As always, I hope you enjoy.

Kirishima laughed.

"Well, I said the best man would win. Well done, bro! But I won't go easy on you next time."

Izuku shook his head, rolling over and climbing to his feet.

"I'll hold you to that, Kirishima. You need a hand up?"

Kirishima waved a hand at him from the ground.

"Nah man, I'm good. Just need to catch my breath, keeping my Quirk up takes effort y'know? You alright?"

Izuku nodded.

"I'm fine. As- Tsuyu? Are you ok?"

Tsuyu was still on the floor, one hand carefully prodding at her leg.

"I think I sprained my ankle, ribbit."

Izuku walked over to her, plucking his jacket off the ground and sliding it back on. He'd need to retrieve his grapple harness later, with the dart sunk into concrete.

"You- er, you need a hand?"

"If you don't mind."

Flushing under his helmet Izuku crouched and wrapped an arm around Tsuyu's waist, letting her put her own arm around his shoulders. He stood up slowly, letting her gently put her weight on her uninjured leg, until they were both upright.

"You're stronger than you look," Tsuyu commented. Izuku blushed even brighter, if that were possible, somehow supressing his need to babble. Kirishima snorted.

"Yeah, from the girl who kicked me through a wall? That was a real experience, man!"

Asui turned dark eyes on Kirishima as he stood, Izuku seeing her head move from the corner of his eye.

"It doesn't seem to have stopped you."

"Ha! Nah. Still hurt though, I'll have a bruise there tomorrow. You need help carrying her, Midoriya?"

Izuku shook his head.

"I-I think I'm alright. And the staircases aren't big enough for three people anyway."

Kirishima nodded.

"Alright, alright. Yeah, you're right. I'll go first, then, make sure neither of you fall!"

Kirishima limped off, seemingly more or less no worse for wear. Izuku sighed and Tsuyu let out a croaking laugh.

"He's got plenty of energy."

"Yep," Izuku said, not really having any other reply. Tsuyu glanced at him.

"You ok, Midoriya? You took a couple of hits- and your jacket has holes in it."

Izuku laughed, a short exhalation of amusement.

"Just Ashido. Her acid didn't damage my armour, and that took pretty much all the damage. Remind me not to try fist fighting Kirishima again, though. Wasn't doing anything."

"Hmm. I wondered if…I guess your Quirk doesn't affect other people, then?"

Izuku felt his jaw tighten, but Tsuyu was just asking a question. Curiosity wasn't a crime.

"No," he managed, his voice lowering, "It doesn't."

Tsuyu let out a slow breath.

"Sorry, Midoriya. I say what I think, but sometimes it comes off as rude."

"No! No. You've nothing to be sorry for. It's just that my Quirk…it's a bit of a sensitive subject. Sorry."

"You apologise a lot," Tsuyu quietly noted, but she didn't say anything more as Izuku helped her down the stairs, taking more of her weight as she awkwardly hopped. She was heavier than her build implied- denser muscle if Izuku had to guess- but nothing he couldn't handle. Couldn't handle now, at any rate. Before the memories had crashed into his head he couldn't have carried her three feet. But he'd gone quiet, and he knew that there wasn't much more damning than going quiet in the face of a statement like 'You apologise a lot'.

"I guess I'm a nervous person," he said, trying to laugh it off. Tsuyu hummed quietly as Izuku helped her around a corner. He considered asking her if she wanted him to carry her completely, but even the thought made his anxiety spike. So no. Better to limp along than try to speed it up and risk dropping Tsuyu entirely. Better to keep walking to the entrance and distract himself with thoughts of how he could do better. His equipment needed work. The armour had held up well, but the shock knuckles had been woefully inadequate against Kirishima, and he'd had to abandon the grapple completely. Even if the dart had been the adhesive kind, he couldn't have used it against Kirishima because it was on a harness. He needed to get that fixed, make a grapple that wasn't permanently attached to him, it was too risky. And-

"You would think we were the losers, Midoriya," Tsuyu said aloud. Izuku flinched, steps stuttering for a second.

"Um, I-"

"Don't apologise again. You beat Ashido, right? And we beat Kirishima by working together. It's the first time we've worn our costumes, something will need to be changed."

Tsuyu glanced down, wincing.

"I think I need to reinforce my boots, ribbit."

Some armour probably wouldn't hurt either, but Izuku didn't actually say that. He'd already demonstrated his complete weirdness with his mumbling, better not add rudely criticising his classmates costumes to that. Although, if A…Tsuyu…had froglike abilities, would she be focusing on aquatic work? Would armour slow her down too much in the water? Would his armour make it too hard to swim if he ever ended up in the water? Despite his concerns and questions he managed to keep his mouth shut all the way to the front door, where they found All Might waiting with Kirishima, Ashido and a pair of medical robots.

"Young Asui, young Midoriya, congratulations on your victory!" All Might said, beaming a grin that looked even happier than his ever-present smile, "Young Asui, these medical robots will take you to Recovery Girl to get your ankle checked. Unless you wish to remain long enough to hear the feedback? If the injury is not serious, of course."

Incredibly nice but also a little irresponsible. Well, nobody was perfect. Izuku sort of preferred this, anyway. Asui took a moment to reply.

"I think I'm alright, All Might. I'd like to hear what the class says."

"All right!" All Might said, giving them both a thumbs up, "That's the sort of enthusiasm I like to see! Young Midoriya, would you like to place young Asui on the stretcher? We can take her to the class first."

The med bots grumbled- rudimentary AI? Crazy. Izuku wasn't sure he'd trust quirky AI with injured students, but he was probably being paranoid again. He helped Asui over to the stretcher, letting her slide onto it before he let go of her and stepped back, folding his arms across his stomach in something less like a casual pose and more like a white-knuckle death grip on his own arms. Nobody commented, but he was fairly sure they noticed. So awkward. All Might raised an enthusiastic arm, leading them back to the observation room, Ashido falling into step next to Izuku.

"So, Midori-"

Midori? Izuku didn't know how to address that, so he…didn't. Hopefully it wouldn't matter.

"-where did you get those things you used? They're like tasers, man! I want a taser."

Ashido pouted slightly. Izuku cringed inside his helmet, because people in his class were far too friendly for his liking, but managed to marshal the tatters of his composure and answer.

"I, um, I made them. Myself. Power Loader- from Support- he checked them over yesterday."

Ashido hopped over, until she was right next to him. Izuku sighed softly but didn't step away, resigning himself to an interrogation.

"That's really cool, Midori. You just made them? I didn't even think about anything like that."

"Well, your Quirk is pretty strong," Izuku said, forcing himself to make conversation, "So I guess it doesn't matter that much to you. And you can slide on your acid, so…your boots are made to let it through? Like, a one-way permeable membrane?"

Ashido gave him a thumbs up- he'd turned his head slightly to see her, trying not to be rude.

"Yep! Didn't really want shoes with holes in them, y'know? They really worked out. But tasers! That's great!"

Despite himself, Izuku was curious, and this might be his best chance to ask.

"If you were going to use them…um, how conductive is your acid?

Ashido shrugged.

"Depends on how strong it is, right? But it's still not that great, since it's pretty pure. I probably wouldn't need to worry about shocking myself, but it wouldn't work that well to hit someone unless I had a lot of it. I think?"

So her acids worked almost completely like normal acids. That was interesting, given that Kacchans explosions didn't act quite like nitro-glycerine.

Jason had preferred C4, but he'd used dynamite enough that Izuku was fairly confident in the comparison. But he was still talking to Ashido, and not about Kacchan.

"So, um, I guess you could use them? But it depends on how you fight, I guess. They suit me since I can fight up close and I've got armour on, to drag the fight out. But I don't know if you'd be ok with, basically, wearing your opponent down."

Personally Izuku didn't think it would hurt, exactly, to have a backup. He wasn't going to ditch his shock knuckles once he got his guns, that was for certain, but other people felt differently. Ashido looked thoughtful, chewing her lip for a moment.

"I guess I might be better off with a normal taser, right? Something with better range, just in case? I thought I'd get by, but you stopped me pretty quick, Midori."

Izuku shrugged uncomfortably, hunching slightly into his jacket.

"I-my Quirk isn't really good for combat, so I had to find some way of keeping myself safe."

Just tell them, Izuku told himself. Just tell them, admit it, get it out in the open. But no. He couldn't. Even the thought made his throat close and his eyes sting. All Might glanced over his shoulder and Izuku thought he saw sympathy in the deep set eyes, the bright blue seeming to dull slightly. Of course All Might would know. All the teachers would. Izuku bit his lip, well aware that he'd rambled far too much today and that spilling his secrets because he couldn't keep his mouth shut would be a final humiliation.

He knew he couldn't keep it up for long. He knew that he'd be exposed, even if he didn't say anything Kacchan would. But for the moment, he'd like to hope. He'd sometimes considered just pretending that he had a terrible Quirk, something hard to check on and easy to fake- changing hair-colour when it rained on the fourteenth of May, so long as that day was a Thursday, or something like that. But he'd never found it in himself to do it. It wasn't like it would make any real difference, and besides…all of his paperwork was long since done. Even, hidden in a drawer of his desk in his bedroom, a piece of paper. Test results, confirming that Izuku Midoriya had been genetically tested for a Quirk and shown none. All in his records, black and white, defining the rest of his life. Izuku bit down the anger, fully aware that he was getting himself worked up for nothing, and let out a slow breath.

Ashido waved her hands.

"You took me down without using a Quirk? That's pretty cool. Hey, uh, Mr All Might? Can we get a recording of our fight? I wanna see what happened when Kiri was fighting Midoriya!"

Mostly Izuku landing far more hits and still getting his ass kicked, he ruefully thought. Should have gone with the grappling from the start. Still, live and learn- and there was still that little part of him that forgot he wasn't Jason-sized anymore.

"Of course, Young Ashido! All of the tapes will be available for anyone who wishes to peruse them, although they cannot leave the school and must be watched while supervised! Information security, I'm afraid!"

Ashido bounced slightly.

"Who does the supervision?"

"Ah, likely Aizawa! He is your home room teacher after all!"

Roughly eighty percent of the bounce went out of Ashido.

"I think I'm alright, actually."

All Might laughed.

"Yes, Aizawa is rather intimidating! But here we are, the observation room!"

Izuku grimaced under his helmet. All Might in person was just…overbearing. Izuku didn't think he was a bad person, never that, but it was just hard. Especially when the flash of red and blue in his peripheral vision still made his fists clench and his teeth grind. He might not have been teetering on the edge of another panic attack, but he could bet that there'd be blue eyes and red cape and crushing strength in his dreams tonight. Izuku hung back slightly, letting the others precede him into the observation room where the class clustered. He pulled the collar of his jacket a fraction higher as he followed them in, wishing he could hide in it and glad that his helmet hid all of his expressions. He just didn't like crowds.

He wasn't sure if that was his own nervousness or Jason's relentless lone-wolf personality. Maybe both. Either way, being the centre of attention made his skin crawl and his fingers itch. At least Kacchan was still gone. The class didn't look quite as hyped as for earlier matches- Izuku guessed that it wasn't as exciting as seeing Yaoyorozu's Quirk in action or watching Todoroki and Bakugo beat the crap out of each other. All Might strolled up to the front of the classroom, still beaming.

"Alright, kiddos! Who do you think was MVP in that match?"

"I wonder if he actually picks before or listens to us first, ribbit."

Izuku mulled over Tsuyu's question. It was a good one, actually. All Might hadn't done poorly, exactly- minus not stopping the first match when it started to get out of control- but he'd been reading off cue cards earlier and he'd seemed intimidated by Yaoyorozu's first MVP explanation, so maybe he was knew. Ever churning, Izuku's mind moved to another question, about the first match- had All Might not realised how far the two of them were going? Did his own immense power and near invulnerability make it harder to tell how tough normal people were? Or was it just the go beyond, push it to one-hundred and ten percent mentality that every U.A. teacher seemed to have. Izuku was a little surprised when Yaoyorozu wasn't the first person to speak up. Instead, it was Sero.

"It's gotta be Midoriya, right? He took out Ashido and Kirishima, that's gotta count for something."

"It was a time-out," Kirishima grumbled, but he was smiling as he said it. Iida chopped a hand through the air.

"True, however Midoriya was doing very little damage to Kirishima! Without Asui, Midoriya would have likely been unable to triumph, and they both worked on the planning! Thus, should Asui not be MVP?"

Wow. Betrayed by his…well, more like an acquaintance at the moment. Alright, Izuku forgave Iida, especially as he had a point. Izuku alone would have been finished when he foolishly stayed too long and got himself grabbed.

"Well maybe, but Asui only got her openings because Kirishima was distracted, and Midoriya definitely took out Ashido! That's gotta be more important!" Sero argued. Tsuyu sighed next to Izuku, a genuinely heartfelt sound.

"I told them all to call me Tsuyu," she said. Izuku wondered why she was so insistent on the use of her first name. He considered asking, but wasn't sure if it might be a sensitive subject. It could be something completely harmless, but better to wait in case it wasn't. Sero and Iida were still arguing, although politely. All Might was starting to look strained when Yaoyorozu finally stepped forwards.

"Midoriya. Asui."

"Uh…yeah?"

"Call me Tsuyu. Yes?"

"Who was it who came up with your plan?"

Izuku exchanged a glance with Tsuyu- well, he turned his head to her and hoped that she understood his meaning- before letting her speak.

"Midoriya made the suggestions, I agreed. We both worked on it."

Yaoyorozu brought a hand up to her chin, fingers cupping her mouth and a frown tilting her brow.

"You both worked on it and followed it, but it was Midoriya's first idea. Even though splitting up was risky and taking both of the Heroes individually could have backfired, the two of you guessed right. And Midoriya, you could have stalled Kirishima rather than attempting to stop him directly, but the same goes for Asui. On balance, I would say that Midoriya deserves the MVP slightly more."

Izuku blinked, surprised. Yaoyorozu was very…he wondered if she would have aimed to be a teacher if she hadn't been born with such a powerful Quirk. Idly he wondered if she would have been a better teacher than a Hero, and if the strength of her Quirk had taken away something from her. It would be cruel irony were that the case.

Oh. And also, he might have been made MVP. He…he couldn't help feeling like a fraud, a little bit. Asui had held off Kirishima and delivered some of the heaviest blows, her attitude had led to him having the confidence to attempt his plan. She deserved more credit than him, he thought, but All Might was already speaking.

"Very well spoken, young Yaoyorozu! Both teams did an excellent job, but I agree- the MVP for this match is Midoriya!"

Izuku closed his eyes and sucked in a ragged breath, a painful happiness blossoming in his chest. Here he was, a Quirkless kid, being named MVP by All Might. It was only a minor thing, just a school sparring session, but…this was the sort of thing that his dreams were made of. This was the sort of memory that he'd cling to for years, something to help scrub away all the taunts that still stained his soul. A promise of something better. Izuku opened his eyes, and smiled at Tsuyu, hoping that she could read it in his body language.

"Congratulations," she said and he laughed quietly.

"Couldn't have done it without you, Tsuyu," he replied, just as softly.

A few hours later, when afternoon classes were over, Izuku set off for the Support Lab again. He'd managed to avoid any questions about his Quirk and Kacchan and Todoroki had drawn more attention, the two of them showing almost matching coldness despite the difference in Todoroki's silence and Kacchan's snarling scowl. Izuku would have liked to say that Kacchan worried him more, but at least his former friend was predictable. Anything could be brewing behind Todoroki's faint frown and Izuku was relieved when the last bell went and he could leave. He was just leaving the classroom when he found himself sandwiched between the wall and Uraraka.

"Hey, Midoriya, you take the same train as I do, right? How come you weren't on it yesterday?"

Izuku shrugged, uncomfortable with how close she was leaning but not enough to say anything.

"I went to the Support Department to get my gear checked out," he said, carefully composing the words in his head to avoid any hint of stutter, "So I was late. I'm going there again today."

"Huh," Uraraka said, her nose wrinkling, "Seems pretty early to be going there. But I guess it worked out for you, right?"

Izuku nodded.

"Yeah, it was pretty useful. I think most hero students wait longer though, since they take more time to work out problems with their costume…"

Uraraka nodded.

"Guess I'll have to go sometime this week! My costume needs work. But not today…I'll see you tomorrow, Midoriya!"

"See you tomorrow, Uraraka," Izuku said, watching her stride quickly away. He turned and started down the corridor, glancing back slightly as someone hurried up after him. Light steps, probably not a male. Slightly unusual gait. Not a threat. He slowed enough for his pursuer to catch up.

"Hey, Midoriya. Did you say that you were going to the Support Department?"

Izuku nodded to Asui, smiling slightly.

"Yeah. I want to talk to Power Loader about a few things with my costume. Do you need something?"

Asui croaked gently, deep in her throat, and nodded.

"I need my boots reinforced. Wanted to ask Power Loader about the best designs. What do you want there?"

Izuku shrugged.

"I…I left some designs with a Support Student. She's very enthusiastic, but I wanted to make sure that they were ok. And I've had a few more ideas, so I want to get them looked at as soon as I can."

"Really, ribbit? What do you want?"

Izuku shifted his shoulders, settling his backpack more comfortably.

"I wanted to get some alterations to my helmet. If Ashido and Kirishima had followed us, I might have been caught, so I wanted some smoke grenades. But to use them properly I'd need some changes to my helmet, hopefully thermal vision. It's already got gas filters, but I want to add some kind of oxygen supply as well, just in case. And some of my designs could…I want to work on them myself, you know? Not that I don't trust Hatsume, I just…"

"Mm," As-Tsuyu murmured, "You want to do it yourself, ribbit."

Izuku shrugged again, nodded.

"I- yeah, I guess. I, um, you aren't upset, are you? About me getting the MVP? I thought that you deserved it more, but…"

"I agreed with what they said. It would have been nice to get the MVP in the first exercise, but I don't really mind losing it. It doesn't matter that much."

"Well, if you say so."

"So, the Support Student you're working with. What's she like?"

Izuku didn't reply for a couple of steps, chewing his lip in thought. He'd only met Hatsume once, but…

"She's like a stereotypical mad scientist."

"Oh, ribbit?"

"Yeah. Took my notebook off me to go through my designs, causes explosions, no sense of personal space, causes explosions-"

"You've said causes explosions twice, Midoriya."

"I'm pretty sure that she really likes explosions."

As though to reinforce his words, there was a muffled boom from in front of them.

"Do you think you could have worn your Hero costume? I could do with some armour to hide behind."

Izuku smiled, walking up to the door and knocking hard.

"Come in," Power Loader called, "Just keep your heads down. Put that down, Mei!"

"Should've stayed on my beach," Izuku muttered, just loud enough for Tsuyu to hear. She croaked quietly, sounding confused, but Izuku shoved through the door before she had time to ask. She followed him, although her steps sounded cautious. Hatsume was standing on the table. Again. Izuku sighed.

"Oh, hey, Midoriya! Did your gear work out?" Power Loader asked, wrenching something away from Hatsume and turning. Izuku nodded, smiling.

"Yeah, I did, thanks! It all worked really well, but…"

"You've got more to look at, right? Yeah, expected it. And who's your friend?"

Hatsume was cackling like a maniac, but Izuku ignored it. He just didn't have the soul to deal with it right now.

"I'm Tsuyu Asui, ribbit. I wanted to ask about some costume changes?"

Power Loader waved his hands.

"Sure thing, kid! Influencing your classmates already, Midoriya?"

Izuku flailed his hands a little bit, blushing, and Power Loader laughed.

"So, Asui, what's the problem? You had your first Hero Training today, right? Costumes issues do pop up sometimes."

Asui nodded. Izuku leaned against a table, keeping his eyes on Hatsume, who was still cackling and waving around what looked like a…a jetpack, maybe? Izuku sincerely hoped that she wasn't trying to turn his grapple harness into a rocket pack.

"In the Hero training, ribbit, I kicked one of my classmates pretty hard. It worked, but I sprained my ankle. So I was hoping-"

"You want some better reinforcing for your boots? Yeah, makes sense. Some people like shock absorbers, but that's not gonna work if you're kicking, right? Some stiff armoured boots, but maybe…you're an aquatic hero, so nothing too heavy. Some of the students were talking about an armour fabric that turns pliable in water a few weeks ago, there's that…worth looking into, at least. And if not, I'll try to find some lightweight armour."

"Uh…thank you?"

"Don't worry about it, kid, it's a nice change to have a proactive Hero student. Now. Midoriya, what were you after?"

Izuku uncoiled from his table, uncrossing his arms- although he kept his eyes on Hatsume.

"I wanted to ask what the U.A. policy on grenades is," he said, deciding to dive in at the deep end. Power Loader shrugged.

"Lax, usually. What sort of grenades?"

Izuku rubbed his hands together, trying not to look nervous.

"Flashbangs and smoke grenades?"

Power Loader nodded.

"Definitely lax. You'll want some upgrades to your helmet to make the best use of them, but the Support gear policy is that you're trusted until we think you can't be. Don't do anything reckless and it'll be fine. Might even be able to wrangle some other chemical grenades if you're lucky- that Bakugo kid basically got an RPG for each arm so you've precedent already. And since you're here, I think Hatsume wanted to speak to you. Hey, Hatsume!"

Hatsume stopped her crazed cackling at Power Loader's shout, leaping down from the table in a single bound and waving when she saw Izuku. She came bouncing over and Izuku was already apprehensive.

"Hey, Greeny! Great news, I made a variant of the foam you wanted! Probably the same as the one you made, Fingers almost suffocated when I used it on him, but it's a good start!"

Tsuyu, from what Izuku could see of her in his peripheral vision, looked slightly concerned. Her expression still didn't change much, but her eyebrows tilted down a fraction. Power Loader sighed, suddenly sounding exhausted.

"Mei, I thought I told you about testing inventions on other students."

"If he didn't want to risk his life he wouldn't have volunteered! Now. Greeny. I have something else for you!"

Hatsume reached into a back pocket and pulled out a gun, waving it about with absolutely no regard for safety or trigger discipline. Izuku yelped, ducking under the swinging barrel. His hands moved without conscious input, grabbing the gun and twisting it out of Hatsume's hands. She pouted at him.

"No need to grab," she said, brightening immediately afterwards, "But I'm glad you like it! I built it off the designs in your notebook!"

This could be good, or it could be awful. Izuku was intrigued. He checked the gun, making sure it was unloaded, clicking the safety on with a casual professionalism that he hadn't known he had until now and spun it in his hands. Yeah. Yeah, he remembered this design. Perfectly weighted and balanced, made for Jason's fighting style. The magazine, carefully designed- probably too complex, but when had that ever stopped a Bat- so that the taser built into the butt would slide back to allow smooth reloads. Modular, heavy and sturdy enough to be a club while being balanced perfectly for quick marksmanship.

Unfortunately, this wasn't really there. It had the base components, yeah, but it was heavy. The taser in the butt looked like it had been altered, so who knew what it might do. He could see that it was, ironically for such an advanced weapon, too complicated. Aiming systems and quick reloads and what he guessed was some kind of bullet-switching mechanism- too many points of failure. Far too many. Hatsume was looking positively crazed, though, so he wasn't sure if he could really say any of that.

Izuku looked pleadingly at Power Loader, who nodded and picked up the tranquiliser gun. Hatsume didn't even react when it struck her, dropping straight into Izuku and he yelped, almost dropping the gun as he caught her. She was lighter than Tsuyu, at least, but she was a completely dead weight. Izuku silently thanked whatever deity might be listening that he hadn't said that aloud, especially given that Tsuyu was here. He'd hate to offend her, given that he was doing his best to make friends. It wasn't easy, given that the last time he'd made friends he'd been…huh. Before he'd been diagnosed as Quirkless.

That was incredibly messed up, now that he thought of it, but he didn't have the time for a breakdown. And there was a better question to ask.

"Can I get some of those tranquilisers?" he asked, highly impressed by how effective they were. Maybe they'd be enough to put Kacchan out for a few nights, maybe some extra sleep would take the edge of his temper. Unfortunately Power Loader snorted out a laugh, picking Hatsume off him and slinging her over his shoulder.

"Sorry, kid, they're not usually that effective. She probably hasn't slept in days. You ain't too pleased with the gun, right?"

Normally Izuku might have been too embarrassed to say anything, but he was riding a wave of mild indignation. What was it with inventors and randomly altering perfectly good schematics? He let the gun sit in the middle of his palm, spinning it, switching from gripping the barrel to the grip, from taser-club to pistol, flipping it into the air and catching it in his other hand in a flashy and impractical manoeuvre. Power Loader looked amused as he dumped Hatsume on a table, the girl starting to snore.

"Hatsume knows her metallurgy, but she ain't a gunsmith. I know Snipe complained for weeks after some newbie at his Support Company got hold of his revolvers and tried to improve them. So, what the issue kid?"

"They're too complicated," Izuku said, disassembling them, "They're supposed to be part of a set of three for a reason. Multiple loads without needing to constantly switch."

He carefully extracted the incredibly complex piece of equipment that he guessed was some sort of auto-loader, handing it to Power Loader. The teacher looked it over, grunting.

"This is good work, but not for a handgun. This is something you'd put on a tank, to switch between different types of shell. You wouldn't be able to carry the damn things, they'd need a fully compartmented drum magazine to work."

"Right," Izuku agreed, "Too much work. And too much could go wrong. If I'm going to be using the tasers built into the grip, the rest of the gun needs to be idiot simple to make sure it can't be broken."

"Simple and effective is a lot better than too complex," Power Loader said, still frowning at the loader, "But it can take a lot of time for Support Students to get that. Support Companies, even. Some maniac tried to alter Aizawa's capture weapon a few years ago, it would've needed a full cybernetic workover to function. Thought Aizawa was going to commit murder when he realised that his order for one spare had gotten lost in the mess."

"He didn't actually murder anyone, right?" Izuku asked, slightly concerned, "Because I've known him for, um, two days, and…"

Power Loader snorted with laughter again.

"Don't worry about it, kid. I checked up on the guy who did the meddling a few days afterwards. He needed a few weeks off to recover, but he lived."

Somehow, that might be worse. Izuku decided not to say anything, because he had other concerns. He took the whole gun apart, carefully rebuilding it without any of the gimmicks- well, without any of the gimmicks he hadn't included in the original design- and looked thoughtfully at the weapon. Jason had used two variants of this pistol over his career: this design, with the sliding bottom on the grip to allow fresh magazines to be inserted without interrupting the taser, and an earlier one that had built part of the taser into the magazines themselves. The second version, the first type Jason had used, had been more likely to go wrong, but it had also been a lot easier to repair and maintain. He might have to ask Power Loader if he could get access to the workshop. It wasn't that he thought Hatsume was incapable, but he'd like to have an actual hand in his equipment. It was a Bat thing, he assumed, but he didn't question it. He spun it in his hand, testing the weight and the balance. Better. Much better. Alright, he gave Hatsume more credit. She'd built to his spec and then compulsively upgraded, it looked like. The modular nature of the weapon made breaking it down and rebuilding it a lot easier.

"Better, kid?"

"Yeah. A lot better," Izuku said, staring at the gun in his hand. It felt…right, sat there. Comfortable and comforting.

"I guess I'd better get to work on the certification process, right?"

"I didn't know you liked guns, Midoriya," Tsuyu said. Izuku twitched slightly, but the gun in his hand didn't move at all. Too much discipline. He shrugged, suddenly uneasy at being seen, but Power Loader laughed again.

"I'd say he loves guns, Asui, the way he's looking at that."

Izuku put his head into his free hand, completely embarrassed. Power Loader chortled again.

"But anyway, kid, yeah you need to be certified before you can add the guns to your costume. I'll make sure Hatsume keeps to your designs- you want some alterations?"

Izuku nodded, forcing his hand away from his face.

"Yeah, there's a simpler version, with the taser built into the magazine. I think that might work better. And then there's ammunition?"

Power Loader nodded.

"I've looked over your designs, and I think the foam bullets will work out with a bit of work. And then I heard Hatsume ranting about concussive rounds, so who knows how they'll work- given her track record, they might end up as high explosive. Rubber bullets and sedative darts are always an option too, of course. We'll get that sorted out. Anything else you wanted, Midoriya?"

"Uh, yeah. My grapple…it's a bit limited. I wanted to alter the grapple itself into something more like a gun, so I have more control? And the variable adhesive for it, I've got some ideas for actually making it."

Plus, Izuku had been thinking and…there had been a lot of cold based villains in Jason's universe. Some of them had been metas, but a lot hadn't. In theory, he could build some sort of freeze bullets. He'd need some time to experiment, but he wanted to organise that now. Power Loader nodded.

"Yeah, the dart has some issues. Hatsume'll stay asleep for a few hours, but I'm here for another hour and a half so I'll look at your variable adhesive ideas if you record them. I'm guessing that you want to get some time for yourself, to work on your gear?"

Izuku nodded sheepishly as he handed over the gun. Power Loader took it and laid it down on a workbench, grunting in agreement.

"Yeah, thought so. I stay after school every Monday, Tuesday and Friday, two hours each, in case Support Students want to work on extra things. You're welcome to drop in anytime, I'll be here. I'll even try and keep Hatsume away from you."

"I…um, I'll see you on Friday then? I'm not really prepared to stay today."

Power Loader shrugged.

"No problem, Midoriya. Asui, like I said, I'll look into your costume and get it sorted."

Izuku waved farewell to Power Loader, setting out with Tsuyu in tow. They walked through the halls in quiet for a few minutes, until Tsuyu broke the silence.

"So, Midoriya. You're adding guns to your costume?"

Izuku found his fingers tapping against his thigh without conscious thought, his other hand curling tightly around his backpack strap. Tsuyu didn't sound like she was judging him, but- again, she was sort of hard to read. He shrugged.

"I…yeah. I need something to even the playing field, you know? Since I don't have a Quirk."

Shit.

"Shit."

"Language, Midoriya. It makes sense, you're good at fighting but you had a lot of trouble with Kirishima. What are the foam bullets for?"

Had…had she not heard? No. She must have done. Maybe she was just…ignoring it? Maybe she couldn't comprehend the thought of a Quirkless Hero Student and had just blocked the thought out. Or…or maybe…there was only one way to know for sure. Izuku screwed his eyes shut and forced himself to ask the question, his numb lips phrasing the words with slow reluctance.

"Did…didn't you hear what I said, Asui? About my Quirk?"

Asui croaked quietly.

"About being Quirkless, Midoriya? I heard. I…I say what I think, Midoriya. And I think you deserve to be here. I don't know if a Quirkless person can be a hero…but I guess I'm going to find out, right?"

Izuku sniffled, eyes wet with tears. His first attempt to speak choked in his throat, and wasn't that just pathetic- wasn't it weak that just because one of his peers didn't turn their nose up at him, just because they hadn't rejected him outright, he was crying? He reached up and wiped his eyes with his sleeve, smiling shakily.

"Thank you, Asui."

"Just what anyone should do, Midoriya. And I keep telling you, call me Tsuyu."

The next morning came far too early for Izuku's taste. He'd slept badly, another dream of laughter and crowbars- thirty-six, now- and he half-dozed on the train to U.A., leaning against his seat. He sighed as the train came to a halt, blinking the sleep from his eyes and walking off onto the platform, taking the short walk to his school. He had plenty of time, so he walked at a sedate pace, strolling along, until he saw the commotion clustered around the gates. A spike of adrenaline cleared the remaining tiredness, eyes narrowing and sharpening.

"Reporters?"

The crowd was waving and shouting, clamouring for answers to their questions. Izuku spotted Iida, hand chopping as he answered in a sharp bark- Izuku wondered if the hand-chopping was intentional, given that it got Iida some room from the reporters. Izuku estimated the distance to the gate, the number of reporters between him and it, and adjusted his tie. Already a little amateurish, it now looked terrible. Shift his collar, slouch a little, blink his eyes and let them droop, look less like a Hero Student and he was off. A woman got in his face almost immediately, thrusting a microphone at him.

"Is it true that All Might is working at U.A.? What's he like as a teacher?"

Izuku stiffened from his slouch, looking around.

"A-All Might? Where? I didn't know he was here!"

The reporter looked baffled.

"You-you didn't know?"

Izuku turned his eyes on her, purposefully as wide as he could make them. It made him look innocent.

"No, miss. I'm just a General Studies student. Do you think we'll get All Might teaching us?"

He saw the moment she lost interest, already looking around for her next victim. Uh, interviewee.

"Sure, kid, whatever. Hey! Hey you- with the spiky hair!"

Izuku slipped past and away, grinning as she moved on to Kacchan. He almost wanted to wait and watch the fireworks, but everybody had to make sacrifices sometimes. He passed Aizawa on the way through the gate, and the sigh the man let out sounded even more exhausted than Izuku felt. Izuku heard his "Alright, stop hassling my students," fade into the background as he headed for his classroom. Maybe half the class was there, looking ruffled, and Izuku moved his tie back to a decent appearance. Still wasn't perfect, but it was better than it had been. Aizawa stalked in a few minutes later, looking somewhere between exhausted and aggravated, with Uraraka in tow. He leaned on his desk, sighing.

"Alright."

The class went quiet, mouths closing. Aizawa raised an eyebrow, but didn't comment.

"Hero training yesterday. You've all got some feedback, so go through it and take it seriously. You mostly did pretty well. Bakugo, Todoroki- you both got to show off, so don't sulk too much. You forgot about your partners and that was the deciding factor. It happens. Now, there's something else you've got to do, that'll affect the whole course of your time here."

Izuku considered diving through the window and making a run for it. Setting up as a vigilante couldn't be too hard, could it? Aizawa didn't move from his position in front of his desk, arms folded, even as a sigh wracked his body.

"You've got to choose a class president."

Izuku almost fell out of his chair at the whiplash in mood, the class going from terrified to noisily excited in a second. The yells blended into one shout, a roar of 'pick me' that almost deafened him. Izuku put his head on his desk, sighing. He was too tired to deal with this.

"In a normal school, nobody would want the responsibility," he murmured, thinking aloud, "But here, it's a sign of leadership qualities, so everyone wants it. Well…almost everyone."

Izuku himself was…he couldn't really find it in himself to care. He wasn't going to be out in the limelight unless something had gone wrong, and Jason's history with team-ups had been spotty at best. Even working with the other Bats had usually been tense, even when Jason made the effort to avoid killing people around them.

Besides that, he just didn't think he'd be the right choice. He had plenty of issues all his own, he was aware enough to realise that, and he could hardly lead his class in that state. He was still working out how to properly make friends, for crying out loud. So no, Izuku wasn't going to try to become Class President. But it would be interesting to see who did. Even Kacchan was interested, although that was maybe more to feed his ego than any sense of responsibility. He didn't seem too affected by his loss yesterday, anyway. More's the pity.

"Comrades," Iida shouted, standing. Izuku blinked.

"Comrades," he breathed, "What?"

That was a bit of an odd way to address them, but everyone had quirks he guessed. Izuku let out a softly sardonic chuckle at the unintentional pun, his voice smothered by Iida's boom.

"Surely if we are to select a president, we should do so in an orderly fashion? A vote! Do you not agree, Mr Aizawa?"

"I don't care. Just don't make too much noise and sort it out," Aizawa said, walking behind his desk and pulling out his sleeping bag. Izuku admired the sheer audacity of the man. Iida boggled before rallying.

"I- still, a vote would be best, would it not?"

"Won't everyone just vote for themselves, though?" someone asked. Izuku couldn't quite tell who, but it was a valid question. Iida chopped an arm through the air.

"Perhaps, but in that case we will know that the person voted in is worth the presidency! Does anyone have a better idea?"

"Why don't we vote twice," Izuku said, lifting his head up, "That way each of us can vote for ourselves and then for someone else. And if you're really serious about it, we can hold a second round for the top five people with votes."

"An excellent suggestion, Midoriya! Are there any objections to his plan?"

Apparently there were none. Iida produced a sheaf of paper from somewhere and bustled around, handing it out. He was very organised, Izuku was almost tempted to vote for him to begin with.

Almost. He was just…too much. Too stiff, too…Izuku didn't quite know the word. But whatever the word was, Iida had far too much of it. Izuku hoped that he hadn't persuaded anyone to vote for him. He really didn't want to be put in a position of leadership. He studied his paper, pencil in hand and thinking. He didn't really know most of the class well enough to vote for them, which meant eliminating the people he did know one by one. So firstly, the person he knew best: Kacchan.

Izuku almost laughed aloud. No. Not Kacchan. Izuku would rather be President himself than leave it to Bakugo. So who was next? Uraraka, Kirishima and Ashido. They all seemed nice, but he couldn't say that he had a feel for them yet. They were all a possible, but not who he'd choose. So who did that leave? Iida and Tsuyu. And…well, Yaoyorozu. She had confidence. She was clever. She was a bit intense, but not nearly as bad as Iida, so…alright. Yaoyorozu got his first vote. Which meant that the second person was either Tsuyu or Iida. So. Pros and Cons.

Iida definitely wanted the position. Despite the proverbial insistence that the people best suited for responsibility were the ones who didn't want it, Izuku…didn't buy it. Someone with a strong sense of duty who didn't want the position, yes. Someone who just didn't want it was a recipe for a lazy, unconcerned leader. But Iida wanted it, so that was a moot point. Secondly, he had presence. Yes, it was overbearing at times, and he seemed fairly humourless, but he'd managed to get the attention of the whole class and hold it. That was a point for him.

On the other hand, Izuku wasn't sure that Iida could…well, manage. Discipline was great and all, but they weren't child soldiers, and he wasn't certain if Iida's attitude would end up harming more than it helped. Maybe the responsibility would help him unbend. Maybe it wouldn't. Izuku wasn't exactly a prophet in that regard.

Which left Tsuyu. She was a lot more relaxed than Iida, and apparently unflappable. But then, was she loud enough? Did she have the capacity to command the attention and respect of a bunch of rowdy Hero students? Did he trust her to manage them?

Well, all things considered…yes. He was taking a leap of faith either way, and honestly Izuku just liked Tsuyu more than Iida. Not that Iida was a bad person, or unlikeable, but Izuku couldn't help but be put off by his strict adherence to rules and regulations. So. Yaoyorozu and Tsuyu it was. He wrote it down, angular pencil writing, folding the paper into a tight block and setting it to one side. Iida collected all the pieces and took them to the front of the room, sorting through them. Izuku watched his face, wondering if there would be anything there, a sign of victory or defeat. There were twenty votes to go around, assuming everyone had voted for themselves once- well, twenty-one given that Izuku had used both of his for someone else. Iida straightened, nodding sharply.

"The winner, with six votes, is Momo Yaoyorozu."

Well, Izuku couldn't say he was surprised. She'd made quite the impact, although he did wonder who else had voted. Iida brushed his hands together.

"In joint second place, with four votes each, are Izuku Midoriya, Tsuyu Asui and…well, myself."

Izuku straightened so quickly he almost fell out of his chair.

"I refuse," he said immediately, loud enough to be heard. Iida stuttered, his brain seeming to stall.

"Excuse me, Midoriya?"

"I don't want it. Vice-President, or whatever. Do not. You can take me out of any second vote."

"Well, I was going to suggest that Yaoyorozu chose a Vice-President, but if you're insistent…Yaoyorozu?"

Yaoyorozu seemed unruffled by being chosen as Class President. She held up a hand, shrugging.

"Perhaps, rather than voting, we should rotate between the two of you? If one of you wants to step down, that would also be acceptable…another vote, without knowing either of you better, seems pointless."

Well, they weren't arguing with his dropping out. Izuku wasn't sure whether to be relieved or insulted. Yaoyorozu put a hand to her chin, thinking.

"But which of you should take the first week…"

"Iida can have it, ribbit," Tsuyu said, "I'm not really too concerned."

"In that case, I suppose that for the moment the Class President is Momo Yaoyorozu and Vice President is Tenya Iida. Is that acceptable, Mr Aizawa?"

Aizawa peeked out of his sleeping back, looking at Yaoyorozu.

"I really don't care. I cannot express enough how much I don't care. Well done on settling it like civilised people. Now…I don't know, study or something. I have sleep to catch up on."

Izuku idly wondered how effective the tranquiliser gun Power Loader used would be in this case. It had put Hatsume down almost instantly and she'd only been going for a few days. Would it put Aizawa into a coma? The teacher seemed to know what he was thinking, eyes meeting Izuku's and brows drawing down into a frown. Izuku did his best to look innocent.

He definitely pulled it off better than Jason could. It was probably the freckles. The lack of history as a pickpocket and then violent vigilante probably didn't hurt, but…Izuku thought it was mostly the freckles.

"So, Midoriya," Tsuyu said, sitting down next to him. Izuku looked up from his lunch, blinking. That sounded bad.

"Yes, A- Tsuyu?"

"Do you mind if I ask who you voted for? To become President?"

Izuku pinched his fingers together, glancing around to check that Iida wasn't listening in.

"I voted for you, actually. And Yaoyorozu."

"Hmm," Tsuyu murmured, dark eyes fixed on Izuku, wide and unblinking. Izuku couldn't quite meet her gaze, but he tried. The effort was what counted, probably. Tsuyu kept her eyes on him, the faintest of frowns wrinkling her brow- Izuku wasn't sure he would have noticed it if it wasn't for Jason's skills in reading people.

"I can see Yaoyorozu," she said, "But why vote for me?"

She sounded honestly confused. Izuku chewed his lip, wondering if he could get away with shrugging and saying 'you were the first person to come to mind'. But no, he supposed Tsuyu deserved honesty.

"I, um, I didn't know if I should vote for you or for Iida. But When I thought about it, Iida is just too…hidebound. He's too focused on rules, regulations, doing everything by the book. You should be able to go to a Class President or Vice President with your worries, and I don't think Iida is the right person for that. Or not yet, at least."

Tsuyu hummed again, ending on a soft croak.

"Sounds like you feel quite strongly about it. In that case, it might have been a good idea to become Vice-President yourself. You had the votes."

Izuku shook his head.

"I- I can barely look after myself, Tsuyu. I've got plenty of issues all my own, I don't need to solve every else's as well."

And if he was, he might have to try to command some sort of respect. Once everyone knew that he was Quirkless, that would be a foregone conclusion. Even if he was liked, how could he stand in front of a class filled with such powerful Quirks and pretend that he was their equal? It wasn't going to happen. Not even with how nice they all seemed. Tsuyu looked like she was about to speak, but she shook her head and went back to eating. Another tray banged onto the table as Ashido and Kirishima flopped down, looking disappointed when neither Izuku nor Tsuyu jumped.

"Hey there, VP!" Ashido cheerfully greeted. Tsuyu grumbled out a croak.

"Not this week," she said. Ashido snorted.

"And our nearly VP, right? You don't think Iida will be too strict, do you? He's so serious!"

"Taking Heroism seriously is super manly, though," Kirishima argued, "Although he could maybe take it down a little, y'know? It is a bit intimidating. Wonder why he's like that?"

"Oh!" Ashido said, leaning across the table towards Kirishima and jostling Izuku. He leaned away from her, slightly uncomfortable with the close contact, and she pulled back without a word.

"I heard Uraraka asking him before- he's from a family of Heroes! His brother is Ingenium…he's a big hero, isn't he?"

"Ingenium, the Turbo Hero, is the leader of the Iidaten Agency, in Tokyo. He's got a strong media presence and has sixty-five sidekicks under his leadership," Izuku rattled off, without even thinking. Ashido and Kirishima looked at him.

"You just know that? Right off?" Kirishima asked, looking impressed. Izuku pressed his lips together before he shrugged, not wanting to admit his obsession. It was practically the only thing that had gotten him through some days in his junior school, but he was aware that it came off a bit…weird.

"I like Heroes," he offered, quietly. Kirishima punched the air.

"It's still cool that you just know that! I think Iida and Uraraka are nearby, actually. They were looking for you, Midoriya. Either that or Iida thinks the whole class should sit together at lunch."

That was probably a bit much, Izuku thought. There was class bonding and there was making it uncomfortable, but there was probably no need to address that until it actually came up. Instead of saying anything he looked around- he could vaguely hear Ashido and Kirishima chatting about Kirishima's attempts to befriend Kacchan, which didn't seem effective so far- and spotted Iida's towering form. He waved, catching Iida's attention, and the boy came bustling over with Uraraka in tow. She waved when they got closer.

"Hey, guys!"

Izuku sat back down, smiling, and hoped that Kirishima wouldn't ask him for advice on making a friend out of Bakugo. What would he even say, just follow him around and laugh when he makes bad jokes about me being Quirkless or throws my notebook out of the window? Make sure not to say anything when he tells me to dive off a roof? Yeah, none of that was going to help. Better to just not say anything. Iida and Uraraka joined them, Uraraka chattering happily and Iida less open, but still friendly. Izuku relaxed with a force of will, leaning back into his seat. Maybe the madness had calmed down and his third day at U.A. High would be something like a normal day.

As though the stray thought had gone directly to some malevolent deity, an alarm went off with full, shrieking fervour, tearing at the air with a high-pitched wail and filling his ears with sound. Izuku catapulted to his feet, eyes wide, searching for danger. Iida shouted over the din, asking some other student what the alarm was. They all heard the reply.

"That's the stage three alarm! It means there's an intruder on campus!"

The cafeteria was overcome by panic, students rushing for the exit in a headless and panicking mass that threatened to trample anyone too weak in the crush. Izuku was swept up in the wave, his saving grace that Ashido and Kirishima were nearby. Kirishima was big enough that they could somewhat shelter behind him, but they were driven across the cafeteria, crushed against the walls. Izuku felt his breath come short, an absent thought- wouldn't it be funny, Quirkless Hero Student crushed to death by his fellow students, a death nothing to do with his genetic defect- and looked out the window.

His next breath shook in bafflement as he saw the reporters and cameramen, the press from earlier, flooding the grounds. They were spreading out like professionals, sweep and clear, and Izuku laughed soft and hysterical at the thought. Beside him Ashido grunted as she was shoved into the window and Izuku grabbed her by the wrist, pulling her over to him before she was swept away in the melee.

"It's the press!" he shouted, breath coming back harsh with dawning fury. She looked down and her unusual eyes, gold on black, narrowed.

"Why would they- god damnit, we're getting crushed here! Kiri!"

Kirishima was at their back, his Quirk partially activated as students bumped into him. He grunted as a particularly large student bounced off him.

"Yeah, Mina?"

"The intruders are just the press! We need someone to tell everyone before someone gets trampled!"

Izuku snagged a girl by the shoulder as she tripped, forcing her back to her feet. She kept going without even glancing at him, but at least she wasn't getting trodden on. Izuku gritted his teeth as someone bashed into him and keep going, throwing him back against the window. He sincerely hoped that Kacchan didn't start firing off explosions. That would definitely cause a panicked stampede worse than the current shoving and pushing crush.

"We need to tell someone loud enough to get everyone's attention!" he shouted. Kirishima and Ashido nodded.

"Iida," Kirishima said, "I'll go find him! You two stay here!"

"Not a problem," Izuku grunted as an elbow jabbed into his ribs, the person it belonged to squirming past. Ashido flattened herself against the window next to Izuku and a loud croak from above made them both look up.

"Asui?" Ashido asked. Tsuyu gave them a little wave from her perch above the window, on a small ledge.

"Call me Tsuyu. Need a hand up?" she asked. Izuku brought an arm up to stop a boy from crunching into him.

"Sounds good, Tsuyu," he called, "Ashido first."

It wasn't really chivalry- Izuku was slightly taller and more heavily built than Ashido, so he was less likely to be swallowed up in the crush. Only a little, but every little helped. A long tongue wrapped around Ashido's middle and pulled her up, setting her on the ledge. Izuku sucked in a breath as Tsuyu repeated the process with him, ending with him pressed back against the window above the ledge. It was a narrow space, barely wide enough for his feet, but it was out of the press.

"How did you get up here, Tsuyu?" he asked. She shrugged.

"I climb pretty well, stick to things. Wasn't hard. Did you see the press?"

Izuku nodded.

"Yeah- I wonder how they got in? They're not a danger I guess…unless someone is using them to cover their own entry, although why anyone would want to enter U.A. if they were a villain…I guess a lot of hero potentials are here, but there are so many heroes, and All Might is working here now too, it seems like such a bad idea."

"Could they be after All Might? He doesn't have any specific Villains, does he?"

Ashido and Tsuyu both looked at Izuku after Ashido's question, apparently accepting his position as the resident Hero nerd. Izuku wasn't sure whether to be flattered or insulted, but in the end he settled on flattered. It was a nicer feeling.

"I don't think so? The last time a Villain was even talked about as All Might's nemesis was Toxic Chainsaw, but that was five years ago and he's in prison."

And likely to stay there, too. Izuku had never heard of anyone escaping the high security prison Tartarus, as opposed to Arkham Asylum with its escape rate of roughly fifty-five percent, or Blackgate Prison with just under forty. Of course that had been before the Regime. Izuku ignored the teasing edge of paranoia that reminded him that there was a chance that escapes from Tartarus did happen and were just covered up, because…because he didn't have time for those sorts of thoughts at the minute. Kirishima had reached Iida, Izuku could see them exchanging words, and then Iida was floating. Uraraka? Izuku strained his eyes and saw her, being dragged out of a pack of Second Years by Kirishima.

Iida hit the wall over the door, posing ridiculously in order to fit his tall, broad frame into the gap.

"Fellow students," Iida roared, his voice easily carrying over the panic, "Calm yourselves! Look out the windows, it is only the press! Now, cease your struggling and conduct yourselves as U.A. students should! Form an orderly line, and exit in good order!"

"You're right, he's very imposing," Tsuyu murmured. Izuku watched as the crowd of students became less panicking and more milling, slowly filtering through the doors.

"You would think that U.A. would have considered the chance of this, and made the exits easier to get out of," he mused. Tsuyu croaked above him.

"Do you need help getting down?" she asked. Izuku looked down, judging the height, and shrugged.

"I can manage, Tsuyu," he said. It was a simple move: slide forwards from the ledge, keeping hold of it as he lowered himself, then drop straight down, bleed the impact away with a roll and back to his feet. He turned to see Ashido coming down courtesy of Tsuyu.

"You're a bit of a show-off sometimes, Midori," she said, though she sounded more fondly amused than anything. Izuku shrugged, ducking his head to try and hide his blush.

"So it was the press who broke in. I wonder how?" Tsuyu said, landing in a crouch next to them, "One of them tried to get in this morning and the U.A. Barrier almost dropped on her. There's no way they got past it. Maybe someone let them in?"

"Maybe," Izuku muttered, looking out the window again to see the police escorting the reporters off the premises. Maybe. But he couldn't help but think that there was something else afoot.

My subconscious- Izuku is traumatised by the way he's been treated for his Quirklessness and that's how we're gonna write him.

Me- I'm terrible at emotions though, I don't think-

Subconscious- This child. Is traumatised. And that. Is how we'll write him.

Asui is a whole and functioning person and Izuku has no idea how to respond. Speaking of Izuku, you think All Might's constant, fixed smile would remind him of the Joker if they were in a room together? It creeps me out, and I'm not even there. Also, I love the chaos that Hatsume brings, but early on she is absolutely the sort of person to go "I can make this thing better" and end up with some monstrosity held together by terrifying amounts of duct-tape and absolutely nothing else.

As always, reviews are appreciated and I'll see you in the next chapter.