In the time I'd spent at the studio, my phone had a dozen messages from Jiro. The first few just asked me when I was coming by to share our acceptance letters, but the last few were messages were asking my why I wasn't answering and if I was okay. I'd never ignored a text from her before. If I were her, I'd probably assume the worst. But she was also much better at not overthinking than I was. So why did I look at those messages and freak out a little?

Because I knew that one text wasn't enough to tell her everything that had happened. I needed to speak to her in person.

"Mom, do you think we could make a quick stop before we go home?" I requested, even though I'd asked too much from her already lately.

"To the music store?" She inquired, right as always.

"There's just so much I have to say, and I'm not sure it can wait until tomorrow."

When she said nothing, I assumed that meant that no, but as we got to the stop closest to the shop, she gave me an answer.

"Come home after, okay?"

Beaming up at her, I was reminded of the pure goodness that was my mother. I'd have to do something extra nice for her to make up for all the stress I'd put her through the last couple of months.

"I will. Thank you, mom."

The train stopped, and I got off, looking back with a grin.

"You're the best."

She just smiled back, the doors shutting before the train left, wondering how good of a son I really was.

The shop wasn't too busy, probably because of how late in the evening it was, the bell announcing my arrival.

"Well, well. It's about time you got here. Jiro's in the back working on some school stuff, and man, she's not happy with you." Mr.Kyoka told me as soon as I walked in, looking happy that I was in hot water.

"Yeah, well, I'm not happy with me either." I remarked quietly, knowing this could have been avoided if I had just sent at least one text.

The door to the back of the shop was partially open, and I could see her sitting there with a textbook open on the table. Probably so she could keep an eye out if her parents needed help. It also meant that I didn't have time to think of what to say, something I should have at least tried to do before I got here.

"Hey."

Simple, quiet, and not even an apology for ignoring her text all day. But It's all I had.

"Hey." She repeated back, and I felt like the world's biggest asshole.

"I'm sorry." I told her, and this felt silly. Why couldn't I just talk to her, explain what had happened.

Turning on the stool she was sitting on, she looked at me, pulling a letter from her jacket.

"You ready?" She asked, and I grinned at her, feeling a little anxious as I pulled my own out, handing it to her as I took hers. I knew the good news, but she didn't.

Inside the letter was a little disk, moving it aside as I read what was on the paper. She was accepted, U.A. would make a hero out of her.

"I never doubted they'd want you." I congratulated her, grinning at her as she looked up at me, sad by the news of my letter.

"Izuku, I'm sorry." She told me quietly, but all I could do was laugh. I'd failed my exam, but here I was, about to sign with a huge company.

"Don't apologize. This was the best thing that could have happened to me." I explained before the disc thing turned on, a hologram of All Might telling her she'd gotten into U.A. before going on about the program.

Ignoring the All Might, she looked worried now as I just grinned wider.

"What do you mean?" She questioned as I looked at her lips moving. God, what was wrong with me? Couldn't I show the slightest bit of self-control?

"It's all his fault, but don't worry about me. Mr.Kanon offered me a place with Ongaku Carnival. I'm gonna be signed to a real record company." I told her excitedly, and the way her eyes lit up from nonchalant to excited, it made my heart feel like it was pounding out of my chest.

That thought disgusted me. She was my friend. It didn't matter how I felt. She deserved better than me. I was just some guy, and a crush in middle school wouldn't last forever.

"That's incredible." She put a hand on my shoulder, her onyx colored orbs dark and alluring, like a moonless sky.

"I'm proud of you."

That drew me from my own thoughts, my face burning as I smiled back at her.

"I'm proud of you, too." I told her, but i never doubted she'd get in. That's why I'd spent so much time on her gift.

"Here." I told her, pulling out a notebook, different from my others, the spine purple, the rest of the cover black.

"What's this?" She asked, taking the book from me.

"I can't afford to get you anything cool, so I etched dozens of costumes and pieces of gear that would suit you and your quirk. Plus, it's a condensed version of my other notebooks, with common weaknesses to quirks, first aid instructions, and training methods I found online for your quirk."

Flipping through the book, she stopped on a page and read part of it before looking up with a smile.

"This is the single coolest thing anyone's ever done for me."

There was so much she'd given me. Time, company, helping me learn all the instruments. But she'd also taught me how to sing, or rather, she'd taught me how to find my voice when I was afraid of being really heard.

"Do you want to hang out sometime?" I blurted, my face burning as I tried to gather myself a little bit.

"We hang together all the time." She told me, and I bit my tongue to keep from saying something revealing.

This was stupid. We were friends, nothing else. So why did I want to know how she felt about me, too?

"What about USJ in Osaka? I'll pay, and we can just pretend like everything isn't changing, just for a day." I begged, and suddenly I realized how pathetic I must have looked.

Sighing lightly, she seemed irritated, even though I knew her well enough to know she was just putting up her walls.

"Well, I'm kinda busy with school. Can it wait until summer break?"

Whatever little part of me that was still sensible nodded, overjoyed to be going with her outside of lessons. She wanted to go, I think, which meant she must have thought of me as a friend.

"Oh! While I'm here, that Denden-Myōjin strat, the one with-"

I didn't get to finish my sentence, Jiro doing her best, admittedly good, impression of me.

"With the green star on the body."

"That's the one."

She rolled her eyes and pointed towards the counter, where it had sat for years now. It wasn't rare or even expensive compared to other models, but for some reason, it had sat there for nearly half of my life.

"I've finally sold enough merch to buy it, so it doesn't have to sit there, looking pathetic anymore." I told her, a little proud. My All Might merchandise had really been selling lately, especially to someone called SKE. He'd bought so much I shuddered to think about the greasy All Might fan he was behind the screen, and ignored the fact that I used to be that crazy for any hero.

"I always thought it was kind of like you. Its appeal was limited, but it's super well liked by those who use it." She told me, and my face turned red. Surely she wasn't flirting? But, if she was, should I push it? Would she get mad?

"Thank you. My confidence really needed that." I joked, ignoring what else it could mean. If I misread a signal, then I could ruin our friendship.

A jack to the back of my head set me straight, Jiro crossing her arms.

"Don't get such a big head. Your body won't be able to handle it."

Rolling my eyes, I turned away, mostly so she wouldn't see me smile. As long as we were friends, how could I ever get an ego?

Glancing at Jiro, then quickly looking away again, my hands felt sweaty. "Hey, Jiro. I really admire you."

My face turned red, but I turned back with a smile. "You're amazing. I can't wait until the world really sees what we're made of." I told her, seeing her look at me with a deadpan expression, used to this kind of nervous behavior from me.

"I'm going to buy that guitar now." I told her, moving towards the counter and hoping that I hadn't been too weird.

Mr.Kyoka looked up from the counter as I approached. "Finally decided to get it, huh?" He asked with a grin, reaching for the Denden-Myōjin.

"Yeah," I replied, my voice cracking a little. "It's time."

He rang up the guitar, nodding like a teacher when you got an answer right. "Good choice, kid. It really suits you."

Smiling up at him, I handed over the money, plus enough for the rest of the gear I'd need with it. "Thanks, Mr.Kyoka. The rest of it can be shipped, but I had to have this." I told him, eagerly taking the instrument and feeling it in my hands for the first time.

"Keep your eyes on the news. I'm gonna rock this world to its core." I told him, and for one brief moment, I felt like nothing could go wrong.

Once I admitted I needed the case to take it home, I said my goodbyes to the people who'd helped me on this path, heading back to the apartment my mother had built with love.

Putting the guitar in my room, I walked back out to the hall, calling out to my mother. "I'm home!"

The tv was playing when I heard her. "Im in the kitchen, son!" Mom called back, and I went to go help with dinner, the table covered in papers.

"What is all that junk?" I asked her, washing my hands before I helped her cut some peppers and onions.

"That junk is the first draft of your contract." She informed me, and I had to admit, my mother did not waste time.

"Thank you." I told her, and once more, I knew I had to figure out a way to make up for all the trouble this caused.

The next week was relentless, full of contract revisions, studying for my middle school final, and trying to keep on top of my music lessons. But nothing compared to the stress of trying to figure out where I wanted to go for high school.

"Shiketsu has a music program." The music producer suggested, and for some reason, I didn't like that idea either.

Shaking my head, I looked through the list of schools that were still had exams, thinking of what I wanted, and coming up short.

"No... that doesn't feel right either. I'm already good at the instruments I play, and besides, I could just pay my current teachers to continue."

One name stood out, and I stopped scrolling to look at it. U.A. The highest goal any student could shoot for, regardless of their classes.

"Support course, U.A. High School. And look, the exam is the day before Shiketsu has their music course exam. If I fail, I have someone to fall back on." I told them, pulling it up on the monitor and watching as my mother and Mr.Kanon exchanged confused looks.

"Um, son? Are you sure?" She questioned, and Mr.Kanon clasped his hands and looked at me. "And pray tell, how does music translate into making gear for heroes?"

Grinning up at him, I tilted my head a little, acting confused. "It doesn't. But I've spent my entire life researching how I could be a hero. I know every piece of publicly released gear inside and out. And if i fail, what's the harm?" I told him, happy with my choice. Besides, according to the contract, he only had to pay for the first school I tried out for. If I failed the exam, I would pay if I wanted to go to another school.

Weighing the options, he waved his hand, and an assistant took the tablet for me.

"Consider your exam spot ready." He told me, and my grin turned to a laugh.

Two days and one written exam later, I was in a workshop, the Excavation Hero- Powerloader standing there in front of a group of hopeful students.

"You have three hours to build any gear you can. Remember, you'll be judged based on how safe the gear is, how original it is, and how well built it is. In other words, quality over quantity." The hero explained, a girl with pink dreads raising her hand to ask a question.

"But doesn't that detract from what inventing is about? Preserving through our mistakes? How can we be judged on the first draft when it's the one hundredth that could change the world?"

"Excellent question. You may start now." Powerloader told us, not answering the girl. She did have a point, though.

I knew exactly what I wanted to build, and with the resources U.A. had, I knew I could do it. It was an original design I'd been working on for Jiro, using sound to create protective barriers, but it was untested and not even out of the developmental stage.

But I could also build what I knew would be easy. There was a multi-tool wristband that was fairly simple and could be improved upon, making it more useful than the original.

Whatever I did, it started with the basics, getting tools and material before I looked at how little of each there was. To build my sound gear, I'd need to take resources from other students, but if I built the wristband, it might not measure up to U.A.s standards.

"Hey, can I borrow that hammer?" The girl with pink hair asked, and I handed it to her, looking over as she built what looked like a sound amplication device. The kind that would make my sound gear more powerful.

An idea formed. She was by far the most well prepared person here. Maybe I could form a truce of some sort.

"Hey, um, I'm Midoriya, and I can see you're skilled. So am I. Let's team up and build something so amazing that even Powerloader will be impressed." I suggested, and she shook her head.

"No, thank you." She told me, so engrossed in her work, I was surprised she even heard me.

"I can see you're building a sound amplifier. I'm building a sound-based piece of gear that can form shields. You have to see that there's not enough for either if we hoard resources."

It seemed like she heard that, and her hands stopped working as she looked at me and then to her own work.

"Are you absolutely certain it'll work?" She asked me, and I was left with a choice. Tell the truth or a lie? If I said yes, it gave me my best shot at working with her.

That alone gave me my answer, my head shaking slowly. "Not entirely. It's untested."

I expected her to tell me to buzz off or something, but instead, she grinned and waved me over next to her.

"I'm Hatsume, but you can call me Mei." She told me, and I smiled back, a little unsure of her now.

"Okay, Mei. Are you ready to blow the world away?" I asked, taking a piece of paper and sketching the design I'd made in my notebook, Mei explaining her quirk, Zoom, to me.

"Up to five kilometers, huh? That's impressive." I complimented, using a soldering iron for the first time in my life, and praying it didn't blow me or her up.

It seemed like only minutes had passed when Powerloader told us we had ten minutes left, and we put the final touches on our piece. If this failed, I failed and dragged Hatsume with me.

"Clearly label your and all blueprints you used. You'll receive your results in a few days." Powerloader explained, and I made a label with both mine and Hatsumes name on it.

Outside, I turned to Hatsume and bowed. "Thank you."

"You're welcome, even though we'd both have failed if we hadn't worked together!" She told me, now much louder than she'd been working on our piece.

"We might still. There wasn't time to test it." I reminded her, but she shook her head.

"U.A. would be stupid to not at least accept me. I don't know about you, though." She told me, and I sunk a little.

"Yeah. Well, if I don't, it was nice to meet you." I told her, heading home to spend the next few days being anxious about my results, the letter coming in while I was at school, a disk thing like Jiro had falling on my deak when I opened it, a hologram of Powerloader appeared, frozen for a second before he spoke.

"Hello. If you haven't already read your letter, then let me be the first to congratulate you on your acceptance into U.A. High Schools support course." He told me, and I felt my anxiety wash away. Thank God. I was tired of taking exams.

"You were graded on several things, including resource and time management, ingenuity, originality, and of course, your gear itself. However, you and Miss Hatsume stumbled upon our secret grading system, boosting you both into the first and second position, with Hatsume coming in first. You see, the collaborative teamwork you exhibited is essential for anyone in the support course, and because of that, I'm proud to announce to you, Midoriya Izuku, that you are a part of class 1-H." The hologram turned off, and I leaned back in my chair, grinning like an idiot.

It was an easy class I could do well in, and if my musical career failed, I could fall back on.

It was like my life was perfect, and even with the struggles I knew I'd come across, I was excited for the future.

What an idiot I was.