Cubicity

by crazyman185

What if our hero met a certain invisible girl at the entrance exam? Follow Izuku as he gains a group of friends after meeting Tooru and learns that one does not need to see someone to see the beauty in them. This story is a very slow-burn romance slice of life story that focuses on character interactions between canon. First non-harem IzuToou fic. Chapter 50 is beyond the anime.

21. Convincing the Others

Chapter 21: Convincing the Others

An irritated grunt came before Eraserhead said, "So let me get this straight. You want me to approve that you and some of the other classmates play team hero outside of school hours?"

Midoriya gave a nervous reply of, "Y-Yes."

The pro hero then asked, "And All Might is to lead this?" He took a deep breath before continuing by saying, "You of all people should know that he went solo for almost his entire career. Can you see how nonsensical this idea is when you consider this Midoriya-san?"

This was going as well as Izuku thought it would.

As Aizawa led Midoriya back to his dorm, the boy had told his homeroom teacher of the plan he and All Might made. He thought, might as well ask since Eraserhead was here. Izuku already knew it was going to be a long shot. This was a very unusual request, and for the most part, the pro hero was by the book with most things. Also, Midoriya couldn't count how many times he had angered his teacher due to his antics, which would be a factor in getting his approval.

But the point Eraserhead made hadn't escaped Izuku. All Might was a solo hero. Sure he had a sidekick for a time, but he was never on a team. Midoriya had hoped that at least from being the top hero, his idol had been asked many times over the years to join other heroes during very dangerous or difficult missions. Sure it wouldn't be as much experience as someone on an actual team, but it should be enough to be able to teach about it.

"I know it sounds crazy, but I truly feel it would be best to carry All Might-sensei's legacy as the Symbol of Peace with a team instead of alone like he did," Izuku pleaded.

Aizawa slowed his pace before coming to a stop. He then looked back at his student to say, "It's not that I don't disagree with you Midoriya-san on that point, but the timing and method of which you are suggesting couldn't be worse."

The boy gave a surprised look before asking, "In what way?"

Shota sighed before replying with, "Look if after tomorrow's classes you still have the urge to do this then we'll talk more. Until then keep these crazy thoughts to yourself."

Midoriya took a moment to think this over. He was getting a chance, but what about tomorrow would make him change his mind. Did this have something to do with the internship he overheard from his classmates on Monday? With Izuku figuring he didn't have any other options he responded gleefully with, "Thank you, sir. I can't wait to go back to school tomorrow."

Aizawa turned around and began walking before saying, "We'll see about that."

---

Izuku was currently at his desk writing. Just minutes ago he had finished a home-cooked meal with his friends. Tenya, with Ochako's guidance, had made a savory vegetable soup for him and Tooru. And Midoriya enjoyed every spoonful as he had grown tired of all his microwaved frozen meals, besides breakfast, from the past few days. He was tempted to bring up what he had discussed with All Might to them all, but he wanted more time to think up a game plan on how to tell them.

Tooru seemed to notice something was off and asked what was up as the others prepared the meal. Izuku only answered that they would discuss it tomorrow. He had already promised his girlfriend on Tuesday they would talk more about what had happened on Sunday night. Midoriya figured that would be the best time to tell Hagakure as classes would be over, he would have talked to his homeroom teacher, and by then hopefully come up with a plan on how to tell her about the team concept.

Izuku knew that he wanted to tell them all in person. The fastest way to tell everyone would be as a group message but he felt it might not be so convincing. Midoriya instead wanted to tackle the question with each of his friends individually. This way he could make a specific plan for each.

To start, the boy listed his friends' names and was putting pointers next to each in how to convince them. Midoriya had ordered them with ease as well. At the top were Hagakure and Uraraka. He felt both would probably be for the plan the most, because of the supportive nature of their quirks and would benefit the most from making a team. Next came Ojiro, as Midoriya thought while his quirk was defensive and could benefit in having offensive partners he could still function well enough on his own because of his experience with Muay Thai. The most significant hurdles to him were going to be Ida and Yaoyorozu. Both were the top students in the class in grades and were from wealthy families. Midoriya figured they already had a well thought out plan about how they wanted to go about their hero careers because of these factors. So playing mock team up during school might not align with their goals.

About half an hour of thinking and writing passed before Izuku heard a knock at his door. After flipping over his notes, he carefully went to open the door to find Mashirao standing on the side.

"Evening," The tailed teen said with a small grin plastered on his face.

Midoriya returned a smile before saying, "Hey, Ojiro-kun. Is something up?"

Ojiro gave a quick nod before lowering his voice to say, "Yeah, I'm in a bit of a pickle. I need some advice if you can spare it."

Izuku stepped aside and opened his door wider before responding, "Oh, then please come in." Once his friend had walked inside, and he had closed the door, he looked around to see a troubled look on his guest's face.

"Before I begin. I noticed that you left earlier with Aizawa-sensei," the tailed teen stated. He then paused a moment before asking, "Is everything alright?"

Izuku took a few seconds to think of an excuse and then replied, "O-Oh that? I was turning in my letter of apology to Aizawa-sensei. It was one of the conditions I had to meet before I could go back to attending classes." In truth, he was to give the letter to his teacher the following morning, but it was the best he could come up with such little notice.

Mashirao quickly asked, "So you're in the clear?"

"Yes. Everything's fine, I promise," Midoriya held up his hands defensively. He figured that Eraserhead would accept what he had written, it wasn't hard to explain the various reasons for what he did as wrong.

Ojiro sighed in relief before saying, "That's good to hear. It's been awkward not having you in class or at meals. So when I saw you leave I got worried that something else had come up."

Midoriya walked up and put a hand on his friend's shoulder before stating, "Don't worry Ojiro-kun, I'm one hundred percent going to class tomorrow. Okay?"

The tailed teen gave a smile and a nod upon being reassured all was well.

Izuku then took his hand off his guest and walked over to his bed. He sat down and asked, "So what's been troubling you?"

Mashirao crossed his arms and looked to the side before asking, "Well, do you remember Yaoyorozu-san's offer to study with me?"

Izuku slowly nodded to this. He also found it curious that his friend was still using the san honorific with Momo.

"Well, she asked if I'd be up to a lesson this Sunday," Ojiro said in a low voice.

Midoriya then asked, "Why though? School just started."

Ojiro turned his head towards his host and answered, "Well we have math class this term. The material Ectoplasm-sensei is teaching has been pretty rough for me. I think Yaoyorozu-san noticed me struggling and thought to ask if she could help." He took a deep breath before continuing with, "You missed this cause of being under house arrest and all, but today Yaoyorozu-san offered to the class a lesson prep session she would host each Sunday morning. It's optional but I wanted to attend regardless. Then after lunch, she pulled me aside and offered an extra private lesson afterward if I wanted."

Izuku squinted his eyes and asked, "You said yes, didn't you?"

Mashirao's shoulders sagged as he answered with, "Yeah I did. It didn't feel right to say no."

Memories came flooding back to Izuku. He then said, "I know that feeling. When Tooru-chan asked me to go on our first date, I felt the same way."

"Asking to get together to study and asking to go shopping are two very different scenarios Midoriya-kun. But I guess we're both idiots who can't turn down a nice girl," Ojiro stated before giving a quick chuckle. Afterward, he said, "The important detail, however, is that she said we would study in her room."

"That is c-concerning," Midoriya nervously replied. Yaoyorozu's place, as he remembered from the room competition on their first day, was dominated by her bed and bookcases. Where would they study? On her bed? Either way, Izuku cleared his throat before asking, "So what advice are you exactly looking for from me?"

"Being able to point out her exact intentions of doing this I guess. I think I can handle being in her room alone, as weird as it might be. But I'm more concerned if Yaoyorozu-san is trying to be a helpful friend or something more," the tailed teen explained in a serious tone.

Midoriya put a hand up to his chin before saying, "I see. Give me some time to think."

For the next couple of minutes, Izuku wracked his brain trying to come up with an answer for his friend. He tried to recall all the early interactions he had with Tooru. When exactly did she change from seeing him as a friend to potentially as a boyfriend? Was Hagakure even being subtle or being quite heavy about it when she was? It was hard to recall if she was, and it confused Midoriya. Eventually, he responded back with, "Well, Tooru-chan and Yaoyorozu-chan are quite different. I don't think my experiences with her can compare to how our vice president would allude to being interested in you."

Upon hearing the answer, Ojiro's face had a look of disappointment.

Izuku was quick to continue by saying, "But I still think there may be a way to tell or not."

Mashirao lifted his head, and his face changed to look curious.

"Well, I guess the first sign would be if Yaoyorozu-chan wants to talk with you beyond the study lesson. Like topics that are more personal than what we would normally discuss during our lunches last semester. Tooru-chan was very persistent in wanting to know more about me when we were alone, more so than if there were others around. Though I can't say for sure at what point she became interested in me," Midoriya explained. He paused for a moment before continuing with, "Beyond that there's not much I can think of. But, if you don't mind, perhaps you can tell me how it went afterward. Maybe they'll be signs I can catch that you will miss."

Ojiro sighed in relief before saying, "I don't mind telling you whatever happens. And thanks for the advice. I know this is asking a lot of you, but I'm just not feeling very confident about myself about this whole deal."

Izuku crossed his arms as he asked, "Is this because you still feel like you don't deserve to have such a girl possibly like you?"

The tailed teen gave a weak nod.

"Well, I've already told you how I feel about you Ojiro-kun. If Yaoyorozu-chan is into you, perhaps it's for the same reasons I see you as a good person," Midoriya tried to argue.

Mashirao waved his right hand in dismissal as he stated, "Yeah yeah I get it. But I still don't think it would be enough to woo her. It doesn't make sense."

Izuku sighed internally. His friend wasn't going to budge on this. It bothered him that his tailed friend didn't see himself as good enough for her, but pushing it further right now wouldn't help him.

Ojiro then stated, "Well regardless, thanks for hearing me out. I feel a bit more calm about Sunday now. I'll see ya tomorrow in class Midoriya-kun." He then started to make his way towards the door.

Midoriya quickly got up and said, "Wait!"

Mashirao stopped and turned around with a perplexed look on his face. He then asked, "Did you think of something else?"

Izuku clasped his hands together and slowly responded with, "Well you see there's something unrelated to your reason coming here I'd like to discuss with you."

The tailed teen raised an eyebrow before asking, "What's up? Girl trouble again?"

"No, no. It has nothing to do with Tooru-chan," Midoriya stated as he raised his hands up defensively. He then lowered his arms and took a deep breath before saying, "It might take a while to talk about though."

Ojiro walked over to his host's desk chair and took a seat. He then said, "Well, it's not too late so let's hear it."

Izuku sat down and took a few moments to take some deep breaths. During this, he considered what he was about to do. Midoriya saw an opportunity to tell his friend about the team concept. Sure he had just started planning how he was going to tell everyone, but then this happened. Mashirao was here alone with him right now, and it couldn't hurt to try and convince him. It would be good practice for the others because he thought bringing Tooru onboard wouldn't be as difficult as his friends.

"So I've been thinking that I want to be a part of a hero team once I go pro," Midoriya finally said after a few seconds of silence.

"Um, that's very typical of most heroes once they get their official hero license. I'm sure most of our classmates have the same idea, save for maybe Bakugo-san, for obvious reasons," Ojiro replied.

Midoriya was quick to respond with, "I understand that, but I want to start as a part of my own team, not someone else's. And the team would have everyone as equals, not a lead hero and their sidekicks."

After hearing this, Mashirao brought a hand to his chin and looked to be deep in thought. A few seconds passed before he asked, "And what does this have to do with me? You're not trying to recruit me for after we graduate, are you? I mean I'm flattered if so, but this is a bit too forward-thinking for me."

Izuku shook his head and replied, "Nothing like that. I've been talking with Aizawa-sensei about doing some after-school training that focuses on team building. I want to do this as soon as I go pro so I want to get as much experience as I can before that. So far in school, we've only really had partners during our exercises. Nothing about working in big groups, and who knows when we will get to that point in the hero course and how much focus it will have."

The room was silent for a while as Ojiro thought about what he had just heard. Eventually, he spoke up and said, "So you need people to train with, huh?"

Midoriya nodded before stating, "Yeah and I want to get everyone in our group on board."

"I see. Welp, sign me up," Mashirao answered with confidence.

Izuku's mouth went agape for a moment before he asked, "Wait, you're for the idea?"

"Yep. Let's make a mock hero team," Mashirao said with a wide grin.

Tapping his forehead, Midoriya stated, "I haven't even given you the specifics or anything yet. Shouldn't you need more time to think it over?"

The tailed teen shrugged and replied, "I see no need. It sounds interesting and fun. And we get the unique opportunity to hang out with our group of friends some more. What's there to argue about?"

Midoriya brought a hand to his face. He wondered, was he overthinking this again? Or was this just because this involved Ojiro? Would the others be as easy?

"Though I am surprised you got Aizawa-sensei to go along with the idea. Sounds like a lot of extra work on his end," Mashirao stated.

Izuku tapped his two index fingers together before saying, "Well actually I still haven't convinced him yet. I'm talking to him again after class tomorrow about it some more."

Mashirao tilted his head slightly as he said, "You sorta jumped the gun telling me this then, don't ya think?"

A sigh came from Izuku before he said, "Well I was planning out how I was gonna ask everyone about this before you showed up. I figured it wouldn't hurt to tell you since you were here. Some practice for telling others."

"Fair enough. Well, update me as things develop," the tailed teen said as he stood up. He then gave a thumbs-up as he stated, "And good luck convincing the others."

Midoriya groaned before answering with, "Yeah, I'm going to need it." He then sat up and stated, "And thanks for agreeing to do this Ojiro-kun. It means a lot to me."

"Anytime pal," Mashirao responded.

---

Izuku was currently making his way to the teacher's offices. It was Thursday afternoon and he was still trying to go over his weirdest class yet during homeroom.

The entirety of class 1A, excluding Bakugo since he had one more day of suspension, had been decimated by a single third-year student in Gym Gamma. Within a couple of seconds, he had subdued all the long-range quirk users in the class and then made short work of the close-range users. All to teach everyone the value of experience.

Homeroom began with Aizawa re-introducing the class to the upcoming internship since Izuku was now back in class. It was long term but optional to the students. The teacher then brought in the top students in U.A., called the Big Three. Midoriya was startled to see the odd teen he had met while taking the trash out to the dumpster on Monday was among them.

Mirio Togata was his name, with the other two being Tamaki Amajiki and Nejire Hado. Tamaki was soft-spoken and too scared to address the class. Nejire was too curious about the 1A students and asked various questions about their appearances instead. So it was up to the energetic and goofy Mirio to take the lead. But after a failure to win everyone over with his introduction, he then challenged 1A to see the benefits that the internship can offer instead of through speech.

Izuku didn't know what to think as he and his classmates entered the gym, but it only took a few moments for him and everyone else to realize what Mirio was capable of. And once the senior turned his attention to the other students, they didn't fare any better. Midoriya predicted his movements but fell victim to Togata's Permeation quirk. It allowed its user to pass through objects and once deactivated would spring him outward from any object he was inside.

Once defeated everyone thought the third year's quirk was too strong to counter but they were all surprised to learn that it, in fact, had many downsides. The senior explained how his loss of sense while within something, the need to control it in parts so the body can maneuver through objects without falling into the ground, his lack of oxygen if his mouth and nose was submerged in an object, and keeping up with it all during the heat of battle. Mirio stated the reason it was strong was due to predicting his opponents, a skill he attributed to the vast experience his internship offered him.

It all made sense to Izuku now though why Eraserhead had put off accepting the mock hero training the day before. The internship would get in the way of that. He knew it was optional, but he also felt this was too important to pass up. This would be real-world experience for his future career.

Midoriya spent the rest of the day trying to figure out if he should continue going forward with the mock hero team idea. And even now as he opened the door to the teacher's office, he was still considering his options.

The room was quite busy as lessons had just ended for those in the hero course, so there were still a decent amount of teachers that hadn't left yet. Izuku made his way to his homeroom teacher's desk to find him busily typing away at his computer. Once the teen arrived, Shota, without turning around, asked, "So. Still, want to do it?"

Confused, Midoriya responded, "Um, which one sir?" He wondered, was he asking about the hero team training or internship.

Aizawa sighed before answering, "Just answer the question Midoriya-san. Remember straight to the point, like we discussed yesterday."

The boy was still perplexed at the question. But he then thought back to the various times his teacher had them think outside the box. Then it came to him, and he replied, "I'd like to do both, sir."

The pro hero turned around in his chair with a grin on his face. He then said, "And that's the correct answer. You're learning, that's good." Eraserhead then turned around back to his computer and said, "The timing for your playing hero team idea could have waited a bit but if you're willing to do this and the internship I won't stop you."

Izuku sighed in relief upon hearing this. He figured if his teacher saw him drop the hero team idea so quickly then he wasn't too passionate about it in the first place.

"But if you truly want my approval for this, a few stipulations are in order. First, it will have to wait for now. You need to settle into your internship before we start adding the team training on top of it. Could take a couple of weeks or months, but I will deem it when you are ready. Second, I'll be overseeing the training along with All Might. I don't trust him to give you the proper feedback you kids need for this to work. He can be real softy or heavy-handed. There is no middle for that man," Shota explained in a dry tone. He then cleared his throat before asking, "Are we clear Midoriya-san?"

Midoriya cheerfully responded back, "Yes sir! And thanks for permitting me to do this." The terms seemed agreeable to him, even if it meant delaying the training.

Aizawa then reached over with his right hand and grabbed a phone by his side and held it up before saying, "Good, now with that out of the way you have a phone call to make. It's time to put your money where your mouth is."

The boy took a step forward and grabbed the phone. He then asked, "Do you mean I need to set up my internship right now?"

Eraserhead gave a single nod of his head, still staring at his computer. He then stated, "I want to make sure you commit to your promise. So call Gran Torino and confirm the internship." The teacher then turned his head and asked, "He is the one you wanna do this with, yes?"

With reluctance, Izuku nodded and began dialing. He wanted more time to consider who to work with for his internship but it was either now or never.

---

"You're late," stated an irritated Mei.

Izuku held his hands up defensively and replied, "Sorry Hatsume-san. I needed to talk to my homeroom teacher before I could come today." He had just arrived at the workshop in a hurry. Because of his house arrest, Midoriya had to postpone his usual Tuesday meeting with Hatsume and was trying to make up for it. The plan was to catch up with her before going to dinner. After that, he would then have his talk with Tooru. Yesterday during the meal, Izuku went over this with his girlfriend, besides meeting with Eraserhead, and she had no objections.

"First you cancel your visit and then come late on the rescheduled day. I said you were coming too often before. I didn't mean to avoid me at all costs if you could," the pink-haired mechanic said as she gave a soft punch to the boy's shoulder.

Midoriya's head sank slightly before he said, "You're right, I should have considered your feelings on the matter. I promise I won't get into a fight again with a classmate."

"Well, at least you're here now. I need my handy dandy test subject to test out some new babies of mine," Mei said with enthusiasm.

"R-Right," Izuku said with a sigh. He wanted to protest but felt he needed to make up for having to reschedule and being late on top of that.

A singed hand later, however, Midoriya was again regretting his decision to be her guinea pig.

After a hearty chuckle, Hatsume said, "Well that wasn't supposed to happen." Once she regained her composure, she asked, "So how's your hand?"

Midoriya removed the smoking glove from his left hand just seconds before. After inspecting his hand then stated, "My palm has first degree burns I think."

"Really? It overheated? I even lined the inside with the best fire resistant stuff I got access to," Mei explained with a groan.

While shaking his left hand, Izuku said, "Well, we are talking about explosions here, not just fire."

Once the engineer had learned Midoriya fought with Bakugo, through gossip around the school, she was inspired to make a glove that could cause explosions. To activate it required the thumb to press against the palm, however, all it did was heat up, and eventually smoke billowed out of it.

Hatsume shrugged and replied, "This baby worked fine during my test runs while it wasn't being worn. Must have short-circuited or something. I'll work on it later, let's get you patched up first." She then got up and went over to one of the shelves by the wall to grab a first aid kit. Mei then opened it up and started rummaging around in it.

As she did this Izuku realized it had failed because of him. The short circuit must have happened cause his hands had become extremely sweaty. And this was due to Mei being too close to the boy. While she explained the device and observed the test run, she was behind Midoriya, and her breasts were pushing against his back. He hated that his first thought was Hatsume's felt bigger than Hagakure's.

"Alright I got the burn cream. Now show me your hand," Mei stated as she squeezed some of the substance onto her index finger.

Izuku presented his hand and as the pink-haired teen applied it to his palm. He then said, "I think your glove might have malfunctioned cause my hand was sweating a lot."

Hatsume's face looked to be in deep thought for a few seconds before she responded with, "That might just be it, but why were you sweating so much? You had only worn it for a few minutes."

The boy took a moment to think up an excuse before replying, "W-Well as you explained the glove I got nervous it might damage my hand."

"I see. Well, good thing I thought to test it on your left hand. Your right one has seen enough as is," Mei stated as she was finishing applying the burn cream. She then took out some cloth and started to wrap her test subject's hand. As Hatsume patched up her friend, she asked, "So how was your first day of the new term?"

Midoriya took a deep breath before stating, "Complicated."

"Well, tell me about it. We don't have enough time to test the next baby I had planned for us to have a go with anyways," the engineer said with a shrug.

While Izuku saw Mei as a good friend, he wasn't comfortable talking to her just yet about the mock hero training. Instead, he explained, "We've been offered to do an internship so we can get more experience if we want to. I want to do it, but the hero I did field training during the last term turned me down cause he's busy with an important investigation."

Midoriya had called Gran Torino only to find out that he was busy pursuing the Villain Alliance with the police. But what came next was even more of a shocker.

Hatsume then asked, "So what are you going to do now?"

"Well, no other heroes asked for me to work with them for the field training, so he suggested that I try asking Sir Nighteye," Izuku replied as he twiddled his thumbs.

Mei tilted her head slightly as she asked, "And who is that?"

Midoriya kept forgetting that not everyone was as well versed in All Might's history as he was. He then responded with, "Sir Nighteye was the only sidekick that All Might-sensei ever had. It only lasted a few years, but it's a significant accomplishment."

"Alright so go with this guy, problem solved," Mei said as she got up to inspect the defective exploding glove.

Shaking his head, Izuku then said, "Again, I said it's complicated. My homeroom teacher was able to get me a call with All Might-sensei, but he said he refused to introduce me to Sir Nighteye personally. He didn't give me a reason why either. But he did promise to set something up for me tomorrow after class."

Hatsume scratched her head before asking, "And now you're worried about what that might be? Is All Might that intimidating to be around or something?"

"No it's, I'm just confused," Midoriya answered. He then crossed his arms before asking a series of questions, "What happened between the two to have All Might-sensei not want to introduce me to his former sidekick? Is he thinking of an alternative way to introduce me to him? And if not, who does he have in store for me instead? I just hate not knowing what's going to happen. I mean I might be working with this hero until I graduate."

Mei giggled a bit before saying, "I think you're putting too much thought into this Midoriya-san. You only got a day to wait to find out. And this is All Might we're talking about. I'm sure he has the best intentions for you. He might be retired, but he was the number one hero for plenty of years. I'm sure he knows what he's doing."

"Maybe you're right Hatsume-san. That seems to be happening a lot as of late," Izuku said as he scratched the back of his head.

The engineer turned her wrist to look at a watch. She then said, "Well if you wanna have dinner you'd better head out soon. Don't want to keep your girlfriend waiting."

Midoriya hesitated for a moment but then asked, "Do you wanna join us Hatsume-san? I'm sure Tooru and my other friends wouldn't mind."

Hatsume was quick to shake her head and say, "Minus lunch, I have all my meals here. Just a waste of time when I could be working or brainstorming on some new babies."

Of course, Izuku thought. But it didn't hurt to ask. He was hoping he could get Mei to have more friends, but maybe it was just too soon to try.

"But if you wanna swing by after dinner and help me some more than I'd be happy to have you," Mei stated as she spun around to grab a soldering iron to start working on the glove.

Midoriya responded with, "I mean I'd like to make up for this week, but I already planned to talk with my girlfriend after dinner."

Hatsume pulled her goggles over her eyes and began her work before saying, "Alright then, see you next Tuesday. No reschedules and no being late, we clear?"

Izuku nodded and stated, "Crystal."

---

"Well, that sounds exciting to me regardless. I'm still wondering if I wanna do this internship or not," Tooru said.

Dinner was over, and Izuku and his girlfriend were walking hand in hand. They were making their way to the usual talking spot under the maple tree. Midoriya had just told her about his options for the internship but nothing yet about the mock team idea. Hagakure did find All Might's refusal to introduce her boyfriend to Sir Nighteye as odd. She then expressed that whatever reason the retired hero was doing this was personal and that Izuku shouldn't pry too much right now.

The two then spent the rest of the walk discussing the new term. Even though Midoriya had missed three days, he felt so far behind walking into class that morning. Once he was done spending time with Hagakure, he planned to spend the rest of the day studying to catch up.

Once they arrived and sat down on the bench, Izuku asked, "So, do you wanna go first?"

Tooru replied, "Sure but I just wanna get the whole," she took a deep breath before continuing, "Bakugo thing out of the way first."

After taking a deep breath, Izuku said, "Alright let's start with that." He then felt his girlfriend put her other hand on his right hand.

Hagakure then asked, "You don't forgive him for everything he has done to you, have you?"

"Of course not. I mean I'm glad things have become better between us, but there's a long way to go until I have my friend back," Midoriya explained.

"Right, you still want to be friends with him. Sometimes you are too nice Izuku," the invisible girl stated in a huff.

Izuku was quick to respond, "Sorry." He also noticed she dropped the honorific again. She only did it when they were alone.

"Don't be. It's one of your best qualities. Bakugo doesn't deserve it from you," Tooru said with concern in her voice.

The two remained silent for a few moments before Midoriya spoke up and said, "What you did Monday morning really surprised me."

Hagakure grunted and then replied, "Well, he looked like a mess, and someone needed to patch him up properly."

The boy gave a smug smirk to his girlfriend which made her groan. He was happy that she was willing to help despite her feelings for his former friend.

"Another thing you did that surprised me was the night before."

The girl leaned forward as she asked, "Oh, about what?"

"You dropped the kun when saying my name."

"Ah, well I felt it was about time. I figured saying your name like that would make your heart skip a beat," Tooru stated with a teasing tone.

"It surprised me cause I know some married partners still address each other with honorifics. Even then I thought most couples didn't do that until they were," they cleared his throat before saying, "l-lovers."

"Pfft, do you read a bunch of romance manga or something Izuku," Hagakure stated before laughing.

Midoriya didn't want to admit he had read such things from time to time.

Tooru took a deep breath before saying, "To be honest I was almost ready to address you as such after you and Yagi-sensei revealed everything back in July. You had told me your deepest secret and made me feel extremely close and important to you. Though in retrospect, it was good I waited until we sorted out you not telling me about 'your daring' rescue."

It would have made that gesture of trust feel wasted, Izuku mused.

"Anyways, I hope Bakugo lightens up a bit. For both of our sakes," the invisible girl said, as Midoriya then felt them part their hands. He then felt her head lean on his right shoulder.

Neither spoke for a while. During the silence, the boy pondered what his girlfriend had just said. So she is giving Kacchan a chance. He immensely appreciated the gesture. Minus his lying, the only time she would get upset with Izuku was when the explosive quirk user was brought up. He figured Tooru was tired of all the stress and anger involved when discussing Kacchan.

"I want to apologize for telling our friends about your past with Bakugo and not asking you if I could first. That lunch period on Monday was rough," Hagakure suddenly said out of the blue.

Midoriya exhaled before stating, "It's okay. In the end, I think it's for the best they knew." He then paused for a moment before asking, "How'd you know that I knew about that?"

"Ojiro-kun said he discussed it with you," Hagakure answered.

"Ah, I see."

The two again stayed silent for a while until Tooru asked, "So what happened to your left hand?"

"Oh, just a small burn I got when helping Hatsume-san before dinner," Izuku answered.

Hagakure grunted at this. "Please be more careful. I've got no problem with you being friends with that girl, despite what Ida-kun and Uraraka-chan say about her, but I don't want you getting another injury on top of your long list of current ones." The boy then felt her arms wrap around his right arm, specifically around his brace that hid his burns.

"I'll be more careful, I promise. I plan to ask her that we only work on more tested gizmos, and stay away from the hastily constructed prototypes we've been working with a lot as of late," Izuku explained.

"Thanks," the invisible girl stated in a low voice.

The couple spoke of nothing for a few minutes, enjoying each other's company.

Eventually, Midoriya worked up the courage to say, "So, I've been kind of busy as of late."

Hagakure responded, "With what? You've been under house arrest. What was there to do besides chores?"

"Think. Brainstorm. Plan," Izuku replied.

Tooru stated, "So the usual, but planning what exactly this time? How were you going to make up for all the lost time at school or something?"

Izuku took a deep breath before asking, "Do you remember that I've been starting to have private lessons with Yagi-sensei?"

Hagakure shrugged and said, "Yeah. What about it?"

"During my second session with Yagi-sensei, he talked about these steps to be a different symbol of peace than he was," Midoriya explained. He then reached out and held his girlfriend's hand and continued with, "The first step was having a relationship with you, and forming a close group of friends. It seems he never really had that."

It took a moment before Hagakure replied with, "I mean I'm flattered he thinks that but how does us being a couple have anything to do with you being a hero?"

After slightly squeezing Tooru's hand, Izuku answered with, "Yagi-sensei feels that by having someone special the burden of being the symbol of peace will be much more manageable. I think he felt lonely being on the top and sees our relationship as a better alternative than to be alone."

"Wow," was all Hagakure could muster to say. She cleared her throat before stating, "Yagi-sensei is quite forward-thinking about us as a couple."

Scratching the back of his head, the boy asked, "What do you mean?"

"Well, he's looking so far into the future. That's years from now, and that got me to think about us being together when we're older. I haven't thought about it much. Ya know, like living together, being married, or even having kids," Tooru explained in an awkward voice.

Izuku froze upon hearing this. He hadn't considered this either. Midoriya had been going about this relationship in the now, not the later. It was nearing three months that they had been together, but such thoughts hadn't entered his mind. Izuku at first thought he shouldn't have to think about this, they were still teenagers. But then the thought about all this planning for being the future Symbol of Peace. Shouldn't he also consider what this would mean for his partner?

Hagakure then spoke up and asked, "I said too much, didn't I?"

Midoriya was quick to hold up his hands and say, "No. No. It's a good thing. I mean it's something I haven't thought about, and I'm glad you brought it up." He then raised his right hand up to his head and rubbed his temple as he said, "But it's just a lot to think about, to plan that far into the future."

"We don't have to plan for it now. We're just kids, Izuku. I mean it's daunting enough just thinking about it," Hagakure said to try and cheer up her boyfriend.

Izuku responded, "Well it kind of concerns the third step I thought up during my suspension."

Tooru replied in a confused tone with, "Wait, third step? What happened to the second?"

Holding up his index finger on his right hand, Midoriya answered, "Oh, sorry. That one concerned me creating the Shoot Style technique instead of focusing on punches like Yagi-sensei.." He then lowered his hand before saying, "But the third step has been on the back burner in my head for a while before he brought up the steps in the first place."

Hagakure then asked, "How long?"

Leaning back into the bench more, Midoriya then explained, "I guess the thought started at the school summer trip. The Wild, Wild Pussycats are a unique bunch of heroes, specifically their team dynamics. During training, I asked Tiger-sensei what it was like to be on a team. And it grew from there."

Izuku felt Tooru grab his left hand and say with enthusiasm, "You wanna make a hero team?"

"More like do some mock hero training while still in school, but yeah," the boy replied, surprised at his girlfriend's sudden change in mood.

"So this is what you wanted to tell me at dinner yesterday! Sounds fantastic! I've been wondering if you had the same thoughts about us teaming up as I did," Hagakure stated excitedly.

Midoriya pulled the invisible girl forward a few inches as he asked, "Wait. You've wanted us to team up? Since when?"

Tooru leaned in closer and replied, "Ever since I thought about asking you to be my boyfriend I guess. I thought we'd make a great duo while at school!"

Duo? Izuku's spirits dropped once he heard this. He then gulped before stating, "The thing is Tooru-chan, I wanted to do a bigger team than just the two of us."

Hagakure then asked in an inquisitive voice, "Oh? How many are you thinking then?"

"Well I have no idea of how many I'd want once I go pro, but at least for the mock team, we're aiming for six," Midoriya answered.

Tooru was quick to ask, "We?"

"Oh, just an agreement I made with Yagi-sensei. I need to recruit our group of friends for this to happen," Izuku replied.

Just as Izuku finished his statement, Tooru launched herself into his arms and embraced him. She then said, "So you mean all of our friends too? Why didn't you tell me this sooner?"

Midoriya hugged his girlfriend back and stated, "I thought you were still mad at me about what happened on Sunday night."

"Like I said earlier. I'm over that now," Hagakure said in her boyfriend's ear.

The two stayed in each other's arms for a while. Izuku was feeling so ecstatic about Tooru's reaction to the news. But then a daring idea popped into his head. Midoriya at first considered this was too bold to do at the moment, but he was feeling so overjoyed at what had just happened. He then separated from Tooru but kept his face quite close to hers; he guessed as he could feel her breath. But before Izuku could do anything, he noticed the students walking by were staring at the couple. He then said, "Hey let's head back to the dorm. We're attracting unwanted attention." He saw Tooru turn to see the onlookers. Midoriya then felt her grab his right hand.

"Sure, let's go," Hagakure stated as she stood up.

The two then walked at a fast pace away from the bench. After about a minute of walking, they slowed down.

Tooru then stopped not far from their dorm and said, "There is something else I wanna ask about before we go inside."

Izuku gulped upon hearing this. He was hoping she wouldn't bring it up, but it seemed now was the time.

After clearing her throat, Hagakure said, "So about that gooey nude girl in the first part of the exam. What was that all about?"

"There's a perfectly good explanation. I promise," the boy tried to argue.

Tooru huffed, "I believe you, Izuku, but I still want to hear it."

Izuku recalled that portion of the exam quickly to think up a response. The first part of the exam was a battle royale. Everyone had the opportunity to land six balls on three random points on their opponents' bodies. If you received three yourself, you were eliminated. Also, only the first hundred, out of 1540 examinees, to complete it would pass to the second part of the exam.

Even though it was free for all, the various schools stuck together. And their main target? The top school in the country, of course. Shiketsu High was the primary aggressor against class 1A. And at one point Izuku found himself against a second-year girl from said school.

After a few seconds, Midoriya started by saying, "After I got separated from the group I ran into that girl. She was quite fast and agile and had no problem keeping up with 5% Full Cowl. We both then got ambushed by some other school and while I was dodging their attacks, I saw-."

"A fake Uraraka-chan, I know," Hagakure interrupted. "The real one told me about it that night while we were celebrating. You figured she was a fake because of how she acted, and then when she arrived with Sero-kun to fight the gooey nude girl off."

Izuku let go of his girlfriend's hand as he asked, "Then what do you want to talk about if you knew that already?"

"It's what she said to Uraraka-chan before she fled," Tooru stated with uneasiness.

Midoriya recalled what the Shiketsu girl said before fleeing.

Thanks for the hustle, but you're not the girl I was hoping to run into.

The comment did throw Izuku for a spin. What girl was she looking for? And why?

Tooru then asked, "Any idea what she meant by that? She's from a different school so why would she be interested in another girl from our class?"

"No idea. But it does sort of go along with what she asked me," Izuku said as he brought his right hand to his chin.

Hagakure took a step closer as she asked, "Like what?"

"Yeah. That girl wanted to know about me and not for tactical reasons. Like, why did I want to become a hero? At first, I thought she was doing it to throw me off, but her persistence in asking makes me think she was serious," Midoriya explained.

"Creepy," the invisible girl replied.

Izuku stepped forward and put his hands on his girlfriend's shoulders as he explained, "If I knew more I would tell you Tooru-chan. I tried finding her after the exam to ask her what that was all about. However, when I asked some students from Shiketsu where she was, they said she was feeling sick so I didn't pry further."

Tooru sighed as she stated, "Gooey nude girl has been bugging me all week. And talking to you deepens the mystery. But I guess at this point there's not much we can do to figure out what the hell she was doing."

Midoriya nodded upon hearing this but then remembered back to them being on the bench. He gulped and stated, "Tooru I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for agreeing to do this mock hero training."

"No problem! I mean I've wanted to try the team-up thing for a while so this sounds even better," Hagakure stated in an upbeat tone. She was then startled that her boyfriend had moved his hands down and pulled them together. But Izuku kept his head in front of herF, again close enough to feel her breathing. He then put his right hand on the back of Tooru's head and pulled her towards himself.

A kiss on the lips.

Well, that's what he wanted but instead, he felt the skin of her face.

Midoriya had missed, he had kissed her just above the upper lip. Why? He mused, why during such an intimate moment did he have to screw things up? He backed off with his face becoming a shade of crimson and his mind full of regret.

Hagakure then said softly, "It's okay Izuku. You were just a bit off-center there. Try a bit lower and to the left okay?"

"T-Thanks Tooru," the boy replied before doing as told. And such a kiss it was. His first two with Tooru were short and sweet. But this was long and heavy.

Eventually, Tooru pulled away and said, "Woah there Izuku, we don't wanna get our faces stuck together. I appreciate immensely for addressing my first name this way and trying to kiss me like this but a girl has to breathe every once in a while."

Izuku backed away from his girlfriend and clasped his red cheeks with his hands as he stated, "S-Sorry it just f-felt so good, and I was so t-thrilled that you wanted to try again."

"It's fine. We'll both get better at it as we practice. I'm just glad you are more forward about being intimate," Hagakure said with a content voice. Midoriya then felt her hand grab his right hand and start pulling him towards the dorm. The invisible girl then stated, "Now let's go home!"

---

"Eraserhead has informed me of his approval of the hero team concept, so good job convincing him my boy," All Might said with a toothy grin.

It was Friday after class, and Izuku was in a small meeting room with his mentor.

Midoriya then asked, "Did he also talk about his 'stipulations' concerning the training?"

Nodding, the former pro hero stated, "He did. I agree with the idea of pushing back the training until you adjust to the internship. And having Aizawa-san around is for the better. I wanted to ask him myself initially if he would help me with this but I feared he would say no. But I guess my worry was for not." He then gave a weak chuckle before continuing with, "And how goes recruiting your friends?"

"Ojiro-kun said yes first on Wednesday night, and Tooru was thrilled about the idea when I told her yesterday after dinner," the boy answered.

All Might nodded as he stated, "Good. Good. And the others?"

"I'm going to try asking Uraraka-chan once we go back to the dorms today. I think Ida-kun and Yaoyorozu-chan are going to be the most difficult so I'm saving them for last," Izuku stated as he crossed his arms over his chest.

The skeleton of a man leaned forward as he said, "Well good luck with the others." He then cleared his throat as he stated, "Now about today's visit."

Midoriya gulped before saying, "The Internship."

"I have that planned after this," the teacher said as he got up. He walked over to the door and opened it. The former pro hero stuck his head out and stated, "You two can come in now."

Izuku's eyes went wide as he saw Mandalay and Tiger from the Wild, Wild Pussycats enter the room, wearing civilian clothing.

"We're going to focus on the team concept first today if you don't mind," All Might stated as he closed the door.

Before Midoriya could say anything, Mandalay approached him and held out her left hand before saying, "A pleasure to see you again Midoriya-san." He then reached out to shake it, but she pulled him into a hug and said, "Thank you so much for saving my nephew during the summer. I'm so sorry we couldn't thank you earlier."

Suddenly both of them were lifted up in the air by Tiger as he embraced them both. He then stated in a mournful tone, "Midoriya-san! You great little fledgling you! To think little Kota-kun might have been killed by the same bastard that killed his parents. But not only did you save the dear boy, you took that villain down for the count. You kids grow up so fast!"

"I'm glad I could save Kota-kun and avenge his parents," Izuku struggled to say because of Tiger's firm grip.

"I think that's enough Yawara-kun," Mandalay huffed.

Tiger put them both down and said, "Sorry Shino-chan, I got carried away there."

Midoriya then looked at his mentor and asked, "If you don't mind me asking sir, why did you ask them to come?"

"The type of team you described on Wednesday, I figured your inspiration was from the Pussycats since you worked with them this summer. So naturally, I thought they would be the best team to have this talk with," All Might explained.

Tiger cleared his throat before saying, "We're known as The Wild, Wild Pussycats, sir."

The former pro hero turned his head and gave the large feline hero a stare. He then said, "Yes you're right Tiger, The Wild, Wild Pussycats. Do tell me though; I remember only inviting your team leader Mandalay to come today."

"Sorry All Might, once I told Tiger the news he insisted he come and see Midoriya-san to thank him," the team leader stated with a bow.

"I see, that's quite alright then. Now let's get this discussion started. He has another guest to see after this," the teacher said as he walked to a chair by the door and took a seat.

As Izuku sat down, and the Pussycats to his opposite, he wondered who his next guest was going to be. The hero he would be interning with, Sir Nighteye? Did All Might have a change of heart and invite him? Or was it someone else entirely different?

Mandalay started by saying, "All Might informed me that you wanted to know more about how a hero team operates. Particularly one where all the members are on the same standing as ours is. Tiger has already gone over with me the things you two discussed during the summer so I will be sure to cover different topics."

"I understand ma'am, and thank you both for coming for my sake," Midoriya said as he bowed his head.

"It's the least we could do after what you did Midoriya-san. And please call me Sosaki-san, we're not on active duty after all," the woman said with a grin.

Tiger then spoke up and stated, "And me as Chatora-san."

The boy then nodded. He felt honored to call them by their actual names.

"To start there's pay. Because everyone is equal, the pay is equal. It's a double-edged sword. Usually, the leader or high profile members of typical teams get the highest pay and everyone else at a flat rate. To start off, this is a good thing for that kind of team because you would get more money than a newly licensed pro hero trying to go solo. Though you don't get the opportunity to be as highly paid as you would if you climbed the ranks of a high ranking solo career or high profile team," Shino explained.

"In our case since we were schoolmates we all pitched in together to help each other out with finances during the first couple of years," Yawara stated while flexing his right arm.

Mandalay nodded before saying, "In fact, we all went solo for about a year to save up on cash to start the Union Affairs Office."

Izuku then asked while placing a hand on his chin, "What did you do when you were all going solo Sosaki-san? I can't see an agency hiring a rookie for only a year."

The woman then explained, "That's true, most specific hero agencies want you to work for them for a couple of years. For those that want short-term work, that's where general hero agencies come in. Their original purpose was to give all the solo heroes that didn't get hired to a specific hero's agency so they could still do work. Lots of new solo heroes sign up to these general agencies to handle their paperwork and keep track of their heroics. The hero can then focus on making a name for themselves. There's a fee of course for working under them though. Once they have enough cash and notoriety, a hero then starts their agency and things like sidekicks, interns, merchandise, advertisements, and security become possible for them if they so choose."

Midoriya scratched his cheek as he said, "I see."

"In our case, we all bunked together to save cash and worked a year on our own to save up for our agency, with a loan as well," Sosaki stated with a groan at the end.

"We paid it off eventually, Shino-chan," Chatora said while putting a hand on his leader's shoulder.

Mandalay nodded and padded her partner's hand as she replied, "Yeah, eventually."

All this talk of money was putting Izuku off. He knew that it was needed to be a hero, but it just felt wrong to focus so much on it.

The woman then sighed before saying, "Anywho let's move on to how fame is calculated for a hero team like ours."

"Ah yes, the Hero Billboard Chart. We're probably at a nosedive at the moment in ranks," Tiger said as he sunk his head in shame.

Izuku tried to remember the last time the ranks were updated. The event itself happened twice a year, in May and November. It would rank the thousands of heroes in Japan by the combination of general popularity, cases solved, villains captured, missions done, people saved, and contributions to society. Then it came to him.

"You were ranked thirty-two in the last one if I remember right," Midoriya stated while tapping his head with his right index finger.

Both Pussycats went wide-eyed at this.

All Might chuckled before saying, "That boy's memory and love for hero facts never stops surprising me."

"I only remember the top fifty sir," Izuku said with a slight blush on his face.

"That's still very impressive Midoriya-san," Tiger stated.

"Thank you Chatora-san," Midoriya replied with a wide grin.

Shino cleared her throat before saying, "Now to get back on topic. Normally heroes on a team are separated in the rankings, but teams such as ours are counted as one."

Yawara nodded as he said, "Yes. It's why even a search and rescue group such as ourselves is so high in the rankings. Well at least."

Izuku then asked, "Will the hiatus affect your rank?"

"Without a doubt," All Might spoke up. He then said, "Unless a hero is very high ranked, a temporary hiatus usually does a heavy blow to it. For example, I bet Best Jeanist is still polling in the top ten despite his absence."

"Indeed, but It's fine Midoriya-san. We'll recover once we get back on the hero scene," Mandalay said.

With concern, Midoriya asked, "And when will that be?"

"Probably around the next time the Hero Billboard Chart updates in late November," Tiger stated after a sigh.

Midoriya looked down at his hands and twiddled his thumbs, "And what of Ragdoll?"

All Might spoke up and said, "My boy I don't think now is the-."

"It's fine All Might," the leader of the Pussycats interrupted. She then said, "She's going to work at our agency. It might just be paperwork, but she still wants to be helpful to the team, even if it's from the sidelines."

Izuku was happy to hear the news but was hoping he would hear something else. He wondered, could One for All give back what was stolen. Had the Pussycats tried to find out if this was possible? Midoriya figured he already prodded enough and said, "Thanks for telling me. And I hope everything works out for all of you. But I guess to get back on topic, is there any disadvantage to rankings if you are on such a team? It sounds like a win-win situation since all your efforts are combined as one."

"There is one. Because you are grouped as one unless your team breaks the top ten, it's common for people to only recognize your team but not its individuals," Mandalay answered.

Tiger snorted before saying, "Yeah can't remember how many times I've rescued a person and they had no idea what my hero name was, just our group name. Not that it bothers me but for some heroes that would be an issue."

Midoriya glanced over at All Might who was giving his student a particular look. He guessed it concerned the former pro hero's one gripe about being on a team from Wednesday, how affected one's popularity. Izuku knew from experience that his mentor was dead set on the idea that a hero's reputation was the fastest and most direct way to be the new symbol of peace the fastest.

Izuku's thoughts ceased however when Shino spoke up and explained, "But probably the biggest piece of advice I can give you is that when setting up a team you need to have a theme. Having a team theme is key to standing out and building instant recognition for your look and style. In our case, it's in our hero suits and poses, but you can go about it other ways too. Sometimes it's having a group of heroes with similar quirks. Other times it's a theme of super moves or even strategy they employ during battle. And finally, it can also be what type of work you want your team to do. The Wild, Wild Pussycats, of course, specialize in search and rescue, especially in the wilderness or mountain regions."

A theme. Midoriya hadn't thought that far or even considered it. Compared to the talk of money and popularity, this interested him the most. But what could he do as a theme his current team make up? Then again, only two had said yes so far. Best to wait till everyone is confirmed before thinking about this further.

Izuku then bowed his head and stated, "Thanks for the advice Sosaki-san, Chatora-san. This has been very informative."

"You're welcome, but one last piece of advice that I wanna reiterate," Tiger said as he stood up. He took a deep breath and clenched his fist as he explained, "In our type of team since everyone is equal, it's more like a family than just a bunch of coworkers. So when you lose someone, it's that much more painful. So go the extra mile and do whatever is necessary to keep your partners safe. Got it?"

"I understand sir. I'll keep that in mind," Midoriya replied. He knew Chatora was talking about this because of what happened to Ragdoll. Luckily, for now, this was going to be training, but it was something he would need to look out for once he went pro and made his team.

All Might then got up and thanked the two for coming over at such short notice. The visiting heroes stated they were happy to help the former number one hero and to see Izuku again. But before they said their goodbyes, the boy in question asked, "Hey, how is Kota-kun doing?"

"He is finally coming out of his shell, and I think I know who to thank for that," Tiger stated as he gave a thumbs up.

Midoriya grinned and then said, "Tell him I said hello and that I hope to see him again."

Both the pro heroes then came over and gave one last hug to the boy and said their goodbyes.

Once they had left, All Might closed the door and looked at his pupil and said, "I didn't know you and Tiger had already discussed this subject."

"Just some things, nothing as in-depth as today was," the boy replied.

The skeleton of a man crossed his arms before saying, "I see. Well regardless, it's good that Mandalay brought up the business side of being a hero. What did you think about it?"

"It felt weird talking about money when we usually just focus on helping people and fighting villains," Izuku answered in a confused tone.

All Might nodded and then stated, "A necessary evil in this line of work. It can consume some people but also puts food on the table. It's just a part of what the current hero system is."

A thought then came into Midoriya's head, and he asked, "If you don't mind me asking, what have you done with all the money you've made Yagi-sensei? I mean, you must have a lot of it."

The former pro hero walked over to open the door and motion his student to follow. Once in the hallway, he explained, "At first I saved most of it. Once I felt I had enough for retirement, I started giving most of it away. Charities, scholarships, hero academies, hero programs, you name it. Technically the retirement fund I set up wasn't needed, I bet I could ride out the rest of my life just on merchandise sales if I wanted. However, I made sure that goes to the things I just described. I'm fine with what I saved up. I don't need anymore."

Before Izuku had time to ponder his mentor's money management, All Might stopped at the entrance to another conference room and asked, "Are you ready for your internship assignment?"

Midoriya nodded and was surprised to see Mirio Togata inside the room once the teacher had opened the door. He thought, what is he doing here?

---

Izuku walked down the stairs into the common room of his dorm. Dinner had already passed, and he had just finished taking a shower. Midoriya sat down on an empty couch and looked around. At that moment Kaminari was trying to talk to Bakugo with little success. Koda, Shoji, and Tokoyami were chatting away. And finally, Ashido was on the phone with someone while looking inside the refrigerator for something to snack on. But no sign of Uraraka.

Izuku wanted to ask Ochako to meet him after dinner, but she left before he finished eating for him to ask. Just as he picked up his phone to text her, he noticed a message.

Encyclopedia: Are you busy?

A private message. Midoriya pondered, what could she want?

All Might: Nope. Just showered. I'm downstairs. What's up?

Encyclopedia: Oh good. I need us to chat. I'll be down in a minute or two to speak with you.

Izuku wondered, was this about inviting Ojiro over to study on Sunday? Either way, he was about to find out.

As he waited, Midoriya recalled his meeting with All Might and Togata earlier. While his mentor wasn't comfortable being the one to introduce him to Sir Nighteye, he felt the senior could. Mirio had been interning with the former pro hero's sidekick for over a year. And now, on Sunday, the third-year student was going to bring Izuku to Sir Nighteye's office. He was just hoping he got accepted. If not, not only would Midoriya have the opportunity of a lifetime to work with a former sidekick of All Might, but Aizawa might pull back his support for the mock hero training.

"Midoriya-kun, you're muttering, again," Momo stated.

Izuku looked up to see his friend sitting across from him on another couch. "Ah sorry, today's been a long one," Izuku replied as he scratched the back of his head.

Yaoyorozu then asked, "Is everything okay?"

"I might be doing an internship, but I won't know for sure until Sunday when I visit his agency," the boy answered in an excited voice.

Momo brought her hands together and said, "That sounds wonderful. I hope you get it."

"As do I," Izuku replied. He then cleared his throat and asked, "So you wanted to talk to me Yaoyorozu-chan?"

The tall teen nodded and then responded, "Yes, Hagakure-chan told me about the hero team training."

Midoriya's eyes went wide as he asked, "She did? When?"

"Over the phone last night. She wanted to tell someone, and since Uraraka-chan was already fast asleep, she called me," Yaoyorozu replied.

Izuku had forgotten to tell his girlfriend that he wanted to tell everyone, but this works too, he mused. He then crossed his arms and asked, "So what do you think about it?"

"Conflicted," Momo stated with a sigh.

Midoriya knew she was going to be more difficult than the others. It didn't stop him from hoping it would all be easy though. Izuku then asked, "About what exactly?"

The vice president explained, "Well as much as I love to spend more time with you and everyone else doing this, I don't see how it would benefit what I envision to do when I go pro."

Izuku asked, "You wanna go solo, don't you?"

Momo nodded at this.

Izuku then said, "I understand Yaoyorozu-chan, I don't want to force you to do something you don't want to do. But there are still benefits to doing this even if you wish to have a solo career."

"And I agree with you Midoriya-kun. Hagakure-chan said the same thing to me, but I said I just needed time to think about it. And I wanted to tell you I made up my mind and am willing to give this a try," Yaoyorozu said with confidence.

"Oh," Midoriya stated in confusion. He was just about to list all the ways the training could still help her. Izuku then asked, "What convinced you to give this a go?"

The vice class president replied, "Well I started thinking, even in solo careers you still have missions that require temporary team-ups with other pros. So this team training might help with that." She scratched her cheek before continuing with, "More battle experience couldn't hurt either. And since I want to wait to do an internship until later, this will do."

Midoriya pondered what he just heard. The first two points she made were some of the things he was planning to tell her. But the part about wanting to do the internship later was intriguing. Why was that? It might just be a simple answer, but Izuku wondered if there was more. He then asked, "You don't want to do the internship right away?"

"For personal reasons," Momo replied quickly.

Again with the personal reasons. Midoriya didn't feel like pressing her on it since she did just accept becoming a part of the mock team. He then stated, "I see. Sorry to ask."

"It's quite alright," Yaoyorozu stated with a sigh.

The boy then asked, "Yaoyorozu-chan, do you remember Sato-kun's plan to speak with Kendo-san about the joint activity between our classes?"

Momo's demeanor changed to being perplexed as she asked, "Ah yes, how did that go?"

"Kendo-san invited him to a kaiten-sushi place to discuss the whole idea," Izuku answered.

Yaoyorozu placed a hand on her chin as she asked, "What are those? I haven't heard that before."

Oh right, Midoriya thought. She's not used to such things. He remembered Momo's fascination with the Donki store they used to buy their disguises during the rescue of Kacchan. She had never been to such a store with such low prices, because of her upbringing. It would make sense the girl hadn't heard of this type of restaurant as it too was quite cheap.

"It's a restaurant that serves ready-made plates of food on a conveyor belt. You choose what you want and then pay for it," Izuku explained.

Momo's face beamed as she replied, "Sounds fascinating, I'll have to try that sometime."

Midoriya chuckled upon hearing this. After calming down, he said, "Well anyways, Sato-kun is worried that this might be a date."

Yaoyorozu then said, "I mean it might be. Is he nervous or something?"

"Yeah, I did say I would help him tomorrow to figure out a game plan since I've been dating Tooru-chan for a while now. But I would like some help from you too if you don't mind," Izuku answered.

Momo tilted her head slightly as she asked, "How would I be able to help in this Midoriya-kun? You're the expert here on dating."

"It's not about that. You know Kendo-san more than anyone else in 1A beside maybe Ida-kun,. I figured there could be some dos and don'ts to tell Sato-kun when dealing with her. I can give him general information, but every girl is different. I don't want to give him bad advice because of things that only apply to Tooru-chan," Midoriya explained.

After crossing her arms, the tall teen stated, "I mean I know some stuff, enough to hold a conversation with her. But for a potential date? We'll need to know more than I know if we're gonna help Sato-kun." Before Izuku could say anything more, she said, "I think I have an idea on how to find out more. I'll get back to you once I do, but for now, I have some phone calls to make."

Momo then got up signaling that she was about to leave, but Izuku stood up and asked, "Wait before you go, have you seen Uraraka-chan since dinner? I want to tell her about the team concept today if possible."

"Oh her? I bet she is still at the library with Ida-kun," Yaoyorozu replied.

Midoriya asked, "Why are they there? To study?"

After shaking her head, Momo answered, "No, Uraraka-chan told me Ida-kun was adamant they plan out his visit to her parent's house on Sunday. Knowing him, they'll probably be there for a while."

Izuku then recalled Tenya telling Mashirao about visiting Ochako's home Tuesday evening. He wondered, did the class president plan out his dates even more so than he did?

"Ah I see, I guess I'll just ask her about it tomorrow then, thanks," Midoriya then stated.

The vice president then asked, "By the way, besides Hagakure-chan, who else knows about this?"

"I told Ojiro-kun on Wednesday while he visited my room," Izuku answered.

Momo then asked another question with, "Oh, what did you two discuss?"

The boy was caught off guard by this. After a few seconds, he said, "O-Oh he just wanted to talk about what happened on Sunday night."

"Oh, I see," Yaoyorozu said with a hint of regret in her voice. "Sorry to bring that up again."

Midoriya waved it off with his right hand as he said, "It's fine Yaoyorozu-chan, I think it was for the best for both of us to let off some steam. Though there were plenty of ways, we could have settled our differences better."

"You can say that again," Momo said before giving a soft laugh. Izuku then joined her with a chuckle of his own.

---

Sato and Midoriya had just walked out of U.A.'s main campus and were heading back to the dorms. It was Saturday, and classes had just finished.

Rikido immediately was at Izuku's side when the bell rang for the end of class. He was eager to hear the advice that his classmate had for him. However, Momo had yet to get back to him.

Sato then asked, "Do you want to discuss this now or do you wanna wait till we get back to the dorms?"

But before Midoriya could respond both boys heard a voice behind them say, "Hey guys, mind if I join this chat?"

It was their vice president and Sato was quick to say, "Ah well if you insist, Yaoyorozu-chan."

"Don't worry, I'm here to help with your Kendo-san problem," Momo stated as she gave a wink.

Izuku was quick to say, "Ah yes, I asked Yaoyorozu-chan if she could assist in the advice Sato-kun. It's as Ida-kun said earlier this week, she knows the most about Kendo-san."

Rikido replied, "I see. So what tidbits can you give me about Kendo-san?"

"Well after chatting on the phone with Tetsutetsu-san from 1B I think I have plenty we can work with," Momo stated with a thumbs up.

Yaoyorozu then spent the next minute listing the likes and dislikes of Kendo. Midoriya found a few of the details fascinating. The class president of 1B loves motorcycles, even though they are rare in Japan these days. Another aspect was that she enjoyed teasing Monoma, though that seemed to have lessened as of late. Izuku wondered why that was. It also made him wonder if Tenya got in touch with Itsuka to ask about Neito's change in behavior yet. Though school just started, so it seemed unlikely this had occurred yet.

Once the vice president was finished speaking, Midoriya stepped in and gave what advice he could. Before he knew it, the three had arrived just outside the dorms, and Sato thanked them both for the information. He seemed much more confident about tomorrow, and it made Izuku glad he could help.

Rikido then made his way inside, but before Momo could follow her classmate inside, Izuku asked, "Hey Yaoyorozu-chan before you go, how did you get in contact with Tetsutetsu-san from 1B with such short notice?"

Yaoyorozu pulled out her phone and pointed at it as she said, "We exchanged phone directories of everyone between our classes in our last term. It was Ida-kun's idea. So it was easy to get hold of Tetsutetsu-san. It took a bit of convincing, but I eventually got the information out of him."

Midoriya wondered what kind of convincing Yayorozu had to do to get the student from 1B to give the info. He then nodded and said, "Ah I see, thanks for the explanation."

"By the way Midoriya-kun, I'd check up on the roof in a couple of minutes if you wanna talk with Uraraka-chan," Momo said. She then made her way inside their dorm.

Momo must have told Ochako to meet him on the roof, Izuku thought. He planned to thank his vice president later as he made his way upstairs to put up his backpack away in his room. Midoriya then climbed the stairs to the roof of his dorm, to find no one was there. He figured he was still early and walked over to the railing to look down at other students making their way towards their dorms.

A few minutes passed as Izuku tried to collect his thoughts on what he needed to say to Ochako. Eventually, he heard the door open behind him, and he turned around. But Midoriya was surprised to not only see Uraraka but Ida as well.

Tenya raised his right hand as he said, "Ah afternoon Midoriya-kun, Yaoyorozu-chan told us after class that you needed to speak with us?"

So that was why Momo joined us after we had just left school, Izuku mused. She must have stayed behind to tell them this. He then said, "Um yes, I did."

Ochako then asked, "Why up here though?"

Midoriya cleared his throat as he stated, "Just wanted some privacy is all." That must have been the vice president's logic at least, he figured.

Ida crossed his arms and then said, "Well then, we're here now. What do you need from us?"

Izuku took a deep breath and then started explaining his thoughts leading up to the hero idea, asking the teachers about it, and how he had been recruiting everyone for the last couple of days. During the entire explanation, Ochako and Tenya didn't speak minus a few simple questions here and there.

When Midoriya finished, Uraraka was the first to speak, and she said, "So this is what Hagakure-chan wanted to talk about on Wednesday night over the phone. But I was already fast asleep when I received the message and didn't see it until the next morning. When I asked about it, she said it didn't matter and that I'd find out soon anyway."

Tenya then stepped forward and said, "Well regardless, I'm for this idea. When I go pro, I plan to take over my family's agency eventually. So training that focuses on big team training sounds perfect for me! I'll have a lot of sidekicks under me so this would be good to get a head start on that."

Izuku held back a chuckle. Again, all his planning was futile. The two supposed hardest candidates had no issue accepting the proposal. In the end, Midoriya was happy that Hagakure had talked to Yaoyorozu. It gave her time to think and change her mind without any effort from himself.

"I don't know," Uraraka said in a wishy-washy tone.

Izuku was quick to ask, "Is something wrong, Uraraka-chan?"

"It's just I don't know if I would be able to take the increased workload," Ochako said while sulking and poking her two index fingers together.

Pointing upward, Tenya stated, "Ah because of the internship."

Excited for his friend, Midoriya asked, "You're doing the internship too? With who?"

"Ryukyu, The Dragon Heroine" Uraraka stated.

Izuku was flabbergasted upon hearing this. That woman was ranked ninth currently amongst the heroes of Japan. And he found her to be really cool, as her quirk literally turns into a dragon. Midoriya felt a pang of jealousy but let it pass. He had the possibility of working with All Might's sidekick, remember? He then asked, "How did this happen? Did she seek you out?"

Ochako shook her head and replied, "No it was Nejire-senpai that asked me, you know from Thursday? Well, she interns under Ryukyu."

Izuku nodded at this. Guess the senior's curiosity displayed during class was more than just for fun.

"Tsuyu-chan was also asked to go as well, and she accepted too. We start on Monday," Uraraka joyfully said.

Midoriya responded with, "I see. Well, congratulations!"

"Thanks, Deku-kun but like I said earlier, I don't think I could handle the increased workload of this mock training on top of the internship. Regular school work has already ramped up this semester," Ochako explained.

"Well, it wouldn't be right away. Aizawa-sensei already told me that the training would need to wait till those that are in their internship settle in. He said that it could be weeks or even months until that happens," Izuku tried to argue.

Uraraka looked to go into deep thought upon hearing this.

Ida then approached his girlfriend and said, "If you need more time to think about it Ochako-chan, Midoriya-kun seems like he's in no hurry to get an answer right now. As he told us earlier, Yayorozou-chan needed a day to figure things out. You can take longer if you wish."

Ochako then shook her head and said, "No I should answer now. Midoriya-kun did a lot to set this up, and everyone else has already said yes." She then walked up to Izuku and extended a hand towards him as she stated, "It might take some time to adjust to everything, but given time I think I can handle it. So I'll give it a go for the group's sake. Besides, I'm sure Tenya-kun can help me with studying if school work gets too much."

Izuku gladly shook her hand upon hearing this.

Ida then came over and wrapped an arm around Uraraka's neck. He then gave her a quick peck on the cheek and stated, "I'm sure this will work out just fine Ochako-chan."

The couple was then surprised to get a hug from Midoriya. After a sniff, Midoriya then said, "You don't know how much this means to me guys. Thanks so much!"

The two looked at each other and grinned before returning the embrace to their friend.

---

Yeah so, five days late. *awkward chuckle*

Last week was my final week of regular work for this school year, so it was rough finding any time to finish this chapter. By the weekend though I decided to do a significant overhaul for the chapter by cutting out the fat (it initially was 17k words, rearranging scenes, rewriting entire scenes). So I am immensely sorry for the delay. The primary things I cut down on was initially Ochako and Tenya were told of the hero team concept separately, Sato had a scene of his own, and I made the meeting with the Pussycats a bit shorter. Also, the original order for Izuku telling his friends was Tooru-Ochako-Mashirao-Tenya-Momo.

That was a lot to get cover, but I wanted to get through this cause we got some canon plot to get through again in chapter 22 (covers the time passed during the start of the internship) 23 (which will involve the aftermath of the raid). Once it's over, we can then focus on the team concept for quite some time.

One issue that cropped up was the timing concerning the canon. The manga, in one of its extras, states that U.A. is now a Monday-Saturday school. But the first week of school they have Saturday off. Is it because it was the first week of school? Either way by the time I noticed this I had already written they had attended classes on Saturday so was like, oh well.

I was glad I was able to use the Pussycats again, and my gosh was I lucky that chapter 184 came out while writing this chapter. The reappearance of the hero team gave me a lot more to go with both them and the introduction of the Hero Billboard Chart. I already had a headcanon that Ragdoll would still work at the Union Affairs Office, so that was nice to see. I can't help but feel I might use Tiger again later. Who knows? ;p

Night Foliage got around to editing chapter 10, which now has 9,704 words and had 85 edits. We're already halfway into editing chapter 11. Hopefully, it and 12 will be done by the next chapter release.

Some of you must be wondering, why didn't you go into detail about the dinner Ida cooked? At that point, I wanted more things to progress before he spoke to everything about the team concept. Which at that point felt like the only thing I wanted them to discuss. I really couldn't really think of anything else relevant for them to talk about. I was tempted by the idea of Ida telling Midoriya what he had missed, but I eventually decided on wanting him to experience the first day back to class just like the manga. The explanation would also have downplayed what Aizawa wanted his student to see before deciding on the hero team concept. Either way, hopefully by now you've seen the art done for the dinner scene on my Tumblr. It does enough to tell you what happened. ;p

Speaking of Tumblr, more stuff! Post 14 has a commission schedule I have planned (tho May and June's are up in the air as the artist I want to do it for has yet to reopen commissions for some time). Post 15 goes further into why I wanted to do a hero team for the story. And finally, post 16 talks about the romance progression between Izuku and Tooru.

To make up for the late release, I will be releasing chapter 22 on June 26th!

Some of you might be like, uh you sure you're going to be able to do this? Worry not! First, the next chapter will be shorter (might be sub 10k words). Second, summer camp work (while intense) has A LOT more free time for me to work around. So here's till later!