Chapter 31: A Thin Line

The officer behind the glass asked, "You lost, kid?"

Izuku turned his head and approached the man at his desk before answering, "No, sir. I was asked to meet someone here. A detective to be exact."

"Really? Well, let's confirm that shall we?" The man in uniform checked his computer, and after a few moments of clicks from both his keyboard and mouse, he asked, "Your name?"

"Izuku Midoriya."

The officer then nodded and pointed to his right using his thumb as he said, "Luckily for you, there happens to be someone waiting for you in his office. Head down this hallway until you get to the elevator and then take it up to the tenth floor. From there take an immediate left and the room you're looking for will be the last one on the left."

Midoriya thanked the officer and began to make his way as directed once the security door beside the man opened. As he walked, the boy was feeling a mix of thrill and suspense. All Might had contacted him yesterday and stated they had been permitted to talk to the individual who specialized in dealing with vigilantes. Once Izuku was done with his weekly video chat, he had some lunch and left for downtown Tokyo. The train ride wasn't too bad since Musutafu was close to the capital and it was Sunday, so the crowds weren't too thick. The walk to Midoriya's destination from Kasumigaseki station only took a few minutes as well.

Izuku had only been to this part of Tokyo a couple of times, though each with his mother. It had been a few years since his last visit, and this was his first going alone. Midoriya, however, had never been this far into the capital. The Imperial Palace was just across the street from the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department, with only a moat separating it from the busy street. He was almost tempted to visit the garden beside the palace that was open to the public but knew he should get back to study. There was a written test tomorrow.

The boy arrived at the elevator, and as he did it opened, and a female officer carrying some papers was inside. She made no reaction to his presence and quickly left. Izuku stepped inside and pressed the number ten on the keypad, and the elevator began to rise.

Midoriya knew little about this person he was about to meet. It wasn't until yesterday that he learned the individual was a detective and just now was it revealed it was a man. He thought if this person worked with the police, wouldn't that mean he pursued vigilantes for arrest? If so, wouldn't the detective have a biased view upon them? However, All Might trusted this person's opinions over his own, so perhaps it wasn't as cut and dry at first glance.

The elevator came to a halt, and Izuku made leave by going left once he exited. His anticipation quickly built as he walked down the hallway. The last door on the left was not labeled, which was odd, considering the rest he passed were. They all had a person's name and then their title as well as a small window on the door. This one was completely different as it was a regular plain door.

Midoriya gave a knock and heard some movement from within. Suddenly, two beats were made from inside. Izuku formed a soft smile on his face as he responded with three knocks and a jiggle of the doorknob.

The door then unlocked and opened. All Might was there and said, "I'm glad you still remember the secret greeting. I didn't expect to have to use it until I arrived."

A gruff voice from behind the former hero then stated, "That's on me All Might. I should have had security outside to keep this more private."

Midoriya paused for a moment. He recognized the voice, one that he hadn't heard since July.

Toshinori stepped aside, revealing Mashirao's father sitting behind a desk. Izuku quickly looked around the room. It was well organized and smelled of some sort of sweet tea. There were no windows, and the one light on the ceiling wasn't very bright, which made the room dimly lit. There was a hum that Midoriya recognized, and he turned to his right to see an air purifier, the same brand as the one back at Ojiro's house.

"I guess we both underestimated the stir my presence would bring, even at such a bureaucratic place like this," All Might said while rubbing the back of his head.

Ojiro shrugged but then turned his gaze towards his guest who was looking quite bewildered. He grinned as he asked, "Surprised?"

"Your son never mentioned you worked with Vigilantes," Midoriya said as he stepped inside the office.

"Cause Mashirao doesn't know. There's a lot of classified information I must keep a secret, even with my family. Though in this case, my wife knows the specifics of what I do here. Especially since she is a cop too."

Yagi closed the door as he said, "Ah yes, you mentioned her earlier. Does she work at this station too?"

Ojiro shook his head as he answered, "No. She's at a small local station that is much closer to home. Though I started my profession there before I got this job."

Midoriya scratched his head as he asked, "What is your job? You don't even have a title on the door like the others."

"An investigator of vigilante activity. At least to most of the people here. However, if you ask the right people, I'm the head of the Vigilante Task Force," the detective explained. He then chuckled before saying, "Even if I am the only permanent member of the group."

"But why the secrecy, even among your coworkers?"

Yagi then replied, "Because vigilantism is even more loathed with the police than with pro heroes. To work with them would be very controversial if made public."

"Indeed. Many of my superiors still think my work is unethical and borderline illegal. I feel I only have this job because I have the approval of the Superintendent General."

Superintendent General? Izuku almost gasped aloud upon hearing this. That position was held only by the Chief of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department, the 2nd highest law enforcement position in the entire country. Just what did Mashirao's dad have or do that could have such a person's trust?

Midoriya then sat down at one of the two chairs in front of the desk. Yagi took a seat as well, to his student's left. Izuku collected his thoughts and then asked, "So you work with vigilantes that follow the law?"

Ojiro rubbed his neck and coughed before saying, "Existing as one is already considered illegal to most people. I work with a wide range of individuals, and a 'lawful' vigilante is quite a rare term among them. Even then, they are a fickle bunch and can just as quickly turn into villains at a moment's notice."

All Might then asked, "So why even work with them?"

"Right. The whole reason you two came here today. Never thought I would be talking to All Might over the phone, let alone in person," the detective replied. He then took a deep breath before explaining, "After graduating with my degree in Criminal Justice, I was hoping I would be put on cases involving white-collar crime, but that wasn't the case."

Izuku guessed it had to do with the injustice the man and his family dealt with in his youth. Also, considering his condition, white-collar crime would have him in the office more often than blue-collar would.

"I was given cold or low priority cases. As I was a rookie, it made sense I was given the unwanted tasks. However, I wanted to get out of such work as quickly as possible. I thought if I did a good enough job, I would be promoted or at the very least be given a choice on what I wanted to work with. So I focused on the one thing almost everyone avoided. Vigilantes."

Midoriya then asked, "What kind of cases were involved with them?"

"The most common is identification. We get eyewitness reports or footage of unidentified heroes from the public, media, or heroes themselves. I would first double-check to make sure it wasn't some pro hero that was undercover or a newly debuted hero as that happens from time to time. From there, I would determine the conduct of the individual. What was it they did? Was there anything questionable in their methods? Are there any other incidents that are similar in profile? Because with vigilantes, they often change their appearances to avoid detection, so that can complicate things"

Ojiro then coughed and grabbed a water bottle. As he drank, the boy noticed a concerned look on his idol's face.

The detective then spoke up and said, "Sorry. Had a lot of meetings this morning so my throat is already a bit sore."

All Might tried to say, "If you're not feeling well..."

"That's me by default, you get used to it. Midoriya-san is in the know, so he can fill you in on the details later if you so desire. But for now, I want to focus on how I got here."

Yagi sighed but nodded before saying, "Go ahead."

"The other cases involved pursuing arrest, sometimes from what I learned from the identification cases. Tracking down these individuals and finding their true identity was a specialty of mine. In both types, they were usually deemed too costly of money and human resources or extremely difficult to do by most of my peers. So after two years of arresting about five high profile perps thought to have escaped justice forever, I was given a promotion, but it was to focus on the vigilantes exclusively."

Izuku then asked, "Were you disappointed?"

Ojiro shook his head before he explained, "No. By my second year, I started to enjoy the work. Plus with the promotion, I did get the choice to choose who to pursue and more resources to work with. Three more years passed, and I got assigned an assistant, Tsukauchi-san. We worked together for several years until we both received a promotion. He went to work directly under pro heroes, eventually being assigned under All Might, and I moved on to this position."

The detective leaned forward in his seat before saying, "After the previous Superintendent General retired, within days of the new one being appointed, he approached me. 'What are your thoughts on these vigilantes?' I remember him asking. 'Do any deserve anything but an arrest?' We talked along those lines for the coming days. And by the end of the month, he set up the Vigilante Task Force for me. No longer was I working under the jurisdiction of a single ward, but the entire Tokyo Metropolis. My access to resources skyrocketed and I could even command a temporary riot company if I needed."

"So you're roughly equal in rank to a Chief Inspector," All Might said with curiosity in his voice.

"Basically. Wish I got that kind of pay though," the detective stated before chuckling.

Midoriya then proclaimed, "But sir, don't you need...!"

Ojiro interrupted the boy by quickly saying, "It would be quite suspicious if I was paid that kind of salary considering my cover. That's not the topic for today, but do know me and my family manage just fine, Midoriya-san."

Yagi seemed confused at this exchange, but then said, "We'll discuss whatever it is later Midoriya-san."

Izuku just nodded in defeat. It just didn't seem fair that Mashirao's father was doing all this extra work but not being paid at the rate he should despite being in dire need of it.

"Anyways, my new job while at first glance was just an expansion of my initial job as an officer, that's only what the public sees. Under wraps, it was to be a liaison to vigilantes deemed usable by my account. I used them as sources of information on villain activity and in ways that pro heroes cannot."

"The dirty work," All Might said in a stern voice.

"More or less. Though nothing too drastic, I assure you. Sometimes though bureautic tape gets in the way of work for pro heroes. These individuals have been essential to some of the biggest crime busts we had in the last decade for this department. They would have been impossible for pros to do under the current hero system," Ojiro explained in a serious tone.

Toshinori eyes leered as he stated, "Sounds like the ends justify the means kind of situation."

"Only if all other methods have been exhausted. Remember, I have the top law enforcement of our country breathing down my neck constantly. I don't make it a habit to stretch the limits of the law unless I have to," the detective tried to explain.

All Might nodded, before saying, "Excuse my attitude earlier. I've had to deal with some troublesome law enforcement and heroes during my career. They would go to almost any means to capture villains. I was just cautious if this had gone down the same path Ojiro-san."

"The day I do, please do stop me, I welcome it," Ojiro stated with a hearty grin. "Even if my son doesn't know the full extent of what I do here I feel I would betray him and my wife's trust if I ever became as you described."

The detective then reached over to grab for another drink of water.

After the man finished, Izuku asked, "So do any pro heroes assist you with this task force?"

"No. Not really. Besides providing eyewitness accounts of their activities or the rare assistance in arrests, I keep to myself."

Midoriya then asked, "Why is it uncommon for you to need a pro hero to subdue a vigilante?"

Yagi then explained, "There's no need to make a scene. I'm guessing once Ojiro-san figures out their true identities, he targets them during their normal daily life."

"You are quite right. Rarely does it become violent as most do not want to endanger their family or home. If they exhibit such tendencies during my intelligence gathering then I contact the appropriate heroes that can handle them," Ojiro stated, leaned back into his seat. He then said, "Even after all these years the process isn't perfect, but I've worked out most of the kinks. The idea is that the task force I am running will eventually be used in all prefectures in Japan. While I do have agents that work outside the Tokyo Metropolis, besides providing me intel, I cannot have them do anything else."

"That is quite an ambitious goal," All Might said with intrigue.

"Yep, and hopefully it doesn't take another decade for it to come to fruition. My superiors still want more results before we move forward with that plan. I only have a handful of vigilantes that one would consider 'righteous' in their work with so progress is slow," the detective stated before rubbing the temple of his head in irritation.

Izuku gulped. There had been a question that had plagued him since he learned that Mashiro's father had extensive knowledge of vigilantes. Midoriya couldn't hold it any longer and asked, "Is there a reason you couldn't stop Stain and The Gentle Criminal before they struck?"

Ojiro looked quite perplexed at this question.

All Might was quick to stand up and try to say, "Midoriya-san that's not something we should-."

"It's alright All Might, I think I understand," the detective said as he put a hand to calm the former pro hero down. He then put it back on his desk as he said, "Considering the reports I've read on those two I think I've connected the dots."

"The media reported that there was evidence that Stain had been a vigilante for some years before becoming a villain. So that means there's a possibility you knew about him," Midoriya stated in a serious voice.

Ojiro nodded and said, "You are right. He was, but the information I had on him did not allow me to connect the two. Besides, he went dark for some time before reappearing. I thought perhaps he had been dealt with."

Yagi then said, "This is news even to me. How so?"

"To start, he called himself Stendhal back then. His appearance was different too as he had a long ponytail, a mask that covered his entire face, and sleeker tactical gear than he did as Stain. His M.O. was initially catching villains that avoided the grasp of heroes, and usually, they needed to go to a hospital when he was done with them. Stendhal then started to work with a trio of vigilantes before defecting from them and collaborating alongside a villain. From there he brutally murdered a drugged up villain and then several Yakuza before being beaten by that trio I mentioned earlier. Stendhal then went off the grid for some time and looks to have morphed himself into the hero killer we know today."

All Might then asked, "I'm guessing Stain's past came up during his interrogation?"

Ojiro nodded before looking back to Midoriya to say, "In Gentle's case, it was thanks to the hacking skills of partner La Brava that I was unable to trace him. While he worked solo, I was slowly starting to close in on his identity, but the trail went cold once she joined his cause. Misinformation was the biggest issue I had to deal with. Too many leads to follow, with no idea if any was genuine. She put me through the wringer."

"I see. Thank you and sorry for bringing it up," Midoriya stated with a slight bow.

"No, it's fine. I'm sure you just wanted some closure since you helped in both of their arrests," the detective said with a smirk.

So he did figure it out, Izuku thought.

"He sure has a knack for getting into trouble," Toshinori said with a chuckle while ruffling his student's hair.

Ojiro looked at his watch before standing up. He then said with a chuckle, "I'm sure he can be a handful at times. His troublesome nature gives me half a mind to create a file for him too." But anyway, I have an early dinner to catch with Tsukauchi-san and his sister. So unless you two have any more questions, I'll be going."

All Might then looked at his pupil, who shook his head. Midoriya felt satisfied with everything he had heard. The former pro hero then reached out a hand as he said, "Thanks so much for greeting us again despite your busy schedule and the various hoops you had to jump through to allow us to hear this information."

The detective shook hands as he said, "Pleasure is all mine. Besides, it's hard to turn down a request from the former top hero of Japan and a friend of my son."

"Be sure to say hi to Makoto-chan for me. I haven't seen her since she was in college," Yagi stated.

Ojiro promised and then shook Midoriya's hand. He reminded the boy to keep everything under wraps, even with his son. They then all exited the office, and the detective went on ahead first so as not to draw too much attention to himself.

All Might then asked, "Would you like a ride back to U.A. my boy? We both do live there."

"Sure!"

Toshinori then gave a call to alert his guards that the meeting was over. He asked them to bring the car to the front of the building.

Once the two were inside the car, Izuku asked, "Was there anything you discussed with Ojiro-san before I arrived."

"Well, to start, I had no idea he was the father of one of my students. Aizawa-san was the one to visit the Ojiro family during the summer, so it all came as a surprise to me. Especially since his tail was hidden while behind his desk. Tsukauchi-san had mentioned his mentor a few times over the years and that he was an expert on vigilantes, but never more than that. Anyways, we mostly talked about his son. Ojiro-san seemed particularly intrigued at our TAC meetings. I guess his son has yet to tell his parents about the activity."

This did seem particular to Midoriya, but he then remembered that he only kept in touch with his mom because of the weekly video chats. Not everyone in the class was probably keeping their family as up to date as he and Hagakure were. It did make Izuku wonder if Mashirao had also kept his relationship with Momo from his folks as well. He doubted Toshinori brought it up.

Yagi then said, "This meeting, though. Turned out to be a lot more than I bargained. Though I'm sure you need some time to process it all before coming up with a decision?"

The boy nodded. While it was quite informative, it was still too soon to come up with an answer. He needed a night to think about it.

"Alright, enough about that then. It's time I got an update about you and Hagakure-chan," All Might said.

Chan? The conversation the two had during the cultural festival must have been quite something, Midoriya pondered. He waved the thought away and decided it was best to key his mentor in on the dance lessons he was having with Ashido to start.


Izuku sat in the bleachers of Gamma Gym waiting for his classmates and teachers for their TAC meeting. He decided to stay behind at the dorm and have a quick dinner to collect his thoughts before training. Midoriya was hoping he could talk to All Might tonight as he had come up with an answer about how he wanted to deal with the vigilantes once he went pro. He spent all night yesterday and class time he could spare today thinking about it.

The boy then recalled his conversation with his idol yesterday as they drove home. After updating Yagi about Hagakure, Midoriya explained Ojiro's condition, which took up most of the time back. All Might was familiar with the ailment. However, he was still intrigued to hear about what the family had been going through.

Just then, Aizawa and Yagi entered the gym.

"Evening Midoriya-san," All Might said as his student approached them.

Izuku greeted both, though Shota seemed distracted and didn't respond beyond a grunt. The homeroom teacher then made his way away from the others and sat down on the bleachers to look over notes he had written for today's session.

"Don't mind him. We have something big happening this weekend, and it's been a bit hectic among the staff housing," Toshinori said and then sighed.

Midoriya then asked, "What is it?"

"In due time, my boy. Though I'm sure you and some of your other classmates will appreciate what we have in store," Yagi said with a grin.

Izuku didn't have much time to think before the gym doors opened again, this time with his friends entering the gym.

Everyone said their greetings to those already present before Eraserhead started the meeting by saying, "Today things will be a bit different. Hagakure you'll be sparring with me to start. Ojiro-san will be against Yayorozu-san's weapons. Midoriya-san will be under All Might for quirk refinement. Ida-san and Uraraka-san however, will continue working on Super Moves."

Everyone split up into their groups, and All Might approached his pupil to say, "We'll be outside again today."

"Same training?"

"Some alterations, but essentially yes."

The two started to make their exit, and as they did, Izuku stated, "I came up with an answer."

Toshinori stopped as he said, "That was fast. Was it that easy after hearing what Ojiro-san had to say?"

Midoriya shook his head before saying, "I spent a good amount of time thinking about it all. I was still brainstorming in class today when I made up my mind."

"I see. Well, what is it?"

"I like the idea of working with them. I think if there are more that have a mindset similar to The Gentle Criminal, then they can be useful."

Not convinced by the answer, Yagi asked in a questioning tone, "And how would you do that?"

"Ojiro-san said that he didn't have any pro heroes that worked directly with him in the Vigilante Task Force. I feel I could do that." Izuku replied with confidence.

"You are assuming quite a lot my boy," Toshinori said as he started walking again.

Midoriya followed the man as he asked, "What's the issue you have with it?"

All Might held the door open that exited the gym as he said, "I'm not against you working with them. It's more you're assuming you are going to work in the Tokyo Metropolis when you go pro."

Izuku walked through the door as he said, "It's where I live. What's wrong, wanting to work in this prefecture?"

"I will admit if you do well here, you do get popular quickly. However, competition is very high since most pro heroes here are trying to get a cut of that pie. Starting a group hero team here would be very risky due to that. Even I avoided working in this prefecture," Toshinori explained as he closed the door.

"Right your agency was based in Chiba," Midoriya stated. He recalled Ashido and Kirishima were from there as well.

Yagi nodded as he said, "While still well populated, it's still nowhere near the size of Tokyo. Plus it had a recent rise in crime back then, which I felt I could help with."

"Well, Ojiro-san said he was hoping that the task force would spread to the rest of Japan. So it might not matter where I end up establishing myself."

"It's been over ten years, and he's still restricted to Tokyo. Another two or three years might not be enough if ever," Yagi argued. He then sighed before saying, "I will admit that my thoughts on this are based on current events. In a few years, the situation might change which could be more favorable to the idea. But another situation that is holding me back is that it's not like we can prepare for this. I can't have you working under Ojiro-san if the task force is supposed to be classified and if he's never had a hero work under him, especially if they are still in their first year."

All Might's logic made a lot of sense, Izuku thought. Perhaps he was too eager for the idea, but that wasn't going to stop him. The boy then asked, "Maybe I could meet some of the vigilantes that Ojiro-san has worked for him? See the kind of people I would have to deal with?"

Toshinori scratched his chin as he answered, "Perhaps. That is something we might be able to do, but for now, let's focus on TAC training. We can revisit this in the next term. I want to get further along with this TAC group before trying to juggle doing something such as that. We still haven't even started doing things all together yet."

"Okay, I understand."

"Good, because we're here," Yagi said as he came to a stop. It was the same field from last week. He then said, "Things are a bit different this time. Not only did I change the position and angle of the ball launchers, but I also added some wiffle and baseballs to the mix. Last time, I bet once you had seen it a few times, you could easily guess the arc of the tennis balls. So get used to various trajectories this time. Oh and try not to break the wiffle balls, but I want you to try and destroy the baseballs."

"Oh man," Izuku groaned.


Mina asked, "You pinched Hagakure-chan's butt!?"

Izuku was quick to respond, "Not hard!"

"But you still did it!"

"She was okay with it though," Midoriya said as he held up his hands defensively.

"Dude, I'm not mad at you. It's a fact you did it and asked in the first place," Ashido said as she ran her hands through her hair back and forth. She then took her hands out and said, "I guess I thought you would never be capable of such a thing."

Izuku groaned as he said, "I still question myself why I asked her all the time."

Mina leaned in closer as she whispered, "Well, has it happened since?"

Midoriya violently shook his head as his face turned a deeper shade of crimson.

"Still though, that's wild."

It was dancing lesson time once more. Like last time, Ashido asked for payment upfront. This time he had to explain everything up to the present. Practice French kissing and butt pinching included. Mina had kept her promise thus far, and Tooru was none the wiser about anything so while it was embarrassing as all hell, he was obliged to tell his classmate if he wanted more lessons. However, with his story, all caught up, what now?

"Ashido-chan, is this our final lesson?"

"Of course not. Why would you think that?"

"Well, I've told you everything about Tooru and me. I'm out stuff to 'pay' you with," Izuku replied with a shrug.

Mina laughed before saying, "Don't worry I have another possible payment."

"Which is?"

"You'll find out next week," Ashido stated before sticking out her tongue.

Midoriya sighed but instead of complaining, he wanted to ask something that had been on his mind since last week. He then cleared his throat before asking, "Ashido-chan, why do you want to know about what's happening between Tooru and me? At first, I thought you only wanted to know because you had an interest in how we got together. Now I'm not so sure."

Mina put a hand to her chin for a few moments before explaining, "Romance has always interested me. Seeing how people interact, play off each other, the drama that comes with it, the works. I see it on TV and the books I read all the time. It's nice to fantasize about it, but I've never had any myself. It then turns out my hunches about my classmates were true, and romance is blooming right in front of me. Call it nosey and selfish if you want, but I wanted to see how romance happens in real life even if it is just from one perspective. Uraraka-chan was too embarrassed to ever say anything. Asking Ida-kun would be like asking stale bread for details. I think Hagakure-chan would think I'm too nosey. I figured you would be like Uraraka-chan, but then you approached me asking for a favor, so I thought I hit the jackpot."

Izuku was taken back a bit by the explanation. He figured if any of the girls in his class had a romantic relationship before, it would be Mina. How wrong he was. Still, he couldn't fault her in being interested in the subject. While it did interest himself, Midoriya always put school and his dream of being a hero first. It just happened he fell in love with his friend along the way.

Mina then got up and said, "Well enough, chit chat. We should get to today's lesson."

Izuku stood up as well and asked, "What's the focus?"

"I want us to try some slow dancing lessons before moving on to Finales next week. Then we'll do some reruns of everything up to Differencias to see if you retained the movement."

"Why the sudden slow dancing?"

Ashido took out her phone and started typing away as she said, "Remember that Finales is pretty suggestive, and while you've been doing well with the other phases, I can tell you are still hesitant about it all. Slow dancing while in no way that technical should get you used to being so close to a girl. If we don't try and tackle the embarrassment factor now, I think we'll be here forever."

"I think the issue is you are not my girlfriend which is why this is making me so uneasy Ashido-chan," Midoriya said while scratching the back of his head.

"Nonsense. If you can be comfortable with me, then it will be a cakewalk with Hagakure-chan," Mina stated before setting her phone down. She then put out a hand as she said, "Now approach."

Izuku did as told and took her hand.

"Now, since it's me we are doing this with, place your free hand on my waist. If it's Hagakure-chan, you can place it on her hips or butt if you are so inclined."

Midoriya sighed before saying, "Not h-helping."

"It's the truth though, even if you hate to admit it. She might even like it," Ashido said in a teasing tone. Once the boy did as instructed, Mina said, placed her free hand on his shoulder and then said, "Play."

The girl's phone started to play some classical music. It had a plodding beat, slower than even Bolero . It was a duet between a violin and a piano.

Ashido then started to move and say, "Sway your body with the beat. No need for complex foot movement. You can even stay in the same small spot if you so wish."

At first, Mina was pulling Izuku around to let him have a jist of things. She then let loose and had him take the lead. Eventually, they moved together, with equal control.

"Not bad. Though you should look at your partner while dancing," Ashido stated with slight annoyance.

"It's hard, this is almost like a hug," Midoriya said nervously.

Mina shook her head as she said, "Nah, that's more like this." She then pulled Izuku's hand to her waist and placed her now free hand on his remaining shoulder. Ashido then proceeded to pull him into a real hug while swaying with the music.

"See?"

It took Izuku a few seconds to respond with, "W-Why?"

Ashido pulled back but kept up with the dance as she said, "To prove a point mostly. Though it is also a position you can take if you wanna cuddle with Tooru during this. Also, not all dancing is intimate unless you make it so, Midoriya-kun. Plenty of professional dancers do some spicy performances on stage and are not involved at all. Just good friends."

Midoriya exhaled loudly before saying, "I get it. I'll try, and not let my nerves get to me."

"Good cause I want us to try a few songs before moving on back to Bolero ," Mina said as she went to go and play a new tune on her phone.

"Yes, ma'am," Izuku said as he tried to shake away the uneasiness he was feeling. He thought, time to give this another go!


"Sorry to disturb you at this hour, but today's events got in the way of what I wanted to talk about," Ida said while in front of Midoriya's room.

"It's been an eventful Sunday alright, but come on in," Izuku said while waving to his guest.

The host closed the door and didn't even have time to ask what his friend wanted before Tenya said, "This concerns Ochako's birthday next month. I need assistance in coming up with an activity to do."

Midoriya was confused by this statement. Earlier in the week, Uraraka had stated she was excited for her upcoming birthday, and her boyfriend had teased he had something great planned for her. It wasn't like the class president to lie. Izuku then said, "So was what you said Wednesday at lunch, false?"

Tenya violently shook his head before he answered, "I did have a plan! I wanted to take her to an observatory in Mitaka, but the stargazing event that was supposed to happen on her birthday was canceled earlier today. Something about renovations they plan to do during the holidays."

Izuku then asked, "Isn't it still open to the public regardless of the event being there or not?" He recalled reading about the observatory some years ago. But other than it being public and located in the western part of the prefecture, he couldn't remember anything else about it.

"You are correct, but I wanted her to see the stars, not just the museum. She's been to plenty of those with her parents when she was younger,"

So Ida wanted it to be special, Midoriya thought. He then said, "Her birthday is the 27th right? Are you planning to do anything on Christmas?"

"No. Considering her parents live in Mie, it's too far for us to do anything in a single day considering that's an eight hour round trip. We thought it would be best to spend time with our families and instead focus our time together during the holidays on her birthday."

There goes that idea, Izuku pondered. He felt he owed Tenya, due to assistance from the class president back when Tooru first asked to hang out. However, thinking back then gave Midoriya a possible solution. He then said, "Hey, why don't we do a triple date."

"You mean, like with all our friends?"

"Yeah. Your double date plan worked great back in the first term. Plus I think Uraraka-chan would love to spend time with everyone if given a chance."

Ida looked intrigued but still hesitant as he said, "As much as that sounds doable, it would require a lot of planning."

"I'm sure if we work together, we can come up with something instead of having you shoulder it all alone."

"Perhaps. I guess we'll find out when I pitch the idea to the others at lunch tomorrow," Tenya stated while placing a hand on his chin. He then said, "Anyways, how do you feel about Eri-chan coming to live at U.A? Ochako was ecstatic about it."

That's right, the big surprise All Might hinted during the TAC training was Eri's moving into the teacher's living quarters. Because of her abandonment by her parents and her closest living relative is in a coma, she had nowhere to go. Eri's horn had started to grow again, which was linked to the source of her quirk's power. So because of that reason, instead of foster care, Eri was to be monitored by the U.A. faculty.

The big three and all the students that helped in the Overhaul raid were invited by Aizawa to see Eri and be told what was happening. During the day, she would spend time in a free room in the teacher's lounge to be monitored in her progress. Mirio even volunteered to come whenever he could to help since he was on hiatus as a student.

There, however, was a hitch to the good news.

Izuku then said, "I'm thrilled that Eri-chan is here now, but I worry about Aizawa-sensei."

"Then we are in agreement. I fear that whatever was stressing him out before will only be compounded by this new responsibility," Tenya said with concern in his voice.

Midoriya wondered if he could ask All Might about how it was affecting Aizawa at the next TAC meeting tomorrow. Would it be too soon, though?

"I might try and make an announcement before class tomorrow that we should be extra helpful to Aizawa-sensei for the rest of the term. Though I want to consult Yaoyorozu-chan first," Ida stated while pulling out his phone. He then said, "Though it seems she has retired for the night as she hasn't answered my text yet."

Izuku then said, "Well, I think it's a great idea, Ida-kun."

"Thanks, Midoriya-kun, I knew you and I would be on the same page on this issue. Anyways, I should head downstairs once more before I go to bed. I need to make sure Ochako isn't stuffing her face full of cat paw buns."

Midoriya chuckled a bit at the thought of Uraraka doing such a thing. The two said their goodbyes and Ida left in a hurry.

The cat paw buns were a gift to the dorm earlier today. The first years wanted to spend more time with Eri today, but Eraserhead dismissed them as they had visitors back at home. To their surprise, the Wild, Wild Pussycats with Kota visited both the 1A and 1B dorms. They came to celebrate Ragdoll's reinstatement, though as Tiger and Mandalay said in their last visit, she was working in their office. The girls were especially excited because of the treats they brought. Izuku though was happy to see Kota again, and Mandalay even pointed out his new red shoes, which were very similar to his own. The young boy was quite embarrassed about it, which Midoriya thought was adorable.

Either way, Ragdoll's reinstatement was because of the upcoming Billboard Hero Chart coming up on Friday. Despite their drop in the rankings, their approval ranting hadn't dropped, so they knew their fans were waiting for their return. They already knew their numbers; they just hadn't been posted to the public yet. Everyone seemed interested in how the hero placement would be now that All Might had retired.

Midoriya was somewhat interested in the rankings but was more concerned about Todoroki. He seemed off once he heard about the Billboard Hero Chart. It made sense that Endeavour would be ranked first, considering how many years he had held rank two. Izuku hoped he would watch it with everyone else when it aired, perhaps that way he could be supportive if need be.

Speaking of being supportive, Midoriya wondered about Koda's time with Jiro and Kaminari. As he lay in his bed, he recalled not noticing any difference between the three during the week. Izuku didn't want to annoy Koji about it, but all things considered, it must have gone well if they all were acting normal. Or least he hoped they did.

The thoughts of romance spurred Midoriya to pull out his phone. He figured his girlfriend should know about the triple date before lunch tomorrow. Izuku wasn't kidding himself though; he mainly wanted to see Tooru's reaction as an excellent way to end his day.


Hope you all have been enjoying your summer!

Mine's been a bit hectic, but I'm managing. Luckily I have a week off next week to chill (going to Wisconsin!).

So my commission to celebrate all my recent milestones and anniversary is done. Though, don't expect it to release until July 23rd to celebrate this fic turning two years old. The new cover art is nearly done (currently on flat colors) and will be posted then as well.

My birthday was back on the 9th last month, so now I'm 30 years old (I am an old man yeeeeah). I received some KodaJiro art as a gift from VagitisArts on Twitter/Tumblr. Her birthday was on the 11th, so I commissioned some EraserMic art made by jayceart on Twitter/Tumblr. Finally, EriJaime opened her commissions again, so I had to jump at the chance. I initially planned to do some IzuTooru once she opened up once more. However, since I have two art of the ship coming later this month, I requested some KodaJiro art instead. That should be out in the next couple of days so keep your eyes peeled on Twitter/Tumblr for it.

I wonder, is this the first chapter I've done without Tooru? I mean, I've had some chapters that are very light on her content, but I'm too lazy to check. ;p

I had the most fun writing the first scene, as it required a fair amount of planning and research to pull off. The building it was set in is a real place in both universes. So I thought to research it's real-life counterpart as well as how law enforcement works in Japan. Figuring out where to place Mr. Ojiro's rank took me the longest. A Commissioner General (head of all of Japan's law enforcement) has made a brief appearance in canon but based on his personality I didn't think he would be the one to set up the Vigilante Task Force. So I decided to invent someone that is one rank below him, though whether I'll use them beyond mentions is still up in the air. If you must know, Kenji Tsuragamae's (dog man from the end of the Stain arc) rank is probably an Assistant Commissioner since he was the Chief of Police of the Hosu Ward. That would place him two positions above Mr. Ojiro but two positions below the Superintendent General. I figure that Tsukauchi's rank is probably at least an Inspector, which is just below Ojiro. It's hard to figure out what rank a detective would be (especially since Ojiro and Tsukauchi are special cases). And as a final bit, Mrs. Ojiro is Sergeant rank, which places her two positions below her husband.

I felt it wouldn't take Izuku long to come up with his answer to All Might if given an evening to collect his thoughts after learning what he did from Mr. Ojiro. I promise the next TAC meeting scene will focus more on the others. Still, it's always fun to think of new ways for Midoriya to work on his new techniques that were never explored in the manga.

The Mina scene was quite short this time around. I only wanted to explain her reasoning behind the 'payments' and to show they were beginning the slow dance lessons. The next lesson is much meatier in content.

This last scene I thought would be longer initially, but I cut out stuff. Again I wanted Ochako and Tenya to get some focus for a bit, so the Mashirao and Momo stuff I had planned I decided to move entirely into the 3rd term. Also, finding a way to explain how Koda's time with Jiro went just didn't fit well, so I decided to put that off until chapter 32. But yeah, a triple date is on its way! The date is going to be a significant event for the story, so stay tuned!

Night Foliage completed editing chapter 20, making 89 edits.

Chapter 32 will have a summary of the Pro Hero arc (in the latter half of the chapter) but continue with the TAC and Mina's dance training. Chapter 33 will then mainly focus on the aftermath of the Joint Training arc. But here's the issue. Both of these are written (needs editing), and I tried to get into 34 but I couldn't. With the Villain arc still in play, I can't advance further without going into unknown territory. I have plenty of non-canon stuff I want to do; for example, I have two significant events planned for the end of December. However, without the direction and timeline of canon, I cannot go forward. Hopefully, it concludes by September so I can continue writing (it does seem to be approaching its climax tho). I just wanted to give you all a heads up that a hiatus might be happening later this year since I am vastly approaching the manga.

Chapter 32 will be published on July 23rd to celebrate two years of Cubicity!