"Guh!" Izuku moaned, ripping his head from the bucket, water flying everywhere.

"Maximum output!" Nighteye said.

Taking in every ounce of oxygen Izuku could get in a single breath, he activated Smokescreen. His undershirt, already ragged ripped apart as every inch of skin on his body began pumping out smoke.

Within seconds, the entire warehouse was full from top to bottom. He never stopped, however, transmuting every molecule of air in his lungs into his smoke and then some. Reaching his hand out, Izuku could only see as far as his elbow. Even his stub was fuzzy in his clogged vision.

"Now pull! Try and take it all and move it!" Nighteye yelled, his voice bouncing around him. Grunting, Izuku cut off his emission and reached his hand out, tugging on the air like fabric. With all his human strength, he forced the massive cloud downwards.

Izuku's ears popped, a piercing pain searing itself into his brain as he willed his creation to kneel. For the duration of his hold, he was able to condense the cloud enough that he could see Nighteye's head and shoulders poking out the top. He was able to hold it in place for a few seconds before his strength failed him and the cloud dispersed.

Collapsing on the ground, Izuku took the tattered remains of his undershirt and covered his mouth, using it like a budget ventilator. Off where the smoke was still thick, he heard a series of coughs.

"Okay," Gran Torino said, pausing to cough. "Now grab smaller sections and disperse them one by one."

Izuku groaned, sitting up. His emissions weren't toxic, but when they were this condensed, they were unpleasant to breathe. With only one arm to hold his pseudo-ventilator, Izuku needed to manipulate the smoke without moving his body. He didn't have a psychic connection with it, but the smoke knew what he wanted and had a tendency to listen to him. Their link was more physical than mental, however, so not using his hand meant the manipulation was much harder.

A month ago, even the idea of telekinetically manipulating the smoke hadn't been in the equation. He'd made leaps and bounds of progress under Gran Torino's drilling.

Every day it got easier, but it wasn't passive growth. He had to work himself to the bone to even shift the smoke a little, and doing a stunt like what he had just performed would leave him exhausted for the next few hours. Still, he pushed through. Grabbing dozens of individual cubic meters, Izuku was able to pull them apart enough that they became null. It was slow progress, but it worked.

When Izuku finished, he was spent. Finding the least smoke-stained spot, Izuku laid down and curled into a ball. Izuku ignored the two sets of footfalls that approached him, but he couldn't ignore how one rubber boot kicked him in the spine.

"C'mon, boy, get up. Let's begin the cooldown." Gran Torino said. Groaning, he attempted to curl into himself even deeper, pretending he was a rolly polly, but the aged hero wasn't having it.

With the sound of a cane thwacking against flesh, Izuku found himself doing a light jog. Nighteye wasn't chasing him, thank the heavens, but the occasional softball hurdled in his direction. It wasn't a terrible volley by Izuku's standards, but it was intense enough that he had to pay attention. His success wasn't measured by speed, but by precision and perception. At least, that was true for cool-offs; every week, the obstacle course seemed to get harder.

Starting off the cool-off, his breath came out rough and his heart hammered at his ribs. By the end, he'd gotten his adrenaline under control. Coming to a stop by Nighteye, he accepted a cold cup of water. Bottled water was annoying to deal with.

"Decent work today, Midoriya. You're going to need a shower, though. And a new pair of sweats." Nighteye said, gesturing to his shredded shirt. Izuku blushed, nodding.

"I-I could've done better; held the cloud longer. I can feel it, there's just so much more I can do now that I can kinda control it." Izuku said.

"Indeed. Have you had any more odd dreams? Maybe One for All has some ideas." Gran Torino said, hobbling over. Izuku didn't know why he bothered with the old man act; he'd seen the man wrestle with the sound barrier on occasion.

"No, sir. No strange dreams recently." Izuku said, his reply clipped. Truth was, he hadn't, and that was the problem. Ever since he took Nana's hand that terrible day on the train, he hadn't had another dream. In its place, he'd simply floated in the void while he slept, watching the castle from afar. It hurt, not being able to see them. Talking to them every night had become second nature; he'd begun to look forward to it. Six was quiet, but funny and a decent mentor, even if he had been holding out on him quirk-wise. Five had been growing on him, despite the man's gruffness. Thinking about Seven made his heart hurt. Eight made his whole body hurt.

"Hm. You'd think One for All would be going bonkers, given you've got a past wielder's quirk as your own. I bet it won't be the only one, either." Gran Torino said. Izuku said nothing. He knew he'd probably get the others as well, but he kept it quiet.

Their session teetered off after that with Nighteye needing to patrol and Gran Torino needing to go to a bargain mart a city over. Without having a meeting with either Fujimaki afterwords and too tired to continue to train on his own, Izuku settled for getting groceries.

[x]

Setsuna Tokage was sharing the counter with her father when Izuku walked in, holding a paper list and a relaxed expression. His gait was a far cry from the rigid, jumpy kid that she'd met just a few months ago, but it wasn't a bad change. She'd found the old Izuku fine; pleasant, easy to talk with, but awkward. Since he'd risked his life for her mom, however, that'd changed. This Izuku wasn't wearing his arm, but he looked comfortable. This Izuku was still awkward and jumpy, but his good aspects had magnified since then.

She'd got the text half an hour ago that he was dropping by for his mom, and she'd spent the rest of her time loitering around the register. It'd been a week or two since the two had met up, and the boredom was killing her. Her school was out, and there was no excuse for them to not be hanging out every day. The kids at her school were cool; great, really, but none of them were as fun as Izuku.

So, when the boy finally arrived, she tackled him. She'd expected to shoulder-check him enough to send them both to the ground, just to punish him for not hanging around her more. She had not expected him to evade, spin, and slam her to the floor.

She blinked up at him as he did down to her, neither seeming to register what just happened. Over near the counter, her dad was laughing his butt off.

"That's what you get for attacking customers, Set!" He said, trying and failing to stifle his giggles. Setsuna pouted once she got her breath back, looking between Izuku at her father. Reaching out an intentionally pathetic hand towards Izuku, she whined.

"W-why… I was too young… too young to die! No mercy for the beautiful!?" She said, playing up her pain. At this, Izuku seemed to crack in half, splitting into pieces.

"Oh-oh-oh m-my god! I'm so, so sorry! Oh, my g—" Izuku said, getting down on one knee, frantically waving his arm, torn between helping her and not risking her wrath. A giggle-groan escaped her mouth, ending his panic. Sitting up, she reached a hand out. Izuku took it with some hesitance, pulling her up. She gave him a once over.

"I was going to force you to hang out with me, but you smell." She said. Izuku, for the second time, seemed to crack in half. She giggled, pinching her nose.

"It's fine. I could escort you home, y'know, making sure our products are delivered safely to a valued customer's fridge. You could shower then and we could go to the park after or something. Pass the list." Setsuna said, a fist on her hips and the other outstretched. Izuku stared at her like she was an alien for a second, before glancing away and dropping the list in her palm. Whatever she thought would be on the list was wrong. She leveled the boy with a deadpan stare.

"Two sticks of butter?" She asked. The boy pulled on his collar, airing out his shirt. He kept his eyes locked on a nearby shelf.

"I, uh… It's v-vital that those sticks of butter reach m-my home pronto."

"You know, you can just come to hang out, right? Plus, I know for a fact you have like, three sticks of butter right now. I literally always check out your groceries; you aren't going through butter that fast, you karate dweeb."

"K-karate dweeb!?" Izuku asked, appalled. Setsuna ignored him.

"Dad! Can Izuku use our shower?" She asked.

"'Course. If he really smells that bad, keep away from me!" Her father replied. Nodding to herself, she waved a hand over to the ladder. Izuku froze in place, his eyes saucers and his jaw working a mile a minute. If Setsuna cupped a hand to her ear, she could make out his fearful mutterings.

"I can't do that I can't do that I shouldn't that's rude holy crap please let me go I can't do that I have no change of clothes I shouldn't—" He whispered to himself, uncomprehending as Setsuna grabbed him by his arm and started dragging him across the store. Her father did nothing to stop her, only laughing to himself. Pulling him to his feet at the top of the hatch, she thanked everything holy her mother wasn't home. Izuku still looked catatonic, so she gave him a light slap.

"Hey, man, you don't gotta. All I'm saying is that you smell, and our bathroom is free. And that you gotta." Setsuna said, flicking him on the chin for good measure. The boy's shoulders slumped as he picked at his shirt.

"This is weird. And I don't have any clothes." Izuku said, inching back towards the hatch.

"Yeah, but it's your fault for coming here smelling like that."

"I just finished training for the day!" He said. Setsuna wrinkled her nose at the thought. He smelled like he had been dumpster diving, not training. She kept her reply curt.

"Take your lumps, Izu. You can have a shirt and some socks. I doubt you want my bottoms." She said, slipping her thumbs through her belt loops.

"There's no way I'm taking your clothes. I just can't." Izuku said.

"I think you can."

In the end, he couldn't resist her. Tossing him a pink steggo-themed tank top and some socks, she let him handle it from there. She sat on the ledge of the hatch, kicking her feet. A lump had formed in her throat.

She was going to be a hero. It was something she promised herself a while ago, and she stood by it. Every day after school, sports, and homework, she trained. She studied how it all worked; the basics. What started as learning how to become a legal hero became figuring out the best schools. Figuring out the best schools became figuring out how to get into U.A.

It hadn't taken her long to realize she might not have that hard of a time. Her quirk was good enough as is for the apparently infamous entrance exam, but with her cousin being the Governor's secretary, she might be able to get in on recommendation. Her cousin had said as much when she asked him at the last holiday get-together.

The chance of a free ride excited her, but guilt laced those feelings. Izuku, she figured, would also be getting in on recommendation. With Nighteye and another hero backing him, there was no way he wasn't. The difference, to her at least, was that while her cousin could worm her in, Izuku slaved away for Nighteye's approval. That video of his spar had stuck with her; the way Nighteye kicked him wasn't the way you kicked casual students. Izuku was putting everything on the line just for the chance to get it.

It felt like she was cheating.

That dark feeling had been bubbling up more and more often as she spoke with Izuku. They texted each other every day, but it only really hit when he came in for groceries. The bruises, limps, dragging feet, and delirium all hammered home the sheer effort he put into it. That wasn't even considering his personal apprenticeship at Shimi-freaking-suka. There was no doubt in her mind that he'd keep up that level of effort for years to come. It made her shiver.

Setsuna liked—scratch that, loved her free time. With studies, training, sports, and maintaining her friendships, she took every free chance she got to be a bum. She needed a few hours a week, if not a day, to just be a sloth. She didn't feel herself unless she was curled up reading a book.

Despite the inch or two she had on him in height, she felt like she had to crane her neck to look at him. She'd never call out an unfairness; really, she knew they simply had different attitudes. That didn't mean she didn't wish she had his work ethic, or his balls of steel.

He simply did not compare to her school friends. A rare handful of them wanted to be heroes; but none of them had Setsuna's drive, let alone Izuku's. Their talent and effort were like puddles to her lakes to his oceans. Not to say she didn't love 'em, but some of them were somehow lazier than her.

A yin-yang had formed in her gut whenever Izuku was around. On one hand, his spirit was such a shining star in her life that her solar system hadn't been the same since he'd arrived. On the other, his brightness only highlighted the darkness of the space around it. Across the flat, she heard the water putter out.

Bringing her outstretched fingers down to her chest in a fist, she mastered herself. Today was not a day to stress over it or even overcome it. Today they'd just have some fun. She sat, completely patient and not fidgeting at all, as the door to her bathroom creaked open.

Pink was his color, for sure.

[x]

They walked side by side, closer than even his mom stood. Her right shoulder was always in contact with his left, and it was perfect. He wasn't sure if she was doing it on purpose, but she doing an amazing job of covering up his arm. He'd forgone the prosthetic, not thinking they'd go out today; so his gratitude was through the roof.

For the most part, they just wandered the streets. A ping on their phones let them know a villain fight was going on across town, but Izuku wasn't feeling it at the moment. He'd already put a lot on the line today, no need to stress over villains as well. Setsuna agreed, so they just made their way toward the park. On the way, they passed a few food vendors and fast-food places, but their collective funds didn't crack twenty dollars.

The park adventure was short-lived. It was fun, just running around in the grass, but not fun enough for Izuku to forget his exhaustion. Lucky for Izuku, overhead clouds had begun to darken around the same time his energy ran out. The stormy weather had taken them by surprise, but that wasn't a problem for the two kids. Even when it started drizzling, they just marched on to a new location.

Not a lot of talking occured between them, but they still shared details about their daily lives with one another. Setsuna learned that his therapist and his Shimisuka mentor were coincidentally father-daughter. He learned that her cousin was the secretary of their provenance's governor.

There were a few things he wanted to tell her, to get off his chest, but he couldn't. Not today. Explaining why Endeavor might care about him required even more explanations and delicate ones at that. He wasn't sure, but he got the feeling that it was mutual. She often opened her mouth to speak but cut herself off. Prying wasn't on the table; privacy was something he was intimately familiar with. If she wasn't sure she wanted to tell him something, he didn't want to hear it. Izuku appreciated that she reciprocated that opinion.

Telling her about One for All was tempting, but he decided against it. Today wasn't the day; but he did toy with the idea. If he could confide with anyone about his dreams, it'd be Set. He'd be able to tell her everything. Being completely honest with someone sounded amazing. There wasn't a single person in his life besides his mom he could be completely truthful with, but telling his mom things always sent his gut rolling in guilt. She had enough on her plate.

Izuku tried to sneak a glance at Setsuna while he pondered, but he felt his face flush as his eyes met hers. Neither said a word, but they began walking a little faster towards their destination: a local arcade.

When Izuku admitted he'd never been, Setsuna had almost blown a casket. It hadn't taken much more than a few tense seconds of staring for Izuku to crumble. His nerves were on edge, but with Setsuna by his side, he was able to keep them under control. Take big problems and break them into smaller pieces, he remembered. He wouldn't mess up Setsuna's day with his baggage.

They didn't take time to admire the funky entrance. With soaked shoulders and wet hair, they got into cover as soon as possible. An older teen gave them a disgruntled look as they passed by a food stand, pulling her feet off the counter.

"Woah! This place is usually so much livelier!" Setsuna said, placing her fists on her hips. It was true; the place was almost empty. The only other kid in the whole place was some pink-skinned mutant girl playing old-school DDR. Izuku let out a breath he hadn't known he'd been holding. Without overcrowding, he might just survive this outing.

"It's gonna be thundering, so of course no one's here. Where are your parents?" The food-stand girl asked. Setsuna shrugged, grabbing Izuku by the shoulder.

"Shopping! To the motorcycles, my boy!" She said, dragging Izuku off to a game. She led him to one of the larger stations, with two big screens and motorcycle-like machines to match. Plopping herself down on one, she slid in a few coins. Revving the handles, she cast a glance over at Izuku, who'd yet to sit down.

"C'mon, c'mon, it's my favorite! You get to actually steer and lean with the thing! Plus, there are some cool abilities with the handle-bar buttons you can…" Setsuna said, gesturing at the left handle, which was bedazzled with colorful buttons. The left. She glanced at his arm at the same time he did.

"Mmm…" Izuku hummed, a small pit forming in his chest. Really, it looked kind of fun, but Izuku had put the idea of video games behind him. He'd never played them much in the first place, so it hadn't hit him until now, but he supposed it was just another thing out of reach. Even if he bent over backward to relearn how to play, he'd never be as good as a normal competitor.

Setsuna looked lost for a moment; almost having forgotten his predicament. She cast a glance over to the food stand, seeing how the teen had already kicked her feet back up and pulled out her phone. For a few moments, she seemed to hesitate. Glancing over at the stand and the DDR girl one more time, she put a finger to her lips in a "Shh" motion.

Her left arm popped off and floated down to the ground, snaking its way under a nearby table. Izuku did a double take, stepping forwards to stop her.

"You..!" He whisper-yelled, horrified that she'd used her quirk in public. She placed her remaining forefinger on his lips to silence him.

"Fair's fair, right? I already got the experience advantage on you, I don't need the physical one too." She said. Izuku just stared, the pit in his chest spasming as his insides clashed.

Ethically, he was horrified. Using your quirk in public; especially for people like them was a massive no-no. Even thinking about what he did on the train sent a shiver of fear down his spine. His career had almost ended before it began, and all because of a panic attack. He should be condemning this, shutting it down faster than a bullet.

Yet her action had filled him with so much warmth that he was just barely aware how tears were leaking down his cheeks. It took a few seconds of wrestling away those fears of punishment and ethical quandaries before he sat down. Sliding a few coins in, he did his best to put Setsuna in the dirt.

It didn't happen in the first race or the second. Not the third, or the fourth, but the fifth. By the fifth race, he was able to—just barely—snatch victory right from under her. By the seventh and with half of their funds down the drain, Izuku smoked her.

The laughter they shared when Setsuna recalled her arm for the ninth rang through the empty arcade. Izuku's cheeks hurt from smiling so much.

[x]

"I can not believe you. I self-amputate, ripping my own freaking arm off for the sake of sportsmanship, and then you show no mercy? When the heck did you even learn to ride a motorcycle that good anyways?" Setsuna said as they ran back towards her home. The light drizzle that had soaked them before had morphed into a steady rainfall. Izuku laughed, dodging out of the way of a couple sharing an umbrella a block away from the Tokage shop.

"It's not like it was hard! I'm sure with two arms you might've stood a chance!" Izuku yelled over the rain. The boy, to her athletic heart's chagrin, was pulling ahead of her. He was just a smidge fitter and about an arm and two inches lighter. She cried out her displeasure at both his smack-talking and his lead, making sure the entire street knew her frustration as Izuku turned the last corner to her house.

Redoubling her jog into a sprint, she took the corner as fast as she could, intending to overtake him by the time he reached her door. She hadn't intended to run into the boy's back, who was standing stock-still on the sidewalk.

Even though she's the one that hit him, it was once again less like a tackle and more of her slipping into him as he caught her, only this time he didn't slam her to the floor.

"Woah! What's—" Setsuna started, stopping once she saw it too.

Under the overhang to her shop's entrance was an older teen curled in a ball. Izuku held out his hand to block her from moving forward as he stared at the body. A nasty fear lit up in her gut. Homeless people weren't common in the area, but she knew they were there. It was an unspoken, unseen thing, like the gang affiliations.

Her mom told her stories about the homeless from her home city of Hosu. How they lived day to day and only got kicks out of violence. How they'd attack people; especially other homeless. This one didn't look like the fifty-year-old druggie type, but that didn't mean they didn't have problems. She pulled out her phone to call her dad at the same moment that Izuku stepped forward.

She was rooted in place for as second as the boy she'd just spent the last ten minutes running in the rain with marched towards the body. His gait had done a complete 180, from carefree and fun-loving to somber and cautious. Blinking, for a second, she saw the boy's face hovering over her own as he shielded her and her mom from gunfire.

Her phone-hand hanging limp at her side, she zoned back in just as Izuku crouched over the prone form of the teen. Shaking herself of her jitters, she jogged over and joined him.

"—okay? Sir, are you awake?" Izuku asked. His eyes had a ghosted look, like something had washed out all the color and replaced it with pure concern. The body below them groaned, shifting as it clutched his stomach. Red liquid dripped from between his fingers.

Now that she was close, she could tell without a doubt it was a man. He couldn't have been older than eighteen, with wavy black locks obscuring most of his face. Besides his thick hair, the only notable things about the boy were how his roots were a baby blue and eczema seemed to have ravished his face. The man rolled onto his back, never letting go of his stomach—or ribs? She couldn't tell.

"—ungry. So hungry…" The boy—man—moaned. For the first time, Izuku's eyes seemed to flick to her, startling her. It wasn't the painfully clear panic in his eyes that scared her, but the brief instance of obliviousness when their eyes met. Like he was staring at a stranger, but only for an instant. His confusion seemed to wash away as he opened his mouth, speaking in a tone she'd only ever heard before in her grandma.

"Set, could you please get your father to call an ambulance and get this man some food? Let me take him from here." Izuku said, his voice soft as he helped the older boy into a sitting position. Setsuna didn't even think; running into the grocery, she grabbed a TV dinner panini and slapped it in the back-store microwave. Sending her head up through the hatch, she yelled for her dad to call an ambulance.

She didn't know why she was so compliant with the request; the man scared her. There wasn't anything she wanted more right now than for him to disappear and for her to forget the way he clutched his chest. If she had it her way, the man would be perfectly fine as far away from her as possible.

Still, she got her father to call an ambulance and snagged the panini on her way out. When she handed it to Izuku, the boy basically forced the man's mouth open to eat. It hadn't taken much effort on his part; the man, upon smelling the TV dinner, changed his demeanor. It wasn't a small meal by any means, but the man inhaled it like it wasn't even a mouthful. So fervent in his gluttony, he even took his bloody hand away from his stomach to grip the sandwich even tighter. Izuku gasped, placing his own hands on the man's wound.

"Oh, boy…" A look of confusion slipped onto his face again at his own familiarity. Setsuna looked between the two, also confused. The words sounded wrong on his lips. The teen moaned as the last of his sandwich disappeared into his mouth. For a moment, no one moved. Off in the distance, Setsuna noted the dull sound of sirens. With the way the teen's eyes shot open themselves, she guessed he heard it too.

He shoved Izuku off with a strength that seemed impossible for his state, struggling to his feet. Clutching his wound, he looked like a wounded animal as his eyes narrowed in on Izuku.

"P-pest…" He whispered, venom dribbling out of his lips like rabies. He took a half-step towards the alley, stumbling a moment. She was too late to stop him as Izuku took a full step forward, grabbing the man's wrist.

"You…you're hurt! An ambulance is on its way… please, T-ten… stay!" Izuku said, stumbling over his words like he was trying to say two things at once.

"D-damn locust! Fool! Fuck off!" He said, ripping his arm free with inhuman strength. The homeless teen took another step towards the alleyway, then another. Setsuna grabbed Izuku's hand, holding him back from getting near the boy again. Something in her gut was screaming at her that this felt wrong, and she'd be damned if Izuku felt the brunt end of it.

He spasmed in her grip, looking conflicted as the sound of sirens became piercing in their heads. His eyes were wild as EMTs arrived on the scene, but they were too late. The man had wandered off to the alleys.

Izuku seemed to shut down as the trio of emergency responders grilled them about the man's whereabouts, crouching down onto the ground into a ball. He didn't budge as she pulled on his hand, his grip having turned to iron in her own. She watched as the health workers ran down the alley in search of the man; something told her that they wouldn't find him. Her heart sank as she looked at Izuku; he looked totally freaked.

Using more force, she hauled him to his feet and ferried him inside, away from the loud sirens. She passed her father on the way in, mumbling something about getting Izuku inside for a bit as she took him upstairs. Her father nodded, telling her she'd call his mom.

Setsuna let him sit on her bed. It didn't matter that he was sopping wet, it was the comfiest part of the most sound-proof room in the house. Heartache gripped her as she watched her friend try to collect himself.

"Hey… Izu. D-did you know him? It kinda seemed…" Setsuna trailed off as she saw Izuku go rigid.

"N-never in m-my life." He said, not looking at her. All her squishiest emotions seemed to bubble up to the surface at the obvious lie. Keeping her tears at bay, she tried to pat his shoulder.

"Don't beat yourself up, then. He was probably just freaking out. Dude had a hole in his stomach, 'n all." She said. Izuku pulled his knees to his chest, planting his forehead between them.

"Yeah. I guess."

[x]

The following day was one of his rare rest days, thank god. Izuku spent it in his room, mostly sleeping and listing to the rain patter against the roof. The light drizzle had turned out to be a freak storm, the kind of which only showed up a few times a year, and never this abruptly.

He tossed and turned in his bed, his mind never leaving the injured man's face. It was scarred, cracked, and rough in all the worst places. Izuku wasn't an expert, but it definitely wasn't drug use; it looked like a bad case of a skin disorder.

It wasn't the man's disturbing face that kept his mind occupied, however. It was the raging current of One for All in his stomach that only got worse as he thought more about him. His quirk was alive; that much he knew for certain. Even if the quirk itself wasn't organic, it housed the consciousness of at least eight people. It thought, it felt, it had opinions. Usually, those opinions were muted if notable at all, and on rare occasions, it leaned particularly hard in a positive or negative way. Nighteye and Gran Torino, for example, always sent his gut stirring a little. As did training, combat, or secrets regarding the quirk itself.

Never had his gut given him such a visceral reaction to a single person. One for All had been howling, screeching, and crying as he'd pressed his hands against the man's forgotten wound. Danger, love! Chaos and danger and fear and so, so much love. It was the most passion he'd ever felt and it hadn't even been his own feelings.

He didn't get it, and that scared him. All he wanted, all he needed, was to speak to the vestiges again. Izuku needed their guidance, companionship, and most importantly, verbal input. Despite his many talents, emotional intelligence wasn't one of them. Compassion, servitude, friendship, love. Emotions fueled him, but he didn't have a grasp of what it all meant. He knew what was right and what was wrong, and he'd act on that knowledge without hesitation, but understanding it? Don't ask him.

Without the vestiges, all he had to go off of was his gut, and his gut wasn't being very cooperative with his brain today. Static had filled his brain after the EMT's appearance, not even considering the turmoil his quirk was putting him through.

Exhaling out of his nose, Izuku sat up. Stretching, he looked at the clock. 12:40 p.m. He'd been moping since morning, and the day was half over. One for All was still thrashing in his gut, but it weakened since waking up. He didn't have a clue what to do about the strange man, but it didn't matter right now. If it was really that important, the vestiges would have to come to him.

Checking his phone, he had about a dozen texts. Ten were from Setsuna alone, ranging from questioning how he felt after yesterday to videos of stray cats playing outside her window. One was from Nighteye, and it explained how he was pushing back their next session due to weather. The third, however, was from a contact that'd so far gone unused since he'd received it.

Shoto Todoroki: Question five? I can call.

Attached to the singular message was a link to a worksheet. Izuku, despite the turmoil in his heart, cracked a small smile. Anything to keep his mind off yesterday; though, in the back of his mind, he knew he didn't really want to forget. Not only did he have a blast with Setsuna and make huge progress with his quirk control, he knew he'd see the man again.

One for All was certain.

[x]

AN: So, as of publishing this, I've written up to chapter fourteen, so you're guaranteed that much. Chapter fourteen felt awkward and bad and for a little bit, I was considering going on another break, but editing this chapter reminded me that this was actually kind of a fun story and that taking a break now would be silly. I gotta at least beat out my old highest word count, even if this is my most successful story statistically. Proportionally? Nah, but it now has the highest stats. This might be a top five chapter personally. Post chapter 14 will be difficult, I will not lie. I didn't expect this to be such a slow burn, but it makes sense. When I started it last year, my main goal was to not skip so much going in, like I did in my other stories. Still, it's gonna be a while until school even starts.

Review! I lust after statistical validation.