Back when you made your big debut in the States, Bonesaw was an established hero located in New York," explained Nighteye. "He was actually very popular, acting like one of their 'professional wrestlers' as he fought villains. Not just that, but he had a pretty impressive success rate when fighting villains. He used the bones that came out of his body to stab and cut down his opponents, but always made sure that he brought them back alive."

"I see," said All Might, wishing that he could recall some of this. "So where is he now?"

"Still in New York, six feet underground," said Nighteye, his words causing All Might's eyes to widen. "About a year after you made a name for yourself in America, a bunch of the quirk gangs decided they had enough of him. They came out, over seventy of them against one man. They threw everything they had at the man; everything from waves of fire, ice, vehicles on the side of the road, and even a giant poodle of all things to plain old bullets. Bonesaw kept going, not stopping until he had taken down the last villain with his dying breath. The man died a legend."

All Might's hand reached to touch his forehead as a wave of guilt washed over him. On some level he felt guilty for not remembering a fallen hero who had done so much for the sake of justice. For paying the ultimate price to keep the people safe. However, the sad truth of the matter was that crime in America was insanely high with heroic deaths being a daily occurrence. He recalled back then he would hear on the news every night the seven or eight stories about how a hero was tragically killed in the line of duty. And, sadly, they all began to blend together, becoming noise in the background as the days went by. Everything felt like it was on a constant loop, one that felt unending even to this day.

Then All Might's eyes shot open.

"Wait, if he died that long ago then he couldn't be Midoriya's father," said All Might. "Did he have any other children?"

"None on record," said Nighteye with a sigh. "He died single, but that didn't mean he wasn't seeing some sort of action. Right now I'm planning on looking into anyone still alive that knew him. Hopefully that might shed some light on the situation. However, there is another possibility that we should consider: All for One. It is possible that he arranged for Bonesaw's death, hiding in the shadows and letting those villains do his dirty work. Then, right before the man died, All for One could come in and take the quirk without anyone being the wiser."

All Might's hand gripped on the phone a little tighter, so much so that cracks began to appear on the screen. Yeah, that sounded like something the ancient villain would do. While All for One mainly stayed in Japan at the seat of his empire, he did have agents all over the globe working for him. If this quirk interested the man so much, he could have contacted these agents to put the idea of ganging up on Bonesaw. Knowing All for One, he would have been there in some manner, watching the fight with a smile on his face until its conclusion. Then, in some manner, he would get close enough to the hero to steal his quirk and no one would be the wiser. After all, the dead can't report that their quirk was stolen.

Taking a breath, All Might began to see where his former sidekick was going with all of this. All for One originally gained his following by taking the quirks of those who wished to be normal while giving them to those who hungered for power. And, to a degree, that was true of him up until his 'death' at All Might's hands. He could see it clearly, parents wanting the best for their child with no one to turn to. Wanting him to have a normal life. Then, here comes All for One offering their boy a quirk in exchange for either their loyalty or a favor.

But, there was a catch. One that All Might was well aware of. He could have given them the quirk, but the body, well, that was a completely different matter altogether. Using Bakugo's quirk as an example, if All for One stole that explosion quirk and gave it to one of his underlings it would give them a powerful quirk. Yet, the pores on the hands would not be as large allowing them only smaller explosions without harming themselves. Not only that, but unless the person already had a quirk that protected the body from the heat and force of the explosion then there would be a limited amount of times they could use Bakugo's quirk. Scratching his chin, All Might began thinking of Midoriya. If he applied the same principle to his student, then every time he pulled a bone out of his body then there would be a hole in his skin that wouldn't heal right. At least, that's what he believed.

It was a tricky situation. He understood Nighteye's concerns and worries, especially now that they believed that All for One could still be alive. If All for One had made contact with the Midoriyas then there was a chance that the young man was being used as a spy. Or something else. But, on the other hand, there was not enough evidence to support that he had met that monster. For all they knew, he could have just awoken a quirk while in the USA and the company did them a favor.

"All Might," came Nighteye's voice over the phone. "I think we should play this safe. We should alert Nezu right away and have Midoriya detained until we can figure out what is going on."

"Nezu would never go along with that, not without proof," said All Might sternly. "Look, I might not be the best teacher here, but I have checked in on the kid since I met him. As far as I have seen, he has been a model student who is going Plus Ultra. All we have are theories and suspicions."

"But-" began Nighteye, only for All Might to cut him off.

"Nighteye, before we continue, I need you to answer me honestly," said the pro hero. "Imagine if Bubble Girl approached you, saying that she believed that a local nursing home was really a front to sell the drug Trigger. All she had was a few odd payments made out to the place and that one of the guests was a man who had been caught several times selling it on the street. Would you raid the place then and there? Or, would you look into seeing if the man was visiting a parent or grandparent? Would you check to see if the payments were just minor errors?"

"I…," began Nighteye, his voice trailing off until silence took hold. Both men knew what his answer was. While Nighteye had his flaws, he was normally a very thorough man when it came to heroics. Both of them knew that in the situation that All Might presented, he would look into all these facts before making a move that would get him and his agency into any trouble. And the same should be true with Midoriya. "All Might, I'm scared. That man…I know in my gut he's alive. He's had over five years now to plan his revenge, setting up all the pieces on a board that we can't see. Us? We're not prepared. Your limit becomes more and more limited by the day! You're not as strong as you once were! We need to do something!"

"And we are," assured All Might, his tone calm. He knew it had to be difficult for Nighteye, a hero who could see the future, dealing with so much uncertainty. "But that doesn't mean we should jump at every little shadow and assume the worst. Just keep digging for now and we'll share what we found with Nezu, along with anything else you find. Then we'll go from there." Yes, that was the best thing to do. He didn't want to bring up the potential backlash of such reckless actions. If they had detained Young Midoriya and his innocence was proven, then there were a lot of ways this could go. The best case scenario was that he would understand and forgive them, which would be hard since All Might couldn't really explain the situation to the kid afterwards. He had done everything in his power to keep his fight with All for One a secret along with his injury. Plus only a handful of people these days even knew about All for One. Right now, the only way All Might could see the boy understanding was if they explained everything which was something the pro didn't want to do unless he chose this kid to be his successor. Which would be a pretty rocky start. Oh god! The kid might refuse the gift of One for All out of spite! Then what would they do?

Then there were the worst-case scenarios. One, Izuku Midoriya becomes disillusioned with heroism, seeing the people he admired as paranoid or above the law. This could jade him to the point where they would lose him as a potential candidate as the next Symbol of Peace. Or he might just leave U.A. and the heroic profession altogether. Something like that would be a huge shame given the lad's skills as he wasted his life as a paper pusher in some crummy office job. Then, there was the worst possibility of them all: he turns on them. Izuku Midoriya would become the very villain Nighteye thought of him as, forged by the foresight quirk user's paranoia.

They might even lose Togata should he ever find out about this.

Thankfully, Nighteye saw reason.

"Alright," said the man. "I should be done with this by the time the Sports Festival is over." With that, he hung up.

[hr]

Monoma chuckled to himself as he watched Mina from his hiding spot, the shadow of the building obscuring him from his classmates. His pink-skinned classmate was walking around in her gym uniform, happily talking with several of the inferior members of 1-B. Walking a few paces behind her was that silly little girl who simply existed to drag down the rest of the superior class: Uraraka. He watched with cold eyes as some green-haired nobody wrapped an arm around her neck as they walked. As if they were friends.

As he watched them, listening to some of them laughing, Monoma quickly glanced at his phone to check the time. Detention would be starting soon and, if he wasn't in his seat by then Mr. Aizawa would be even more irritated with him. But this was important! While his lunchtime excursion to put those 1-B fools in their place had been met with, shall we say, less-than-ideal results, what had happened afterwards was like a gift from the gods themselves! Oh Toru, she had such amazing information but none of the foresight to put it to good use! Yes, he had heard every word those girls had said but it seemed like only Ashido and Uraraka were the ones trying to capitalize on it. No doubt they had buttered up those inferior hero hopefuls to allow them to train with them, allowing the girls to observe their strengths and weaknesses. A wonderful trove of information that they were going to keep for themselves.

Seeing all this brought a sadistic sneer to the blonde's face as he watched them mill into the gym, hiding what they were doing from prying eyes. Oh, they thought themselves so clever now, didn't they? Well two can play at that game. And he had borrowed the perfect quirk for the job, all thanks to the airhead who had first gifted him with this wonderful information.

Once the cost was clear, Monoma activated the quirk he had copied, turning him invisible. Looking down at himself, he saw that he could no longer see his skin. His clothing, on the other hand, was a completely different matter. He could still see it, plain as day. Somehow he doubted that any of those fools would miss seeing a male student's uniform walking around the gym. Frowning, Monoma did the only thing he could think of, quickly removing all of his clothing which was tossed to the side before heading over to the gym.

While it was oddly freeing for the teen to walk across the campus completely nude with no one the wiser, it was also slightly painful. Since he had needed to take off not only his shoes but his socks as well, the teen was forced to walk barefoot. More than once he stepped on several small rocks and pebbles, feeling them digging into his flesh and causing him to wince in pain. Heck, some of them were oddly sharp! Then there were the gross things on his path. Things that stuck to the bottom of his feet, forcing him to stop and remove them with his hands, or made sickening noises as he stepped on them.

Then, finally, he made his way inside. There he could see the inferior teacher of the course, talking to everyone. Something about Midoriya not being able to be there for today along with that whore of a girlfriend of his. Slowly, Monoma moved closer to the blood-themed hero as he tried to figure out what else he could do. This little announcement would eat up too much of his time and he doubted he could gather up all the information he needed before he had to head back for detention. Maybe he could mess with them? Maybe poke or slap their asses and get them to fight with each other. Or maybe mess up the gym equipment so they don't progress as far? Both options were good in the blonde's eyes. He just needed to-

"Monoma! What the fuck?!"

Monoma, who had his eyes closed as he thought, opened them when he heard his name being called. Slowly he looked around, finding that everyone's eyes were on him. Including the teachers! Each and every one of them look stunned, with a few even smirking. But why? Wasn't he invisible? Slowly looking down, he found his answer. No, he was very visible now. Very visible and very naked.

With a shocked cry, the naked teen tried to make a run for it only to be stopped when a meaty hand slammed down on his shoulder. Looking behind him, he saw that 1-B teacher glaring at him with a fury that caused his skin to turn pale.

"Let's go see Aizawa. Now!"

[hr]

At the same time, Izuku was walking down the street dressed in one of his nicer outfits. It was something his father had helped him pick out shortly after getting his acceptance letter to UA, something for him to wear to semi-formal events. His pants for this evening were simple, dark-colored dress pants with matching shoes along with a belt. The teen also wore a white, button-up dress shirt with long sleeves that were slightly puffy. There was no jacket, but rather a simple dark green vest with golden buttons. According to his father, he preferred to wear these things when going to anything that wasn't a black tie event. It would allow him to appear formal while also giving him plenty of mobility for things like dancing should the need arise.

Izuku thought he looked like a waiter.

Glancing to his side, the teen gazed at Pony and not for the first time since they had gotten off the train. God she looked beautiful tonight. The American girl was dressed in a cocktail dress whose colors were similar to her hero costume. Starting from the top, where the neckline showed a tasteful amount of cleavage, it was bright orange. Then, along the waistline, the color began to fade more and more until you got to the bottom of her skirt which was pure white. Speaking of her skirt, the front portion of it was shorter than it was in the back. The front stopped just above her knees while the back portion came to a point right above her hooves. The dress was sleeveless, allowing the horned girl's bare arms to wrap around his own as they walked.

According to her, this was her 'creamsicle' dress.

Together, they walked down the street until they came upon their destination. The restaurant was a small, yet upscale place located near some of the more high-end hotels that Izuku recognized from the news. He could recall that one of them was constantly used by some of the top heroes in other countries when visiting Japan. Another one had been the location where All Might had stopped a hostage situation of a major businesswoman several years ago. Now that place regularly hires retired heroes to act as additional security.

After entering the establishment, and being greeted by a server who was dressed eerily similar to Izuku, the two were taken past the main dining area to the back where the more private rooms were located. Standing in front of the door were two men, both dressed in black suits and wearing sunglasses, that Izuku knew. The one standing on the right was named Tom Enigma, a man with a quirk that was perfect for security details. Basically, he could sense radio waves. While he couldn't pick up what was being said, he could tell where they were coming from and where they were going. Meaning, if someone placed a bug in the room to listen in on what was being said, not only would Mr. Enigma know about it but he could also track it down. He was also a rabid collector of old Hot Wheel's, showing off his collection to Izuku whenever they had the chance. As for the man on the left, that man was named Nathan Scanner. Like with Enigma, Scanner also had a quirk that was perfectly fit for security. Basically, by looking around the room, he could tell how long that object had been there even if he didn't actually see the object. Meaning he could tell if something had been planted there recently, knowing exactly where it was. The man was also an avid ice fisherman, always taking his vacations in the wintertime and traveling north so that he could spend the entire time on a frozen lake. Every year he came back with pictures of his trip, showing them off to the curious green-haired boy.

After doing a routine search on the two teens, both men opened the door. Together, Izuku and Pony entered the private room large enough to hold thirty people in it without anyone feeling claustrophobic. Yet there was only one table in the room, situated underneath a diamond chandelier where two people were already sitting.

The first person that Izuku recognized was Mr. Blackhound. The man had long black hair that ran down his shoulders, though there were signs of grey hair peppered within it. His eyebrows were a tad larger than normal but well-kept. He looked at the two teens with icy blue eyes through a pair of oval-shaped glasses that rested on a very crooked nose. One that looked like it had been broken far too many times to count and that not even Recovery Girl could ever hope to fix it. His hands were also crooked along with scars showing the number of times they had been broken before being put back together. Yet, despite all these visible scars, the man smiled at his guests warmly.

As for the other person…

"Izuku! Pony!"

With a laugh, Carol Blackhound jumped out of her seat as she rushed over to the teens to wrap them in the biggest hug she could. Like her father, Carol had long black hair though hers went past her waist with several braids on the sides of her head. Her nose was small and thankfully unbroken, her own blue eyes twinkling with excitement. Even though she was a few years older than the teens, if Izuku remembered correctly she would be starting college next year, both her size and shape gave her the appearance of someone much younger. This was made evident by the skin-tight dress she wore, putting on full display that she lacked any curves as well as her chest which one could only generously call small.

"It's great to see you again Carol," said Pony, speaking in English as they parted.

"I know! It feels like forever since I last saw you two," replied Carol, her tone giddy with happiness.

"Agreed. It is nice to see you again, Midoriya. Tsunotori," said Mr. Blackhound, getting up from his seat before gesturing to the table. "Now, sit. Sit. We have the entire evening to catch up!" Smiling, the teens walked back to the table with Carol taking her spot next to her father while Izuku and Pony sat directly across from them.

Seeing the menu in front of him, Izuku picked it up to find a long list of some of the finest, and meatiest, steaks from around the world. Each one of them served with a long list of sides, some of which Izuku had never heard of.

"I do hope you enjoy the food here Midoriya," continued Blackhoud, his eyes glancing down at his own menu. There was a very hungry look in the man's eye as he stared at one spot in particular. "There are many fine Japanese steakhouses around, however I much prefer enjoy them the European way."

Carol rolled her eyes at that. "Come on dad," she said with a laugh, smacking her father's arm with her menu playfully. "Just admit it. You just want your plate to be ninety percent meat and weighing ten pounds!"

That got a laugh out of everyone at the table. A laugh that was echoed several minutes later when their waiter came out to take their order, Mr. Blackhound ordering the thickest steak they had before requesting that it be served drenched in the house's special garlic butter and sautéed onions. As for the rest of them, they all chose steaks of more agreeable proportions as well as trying out the toppings as well.

From there, the people at the table made small talk. Carol brought up her options for college, listing off the pros and cons of each of the top business schools in America. She even mentioned how one of the school's had recently employed America's top White Collar Hero: Number Cruncher to teach business ethics. That had gotten both Izuku's and Pony's attention as they both knew of the hero who could find a dozen or so corporate misconducts in a single afternoon. Still on the topic of heroes moving onto teaching, Mr. Blackhound brought up a rumor that had been going around lately that the pro hero Unicorn, Pony's mother, was considering becoming a teacher of heroics.

"She is," Pony said, her shoulders slightly slumped as she spoke. "It's something she's been thinking about for the last couple of years. Said that she wants to slow down a little, chasing students trying to cut class rather than villains." That got a good chuckle from the rest of the table.

"Do you know where she'll be going?" asked Carol as their food was brought out.

"Champions High," replied Pony. "She's going to be teaching heroics next year."

Blackhound nodded at that before cutting into a streak that looked to be about an inch thick. "Champions is one of the top hero schools in Texas. Perhaps even one of the top in the country," said the man before taking a bite out of his food, closing his eyes to savor the taste. Then, when he looked at Pony there was a twinkle in the man's eyes. "Though, she will be missed. Unicorn has always been one of my favorites ever since she saved me back when she was a fresh sidekick. I still have her autograph on my wall back at the office. But, ah, don't tell your father about that or he might get the impression that I hired him just because of her!"

From there they continued to chat while they ate, Carol wanting to hear everything about U.A. Including if any of the gossip about All Might was true.

"Sorry Carol, I just don't see it," said Pony, her hands covering her mouth to keep herself from laughing. "All Might joining U.A. to be with his secret lovechild? That he had with Midnight?"

Izuku himself couldn't hold back his own chuckle at the image. Midnight was certainly…something, he could say that. It was because of her first public appearance, the fact that she was one of the sexiest heroes in Japan, and her general demeanor that had given rise to plenty of rumors that she had fucked just about every hero you could name. And Izuku, he could name plenty. Whenever she was seen working with any hero for more than two seconds, the media and the net would go ablaze with predictions on whether or not this was the person she was settling down with. That or they had just finished fucking right before a disaster and decided to take care of it together. However, there were nothing more than rumors intended to create a bit of buzz in Izuku's opinion. So he took them with a grain of salt, laughing at the story.

"Ok, maybe not Midnight," said Carol as she set down her utensils. "But the theory of All Might having a secret lovechild has some weight to it. The man's private life is kept secret, so much so that his real man on his registration has been redacted. Not to mention that his hero work isn't what it used to be."

Izuku, despite himself, nodded before looking up at the ceiling while gently placing his fork on his lower lip. "Yeah, I noticed that as well," he mumbled slightly before lowering his head to look at the young hostess. "During my last year of middle school, we were given an assignment to track how much time heroes spend on the field."

"I remember you telling me about that. Didn't you bring to class three folders worth of newspaper clippings going back twenty years to use as source material and a graph you needed three people to help set up?" As Pony said this with a smile on her face, she elbowed her boyfriend gently on the side. The memory of his teacher's eyes bugging out at the extent that Izuku took his fanboying of All Might on an assignment that had only been given three days ago, as well as the reactions of the rest of the class, caused Midoriya to blush.

Mr. Blackhound let out a laugh. "You really are your father's son," he said between chuckles. "He did the same thing whenever I asked him for a presentation."

"A-Anyways," continued Izuku, wanting to move past this embarrassment. "My research showed that in the last five or six years, All Might's appearances in the public have been on the decline. He used to be out there all the time, one time even going four straight days of dealing with villains back to back and natural disasters. But, back when I did that project, the max amount of time he was seen in public was around three and a half hours."

"And that's where the theory of his secret lovechild comes in," continued Carol, raising her hands as if she were praising this idea. "There's actually a couple of theories going around. One of them is the whole, All Might's kid is a teen who's been acting up a lot. Maybe it was the big guys decision or his mistress gave him an ultimatum, but All Might began cutting back his hero time to be with the kid. Even becoming a teacher so that he can make up for lost time with the kid. Another theory is that five years ago his kid was born and well, has been cutting back on his heroing to take care of both his wife and child. Him being at U.A., it's a cover so people will stop talking about all the heroing he's missing out on."

"As interesting as that would be, there is a far simpler explanation for all of this: All Might is getting older," said Mr. Blackhound as the room became far more somber. "Much like Mrs. Tsunotori, no one can be a hero forever. You just start slowing down. Getting tired more quickly, reflexes aren't what they used to be. You can try and manage this, do things to slow down the effects of age, but in the end it always catches up with you. I think All Might knows that his sun will be setting soon."

Blackhound then let out a sigh before looking over at Izuku, his eyes now looking more serious. More business-like. "To be honest, Midoriya, you are not the only one to notice that All Might's activeness has been on the decline. I have been in contact with the Department of Justice, Heroism, Senators, and congressmen and women who have all expressed their concerns behind closed doors as well as the Japanese government. Sad to say, officials here in Japan seem to be in a state of denial claiming that we are being paranoid or just bringing this up for sensationalism. They say that the reason why All Might is less active is due to the fact that he is not needed as much, allowing other heroes to take the reins. I will admit that there might be some truth to this, but given the length of his hero career, it makes our point of view hard to ignore. And if the events of the USJ are any indication, others are coming to this same conclusion as well."

"Wait," said Pony, almost standing up as she spoke. "The attack on the USJ failed thanks to All Might! So everything should still be fine!"

Blackhoud gave Pony a thoughtful look along with the briefest of smiles. "I'm sure that's the same conclusion that many people are taking from the whole event. However, the Department of Heroism doesn't see it that way. According to some of the information we obtained from the Japanese government, the pro-hero Eraserhead as well as several students there reported what the leader of the League of Villains said during the attack. He said that All Might wasn't as strong as he used to be. That he was getting weaker. While it's uncertain as to how they came to this conclusion, the fact that they did, as well as recruiting a large number of villains to follow is concerning. The Department of Heroism has theorized that, had the League gone in with more powerful and skilled villains such as Moonfish, everyone there would have died before All Might was alerted to the situation." It was then that Mr. Blackhound bit his lower lip while intertwining his scarred fingers. "This attack also gave the US government a bit more weight to the theory that All Might is slowing down. We are aware that All Might was supposed to be one of the three teachers that day at the USJ. While Thirteen and Eraserhead never went into why, he had called off. Strange how he was able to deal with a number of crimes before arriving at your school. Roughly three hours worth, give or take a few minutes."

Izuku felt his heart drop in his chest as he heard this. If he was hearing this right, then Mr. Blackhound was suggesting that All Might had gotten winded or something after doing his hero work after only three hours. The idea just seemed so laughable since, well, they were talking about All Might. The greatest hero to ever live. Yet, with what he was hearing now along with his own past research, made him feel like his eyes were being opened to a truth that he should have noticed some time ago. And what he saw scared him. All Might was the pillar of their society, the Symbol of Peace. If said hero's time was being limited due to his age, then the number of problems this could cause would be a nightmare. If All Might used up all his time, and something worse happened later in the day then the other heroes would have to find a way to deal with it on their own. Or what if a fight or a rescue mission went too long with him passing out or something during the middle? What if villains found a way to exploit this?!

Yet, a few things felt off to Izuku about this conversation. The first was about All Might and the USJ. If it was true and All Might needed to rest after only three hours of heroing, then why didn't he go to the USJ? If the man needed rest, he could have done so on the bus. Then, when 1-A began its rescue training, he could have just stood on the sidelines. After all, no one knew that the facility was going to be attacked meaning it should have been treated like a normal school day. Something just felt off, like he was missing an important piece to the puzzle.

But, there was a more important question that Izuku needed to ask. One that, after looking over at his girlfriend, Pony was wondering as well.

"Ah, Mr. Blackhoud," began Izuku slowly. "A lot of what you're telling us sounds really important. Are you sure you should be telling us all this?"

Blackhound's business mode softened slightly, giving the teen a reassuring smile. "Yes Midoriya. Because, what I'm about to tell you concerns you more than anyone else. And since Miss Tsunotori is aware of this, I see no reason why she shouldn't be made aware of it as well." Then, Mr. Blackhound took a breath while his eyes went to stare at his now empty plate. "As I said, the US government is now working under the assumption that All Might's time as a pro will be ending soon. While the crime rate in the USA is still greater than other areas of the world like Japan, it still went down significantly a few years after All Might made his first appearance. Now the Department of Heroism believes that, once the man retires, the crime rate will skyrocket. So we have begun planning for when that will happen, though we don't have any idea when that will happen. It might be in five years or five days. So we are going to use every second available to prepare. Right now President Burk is talking to some of the top American heroes, like Stars and Stripes, to make sure they are ready for that day. What's more, the President is speaking with Congress to increase funding to all heroic schools as well as creating new programs designed to help those with powerful quirks get into some of the top rated hero schools like Champions. But, even with all this, it might not be enough. So, I have been ordered to resume Project Quirk Rebirth."