"You understand that with a Quirk like yours, you're going to be a supporting hero." A man said, with long blue hair that touched his shoulders.

Saiko looked at him and nodded. "I understand, Father."

"Good, Saiko! You're learning." A woman behind her said, obscured from her view.

"I'm going to be a hero who supports others with her intelligence. That's what I want…" Saiko said.

…

…

…

"…right?"

That's when she woke up in a cold sweat, taking quick breaths. She looked around her room. It was quite organized. The walls were colored white, her desk neat and tidy, clean of any filth. She looked at her watch and saw it was around 7:20.

"…Today will be great, I bet."

That's when her phone dinged. She picked it up to see a text from none other than the nerd himself, Izuku Midoriya, which gave her a wide smile.

Izuku: Good Morning, Intelli-san! I thought I'd send you this message to ask what time you would want us to begin our session.

"Okay, maybe today will actually be great."

Saiko: Same to you as well, Midoriya-san. I think it will take me a couple of hours to get fully prepared.

Izuku: That's fine. I found a good place for us to start your training. I'm there right now.

Saiko: That's fantastic. Where is it?

Izuku: Here, let me send you the location.

The next text she received was of a beach just about half an hour from where she lived. Even if she did need a couple of hours to get ready, she should be no later than 10:00.

Saiko: This is very much appropriated. I will make sure to be there as soon as I possibly can.

Izuku: It's totally fine. There is no need to rush. I can wait here all day if you need me to.

Saiko's eyes widened a bit, as she witnessed this boy text stammer in real time. How was he still being cute despite when she couldn't even see him?

Saiko: If you say so. I'll be there either way. Talk to you later.

Izuku: Okay! Also, I know you love your formal attire, but I don't want you to get that dirty. Maybe something more casual?

Huh, that wasn't a bad idea. He certainly was a considerate cookie. Saiko stood up from her beside and stretched. Today was going to be something else, she could tell.

The sun rose further as Izuku jogged near the beach, which was looking more like a trash dump at this point. Again. Man, could people never learn? At least it wasn't as bad as it was a couple of years ago. Izuku was wearing a plain grey shirt and dark green shorts. He was up earlier than usual, around 6:20, which was about one or two hours off from his usual scheduled wake-up time. But something felt different today. Was it because Sunday came faster than he expected, and he promised an honestly really pretty girl that she'd help her improve as a hero, AND probably only woke up early to jog because of the utter stress he was going to be feeling when all the training he's going to have her do rests on his shoulders? Yeah that probably sums it up.

Izuku began to take a sip of water as the ghosts of One For All past began to speak up.

'…So are we going to address the elephant in the room?' Banjo said, floating around Izuku.

'You mean the fact that Tenth is going on a date with a girl?' Kudo asked.

That made Izuku spit out his water in an instant. "I-I-I-It's not date! You guys have no idea what you're talking about!"

Nana sighed as she smacked both Kudo and Banjo over the head. 'You two, what did we say about teasing the poor kid?'

'To be fair, Nana,' said one Shelton Bate, 'it does seem like a date. Had a similar experience myself at his age back in America.'

'What, so you casually listened to someone who you barely knew express their insecurities to you as well, Shelly?' Banjo asked jokingly.

Shelton huffed as he turned away. 'All I'm saying is, I think the kid has something going on.'

"I swear, it's not a date! Please stop calling it that! Nothing is going on!" Izuku pleaded.

'The last thing you yelled to her was that she was pretty.' Banjo said.

Izuku raised a finger to counter, but now he was all close-lipped, unable to say anything.

'Am I the only one who finds it weird that we're prying into Tenth's personal affairs?' Bruce asks.

Nana crossed her arms. 'It's not so much prying, more just mild curiosity. We are practically his family.'

'Says who?'

'Me. I say it. Also, Izuku-kun has mentioned it once or twice.'

'Regardless,' Shelton says, 'we should be encouraging Tenth! He is getting something that not a lot of us had the chance to have.'

Banjo smiled. 'That's true!'

Izuku grumbled as he sat down to take a break. "For the last time, it's not a date. I just want to help Saiko is all."

'And that's the fourth time now that you've said her first name.' En suddenly commented.

"IT IS!?" Izuku shouted.

All of the Vestiges began to laugh, with Izuku giggling along with them. "You know, Nana is right though. You guys are family at this point. Couldn't have done a lot without you."

Yoichi smiles as his ghost flies in front of Izuku. 'Which is why we want you to have what's best for you. Whether it's this Saiko Intelli or someone else entirely, you deserve to be happy.'

Izuku's bright smile shined in all their eyes. "I-I appreciate it, Yoichi-san. But I mean it when I say that—"

He was interrupted when Nana shared a similar grin as she grabbed every Vestige available into a huge group hug. Izuku could weirdly feel it. Sometimes he forgets that they are a weird in-between tangible and intangible ghosts.

'On a more important note, what are you going to be doing to help this Saiko Intelli train, Tenth?' Hikage asked.

Izuku smirked as he stood up tall, pushing his fist into his palm. "I got the perfect idea. I'm gonna take a page out of All Might's book."

Nana instantly knew what he was referring to, while the others were a little confused. Banjo then rested his ghost arm around Izuku.

'Well since we'll be here a while, why not watch something in the meantime on your phone? Maybe an anime?' Banjo suggested.

'Oh, why not that one about detergent?' En said.

'It's called "Bleach", dumbass. It's not about literal detergent.'

'Hey, no swearing!' Nana shouted.

'What about that lawyer anime the Tenth loves? The one with the "I see" guy?' Hikage said.

'I thought his name was Phoenix Wright?' Shelton replied confused.

'Localized name.'

'Oh.'

It was 9:51 when Saiko arrived at the location Izuku told her to come to, which ended up being Takoba Municipal Beach Park. That being the case, she was instructed by Izuku to wear something more casual than formal, so she threw on a pair of black sports shorts and a pink tank top, along with putting her hair in a ponytail, which she considered enough. She did have to make a half-baked excuse to her parents, as she had forgotten they were meant to have an early breakfast with one another, so she simply told them that she was going to shop with her friends from Seiai Academy. Why did she make such a simple lie? Well, that's a can of worms not worth opening up. She looked on toward the beach and upon seeing Izuku standing in the middle of the sand and surrounded by trash, she made her way toward the boy.

"I have to say, Midoriya-san, this is not the kind of place I envisioned when you suggested you'd train me," Saiko said with a teasing tone. "Were you that desperate to try and help me, hm?"

She expected an answer, or for him to go on a stuttering fit by now. However, when she turned to face him properly, he was just staring at her.

Saiko tilted her head. "Something the matter?"

"…A-Ah! Nothing!" Izuku waved his hands in embarrassment.

'Very smooth, Tenth.' Banjo spoke internally.

'I can't help that she's pretty!' Izuku replied.

'Right. So totally not a date.'

'I WILL press the mute button on you guys.'

Izuku simply shook his head as he got serious. If he was going to get through this and help her, he needed to be on his best game.

"So, what's the great Izuku Midoriya got for me today?" Saiko asked.

Izuku cleared his throat. "I've decided that the best way to work on your physical strength is to put you through a similar training regiment that All Might did for me."

Saiko looked at Izuku blankly, before grabbing him by the shirt. "Are you trying to kill me, Izuku Midoriya!?"

"H-Hey, hey, hey! It's not as bad as it sounds, I promise!" Izuku pleaded. "You're already looking at it, in fact."

As Saiko glanced around, she got a better understanding of what Izuku was going to have her accomplish.

"I see. So your intention is for me to cleanse the beach of the filth that people have soiled it with, which in turn will allow me to work on different types of body strength and durability—arms, legs, abdomen—and other such parts of my body."

Izuku gleamed as Saiko finished her sentence. Only realizing that she had rambled, she turned her head in embarrassment. They've only known each other for one day, how was Izuku already rubbing off on her? The green-haired boy couldn't help but chuckle, which caused Saiko to do the same.

"You got it. Now, I want to see if we can get it done before our hero courses start up again. Not that we couldn't still work on this during it, however, given how you are a year above me, we'll probably have similar but still different schedules to consider, not to mention that your school is different from mine—" Speaking of rambling, there goes Izuku using his signature move.

Saiko simply stared. '…What a weird guy.' She smiled as she walked up to him and tapped him on the shoulder, immediately hiding it once he turned to look at her. "Look, I don't need people seeing me with a student from U.A. Let's get on with it already… W-Whenever you're ready."

Izuku was a little confused by her demeanor but gave a bright grin nonetheless.

'STOP BEING CUTE!' Saiko yelled internally.

Already a couple of hours in and it was already getting rough.

"Grrrruukk!" Saiko grunted as she pushed one of the heavy piles of garbage, finally putting it in the "collection pile" to be picked up by garbage trucks. "Hah… hah… I'm… fine…! So…! Fine…!"

Not just for Saiko but for Izuku as well. Saiko was doing her absolute hardest to push herself and push this damn garbage. But in the span of two to three hours, she only pushed five pieces of trash out of hundreds of different assortments of rubbish. And of course, she was just starting, but it genuinely didn't feel like she was going anywhere. And Izuku, oh poor Izuku. If his brain wasn't already running the track, it was running a whole marathon now. He thought everything would be fine, maybe he'd even help her here and there. But due to Saiko's determination, and most likely a little stubbornness, to do things by herself, he opted to stay back and let her do things. But…

After pushing yet another pie, Saiko hit her fists into the sand, "D-Dammit! This is so…! So…!" and then collapsed on the ground from exhaustion.

Izuku immediately rushed over to check on her condition. "Are you alright, Intelli-san!?"

Saiko sighed, pulling herself off the ground. "Yeah… yeah, I'm fine."

Already demotivated. This wasn't good. But what could she do? She knew she wasn't incredibly fit, let alone on the level of pros, and certainly not Midoriya. But she thought this would be possible. Just what is she meant to do?

"How about a jog? Or a walk even?" Izuku suggested.

She looked at the boy, before looking down at the ground. "It's alright if you think I'm not capable, Midoriya-san."

"T-T-That's not it, I swear!" Izuku shouted unintentionally, causing Saiko to jump. "I just think taking a break will help you recover. Physically and mentally."

"Can you stop that?"

"S-Stop what?"

"Being so damn optimistic. It's making me feel weird."

Izuku's expression kind of paused, which he didn't even know was possible. "I-I'm sorry?"

Saiko stood up and grabbed Izuku by the arm. "Come on. If I'm going to take a break, I want some company in the meantime. You cannot refuse this."

Without a word, the boy allowed himself to be dragged until both were off of the beach's sandy terrain. Now both standing up straight, they began to walk along the stone pathway that was near the beach. Again with the silence between the two. It's not that either one didn't want to talk with one another. It's more that, without a real common goal in mind, it felt a little hard to talk casually. However, with what Saiko knew about Izuku, and what she learned more about him yesterday, perhaps she could make it work.

"Since this is meant to be a break of sorts, if I may ask, what's it like? Your Quirk, I mean." Saiko asked.

She swore she saw Izuku's hair stick up at the question, but then settle down. If she recalled correctly, his Quirk had been a secret up until the war with Shigaraki and All For One last year. After that, it was hard to keep secret about it anymore. Izuku took a deep breath and smiled.

"When I first got it, it was really hard to get a grip on. The first time I used it I broke my right arm and both my legs. After that, I was able to condense it to a single body part but still broke a finger. And then I broke my arm yet again. After that, I knew I needed to figure something out." He explained.

Saiko looked intrigued. "And how did that go?"

Izuku put his index finger to his chin. "Around the time of the U.S.J Incident at U.A., I figured out a way to spread One For All throughout my whole body. Of course, I couldn't use it at its full capacity, but at a very small percentage. From there I got to higher and higher percentages. And that's not to mention the other Quirks that have developed from there!"

"Other Quirks…? Oh! That's right! I did wonder about those weird tendrils that you used. Or how you could fly. Or literally, anything else that wasn't strength-related." Saiko said.

Izuku chuckled as he scratched the back of his ear. "I'd love to ramble on about these guys, I do, but we would be here all day without getting anything done."

Saiko raised a brow. "The way you said that, it's almost like you treat the Quirks as people rather than powers."

"Y-You could say that."

'That's exactly what you're saying.' En said mentally.

"Shh! Oop—" Izuku covered his mouth. That was not meant to come out.

The periwinkle-barked girl looked quite puzzled. Izuku Midoriya was quite an odd person. But not in a bad way. He was certainly different than most students she saw from U.A., even more than Yaoyorozu somehow. There was a certain aura to him that made everything feel calm and still. Not that she would ever admit that.

Izuku and Saiko stared at each other for a minute.

"…Now I apologize in advance for this, but—"

"Yes, you can ask about my Quirk."

"What kind of teas do you have to drink to activate it? Does it have to be hot or cold tea? Can it be tea from those bottles at the grocery store that are actually really good? Do you have to drink a certain amount? Does drinking more tea at once make you smarter? Does—"

Saiko pressed her finger against Izuku's mouth. "Alright, too fast, too quick. One at a time."

The boy blushed and scratched the back of his head in embarrassment, with Saiko blushing as well, turning away to giggle. Was this action necessary? No. Would it help her not feel embarrassed? Absolutely.

Saiko tapped her finger against her cheek. "To give you the basic run down, any tea works with my quirk. As far as I'm aware, how much I consume does not make any significant difference, so long as it's enough for my body to register. However, different teas do have different effects on my Quirk, like how potent my increased intelligence will be, or what I can perceive."

Her eyes widened as she realized Izuku was writing everything down in a notebook that… came out of thin air. Seriously, where the hell did he get that?

"Anything else?" Izuku asked.

"Hmmm, not that I can think of. My Quirk is pretty simple when you get down to it." Saiko replied.

"Perhaps. But depending on the scenario, having the best kind of tea for you in your line of duty would be a great help, especially when in scenarios where it's nigh-impossible to determine every little thing, especially unknown Quirks where you would have no idea what the enemy could possibly have. Perhaps one that balances the two of determining what is otherwise impossible and increasing their smarts to the utmost extreme! Combine that with your hypothetical fighting prowess and you could be honestly a Top 5 hero, at least Top 10."

Once again, a brilliant display of Izuku's muttering. The boy blushed as soon as he realized.

"I-I apologize for that. Sometimes it— Huh?" Izuku noticed that Saiko was looking away.

"I-It's fine, Midoriya-san," Saiko said blushing. 'Top 5!?'

"…Izuku."

There it was again. She accidentally said his first name when she got a little serious.

"What do you think my Quirk is meant for?"

Izuku looked at her perplexed. She noticed his pause, seeing him in his mind again. Who was she kidding? It would probably be the same thing she's always—

"I think it's whatever you want it to be," Izuku said.

That sentence was so not what she expected that it felt like a semi-trailer truck smashed her head-on.

"There was a time when I thought there was only one purpose for my Quirk. Thinking it was only meant to be a battle against one entity and nothing more. But, I've learned that it's not the case. It's whatever you want it to be. It's true to who you are."

Taking in everything he said to her, Saiko took a very deep breath, breathing in and out. She then quickly turned to Izuku. "Promise me one thing."

That caught Izuku's attention. "Yes?"

"You believe in me, right? That I can do this?"

Saiko watched his green eyes show a glinting light of determination. Suddenly, she felt a rush of wind at her right, as she put up her right arm to block his fist.

"W-What was—"

"Of course, I believe in you," Izuku said.

"Then why did you try punching me!?" Saiko shouted.

The boy's smile widened. "To test your faith in yourself. If you put up a defense block an attack from the likes of me, then that's all the proof I need to see that you believe in yourself."

She paused for a second. As stupid as that sounded, he somehow made it all make sense. He definitely had to of held back, that much was obvious. No way he didn't. But still, the fact she could block it…

"Midoriya-san, you're so weird…" Saiko said bluntly. "…but, the good kind of weird. Thank you."

'I want to show the world what kind of hero I want to be. Not what others expect me to be.'

She took another deep breath, doing some quick warmups before saying, "Let's give this another go!"

Everything was already looking better. Even with her struggling at times, Saiko continued to pull her weight. She deduced that the smartest approach would be to start with the smallest bits of garbage first, then climb her way to the heavier and heavier piles. That's what she continued to do over the course of the week.

"I…! Am…! Here…!" She chanted, pulling one of the larger stacks.

Izuku quickly rushed up to her side, holding a bottle of water, and helping her drink it. "You are doing great! Keep this up! I can tell you're getting better!"

She didn't exactly know why, but hearing Izuku's positive attitude just wanted to make her do even better. So she pulled even harder, as hard as she could.

"This is! The kind of training! All Mighty had you doing!?" Saiko asked with a strained tone.

"Y-Yep! Although arguably a lot worse for me. More or less due to the amount of garbage this year compared to about two years ago, which is not nearly as much. Although again, it may or may not be about even if not a little lower because of how heavy—"

"Midoriya-san, as much as your rambles are kind of entertaining, I really need some silence right now!" She shouted.

"R-Right! I'm sorry!"

Day after day, she kept pushing onward. And soon even she could fully realize her developed physical capacity. And when it was the last day before school started again, Izuku looked upon the collected garbage, where Saiko was standing at the very top of it all. It reminded him of the very same day he achieved the same thing.

Saiko looked towards him. "I… did it!" She slowly climbed down before falling onto the sand, keeping herself up with her hands.

Izuku dashed over. "I don't think you understand how proud I am of you, Intelli-san. Look how far you've come!"

Saiko took a chance to examine herself, noticing the muscles that had developed over the last week. Although not on the level of Midoriya, it was still quite an improvement.

'What's this feeling?' She asked herself. 'I've accomplished many things during my time at Seiai Academy. But this feels different.'

"You okay, Intelli-san?" Izuku asked.

Of course. It was so obvious as to why. It was because of him. She never really dreamed of being able to do something like this on her own. But having someone to help her, truly help her, that's what she needed.

She did restrain for a bit, but she surprised Izuku with an embrace. Not only was he blushing, but so was Saiko. It lingered on for a couple of seconds before she let go of him, even pushing him away the tiniest amount possible.

"…D-Don't look at me like that! You wasted your efforts on me, so I'm just repaying your time spent. Nothing more." Saiko said, her face still feeling like it was on fire.

Usually, Izuku would be a stuttering mess by now. And in all honesty, he almost was. But he took a look at Saiko, his blush fading as he smiled.

"It's not wasted effort if it ends up paying off in the end." He retorted.

Saiko sighed. "I keep forgetting you're so humble. For a U.A. Student."

"I'm just telling the truth."

"Whatever you say."

The two stood up from the sand and looked out at the sparkling ocean, watching the sunset briefly.

"I guess it's about time I get home," Izuku said. "I'm sure the same goes for you as well."

Saiko looked to be delving into a thought. In all honesty, she didn't want the day to end yet. But as she raised a finger, she remembered that she had to be home by 18:00. And it was… 17:55!?

"Oh goodness, you're right! I'm supposed to be home in five minutes!" Saiko said worriedly.

She caught a glance of a look she's kind of grown familiar with. That look of when he's thinking intensely about something.

"…What is it?" She asked.

"I-If it's not too much trouble, um, where do you live?"

She didn't know what to expect, but this blew everything so far out of the water. Upon hearing that she could be late home, Izuku's first instinct was to pick her up and use One For All to get her to her house as fast as possible, which included altering between jumping from building to building, or straight up flying. And not like a float, he was straight up traversing the air at his own pace. She found the gesture to be very nice of him, like seriously, what a gentleman, but also incredibly embarrassing. Embarrassed at what? The thought of her parents possibly seeing her with a boy.

"Promise me that as soon as you drop me off, you either jump or fly the hell out of here." Saiko pleaded.

Izuku titled his head. "Why? Is something bad going to happen?"

"To you, no. To me, possibly."

"Why is that? Is everything okay?"

Saiko looked away. But it didn't look to be of embarrassment. "It's nothing bad. Just, a little complicated."

As much as he wanted to know more, Izuku decided to let it go. Especially not at the risk of upsetting her. As soon as they arrived at what was a pretty big house, he planted her safely on the ground, then almost immediately zoomed off using One For All.

"I hope I didn't do anything wrong." The boy said to himself.

Nana's ghost appeared beside him, giving him a soft embrace. 'It's nothing you did, don't worry.'

'I'm sure it's some other reason. Even I could tell you made her happy today.' Hikage said.

Saiko sighed as she made her way to the front door of the house, knocking her fist on it. She felt bad for forcing Izuku to leave almost immediately. But there were reasons for that. One of those reasons would usually be her own for not wanting to be around Izuku. But like all things, they change.

The door opened to reveal an older woman, with straight long white hair. It was Saiko's mother. "Ah, I see you're back. Did you have a good time?"

Saiko took a deep breath and nodded. "Yes, I did, Mother."

The woman smiled. "Good. Although I will say, you're looking more athletic today."

"A-Ah, yes, I presume I forgot to explain. I've been trying to work out more, to be more fit for combative situations for my time as a hero." Saiko said.

And then there's the frown. The frown that Saiko feared.

"Now Saiko, what have we talked about in regard to your role as a hero? We said you would be best fit as a supporting hero." Her mother said.

Internally sighing, Saiko could do nothing but nod in agreement to her mother's words. That got her to smile again.

"Good. I hope you're not letting those distasteful U.A. Students get in your head. Now come inside and get into a more proper attire. It is time for dinner. Especially with school starting tomorrow."

As things change, more things stay the same. As she watched her mother walking ahead of her, it felt like Saiko was flashing back to everything leading up to the present day.

'This dislike for U.A. and its students… was it all truly misplaced? Well, no. Maybe not entirely. But I can't deny that my Mother and Father have played a part in my upbringing to believe that. Because if he isn't bad, then that means not everyone at U.A. is bad.'

Saiko's expression formed from one of gloom to one of determination. Even if it will take quite some time, she'll do it. She started to have these feelings for a little while.

No matter the obstacle.

No matter if her parents find it disdainful.

It is because of him, that she will forge the path that leads her towards her desired future.