It was early morning at UA, classes were soon to begin, and the halls were a bustle of activity as students rushed to not be late. Today though, was extra special. It was Izuku's first day back at school! The fact that none of the other people at school seemed to care about that was utterly infuriating Mei.

"Outta the way, ya wingdings! We got a hero coming through!" She yelled, guiding Izuku through a crowd who did little to move out of the way. It turned out that telling people there was a hero in their midst made absolutely no difference when they're literally in a school for heroes.

Izuku stumbled forward, his arms outstretched, "Do I really have to be wearing a blindfold, Mei? I know where we are already, so I don't really see the need." he said, trying to keep his balance.

"Are you crazy?!" Mei said, shocked at the very idea. "Of course you have to wear a blindfold! Where's your sense of drama?!"

"Alright fine, but did it really have to be an electric blindfold? The powerbank is really hurting my neck…" He complained, feeling a slight shock every time he moved his head.

"I don't even know what you're saying to me right now." She then grabbed hold of her friend's upper arms and twisted him to the side, "We're here!" She yelled triumphantly, throwing her hands in the air.

Izuku heard the door swing open, and he blindly stared forward. "Can I take the-"

"Yes you can take the blindfold off! Jeez!"

"Thank you," Izuku groaned as he pulled the overly complicated device off his face, dropping the powerbank to the floor with a loud thud.

"Welcome back Izuku!" Mei yelled.

Peering over the excitable girl, who was posing with her arms outstretched like she was showing someone a car they'd just won, Izuku frowned at what he saw. "There's nothing here?" He said, confused.

"What do you mean there's nothing-" Mei furrowed her brows, turned, and did a double take. "There's nothing here." She then moved around Izuku and took a look at the number on the classroom door, silently took Izuku's hand and led him to the next room down the hall.

Once again, she stretched her arms out like a gameshow host. "Welcome back Izuku!"

This time, Izuku saw what he'd expected. Especially after the conversation Mei had had with him that morning. She meant well, bless her, but Mei was awful at keeping secrets from him. No matter how much she thought otherwise, asking him offhandedly what his favourite party foods are, and "do you think 1-H would be big enough to fit about two dozen people in?" were about as subtle as being beaten around the head with a sackful of bricks. Still, he pretended to be shocked.

"Wh-what is all of this?!" he said in fake amazement at the crowd of students and teachers in front of him, the table full of food, and the banner slung across the back wall reading "WELCOME BACK KOTTER SEASON 2 WATCH PARTY IZUKU"

The room was nearly full to bursting, and Izuku felt quite emotional from the reception. All of Class H were in attendance, even Kazutani - who was supposed to be in the middle of his early internship with Best Jeanist - had managed to make it to the event. Alongside him were a majority of class 1A, including some students Izuku had never spoken to before, and the teachers Power Loader, Present Mic, Snipe, Midnight, Mr Yagi and… Eraserhead, for some reason? That was a little awkward, but he was the only one who didn't start cheering when Izuku entered the room, so that tracked at least.

"We're so happy to see you!" Uraraka cheered, being one of the first to rush forward and greet the overwhelmed boy.

"I didn't expect so many people to be here…" Izuku said in a quiet voice, but smiling wide all the same.

Mei grinned, "People couldn't wait to see you! Principal Nezu said everyone would have rushed the halls to see you once they learned you were back, so he gave us the morning off. I think he only said that to give you the morning off…"

She looked around the room at the quickly assembled decorations and array of food, "It's not too much is it?"

"N-no," Izuku chuckled, "It's perfect."

Next thing he knew, Kirishima abruptly sprinted over to him and picked him off the ground in a vice-like bear hug.

"DUDE!" He shouted, "I thought I'd killed you!"

Izuku flailed his legs hoping he'd be let down soon, "What do you mean?!"

Finally, Kirishima placed him back down. "The last time I saw you was right after our fight! I was all, like, did he have a delayed reaction to the beatdown I laid out..? I was losing my mind, bro!

Mei and Ochaco both looked at him stunned, before his fellow hero student blurted out, "But we told you he was in the hospital for a quirk injury during the kidnapping!"

"I thought you were saying that to save my pride!"

Izuku laughed, "Well good news, I'm not dead! My quirk is better than ever, and I think I have you to thank for that. If you hadn't given me such a good fight, I would never have found out all this cool stuff I could do!"

It was mostly true, the fight at the festival had been something of a wake-up call, but the Brain Brigade had decided not to reveal the full story behind Izuku's newly unlocked abilities to the greater public. When assassins are involved, it's best not to draw too much attention. As such, the working story was that the festival fight combined with the kidnapping (a case of mistaken identity) had kick-started his quirk's awakening. It wasn't a completely flawless cover, but it was good enough.

Ochaco gave Izuku a curious look. "Wait, Izuku, what kind of cool stuff? Like those hammers and grappling hooks you made?"

"Oh, he's way beyond just hammers," Mei chimed in eagerly. "Come on, Izuku, show her! Actually, HEY, EVERYONE, CHECK THIS OUT!" she hollered, drawing a crowd around them, all eyes fixed on Izuku, eager to see what he could do.

Feeling a tad nervous under the sudden spotlight, Izuku raised his forearm, which smoothly transformed into an LED display. With a bit of concentration, a 2D pixel version of himself appeared on the screen, waving at the astonished onlookers. Then, a small text box popped up with a simple "HELLO." With a shake of his arm, he dismissed the display and shrugged. "So yeah, that kind of stuff."

Silence fell over the room as every face registered shock, blinking in disbelief. Even Mei gaped at him as if he'd just performed a magic trick.

"...You can just do that now?!" she exclaimed.

"Uh, yeah…" Izuku replied, scratching the back of his head. "I didn't know if I was going to be able to, but I guess so?"

Just when it seemed like another barrage of questions was about to rain down on him, just like at the sports festival, Izuku found a saving grace nearby. Sensing the need to step in and give Izuku some breathing room, Midnight gracefully made her way over.

"I know you're all excited to see Midoriya, my dears, but you're missing out on all the delectable food! Go, mingle, be free and happy the way only you can!" she declared dramatically, pressing a hand to her forehead and letting out a melodramatic sigh. As if on cue, the crowd began to disperse, still buzzing with amazement over Izuku's display but heeding the hint to give him some space.

"Thanks, Miss Midnight. Guess I'm still not used to all that attention around my quirk…" Izuku admitted sheepishly.

"Glad I could help, dear. Oh, by the way," she said, putting a hand to her cheek as if sharing a secret, though her voice remained just as loud, "We'll be having another special meeting about our mutual friend tomorrow, before internships start."

Izuku's expression suddenly morphed into one of sheer panic, as if lightning had struck him, his eyes widening and his face draining of colour. Meanwhile, Mei glanced between them, utterly lost without any context about the "mutual friend" or the special meeting.

"Wait, Izuku, what is she talking about? What mutual fri-"

"I completely forgot about internships!" Izuku exclaimed, slapping his hands against his cheeks. "Oh no! What am I going to do?! I don't have time to send any applications out, this is a disaster!"

"Midoriya, it's alright!" Midnight reassured him. "We've already sorted everything out. Sir Nighteye said you can intern with him. In fact, he insisted on it!"

Izuku breathed a sigh of relief, "Thank goodness… I was really worried for a second there. Oh, I guess that means we'll be interning in the same city, huh Mei? You're still going with Snipe, aren't you?"

"Sure am!" Mei said emphatically, the excitement of the upcoming internships distracting her from what was happening less than 30 seconds ago. "He already put in a bulk order of ammunition and he's gonna help me develop some sharpshootin' babies!" She finished by firing off some finger guns.

Izuku suddenly got a spark in his eyes, "Ooh! Have you considered some inflatable bullets?"

"Bullets that blow up to catch the baddie?! Or helium shots?!"

"Both!"

With the smile of a woman who knew her job was done, Midnight twirled out of the scene, looking forward to chatting with the chestnut-headed lad and munching on some tiny savoury pastries.


Later, as Izuku animatedly went over gadget ideas with Ashido, (he had promised, after all), Yagi leant against the wall next to where Aizawa was "meditating". Nudging the underground hero with his knee, he tried to catch his attention. The soon-to-be-former homeroom teacher seemed like an odd addition to the scenery, as though he'd be much more at home tucked into bed or perched on top of a gargoyle, and it was making things a little uncomfortable.

"You'll have to tell them sooner or later, you know. Might be better to rip the bandaid off, so to speak." Yagi said in a low voice.

"You're one to talk." Aizawa responded, eyes still closed and face all but obscured in his scarf. "Big secret like yours, and all. I don't suppose you'll be ripping that bandaid off any time soon."

"Heh, you're probably right about that," Yagi said with a grin, "But saying that, Young Midoriya actually already knows about it. In fact, he's been helping me out with some things."

Aizawa peeked at him from the corner of his eyes, his faint smile concealed by his costume, "Of course he does. And of course he is." he said before letting out a barely audible sigh. "Well, I guess there could be worse students to find out"

Yagi couldn't help letting out a laugh at this, "I knew you had a heart in there somewhere. He definitely sent you ideas for gear, didn't he? Come on, you can admit it, he sent them to everyone."

It took a few moments of hesitation before the grumpy man finally relented, "...Schematics for new goggles. Apparently he thought it was 'a glaring issue' that I have to look through vertical slits."

"Hah!" Yagi barked with delight, "Glaring. Fantastic!"

"...He also told me I should cut my hair."

Yagi hadn't laughed that hard in ages.


Miki Yamashita was sitting in a desk chair, pushed up against the side to make room, idly sipping on a drink and letting her mind wander. There was something on her mind a lot, lately. Or rather, someone. This particular 'someone' was currently measuring the length of Jiro's earjacks, scribbling notes, and smiling that familiar toothy grin. Miki knew she was staring, but she didn't really mind. With Izuku better, internships sorted, a confidence she'd do fine at mid-terms, Miki felt like she deserved to stare at someone for a little while.

"When are you going to tell her?" Akari asked in a kind voice, placing herself in the next chair. "Or were you hoping you'd make it so obvious she'd figure it out on her own, hmmmm?"

Miki gave her a weary expression from above her glasses, "What happened to you not being gossipy?" she asked.

"This isn't gossip, you're my friend! I just want to help out!" Akari protested, before leaning her head back against the chair and groaning, "Ugh, I know, I'm working on it… But come on, can you blame me? I've seen the way you act around her, I'm just trying to increase my daily quota of cuteness."

With a sigh, the smitten support student continued to look across the room towards Mei, the latter having little to no idea about any of this. "I can't ask her out. What if it makes things weird?"

"Yeah, well what if it doesn't? It's obvious she likes you back, Mik. You're the only person who can get her to eat in the labs, you know. Izuku can't even do that, and he's like, her brother."

Akari nudged Miki's arm, trying to encourage her. "Go oooon, just go for it. You never know until you try, right?"

Biting her lip in thought, Miki looked at the target of her affections again. She was cackling at something, probably an idea she just had. Being effortlessly Mei. "I really do want to…"

"Yesss! Then ask her!"

Suddenly, Miki's face became very serious. "I'll do it, if you tell Izuku you like him."

"Aww, come on! Was I really that obvious?!" Akari asked incredulously. "What gave it away?!"

"Akari. You'd have to be blind to not have noticed that hug you gave him."

"Yeah, I guess you're right… Okay, fine! No more hiding for both of us! We're gonna grab a hold of the future and crush it to death!" She sprang up from her seat and offered her friend a hand, "Right, Miki?!"

Miki looked around unsure of what to say or do, before smiling and taking the hand. "Right. There's no time like the present."

At that moment, both girls had the exact same thought masked behind their determined expression.

"I have absolutely no idea what to say to them."