The inside of the venue was beautiful. Izuku was shuffling inside with Shinso and he couldn't help but look around at the large room. It was a long space, with pews in rows stretching the length of it and elegant paintings covering every empty space on the walls. Some of the rows were already filled, at which Izuku cursed under his breath. He hadn't meant to get distracted with Shinso outside. That sounded like it was blaming Shinso, but Izuku was to blame. He'd been strangely taken in by the energy and confidence that Shinso was simply exuding today, likely because of his new relationship with Tsu, and actually entering the church had slipped his mind momentarily. Again, this day was for Tenya. He needed to start focusing on that.

Izuku looked around once the two of them managed to enter the main chamber. He was scanning for Ochako or Tsu, or both, and quickly found them in the second row on the left, where there was enough space for both Izuku and Shinso. It looked like everyone from 1A was there, which was nice, as well as Kendo in a row behind the class. It seemed that family, like Kyuyu, Tensei and immediate family, as well as cousins and aunts and uncles and people like that all filled the first row. Then, classmates and friends, then other invites. Strangely, Tenya's father, who Izuku still hadn't learned the name of, was absent.

He felt Shinso take his arm as he hustled Izuku along. The two moved up the aisle and took their seats, Ochako sliding so that Shinso sat next to Tsu. That left Izuku next to Ochako at the aisle seat, which was more than good enough for him. It was also, coincidentally, the seat in front of Kendo, who shot him a wicked grin as she spotted that he was indeed the 'friend' he'd asked about helping earlier. Izuku knew that excuse was flimsy; it was just to get by in the moment. He gave a genuine smile to Ochako as he saw what she was wearing, it was a beautiful black dress that frilled at the bottom. Izuku didn't know a lot about dresses, but it was a good fit for Ochako.

"You look nice," he said as he got comfortable on the hard wood seat.

"Um, thank you. You do, toooooo!?" Ochako lost control of herself at the white in his hair, hesitantly reaching out to touch it.

"Please don't yell. I'll explain later," Izuku said, nodding to Tsu as well. He didn't make Ochako stop touching his hair, but he didn't encourage it. He wasn't blushing, either. Not one bit.

Things continued in that vein for some time. He made conversation with Ochako, what they'd gotten up to the day before, how they were feeling going into the funeral, and what they were doing after it. Izuku had considered asking some people, namely his main circle of friends, if they wanted to hang out, but considered that they may need to be alone after such a thing as a funeral for their fallen classmate. He understood that, and thought he may even need the weekend to recharge before school on Monday. That was something to look forward to, at least.

Izuku was content to do that until it was time to begin, but something stopped that. Shoto Todoroki was that something, standing over Izuku as he glared at the smaller boy. Izuku looked up at him, noting that the suit he wore was much finer than the others he'd seen so far. It paid being a son of the number two Hero, in more ways than one.

"Midoriya. Can I speak with you in private?" Todoroki asked, his tone making it clear that it wasn't a request.

He looked back at Ochako, telling her that he'd be back, and stood. Izuku nodded to Todoroki, prompting him to take him to whatever secluded spot he had planned for this monologue with benefits. He'd done this before, and Izuku wasn't sure what he'd work himself up over this time but he wasn't going to have as much patience with Todoroki as he did at the Sports Festival. The two walked for some time, maybe five minutes, and Izuku was led back outside and around a corner facing the park that served as the backyard of the church type establishment the funeral was being hosted within.

"What do you want this time, Todoroki?" Izuku asked.

"Excuse me?" Todoroki asked back, clearly taken aback by the instant attitude.

"We've done this song and dance before, and I don't know if you've noticed, but we're at a funeral for Iida. What is so important that you'd take us both away from that?" Izuku asked again.

Todoroki seemed to think about that for a moment. He narrowed his eyes at Izuku, and something clicked in his gaze. It became less analytic, the way it most often was, and more intimidating, like he was trying to scare Izuku. He had to keep back a laugh at that, because Izuku had faced down Villains far scarier than Shoto Todoroki, someone who wouldn't even fight with all their power.

"I've finally figured you out, Izuku Midoriya. I know your secret," Todoroki said, making Izuku's heart stop, or at least it felt that way. "At first, I thought you were a showoff, using your power in flashy ways to outclass Bakugo in the Quirk test on the first day. Then, I thought you were an antagonist toward Bakugo, that you hated him for whatever reason. But, then the USJ happened. I saw you leap into the fray against the Villains with no hesitation. That seemed weird for someone who, up until that point, seemed to be honestly kind of arrogant and flashy, without care for how your actions affect others," he continued.

Izuku felt like he could laugh at that. It was so bafflingly bad that he almost just walked away. But, he needed to give Todoroki a reality check. That was what he'd do, even if he had to endure this for however long Todoroki planned on talking.

"Look, Todoroki, you've got it all wrong. I'm not some kind of piece of crap with no regard for other peoples' feelings," Izuku said, staring Todoroki dead in the eye.

"I know that, now. See, I really figured you out at the Sports Festival. There, you talked a big game to me about beating me with all your power, yet we didn't even fight in that third round. Then, you spoke with Iida before we all went off to internships," Todoroki said, causing Izuku to inhale sharply in shock. "Yes, I saw that. You told him that you wanted to help him, but then he died without your assistance. A showoff, who taunts his enemies and who routinely talks without any backbone to back up his claims. I know what you are, Izuku Midoriya. You're a hack. You don't want to help people, not really. You want to be famous. You want money. You're like so many of the Heroes today, just in it for the material benefits. Because of that, you'll never live up to the expectations All Might seems to have for you," the taller boy ranted.

Izuku stood, dumbfounded. He couldn't believe the audacity that this boy had. Izuku didn't want to hear what he was being told, but he was having such a visceral reaction to it that he couldn't ignore it. He felt the warmth of One for All flicker within him but pushed it down, convinced that he could deal with this with words.

"You're still wrong. I wasn't showing off at that Quirk assessment test; I had recently learned how to use my Blackwhips and I was trying new things. The only reason I fought Bakugo with words in our battle trial was because I knew I couldn't beat him with just my powers. I was fighting through seven different types of exhaustion during the Sports Festival and passed out multiple times. If you want a real fight, I'll gladly give you one, but don't you dare bring Iida into this to justify that. Tell me what you really want or leave me alone ," Izuku said, his anger bubbling up to the surface as he spoke.

"I want the truth. What is All for One?" Todoroki asked.

Izuku froze, his anger vanishing and ice cold fear taking its place. Did Todoroki really just ask him that? This couldn't be real.

"Where did you hear that?" Izuku asked back.

"You were talking with this weird skinny guy. In fact, the same man that arrived with you and the UA staff. Curious, isn't it? Who is he? What is All for One?" Todoroki continued his line of questioning.

"You need to drop it. That is something that's between us, and us alone. It's a secret, and you need to stop trying to uncover some grand conspiracy or whatever you're doing," Izuku said, playing it off like Todoroki was getting worked up over nothing.

Izuku stared Todoroki down for a few moments before he moved to leave. He was held back by Todoroki, however, who looked at his white streak and frowned. Izuku scoffed and ripped his arm free, raising his arms in a questioning gesture.

"What do you think is going on here, Todoroki? Where do you think you are? We're not in school anymore. We're at a funeral. One of our classmates is dead. Think about that, and then think about the time you're wasting by pulling me aside and spewing nonsense. I used to think you were some cool, aloof badass, but you're not. You're just a sad, repressed kid who's obsessed with rivalry because your Dad can't be the best. If you wanna fight me, go ahead … in training. This is the real world, Todoroki, so you need to act like it. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a funeral to attend. I do hope you'll join us inside," Izuku said.

He didn't even give Todoroki a second glance as he left. Izuku felt that he'd said everything he wanted to. He needed to learn, and Izuku was more than willing to teach that lesson to the boy born with every chance to thrive, yet who handicapped himself. Izuku walked away, silently slipping inside and into his seat, which was hard to do stealthily when he sat as close to the front as was possible for him to be. Thank you, seating arrangements, for being the absolute bane of Izuku's existence yet again.

As he sat back down, Ochako gave him a worried glance. He patted the hand she'd been resting on her leg as affirmation that he was okay, and tuned into the speech being given from Tensei. Great, Izuku had missed Kyuyu. She was sitting in front of him, watching her surviving son be handed a microphone because he couldn't reach because he was in a wheelchair. Izuku had wanted to hear her eulogy, but he guessed he'd have to talk to her later.

"Uh, hello, everyone. My name is Tensei Iida, Tenya's older brother. I'm here to … say a few words to you all about the kind of person my brother was. When we were younger, Tenya would often ask me why I became a Hero. I always said something like 'the kind of person who helps a lost child find their parents is the best type of person'. He would then ask me why I didn't work as a search and rescue officer," Tensei took a moment to laugh. "He was an overly literal person, even as a kid. He didn't get the subtleties of a lot of things, but the one thing he always perfectly understood was wanting to help people. He didn't care how, or where, or who, but if Tenya could help, you'd bet he would. That was something that always remained the same, even if he sometimes questioned himself. And even if he did question himself, he never disputed the fact that kindness was supposed to be something we all shared, not a choice that we made on the good days. It was this overwhelming kindness that drove him down a darker path, however, because we as a society have lost our way. But, don't remember Tenya for the mistakes that killed him. I know I'll be remembering him as that little boy who believed that everybody deserves help, even people who may not want that help. Thank you for listening," Tensei concluded.

Izuku was sure he was smiling, but he couldn't be bothered to try and pretend to be neutral. He'd known that Tensei would have some good things to say, and he'd delivered big time. Izuku had expected this to go far worse than it had been. He didn't know why, maybe because everything else lately had been at least vaguely affected by the bad things that had happened since school started, but he was actually having a weirdly pleasant experience at this funeral. Maybe it was because of the care that the Iidas clearly put into this whole thing, but he felt welcomed, as he had when he'd visited Kyuyu on Tuesday.

He looked over and saw that Ochako was crying. She had her head in her hands and looked like she was trying to hide from the world. Izuku tapped Ochako on the shoulder to get her attention, which he succeeded at. Tensei was still leaving the stage, and he didn't want to talk and ruin the silence that had filled the room, so Izuku simply held his hand out as an offering to her, which Ochako gladly took into her own as she leaned on him for comfort. Who cared if the jacket got a bit messy? This was happening.

It seemed that Izuku really had missed Kyuyu's speech, because she didn't move to go up after Tensei returned to his spot beside her. Izuku still hadn't seen Kyuyu's husband, which was strange. He knew the man had been swamped with work the last time he'd heard, but to miss this? It must have been some important work.

Izuku glanced over at Shinso and Tsu, and saw that they were in much the same state as Ochako. To lesser degrees, to be sure, but they were still letting the tears flow openly. He didn't know why, but he couldn't bring himself to cry. This felt good, like a catharsis of all the negativity he'd been feeling since he'd found out about Tenya's death, and Izuku couldn't feel bad about that dump. He didn't feel good, necessarily, but it wasn't bad. It was just a release.

As Kyuyu got up and thanked everyone for coming, it seemed that was the end of the speeches. Todoroki just had to pull him away. Izuku swore that the next time he'd see him, he'd engage in a polite but thorough reprimand of his behavior. It was just something else to do something like that on a day like today, and Izuku just couldn't get over how selfish Todoroki had been. It was disgusting, honestly. People started to get up and move around the chamber, mingling into groups and collections of friends and family. Izuku got up as well, wanting to speak with the Iidas, and gently placed Ochako's hand back with her other one.

He moved through the sea of people that were walking from group to group, hearing the chatter overlap and the snippets of conversation. Izuku tried to slip past the group of UA staff that had made their way to the front of the room, but was spotted by Aizawa. He caught Izuku in his stare, under which the boy froze out of habit. He really needed to stop thinking that Aizawa was out to get him or something. He'd been proven to be trustworthy.

"Uh, hey," Izuku said, waving nervously as Aizawa approached.

"Where are you going?" Aizawa asked.

"I wanted to speak with the Iidas," Izuku answered.

"Why?" Aizawa asked again.

"When we visited, Kyuyu gave me some advice. I thought I'd let her know that it worked," Izuku admitted.

"Alright, fine. Don't do anything funny," Aizawa said, narrowing his eyes at Izuku.

"Me? Never," Izuku said, getting a small huff out of his teacher.

Izuku continued on his way to the Iidas, and managed to get out into the front of the room. He hesitated when he saw Tensei and Kyuyu sitting by the stage and talking, however, feeling like he'd be intruding on this moment if he did anything now. He stood there awkwardly for a moment until he saw Kyuyu notice him and stand, her eyes gaining a light to them that had been absent before.

"Midoriya," she said, softly enough to almost be lost under the voices of the crowd.

"Hi. I was hoping that I could talk to you, but if you're busy I can go," Izuku said, turning to leave.

"No! No, stay. I was just talking about you, actually," Kyuyu said.

"Really?" Izuku asked, feeling the breath leave his lungs. They shouldn't be talking about him. This whole thing is for Tenya.

"Yes, Mom was telling me about how you respected Tenya for some of the same qualities I spoke about in my speech, and how you visited the other day," Tensei chimed in.

Izuku felt his mouth dry up. When he was coming up with the idea to talk to Tensei, he didn't consider the fact that he was a massive nerd for Heroes, and so would have to talk to Ingenium. The Ingenium. So, Izuku, when addressed by the man himself, promptly said nothing and stared for a moment while trying to collect his thoughts.

"I … am so sorry. I don't think it's registered in my head until now that you're really Ingenium," Izuku said, getting a soft chuckle from Tensei.

"Well, I used to be," Tensei corrected.

"I don't think that's the case," Izuku put out.

"Kid, my legs don't work. I'm practical enough to know that I can't be a Hero anymore," Tensei said, though it was with a smile that told Izuku he'd made peace with it.

"In practice, yeah. Just because you can't go out and fight bad guys, doesn't mean you're not a Hero anymore. You still saved all the people that Ingenium did. You still helped countless people, saved and changed their lives. You did that. I get the feeling that you're thinking of your attack as the death of Ingenium, but I think it's more of a rebirth," Izuku elaborated.

"How so?" Tensei asked, less defeated and more intrigued.

"Well, Ingenium has always been a title, an idea that's passed from generation to generation, right? You both have been Ingenium, so who's to say that someone else can't take up the mantle?" Izuku asked.

"That's a family title, kid. We can't just audition people; it's a torch that our family bears," Tensei argued.

"Bearing that torch would make you family, don't you think?" Izuku shot back.

The two Iidas sat beside each other, clearly thinking about it. Izuku knew that it was a stretch coming here and telling them how to do something their family had done for over a hundred years, but he was feeling hopeful for the first time in a while, and he wanted to pay that forward. He was the Hopeful Hero, after all, so he needed to live up to the epithet that he'd given him in class what felt like months ago.

"Look, you don't have to take my advice. It's your family, and you should do as you wish. But, I just wanted to make sure you know that this doesn't have to be the end of anything. This can be an opportunity to begin anew, something that I'm sure you both know is rare and fleeting. I'm not going to say you should do it, or that you need to pass on the mantle, but I just wanted to affirm that it's an option," Izuku said, speaking softly to the two so that he came across as genuine and not like he was bossing them around or something.

Kyuyu stood suddenly, surprising even Tensei. She made her way over to Izuku and embraced him, the taller woman wrapping around him tightly. Izuku knew that she used to be Ingenium, but she was still built like a bodybuilder under that disarming motherly aura. He had to step his game up. Izuku almost laughed at how much of an eye opener this was serving to be. She could probably bench him and then some. Kyuyu pulled away from the hug and gave Izuku a teary smile.

"Thank you, Midoriya," she said.

"I also wanted to let you know that I took your advice from when we last saw each other. About getting help and feeling my feelings. I'm … going to be better. So, thank you," Izuku said, smiling back at her with the same shaky smile.

Of course this was when he started tearing up. Izuku pulled the handkerchief that he almost always had on him when All Might was around in his true form and made himself look presentable once again before he left the Iidas to their business. It had been nice to talk with Kyuyu again, and to let her rest assured that he hadn't wound up going down a worse path. He also got to talk to Ingenium , and how cool was that? Even though he was at a funeral, Izuku felt like he was walking on clouds as he made his way back to where his friends had been sitting.

He arrived back at the pew and sat down with a huff. Ochako looked at him, her now red eyes questioning him. Izuku explained how he'd spoken with the Iidas and hopefully cheered them up, but how he wasn't certain they'd enjoyed his advice. She understood his feelings on the matter, that he would help if they wanted it, but nobody could help someone who didn't want it. That was what he'd learned with Tenya.

"So, are you gonna explain this?" Ochako asked, beginning to poke the white in his hair once again.

"Do we really have to talk about me?" Izuku asked, hoping he didn't sound too whiny.

"You said you'd explain it, and you will. Tsu hasn't seen it yet, so you owe her that at least," Ochako said.

"Fair enough. Let's go to a place where we can all face each other, then," Izuku said, already moving to get up.

The four of them relocated outside. They passed Bakugo and his mother on the way, who Izuku waved to and got an excited hug from, respectively, but they made it to their destination in a few minutes. Izuku sat Ochako, Shinso and Tsu down and began to explain his problem with his hair, pacing in front of them as he did.

"So, I woke up today and found this white streak in my hair," Izuku began.

"I wouldn't call it a streak. It would be, if you let it grow, but right now I think it's just too rounded to be a streak," Shinso said.

"It was there, and I contemplated cutting it or dying it but there was no time to do it right before the funeral so I just kinda had to leave it," Izuku continued.

"Who else have you shown?" Ochako asked. She seemed excited by the white, for some reason. Izuku knew why, of course, but he could still pretend like they didn't have certain differences in their opinions of each other.

"Well, the teachers I came here with, of course. You three, I asked for advice from Kendo when I found it—" Izuku counted.

"Why Kendo?" Shinso asked.

"I didn't want anybody in 1A to know unless it was absolutely necessary, so I asked the only person I trust outside of our class," Izuku explained.

"What did she say?" Tsu asked.

"She told me I was boned," Izuku replied.

"Verbatim?" Shinso asked through a laugh.

"Yeah, and some other fun stuff. Okay, I managed to hide it from Bakugo when we passed him. I don't know how Mitsuki didn't notice, and the Iidas probably saw but didn't say anything. That's everyone I've interacted with. So, the UA staff, you guys, Kendo and the Iidas are the only ones who know. I need to keep it that way before I can cut it or dye it or do something to make it go away," Izuku said, the panic bleeding into his voice.

"Why do you want it gone?" Ochako asked.

"Because I'm only fifteen and I'm graying! That's not good!" Izuku groaned.

Shinso laughed, but Ochako and Tsu shot each other a look and started whispering to themselves. After a few moments, they looked at Izuku, and then kept whispering. This only added to Izuku's anxiety about the situation, and he stared at them the whole time they kept their voices down. As they finished, they nodded to each other and turned to face him once more.

"I think you should keep it," Ochako said.

"It makes you seem mature," Tsu agreed.

"Yeah, that's what everybody else said," Izuku said, his voice breaking.

"That's what I said, too. Dude, if everybody's saying the same thing, there has to be at least one little kernel of truth to that. Don't you think it actually could be good if you tried it?" Shinso said, standing to put steadying hands on Izuku's shoulders.

"I just don't want it to seem like I'm looking for attention. That's the opposite of what I want!" Izuku said.

"Nobody's gonna think that, because we know what you're like. Do you really think anyone in 1A would think you're vain or shallow?" Ochako asked.

"No," Izuku said, sure of himself.

"Do you care about anybody else's opinion?" Tsu asked.

"No," Izuku said, less sure.

"Come on, Midoriya! You've gotta take this chance to shake it up. Remember that image of the bad boy? That could be you. Who's the most handsome guy you know?" Shinso said.

"Uh … you?" Izuku said, though it was more of a question.

"Me?" Shinso said, caught off guard.

Ochako seemed to take a second look at Shinso, smiling after a few moments of thought. She leaned on Izuku's shoulder as she spoke, giving Shinso a smile that she gave whenever she joked around and met Shinso down in the sarcastic layer of Hell.

"When you're not half dead from sleep deprivation, you're not too bad on the eyes, Shinso!" Ochako agreed.

"Gee, thanks," Shinso said, putting on a deadpan tone.

"Well, after hearing all that, it doesn't sound too bad. I guess I could try it for a few weeks and see what happens," Izuku said, uncertain.

Ochako and Shinso smiled, high-fiving each other. Izuku remembered that a big ruckus had been kicked up about Ochako and Izuku doing the same on the bus to the internships. He secretly thought it was just an excuse to tease 'the lovebirds', as Mina had taken to calling them behind their backs. Izuku was lucky he only had one sensory Quirk so far; he didn't think he could take knowing everything around himself all the time. He didn't know how Jiro and Shoji handled it.

Izuku smiled, glad that he had such a good group of friends to call his own. He decided to keep quiet, and let the others celebrate his conversion to the dark side, which was technically the light side, but he kept quiet about that, too. He just enjoyed the feeling of having people who wanted him around. It was nice. He knew that he'd been in a bad place for a little bit there, but things were going to be okay, because part of life was overcoming those bad spots. He silently thanked En for his wisdom and laughed at a joke that Shinso had told.

The day had gone off without a hitch.

Kind of.

It was good enough.