Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“That should be all for 1-B,” Nedzu-san said. “Kan-kun?”

“Yeah, that’s all I’ve got for you,” Kan answered. “Should be a pretty standard year.”

The rodent nodded and turned to face the other side of the meeting room. “Alright then, Aizawa-kun?”

Shouta grunted and ignored his papers. It was a routine meeting they’d had every year. Not to mention classes would be starting soon. If he didn’t know which student was which by now… “For the most part, as Kan said, it’ll be a normal year. 1-A’s recommendation students are Todoroki Shouto and Yaoyorozu Momo. Both display quick thinking and versatile quirk use, though Todoroki-kun seems to be favoring his right side far too much, so keep an eye on that.” Shouta glanced at All Might, pleased to get a small nod in acknowledgement in return. “We also have Iida Tenya, legacy of the Idaten Hero Agency and younger brother of Ingenium. He, along with Yaoyorozu-kun and Todoroki-kun, shows the expected high levels of academic achievement that comes from extensive private education throughout his childhood.

“The other students are, for the most part, a mixed bag. They have their strengths and weaknesses academically. I will talk to you individually about which students will need extra attention in your class and which ones won’t. As far as emotional and physical strengths, we’ll just have to wait and see for now.

“Which brings us to the problems.” He really hated this whole mess. “Midoriya Izuku and Bakugou Katsuki. Both high achievers academically, and both from Aldera Junior High.”

"If they’re from Aldera, why not bring them up with the other private school kids earlier?” Nemuri asked.

“Because I have bigger concerns than academics for these two, and they’re both a part of Aldera’s agreement with the local families from when Asano-san first bought out the school. They haven’t had private tutoring and probably would have gone to a public school if not for that.”

Shouta actually consulted his papers for this part. He did not want to miss a detail or let the others forget that these two could be an issue. “Back to the point, at the end of last school year, Aldera was involved in a high priority event concerning the villain that destroyed the moon a year ago. In particular, Midoriya-kun’s class was held away from the rest of the school in the forest the villain was hiding in. The Ministry of Defense has released no statement as to whether or not the students had any contact with the villain and how the events may have affected the students.”

“Wait, what?” Hizashi spoke up. “That… how did I miss that?”

“You were out of town at the time, Yamada-kun,” Nedzu-san said, “and the Ministry of Defense and Asano-san went out of their way to keep the news quiet. They were required to make some kind of statement, but only released it to a small handful of stations. The news also got lost amid other stories of disaster in other areas, such as the assignment you had been on at the time.”

“Ouch,” Hizashi hissed. “That’s not good.”

“Indeed,” Nedzu-san agreed. “They have refused to release any further information to us, despite our students being affected and several of our teachers working to secure the area.”

Shouta nodded. He’d been one of those teachers, but even as he worked there, the only thing he’d managed to learn was that no one was allowed in the dome they called “Earth’s Shield” and only military personnel were allowed up on the mountain.

Everything involving that villain was a mess, really. The public knew a villain had blown up the moon, and that was about it. Heroes knew more, but it still wasn’t much. Some, like Nedzu, were called in for planning and analysis of the target’s skills and behaviors, while others, like All Might, were selected to try and overpower the villain. Only a select few were allowed to know anything at all, and even they got cut out after the first month. But that hadn’t stopped the underground hero networks from piecing together what kind of threat the villain posed to the world.

And finding the pictures of All Might and Edge Shot post villain make over, which had been gleefully passed around at several meetings.

Before Shouta could get back on track and continue the meeting, All Might spoke up. “That is a concern,” he said, “but I fear those two may have some history we should be worried about as well.”

That was news. “You know them?” Shouta asked.

"Uh, no,” All Might admitted. “But I have met Midoriya-shounen before. A couple of times, actually. The incident I’m worried about… I heard a commotion on Dagobah Beach. When I found the source, Midoriya-shounen had clearly been fighting an assailant with some kind of explosion quirk. He was badly injured, and the assailant ran off before I could get a good look. Midoriya-shounen was quick to defend his attacker, making it clear he knew them in the process. He refused to press charges, saying that his attacker was not in control of his own actions.”

“And you let this go?” Shouta said.

“Yes and no. I wound up asking a friend of mine in the police force to look some things up off the books. He’s the one that first directed my attention to Bakugou-shounen as the only person in the area that matched the description. Digging a little deeper came up with a reason Bakugou-shounen may not have been in his right mind. Asano-san’s quirk allows him to increase anger, direct it at a target, and lower inhibitions. At least, that’s what I managed to understand of it.”

“Okay, but was anything done about this?” Snipe said.

“Consider,” Nedzu-san said, “we have a student who likely does not know whether or not he’s had a quirk used on him, a student that should not know about the quirk or its use, and a principal and teacher that will deny its use.”

All Might was nodding. “We also haven’t been able to find any kind of motive. All it is is hearsay, and Midoriya-shounen and his parents have not pressed any charges against Bakugou-shounen or the school.”

Hizashi nodded. “Your hands are tied.”

“Great,” Shouta grumbled, “an even bigger mess. We’ll have to keep an eye on them. Bakugou-kun did show some violent tendencies during the entrance exam, but he didn’t necessarily seem to be enjoying it. If he wasn’t in control of his actions, or even if he was, the event may have rattled something in him.”

“I have something for you, as well,” Maijima said. “Midoriya-kun’s costume…”

“Yes, Maijima?” Shouta pressed.

“Well… there’s a list of odd things there. The most important one is that you’ll have to delay some lesson plans. It should be in within a week of classes starting, but it won’t be here before their first lesson with you, All Might.”

“Er, noted.”

Great, now the oaf was going to have to rework his lesson plans. At least this might make him consider teaching actual basics of fighting first. “You said there were other problems?” Shouta asked.

“Well, not problems, per se, but oddities. When I first looked at it, I almost sent it back because it should have been impossible to make, not to mention expensive. Way outside of the budget we allot for first years. Before I could actually send back the complaints, I got a message from one of our support companies saying it had been taken care of and they would handle the production of Midoriya-kun’s costume. When I tried to get more information, they stone walled me.”

The room was silent. “Well… that certainly is unusual,” Nedzu-san finally said, “but I believe it would be best for us to leave it alone for now. The costume is in production and everything is running smooth enough.”

“Nedzu-san,” Shouta said, “Midoriya-kun is the one that brought Molotov cocktails to the exam. Pardon me for being a little concerned about what kinds of connections this kid might have.”

Hizashi grinned. “Oh! That kid!”

Nemuri snickered behind her hand. “At least you know who your problem child is going to be this year, Shouta.”

Nedzu-san chuckled to himself at the joke. “I understand your concern, but for now, just keep an eye on him as a student first and foremost. If you happen to see anything concerning, you can bring it up to me.”

A quiet chorus of “yes, sirs” came from around the table.

“Is there anything else?”

Silence and a few shaking heads.

Nedzu-san nodded. “Then the meeting is dismissed. Don’t forget to make sure everyone gets the necessary files and paperwork. All Might, fixing up your lesson plan is your top priority! We don’t want any surprises in our first weeks!”

“Hey, All Might,” Shouta called out as they left, pulling the older hero aside. “I was hoping you could help me with something.”

Izuku smiled and hummed as he checked himself in the mirror again. The grey, green, and red school uniform caused another happy jump in his heart. He could hardly believe it. He was going to UA. He was wearing UA’s uniform. He picked up the last piece, the red tie, and carefully tied it around his neck. It was almost certainly looser than it should have been, but Izuku didn’t want to tie it any tighter. At least he actually knew how to tie a tie now, thanks to his years at Aldera.

Izuku sighed and forced his smile to stay up, even as he felt the edges tremble. “This is it, Korosensei,” he said to the large stuffed yellow octopus he’d bought the second he saw it. “My first day at UA. You’d be so proud if you could see me now.” He laughed softly to himself. “Who am I kidding? You’d be proud no matter what happens. Well, I should get going. I still need to get the lay of the land and scout the territory and all that. Prepare for what’s to come.” he swallowed thickly. “I’ll be back after school.”

Izuku took another deep breath and stepped out of his room. Quickly running through the last of his morning routine, Izuku grabbed his bento and packed bag.

Make lots of new friends at school today. And remember to actually pack your books! No All Might action figures! ;) Never forget how proud I am of you, Izuku.

Love, Mom

Izuku smiled as he pulled the taped note off the door and tucked it in his pocket. He was sure his mom would be telling him that herself if not for how early he was leaving. He had a lot of things to do before class started.

Leaving early, Izuku noted, also had the effect of fewer people noticing and caring that he was a UA student, which meant he got there just a little bit faster and didn’t actually have to talk to any well-wishers on the way. When he got to the school, he was quick to change his shoes and begin his first and only mission for the day.

Explore the school.

He had other things he wanted to do but knowing how to get around was going to be important. With how big the school was, Izuku would be lucky if he saw most of it before he needed to get to class.

Wandering around, Izuku managed to find a lot of interesting things. He found the main areas for all four courses and identified the classrooms for various years. Most of the science labs and other rooms of fancy equipment that didn’t belong to support were in the General Studies area. Most of the offices were near Management. Everything else was a bit scattered wherever they could put it. Heroics did have their own changing rooms, but other courses didn’t always have physical education to worry about either. Recovery Girl-sensei’s office was, of course, with the hero students, irresponsible injury magnets that they were. The library was also a place Izuku was very interested in finding, as it would help him with future before-school missions and was found among the General Studies classes.

Izuku, of course, saw a lot of very interesting people while he was wandering. Some of them waved at him, and he waved back. Some, particularly those in General Studies didn’t seem too happy to see a hero student, and Izuku just kept moving. In Management, several students tried to stop and talk with Izuku, but Izuku kept moving and politely waved them off.

Finally, when he had fifteen minutes left before class was due to start, Izuku began to quickly make his way through the building back to his classroom, one of the first places Izuku had found. The thickening crowd wasn’t doing Izuku any favors, but at least everyone had their place to be, so they didn’t want to spend the time to talk. “Hey, there, first year!” Or maybe not.

Izuku turned back towards the cheerful voice as he felt a firm hand grip his shoulder. “Yeah?”

“You lost? Need any help with finding your class?” the blond boy asked him.

“Uh, no thank you,” Izuku said. “I came in early and found it already. I was just on my way back there.”

“Alright then!” chirps the energetic girl with very long pale blue hair. “Which class are you in? Oh, what’s your quirk? Are you excited for your first day? Wait. Aren’t you the kid with the Molotovs?”

Izuku stumbled back a step as the girl bombarded him with questions and leaned into his space. “Th-the kid with the M-molotovs!?” Izuku choked out, face burning.

“Yeah!” the blond boy said, still smiling calmly like his friend wasn’t interrogating a terrified underclassman. “The teachers were talking about you after the exams! They were a little shaken, I think. We even got to see some clips of the exam for an assignment.”

Wonderful. Just the first impression he had wanted to make.

“G-guys, just let him go,” a dark-haired boy Izuku had failed to notice behind the blond almost whispered. “We need to get to class, too.”

“Oh, right!” the girl said. “Well, I’ll see you later, kohai!” She waved one last time before bouncing off, dragging the quiet dark-haired boy with her.

“We really should be going,” the blond said. “My name is Togata Mirio. Just come find me if you ever need any help. Oh, and what’s your name?”

Izuku mentally slapped himself back into focus. “Ah, Midoriya Izuku! It’s nice to meet you Togata-senpai!”

“Right! I’ll see you around Midoriya-kohai!”

Izuku waved and quickly turned to leave. If he didn’t hurry, he was probably going to be late.

By the time Izuku neared his classroom, the hallways had emptied again, almost everyone was already in their classroom waiting for the first bell to ring. It wouldn’t do to be late on the first day.

Was that a yellow… a person in a yellow sleeping bag on the floor?

Izuku stood frozen outside the classroom door. How exactly was he supposed to react to this? Sure, he’d seen weirder, but that was supposed to be over! Wait, no. Reboot. Izuku straightened up and calmed himself. It was just a normal person in a yellow sleeping bag. Treat them as such.

“Well, that ruins that surprise.”

Izuku froze again. He knew that voice.

“Come on, let’s get inside and greet your classmates. Open the door for me, would you?”

Izuku nodded mutely and opened the door, stepping into his new classroom. At least this explained Aizawa-san’s-- Aizawa-sensei’s comment about not disappointing him the last time they saw each other at the dojo.

An explosion and yelling drew Izuku’s attention to the side of the classroom where Bakugou and the boy with the engine quirk and glasses from the exam were antagonizing each other. “Bakugou! Leave the poor boy alone! And you-”

“I am Iida Tenya, of Somei Academy!” the boy, Iida-san, said as he marched towards Izuku with his hand out.

Izuku was going to respond when another voice grabbed his attention. “Hey! Molotov Cocktail Boy!” And the attention of everyone else in the room.

“M-molotov Cocktails!?” a kid with spiked up red hair and sharp teeth asked.

Izuku could feel everyone’s eyes on him as his face began to burn again. Aizawa-sensei had to be laughing at him right now.

“Everyone, settle down!” Aizawa-sensei finally said. Everyone fell silent in an instant and watched as he… inched his way into the classroom in a sleeping bag. Once inside the room, he, somehow, stood up in the bag and unzipped it from the upright position. “It took you all eight seconds to settle down. Unacceptable. Time is precious, something rational students would understand.”

Izuku felt his brain short circuit again for the third time since he got to class. A scruffy, tired man, hiding his face in his scarf. That was how his mom had described Eraserhead. Though, it was hard to imagine Aizawa-sensei blushing.

Aizawa-sensei cast a quick glance over the class. “I am Aizawa Shouta. I am your homeroom teacher. Welcome to UA’s Heroics Course.” Silence greeted him as the class processed his words. “Right, let’s get to it.” He picked up a gym uniform and tossed it to Izuku. “Put these on and meet me outside.”

Izuku was the first to move. Strange and unorthodox teaching was pretty much his life at this point, and he was more than just resigned to it. As he left, he heard a sudden commotion behind him. Likely the rest of his classmates getting their wits together and following the instructions.

Chapter Text

Izuku was glad he’d spent the time before school exploring. Now he knew exactly where the locker rooms were and how to get there. For some reason, most of his classmates didn’t seem to be following him. The only people walking with him were Iida-san, a boy with red and white hair split down the middle and a burn scar over his left eye, and the boy with the sharp teeth.

“So, Molotov cocktails?” the red head said, turning to walk backwards so he and Izuku could face each other. “You going to explain that?”

Izuku shrugged. “The rules say you can use legally obtained support gear that is necessary for your quirk, or you can bring anything you can make yourself using only supplies from a hardware store.”

“Ah, you had mentioned it was within the rules,” Iida-san said. “I assume that is what you are referring to?”

“Yeah,” Izuku said, pushing open the door to the locker room. They were the first to arrive. “We should change quickly. I don’t think Aizawa-sensei will appreciate it if we’re late.”

“Right!” Iida-san and the red head both said suddenly. Izuku largely ignored them in favor of changing himself and heading out to the field where Aizawa-sensei was waiting.

There was some mindless chatter when they got out onto the field. Aizawa-sensei largely ignored them, letting them do what they wanted while he waited for the last students to arrive. Izuku learned that the redhead was named Kirishima Eijirou and was a big fan of Crimson Riot, and that was the reason he dyed his hair. Iida-san was just generally a little stuck up, but still friendly enough. And the brown-haired girl from the exam was Uraraka Ochako with a gravity quirk. Even while talking with his new classmates, Izuku kept half an eye on Bakugou, shifting himself towards the back of the crowd, so he was as far from Bakugou as he could be without making it extra obvious. Or making it look like he was avoiding half the class.

When the last student arrived, a short boy with purple hair that seemed to form into balls, Aizawa-sensei started talking. Lucky for them, everyone had learned quickly from the classroom and stopped talking instantly. “Today we’ll be doing a quirk assessment test-”

“A quirk assessment test!?” at least half the class cried out. Really? Were they a hivemind or something?

“But what about orientation?” Uraraka-san said. “We’ll miss it!”

“If you really want to be in the big leagues, you can’t waste time on pointless ceremonies,” Aizawa-sensei said. It sounded almost… rehearsed. Izuku wondered idly how many times he’d had this conversation before. “Here at UA, we’re not tethered to tradition, which means I get to run my class however I want.” Huh, UA gets to do what they want because they’re the top and teaching unusual things. 3-E got to do what they wanted because they were at the bottom and no one was watching. This was going to be an interesting year.

A quick glance around confirmed that most of the class was starting to get a little afraid of Aizawa-sensei.

“You’ve been taking standardized tests all your lives,” Aizawa-sensei continued, taking out his phone, “but you’ve never been able to use your quirks in any physical exams before. The government’s still trying to pretend we’re all created equal by not letting those with the most power excel.”

Okay, that made some sense. You can’t get an idea for what the population is capable of if you make everyone hold back. On the other hand, that was about two steps away from some very uncomfortable statements about those that didn’t have a quirk to help them in the tests. But… Aizawa-sensei wouldn’t think that, would he?

“It’s not rational, one day the Ministry of Education will learn. Bakugou, you managed to get the most points on the entrance exam. What was your farthest distance on the softball throw in junior high school?”

Izuku could see where this was going.

“67 meters, I think.”

At least he knew there were some people here that would excel at this about as much as he would. The invisible girl in particular had about as much advantage as he did.

“Right,” Aizawa-sensei tossed the ball to Bakugou. “Now, try it with your quirk.”

Bakugou grunted and stepped into the circle. Izuku just sighed internally. Here we go again.

“Anything goes, just stay in the circle,” Aizawa-sensei said, just to make sure they were all clear. “Go on. Quite wasting time.”

Bakugou wound up. “Alright, old man, you asked for it.” He swung forward. “Die!” he yelled at the top of his lungs, just audible over the explosion that launched the ball even further forward. Murmurs rippled through the class. Izuku rolled his eyes at the theatrics.

“All of you need to know the full extent of your capabilities,” Aizawa-sensei said as the ball finally came down. “It’s the most rational way of determining your potential as pro heroes.”

No, it wasn’t. That was just their physical limits. Something they needed to know, yes, but it was hardly the be all, end all. Something Izuku knew Aizawa-sensei knew, so why was he saying this?

He showed them the screen, which read “705.2m.”

“705 meters,” a kid with bright blond hair said.

“Oh, I wanna go!” the pink girl said, practically squealing and dancing in her place. Izuku couldn’t help but smile at her excitement. “That looks like fun!”

“Aw, yeah! This is what I’m talking about!” said another kid with… those were some really big elbows. “We can use our quirks as much as we want!”

“Sounds like fun, huh?” Aizawa-sensei said. The class went dead silent and even Izuku couldn’t suppress a slight shiver at the malice and bloodlust that washed over them. “You have three years to become a hero. If you think it’s gonna be all games and play, you’re a bigger bunch of fools than I thought. Alright then. Let’s add a little weight to it. Today you are competing in nine physical events to gauge your potential. Eight of them are standard fitness tests. The last is a surprise round. Whoever comes in last over all the events will be expelled.”

What. No. They couldn’t- He couldn’t do this. He… no. Something was off.

“Like I said, I get to decide how this class is run. If you’ve got a problem with it, you can head home now.”

Aizawa-sensei had a quirk that wouldn’t help him in the first eight events at the very least. He wouldn’t be able to guarantee a pass even for himself. There had to be something more.

“Wait, you can’t do that!” Oh, bless your heart Uraraka-san for being the one to step up for this. “We just got here! It’s hardly fair to expel one of us over a fitness test!”

Aizawa-sensei scoffed. “And you think natural disasters are fair? What about power-hungry villains? Or catastrophes that whip out entire cities? No. The world is unfair, and as heroes, it is your job to take on that unfairness. To bear its weight and force some fairness on the world through your own strength of will. If you want to be a pro, you’ll have to push yourself to your limit, over and over again. For the next three years, UA is going to throw one challenge after another at you.” Aizawa-sensei grinned coldly at them. “So… go beyond. Plus Ultra style. Show me why you’re here.”

Okay. That was kinda cool, but still absolutely terrifying. How in the world was he supposed to ensure he didn’t get kicked out on day one?

The class was silent. “Well then?” Aizawa-sensei said after letting them think for a moment. “Let the games begin.”

Izuku watched carefully during the first event. They went two at a time for the fifty-meter dash. Almost everyone had little methods here and there to shave something off their time. Some, like Bakugou and Iida-san, had quirks perfectly suited for the task at hand. Izuku, meanwhile, had nothing but his completely normal body and a bunch of assassin training that didn’t actually help him here.

It was a test of his physical abilities, so Izuku did what was asked of him while trying not to get too scorched by Bakugou’s blasts. 7.13 seconds. That was actually really good. An improvement from last time at the very least. And Izuku was the fastest flat land runner in 3-E, as well as one of their best free runners.

As the last person crossed the finish line, Izuku was struck by a thought. “Don’t disappoint me,” is what Aizawa-sensei had said to him. He definitely thought Izuku had some kind of potential, which also lined up with the note on the autograph he’d given Inko. Hard work and strong morals.

Either he was bluffing to get the best out of everyone, or that surprise round was going to level the playing field.

They moved onto the grip strength test, which was quick. UA had a lot of testers for it, so they were able to get almost everyone done at once. Izuku, firm in his belief that something had to go right, calmed himself down, and went with the flow of things. Once he stopped worrying, he was able to spend some more time chatting with his classmates between tests. (While still carefully putting distance between himself and Bakugou at all times. The last thing he needed was the asshole getting angry over Izuku’s chatter.) He got to talk with most of them at some point or another, usually at least getting a name out of them. Some were chattier than others and would go for a little while once he showed some interest in what they had to say. Others, like Shouji-san and Kouda-san, were much quieter, preferring only a small greeting.

Izuku also made sure to give some quick encouragement to both Kouda-san, whose quirk allowed him to speak with animals, and Hagakure-san, the invisible girl.

Eventually, during the seated toe touch, Izuku got to speaking with the red-and-white-haired boy, or, as Izuku had figured out during the tests, Todoroki-san. “Why are you being so friendly?” Todoroki-san asked. “We’re not here to have fun. We’re not here to make friends. We’re here to train.”

Izuku sputtered. “Todoroki-san, our classmates are going to be our coworkers in the future. We need to know who they are, and we need to be able to get along and work with them. If you can’t do that, there is going to come a day where you are alone, and you need backup, and no one will be there. You don’t want to talk right now, that’s fine, but don’t expect others to follow your world view.”

Izuku quickly made his retreat, leaving Todoroki-san to think about what was said. It didn’t matter. He had other things to worry about. Like the mystery event, for example.

The class now stood outside a familiar set of walls and a massive doorway. And All Might was there. Why was All Might there?

“Hello there, students!”

“Drop it, All Might,” Aizawa-sensei interrupted. “You can do your grand introduction later. Now, for your final test. This one should be a familiar little game for you.” He took a small case from All Might and opened it, tossing an item from inside at Izuku. A… tracker of some sort? “You all are going to wear these trackers and go and hide in this fake city. While you are hiding, I will be hunting you. If you are caught, the tracker will flash red, and you must return to a holding area that will be clearly marked. All Might will be guarding that area. Classmates that are free can release those held, but All Might can and will capture anyone who gets too close.”

“So… Cops and Robbers?” Izuku interrupted.

“That’s right.”

“Sensei!” Iida-san said, raising his hand. “How are we to be graded for this test?”

“That’s what the trackers are for. They’re keyed to the boundary of the ‘jail.’ You will be graded by the percent of time out of jail. Keep in mind, your classmates are under no obligation to help you here, and it would be a huge risk to try and free anyone, so if you get caught early, you may be there for the rest of the game.”

“I’m not about to let anyone slip by me,” All Might boomed with a quick laugh.

“How long is the match?” Izuku said. He needed to keep an eye on the clock for this one. At least it was something they all knew. On the other hand, coordinating a strategy would be difficult given most wouldn’t want to take the risks.

“Twenty minutes.”

Not a lot then, but enough for a little chaos.

“Any other questions.”

There were none.

Aizawa-san nodded. “All Might, get in position.” All Might jumped over the wall and into the city, drawing delighted gasps from some students. The doors opened. “You kids get a one-minute head start.”

One minute! Izuku started running. He needed to get out of there immediately.

“One minute!?” Iida-san “Don’t we get any time to-”

“Shut up and run, Iida-san!” Izuku yelled over his shoulder. “No, we don’t get time to talk and strategize. That’s the point!”

Iida-san let out an offended squawk, but stopped complaining, quickly overtaking Izuku in the process.

No time like the present. Izuku turned off to the side allies and began to use his free running skills to his advantage. He climbed up, down, and over buildings, sliding through open windows and trying to stay both moving and out of sight. Periodically he’d hear yells and bangs, or explosions at one point, that told him someone had been found or slipped and fell. If they got found, they were almost guaranteed to have been caught. Eraserhead was an underground hero with an ambush and capture specialty. This was his playing field. Not to mention most of Izuku’s class would be effectively crippled once in Eraserhead’s line of sight with how they rely on their quirks. Izuku was pretty sure only himself, Asui-san, and Hagakure-san would be unaffected by their teacher’s gaze.

Five minutes in and Izuku wouldn’t have been surprised if half the class were captured.

Seven minutes in and Izuku was darting across a wide road when he saw something out of the corner of his eye that made his heart stop and his feet move faster than they were before. Izuku dove for cover and pressed himself against the cement ally wall.

He found the jail.

He found All Might and his classmates.

Seconds ticked by and nothing happened. All Might hadn’t seen him. Or maybe he had and was playing it safe in case Izuku had managed to get someone to work with him. Izuku scaled the building and began creeping across the rooftops to get a better vantage on the situation.

Afterall, if he had the option, he might as well make some trouble for Eraserhead. In the distance Izuku could see a massive glacier of ice that told him exactly where Todoroki-san was. The annoying part was that his strategy would probably work. If Eraserhead didn’t have a way to melt the ice, there was going to be no way through to Todoroki-san.

Izuku made himself as small as possible up on the rooftop and looked down at the jail. Sitting inside were Bakugou, Tokoyami-san, Kirishima-san, Ashido-san, Mineta-san, Kaminari-san, Aoyama-san, Satou-san, Sero-san, Yaoyorozu-san, and Ojirou-san. Both Kaminari-san and Satou-san seemed to have gone overboard with their quirks, judging by their braindead expressions.

All Might stood in the middle of the group, surveying his surroundings diligently. But never looking up. Following the normal rules for Cops and Robbers, all Izuku had to do was tag them to free them, but that meant getting close to All Might and being in grabbing range. The jail was certainly big, for a normal person it would be incredibly easy to get the captives out with just a little bit of distraction, but All Might was fast enough (and focused enough), that he could simply come back and capture everyone again.

Izuku didn’t like this situation. How on earth was anyone supposed to get through that?

Izuku turned away from the view and found a stairwell to go down a few floors. Settling down near a window, just out of sight, Izuku waited. He doubted Aizawa-sensei would search for anyone this close to All Might. It would be downright stupid to stay this close. Unlike when they played with Korosensei and Karasuma-sensei, there wasn’t anything keeping All Might from pursuing them if they were seen. Also, unlike Korosensei, All Might couldn’t be bribed with pictures of women in bikinis.

Time passed, and Izuku got bored. Iida-san, Uraraka-san, and Shouji-san had joined the captured group, but nothing else had happened.

Well… there was one way he could cause some trouble, but Izuku wasn’t sure he wanted to mess with Yagi-san like that.

On the other hand, if the hero was foolish enough to answer at a time like this, that was his fault, not Izuku’s.

Izuku: “hey yagi-san”

Izuku: “whatcha doin”

Yagi: “Izuku-kun. Please focus on the test.”

Izuku: “you actually brought your phone?”

Yagi: “Dont you need to worry about Aizawa-kun finding you?”

Izuku: “nah. he won’t look here”

Something moved in another room.

Izuku: “never mind. speak of the devil and all that”

Izuku: “bye yagi-san”

Izuku tucked his phone away and slowly rose to his feet, trying not to shift his weight more than necessary. Someone was in here with him, and given the state of his class… odds were it was Eraserhead. Not great for him.

Izuku listened closely, trying to identify where the noises were coming from. Once he had an idea, Izuku began using his stealth training to creep along the walls and out of the room, moving quickly away from the source of the noise. He safely made it to the stairwell without crossing paths with the intruder and began making his way up to the roof again.

Keeping to his stealth, Izuku continued across the roof. Halfway to the edge, the door closed behind him.

Shit.

“Hello, Midoriya-kun.”

Izuku didn’t look behind himself before he bolted. A second of delay could easily mean the difference between getting caught and not.

Izuku launched himself off the building they were on, crossing the gap to the next. As his feet touched the ground, he heard a snap of cloth and dropped and rolled. Something ruffled his hair as it snapped again above his head, retreating back to Eraserhead for the next attack.

Izuku needed to get out of here. The wide-open space was making him easy to track and capture. On the other hand, while tight corners may make harder for Eraserhead to use his capture gear to actually capture Izuku, it would give him plenty to maneuver off of.

Either way, he needed to get off this roof and fast. The more often his feet were off the ground, the less maneuverability Izuku had.

A street light. Not the best option, but certainly the fastest, and Izuku knew he could use it safely.

He could hear Eraserhead getting closer. Izuku changed his course, angling to the side.

He jumped.

Eraserhead yelled something behind him.

So did Izuku’s classmates.

Shit. This was the main street to the jail. All Might would be able to see him. Too late to go back now.

Izuku’s hands caught on the cross beam of the light, swinging him forward. He released it and began dropping again. The ground was coming up. Izuku tucked and rolled with his momentum, coming gracefully to his feet. He needed to get out of sight now.

Ally. He needed an ally.

Turning, he found Eraserhead glaring at him and blocking his path.

“Out of my way!” That was All Might. Izuku allowed himself a half second to glance back and saw his classmates scurrying out of the path while All Might struck a sprinter’s pose.

“Eyes on me, kid.”

Izuku snapped back and was just barely able to dodge Eraserhead’s hand. Why wasn’t he using his capture gear? Was Izuku too close?

Not important right now. All Might was coming.

Izuku dead dropped and rolled along the ground towards the jail.

All Might blew past over Izuku’s head and into Eraserhead.

Oh, Izuku was completely screwed. He scrambled back to his feet and began sprinting away from the now bickering heroes.

Was that…?

Izuku grinned and reached out, pushing himself just a little bit faster. “Hope you have a lot of hands, Shouji-san!” he said, slapping a hand attached to a long arm-like protrusion that Shouji-san had made to get closer to Izuku.

All Might and Eraserhead shut up behind him.

“Jailbreak!” Izuku screamed, cackling. Shouji-san immediately turned and began tagging the rest of their classmates, many of them sprinting off and tagging others along the way.

None of them stuck together.

Oh well. Time was almost up anyway, and Izuku was going to get captured between now and then. Nothing could change that.

A loud growl startled Izuku as a massive hand clamped over his shoulders and lifted him off the ground. Izuku’s tracker turned red. Izuku stopped struggling.

“You’ve caused us a lot of trouble, Midoriya-kun,” said All Might.

Izuku grinned back at him. “That was the point!”

All Might sighed and put him down. “Well, at least I’m not the one that has to go track them down.”

Izuku hummed in agreement as he stepped over the line into the jail. “Do you think any of them will come back for me?” he asked.

“Probably not. The risk is high and many of them need to spend as much time out of jail as possible to better their scores.”

“Yeah, some of them did get caught pretty fast.”

Grumbling caught their attention from one of the side roads. Mineta-san had been caught again. Izuku wasn’t really surprised. His quirk certainly had its uses but making himself faster didn’t seem to be one of them. At least, not without proper set up, which he couldn’t get with Eraserhead breathing down his neck. Add in Eraserhead erasing his quirk, and Mineta-san had nothing to fall back on.

“How much time is left?” asked Izuku.

“About two minutes,” said All Might.

Izuku shrugged to himself, resigned to waiting. Nothing else he could do.

In the end, only Kirishima-san and Ashido-san were recaptured. Judging by the way Aizawa-sensei and Bakugou approached the gates to meet up with the rest of the class together, it had been a close call for Bakugou as well.

“Good, you’re all here,” Aizawa-sensei said. “Time to go over the scores. You’ve been ranked from best to worst. You should probably be able to figure out roughly where you are already, so I’ll just show you. No point in going over everything individually.” Aizawa-sensei used his phone to project the scoreboard and let the class look over it.

Todoroki-san was first. No surprises there. Not only was he physically fit with a powerful quirk, but he had been able to hide in his ice fortress the entire match. Bakugou was down at fifth, which was clearly grating on him. Izuku himself was at thirteenth, and, at the very bottom, was Mineta-san.

The scoreboard disappeared as Aizawa-sensei put it away. Izuku slowly glanced over at the shorter boy. Mineta-san was pale and shaking, his mouth hanging open and his eyes locked on where the scores had been, seeing nothing. Izuku couldn’t say he was surprised Mineta-san was last, but he didn’t think it was fair to expel him either.

It reminded him too much of being sent down to 3-E.

“And I was lying, no one’s going home.”

Mineta-san collapsed to the ground.

Amusement radiated off Aizawa-sensei. “That was just a logical ruse to get you to do your best.”

Yeah, that sounded about right. While Korosensei was more the kind to offer a carrot than a stick, putting something on the line was a great way to make sure students paid attention. While Izuku had no doubt Aizawa-sensei could expel them at the drop of a hat, doing it on the first day would be a bit hasty.

The rest of the class was not as assured as Izuku was, crying out in shock at the announcement, a few of them heaving sighs of relief. “I’m surprised the rest of you didn’t realize that,” Yaoyorozu-san said. “I’m sorry I should have said something.”

Izuku laughed. “Relax, Yaoyorozu-san. They’ll be fine. Just give them a little while to recover from the shock.”

“You knew, too!?” Uraraka-san said, pointing a shaking finger. “And you didn’t tell us? Rude!”

Izuku shook his head. “I suspected,” he corrected. “I didn’t really know. I’m pretty sure Aizawa-sensei could expel us if he wanted, he just decided we’re alright for now.”

And Bakugou was getting mad again. Probably best to stop attracting attention.

“Alright, that’s it for today. Head back and pick up a syllabus from the classroom,” said Aizawa-sensei. “Make sure you read it before tomorrow morning. Midoriya-kun, meet me at the office before you leave.”

Bakugou unleashed some explosions as he left, huffing to himself.

“Yes, Aizawa-sensei.”

Chapter Text

Izuku knocked on the door to the teacher’s lounge, fighting to pull the disgusted look off his face. The door slid open.

“Hey, there listener,” said Present Mic. “You’re here for Shouta, right?”

Izuku nodded.

“Something wrong?”

Izuku shook his head. “I-it’s nothing serious. I’ll talk to Aizawa-sensei about it.”

“If you say so. Hey, Shou! Your kid’s here!”

“They’re not my kids, Mic,” Aizawa-sensei grumbled from inside. “They’re my students. Are you going to let him in?”

Izuku was quickly ushered in and onto a stool next to Aizawa-sensei’s desk. Aizawa-sensei’s frown deepened when he glanced up at Izuku. “What’s wrong?” he asked.

“Uh, it’s not too important. Mineta-san just said some… uncomfortable things in the locker room while we were changing.”

“Towards you?”

“No… it was about the girls.”

“Anything that needs to be reported?”

Izuku hesitated. It wasn’t like he hadn’t heard similar things before. His classmates last year had had their perverted streaks. But this… Mineta-san was supposed to be a hero. Not… that. “Maybe. I’m not sure. It’s not… it honestly wasn’t even that bad, but… it just doesn’t sit right with me.”

Aizawa-sensei nodded. “Why don’t you tell me about it. I’ll write some things down just in case it does become an issue.”

Izuku nodded. That made a lot of sense. “He… he was talking about the girls and how hot they were. How… how their costumes had to look even better on them than the gym uniforms, and he was glad he wasn’t expelled before he got a chance to see them. He also mentioned rumors of a peep hole between the locker rooms, and that he couldn’t wait for a chance to make a move on one of them.”

Aizawa-sensei nodded along as he finished writing it down. “Thank you for telling me, Midoriya-kun. I’ll keep an eye on him.”

“Right, thank you for listening. But, um… what did you want to talk to me about?”

Aizawa-sensei set the papers aside and picked up a pamphlet with some sticky notes on it. He handed it to Izuku. “Your use of improvised explosives caught the attention of some of the staff.”

Izuku winced again. “So I’ve heard,” he said, glancing down at the pamphlet and beginning to flip through it. It seemed to be a list of specialized classes, most of them related to safety with specific pieces of gear and weaponry. There were a few relating to specific types of scenarios, but not many.

“Yes, well. Given the fact that you were able to make them and use them without causing any harm to your fellow classmates, we’ve decided to place you in a class on explosives after school.”

That was where the sticky note was marked.

“I’m not going to lie to you, Midoriya-kun, your quirklessness is playing a factor. While we wouldn’t have offered it without the display of responsibility and maturity with simple improvised explosives, we also aren’t having Bakugou-kun take the class.”

“It’s because you think I need more,” said Izuku, only half paying attention as he looked through the rest of the classes more closely. “You’re not wrong. Bakugou only needs a license to use his quirk to get a wide variety of explosions. I don’t have that luxury, so I need to get licensed to handle explosives. If anything, the hero license is the one that’s useless to me.”

“I’m glad we’re on the same page.”

“Did you already sign me up?”

Aizawa-sensei nodded. “Classes start tomorrow. It usually isn’t open to first years, given they already have a lot of ground to cover, and they don’t usually have the emotional maturity yet, so the class largely consists of third years with a few second years.”

“Alright, thank you, Aizawa-sensei. Is there anything else?”

The corners of Aizawa-sensei’s mouth twitched upward. “I can tell you’re interested in some of the other classes. Do you want to register for any of them now?”

Izuku’s cheeks burned, and he glanced back down at the pamphlet, checking dates and times. Whether or not he could sign up for others would depend heavily on whether or not he could test out of the course he was in now. “Ah, no. Not right now. With Sentoki-sensei’s lessons and my other training regiments, I should probably wait to avoid over burdening myself.”

“I’m glad you’re being logical about this. You can keep the pamphlet to plan out any future classes. As for Sentoki-sensei…”

“What about Sentoki-sensei?”

“I overheard what you told her. About the money running out.”

Right. Of course he did. “Technically… I do have a way to cover it. I just… don’t want to use that money just yet. Emergency funds are for emergencies, and all that.” Well, less emergency funds and more money recently obtained from the government that Izuku didn’t want to explain.

Aizawa-sensei watched him for a second. “How about this, UA will cover two-thirds of the cost. The rest will be up to you.”

Izuku watched him for a second. Aizawa-sensei watched him back. He was leaning back in his chair, face blank, hands relaxed. There wasn’t any sign of a joke or a trick. He was being as serious as ever. “You’d do that?”

Aizawa-sensei shrugged. “It’s only logical. Your fighting ability is important, so you continuing to study your chosen form is something UA is going to invest in. We’d do it for any student that had been studying martial arts and found themselves unable to pay for their lessons anymore.”

Izuku smiled softly. “Thank you, Aizawa-sensei.”

Aizawa-sensei waved him off and stood. “That’s all I’ve got for you. You know what your homework is.”

Izuku nodded back. “Yes, Aizawa-sensei. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Izuku hurried down to the gate, ready to head home. Waiting at the gates was a small group of people. Specifically, three of Izuku’s classmates.

“Midoriya-kun!” Iida-san said, hands making swift chopping motions while his voice was as loud as ever. “How are you? And how was your meeting with Aizawa-sensei?”

“Uh, it was fine,” Izuku answered. “Nothing you need to worry about, Iida-san.”

Iida-san nodded. “Kirishima-kun wanted to wait for you, but said he needed to hurry to catch his train. We were just talking about Aizawa-sensei’s methods.”

“Iida-san thinks it’s a little dishonorable,” Uraraka-san laughed.

“Yes, I do frown upon such dishonesty,” Iida-san confirmed. “But this is the most prestigious hero school, so I suppose I shouldn’t question it too harshly.”

“We think it was a little mean,” Hagakure-san said, “but we’re not as concerned as Iida-san is. And anyway, I never got a chance to thank you for talking to me during the test. You really helped calm me down. Though you did do better than me.”

“It’s no big deal. Your sit-and-reach score was amazing, and most of those tests weren’t in your area of expertise. I’m guessing you mostly did gymnastics and maybe a martial art to train for UA?”

“Huh, yeah. How’d you figure that out?”

Izuku shrugged. “Your flexibility is definitely something you trained, and it would work well if you want to focus on stealth and infiltration, but you didn’t get here with only that. You probably would have failed the entrance exam if you didn’t have some way of fighting. You might want to consider looking into free running. It’ll build off your gymnastics to help your mobility when you need to move fast in a complicated landscape.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Hey, where are you headed from here, Midoriya-kun?” Uraraka-san said as they finally began to exit the gates.

“I’m taking the train home.”

“Same here! Well, to my apartment. My parents live too far away, so we’re renting a place for me to stay in while I’m at school.”

“I am also taking the train,” said Iida-san.

“I’m not,” Hagakure-san said, her shoulders seeming to slump in disappointment. “But I can at least walk you there!” she suddenly cheered as she perked up.

“But what do you think about Aizawa-sensei’s ‘logical ruse’?” Iida-san said, bringing the conversation back around.

Izuku pretended to think for a moment. “It’s certainly unusual,” he said slowly, “but it also makes sense. He hasn’t had a chance to get to know us yet and figure out what best motivates each of us. On top of that, he had to motivate the entire class at once, so he pulled out something he knew we all cared about. We all want to be here. You won’t make it as a student, or even attend, if you don’t want to be here. It may not have been honorable, but that wasn’t the point.

“Like he said. The world isn’t fair. People are going to lie to you. Manipulate you. They’re going to have their own concerns and goals that might be the opposite of what you want, or at least different enough to cause problems.” Izuku shrugged. “Aizawa-sensei isn’t concerned with being honorable. He’s concerned with preparing us for the world. And he sees the darkest corners of it as an underground hero. We’ll be seeing a lot of those rotting bits as well, once we graduate.”

Iida-san hummed. “That was very insightful, Midoriya-kun. I will keep that in mind in the future.”

“Yeah, but not everyone is like that,” Uraraka-san piped up. “People are honest and kind as well.”

“Yeah,” said Hagakure-san. “You can’t let yourself become too jaded, or you’ll lose sight of what your protecting.”

Izuku nodded along. “The world is a complicated place. As heroes, we’ll need to be able to see the kindest and gentlest parts, but also the most hardened and greedy. We also need to remember that it isn’t simple or easy. Everyone has both in them. Everyone has kindness and anger in them. It’s just a matter of what they act on at the moment.”

The conversation continued from there. Izuku hadn’t expected to get into a philosophical debate after school, and yet here he was, talking about the nature of humanity and how hero work related to it. They said goodbye to Hagakure-san at the station, and quickly found themselves going their separate ways as well as they took different trains to different parts of the city.

Alone on the crowded train, Izuku’s phone began to ring. With a small smile, Izuku plugged in some headphones, and answered Ritsu-san’s call.

“Hello, Izuku-kun!” she greeted as she popped up on his screen, dismissing the other apps. “How was your first day of school?”

“It went well, Ritsu-san. I’m probably going to have the easiest transition out of everyone. How was your day of not-school?”

“It was fun. I learned a lot about humanity today, and I think I discovered a new emotion. I haven’t figured out what it is yet, but it’s something.”

“That’s nice. Are you talking to anyone else right now?”

Ritsu-san shook her head. “No, I still prefer talking to you one at a time, but I will be checking up on everyone before the day is out. I might have to set up a rotation for who I call after school, given how many of you there are.”

“Yeah, we’ll probably wind up talking about school a lot in the group chat anyway, so you might not get a chance to talk to everyone directly.”

“You said you’d have an easy transition earlier, why is that.”

Izuku’s smile wavered. “UA likes unorthodox teaching methods, especially my homeroom teacher. We didn’t go to the opening ceremony, instead we were testing the limits of our quirks. Get this, Ritsu-san, we played cops and robbers.”

“That does sound familiar,” Ritsu-san said, laughing softly. “Are they a lot like Korosensei?”

“Actually, he’s more like Karasuma-sensei,” Izuku corrected. “I think they’d get along pretty well. I even met him before. Have I ever told you about Aizawa-san?”

“I think you mentioned him. He goes to your dojo, right?”

Izuku nodded. “Off and on. Probably because he’s so busy with hero work and teaching. He’s my homeroom teacher now.”

“Sounds like an interesting day.”

“It was, and the rest of the semester’s to be just as busy.”

“You’ll have to make sure to tell the rest of the class in the group chat later. Nagisa is the next on my list. Talk to you later, Izuku-kun?”

“Yeah, we’ll talk later Ritsu-san.”

Chapter Text

The next day started out similar enough to the first. Izuku left early with his bento and a note from his mom that had been taped to the door. She’d probably start putting them on the bentos soon to save on tape, but that was neither here nor there. Izuku got to school early and started on his mission.

Today, he was looking for the school charter and student handbook. He wanted to know every rule and procedure he could get his hands on. Yeah, some of it was going to be out of date and irrelevant, but he still wanted to know where he was standing. Not to mention he needed to know how to protect his spot when the Sports Festival rolled around.

That task was almost completely uneventful. He found the books and started making notes. He didn’t get through all of the rules and regulations in the handbooks and charter, but he got a lot of information, nonetheless. Pretty much all of it was self-explanatory, standard, or not relevant for the time being. Still, it was something.

When it was time, Izuku returned to the classroom and found his seat. Unfortunately, it was the one right behind Bakugou. As much as they both wanted to stay away from each other, they were stuck like this.

Aizawa-sensei actually walked into the class this time, but he was still carrying the sleeping bag behind him. He dropped a thin booklet on the lectern with a resounding slap and turned his tired gaze on the class. Everyone was silent and in their seats, waiting patiently. Aizawa-sensei nodded slightly and sighed. “Apparently, I am required to actually do roll call every once in a while, despite the fact that I can see all of you in your seats, so let’s get this over with.”

Izuku’s heart stalled and his hands began to sweat. He fidgeted slightly and his fingers twitched, one hand sliding to his side where he used to hide his gun. Why? Why was he reacting like this?

“You all know how this goes. I say your name and you—"

“… say here in a loud clear voice when your name is called.”

Izuku took deep shuddering breaths as his chest constricted. He could feel Korosensei’s soft tentacle under his hands. He brought his hands together, folding them in front of him and squeezing, hoping that would drive the feeling, the memory, away.

“Aoy—"

“Akabane Karma.”

“Here!”

That wasn’t Karma-kun’s voice. Izuku wasn’t on the mountain. He was in a classroom. It was day, not night. This wasn’t—

“Ashido Mina.”

“Here!”

He couldn’t think about that right now. He needed to focus on the here and now. Not what happened a month ago. He needed to… He needed…

Izuku could feel his eyes burning as he tried his hardest to blink back the tears. His chest was tight and refused to bring in the oxygen he needed. Even now, knowing what was happening he could feel the phantom sensation of holding down his teacher. He could see in his mind’s eye the small lights Korosensei had become when he died. He could hear-

“Bakugou Katsuki.”

“Here.”

They were this far along already? Focus. Be here.

“Midoriya Izuku.”

“H-here,” Izuku gasped.

Roll call stopped. Izuku could feel everyone watching him. He just needed… He just needed to get through this.

“… Mineta Minoru.”

“Here?”

Shit. Why couldn’t they just forget him and move on? Just leave him alone.

“And Yaoyorozu Momo.”

“Here.”

It was done. It was over. It didn’t feel over. After roll call came… no. Not here. Not now.

“Now that that’s done-”

“Aizawa-sensei! May I-”

“Just go, Midoriya-kun.”

Izuku bowed and left. He tried to keep his gait calm and controlled, but all he succeeded in doing was not running in the classroom. He closed the door behind him and turned blindly, running down the hall. His vision was long since lost to the tears, but his feet carried him on.

He needed to get out of sight. He needed to be alone. He needed time and distance.

Izuku blinked and wiped at his cheeks, taking a gasping breath as he tried to figure out where to go. Last year if he needed to get away from things, he could have just disappeared off into the forest. The class would have respected that, and by the end, they probably would have needed help from Karasuma-sensei or Korosensei to track him down.

Here he probably wouldn’t be able to leave the building.

Izuku blinked at the door just down the hallway. A bathroom would work. No one should be in there right now. If he plans to stay past the bell, he might need to find another place to go. It would work for now.

Izuku stepped inside, and what little remained of the barriers of his self-control crumbled. He sobbed with great heaving gasps, and the tears rushed freely as he leaned heavily on the sink. It hurt. Everything hurt.

Seriously, roll call? Izuku had expected to have some odd holdovers from his time in the Assassination Classroom, but… not this. He’d expected to want to reach for weapons he didn’t have. Make jokes and plans that the others couldn’t understand. He expected paranoia and needing to explain some of his skills.

He hadn’t expected his fingers to itch for his gun when it became obvious what was happening. He didn’t expect to be forced to remember how he had murdered his teacher at his weakest point because of something as simple as roll call.

Actually, he should have expected the gun part. They had attacked Korosensei at the start of the day while he took attendance often enough. Sure, they had learned it wasn’t going to work, but doing it randomly helped keep both them and their target, their teacher, on their toes.

Izuku gave a wet laugh.

Those early days when they were willing to try anything but never got anywhere were fun. Every attempt to kill him was fun.

Except for the last one that succeeded.

That wasn’t fun. It was cruel. The world was cruel for making them do that. It was the only way to respect their bond with Korosensei, but it was cruel.

Izuku sucked in shuddering breath after breath until they evened out and the tears slowed to a stop. Watching his face in the mirror, Izuku wiped away the tears and snot, washing them off with some water from the sink. His eyes were still rimmed with red, and his face still splotchy, but it wasn’t as bad as when he started.

He sank down and curled in on himself under the sinks, pressing his back to the firm, cool tile wall. He was done crying for now, but he wasn’t ready to leave just yet. Izuku pulled out his phone and typed.

Izuku: “roll call sucks”

Karasuma: “Shouldn’t you be in class right now?”

That’s right. Izuku forgot Karasuma-sensei was in the group chat. He got added after what happened so he could live up to his promise to take care of them. So did Bitch-sensei, actually. She was generally more active but was probably busy right now.

Izuku: “probably”

Izuku: “like i said, roll call sucks”

Izuku: “yes, i’ll talk to ashisuto-san about it”

Karasuma: “Do you want to talk now?”

Izuku: “... no, but thanks for the offer. you’re probably busy”

Karasuma: “Not really. It’s just some paperwork. It can wait.”

Izuku: “i’ll be alright anyway”

Okano: “You didn’t have roll call yesterday?”

Izuku: “my homeroom teacher wouldn’t be taking roll at all if he could avoid it”

Izuku: “sees it as a waste of time”

Nagisa: “Yeah roll call sucks and I’m going to have to deal with it for the rest of my life”

Nakamura: “You’ll probably end up desensitized to it eventually.”

Izuku: “wait shit”

Izuku: “the bells about to ring isn’t it?”

Ritsu: “You’re correct. According to the schedule, it should start in three seconds.”

The bell rang, and Izuku flinched. Great. Hopefully no one came in here.

Izuku: “well, i should probably put my phone away and stop hiding in the bathroom soon”

Ritsu: “Nedzu-san has informed Aizawa-san of where you went.”

Izuku: “thanks for the warning. bye guys”

Izuku tucked his phone back in his pocket and-

The door opened. Izuku looked up, meeting the gaze of the intruder in the eyes. Neither moved. Wait. Isn’t that the quiet third year that was friends with Togata-senpai? His ears were pointy. Izuku hadn’t noticed that before.

The student turned around and walked out of the room. Seconds later, Togata-senpai came in. He approached Izuku slowly, settling himself on the floor a few feet away. “Are you alright? Midoriya-kohei, right? Tamaki told me you might need someone to talk to.”

Izuku nodded. “Y-yeah. I… I’m fine.”

“You don’t look fine.”

Izuku blinked then started scrubbing at his face. Had he started crying again? He hoped not. He really was feeling better after talking to his old classmates.

“… how was your first day?”

“Huh?” Why was he asking about that? “Um… it was fine. Aizawa-sensei’s pretty interesting, and my classmates are nice enough.”

“You got Aizawa-sensei?”

Izuku nodded. “Yeah… is he always…”

“Like that? Yeah, pretty much. Fun fact- actually, no. That would probably scare you. I shouldn’t tell you that.”

Izuku chuckled. “Don’t worry about scaring me. I’m pretty sure he likes me.”

Togata-senpai’s gentle smile grew into a broad grin. “If you’re right, then you understand him better than most people. Alright then. He expelled his entire class last year.”

“What? The entire class?” That certainly didn’t bode well.

Togata-senpai nodded. “No one really knows why or what happened, but, as much as he says he can do what he wants with his class, expulsions have to be approved by Nedzu-sama, so he had to have a good reason.”

That was right. Izuku had read that this morning. “Nedzu-sama must trust him a lot.”

“Trust who?”

Izuku jumped, hitting his head on the sink. He hissed and rubbed the aching spot as he glanced over at the doorway. “Hello, Aizawa-sensei.”

The exhausted teacher sighed. “Thank you for taking care of my student, Togata-kun. I can take it from here.”

Togata-senpai nodded and helped Izuku out from under the sink. “Alright. I’ll see you around, right, Midoriya-kohai?”

“Yes, Senpai.”

One last firm nod and he was gone.

“Come on, Midoriya-kun. Let’s get you to Recovery Girl.”

Izuku fell in step with Aizawa-sensei, letting the teacher guide him, showing him a faster route than the one Izuku knew. “I didn’t realize I went so far,” Izuku said as they walked past the third-year classrooms.

Aizawa-sensei hummed. “You were quite distressed. Do you want to talk about it?”

“No.”

“Okay.”

“That’s it?”

“For now. You’re not ready to talk, and I’m not going to push.”

That was… nice. Aizawa-sensei opened the door to the nurse’s office and pushed Izuku in in front of him. Recovery Girl-sensei looked up from the supplies she had been stocking and organizing. “Homeroom just ended, how are you injured already?” she asked.

“Uh… hit my head on a sink. It was just a small bump. I’ll be fine.”

“I’ll be the judge of that. Take a seat. You know the drill, Midoriya-kun.”

“You’ve met before?” Aizawa-sensei asked from where he was rummaging in a cabinet.

Recovery Girl-sensei hummed a confirmation as she poked and prodded at the bump Izuku had shown her. “Yes,” she said. “Yagi-san brought him here after an altercation. It does seem to be a minor bump. Here, just ice it for a while. You don’t need my quirk for that. If you need any pain killers later or notice any odd symptoms, come talk to me.”

“Yes, Recovery Girl-sensei,” said Izuku.

Aizawa-sensei returned and quickly draped a blanket around Izuku’s shoulders and pressed a small handful of gummies into Izuku’s hand. “I’m glad he’s not hurt, but that’s not really why I brought him here.”

“I’m not in shock, Aizawa-sensei,” Izuku said as he put a few gummies in his mouth. He could do with some sweets.

“Maybe not, but you should still take some time to let yourself calm down, and I doubt you’re back to where you need to be after six minutes hiding in a bathroom.”

“What happened?” Recovery Girl-sensei asked.

“Midoriya-kun…” Aizawa-sensei quickly trailed off, sending Izuku a thoughtful look.

“You can tell her.”

“I’m not concerned about that. I’m thinking about how to word it. I don’t really know what happened.”

Izuku shrugged. He certainly didn’t know how to word it either. Ashisuto-san would probably call it an “episode,” but Izuku didn’t want to imply this was a regular occurrence. “I freaked out,” he finally said.

“Badly,” Aizawa-sensei tacked on.

“Very badly,” Izuku agreed.

“Do you know why?” Recovery Girl-sensei asked.

Aizawa-sensei watched Izuku closely as he thought about how to answer that question. Izuku put another gummy in his mouth, chewed, and swallowed. “Roll call,” he said.

Aizawa-sensei raised an eyebrow but didn’t comment. “Are you willing to tell me why roll call caused that reaction?”

“No.”

“You should make sure you talk to someone, dearie,” said Recovery Girl-sensei. “It’s not healthy to ignore it.”

“I will,” said Izuku. “Wait. I will talk to someone, that is. Not… bottle it up.”

“Well, that covers that,” Aizawa-sensei said, rising from his chair. “Whenever you’re ready to go back to class-”

Izuku stood up and set aside the blanket.

“Midoriya-kun…”

“You said whenever I’m ready. I’m ready.”

“You don’t need to-”

“I want to go back.”

“If you turn this one into a workaholic, Shouta-kun, I swear.”

“I’m not trying. Fine, I won’t stop you, but if you ever feel overwhelmed, you will come back.”

“Yes, Aizawa-sensei!”

Chapter Text

Classes continued as normal with Izuku in only a mild daze. Part of it was because of what happened earlier, but it was also because he was bored. He hadn’t quite believed Takebayashi-kun when he said they were ahead of class A’s lessons until now. But even UA’s lessons were starting among the last things Korosensei had taught them. Even English was behind him, although the vocabulary focus had shifted significantly, which didn’t even matter much because they needed to have the standard vocabulary for the exams in addition to what Bitch-sensei had taught them.

Either way, Izuku wasn’t paying much attention. When lunch rolled around, he simply pulled out his bento and began to settle down to eat.

“Midoriya-kun?”

Izuku glanced up at Iida-san’s very confused face, followed by Uraraka-san’s much less confused, but still confused, expression in the background.

“Yes?” Izuku said frowning. What was wrong now?

“I… understand if you would like some time alone after this morning,” Iida-san said, “but… would you rather join us in the cafeteria?”

In the… that was right. He could actually go to the cafeteria now. No more eating in the classroom and wherever else they could settle down. Eating with the rest of the school was actually an option. “Right. Yes.” He quickly recovered his bento and stood to follow them. “Let’s go.” His smile did little to alleviate Iida-san’s worries.

“Hey, Midoriya-kun,” Uraraka-san said as she and Iida-san returned with their food. “I’ve been meaning to ask, you and Bakugou-kun know each other, right? Why does he keep calling you Deku?”

Izuku reared back. Great, he’s already been having a bad day and now he has to deal with this. “W-when did he call me deku?”

“It’s hard to hear, he’s usually just grumbling when he says it,” Iida-san said, “but after you left his morning, he said some… unsavory things that don’t bear repeating.”

“You don’t seem happy about it…” Uraraka-san said.

Izuku’s nose wrinkled. “Yeah, it’s an insult. He’s calling me useless. You know. Like the wooden dummy. It’s a pun from the kanji in my name.”

Uraraka-san pouted.

“Well, that’s just rude,” Iida-san said, sounding scandalized.

“I thought it was going to be something like that after this morning. It’s too bad that’s what he’s saying. I thought it had come from dekiru before, with all your can-do attitude.”

“Ah… that’s very nice of you to say Uraraka-san.”

“But how do you and Bakugou-kun know each other, Midoriya-kun?”

Iida-san must really be curious. “We grew up together,” Izuku answered. “We live in the same area and have been going to the same school since preschool. He used to be really nice to play with, but… he got a big ego boost when his quirk came in. He hasn’t been the same since then.”

“Alright, that’s enough of that!” Uraraka-san interrupted. “What do you guys think we’ll do this afternoon? We have practical lessons today.”

That was a good question. It would depend heavily on who was teaching them. What they had available would be important if not for UA’s seemingly endless supply of money. Whatever they needed, UA would provide.

“Get ready, students, for I am here!” All Might marched into the room in his red and blue silver age costume amid excited chatter from the class. “Welcome to the most important class at UA! For you lot anyway. It’s hero-ing 101! Here you will learn the basics of what it means, and what it takes, to be a pro!”

“Ah, man, I can’t wait to see what our costumes look like!” Kaminari-san chirped over the general hum of the class’s enthusiasm to be learning from All Might himself.

“Not so fast, Kaminari-shounen!” All Might boomed, wagging a finger at him. “There’s more to being a hero than simply looking good.” That didn’t sound like All Might. “And your costumes aren’t ready just yet anyway.” There it was. Izuku couldn’t say he was surprised. His costume had more than enough red tape to cause a few delays.

“What the hell are we doing if we’ve got no costumes?” Bakugou asked.

“I’m glad you asked, Bakugou-shounen,” said All Might with a small signature laugh. “Change into your gym uniforms and meet me in gym alpha!”

The class was quick on their feet this time, moving smoothly to the locker rooms and changing without much fanfare. They entered gym alpha, a wide-open room with lots of mats, as a group and found All Might and Aizawa-sensei waiting for them there. All Might quickly perked up and began to explain. “Welcome to gym alpha!” he said. “Now, since we don’t have your costumes ready yet, we can’t just jump right in. Instead-”

“Who here has any formal training with martial arts?”

“We’re working on hand-to-hand combat without quirks!”

Clearly Aizawa-sensei didn’t want to wait any longer. Izuku raised his hand. So did Todoroki-san, Iida-san, Yaoyorozu-san, Hagakure-san, Jirou-san, Ojirou-san, Asui-san, Kouda-san, Kirishima-san, Shouji-san, and, of course, Bakugou.

“You lot are with me, come on,” Aizawa-sensei said, leading them to one side of the room.

“And the rest of you are with me!”

“All Might-sensei,” Satou-san said, raising his hand, “why are we breaking into these two groups?”

“It’s simple really,” All Might answered. “It wouldn’t be fair to either group if we tried to make you learn together. Either you would find yourself out of your depth if we forced you to spar with them, or they would be stuck going through basic drills they already know. By splitting you up, each student can get the lesson they deserve. Now, let’s get going, shall we?”

“Midoriya-kun, pay attention.”

“Right, yes, Aizawa-sensei,” said Izuku as he snapped his attention back to Aizawa-sensei as All Might began to teach them basic forms and how to throw a punch.

“I hope you all heard what All Might said earlier. Quirk use is not allowed for this exercise. Pair up and start sparring. We’ll rotate through matches until I can get a better idea of where each of you are at.”

“Midoriya-kun, would you like to be my partner?”

Izuku pushed a smile on his face. “Sure, thing, Iida-san. I’d be happy to spar with you.”

The first match with Iida-san set the tone for the others fairly well. Iida-san very clearly had a lot of formal training and knew how to use his body, but he was also used to doing specific set and likely had only sparred against a handful of people, often relying on his quirk. His movements were stiff and predictable and slow now that he didn’t have his quirk to back him up. He relied heavily on his legs, which could certainly do a lot of damage, but left him open to easy attacks from Izuku.

Most of the others were similar. Stiff, slow and predictable. Both Todoroki-san and Ojirou-san showed more skill and fluidity in their movements. They were more creative and adaptable.

Kirishima-san had the potential to be interesting, if not for the fact that he didn’t like to fight dirty and inevitably left gaping holes in his defenses that Izuku took advantage of. Spotting another one, Izuku moved in for the kill and quickly pinned Kirishima-san with his legs wrapped around the other’s throat, cutting off the taller boy’s air way. Kirishima-san sputtered and struggled for a moment before tapping out. Izuku released his hold and stepped back to let him catch his breath.

“Is that allowed?” Hagakure-san said from a spot on the floor she’d claimed while she took a break.

Ojirou-san nodded “It doesn’t exactly seem…”

“… Fair.” Iida-san finished.

“Did I say anything was off limits when we started?” Aizawa-sensei countered. “Villains aren’t going to hold back just to fight fair. It’s the same as yesterday, do what you have to do to get the results you need so long as you don’t do permanent harm.”

Ojirou-san did not look convinced. “He could have done permanent harm to Kirishima-kun.”

“Yes, I could have,” Izuku said, joining the conversation. “But I didn’t, and I won’t. If I didn’t think I could use a move safely, I wouldn’t use it on a living person at all. I also had to trust him not to take it too far.”

“Alright, that’s enough. Switch partners and get back to work.”

“Yes, Sensei!”

Hagakure-san was next. In comparison to the others, she was an interesting challenge simply because of her quirk. Izuku couldn’t tell if she was doing anything special or if she was just as predictable as the others simply because he… well, he couldn’t exactly predict what he couldn’t see. There were a lot of things he could us as simple predictors for her, but nothing beat actually being able to see the thing that was going to hit you. Izuku wasn’t even sure what her actual reach was.

Maybe he should ask Sentoki-sensei about that one fighting style that was developed by blind monks. It would certainly help in this situation, and probably a lot of others.

Following Hagakure-san was Yaoyorozu-san, who was somehow both more and less stiff than the others. She had some creative moves that Izuku wouldn’t have seen coming, if not for the fact that she was so slow to implement them.

“Switch!”

Izuku bowed to Yaoyorozu-san and thanked her for the match before turning to find his next opponent…

He really should have known this was coming. How they’d managed to get this far without really interacting at all was something of a mystery, but now there wasn’t a choice.

“Come on, Deku,” Bakugou growled as they began circling. “Don’t think I’m going to hold back on you just because you’re a weak piece of shit.”

Izuku scowled, but decided not to respond, ducking under Bakugou’s customary right hook and taking advantage of the opening to sock him in the stomach. “I won’t be holding back either.”

Bakugou growled but shook it off, coming in fast. Bakugou’s style was exactly like Izuku remembered. He moved fast and hit hard, but he also left big openings. His movements were fluid and precise as he switched tactics. He just wasn’t used to anyone actually fighting back. And Izuku wasn’t going to roll over. Not this time.

Not anymore.

Izuku couldn’t avoid every hit, not with Bakugou getting in close and trying to control the fight through brute force, but for every hit Bakugou actually managed to land, there were three he didn’t and two hits Izuku got in on him.

And with every strike Izuku dodged and deflected, Izuku could see Bakugou’s confusion grow. With every hit Izuku landed, he just got angrier.

“What? Now, you fight back?” Bakugou barked, knocking Izuku back a step. “Were you holding back when we were kids? Or did hanging out with the other losers teach you to grow a spine? I know Terasaka wouldn’t have let a Deku like you run—"

Izuku clocked him across the jaw, cutting off his rant. “That’s not my name,” he growled back, letting go and launching himself at the bastard that had destroyed his childhood.

Bakugou roared in defiance and met the challenge head on.

Everything blurred. Izuku didn’t think, just did. After everything that happened that day, he didn’t particularly care.

Something cracked under Izuku’s hands. Something popped in his elbow and seared with pain.

Arms wrapped around Izuku’s torso, pulling him away, Izuku thrashed and used his good arm to lever himself up, pushing with his weight and momentum to knock the new attacker over. This wasn’t their fight.

“Stand down, now!”

Izuku froze. The room was silent. Izuku slowly turned and faced Aizawa-sensei twisting awkwardly in Iida-san’s arms. Aizawa-sensei looked furious. Even on the other side of the gym, All Might’s group had stopped and were watching, faces slack.

“You two, with me, now. The rest of you go help All Might.”

Iida-san slowly released Izuku, watching him carefully as Izuku got back to his feet and walked calmly to Aizawa-sensei as though he hadn’t just attacked a classmate for real.

Aizawa-sensei was fuming as he walked them down the halls. Izuku and Bakugou were in front where he could see them, silently walking with at least a meter between them. Neither did anything to acknowledge the other.

They marched quickly to Recovery Girl-sensei’s office and were quickly directed to separate beds, ignoring Recovery Girl-sensei’s questions for the moment.

“Bakugou-kun’s arm is broken. Midoriya-kun’s elbow is dislocated.” Aizawa-sensei sat in his chair with a force only someone supremely pissed off can have.

Recovery Girl-sensei looked over the boys. “Alright then, let’s start with Bakugou-kun.”

Patching them up was a quick affair, even with the silence stifling the room. “I thought today was supposed to be a simple and easy one,” Recovery Girl-sensei said as she finished up her work with Izuku.

“Supposed to be, yes,” Aizawa-sensei quickly agreed. “Would you two like to explain what happened for me? I would like to say you’re better than this, but I don’t really know you.”

Izuku winced under the accusation and hazarded a glance at Bakugou, who… did he actually look guilty? Remorseful? That was new.

“Would you rather I take this to Nedzu-san? I’ll be getting the story one way or another. The question is how much trouble you want to be in.”

Bakugou flinched this time. “I’d rather not.”

“Rather not what, Bakugou-kun?”

“Talk about it.”

“You don’t get a choice in that right now. And you, Midoriya-kun.” Izuku felt his spine straighten, as though it had been replaced with a metal rod. “I hope you have a damn good explanation for why you broke his arm.”

Izuku shrank back again. “I don’t, sir.”

Aizawa-sensei huffed, suddenly dialing back. His bloodlust still permeated the room and rolled off him in waves, but he wasn’t glaring at them anymore. “What I’m hearing is that both of you think you should be expelled.”

Both boys immediately started talking.

“Please, no.”

“Goddamnit, you don’t need to do that.”

“Not after everything I went through.”

“I put too much work into this shit.”

“Then I suggest you start talking,” Aizawa-sensei said, cutting them off.

Recovery Girl-sensei suddenly whacked the side of her desk with her cane. “I doubt you boys think you can get away with causing this much harm to each other in a simple sparring match without some kind of explanation.”

“… No, ma’am,” Bakugou answered.

“Well then?”

“Not in front of him.” Bakugou’s voice was barely more than a whisper, almost making Izuku doubt he’d even spoken.

That seemed to get Aizawa-sensei’s interest. “And why is that?” he asked.

“Just because someone is willing to… acknowledge what went wrong, doesn’t mean they’re ready to confront the issue directly,” Izuku answered quickly.

“Don’t go putting words in my fucking mouth!” Bakugou snapped.

“Am I wrong?” Izuku snarled.

“Boys!”

Izuku’s jaw clicked shut, and Bakugou’s voice died in his throat.

“Alright then,” Aizawa-sensei said, standing. “Midoriya-kun, come with me. Bakugou-kun, stay here. I’ll come back to talk with you.”

Izuku nodded and followed his teacher, quickly settling on a stool across from him in the private lounge. “Well?” Aizawa-sensei said, gesturing for Izuku to get on with it.

“Do you want the long version or the short version?”

“I already know you and Bakugou-kun went to the same school. I know something happened between you two. Clearly I need some more context.”

Aizawa-sensei knew what now. How did he… probably Yagi-san. Or Recovery Girl-sensei. Though that did raise the question of how they identified Bakugou. “Guess that means you want the long version.”

“That would be helpful, yes.”

“We…” how did he explain this. He had been hoping to get away with the short version, but… “We were close, a long time ago. Best friends even. Then… he got his quirk, and I didn’t. Our teachers immediately started praising him as some… up and coming hero. It went to his head and his arrogant streak turned into an aggressive and violent one. No one really did anything to stop him, and… I became an easy target in general.”

“He bullied you?”

Izuku shrugged. “He values strength above all else. Not that he knows what real strength is. To him, the ‘worthless little deku’ was a prime example of weakness, and he decided to make an example of what happens to those that reach to far.”

“Deku? Is that supposed to be an insult?”

Izuku glanced around. “Do you have some paper I could borrow for a second.”

Aizawa-sensei grunted and passed some over. Izuku wrote out the kanji and showed it to him. His face turned dark for a second, before he smothered the reaction.

“So… yeah. The other kids inevitably joined in and the teachers didn’t care. He backed off in junior high, if only because he couldn’t risk anything showing up on his record. The others… they got smart about it instead.” Izuku stopped for a moment. It wasn’t like he could really talk about what happened over the last year. “That covers it. I think.”

Aizawa-sensei gave him a flat look. Or, flatter than his normal look. Somehow. “Anything happen recently that could have changed anything?”

Izuku pretended to look confused. He knew Aizawa-sensei was fishing for information if either Yagi-san or Recovery Girl-sensei had told him anything about them. “Well… I got a homeroom teacher that actually cared last year. He…” remember Izuku, Karasuma-sensei is the one written down as your homeroom teacher, “he was the one that got me in with Sentoki-sensei. There… at Aldera there was a bit of a status quo. The best students were in class A, and the worst in class E. Last year, class E, my class, shook things up a lot and ended the year monopolizing the top scores. It… ruffled some feathers. I don’t know how that would have affected Bakugou, though.”

Oh, that was a fun look on Aizawa-sensei’s face. He definitely wanted to say something, but also didn’t know how to do it without revealing his source. Which meant this was Yagi-san’s fault. Good to know.

“The context is… enlightening,” Aizawa-sensei finally said. “But you haven’t said anything about why you broke his arm. I know you wouldn’t do that for no reason.”

Izuku squirmed in his seat. “I told you before. I don’t have a good excuse for that.”

“An explanation is not an excuse. I’m not asking for excuses.”

“Right, uh… he’s been… better? I think? We’d at least managed to ignore each other until then. Once we started fighting, though, it was right back to where we started. He… I don’t know. He was saying some stuff and then he called me Deku again and I just… snapped. After everything else that happened today, I didn’t really have it in me to be rational about it anymore.”

“And how do you feel right now?”

“Uh, fine?”

Aizawa-sensei ducked his chin into his scarf and thought for a moment. “Do you think you would be okay attending your after-school class?”

“I guess? It kinda depends on what we’re doing.”

“It’s only the first day. It’ll just be introductory material.” Aizawa-sensei sighed. “Fine. I still need to talk to Bakugou-kun and Nedzu-san to figure out what to do with all of this. For now, go get changed, take a walk, do whatever you want until class starts. We’ll talk about this again later.”

“Yes, Aizawa-sensei.” Izuku stood and bowed, recognizing his signal to leave. It had been a long day, and he didn’t really want to deal with… that mess anymore. At least explosives were something he knew, considering Takebayashi-kun had, somewhat reluctantly, allowed Izuku to study alongside him once he had been designated their explosives expert.

Shouta groaned when the door closed behind Midoriya-kun. Why did he have to be the one to wind up with these two kids? He wanted to just separate them, but Midoriya-kun specifically needed Shouta’s help if he wanted to go pro, and from the sound of it, being moved to class 1-B could be worse for Bakugou-kun’s development emotionally than doing nothing. And they would need to confront this eventually anyway…

Not now. Right now, he needed to go talk to Bakugou-kun about his side of the story, then go find Nedzu-san.

Returning to Shuzenji-san’s office, Shouta was pleased to find Bakugou still waiting there. He looked somewhat stressed and uncomfortable, but he probably knew exactly what Izuku had been saying to Shouta, so that wasn’t exactly surprising.

“Do you want to talk here, or somewhere else?” he asked, not bothering to sit down just yet. He’d calmed down since this incident started, but even he had to admit that he was a little pissed by what he’d learned about who was theoretically his best student.

Bakugou-kun sent a sideways glance towards Shuzenji-san.

“Anything you say here will stay here,” Shuzenji-san said, not even glancing up from her paperwork.

Bakugou-kun still looked hesitant. “Somewhere else,” he finally answered.

Shouta nodded and guided him back to the same room he’d talked to Midoriya-kun in.

“How much did he tell you?” Bakugou-kun asked, standing awkwardly by the door.

“I’d rather hear what you have to say.”

Bakugou-kun scowled. After a moment of strained silence resting between them, his shoulders fell, and he trudged to the stool Midoriya-kun had been sitting in just minutes before. “He… Whatever he said was probably true. He might be a self-sacrificial moron, but he’s grown a backbone since we were kids. He surprised me today.”

“Because he fought back?”

Bakugou-kun nodded. “In a few ways. I really should have been expecting that.” He snorted to himself. “He changed sometime last year. I don’t know when it was, or what happened, but he’s not taking any shit anymore.”

That was interesting. Shouta didn’t think he could imagine Midoriya-kun putting up with anything. He was an incredibly stubborn boy that knew what he wanted and was more than willing to work for it. “If what he said was true, why shouldn’t I expel you? And none of that ‘I’ve worked too hard for this’ crap. Hard work means nothing if you underestimate your allies and enemies or you look down on those you’re supposed to protect.”

“Because I know I fucked up, and I’m working on it.”

Shouta raised an eyebrow, waiting for Bakugou-kun to elaborate.

“After some… issues last year, my parents began suggesting I see a therapist for anger management. I agreed. Kokoro-san, my therapist, and I have been… working on some other things as well, but mostly anger management.”

That was certainly a start and provided reasons for Shouta to wait and see where this went. He would certainly need to talk with this Kokoro-san. “And what happened today?”

Bakugou-kun flinched. “Like I said… he surprised me. I-I’m not used to him fighting back like that. Mix in the fact that I… I’m still working on everything, and… I fell on old habits.”

“Those habits being?”

“Insulting him. Belittling him.”

“Calling him a deku?” That certainly got a reaction. “I’m guessing your therapist has had a few things to say about that one.”

“Not yet,” said Bakugou, “but I can tell he wants to. Probably thinks he needs to deal with some other shit first or something stupid like that.”

Shouta hummed. “He might be right, but I’m guessing you already know what he’d want to say.”

“Probably.”

“I’m going to offer my own advice then. If you want anything resembling a healthy relationship with Midoriya-kun, use his name. Even now, in this conversation with me, you’ve never once used his name. You haven’t even used that demeaning nickname for him, either, which is good. I’m pretty sure you know what would happen if you did, now that I know what it means.”

Bakugou-kun was starting to shake. Shouta figured he’d pushed the kid far enough. “You can go, now. I still need to talk with Nedzu-san, and likely both of your parents. When we have this figured out, I’ll talk to each of you individually about it. Don’t think Midoriya-kun will be getting off lightly just because of your history either, breaking a classmate’s arm in a sparring match is unacceptable.”

Bakugou-kun gave a sharp, tight nod and rose stiffly to his feet. He bowed silently and left quickly.

Shouta once again buried his head in his hands. These two… he was going to need more coffee for this. The only question was if he got the coffee before or after he went to talk to Nedzu-san.

Chapter Text

The class was being held in the support department and run by Power Loader-sensei. Izuku had thought the large blast doors were excessive and mostly there for aesthetic the first time he saw them, now they looked a little foreboding.

Learning how to safely handle explosives in a room with doors that thick made sense, some people were complete idiots, but it also made Izuku worry for his safety seeing as he was going to be on the other side of those doors.

Observing his new classmates, Izuku quickly identified three of them as third year general studies students, and the other eight as heroics; of those eight, three were second years and five were third years.

And there was a very obvious divide between heroics and general studies. Izuku wasn’t sure exactly why general studies and heroics didn’t get along, but he didn’t feel like poking the bear just yet. That doesn’t mean he went up and introduced himself. No, he was done dealing with people for the day. Instead, he sat down at a desk in the middle of the room and waited.

Izuku could feel the other students watching him curiously, but Power Loader-sensei entered the room before they could do anything. “Take a seat,” he said, barely glancing at them, “don’t worry about a seating chart or seat numbers or anything, just sit down.”

The class quickly shuffled into seats, general studies on one side, heroics on the other, and Izuku sitting quietly in the middle. Power Loader-sensei continued. “As many of you know, I teach the support course, with some assistance to Gen Ed and Heroics as needed, but gods know keeping the support kids from blowing themselves up is a full-time job on its own. That’s also why you will never see any of them in this course. Not only do I need a break from them, but their course work already covers this.”

An explosion echoed through the room next door with a dull thud and a loud clang. Power Loader-sensei sighed and hung his head before walking calmly out into the hallway. There was some yelling, a few more thuds as something heavy was moved around, then Power Loader-sensei returned looking slightly less haggard, though he now had soot on his hands and pants.

“If you hadn’t figured out what the blast doors were for, you know now,” he muttered. “Right, back to the introduction. Explosives are dangerous, but hopefully, you all knew that. In this room, my word is law. If I tell you to do something, or not do something, you listen. If you cannot do that, you will not stay here. If you do anything to endanger yourself or your classmates while studying here, you will be kicked out and you will not get a second chance.”

One of the third-year heroics students raised his hand. “What if we didn’t know it was dangerous?”

“If you didn’t know it was dangerous, then you weren’t paying attention, which is also dangerous.” Izuku was not looking forward to seeing what kind of trouble that kid was going to get into. “Now for some simpler rules. Do not touch any of the equipment or projects around the room. If something needs to be moved, tell me. I will either move it or move you. You will not work with any supplies without my instruction and supervision. If we are working with live material and we need to stop, you will do whatever you need to to stabilize it before you stop working. If we are working with live material, you will wear the safety gear and take the proper precautions. We’ll go over those in more detail later when we actually get there. Any questions?”

No one raised their hand.

“Good. First thing we’re going to do is a couple of pretests. Written first, then practical.” He pulled out and distributed a small stack of papers. “You have half an hour starting now.”

Izuku worked quickly through the written test. It wasn’t all that difficult. The first questions were on safety standards and mostly followed common sense. Even without his previous studies he probably would have gotten at least partial credit on each question there. The next section was more practical. Things about what kinds of explosives did what, how to wire things, parts of bombs to identify, even some questions about how to make and identify the explosive material itself. Izuku finished in just over half the time.

The practical portion of the test placed a fake bomb with a timer in front of each of them so they could “disarm” it. The wires were all different colors, but there were several tricks in the bomb’s construction. Several students made the mistake of cutting the red wire, which had been set as a trap. Izuku carefully checked the wires and picked a blue wire with yellow stripes, which safely disarmed the bomb.

Of the remaining students, some ran out of time, one removed the initiator, one just grabbed all the wires and cut them all at once, and one person removed the batteries from the timer.

Power Loader-sensei made some quick rounds and made notes on a sheet. “That’ll be all for today,” he said. “You can hang out here and get to know each other, or you can leave. Your choice.”

Izuku sighed in relief and picked up his bag. “Hey,” a voice said behind him. “Where you off to so fast? Think you’re better than us or something?”

Izuku glanced over his shoulder. The girl that had spoken up was a second-year heroics student standing tall and proud, with her arms crossed over her chest. She was, like him, rather plain looking, with no obvious features to hint at her quirk. If Izuku remembered correctly, she’d been sitting near the front of the room and had cut the red wire during the practical. “No,” he said. “I’m just tired and would like to get home as soon as possible.” The last thing he needed was another person with a complex on his case.

The other students shifted nervously behind her, watching carefully. Most of them looked like they would side with her if things got too strained. She opened her mouth to continue when Power Loader-sensei cut her off. “Leave him be. Have a safe walk home, Midoriya-kun.”

Izuku bowed. “Thank you, Power Loader-sensei. Enjoy the rest of your day.” He didn’t wait for the rest of the students to catch up with the exchange and quickly ducked out of the classroom and down the halls. Just a little farther and he’ll be safe.

If this was his first day of classes, Izuku was not looking forward to how the year would go. At least he got some confrontations out of the way.

Nedzu understood how Aizawa-kun felt. Really, he did. This was a right mess and even with everything that had been said today, they both knew the boys were still holding things back. “They can’t go unpunished,” Nedzu said, taking a sip of his tea, hoping it would provide at least some calm, “but we cannot be excessive about it either. Both of them know they are in the wrong and have been very cooperative with us.” He was very glad he didn’t have to teach anymore. He would have been tempted to have just locked the boys in a room and waited for them to handle things, as counterproductive as that would be. “We’ll have to talk to their parents and work with them to find an appropriate punishment.”

Aizawa-kun nodded his agreement. “I had assumed as much, do you want me-”

Nedzu’s secretary, Ito-kun, poked his head in. “Nedzu-san, Maijima-san wants to speak with you. He says it’s about Midoriya-kun.”

Aizawa-kun buried his head in his hands, and Nedzu resisted the urge to laugh at him. They had known the boy was going to be interesting to handle, and Aizawa-kun had asked for him specifically. Nedzu did love watching humanity cause itself a little bit of discomfort now and again. Aizawa-kun had asked for this, and now he was going to deal with it.

“His timing is impeccable,” Nedzu said, taking the opportunity for another sip. “Please, send him in.”

Ito-kun nodded and ducked back out, Maijima-kun entering a moment later. “Glad I could catch you, Aizawa, though I didn’t expect you to be up here.”

“It just makes your arrival that much better, Maijima-kun,” Nedzu said while Aizawa-kun groaned. “Please, what do you have for us.”

Maijima-kun nudged Aizawa-kun up and handed him some papers he’d been carrying. “Kid knows his stuff when it comes to explosives. Pretty sure he could pass the final exam and get certified as he is now.”

Aizawa-kun was suddenly a lot more alert as he passed the papers over to Nedzu. “This is just the written portion. What about the practical?” he asked.

Nedzu glanced over the papers. It was Midoriya-kun’s pretest… with a near perfect score. Flipping through Nedzu was both surprised and pleased to find that most of the points lost were on minor technicalities rather than the many trick questions Maijima-kun was prone to putting in his tests.

“Midoriya-kun wasn’t the first one done, by any means,” said Maijima-kun, “but he was the first to actually disarm the fake bomb. And he’s the only one that I can say would have had it safely and completely disarmed if it had been a real bomb made by a real villain.”

“And the others?” Nedzu asked. Even if Midoriya-kun were the subject of interest, other students that successfully passed Maijima-kun’s practical pretest were something to keep an eye on.

“Kuzusu-san and Uwaki-kun,” said Maijima-kun. “Kuzusu-san removed the blasting cap, and Uwaki-kun removed the batteries from the timer being used as a trigger.”

“Nothing particularly unexpected there then, if I remember correctly. Kuzusu-san’s family works in demolition, while Uwaki-kun has been known to find particularly creative solutions to problems.”

“And risky ones,” Aizawa-kun said. “Like Maijima said, there was no guarantee that would actually work and not trigger some kind of safety mechanism.”

“That is true,” said Nedzu, “but he will learn better by the end of the course. Or we can hope he will, at least.”

Aizawa-kun grunted. “Back to Midoriya-kun. You already said he could pass your written final, what about the practical?”

“I said he could pass the final,” Maijima-kun answered. “Both of them.”

“Based off of your pretest?” Nedzu asked. This was certainly interesting. No one had been able to test up before, no matter how much they’d read, they simply lacked the practical experience. “I know your tests tend to be tricky, but surely this one fake bomb isn’t enough to say that much?”

“It is a bit of a stretch, I’ll admit,” Maijima-kun said, “I can’t be a hundred percent certain, but I am confident. He was the only one to show a careful methodology, mapping out the bomb’s mechanics and wiring to make sure he was doing the right thing, and he was the only one to get the technically correct answer. He didn’t fall for any of the tricks or false leads. Even with him checking over almost everything, he still finished before Kuzusu-san and Uwaki-kun, who used side stepping answers and were clearly at least a little overwhelmed.”

Now, that was interesting. “Do we have any idea where he got this information?” Nedzu asked.

Aizawa-kun shook his head. “All his records are normal. His mom works as a clerk at a local law firm, and his dad is out of the picture. The only heroes that have reported knowing much of anything about him say they only recognize him because he used to follow hero fights pretty closely, so they’d see him around a lot.”

“So, are we concerned now?” Maijima-kun asked.

“Intrigued would be more accurate,” said Nedzu. “While it is… unusual for Midoriya-kun to be able to work so easily with an explosive device, it is far from impossible, given the state of the internet and our knowledge of his comfort using improvised incendiaries. He also appears to be acting responsibly with this skill. I am still somewhat concerned about the Ministry of Defense’s insistence on stonewalling us, but even that isn’t unusual for the bureaucratic mess that is human governance.”

“Well,” Maijima-kun clapped his hands and took a step back, “that’s all I’ve got for you. I’ll let you two get back to whatever you were talking about before I got here.”

“Actually,” Nedzu looked over at Aizawa-kun who looked like he needed a nap even more than he normally did, “I believe we are done here as well. I will think on our little problem if you would be so kind as to call their parents, Aizawa-kun?”

“Alright,” Aizawa-kun sighed, standing. “Yeah, I’ll take care of that. Tomorrow after school?”

“That would be ideal, yes.”

“Ouch,” Maijima-kun hissed. “Need to bring the parents in already? You’re in for a rough year, Aizawa.”

“I wouldn’t get too comfortable if I were you, Maijima-kun,” Nedzu teased. “Don’t you have a problem child of your own this year?”

Maijima-kun groaned, likely pulling a face under his mask. “All support students are problem children. And please don’t remind me about Hatsume-san. I am more than aware of how much trouble she’s going to cause. That’s why you accepted her.”

And now Aizawa-kun was the one looking smug. He was probably more than happy to discover someone to commiserate with this year. He’d probably be less happy once Hatsume-san started trying to get his students in her inventions.

“Well, now,” Nedzu said, picking up his cup again. “I believe we are done here for the day and you two have work to do, correct?”

Chapter Text

The next morning Izuku had zipped out the door just as early as he always did, and, for a long while, it looked like today was going to be just as normal as all of the others. The trains were on time, the few commuters that were up already minded their own business, and everything was as it should be.

That idea of normalcy fell apart when Izuku caught sight of the front gate. Milling about were a small group of very tired looking reporters and camera men. Izuku groaned and stepped back against one of the buildings, hoping the shadows and distance would be enough to hide him for a little while. The group mostly stuck to themselves, chatting quietly or simply leaning against the wall and resting or tapping away at their phones. Only one or two checked the almost non-existent crowds. If Izuku had to hazard a guess, they’d heard that All Might was teaching at UA. Afterall, nothing else had happened recently that would have gotten any attention at this time of day.

Now, to figure out how to get in. Yeah, he could just walk through. They couldn’t stop him, but they could harass him and yell in his face, something Izuku was keen to avoid. He could theoretically climb the wall, but that would attract more attention and could set off the security. Maybe. And it wouldn’t matter much given that anywhere he wanted to go from here would be in line of sight. There were probably a few side entrances, but that had the problem of Izuku not knowing where they were and also them probably being very far away from the main body of campus.

… Izuku grumbled slightly and rubbed at his forehead. If only he had a hat or something to cover his face. If he didn’t have much option about dealing with reporters, he’d rather give them less to work with.

Stepping back onto the street, Izuku set his eyes forward, past the reporters and locked on the front doors of the school. He moved quickly, quietly, and with all the “don’t bother me” purpose he could muster.

He got a little closer. Don’t look at them. He thought to himself. Don’t acknowledge them. It’s just like in Pokémon or at the mall. If you don’t make eye contact, they’ll leave you alone.

Izuku made it past the first couple and kept walking calmly forward through the group.

“Hey, kid!”

Well, that didn’t work. Time to double down and keep ignoring them.

“Kid, wait!”

“—Just a few questions!”

“Please, it’ll only take a moment!”

Shit. The reporters closed in, trying to catch him and get in front of him. Izuku sprinted the last meters, crossing the threshold and onto the campus. The reporters continued yelling after him without crossing onto campus, and he kept running. He slammed the door shut behind him and took a moment to settle his racing heart.

He could understand why most underground heroes hated reporters. Izuku had only had two experiences with them now, and they had been… like that both times. He couldn’t even imagine how hard it could get for some people like All Might.

Honestly, he was just glad there were so few this time, especially compared to what happened last time when the reporters had found them at the barricade and penned them in, pushing, shoving, screaming, and demanding answers to their pointless questions while refusing to actually listen to them and twisting their words.

Izuku shook his head slightly, settling himself and continuing to the library and the desk that he was slowly claiming as his morning reading spot. He hoped none of his classmates got too caught up in the media circus outside… Who was he kidding? It was going to be a nightmare for them to get to class.

The day continued smoothly, despite the tension from the sparring incident. Classes were dull, jokes were shared during the change over, and Izuku was bored. He still took notes for the lessons, but he was mostly just using them as a way to keep practicing the code the Karasuma-sensei had taught him and Nagisa-kun to protect their Korosensei notebooks. When lunch came, it was a welcome distraction.

“Ugh,” Kirishima-san groaned, laying his head on the table, his tray of food pushed to the side. “Why do our classes have to be so hard? How am I going to use the themes of The Setting Sun in hero work? I mean, the book is positively ancient!”

“At least it’s better than English,” Hagakure-san muttered, taking a bit of her meal. “I don’t think I’ll ever get all those conjugations right.”

“History is easily the worst for me,” Uraraka-san said. “It’s so boring. Memorizing English stuff is a pain but it’s just one big puzzle to me. And I can at least bullshit my way through all that literary analysis. Just say something suitably pretentious and the teacher will give you full credit.”

“I don’t think that’ll work so well here,” Izuku said, laughing. “UA doesn’t half ass anything.”

Iida-san nodded, swallowing his bite of food. “I must agree with Midoriya-kun. We cannot be lax in our studies. Though I must agree, these classes are much more rigorous than I was prepared for. Perhaps we should form a study group? We could help each other cover our weaknesses.”

“Well, if you’re offering…” Kirishima-san grinned, finally sitting up and pulling his own tray towards him.

“What subject are you having trouble with, Iida-kun?” asked Uraraka-san. “I kinda doubt you’ve got it that bad.”

“Ah,” Iida-san blushed and rubbed the back of his neck. “I am having a hard time grasping the importance of Modern Hero Art History.”

“It’s for advertising. Essentially.” Izuku took another bite. “I mean. ‘Hero Art’ really is just a fancy way of saying ‘ads and propaganda.’ I’d be more interested in older works from when heroes were more controversial, though.”

There was a pause. “Anything you struggle with?” Hagakure-san asked. “There’s gotta be something.”

“Uh… actually…”

“Oh, please don’t say it,” Uraraka-san whined. “You’re already too much of an ikemen.”

“What!? I’m not an ikemen!”

Hagakure-san laughed. “Yes, you are!”

Kirishima-san nodded. “Don’t fight it. A true ikemen will deny his status.”

“You’re smart, and kind, and humble, and confident, and… and this is important,” Hagakure-san leaned over the table, close to Izuku’s face. “You are very cute in a very simple and understated sort of way.”

Izuku whined and buried his burning face in his hand. “Help me, Iida-san. You’re my only hope.”

“I’m afraid I must agree with them, Midoriya-kun. You are an-”

A siren blared over the speakers. “This is a level three security breach. Please evacuate the building in an orderly fashion.”

“What does that mean?” Kirishima-san asked.

“It means someone broke through the barrier,” someone yelled next to them before Izuku could answer. His face was white as a sheet and his hands shook. His eyes were frantically darting around, but didn’t seem to see anything. “That’s never happened in my three years here!” Then he bolted.

“Shit!” Kirishima-san yelped.

“We need to get out of here!” Uraraka-san said as she jumped up.

“Wait!” Izuku grabbed their sleeves and pulled them back to the table. “We need to wait. Everyone else is panicking-”

“Hate to break it to you, Midoriya-kun,” Hagakure-san interrupted him, “but we are also panicking.”

Izuku ignored her and continued, “-if we leave now, we’ll just get caught up in the rush and trampled.”

“As much as I would like to follow the instructions and leave,” Iida-san said, standing and waving his arms, “Midoriya-kun is correct. To do so in these conditions would be detrimental to our health.”

Luckily, most of the cafeteria had already emptied by this point, so there was no need to continue the conversation. Instead, they just got up and calmly followed the crowd out into the hallway. The thoroughly clogged hallway full of screaming people.

How did any of these people last in a hero school?

Seriously.

“Fellow student! Please calm down! This panic is not conducive to our timely evacuation!”

And there goes Iida-san. At least he’s doing something, which is better than the horde of panicking students. And better than Izuku, who’s currently just standing there marveling at the idiocy of this mess.

Movement caught his attention from the corner of his eye. Looking out the window, he saw a horde of reporters streaming through the gates and forming a mass at the front doors of the school.

“Uraraka-san!” Izuku yelled over the screaming crowd. “Can you use your quirk on me!?” He moved over to the edge of the hallway, standing next to the window.

“Huh? Oh, yeah,” Uraraka-san nodded as she followed him to the side. “But why?”

“I need to get over everyone. Keep trying to get control of the crowd from back here. I’ll try and calm them down from the front.”

“Right!” Uraraka-san reached out and tagged his hand.

Izuku began floating gently, using the window to guide his ascent. He twisted his body so his feet were pressed against the window, and pushed himself off, gliding across the hallway. He twisted again, just before he hit the wall, and pushed off, working his way quickly to the front using the walls, Uraraka-san’s quirk, and Korosensei’s space training program.

He might not have gotten a chance to use their preparation back then, but he wasn’t exactly going to let the opportunity pass him by.

Izuku twisted around one last time, letting his back hit the wall above the door, and latching on to an exposed pipe to hold him steady. He took a deep breath and yelled, “Hey!” Heads bellow him snapped up, noticing him for the first time. They stopped pushing and briefly, they were quiet. “Everyone, please, calm down!” he yelled, not letting the moment pass. “There is no threat. It’s just the media!”

The crowd stopped. They muttered and let out sighs of relief as they checked out the windows and confirmed. It was just the media.

“Is anyone hurt?” Izuku asked, projecting his voice over the group.

A few people near the back raised their hands.

“Please make a path so they can get out first. Uraraka-san, can you hold me up here?”

“Sure thing!”

Izuku nodded. “Alright, as soon as the injured have passed through, you can continue the evacuation in a calm and orderly fashion.”

“I thought there wasn’t any threat?” Someone piped up from the middle of the pack. “Why not just go back to class?”

“Even if there is no danger to you, if an alarm goes off you should always follow the relevant safety protocols!” Iida-san yelled, arms swinging in his signature chopping motion.

The crowd parted, and the injured students were allowed to pass through. The path closed behind them and the now uninterested group of students began to press slowly forward passing through the narrow doorway and continuing outside. As the crowd passed and thinned, Izuku’s friends stayed back and waited. When the last passed under him, Izuku began slowly pushing himself down, and Uraraka-san released her quirk when he was a few feet above the ground.

“Man, that was so cool!” Kirishima-san gushed. “The way you soared over everyone’s heads.”

“Yeah,” Uraraka-san continued, “you almost looked like an astronaut in outer space! You’ve gotta show me how you did that!”

“I swear,” Hagakure-san said, “it’s like you’re perfect or something! You gotta leave some stuff for the rest of us Midoriya-kun!”

Izuku chuckled awkwardly.

“Man, I wish I could be more like you.”

That actually gave Izuku and idea…

“Well, I can’t show you everything I’ve done to train. Considering you don’t need all of that… and the money involved. But I can show you something I’ve been doing for training. Are you guys busy Saturday afternoon?”

“Saturday? Uh, no, I’m free then.”

“I am hoping to spend some time with my brother in the evening, but I am free in the afternoon.”

“Saturday… yeah, I can come.”

“Oh! Our first hangout! This’ll be fun!”

Izuku laughed, looser and more honest this time. “I’d wait to see what we’re doing before you say that, Hagakure-san. Bring exercise clothes, and maybe some protective gloves. I don’t usually use them, but you might want some.”

“Cool, we should go right after school lets out.”

Izuku nodded. “We can change at my place, then head out. Oh, and Uraraka-san, if you want to be able to move like that with your quirk, I suggest looking up exercises astronauts use. Other than that, just practice, I guess?”

“That’s a great idea, Mido-kun! Thanks!”

“Regardless, we can work on our future plans later, for now we should return to class!” Iida-san interrupted with his already signature chopping hand motions.

“Right!”

A comfortable silence fell over the group as they followed the crowd to the evacuation point. “I really am the ikemen of our class, aren’t I.”

Uraraka-san grinned back at him. “Yup.”

Chapter Text

After the media incident, the rest of the day was tense, but the teachers brushed it off and continued as normal, so the students had fully calmed down by the time classes let out. Nedzu-sama and Aizawa-sensei had their meeting with Inko and the elder Bakugous once classes were done, which resulted in a detention and a stern talking to for both of the boys, though Izuku was also warned that Aizawa-sensei was going to be telling Sentoki-sensei what had happened as well. Something Izuku was not looking forward to. The only interesting thing in classes was Aizawa-sensei handing out packets on their hero costumes at the end of the day with the instruction to go over them as homework that night. Izuku’s was significantly larger than any of the others, which led to some questioning looks (and some actual questions) that Izuku quietly brushed off.

The packet was a lot of safety and technical information. Schematics, serial numbers, and production information was everywhere. More importantly any gear that wasn’t self-explanatory was described, along with suggestions for which pockets to put them in (helpfully added in little personal notes from Karasuma-sensei). There was also information on how much stress and strain the costume could absorb before it would fail and Izuku would get hurt, which was interesting, but not something Izuku could really visualize.

Either way, the class quickly and correctly assumed that their costumes were finally complete and in. Which lead them to…

“I am here! Coming through the door like a normal person!” All Might burst through the door. This time, the class just barely held in their chatter, all of them sitting on the edge of their seats, waiting for All Might to say the magic words. “Well aren’t you all excited for today?” he laughed. “You lot put in some wonderful effort last time, but now it’s time for what you’ve all been waiting for…”

The class was practically buzzing. Izuku wouldn’t be surprised if Kaminari-san had accidentally used his quirk with how much energy was in the air. All Might pressed a button on a remote, causing several panels to open up and racks with heavy metal cases clearly numbered to slid out of the wall. “Costumes!”

The class cheered.

All Might’s booming voice cut through the noise. “Alright now, you all go get suited up and meet me at Ground Beta!”

There was a frenzy of noise and movement as the students rushed to the wall to grab their case. It was chaos, but it wasn’t long before Izuku found himself opening his case in the locker room with a grin stretching across his face. He took a moment to admire the dark green color of the familiar fabric, running his fingers over it and lingering briefly on the bright gold crescent at the collar. Unlike his classmates, who mostly fumbled with their new costumes, trying to figure out the best order to put them on, Izuku moved smoothly, tugging on one piece after another.

Pants, under shirt, and jacket, all went on without any kind of hitch. Bronze and gold combat boots were pulled firmly onto his feet and quickly laced up tight. The bronze gloves with gold thread and edging were pulled onto his hands and secured in place, laying smoothly halfway up his forearm. His pockets were quickly filled with first aid supplies, tension wires, hooks, and other small things. He even slid some debatably legal toys he’d made with some help from Okuda. There was a stun baton that he attached to his hip along with the more traditional taser. The last thing to go on was the steel gray mouth guard with gold accenting on the buttons and switches and also along some of the moving panels. With a push of a button he could seal it off so it could be used as a gas mask. The microphone inside the guard could allow him to maintain communication with his teammates, and another button could activate a small speaker at the bottom so he could speak clearly to civilians. He dropped the mask around his neck for now, and with his hood down and ready to go, Izuku left for Ground Beta.

Izuku’s classmates looked great. Some of them left him with some safety concerns, such as Yaoyorozu-san, Kirishima-san, and maybe Hagakure-san (he really hoped she was actually wearing something, anything). He understood what they were going for, but he was pretty sure he was going to have nightmares about Kirishima-san not getting his quirk up in time. On the other end of the spectrum seemed to be Iida-san, who was definitely paying homage to his (unconfirmed) Idaten roots, and Aoyama-san, who had similar, if much sparklier, design. Then there was Bakugou, as explosive as ever. Izuku decided to very deliberately ignore Mineta-san’s costume because that was better than trying to question why it looked like he was wearing a diaper.

“They say the clothes, make the pros!” All Might said. “And here you are! Oh, you all just look so cool.”

Izuku felt his heart swell, and he was sure others felt the same. To have All Might of all people fanboying over their costumes… it was amazing. Now, if only… nope. Not the time to think about that.

“What do you say we get started, huh, you bunch of newbies?” All Might asked.

“Sir?” Iida-san said, raising his hand as he always did when interrupting a teacher. “This is the fake city from the entrance exam. Will we be doing urban battles?”

“Nope! We’ve got time to make up, so we’re pushing forward! While it is true that the most visible villain fights, the ones you see on TV, primarily take place outdoors, the smartest and most dangerous villains are found indoors and away from prying eyes.”

Izuku suppressed a shiver. Yeah. That sounded about right. It was certainly true for everyone 3-E encountered during the last year.

“Think about it! Backroom deals, home invasions, hidden lairs. Intelligent villains are the ones that have planned to not get caught.” All Might quickly launched into his explanation from there, reading off a note card he’d prepared, and answering questions as soon as they were asked. The exercise was simple. It was a two on two battle with one team of villains protecting a fake nuclear bomb and one team of heroes attempting to capture the villains or the bomb before time runs out. Teams were assigned randomly (Izuku was paired with Uraraka-san, which he was happy with) to “simulate real life where you can’t control who you work with.” (You’re welcome All Might.)

And then there was who they were paired against. Both Izuku and Bakugou went stiff when their teams were drawn, sharing a concerned (and slightly angry on Bakugou’s side, but that was normal) look. All Might, also looked nervous. “Um…”

No one said anything. The only noise was rustling fabric from nervously shifting classmates waitingto see who would snap first. “Fucking hell,” Bakugou said, breaking the silence. “We’ll be fine.”

“If you say so,” Kaminari-san muttered.

“Midoriya-shounen? Are you alright with this?”

Izuku thought for a second. “Yeah, we… should be fine.”

This was hopefully not going to be a mess. At least Izuku and Uraraka-san were the heroes.

“Are you sure this is a good idea?” Uraraka-san asked as they looked over the map of the villain base.

“No,” Izuku admitted. “I’m not sure, but I’m going to at least try. It’ll probably work out best if we avoid Bakugou entirely.”

“Alright then, you’ll handle Iida-san, and I’ll handle Bakugou-kun!”

Izuku shook his head. “While I’m sure you could handle Bakugou in a straight fight, I don’t like the look of those gauntlets. Without knowing what they are, simply discounting them is a huge risk. I’m more worried about Iida-san anyway. With his speed, we’d have to be able to surprise him in order to win. Best case scenario would involve both of us against him alone.”

“Huh? Okay, what do you think we should do then?”

Izuku thought for a moment. Bakugou was smart, but he was also impulsive and proud. He knew he couldn’t risk getting into trouble with Izuku again, but the rules were different now. This wasn’t some simple spar. Injuries were expected. “Bakugou has a more offensive quirk, not to mention keeping explosions that close to a volatile substance is a bad idea, so he’ll be out patrolling the building looking for us. In theory, Iida-san would be better for that, but Bakugou probably won’t listen to him.”

“Still not sure where you’re going with this…”

“Getting there. The bomb is probably somewhere on the upper floors. Especially if All Might-sensei placed it, and Bakugou and Iida-san are likely to assume we’ll come in the front, so Bakugou will go down to face us...”

“So we start at the top and work our way down,” Uraraka-san finished. “Bypassing Bakugou and saving time. We just have to be stealthy and get to Iida-san before he notices us.”

Izuku nodded. “Right. We’ll have to make more specific plans when we find Iida-san before we actually confront him.”

That was about as thorough as they could get without knowing more. “Sounds good to me!” said Uraraka-san. “How do you plan on getting up there?”

Izuku shrugged. “We could use your quirk, or we could use the fire escape.”

“Alright,” All Might’s voice crackled over the speakers. “Five minutes are up! Heroes, you may begin your assault!”

“I vote fire escape,” Uraraka-san said, walking to the ladder. “I could lift us both up there, but using my quirk on myself makes me nauseous.”

Izuku followed closely, pulling up his hood and mouth guard, though the guard was left open. There was no need for a gas mask in this fight. The fire escape was nicer and cleaner than most fire escapes out in the city. Better attached to the wall too, which made it quieter so long as they didn’t stomp their feet. As they were passing the fifth floor, Izuku caught a glimpse of something through the window that made him freeze and quietly hide out of sight.

Uraraka-san gave him a funny look but waited quietly for an explanation.

“Iida-san and the bomb are in that room,” he whispered, gesturing at the window.

Uraraka-san’s eyes widened in surprise as she glanced at the window. “Is it supposed to be this easy?” she said.

Izuku felt his lips tug upwards. “Don’t jinx us,” he teased. He checked the room again, just barely glancing through the corner of the window. “It looks like he’s moving things out of the room. Not sure why… The bomb is closer to the window than he is. If we can keep him busy with his back to the bomb, one of us can sneak in and get it.”

“Do you want to keep him busy or should I?”

“Which do you think you’d be better at? I could do either-” Wait. No. “He’s expecting you, so you should go. He’ll probably be surprised and call Bakugou if I’m the one to show up.”

“How can you tell he’s expecting me?”

“He’s removing anything you could use your quirk on other than himself and the bomb.”

“Oh, alright then. I’ll go keep him busy.”

Izuku nodded as she carefully sidled to the next set of stairs, trying to stay out of sight of the window. “Just let me know when you’re almost there. I’ll try and get to the bomb as fast as I can without alerting him.”

And so Izuku waited. It didn’t take long for Uraraka-san to get in place, but it was long enough for Izuku to get worried. When Izuku slowly popped his head up, Iida-san was already facing away and… laughing at something? Not important.

What was important was that the window was unlocked. Izuku was a little disappointed. He wasn’t sure if he should be disappointed in Iida-san, All Might, or both. Probably both.

Seeing Uraraka-san starting to engage Iida-san in conversation, Izuku pushed the window up just far enough for him to move comfortably and began to step through.

“My dastardly tricks have rendered you helpless, hero!” It was going to take a lot of effort to keep himself from laughing.

“Um, Mido-kun?” Uraraka-san’s voice came from both her and his radio. What was she— “Iida-kun knows I’m here. Right now he’s monologuing.”

Oh. She was playing the part. Smart. Izuku pressed forward. Not much farther now. And Iida-san really was monologuing, evil laughter and all.

“That big room on the east side of the fifth floor.”

Almost there.

“Come now,” Iida-san continued, interrupting Uraraka-san’s act, “with my speed, you don’t stand a chance. So long as Bakugou-kun and your partner are busy, I can just run down the clock!”

“Doesn’t that worry you at all?” Uraraka-san asked. “Mido-kun and Bakugou-kun fighting alone?”

“I’m sure All Might-sensei is keeping a close eye on them.”

Izuku pressed his hand against the… paper mache bomb.

“Here team wins!” All Might’s voice yelled over the speakers.

“What!?” Iida-san whipped around as Uraraka-san burst out laughing. From somewhere below them, an explosion echoed. Uraraka-san stopped laughing.

“We should head back down,” said Izuku.

“R-right. Let’s go.”

The three of them were silent and tense as they walked down the stairs and out of the building. Bakugou was a good way ahead of them but waited by the door of the viewing room so they could all go in at the same time, giving an irritated snort when he saw Iida-san and Uraraka-san place themselves between him and Izuku.

“All Might-sensei, can I go take a walk?” he spat out.

Izuku kept walking, going to place himself on the other side of the room. All Might grabbed him as he passed.

“Are you sure you don’t want to stay for your evaluation?”

Bakugou nodded once.

“Alright, just don’t break anything.”

Bakugou spun on his heel and marched right back out of the room, hands trailing sparks and crackling. A roar of anger was cut off suddenly as the door shut behind him.

“Anger issues, much?” Uraraka-san muttered as All Might nudged Izuku back towards her and Iida-san.

“Well. Yes.” Izuku said. “But he does have some self-control.”

All Might cleared his throat. “Well, then, can anyone tell me who the MVP should be for this round?”

The class responded quickly, splitting their opinion between Uraraka-san and Izuku.

All Might gave an amused hum. “Maybe some perspective from the participants would help? What do you think?”

“Uraraka-san,” Izuku answered quickly, just and both Iida-san and Uraraka-san answered with his name.

“Midoriya-kun, I didn’t even know you were there!” Iida-san said. “You were crucial to your team’s victory.”

“But that was because Uraraka-san was distracting you. Without her you could have turned around at any time!”

“It was your plan, Mido-kun! You’re the one that correctly predicted where the bomb was going to be and that Bakugou-kun would leave Iida-san alone. You even knew why he was moving things and took it into account. You might have needed me, but you were the mastermind.”

“Well class?”

The “Midoriya-kun,” that answered was completely unanimous and scarily in sync.

Izuku felt his face burning under his mask as he stammered something resembling a thank you.

Izuku spent the remaining matches watching his classmates closely. Knowing their quirks and how they used them would be invaluable, both when he worked with them, and when he worked against them. There was also him looking for a suitable successor for All Might. He’d already ruled out Bakugou-kun and Mineta-san very firmly based on their actions. He’d also ruled out Kouda-san, Todoroki-san, Shouji-san, and Tokoyami-san because they’re a bit too quiet for the kind of hero Yagi-san is looking for. In Todoroki-san’s case, there was also the problem of him not working well with the rest of the class, and Tokoyami-san was a little… dark for One for All.

The rest of the class Izuku was more hesitant on. He hadn’t seen enough for a hard yes or no, but he would say that watching Kaminari-san and Satou-san overuse their quirks (repeatedly) in training exercises wasn’t exactly a point in their favor. Seeing Ashido-san splash Aoyama-san’s cape, and his reaction to it, also made him hesitant to say they would handle a quirk with as much power as One for All well. He also thought Iida-san and Yaoyorozu-san were a little stiff at times, but that, along with most of the things Izuku had mentioned for the others, were all things he knew they could grow out of fairly quickly under the right circumstances. For all he knew, Yaoyorozu-san was just being shy around a new group of people right now.

Either way… Izuku still had a lot of work to do on this front. At some point during the exercise, Bakugou returned to the room, looking significantly calmer than when he left, even if he did deliberately place himself as far away from Izuku as he physically could. Class went smoothly, and once they were done, All Might made a quick exit.

Izuku needed to make a quick exit, too, if he wanted to make it to Power Loader-sensei’s class on time...

Chapter Text

“Midoriya-kun.”

Izuku stopped and ignored his gossiping classmates. Things seemed to calm down since Power Loader-sensei shut them down the first day, but Izuku could tell there were still some ruffled feathers that no one was willing talking about.“Yes, Power Loader-sensei?”

Power Loader-sensei waved a hand, “You’re supplies are anything and everything in this room. If I asked you for an explosive device that is primarily incendiary, covers a range of thirty meters, and is easy to carry, what would you do?”

Izuku frowned. “Do you want it to work quickly? Or do you want a slow burn? Is there a specific temperature you want?”

“I want it to burn as fast and hot as you can make it.”

“Ignoring war crimes, a small package of white phosphorus with remote detonator would work, but if you want something highly controlled you might want to go for a thermite variant instead.”

“New question. You are in an unstable building. There is a villain you have been tasked with apprehending, and you don’t know their quirk. You have any explosive you want at your disposal and nothing else.”

“Flash bang. I’ll take the necessary precautions to protect myself and continue from there. If they have some form of teleportation quirk, they might be able to flee before they’re apprehended, but there’s nothing I can do about that without more information about their quirk.”

The questions continued from there. There were a few mock bombs to disarm, and a few times Power Loader-sensei asked him to actually make something with certain specifications. There were questions on safety practices and on how different explosives worked. Different tricks and traps that could be included in different mechanisms.

“Okay, I’m done,” Power Loader-sensei said almost an hour later. He pulled a book out of his desk and handed it to Izuku. “Clearly you know what you’re talking about. Read this to cover what you don’t-”

“I’ve already read this, Power Loader-sensei.”

“You… Midoriya-kun, where did you get this book?”

Uh, oh. What went wrong this time? Izuku had no idea what was setting off Power Loader-sensei like this, but he knew it was bad. What was he supposed to say to get out of trouble when he didn’t know what was wrong? “Um…”

“Midoriya-kun, this book is restricted. Even with everything in our world, all the quirks that exist, the government doesn’t want people knowing a lot about bomb making.”

Izuku began shuffling towards the door. He couldn’t use any answer that didn’t somehow include the Ministry of Defense. Anyone else giving him the book as reading material would… well, bad days all around if he did that. “So, you see. Uh. It was a little while ago. Um… the Ministry of Defense… doesn’t have good reading material?”

“Midoriya-kun…”

Yeah, Izuku wasn’t staying for this. “ByePowerLoadersensei! SeeyouonMonday!” Izuku bolted.

“Midoriya-kun!”

He was not going back for that. He still had the book, at least. Izuku didn’t stop running until he was in the train station, nervously hopping from foot to foot as he waited for his turn to pass through the turnstile so he could keep moving. He didn’t relax at all until he was on the train. Even then…

Izuku roughly shoved the book in his backpack and pulled out his phone. Typing frantically.

Izuku: “hey, karasuma-sensei”

Izuku: “you might have mentioned”

Izuku: “at literally any point”

Izuku: “that those books on explosives were restricted material”

Karma: “what’s the book?”

Karasuma: “What did you do?”

Izuku: “Explosive Ordinances in the Modern Era”

Izuku: “i told my teacher i already read it”

Izuku: “after that they told me it was restricted and i wound up saying the ministry doesn’t have good reading material”

Nakamura: “rip”

Izuku: “help me”

Karasuma: “Nothing you can do about that now. You haven’t said anything too bad yet. Try not to talk about it, and if they bring it up again, call me.”

Karasuma: “For now, just try and relax and leave it alone. We’ll see what conclusions they come to.”

Izuku: “not sure how i’ll do on the relaxing bit, but i can definitely just not say anything”

Izuku: “pretending nothing happened and that everything is fine is my specialty”

Karma: “we all have that specialty now”

Terasaka: “Karma-kun, go see a damn therapist already. You needed one before everything happened and you definitely need one now”

Karasuma: “The offer is always open.”

Karma: “you can’t say I’m wrong”

Izuku sat back in the train car and almost put his phone away before deciding to open up another chat. The chat the underground heroes set up was much quieter than the one for his old classmates. Despite that, it was still interesting to see what they talked about in their spare time, and Izuku would open it every once in a while to see what was new. There hadn’t been anything since a few days ago when Mora had been grouching about some group of villains that had been causing trouble on his patrol lately.

Kid: “hey so… let’s say you’re about to get in trouble for knowing things you shouldn’t”

Kid: “how exactly do you fix the situation”

For Whom the Bell Tolls: “my advice is invalid”

For Whom the Bell Tolls: “or so I’ve been told”

Sax and Violins: “you cant tell a teenager to die every time something goes wrong”

Human Torch: “A joke to distract them usually works for me”

Old Man Jenkins: “a couple good threats should do the trick”

Old Man Jenkins: “who changed my name”

Old Man Jenkins: “i will find you”

Hemogoblin: “no you wont”

Kid: “guys. back on track”

Iron Giant: “I can’t say I’ve been in that position.”

Ma’am: “If it ever comes up again, play dumb. Guide them to a harmless and incorrect answer.”

Sax and Violins: “gotta say, that’s the best advice your gonna get”

Kid: “outside of panicking i kinda did that”

The Only Responsible One: “As usual, that is the best answer you’re likely to get here.”

The Only Responsible One: “Though the panicking probably undercut your deflection, unfortunately.”

Sax and Violins: “tho Human torch had a surprisingly good answer”

Human Torch: “Hey! I can be responsible”

Old Man Jenkins: “can you?”

Human Torch: “:(“

Human Torch: “You haven’t seen me in the field”

The Only Responsible One: “He can be, and I find his humor refreshing.”

The Only Responsible One: “Regardless, I think that’s all you’re going to get from this, Kid.”

The Only Responsible One: “Unless you give us more information to work with”

That had been a lot to take in. And not super helpful, but at least now he knew he was on the right track. Izuku decided he was going to ignore Sir Nighteye’s blatant attempt to fish for information.

Kid: “yeah thanks”

Kid: “itll be fine”

Well, it would probably be fine. It was certainly interesting to watch this bunch of misfits. They were the most active of the group, although Seamstress and Sir Nighteye usually only got involved when someone talked to them directly or did something stupid. Sir Nighteye spent a lot of his time just reminding people to keep sensitive information out of the chat.

The door to the teachers’ office opened. “Aizawa, what is wrong with your kid?”

Shouta slowly thumped his head on his desk, letting out a long sigh, and quickly abandoned his paperwork. “First of all, he’s my student not my kid. Second of all, what happened this time?”

Maijima crossed the final distance and stole the chair from the desk next to Shouta. That was supposed to be Nemuri’s… “So, you know how Midoriya-kun is unusually ahead of the curve? Well, I decided to quiz him quickly—“

“Quickly? It’s been over an hour since your class was supposed to end.”

“Hush. I quizzed him quickly to try and get a better idea of where he stood. He’s only got a few gaps—weirdly confident with practical work—so I figure I can give him some reading and once he’s done, he could probably get certified.”

“Weirdly confident with practical work?”

“Not the point. Thing is, the book I was trying to give him is restricted, but he’s already read it.”

Shouta could feel the headache building. Why was this his life?

“I mean, not super restricted,” Maijima said, waving his hands around as he started to ramble. “Almost anyone in a registered explosive ordinance course could read it, or I wouldn’t be giving it to him, but still. He shouldn’t have gotten it before! That would have come up! And that’s not even the interesting part.”

Oh no.

Maijima leaned forward, just barely outside of Shouta’s personal space as he let his words hang in a deliberately dramatic pause. “I asked him how he was able to read restricted material and he floundered for a minute then spat out ‘the Ministry of Defense has bad reading material’ and bolts!”

“The Ministry of Defense has what?”

“‘Bad reading material.’ Aizawa, what does that even mean? How would he even know that? How the hell am I supposed to react to that!?”

How was Maijima going to react to that? How was Shouta supposed to react to that!? Bad reading material. When would he have had a reason to go through the Ministry of Defense’s reading material? And he actually read it! And they let him!? “Was he even telling you the truth?”

Okay, that got Maijima to stop and think for a second. “I’m not sure…”

Well, the story didn’t make much sense, but Midoriya-kun had managed to pick someone who could have reasonably given him access, even if his explanation was more than just a little lackluster. “Alright, we’ll do some digging and see what we come up with. If we can’t figure out why Midoriya-kun would have been given reading material from the Ministry, we’ll ask him again.”

“And if we do find something?”

“Bring it to Nedzu-san.” Because he knew he wasn’t going to deal with that mess.

“Right. To work!” Maijima turned to the computer and was about to start typing when he froze. He stood stiffly and walked over to his own desk to start working. Shouta snorted quietly to himself but brushed it off as he turned to his own computer.

He had hoped to get this paperwork done today, but this research was going to take priority. First things first, check as much of the public knowledge as he could. Most of it was things he already knew. The official statements made to the press and local heroes, with nothing more added. There were a few conspiracy theories floating around, but nothing concrete. He kept looking, clicking through even a few suspect links in the hope of some slim lead.

… That didn’t look like a video he’d seen before. The still was hardly anything to judge off, but he could make out the beginnings of the military barricade and a bunch of teenagers. He was fairly certain the mop of green in the background was Midoriya-kun’s, but it was hard to tell. Shouta knew the press had hounded the kids after their graduation ceremony, but he had never heard anything about this. Whatever this was. He hit play.

The first thing Shouta noticed was that this news station had followed proper protocols and blurred out the kids’ faces, not that it mattered much. In this age of mutations, blurring someone’s face was far from a guarantee that their privacy was protected. The second thing he noticed was that the reporters were focusing their attention on the military personnel, specifically the man in the professional suit, and bombarded them with questions about the villain trapped on the mountain. They completely ignored the kids… including the ones that looked like they were being physically restrained by the soldiers? What the hell?

Well, at least the press was ignoring them.

Until they made some comment about the kids themselves. “What about the students?” one reporter yelled over the others. “We’re talking about a villain dangerous enough to willingly destroy the entire earth, and he was staying near unwatched school children for an unknown period of time? What were the risks to them? Have any of them been hurt or traumatized as a result of military incompetence?”

A strangled and almost offended noise rose from one of the students. (If that wasn’t Midoriya-kun, he’d eat his scarf.) The kids and soldiers, who had frozen in their previous argument when the camera crews surrounded them were back in motion.

“You don’t know anything!” one student yelled at the reporters, barely heard over the din. Another student behind him with a bull mutation was manhandling and yelling at one of the soldiers in the barricade.

“He’s not willingly destroying the earth!” a girl yelled. The camera zoomed in on her and the reporter with this station followed the cue, moving her microphone to pick up the girl’s words better. “The chance of the earth being destroyed is less than one percent! He’s not a threat!”

Shouta had heard that statistic before but only briefly and without any sources to back it up. Looks like he found who they were quoting. Nedzu-san had been angry enough when the number first started floating around, but because it was unsubstantiated, he didn’t do anything about it. If the kid was right…

“He’s not the monster everyone’s saying he is!” another girl yelled, just out of focus.

The reporters were ignoring the military now and had focused their attention on the students. Shouta grit his teeth as they screeched at them about how they met the villain and how long he was on the mountain and if they had Stockholm Syndrome, ignoring the mounting fear coming from the kids.

One of the students pushed himself between the reporters and his classmates, calling for them to retreat and regroup. They quickly burst through the media barrage, leaving the cameras and the guards they’d been fighting with in the dust. The camera caught an impressive display of speed, agility, and acrobatics, as the students took advantage of their terrain just before the video ended.

Shouta scowled as he saved a copy of the video and sent the link in an email to Nedzu-san. He wished the clip had started earlier, rather than being that edited mess. He needed more context. Why were the kids so close to the controlled area? Why were they arguing with the guards? Then there was what the students were saying. Nothing was adding up.

Well, it wasn’t adding up with what he thought he knew. He quickly pulled up the official documents they had been sent almost a month ago, skimming over it and double checking everything.

The students weren’t mentioned. Shit. The students weren’t mentioned. At least, they weren’t mentioned beyond the simple blanket statement about the school being shut down and surrounding areas being evacuated. The class that was at risk of contact was never specifically mentioned. Goddamnit!

Okay. What happened after that? The kids ran, but some of them at the very least had some level of contact with the villain. And that video… Shouta switched back to that page and checked it over again. It never aired. Even checking over the other crews present that Shouta managed to recognize from their voices or brief moments on camera yielded nothing. No one had officially aired the footage of this event. Hell, the only video of it that still existed and had been published in any way was the one Shouta had just found. None of the others said a single thing about it.

That was certainly something he could look into. He’d send an email to the company running this site and see what they had to say. Given they were the only ones with a video still up, they were probably the most likely to actually talk to him. Even if they were largely just a no-name tabloid. He should probably save the video too. If the Ministry was strong arming the media into keeping quiet…

What else can he check… Didn’t UA send a teacher out to deliver Midoriya-kun’s acceptance letter by hand? Both him and Bakugou-kun lived near the school area, so they just had someone that had picked up a patrol for the Ministry handle both of them. Not protocol, but mail wasn’t consistently reaching that area anyway. Who was it?

“Hey, Kan.”

Kan grunted without looking up from his computer.

“Who dropped off Midoriya-kun and Bakugou-kun’s letters?”

“I did.”

Oh, good. “Did you notice anything?”

“Not really. Both of the letters were dropped off at the Bakugou residence. The Midoriyas lived inside the evacuation zone and were staying with the Bakugous because the two families were close.”

That was news, but not particularly important or relevant. They’d already known the boys knew each other, but that their parents were close as well…

“Actually…” Kan stopped working and finally looked up. “Now that I think about it, Bakugou-san was acting a little odd when he told me to leave Midoriya-kun’s results with him.”

“Do you think he was lying?”

“No, he knew I’d have Midoriya-kun’s letter before I said anything, which told me enough about their relationship. I didn’t know where else to look for them, so I just trusted him to it. If anything, he seemed… sad when he asked for Midoriya-kun’s letter along with his son’s.”

Okay, so something definitely happened.

“Is there a reason you’re asking?”

“Hopefully nothing actually important.” Something happened when the idiots with the Ministry closed off the school, but how was he supposed to track down the answer here? The Ministry had been stonewalling them from the start and denied any connection. There was still a (very slim) chance that whatever had happened didn’t put Midoriya-kun in direct contact with the Ministry for any extended period of time, but…

A quick double check and… nope. Midoriya-kun wasn’t in the hospital around then either.

“Maijima?”

“I’ve got nothing, Aizawa. You know this isn’t my specialty.”

No, it really wasn’t. It was Shouta’s specialty. This was why (well, one reason why) Nedzu-san had hired him. But even Shouta had reached a point where he couldn’t get any further than a vague idea without actually asking someone, and getting information out of the Ministry of Defense was far worse than pulling teeth. He could, in theory, just ask Midoriya-kun, but he didn’t think he was likely to get a straight answer if he did have contact with the Ministry.

In theory he could ask Bakugou-kun if he was really desperate to keep Midoriya-kun from finding out, but that shouldn’t be necessary. If any of the Bakugous knew, then Midoriya-san definitely knew.

Should he call her in for a meeting? Have a home visit? No, it wasn’t that serious, and a home visit would likely necessitate Midoriya-kun’s presence. This should be quick and easy, so he could just do it over the phone. If Midoriya-san started dodging the question, then he could ask her to come in later.

Shouta’s hand hovered over his desk phone as he remembered exactly where he was. He did not want half the school knowing about the Problem Child’s latest bomb related antics, even if they were probably listening earlier. Well, at least Kan had been minding his own business and Hizashi wasn’t here. Didn’t mean he was going to push his luck, though.

He typed Midoriya-san’s number into his cell phone as he stood and left the office. He walked quickly down the hallway, letting the phone ring. He closed the door to the lounge behind him just as she picked up.

“Midoriya Inko. Who is this?”

“Ah, Midoriya-san, I am Aizawa Shouta, your son’s homeroom teacher.” He had called her earlier to set up the meeting with her, the Bakugous, and Principal Nedzu, so he was somewhat surprised when she didn’t know who he was. Eh, not his problem if she hadn’t saved his number or checked caller ID before answering.

“Oh!” Something shuffled in the background as Midoriya-san shifted her full attention to the conversation. “Aizawa-sensei, what can I do for you? Is something wrong?”

“Nothing is wrong, per se. I just had a quick question pertaining to something Midoriya-kun said today. Has he had any significant contact with the Ministry of Defense?”

There was a pause on the other end. “Can you tell me what Izuku said, Aizawa-sensei?”

Her words were slow and carefully measured. He really hoped she wasn’t directly involved in this. On the other hand, if she refused to give any answer, that would be as good as a confirmation of something at this point. “He…” should he give context? “He made a comment about the quality of the Ministry’s reading material.” That sounded stupid.

“Ah, I suppose that makes sense.”

Wait, what.

“During the… events in March, the Ministry… decided to take Izuku’s class into custody.”

…They did what. “For how long?” his voice came out choked as he tried to fight back the urge to start screaming.

“Almost the full week.” No. Shit. No. “I wasn’t happy about the situation, but I was hardly in any position to argue.”

No, he can’t imagine she was. They probably told her and the other parents after they’d taken the kids. “Do you know why?”

“The man they sent over said it was because they couldn’t be sure if the students had any contact with the villain or what effects it would have on them.”

Okay, that was halfway reasonable, if not for the fact that they buried it and refused to tell Shouta, the guy that was responsible for taking one of the kids they thought could have been manipulated by a villain and making him into a hero. If not for the fact that the students very clearly knew something and had been squabbling with the military before being taken in.

If it smelled like a cover up before, it reeked of one now. “Thank you for your time, Midoriya-san. That’s all I wanted to talk to you about.”

“Alright then. Enjoy the rest of your day, Aizawa-sensei.”

“You too.” He hung up as soon as the social pleasantries were out of the way. He took several deep breaths, sank down on the couch, and buried his head in his hands.

He was going to murder someone. Probably. Once he actually figured out who to murder.

Shouta took a breath. He was a hero. He wasn’t allowed to kill people.

Once he had calmed his homicidal ideation, he shot off a quick text to Maijima telling him he didn’t need to keep researching, then another to Nedzu-san saying he was coming up to talk. The rat definitely needed to know about this.

Chapter Text

Aizawa-sensei walked into the classroom the next morning, dragging his sleeping bag behind him like he always did. “To your seats.” He didn’t even need to raise his voice to have the few remaining students scurrying to their spots. A quick nod that acknowledged they were getting better at not wasting time, and Aizawa-sensei got down to business, skipping any roll call. “I’ve looked over your exercises from yesterday, and you’ll all be getting my written reviews in a second. Just know that you all did well. Now, your next class will decide your future.” Aizawa-sensei paused. Izuku could swear he was doing it to psych them out on purpose. “You need to pick your class representatives.”

Most of the class let out an audible sigh of relief around Izuku, then, only a second later, they registered exactly what had been said. And started yelling.

“Pick me! I wanna be class rep!”

“I’ll do it.”

“How about me?”

“I’ll be the most stylish representative possible.”

This was… very different from how things had gone in 3-E. Isogai and Kataoka had almost gotten the spots by default, with both of them being such ikemen. Although, Izuku couldn’t say he wasn’t surprised everyone here wanted it, given how that would look when it came to finding an agency later on.

“Silence, please!”

Izuku slumped slightly in his seat as soon as the barrage of noise stopped. Thank you, Iida-san.

“The job of the class representative is to lead. That’s not something just anyone can do. In order to lead effectively the representative must first have the trust and respect of every student. As such, the only logical choice is to do this democratically. We will hold an election to choose.”

“Is this the best idea?” Kaminari-san asked.

“We’ve only known each other for about a week,” Asui-san said. “We don’t really know each other well enough to make that kind of decision.”

“Yeah, and almost everyone is just gonna vote for themselves,” said Kirishima-san.

“I don’t really care what you do,” Aizawa-sensei cut in as he zipped up his sleeping bag. “So long as you’ve chosen your reps by the end of homeroom. We’ve pretty much pushed this back as far as we can.”

“Wait,” Uraraka-san said, a confused frown on her face, “if that’s the case, why didn’t we do this earlier?”

“I wanted to make sure you got to actually see each other in action,” Aizawa-sensei answered. “Now, get to choosing.” He flopped over on the floor and rolled over to take a nap. Or pretend to. Izuku didn’t doubt he was still listening.

“Thank you for your trust” Iida-san said, taking control of the situation again. “To answer Kirishima-kun’s and Asui-kun’s—”

“Tsuyu-chan.”

“—concerns, it’s true that we don’t know each other very well yet, and that most people will vote for themselves, but that will make it all the more powerful when someone does get multiple votes. It will mean they have done enough to get someone to step aside and trust them with this position, making them inherently the best to lead us.”

“Or we could sidestep that and use ranked choice voting. Like in Australia,” Izuku said. “That way in order to win, someone will have to have the trust of at least half the class to one degree or another.”

“We could…” Yaoyorozu-san said, “but that probably won’t work given all of the people that will still vote for themselves. We would need a way to handle all of the ties without ruling out those that would have more votes if they stayed in a little longer.”

Izuku nodded. “Yeah, you’re right.”

“A standard vote it is!” Iida-san said. “If everyone would please write the name of their choice on a piece of paper, we can begin the process.”

Most of the students didn’t take very long to make a decision and place their vote at the front of the classroom. Some, like Izuku put a little more thought into the matter. Either way, their votes were cast and counted up by Izuku, Iida-san, and Yaoyorozu-san.

Izuku, for his part couldn’t bring himself to believe his eyes. Four votes. He had four votes.

“Alright, now that you’ve decided,” Aizawa-sensei said as he stood from his sleeping bag and shoved a stack of papers into Izuku’s and Yaoyorozu-san’s hands, “start passing these back. Meet me in the office after school and we’ll talk about your duties.”

“Yaoyorozu-san,” Izuku whispered as he started sorting through his pile.

“Yes, Midoriya-kun?”

“Can you make me an air horn? Or, like, a really loud whistle. Or something.”

“Why?”

“I feel like I’m going to need one with this class.”

Yaoyorozu-san’s face scrunched up at the reminder of how over excited some members of the class could get. She rolled up her sleeve and handed Izuku an air horn.

Some of Izuku’s absolute terror over being left in charge of the chaos that was bound to be 1-A had faded by the time they were dismissed for lunch, but only some. Izuku caught himself losing focus in class trying to figure out why he’d been elected, who voted for him, and just how was he going to handle this. He wasn’t ready for this. He didn’t know what he was supposed to do. He’d never even really paid much attention to what student government did back in middle school. Sure, he’d read that part of the student handbook just this morning, but that just listed the general stuff, not how to do it.

Izuku sat heavily in his seat at the lunch table he and his friends had taken over since the start of the year. He pushed his tray forward, letting his head rest on the table as he groaned to himself. He was so, very not ready for this.

Well, time to ask the experts at wrangling chaos demons and classes with an unusual appetite for violence.

Izuku pulled out his phone and started typing.

Izuku: “help”

Izuku: “sos”

Bitch-sensei: “how many days in a row can you wind up in trouble, kid?”

Izuku: “better not to ask that. don’t want to jinx it”

Karasuma: “Is this about the explosives?”

Izuku: “no. i got elected class rep”

Izuku: “i have no idea what im doing”

Nagisa: “congrats”

Terasaka: “They elected you? Your a nervous wreck.”

Izuku: “... thanks”

Izuku: “don’t ask me why they picked me”

Izuku: “they seem to think im isogai”

“Ah, Midoriya-kun, I hope we didn’t leave you waiting for too long.”

Izuku glanced up from his phone as Iida-san, Uraraka-san, Kirishima-san, and Hagakure-san took their seats around him.

“You must’ve been hungry, man. I don’t think I’ve seen anyone move that fast before.”

“Yeah,” Hagakure-san said, gesturing wildly with her arms. “I’m still not sure how you managed to get out the door so fast. I mean, you sit on the other side of the room and you were still the first out.”

“He went over the desks,” Iida-san answered. “Hardly appropriate behavior for a class representative.”

Izuku winced. Not a great first impression then. His phone buzzed and he glanced back down.

Isogai: “Don’t worry too much about it. Just set a good example and follow your teacher’s instructions. It honestly won’t be too hard for someone with our training.”

Izuku would probably have to read through some missed messages later, but at least he’d gotten some kind of advice from Isogai.

He still didn’t think he should be class representative. And neither did Iida-san, apparently.

“Aw, don’t be so harsh, Iida-san,” Uraraka-san said. “I’m sure Mido-kun will do a great job!”

“Ah, yes, my apologies. I should show more trust in both the system of elections and the person I voted for.”

Izuku froze where he had been pulling his food back towards him. He wanted to eat it before it got cold, but Iida-san’s words… and Uraraka-san’s… Izuku stole a quick glance around the table. Yep, two plus two equals four. Damn them and their unshakable belief that he was an ikemen.

“Anyway, who were you talking to?” Hagakure-san asked, trying to break the tension even as Izuku’s face felt like someone had lit it on fire.

“Uh, some friends from middle school,” Izuku answered, slowly drifting back into motion and taking a bite of Lunch Rush’s absolutely wondrous food. “One of them was our class president, and I was hoping for some advice for how not to make a total fool of myself.”

“What?” Kirishima-san said. “But you’re the manliest person in our class!? I doubt you could make a fool of yourself.”

Izuku’s entire time in elementary school and two thirds of his time in middle school begged to differ.

“Yeah,” Hagakure-san said. “I mean, I don’t really understand the manly part, but you’re basically the best student in the class.”

“Did you get a response?” Uraraka-san asked him.

Izuku nodded. “He told me I’d be fine and to trust myself and Aizawa-sensei.”

Iida-san nodded. “That is sound advice. The guidance of those that came before us will mix well with your own courage, quick thinking, and detailed planning. You will make an admirable leader for our class.”

“Didn’t you want the job, Iida-kun?” Hagakure-san asked. “I mean, with all your seriousness and rule following, I thought you’d at least give it a shot.”

“Wanting to lead and being suited to it are different things,” said Iida-san. “I’ve been able to observe that much from watching the Iida family agency. I chose to put my faith in the system and vote for someone else. Had I been worthy, others would have voted for me.”

Izuku winced at the statement, while his friends got hung up on the word agency. He had considered voting for Iida-san but had eventually chosen Yaoyorozu-san instead. It seemed Iida-san had taken his lack of votes as a slight blow to his pride. Well, he didn’t seem too hung up over it at this point. If he brought it up again, Izuku would talk to him about it.

“Oh, it’s nothing,” Iida-san said, trying to brush off the questions about his family’s work.

“I wouldn’t call Idaten nothing, Iida-san. You should be proud of what your family has accomplished,” Izuku said suddenly.

The table fell silent and Iida-san gaped at him like a fish. “H-how did you know? I thought I was being so careful!”

Izuku burst out laughing. “Iida-san, you can’t change your face. And anyway, if you really wanted to hide your family legacy you probably should have waited a little while before using your family’s costume design.”

“Wait, what!?” Hagakure-san said, slamming he hands into the table. “Iida-san comes from a hero family!? No way!”

“Dude, that’s super cool, why would you try and hide it?” Kirishima-san asked.

“Ah, I was worried people would treat me differently if they knew.”

Izuku frowned. “Do we treat Todoroki-san differently?” He didn’t think anyone had been treating Todoroki-san any different, but maybe Iida-san saw something he hadn’t.

“No,” Iida-san said after a moment. “I suppose not, though he doesn’t really seem to be interacting with the rest of the class.”

Uraraka-san nodded. “Even if you do have a bunch of money, or famous parents, we’re not about to treat you any different just for that.”

“I mean, look at Yaoyorozu-chan,” Hagakure-san added. “She’s got so much money she’s not even aware of it, but she’s just our classmate at the end of the day.”

“And anyway, we’re all gonna be heroes someday, right?” Kirishima-san said. “It would be weird if we treated someone different because their parents are already in the field.”

“See, Iida-san, nothing to worry about.” Izuku smiled at them all. “We’re all just heroes in training.” And hopefully nothing ever happened to change that perception. As much as Karasuma-sensei and Ashisuto-san assured him he was fine, Izuku still dreaded the day when he slipped up and it came out that he’d killed Korosensei.

“Though that does explain why you were at private school,” Uraraka-san said. “I bet things would have been weird for you at a public school. The teachers would have been constantly fawning over you.”

“That is one of the reasons,” Iida-san said, nodding. “Speaking of schooling. Midoriya-kun, a few days ago before the reporters trespassed on campus, you at the very least implied that you didn’t find any of our course work difficult. Where did you and Bakugou-kun go to school to have such academic prowess? Or did you simply attend cram schools?”

“Ah. That. We went to Aldera Junior High.”

Hagakure-san choked on her water. “You went to Aldera?” she coughed .

“Wait, what’s so special about Aldera?” Kirishima-san asked, glancing

“It’s a fancy prep school in Musutafu,” Uraraka-san said, staring at Izuku. “It’s really expensive and really hard to get into.”

Izuku shrugged. “Bakugou and I are actually Agreement students.”

“What are agreement students?” Iida-san asked. “I must admit to not being familiar with that term, though I am familiar with Aldera’s reputation. Their graduates practically have their pick of schools and careers.”

“Right, it’s actually kind of a term among the Aldera students and staff,” Izuku explained quickly. “It was originally a public school before Asano-san bought it, so the local families that moved to the area so their kids could go to school their weren’t happy with the decision. To keep everyone happy, Asano-san agreed to allow their children to attend to school tuition free. And not everyone does as well as you think, Iida-san.” But Aldera had been very good at manipulating their data to make it look like they did. To carefully exclude their manufactured failures in E Class.

“Well, every school’s got some kids that don’t make it, right?” Kirishima-san said. “Some people just don’t succeed no matter what their parents or teachers do.”

Izuku grit his teeth. “Or maybe, no one is actually addressing the root of the problem and just keeps telling them to do better. Sometimes it’s not the student’s fault.”

“But surely at a school like Aldera, the teachers would be attentive to their students’ needs,” said Iida-san.

Uraraka-san shook her head. “It’s not always like that, Iida-kun. Sometimes those big prestigious schools brush off everyone that needs extra help and just pretends its not a problem.”

Kirishima-san gave her a strange look. “I mean, yeah. That’s a thing that happens pretty much every where. But if their numbers are as good as Iida-kun said, shouldn’t it be different there?”

Izuku was done. He stood up, chair scraping against the floor, and grabbed his tray. He wasn’t about to get into a conversation about Aldera with someone that couldn’t even think of a school that would abandon it’s students.

“Mido-kun?” Hagakure-san said.

Izuku shook his head. “I’m not hungry anymore. I’ll see you back at class.”

His friends were quiet behind him as he walked away, dumping the left over food in the trash and leaving. He had some time before class started again. Hopefully he could get himself back to a halfway decent mindset before then. He couldn’t have the class thinking their ikemen wasn’t able to handle the pressure of something as simple as being class representative.

Hopefully whatever Aizawa-sensei needed to tell him and Yaoyorozu-san wouldn’t take too long.

Chapter Text

When Izuku made it to the teachers’ office after school, Mic-sensei opened the door and let him in, directing him to the couch off to the side that Yaoyorozu-san was waiting on.

“Yaoyorozu-san,” he greeted her with a quick strained smile. “Has Aizawa-sensei been here yet?”

She shook her head. “No, not yet.”

Izuku nodded and settled down next to Yaoyorozu-san, pulling out his notebook and diving into his work. He hadn’t had a lot of time to mark down his notes on their classmates yet, and there had been a hero fight he ran into on his way to school that he had a few more notes for as well. The silence between them was a little uncomfortable, but Izuku figured if there was anything to say, Yaoyorozu-san would talk to him.

As it was, she said nothing, and Izuku’s attention was focused on his notes. Until Midnight-sensei started whispering to Mic-sensei.

“Hey. Hizashi,” she whispered in English, very clearly trying to be discreet, which of course is exactly why Izuku noticed.

“What’s up?” Mic-sensei responded with ease.

“I got a joke for you.”

Mic-sensei stopped typing. “Nem, there are kids right there.”

“Come on, Zashi. It’s not like they could understand me even if they were paying attention.”

Izuku wrote a few mindless lines in his notebook. The silence between the two teachers seemed to press down on him. He could feel their eyes on him and almost hear the gears in Mic-sensei’s brain turning as considered the options.

“Alright, fine. Tell me your joke, but only one, Nem. If you have anything else, it needs to wait until they’re gone.”

“Deal. Alright, so there’s this guy, a lawyer, and he just got married to this woman who was married ten times before him.”

“Jesus.”

“And she says to him, ‘Please be gentle. I’m a virgin.’”

Mic-sensei snorts slightly at that, and Izuku could feel his lips start to curl upwards.

“And he’s all confused and asks how that’s possible. Married ten times and no sex? So she explains. ‘Husband #1,’ she says, ‘was a sales representative. He just kept saying how great it was going to be. Husband #2 was in software services. He was never really sure how it was supposed to function.’”

Mic-sensei snorts louder this time. As the story goes on, Midnight-sensei gets a little more gleeful and a little more excited.

“‘Husband #3 was from field services. He said everything checked out diagnostically, but he just couldn’t get the system up. Husband #4 was in telemarketing. Even though he knew he had the order, he didn’t know when he would be able to deliver. Husband #5 was an engineer. He understood the basic process, but he wanted three years to research, design, and implement a new state-of-the-art method. Husband #6 was from administration. He thought he knew how, but he wasn’t sure if it was his job or not. Husband #7 was in marketing. Although he had a nice product, he was never sure how to position it. #8 was a psychologist. All he ever did was talk about it. 9 was a gynecologist. All he did was look at it. 10 was a stamp collector. All he did was…’ well, she missed him. But she was really excited for this one.

“‘Great,’ he said, ‘but why?’

“‘You’re a lawyer. This time, I know I’m going to get screwed.’”

Having waited patiently for the punchline, and having forgotten the man’s occupation, Mic-sensei laughed, and Izuku chuckled.

Mic-sensei’s laugh cuts off abruptly, and the entire office seems to go silent.

This time, Izuku stopped his writing and glanced up, concerned by the sudden silence. The entire office had stopped working, most of the teachers were glancing between Izuku, Mic-sensei, and Midnight-sensei.

Mic-sensei and Midnight-sensei ignored their colleagues, instead, watching Izuku with pale faces.

“What?” Izuku asked.

“You said they weren’t paying attention!” Mic-sensei hissed at Midnight-sensei.

“I thought they weren’t,” she snapped back. “And it’s not like you didn’t check for yourself!”

“Still here,” Izuku said.

Both teachers turned back to him again.

“Midoriya-kun?” Yaoyorozu-san suddenly said, putting down her book. “What’s going on?”

“Ah, nothing to worry about, Listeners,” Mic-sensei said, chuckling nervously. “Midnight here just had a joke to tell me and didn’t really expect Midoriya-kun to notice.”

Midnight-sensei put on a strained smile. “Yeah, just a little joke between adults.”

Izuku nodded, turning to give Yaoyorozu-san a very flat and unimpressed look. “Exactly. Just a joke between adults,” he said, emphasizing the last part in hopes that she would understand it was not intended for their ears.

Yaoyorozu-san blushed bright red. “Ah.”

“Right, Listener,” Mic-sensei said, clearing his throat awkwardly. “If you could just-”

The door slid open, and everyone in the room suddenly turned back to their work, silent and with straight faces as though nothing had happened.

Aizawa-sensei sent a suspicious glare around the room, before brushing it off and moving on. He grabbed a chair from his desk and dragged it over to the couch, dropping down and slouching across from them. “Alright,” he said, “let’s get this over with.”

What followed was a… very brief discussion on what their duties were. That was somehow in detail. There was a lot of information, and Izuku was fairly certain he wasn’t processing all of it. Especially coming off of the mood whiplash that was going from a sex joke to talking about being class reps. There were some things UA had their representatives do that other schools didn’t (Yaoyorozu-san seemed confused when they were told to plan and organize duty rosters), and some things they would have normally done that Aizawa-sensei would very much prefer they didn’t (“We don’t need to do roll call, and don’t bother with the formal greetings for me. It’s a waste of time. Check with the other teachers if you’re not sure what they want from you”), and some things that were completely normal (picking up worksheets and other supplies from the teachers before school).

“I think that’s everything,” Aizawa-sensei finally said. “The first student government meeting is before school on Monday starting at seven. Don’t be late.”

“Right.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Alright, Yaoyorozu-kun, you can go now. I have a few more things I need to talk to Midoriya-kun about.”

“Oh, okay. We’ll talk about this tomorrow, Midoriya-kun?”

“Sure, I’ll see you then, Yaoyorozu-san!”

Yaoyorozu-san left, and Aizawa-sensei did nothing but watch Izuku squirm.

“Midoriya-kun.”

Right. Here it comes. He was probably going to bring up what Izuku said to Power Loader-sensei. There was no way out of this one.

“First thing’s first. You don’t have anywhere you need to be right now, do you?”

Izuku shook his head.

“Good. Power Loader wants you once you’re done here. Just paperwork and some final tests for your certification.”

“Oh, uh right.” Izuku stood up and shoved his notebook in his backpack. “I’ll be right on that—”

“I’m not done with you yet.”

Izuku sat back down. So much for getting out of here before Aizawa-sensei could ask too many questions.

“I want you to be there fifteen minutes early for practice with Sentoki-sensei tonight. I’ve already told her to expect us both.”

Why did Aizawa want him to arrive early? And why did Sentoki-sensei need to be involved?

“Don’t tell me you forgot? It was her lessons you misused.”

Right. Bakugou’s arm. He had forgotten. “Um, nope. Didn’t forget at all,” Izuku squeaked.

“Right. Not my problem. You can go see Power Loader, now.”

“Ah, yes, Aizawa-sensei. Thank you, Aizawa-sensei,” Izuku blurted gathering his stuff and walking quickly to the door. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Yeah, yeah. Just get out of here.”

The door slid shut behind Midoriya-kun, and Shouta immediately turned his attention back to his two friends who had been suspiciously quiet since he came in. “Alright, what’s going on?”

“Don’t know what you mean, Shou,” Hizashi replied with his trademark easy grin. Literally. That was a Present Mic smile, not a Hizashi smile.

“Don’t lie to me, Hizashi. You’re bad at it. Not to mention your perfect behavior when I came in. What did you two do with my students?”

“It’s nothing Shouta, don’t worry about it,” Nemuri tried.

“Kayama told Yamada a dirty joke in English, and Midoriya-kun understood it,” Ishiyama said, not looking up from his computer.

“Thank you, Ishiyama.”

“Alright, alright, yes. Midoriya-kun heard one of his teachers tell a sex joke,” Nemuri conceded. “We didn’t think either of them was paying any attention.”

“And even if they were, I kinda doubted they’d be able to understand it,” Hizashi added. “Between the topic and Nemuri whispering pretty fast, I didn’t think even Midoriya-kun would be able to get enough to know what we were talking about.”

Ishiyama nodded, finally glancing up. “I will say, it was impressive, if a little concerning. I could barely keep up enough to know the gist of it, but he understood enough to find it funny.”

“Yeah, Midoriya-kun is probably my best student in that class,” said Hizashi.

Shouta frowned. “I thought Bakugou-kun and Yaoyorozu-san were the best English students.”

“So did I. And don’t get me wrong, they’re still top students, but I overlooked Midoriya-kun at first because he doesn’t answer questions a lot in class. When I do get him to answer, I swear he barely even needs to look at the board.

“Anyway, when I thought about it a bit longer and looked at the worksheets, I realized Midoriya-kun was just slightly edging out Bakugou-kun. For the most part they’re pretty similar. To be expected coming from the same school, they probably had the same English teacher. But Midoriya-kun’s accent is leagues ahead of the rest of the class. And his grammar might be better.”

“I thought you said he was only a little ahead?” Nemuri said. “Sounds to me like he’s way ahead of the game.”

Hizashi shrugged. “Yeah. He probably is, but it’s hard to say so early in the year. Especially when he keeps dropping in things that work in conversational English but aren’t technically correct, and I can’t tell if he knows what he’s doing or not.”

Shouta rolled his eyes. “Is there anything I actually need to worry about or were you just worried I’d kill you for things you didn’t teach Midoriya-kun?”

Nemuri and Hizashi both had a sheepish smile on their face. “Mostly just worried about your reaction,” Hizashi finally admitted. “Though, if not for Midoriya-kun almost certainly having done some studying outside of class, I would be a little concerned at how well he grasped that joke. I mean, what junior high school teaches their kids that?”

Shouta shuffled back over to his desk, ignoring the rhetorical question. If that was all this was, he honestly didn’t care that much. When it came to Midoriya-kun, unexpected English proficiency meant nothing. It wasn’t even all that unexpected. He came from a good school and he was a dedicated student. There wasn’t really even anything to be surprised about. Not compared to bombs and videos of him scaling buildings. Videos of people that are most likely his middle school classmates getting into a fight with soldiers and spouting out information they shouldn’t have had access to.

“Is there something we should be worried about with Midoriya-kun?” Nemuri asked softly.

Shouta raised an eyebrow. “What gave you that impression?”

“You’ve got a look on your face,” Hizashi said.

“I don’t have a look.”

“Yes, you do,” Nemuri countered.

“Yeah,” Hizashi nodded. “It says, ‘one of my kids is causing problems and I’m worried about them.’”

“They’re not my kids.”

“You’re right, by this point, they usually aren’t. So why’s this one so special?”

Nemuri hummed. “I heard you mention Sentoki-sensei. Does this kid go to the same dojo?”

Hizashi raised an eyebrow. “That would explain why you got attached so fast. How come I didn’t know about that? Actually scratch that. I’m more interested in why you’re worried.”

“Fine.” Shouta huffed. “Let’s see what you make of this.” He pulled up the video he had saved the day before. And played it for them.

“That…”

“I swear that was Midoriya-kun in the background.”

Shouta nodded. “The best look we really get at most of the kids is when they left, but based on the mutation quirks present, I’m reasonably confident this was his class from Aldera.”

“Reasonably confident?” Nemuri asked. “How do you know what his classmates look like?”

“I got access to the class roster and looked them up in the quirk registry.”

“Is this where the one percent number came from?” Hizashi asked.

“Looks like it, but I don’t know where they got the number from, so we still don’t really know much on that front.”

Nemuri shook her head. “That’s not what worries me. They obviously had contact. And it sounds like they knew a lot that we don’t.”

“True, but I was mostly showing you the video for background,” Shouta finally said. “I reached out to the tabloid that filmed this with a few questions. And this is the response I got.” He pulled up the email and waited as they parsed the legalese. Already his headache was returning just thinking about it. The dense response from the legal department that essentially boiled down to “we thought we already took that down, we’ll get it fixed, please don’t sue us.”

“Oh, fucking hell,” Nemuri swore as she finally finished the document.

“Can you please just tell me what it says,” Hizashi whined. “You know I suck at this stuff.”

“It says that the government is trying to cover it up,” she snapped. “And they thought Shouta was going to get them in trouble. Please tell em you brought this to Nedzu-san.”

Shouta nodded. “That’s where I came from. Though that also means this thread is a dead end so long as gag orders stay in place.”

“Fuck. So it’s confirmed then? Those kids were involved? Like. Directly involved.” Hizashi looked like he wanted to be sick at the thought. It was one thing with their students who signed up for this. Who were taught in a safe controlled environment and didn’t have to actually fight any villains or put themselves in danger until halfway through their second year at the earliest. But these were middle schoolers that seemed to have direct and unrestricted access to a villain, and the government was trying to hide it.

“Yeah,” Shouta sighed. “We just don’t know how involved yet. Or how it effected them. How it effected Midoriya-kun.”

Both Aizawa-sensei and Sentoki-sensei were waiting for Izuku when he arrived at the dojo. Neither of them said anything as Sentoki-sensei waved them into the back office and settled them around a low table.

“Alright, now can one of you please tell me what’s going on?” she said. “All I know is that Aizawa wanted you here to talk to me before class starts.”

Izuku glanced over at Aizawa-sensei, who just raised an eyebrow and gestured for Izuku to start speaking. Izuku swallowed. “I’m sorry Sentoki-sensei,” he said, bowing his head. “While sparring at UA I lost my temper and broke a classmate’s arm.”

“You lost your temper? You?” Sentoki-sensei blinked at him. “I’ve never heard you be anything less than polite, much less even so much as raise your voice at someone.”

Aizawa-sensei cleared his throat. “Midoriya-kun and the student in question have history that would have made that more predictable had I known ahead of time.”

Sentoki-sensei nodded slowly. “And now you’re here telling me because he studies here as well.” She turned back to Izuku. “Has Tadaomi been informed?”

“Uh. No?” Why would he need to tell Karasuma-sensei?

Aizawa-sensei frowned, “Who’s Tadaomi-san?”

“Karasuma Tadaomi,” Sentoki-sensei answered. “Another old student of mine. Midoriya-kun was only admitted on his recommendation. He learned from Tadaomi before he learned from me.”

“I thought you had a policy about people taking care of their own students.”

That was news to Izuku. If that was the case why had she let him in?

“I do, but in this case Tadaomi managed to make a good argument. Said he wasn’t going to have all that long with Midoriya-kun, and given his loft dreams of hero school, he needed more that Tadaomi could actually give him.”

“Then why are you still teaching me?” Izuku spoke up. “Aren’t I Aizawa-sensei’s student now?”

“Normally, that would be my argument against you joining.” Sentoki-sensei shrugged. “Hero students have enough teachers as is. But you were my student first, and you’re a good one at that. Plus, with Aizawa being here some of the time, it’s not like he’s completely shirking his responsibilities. But let’s get back on topic. You haven’t told Tadaomi about this.”

Izuku shook his head.

“And what do you think Tadaomi would say?”

Izuku thought for a moment. What would Karasuma-sensei say? Sure he probably wouldn’t be happy about it. He had spent a lot of time drilling into their head responsible use of the skills he taught them, but at the same time he wasn’t a hero and hadn’t been teaching them to be heroes. He was teaching them to be assassins and to stick up for themselves. He was coming from a fundamentally different place than Aizawa-sensei. And different than Sentoki-sensei really. “I think he would say I did good standing up for myself, but that I need to stay in control in the future,” he finally answered.

They both stared at him for a long moment. “Well, he’s not wrong,” Aizawa-sensei finally said.

Sentoki-sensei sighed. “No. No, he’s not. Alright. Would that be the end of the conversation?”

Izuku shrugged. “Of the conversation, yeah, probably. But then he would give me something to do to work on keeping my cool or some lesson in responsibility or something.”

“At least there’s that,” Aizawa-sensei grumbled.

“And that we can work with,” Sentoki-sensei nodded. “I’ll talk to Tadaomi later, but for tonight, you’re not joining the rest of the class.”

Izuku nodded. “Of course, Sentoki-sensei.”

Chapter Text

Izuku forced himself to focus on his conversation with Yaoyorozu-san despite the exhaustion and general aches that radiated from his muscles and sank deep into his bones. Sentoki-sensei had not been happy with him. She’d had him doing weighted exercises until his body was shaking, then had him stay late and run through basic forms until he was completely dead on his feet.

“Midoriya-kun?”

Right. Yaoyorozu-san. “Sorry,” he said. “Just a bit tired today.”

“I can tell. Would you rather postpone this conversation until later today, or…?”

“Uh, how about we meet up tomorrow?” he suggested. “I kinda already made plans for this afternoon. You could always join us, if you wanted.”

“Ah, no. I wouldn’t want to infringe on your time with your friends.”

“Okay.” Izuku rubbed his forehead and he tried to get his brain to pull up the necessary information. “Meet up tomorrow to talk about the duty roster and… other stuff, so we’ll be ready for the meeting on Monday.”

Yaoyorozu-san nodded. “I’ll text you my address, unless you have somewhere else you would rather meet up?”

“No, no, your place will be fine. Uh, here. Put your number in my phone.”

Yaoyorozu-san took Izuku’s phone and typed quickly before passing it back. “I sent myself a text, so I should have your number now as well.”

Oh, Izuku was tired. He was glad today was only a half day, or he might just pass out in class. Or during lunch.

Izuku blinked and rubbed his eyes, shaking himself back into the present, so he could walk back to his desk instead of standing at the front of the room and staring at nothing like an idiot. Just as he reached Bakugou’s desk, the fluffy blond hair caught his eye.

Right. Cleaning the classroom. Nitroglycerin. “Hey, Bakugou, what’s Aunty Mitsuki’s phone number?”

Bakugou scowled up at him. “Why the fuck do you need my mom’s number? And why don’t you just ask Aunty Inko?”

“Cleaning supplies. And I would ask my mom, but I just thought of it and you’re right here. Just give me her number, and we can move on.”

“Can’t you just use the shit the school gives you?”

“Bakugou. You sweat nitroglycerin. I know your parents have special stuff to make sure it’s neutralized before they mix it with something stupid in normal cleaning supplies. Just give me Aunty’s number so I can ask her what we need.”

“Fucking hell, fine. Give me your phone. I doubt you’d be able to remember it like this. Did you even sleep last night?”

Izuku hummed. “Hard to sleep when your entire body feels like a massive bruise.”

Bakugou snorted and gave Izuku his phone back. “Now leave me the fuck alone.”

“That’s the plan.” Izuku continued forward and collapsed in his seat with a groan, flopping over his desk. Blissful silence pressed around him like a fuzzy blanket.

Crackles and pops echoed through the room. “What the fuck are you looking at?” Bakugou spat. “This shit isn’t any of your business!”

Eh? People were shuffling and started whispering to each other. They hadn’t been doing that before. Izuku pulled his head up and glanced around the room. Sure enough, everyone kept shooting confused glances in their direction. Oh well, Izuku couldn’t really bring himself to care about why they cared or what it was they were so confused about.

Really not his problem, whatever it was.

The door to the classroom opened and Aizawa-sensei stepped in. Fuck, there went Izuku’s potential nap. Maybe Aizawa-sensei wouldn’t care and would let him sleep through homeroom.

Izuku was… better by the time he and his friends left UA to travel to his apartment. Better in that his brain had been bullied into something resembling a function and his body was now ignoring most of the ache so long as he didn’t move too much.

Yeah, he wasn’t going to be actually doing anything at the beach today. Didn’t matter what happened, he was not going to move a muscle.

After a quick stop to change (with the girls using Inko’s room and Izuku blushing like mad as Iida-san and Kirishima-san changed in his room, even Kirishima-san’s insistence that his room was super manly and Iida-san talking about All Might being a good role model wasn’t enough to stop Izuku from being embarrassed, or noticing them carefully ignoring the large yellow stuffed octopus in the corner) and drop off their school supplies, the group dutifully followed Izuku the last distance to their final destination.

A destination Izuku had told them nothing about yet.

Had he told Yagi-san he was bringing the others today? He hoped so. He didn’t remember sending him a text, but Izuku couldn’t remember much of anything after he made it home the night before.

“Midoriya-kun, I hope this isn’t too presumptuous of me, but why are we at a dump?”

“Huh?”

Uraraka-san pointed in front of Izuku, and Izuku blinked at the massive pile of trash. When did they get this far? Izuku could have sworn they only just left the apartment. “Oh, we’re just a little further down. And it’s not a dump. Well, I mean, it is, but it’s not supposed to be a dump. This is Dagobah Municipal Beach.”

“Oh! I’ve heard about this place!” Hagakure-san said. “Lots of people use it as an illegal dumping ground so they don’t have to pay to have their trash hauled off.”

Izuku nodded and hummed. “Mix that with the currents bringing trash from ships to shore, and…” he gestured silently to the wall of junk next to them. Actually, there was no wall there now. Izuku really needed a nap.

“Izuku-shounen! There you are!”

Right. Now, to pretend they didn’t know Yagi-san and that Izuku didn’t see him practically every day at school. “Yagi-san, it’s good to see you. These are my friends. Iida-san, Uraraka-san, Hagakure-san, and Kirishima-san.”

“Ah, it’s nice to meet all of you,” Yagi-san said with a smile that was surprisingly warm for his sunken and sickly face.

Izuku’s friends responded in kind, bowing to the older man. Izuku, meanwhile, took a glance around them, looking for a nice spot for a nap that he very desperately needed. He was surprised to see how much had been cleared out already, once he thought back to how the beach looked when they had first started. They had cleared out most of the initial section Yagi-san had assigned to him twelve months ago, with only a strip at the very edge of the water left, and a little bit around the edges. Of course, they weren’t really planning to stop until the beach was clean and would probably still stop by to clear up anything dumped or washed up even after they finished.

Right. Nap time. Izuku’s friends dispersed under Yagi-san’s instructions and watchful eye while Izuku shuffled off and settled next to one of the retaining walls between the beach and the road, curling into a ball and closing his eyes. The sun beaming above them and the gentle caress of a cool breeze calming him and lulling his mind into and easy slumber.

Someone screamed.

Izuku jolted upright, eyes wide and heart pounding. Where- Dagobah. The sun was lower than Izuku remembered. He must have slept for at least a few hours. He scrambled to his feet, eyes darting and taking in the rest of the scene. Iida-san and Hagakure-san were in Izuku’s line of sight, holding pieces of trash and staring numbly in the direction of the scream. Yagi-san was already in motion, and Izuku bolted to follow, footsteps of Iida-san and Hagakure-san close behind them.

Where were Uraraka-san and Kirishima-san? What had happened? Where was the threat?

They rounded a corner to a little inlet that had been cleared out of some of the lighter and easier trash. A few new bags were piled at the entrance. Kirishima-san and Uraraka-san clung to each other, three meters from the end of the path.

Three meters from the blackened human skull resting on the sand.

Right. Okay. Izuku felt himself sag, adrenaline fading quickly. Everyone was safe. There was no danger. It was fine.

Izuku stepped forward, pulling Uraraka-san and Kirishima-san further back from the skull, and turning them to force them to look away. Behind him he could hear someone (Hagakure-san?) retching as the smell of rot and decay that filled the illegal dump took on a new meaning. As he herded them back, he could see Iida-san standing pale and rooted to his spot, unable to look away from the skull. From the implications of a person left to rot here.

From the knowledge that is wasn’t just ordinary trash that people dumped here.

Izuku kept herding them out and away, back to the main cleared area, not even stopping to listen as Yagi-san called the police. Right now, he needed to focus on getting his friends back down to earth after seeing their first dead body.

“Mi-Mido-kun?”

“Take it easy, Uraraka-san. How about you take a seat for a little while, okay?”

Uraraka-san nodded and almost fell as she sat down in the sand. The others followed without needing direction.

“That…”

“There are…”

“Dude. Why? What happened?”

Izuku shrugged at that one. “We don’t know. This… this isn’t the first body we’ve found out here. I suppose we really should have expected something like this to happen.”

“What do you mean, Midoriya-kun?”

Good, Iida-san was coming back to himself. “It’s an illegal dumping ground. It’s unfortunately easy to hide things out here.”

“You found a body out here before?” Hagakure-san asked, far more subdued than she normally is, arms seeming to wrap around her stomach.

Izuku nodded, holding out a hand to offer it to her. “We did, but only one. It was… five months ago? Something like that. We called the police, of course, and they collected what they could, but… they have a lot to do and the police chief didn’t really want to waste time cleaning this place up if they didn’t have to, so they left it at that.”

Hagakure-san took Izuku’s hand and squeezed, running her thumb along the back.

“What!?” Iida-san cried. “They didn’t do anything! There are others that need—”

“I know Iida-san,” Izuku cut him off. “I know. But to find the others would mean devoting massive resources to clearing this beach. And given how old the body was and the lack of viable evidence around them, the case was long since cold. A lot of people would argue that those resources would be better spent on active cases, especially with no guarantee that anything would ever be found.”

“Mido-kun, how are you so calm about this?” Uraraka-san whispered.

“I-” Was he calm? Had he really written these people off as a pile of bones? Maybe. That might just be what happens after… everything. The dead deserve respect, and they deserve justice, but they will always be dead. “I don’t know. I’m not sure… maybe I’m just, compartmentalizing or something.” He shrugged. “It’ll probably hit me later.” It wouldn’t. At least, it wouldn’t hit him anywhere near as hard as it would hit them. As hard as it had the first time. Not after everything he and the rest of his class had— And stopping that train of thought right there.

“So, now what do we do?” Kirishima-san asked.

“We wait for the police, give our statements, then we go home. There’s nothing else we can do until they finish with the beach.”

The group was silent.

“So, uh, Midoriya-kun,” Hagakure-san said. “You really cleaned up all of this?”

“Yeah. I mean. It’s just me and Yagi-san, and he’s not really in any shape to be moving heavy things, so… yeah. We’ve been working on it for almost a year now. Actually, I think it might be a year exactly in a couple of days. I’d have to check with Yagi-san to see if he remembers the date.”

“That is certainly impressive, Midoriya-kun!” Iida-san said, joining the attempt at lightening the mood. “Certainly the kind of initiative I would expect from our class representative. We would all do well to follow your example.”

Uraraka-san snickered at Iida-san’s chopping motions.

Izuku heard footsteps and shifting sand behind him as Yagi-san approached the group. “I’m glad to see you’re all holding up well enough. I’m sure UA has someone you can talk to about this if you decide you need some counseling.”

Izuku smiled up at him. “We’ll make sure to keep that in mind. Do you know who’s coming?”

“Detective Junsa again.”

“Yagi-san,” said Iida-san, “do you know if the police will thoroughly search the beach for more bodies this time?”

“I hope so, but I can’t say for certain. There’s still a chance they’ll argue it will take too many resources.”

“And after we give our statements we can go home, right?” Hagakure-san asked, voice soft and small. She still hadn’t released Izuku’s hand.

A thought struck Izuku. “Uraraka-san, you said you live in an apartment alone?”

Uraraka-san gave him a confused frown. “Yeah?”

“Are you sure you want to be alone tonight?” he said as gently as he could. “My mom and I would be more than happy to give you a place to sleep if you would rather stay with us.”

Uraraka-san hesitated, then shook her head. “No, I’ll be fine, Mido-kun, but thanks for the offer.”

“Alright, if you change your mind, just let me know.”

A car door slammed by the road. Izuku gave Hagakure-san’s hand one last squeeze before gently pulling away to stand up and face the inbound swarm of crime scene investigators, police officers, and one surly detective with a thick mustache and bright purple eyes that were slowly shifting towards green, and then from green to black, and on and on. “Alright, where’s the body?” he said. “Let’s get this over with.”

Izuku forced himself to pay closer attention to the student council meeting. It was honestly one of the most boring things he’d ever sat through. For the most part this meeting agenda just consisted of introducing the first years to everyone else and going over procedures and rules, which Izuku and Yaoyorozu-san had gone over when Izuku visited the massive Yaoyorozu family home the day before. (Izuku had been surprised at the size but brushed it off fairly quickly. It wasn’t like he hadn’t had rich friends before, even if this was the first time he’d been in a mansion.) Aside from formalities, there was one order of business that the upperclassmen wanted to get out of the way before it got too far into the year, but it really wouldn’t affect the first years-

“Are we agreed?”

Finally. Izuku sat up a little straighter and looked more alert. None of the other students that had participated in the discussion gave a negative response.

The president, Daihyou-sama, nodded. “Alright, with that decided, let’s open the floor to any other concerns.”

Izuku raised his hand.

Daihyou-sama blinked at him for a second, before pulling herself back together. “Oh, Midoriya-kohai from 1-A, correct?”

Izuku nodded once. “Yes. I think we should consider adding some form of evacuation drill to the schedules, given recent events.”

One of the third years from general (Yokohara-senpai?) rolled his eyes. “You mean with the break in? Please. That was just the media, and after some well-placed fear from Nedzu-sama, they’re not going to be stupid enough to try that again.”

“That’s not my main concern.”

Kikan-senpai, a second-year support student, frowned. “Care to share then?”

“The student response to the alarm was atrocious,” said Izuku. “Fifteen people got trampled in the stampede, several of whom wound up with broken bones. The mass panic only slowed overall evacuation time, as well as causing the injuries reported to Recovery Girl-sensei. I can understand why there was a panic, but we cannot allow that to be our normal response.”

Mirio-senpai nodded. “Midoriya-kohai is correct. While a certain level of panic is expected, the upper year hero students should have taken charge of the situation and kept a level head. These kinds of events are exactly what we train for, and yet I know several of my classmates were shoving and trying to force their way out just as much as everyone else.”

Yokohara-senpai scoffed. “None of that is even going to matter. It’s not going to go off again. There will never be a repeat.”

“Are you sure?”

Kendou-san, from 1-B spoke up for the first time. “Midoriya-kun,” she said, “you yourself said it was just the media. And as Yokohara-senpai said, they’re not stupid enough to do it again.”

“Yes, that’s true,” Izuku admitted, “but there are two things about ignoring it that don’t sit well with me. First, even if it never happens again while we’re students here, even if it doesn’t happen within the next ten or twenty years or for as long as Nedzu-sama is the principal, it might happen again eventually. And isn’t it part of our job as the student council to make things better for future generations of students? When we see a problem we should fix it. And second, the media may be opportunistic, but the front gate was completely destroyed, and that is well beyond what they would do for a simple story about All Might at UA. Someone broke the gate and we don’t know who or why.”

The room shifted uncomfortably.

Daihyou-sama nodded and cleared her throat. “Ah, yes. I’ll speak to Nedzu-sama about forming a new schedule for the drills and getting this implemented. Thank you for your insight, Midoriya-kohai.”

Chapter Text

The bus was loud, sure, but not as loud as it could have been. Between Izuku’s friends, several of the louder and chattier members of the class, still reeling from the events of Saturday and Yaoyorozu shooting Izuku odd glances ever since they left the student council meeting, the rest of the class had picked up on the awkward air. And as much as they tried to ignore it, the bleeding tension showed.

Though, even that did not stop the rest of the class from being over excited about the surprise field trip. And soon they were joking with each other again. Izuku wasn’t really going to bother trying to keep them in line. They weren’t really causing any problems anyway, so long as you didn’t account for Aizawa-sensei’s nap time.

“Hey, Midoriya-kun,” Asui-san said suddenly. “I say what’s on my mind.”

Izuku chuckled awkwardly. That had certainly been true during the few conversations he’d had with her so far. “What can I do for you, Asui-san?”

“Call me Tsuyu-chan. You haven’t used your quirk yet. Or it’s not a quirk that’s easy to notice.”

Oh, wonderful. This conversation. Izuku forced his smile to stay in place. The conversations around them died down a little, and Izuku could swear Aizawa-sensei was sitting a little stiffer in his seat. “Why don’t you take a guess, and I’ll tell you if you’re right?”

Bakugou huffed in the back but didn’t say anything.

Izuku sat back and waited while the class delved into the debate, just barely listening. Most of them were under the impression that it was some kind of intelligence or psychic quirk. Slowly, some broke off, talking about their own quirks, but Izuku could see his friends looking at him closely as the others talked.

“But Bakugou-kun’s so unhinged he’ll never be popular,” Asui-san said, breaking Izuku out of his calm. His eyes flicked over to watch Bakugou’s reaction. The other boy was stiff and Izuku could swear he was grinding his teeth as he closed his eyes and breathed deeply, but he said nothing and no one else seemed to notice his reaction.

Izuku said nothing.

The bus stopped. “We’re here,” Aizawa-sensei said as he parked. “Everyone off.”

“Yes, Sensei!” the bus chorused.

“Midoriya-kun,” Iida-san placed a hand on Izuku’s shoulder, “I can’t help noticing your deflection, and that you are the only person whose quirk we don’t know.”

Izuku’s mouth went dry. Kirishima-san, Uraraka-san, and Hagakure-san had fallen back with them as well. He… “Later. I’ll tell you, but… later. It’s not something I like to advertise.” This was the first time he’d been completely anonymous with his classmates. Well, almost, but Bakugou wasn’t really saying, or doing, much of anything.

He felt Korosensei would be proud of him for telling someone that wasn’t class 3-E or his teachers that already knew, but that didn’t mean he was ready just yet. It didn’t mean he could just brush off the fear that they would react the same way everyone else had before.

Izuku pushed Iida-san’s hand off his shoulder and stepped off the bus.

And of course, when they caught up with the class, they found themselves looking down a large set of stairs at something that suspiciously resembled a theme park. And then there was the Space Hero: Thirteen.

“Welcome to the Unforeseen Simulation Joint!” Thirteen-sensei greeted with their arms spread wide. “I built this facility myself to account for just about any kind of rescue scenario imaginable. From fire to flood. From shipwreck to landslide.

“Oh, I love Thirteen!” Uraraka-san gushed. “They’re an amazing rescue hero!”

Aizawa-sensei approached Thirteen with some kind of question, and Izuku saw Thirteen-sensei respond with three fingers. All Might must have overtaxed himself already. The two turned back to the students. “Alright, before we get started, I have one or two things to say.” Thirteen-sensei said. “Or three. Four? Let’s just say there are lots.

“As I’m sure many of you already know, my quirk is called Black Hole, with the ability to suck in and tear apart anything.”

Uraraka-san nodded along quickly. “You’ve used to save people from all kinds of disasters,” she said.

“You’re right,” Thirteen-sensei said, nodding slowly, “however, my power could just as easily kill someone as save them. I’ve no doubt many of you are in similar circumstances. Even the most seemingly benign quirk could still cause extreme harm if used irresponsibly.”

Izuku snorted softly. Not every quirk could cause the type of harm Thirteen-sensei was talking about. Okuda only had the ability to understand what someone was actually trying to say when they were being indirect. Kimura had the ability to scan the surface thoughts of someone within grabbing distance. Takebayashi could tell when someone was sick. Hell, there was one kid in… B class? C class? He only had the ability to remove his eyes from their sockets and stretch his optic nerve about ten centimeters. None of them could hurt people with their quirks.

“In our society quirk use is heavily regulated and monitored. It might seem like a stable system, but we must remember that it only takes one wrong move with an uncontrollable quirk for people to die. During Aizawa-senpai’s physical test, you learned about the hidden strength of your quirks, and you discovered the threats your quirks pose to others in All Might-sensei’s battle trial. In this class, however, you will get a new perspective! You will learn how to use your quirks to save lives! Your powers are not meant to harm those around you. I hope you leave this class today with the understanding that they are meant to help people.”

Iida-san and Uraraka-san both cheered for the rescue hero, with Kirishima-san joining in quickly, caught up in the thrill of it. Thirteen-sensei took a bow.

The lights flickered off around them and the fountain down on the main floor sputtered to a stop. A small swirling ball of black mist began to form, and bloodlust coated the area, pushing the air from Izuku’s lungs.

The mist was very familiar.

“Everyone back outside!” Izuku yelled, turning around and gently pushing at his classmates forcing them back towards the doors.

The blood lust was getting stronger and spreading farther.

“What’s going on?” Kirishima-san asked, still watching something down on the floor as Izuku pulled him along by his arm. “Who are they?”

No, no, no. Izuku didn’t want his classmates having anything to do with assassins. He didn’t want them in danger. Not again. Never again.

“Those are villains!” Aizawa-sensei answered, feet pounding away from them.

No. He couldn’t lose him. He wasn’t losing another teacher. No.

“Thirteen, protect the students!” He was gone.

Izuku’s classmates finally turned and ran for the door. Izuku forced himself to focus on them. This wasn’t ideal, but Aizawa-sensei could look after himself. He had to. He had to.

“The door won’t open!” Satou-san yelled, slamming into it. Of course. They cut the power.

“Then force it!” said Izuku. “Kaminari-san, try to make contact with the school!” Kaminari-san nodded and started trying different signals, Izuku doing the same without thinking. “Let Iida-san out first.” He wasn’t getting through to anyone. Just static. Even when he switched over and tried to contact Ritsu. He got nothing. Shit. “We’re going to need back up and you’re the fastest person we have,” Izuku continued before Iida-san could argue with him.

“I’m not getting through to anyone!”

The bloodlust expanded behind them. Izuku whipped around, facing the warp assassin that was glaring down at them. He was making himself look bigger by puffing out his mist even further than he had at Aldera, looming over all of them.

“Keep moving!” Izuku hissed, placing himself between the assassin and his classmates. Not that it would be worth much with his quirk.

“Greetings,” he said. “We are the League of Villains. You must forgive our intrusion to this haven of heroism, but there is only so much one can do to kill the Symbol of Peace.”

The door creaked and groaned as it started to slide open.

“We were under the impression he would be here today. Could it be that his schedule was revised? Well, that hardly matters here.”

“Go!” Izuku heard Satou-san whisper.

“But—”

“My job remains unchanged.” The assassin began to spread even more. Thirteen-sensei popped open one of the fingers of their suit and took aim. A roar split the air as Kirishima-san and Bakugou launched themselves over Izuku and Thirteen-sensei’s head.

“No!” Izuku yelled. They didn’t stop. They couldn’t stop.

Kirishima-san swiped with his hardened arm, and Bakugou unleashed a large explosion before they both fell back, and a cloud of smoke blocked their view of the assassin.

“Not if we get you first,” Bakugou scoffed.

“Betcha didn’t see that coming!” Kirishima-san yelled.

“That was close,” the assassin muttered. Was that a suit Izuku saw just a second ago? Was he really still wearing that? “Students though you may be, you really are the best of the best.”

“Get back!” Thirteen-sensei ordered.

It was too late. “Just get out of here, Iida-san!” Izuku yelled, refusing to take his eyes off the fight in front of him. “We need back up!”

The yellow eyes fell on Izuku and narrowed slightly as he pulled up his hood and placed his mask over his face, activating the pressure seal. There was no way the assassin didn’t recognize him. All Izuku could do was pray that he didn’t say anything. That he didn’t single him out.

Before Bakugou or Kirishima-san could move, before Thirteen-sensei could attack, the mist snapped outwards and enveloped them. Izuku couldn’t see anything, but he felt the ground give out underneath him. His only hope was that Iida-san had managed to make it out in time.

Izuku stumbled as his feet hit solid ground, twisting his head this way and that to figure out where he had been sent. He was in the middle of the plaza at the bottom of the stairs, with the fountain right behind him and villains spreading out around him and Aizawa-sensei fighting his way through the crowd. On one side of him was a hulking brute with a beak like mouth, and exposed brain and vacant eyes, that tracked nothing. On the other was the only villain paying Izuku any attention.

The man was wearing dark and ragged clothes, and his hair was limp and greasy, the grayish blue color not making it look any healthier. His body was covered in severed and preserved hands. He scratched at his neck, staring down at Izuku. “What are you doing here, little hero?”

Izuku grabbed some smoke bombs Okuda had given him from their pouch at his waist, clutched them in his fist and swung. The villain’s brief moment of surprise was enough for him to connect, crushing the bombs and spewing the gas in the villain’s face.

Well. Smoke pellet really. And it was a mild irritant that, while it wouldn’t do much, would definitely cause a moment of discomfort and distraction. Even as he ran, he felt his eyes start to water and he heard the villain coughing and hacking behind him.

Unfortunately, that meant that the thugs nearby noticed him as well. Several turned and laughed as they saw what they thought was going to be an easy target. Izuku had no intention of going down easily. He had no intention of going down at all.

He pulled out his electric baton and swiped at the first, taking them down with a clean hit. They must have been weak to electricity or something. A couple of the thugs backed off, but not many.

“Oh, aren’t you full of surprises,” the villain with the hands drawled behind Izuku.

Shit. Izuku jabs quickly at one of the thugs to keep him back before spinning around to focus on the boss. The man swipes out with an open hand, lunging quickly at Izuku. Izuku narrowed his eyes, sliding just out of reach. The villain’s movements we similar to how Grip fought against Karma back on Okinawa, which meant his fighting style relied on being able to get a hold on someone, likely utilizing a touch-based quirk in the process.

“Slippery,” the villain mused, lunging again.

Izuku stepped aside. Spinning as he moved away. The thugs from before were… just standing there? They weren’t moving any closer or making any kind of movement that would imply they were going to try to interfere. Izuku ducked under another grasping swipe and swung his baton at the villain’s stomach. The villain hissed and jumped backwards, glaring even harder at Izuku.

Izuku did the stupid thing and gave a cheeky wave.

The villain literally growled and lunged again. “Just sit still,” he said swiping at Izuku several times.

Izuku kept stepping backwards. He was not letting this dingbat touch him anytime soon. If he was being honest, this actually wasn’t that hard. So long as the others kept letting their boss handle this personally, Izuku would be fine.

Izuku felt a pair of thick arms wrap around his chest and pull him back. “Fuck!” he yelped. He thrashed in the thug’s grip and flipped his grip on the baton, jabbing it into their side.

The thug yelped and dropped Izuku to his feet. Izuku staggered and stepped forward.

The villain’s hand wrapped around his face mask. Izuku leaned backwards, whipping his arm and baton back around to knock the villain’s hand off his face.

The villain hissed and fell back as Izuku’s mask crumbled to dust. Okay. Now he just really, really needed to make sure this guy never touched him again. He couldn’t afford another mistake like that. The remains of the elastic straps fell off and fluttered to the ground.

The assassin made of black mist warped into existence next to the hand villain. “Kurogiri,” the villain said, glaring at Izuku.

“Thirteen is incapacitated,” the assassin answered. Izuku felt his hands shake. Incapacitated is not dead. Thirteen would be alright. Incapacitated was not dead. “Unfortunately, several students managed to escape before I could stop them.”

The villain turned away from Izuku, scratching feverishly at his neck. “Why is he here, Kurogiri.”

“Midoriya!”

Aizawa-sensei was somewhere behind him. He was still fighting.

“Ugh,” the villain stopped scratching and looked past Izuku. “I don’t have time to deal with him right now. Nomu!”

The hulking black figure with an exposed brain and dead eyes that Izuku had dismissed before suddenly moved, lifting its head and looking where the villain pointed. Then it was gone. Wind rushed and jostled Izuku. Izuku didn’t look when he heard the familiar crunch of bones and smashing concrete.

“Now, Kurogiri, why did you send me this brat?”

Focus. Focus. Don’t think about anything else. Don’t think about Aizawa-sensei. Don’t think about-

“He’s the reason they escaped, Shigaraki.”

Izuku snapped, chucking more “smoke bombs” at the pair, and turning to run. His vision was obscured with black, sending him hurtling through a portal before he could even process it, a cold and dry hand wrapping itself around his throat, one finger carefully raised just above his skin.

“Aren’t you a good little hero,” Shigaraki hummed. “You make me mad.”

Izuku couldn’t do anything. He knew he was shaking, but he couldn’t do anything. He was going to die here.

Korosensei…

“Mi-dori-ya.”

Izuku didn’t stop to think or hesitate for even a second, just prayed he was right about what Aizawa-sensei was trying to say. He lurched backwards, wrapping his hands tightly around Shigaraki’s arm to pull him with him. Falling down, Shigaraki yelped, then grunted as his breath was knocked from his lungs by Izuku’s booted feet connecting with his stomach. Izuku kept rolling backwards, flinging the villain off of him and popping back to his feet.

Izuku was not letting Korosensei’s hard work go to waste. He darted to the left, deftly sidestepping a portal from the shocked Kurogiri.

“Nom-!” Shigaraki started to yell, the rest of his words cut off by a massive blast, as the doors at the main entrance were blown inward.

All Might stepped in, dust and smoke billowing behind him, and his signature smile long gone, replaced with an angry scowl. Relief flooded Izuku down to his bones. All Might was here. It was going to be-

Something moved in the corner of Izuku’s vision, and he had just enough time to register the dark mass of flesh hurtling towards him before it slammed into his side, flinging him away. Pain burst and seared through him as he tumbled through the air, unable to figure out which way was up or where his body was going. Everything was a blur of colors while wind howled in his ears, drowning out anything else.

He stopped just as suddenly and with just as much pain as he’d started. His body striking something hard and unyielding. If he’d had a chance to get any air into his lungs after the first hit, it would have been knocked out of him again. Everything faded, drowned in a sea of pain, until that too was gone.

The pain was the first to come back to him. Followed swiftly by an unending sense of panic. Something was going on. Something was wrong. They were in danger. Izuku needed to get up.

When his hearing came back, still fuzzy and ringing and making everything sound more distant, it only solidified his fear. He could hear fighting. Screeching and great gusts of wind as the powerful forces fought.

Izuku forced his eyes open, hissing and groaning at the light that made his head pound harder. Blinking rapidly and forcing his body to work through the pain, Izuku squinted at the moving blurs far in front of him. And sideways?

Oh, he was on the ground, laying on his side. He hadn’t been able to notice through all the other pain.

Right. The things fighting. One with dark skin and an odd long face. One that looked like a normal person but bigger, and… wearing something yellow?

A voice cut through everything, low and rasping, almost a whisper to Izuku’s rattled brain. “Shock absorption… All Might… gouge… flesh. I don’t think he’ll just sit back and let you do that.”

The voice crawled up Izuku’s spine and pulled his memories of what was happening to the front of his mind. Izuku’s eyes skittered over the scene, landing on the warp gate assassin, Kurogiri. No.

All Might wrapped his arms around Nomu’s waist from behind. Izuku’s panic grew. He tried to force his limbs to move, to carry him to the fight. He wasn’t losing another teacher. He wasn’t losing All Might.

His actions were predictable, easy for the warper to take advantage of. Izuku could still remember how he had tried to use his gates as weapons against Korosensei. “War’,” he rasped, hoping against hope someone was near him to hear and understand. “War’ate.” His lungs spasmed, and he finally got an arm under him to hold his weight, despite the protests of both his arm and his roiling stomach. “Warp gate.”

All Might followed through, bending backwards to force Nomu into the ground in a suplex. No.

A hand was placed gently on his shoulder as a cloud of dust and rubble flew into the air blocking his view. The hand pushed a little harder, forcing him back down and rolling him slightly, so his weight landed on his back. “Stay down, Midoriya-kun,” Asui-san said. “You’re already injured, ribbit.”

Izuku blinked up at his classmate. When had she gotten here? Why hadn’t he noticed? Who else-? Glancing around, Izuku saw Mineta-san sitting at the bottom of the steps to the entrance and Aizawa-sensei standing just a meter away, glaring at the villains with his quirk activated, despite the blood dripping down his face and his limp arms indicating they were severely broken.

Izuku decided he needed to pay more attention to his surroundings. Or he could blame it on the probable concussion. He turned his head back to the fight.

A shock wave rippled outwards, distorting the air and blowing away the dust to show the Nomu stuck in the cracked cement with All Might raising his fist to hit it again.

“What!? No!” Shigaraki shrieked. His hand came up, scratching viciously at his neck. “Kurogiri, why didn’t you open your warp gate!?”

“Thanks for the warning, Midoriya-kun,” Aizawa-sensei said quietly.

Kurogiri glanced around, eyes landing on the small group. “It seems there was some unexpected interference.”

Shigaraki froze, turning to follow Kurogiri’s gaze.

“Asui-kun, Mineta-kun, take Midoriya-kun and go,” Aizawa-sensei ordered.

Mineta-san sniffed loudly and jumped to his feet. “Alright, let’s go!”

“We’re not leaving you, Sensei,” said Asui-san.

Izuku wrinkled his nose. “No stretcher. You shouln’ e’en be standin’, Aizawa.”

“My legs aren’t broken, are they?”

“You can’ do both Shigarake and Kurnogini,” Izuku pointed out.

“Too late!” Shigaraki crowed, closing the distance between them.

Okay, Izuku was really concussed.

The temperature plummeted, turning their breath to fine puffs of mist, and a thick wall of jagged ice grew up between them and Shigaraki. Between Aizawa-sensei and Kurogiri.

“No!”

“Shit, I’m going around,” Aizawa-sensei said, “Stay here!”

“What!?” Mineta-san wailed. “Are we supposed to leave or are we supposed to stay here!?”

Izuku swallowed another groan as he twisted and tried to get back up again. Then he was biting down his stomach because it did not like him moving and it made its opinion very clear.

“No, lay down, Midoriya-kun,” Asui-san said again, gently forcing him back to the ground.

Izuku sighed but stopped fighting. If he couldn’t even get past Asui-san, who was trying not to hurt him, he would probably be worse than useless in an actual fight. He closed his eyes, tuning out Mineta-san’s whimpering.

“Yeah!”

Izuku’s eyes snapped open as Present Mic-sensei’s scream rolled over them and shattered the ice wall. Something slim and slimy (Asui-san’s tongue, he quickly realized) wrapped around his waist and yanked him away from the chunks of ice that shattered on the ground where he’d been.

Izuku closed his eyes and whined against the pain. Gunfire followed, several shots going off in quick succession.

“I’m sorry everyone,” said a calm and genial voice, “I know we’re a bit late, but I got the teachers over here as fast as I could.”

“Class Rep,” Iida-san’s voice called down. “I have fulfilled the duty you gave me, and I brought reinforcements!”

Chaos reigned. Present Mic-sensei screamed again, and Ectoplasm-sensei’s clones rushed past, one stopping to keep watch on Izuku, Asui-san, and Mineta-san. Izuku didn’t bother trying to track everything going on through his concussion. The pros were here and that was all that mattered. Maybe Aizawa-sensei would finally see sense and fall back. Let the others handle this.

A loud crash echoed, followed by a gust of wind from one of All Might’s punches. Izuku craned his head to try and see, greeted with sunlight streaming through a new whole in the ceiling. Shigaraki was on the ground as Kurogiri wrapped around him, blocking Snipe-sensei’s shots.

And then they were gone.

It was over.

He could rest.

“Hey, no sleeping, kid.”

Izuku opened his eyes at Ectoplasm-sensei’s command. When had he closed them again? “Not even until the meds get here?” Oh, hey, he could talk again. Even if it was quiet and kinda whiny, he wasn’t slurring anymore.

“Not even until the paramedics get here, no. Not until they say you can, alright?”

“Fine.” Izuku blinked up at his teacher for a moment, fighting to get his eyes to focus. It wasn’t working. “How’s ‘Zawa-sensei?” So maybe he was still slurring a little.

“He’ll be fine. Honestly, I’ve seen him do stupider things. Also, do me a favor and call him that to his face once you two are better.”

What?

Chapter Text

Hizashi was not happy. He didn’t blame Shouta for landing himself in the hospital, but that didn’t mean Shouta had needed to make his injuries worse by fighting despite them. The bones in his arms had been more or less pulverized, several of his ribs had snapped, his skull was fractured, and there was even damage to his orbital plates, which meant likely damage to his quirk. To top it all off he had punctured a lung, likely because he got right back up after being slammed face first into concrete twice and just kept on fighting, completely ignoring the fact that he couldn’t move his arms if he wanted to.

So, yeah. Hizashi was not happy with his husband, even if he completely understood why the man had done it. (How Shouta had pulled himself back up and even stayed conscious was an entirely different question. Adrenaline? Force of will? An absolutely insane and concerning pain tolerance? All of the above?)

Right now was not the time to be angry, though. Now was the time to worry about the distraught mother he had just given hot tea to. She’d stopped crying, thankfully.

“I just… I don’t know what to think. How could this happen?”

Hizashi hid his flinch as best he could. “I’m sorry, but I really can’t talk about it. Principal Nedzu will be by to talk to you as soon as he can.”

“Oh, what am I thinking?” she laughed weakly. “You must be just as worried as I am, and here I am pestering you about it.”

Hizashi’s smile eased a little, even as his gaze slid over to the two beds next to them. Both Shouta and Midoriya-kun were knocked out for the time being. The hospital wouldn’t normally have put them in the same room like this, but apparently Shouta had been a little delirious and had kept rambling about needing to stay with Midoriya-kun, so they decided it might be best if the two were roomed together.

“It’s alright,” Hizashi finally said. “You’re just worried. You’d be saying this even if I didn’t know anything.”

“Maybe so, but it was still rude. I just don’t understand it.”

“None of us do. All we can do now is wait for them to-”

Fabric rustled and Midoriya-san was on her feet and at her son’s side in seconds. The boy, small and fragile against the bedsheets, groaned and blinked against the hospital lights.

Midoriya-san brushed a hand gently against Midoriya-kun’s forehead. “Izuku, baby, can you hear me? How are you feeling?”

Izuku’s hazy gaze settled on his mom. He stared at her for a few seconds, his face pinching in confusion. “M-mom?” he almost whispered. “Hmm, where?”

“I’ll go get a doctor,” Hizashi announced, quickly excusing himself from the private moment. The pair needed some time to themselves. And they really did need a doctor. Waving one down didn’t take too long, but it was long enough for them to get the tears out of the system.

“Hello, Midoriya-kun,” said the man the nurses had directed him to (“pitch black hair with a minor iridescent sheen and deep purple fingers,” was how they had described him), “my name is Dr. Noushintou. How are you feeling?”

Midoriya-kun’s eyes were still a little glassy as he stared at the doctor. Then, slowly, his eyes widened and his face paled. He sat up and started trying to get out of the bed, despite having one arm in a cast, his ribs bound, and a foot in a brace.

Midoriya-san immediately grabbed onto him, trying to gently force him back down, and Hizashi stepped forward to help. They managed to keep him contained to the bed and prevent him from injuring himself, but it wasn’t easy. He kept trying to push past Hizashi and tear himself away from his mother’s grip, headless of anything else.

“Have to… not safe. They’re hurt. Have to help them,” he babbled. “Sensei. Where’s Sensei. We’re not safe. I need to help him.”

Hizashi kneeled down slightly, keeping a loose grip on his student’s shaking shoulders, trying to force his unfocused eyes to look at him. “Hey, there, Listener,” he said softly. “It’s alright now. You’re fine. Everyone is safe.”

Midoriya-kun stopped struggling almost immediately. His eyes still didn’t focus on him properly, and he didn’t stop shaking, but he wasn’t trying to get away. “Safe?”

“That’s right, Listener. You’re safe now. You’re here in the hospital with your mom and the doctor. Everything’s fine.”

“Everyone’s safe?”

Hizashi’s heart would have broken if he hadn’t already heard that empty voice a million times before. Every time a kid got caught up in a fight. Every time they lost someone. Maybe it was a little worse this time. He knew the kid now. But it was still that same voice. “That’s right. Everyone’s just fine.”

“But…” Midoriya-kun hesitated. He drew in a deep breath, eyes starting to shine with tears he was desperately trying to hold back. “They said the-they t-t-ook down Thi-Thirteen-sensei…”

They said…? That was right. Midoriya-kun was in the middle of it all. He could have easily heard something like that, and he never got to see Thirteen before they were rushed to the hospital. Not that seeing Thirteen in that condition would have helped much. “Thirteen’s gonna be alright,” he said, rubbing Midoriya-kun’s arm. “They’re hurt, yes, but it’s nothing some surgery, rest, and Recovery Girl can’t fix. They’ll be back on their feet in no time.”

Midoriya-kun didn’t say anything as the tears started to fall. He sniffed loudly, scrubbing his cheeks with his good hand.

“Present Mic is-”

Midoriya-kun jumped and pulled back, leaning against his mother as his eyes snapped back to Noushintou-sensei.

The doctor paused slightly, glancing at Hizashi and waiting for Midoriya-kun to calm down. After a long second, he continued again. “Present Mic is telling the truth, Midoriya-kun. Everyone made it out in one piece. Those that were injured could all either be treated on site or were easy to look after once we got them here.” He waited again, watching as Midoriya-kun relaxed into his mother’s arms. “Now, let’s focus on you for a second. You are my patient. How are you feeling.”

“Like I was hit by a truck,” Midoriya-kun says after a moment of thought. “Your quirk is touch activated?”

Midoriya-san huffed a dry laugh and ran her hands through her son’s hair. He closed his eyes slightly, leaning into the touch.

“Uh, yes. It is. And I suppose you’re not too far off when you compared it to being hit by a truck. You’re a very lucky young man. Where does it hurt the most?”

Midoriya-kun hummed slightly, not opening his eyes. “Head. Chest. Why am I lucky?”

Noushintou-sensei started looking over his notes and marking some things down. “To be expected. Given what All Might and some of your classmates reported, you should have been a lot more injured than you were. We were surprised your skull hadn’t cracked open, and overall, there was far less damage to your skeletal structure than we expected.”

Midoriya-san’s hand stopped for a brief moment, her face growing pale. Her hand was shaking when she started moving again, almost hidden by the curls of Midoriya-kun’s hair. She said nothing.

“I’d say,” Noushintou-sensei continued, “all things considered, Recovery Girl should be able to heal you up when she gets here in a few hours. Depending on how you feel then and what she says, you’ll either go home tonight or tomorrow morning.”

Midoriya-kun’s eyes blinked open and he frowned in the doctor’s direction. “You expected more?”

Noushintou-sensei finally looked up from his notes, frowning back. “Well, yes. Given how your teacher came in, we expected you to be in much worse condition. We’re not sure if the villain didn’t hit you as hard as it looked, or if it was just luck, but you came out pretty well.”

Izuku hummed and relaxed again. “Not luck,” he said. “Good gear.”

The adults in the room shared a quick glance. Midoriya-kun… he was showing more faith in his gear than Hizashi saw from most pros. There was a good chance that it was unfounded, but Midoriya-kun hadn’t ever really struck him a blind optimist. He was more of a realist than anything. Hopeful, yes, but not stupid about it.

And there was the fact that Maijima-kun wouldn’t have been able to get his costume made without the obvious outside interference.

Hizashi shrugged at them. No point in doing anything now.

“Well,” Noushintou-sensei said, clearing his throat. “If that’s all, then I’ll be on my way. If your pain gets worse, you have a call button. Someone will come to help you. I’ll be back when Recovery Girl gets here.”

Izuku nodded, snuggling closer to his mom.

Hizashi shook himself out of his thoughts as Noushintou-sensei left the room, resettling himself in his chair to wait for Shouta to wake up. He knew it was going to be a while, but that wasn’t going to stop him from being there when his husband needed him.

“I don’t get it,” Tomura hissed as another wound was wrapped by Sensei’s doctor. “It doesn’t make any sense. Everything was going fine, and then suddenly, it wasn’t.”

Kurogiri hummed behind the bar, cleaning up yet another of Tomura’s messes. “That is how it is, sometimes, Tomura,” he said. “There is an old saying, from the time before quirks. ‘No plan survives first contact with the enemy.’”

The warp gate wasn’t looking at him. “You’re hiding something aren’t you, Kurogiri. You know what went wrong.”

The black mist stopped his cleaning. As though there had even been anything left for him to clean anyway. “I am not-”

“By all means, Kurogiri,” Sensei spoke up, his screen crackling to life with static, “please share your thoughts with us. We will stand no chance of success if we do not figure out what went wrong here.”

Ha! That no-faced motherfucker would have to answer now. Even he wasn’t foolish enough to go against Sensei.

“As you wish. There was one boy.” Kurogiri spared Tomura a glance. “The one with green hair. Midoriya, I believe his teacher called him. No matter how I think of it, our problems stem back to him. There were likely other things in play, but he is the obvious one.”

“How so?”

“Well, Sensei,” Kurogiri said, setting aside his cleaning supplies, and his voice fell into a simple no-nonsense cadence. Tomura rolled his eyes. Of course he would be willing to explain everything in detail to Sensei. Maybe he was trying to make Tomura look like he was weak because he hadn’t been able to kill one kid, much less All Might. “He seemed to understand the situation even before his teachers noticed us, directing his classmates to evacuate while we were still getting our men in place. He also managed to hold his own against Tomura for a significant time—”

“Not like you did much better,” said Tomura.

“—and kept us busy long enough for one of his teachers to remain a threat. He may also have warned them of how we planned to kill All Might, but I can’t be sure of that.”

Silence followed Kurogiri’s report as Sensei thought through the new information. “Do you know why this boy was capable of predicting you, Kurogiri?”

“Yes, Sensei. He was… present during the last assignment you sent me on. The one-”

“I remember, yes.”

“Wait, what!? What mission?” Tomura sat up, shaking off the doctor. “What happened?”

Kurogiri looked to Sensei and waited. Of course that bastard wouldn’t listen to him unless Sensei confirmed it.

“Hm. I think not.”

“Why not? Why won’t you tell me?”

“Because we can’t be sure how much that mission had an impact on this Midoriya-kun, and it will make a good lesson for you.”

Tomura slumped back down, crossing his arms and glaring off to the side. “Fine. What am I supposed to learn?”

“It’s hardly a lesson if I just tell you, is it?” Sensei chuckled on the other side of the screen, suddenly calling the doctor back to him. “For now, I will tell you this. Midoriya-kun isn’t the most important thing right now. Figure out what else could have gone wrong, and how it could be fixed in the future. Killing All Might is still our ultimate goal. Everything else is secondary.”

Chapter Text

Shouta woke up well after Midoriya-kun did, but luckily for him, it was before Shuuzenji-sensei arrived, so he did at least have a chance to reassure himself that Midoriya-kun was fine. Even if Shouta couldn’t physically look at his student, the brief conversation with the boy and his mother, with Hizashi hovering at Shouta’s side, was enough for him to calm himself. And Shuuzenji-sensei’s quirk a few hours later and a near clean bill of health for the Midoriyas meant that they could go home and rest in their own beds, even as Shouta was cruelly contained to the hospital for one more night.

Which lead to another visit from Shuuzenji-sensei in the morning and a long lecture about resting that everyone knew Shouta was going to ignore. They might manage to get a day out of him when he had no lessons to teach, but as soon as classes started, Shouta was going to make sure he was back in that classroom. At the very least Shouta had full use of his eyes again and wasn’t at risk of repuncturing a lung, so they were okay to release him even as Shouta’s doting husband was visibly dreading having to find a way to keep him confined for the next several days as he pushed Shouta’s mandatory wheel chair to the lobby so they could finally finish Shouta’s paperwork and go home.

Which, of course, is where Shouta happened to spot a rather familiar figure. Or, more accurately, a familiar quirk as he recognized the dog head with floppy ears and curly golden fur covering the teenager’s body as he help an older woman with a matching mutation at the receptionist next to Shouta and Hizashi.

“Isogai-kun,” Shouta said, standing from his wheel chair and causing the boy to jump slightly as he and his mother turned to face him.

“I’m sorry, sir, do we know you?” Isogai-san asked, tilting her head slightly in confusion.

“No, actually. My apologies.” Shouta bowed slightly in greeting. “I am Aizawa Shouta, one of my students is friends with your son, and I was hoping to ask a few questions, if you had time.”

“Shou,” Hizashi sighed. “We just got you released. Is this really the best time?”

Shouta shrugged. “I don’t see why not now,” he said. “Unless you have any objections, Isogai-san.” There wasn’t likely to be a better time. Springing it on him like this was the best way to keep the Ministry of Defense from interfering.

“Oh, well. I don’t know why there would be a problem?” Isogai-san answered, glancing at her son who gave her a practiced smile. “We just finished up here, and I don’t think you have any plans today, do you Yuuma?”

Isogai-kun’s smiled strained slightly. “No, Mom. I cleared my day just in case things took awhile here.” He turned his attention to the receptionist. “I don’t suppose we could borrow a conference room or something for a little while?”

“That shouldn’t be a problem,” she answered, “there’s one just down that hall and on the left that we don’t use very often.”

The group gave her their thanks and quickly moved to settle into the conference room.

“Now,” Isogai-san said, setting aside her large purse, “which of Yuuma’s friends is this about?”

“Midoriya-kun,” Hizashi answered, even as he slumped into the corner.

“Midoriya-kun… isn’t that the boy that’s going to UA, Yuuma?”

“Yes, Mom, he is. I assume you’re Izuku’s homeroom teacher? He says good things about you.”

So they were close. That might be useful. “I am, and I’m glad to hear it,” Shouta nodded.

Hizashi relaxed a little and smiled. “Shou can be a bit of a hard ass, so it’s always nice to hear one of his students actually appreciates his methods.”

Isogai-kun nodded. “Izuku’s a good judge of character. How is he, by the way. He hasn’t been answering his phone, and we’re starting to get worried.”

Shouta hummed. “I can’t say much, but I can tell you he’s fine. He’ll probably get back to you all soon.” Hopefully not before Shouta could get this conversation on track.

“Well, we don’t want to be here all day with idle gossip, do we.” Isogai-san suddenly spoke up. “You said you needed to talk to Yuuma about Midoriya-kun, has there been a problem?”

“Not as such. Midoriya-kun isn’t in any trouble.” Shouta answered. “We’ve just been having some trouble getting a grasp of his skill set. He keeps doing things we were under the impression he didn’t know how to do.”

“Why would I know something about that?” Isogai-kun asked with a slightly chuckle. “Shouldn’t you be asking him, or his old teachers?”

Not the best deflection Shouta had ever heard, but a well reasoned one. Under different circumstances Shouta might have even considered that he might not know anything. “For one, you’re on a first name basis with him, and without honorifics as well. And for another, you share one of the three sources of training we know Midoriya-kun actually had.”

Isogai-kun blinked for a moment. “I share his training?” he said slowly. “Why would I share his training? I had no interest in heroics of any kind.”

Shouta shrugged. “We ask incoming students about their training histories, so we know what they’re getting into. Midoriya-kun listed three. A dojo in town, a volunteer project cleaning a beach that he listed as strength conditioning, and your physical education at Aldera Junior High.

“Now, I also attend that same dojo, I know what’s taught there and have even seen Midoriya-kun during lessons myself. And the beach, again, is strength training. We’ve looked into Aldera’s physical education program. While it’s exceptional for a middle school, it hardly explains Midoriya-kun’s skills in free running, stealth and explosives.”

“Explosives!? Yuuma, what did you learn at that school! I swear, if you hadn’t already graduated I would be having some words with the principle!”

“Relax, Mom. No one at Aldera taught us anything about explosives!” Isogai-kun fell silent after placating his mother, seeming to think hard about what he would say next. “I can’t tell you anything about the explosives thing. Like I said, that wasn’t a part of Aldera’s curriculum. But stealth and free running…

“Izuku. Izuku’s been a pretty stealthy guy for about as long as I’ve actually known him. He was even quieter back when we met too. He was jumpy and skittish and he kept hunching down like he was trying to hide himself right in front of you. Not that much of a surprise though, considering what he went through on the main campus.

“As for the free running…” Isogai-kun stole a glance at his mother before sighing and turning a weary gaze back to Shouta. “With how Aldera was set up, we 3-E students didn’t have access to the same resources the rest of campus did. We. We would make due with what we had. Didn’t really have a choice in the matter. So, our teacher did the best he could, and took to using the environment and giving us special lessons to try and make it cooler and keep us engaged. Even treated it as a reward for hard work. Free running was one of the special things he showed us often.”

Isogai-kun seemed honest enough, even if the implication that a group of students was getting the short end of the stick deliberately was enough to make Shouta fume nearly as hard as Isogai-san seemed to be.

Parts of it made sense, too. Midoriya-kun was bullied rather extensively from what Shouta had heard from both Midoriya-kun and Bakugou-kun. Shouta would have to verify the free running later. As for the explosives…

“You said you can’t say anything about where Midoriya-kun learned about bombs.” Shouta started carefully. He had noticed the odd phrasing, but he didn’t want to push too hard have Isogai report it to what ever agent worked with Midoriya-kun and possibly his friends as well. “He did mention, when questioned about this more directly, that he had a chance to go through some of the Ministry of Defense’s, uh, ‘reading material.’”

Isogai-kun spared another glance at his mother and her ever darkening face and sighed. “Yes, I suppose that could be possible. But I can’t say I was necessarily keeping an eye on Izuku. I was generally more worried about Karma and Terasaka starting a fight. Though Rio wasn’t exactly playing nice either.”

“You mean when your class was in custody,” Shouta clarified. He saw Hizashi twitch out of the corner of his eye and knew they would be having a conversation about it later.

Isogai-kun’s eyes seemed to harden for a fraction of a second, even as his face twisted in a grimace. “Yes. Then. Though please don’t bring it up too much. We’re not exactly supposed to talk about it with anyone outside of our families.”

Isogai-san huffed. “You don’t even talk about it with your family, Yuuma.”

“I told you, Mom. Nothing happened. I don’t want to make a big deal of it and scare your guys for nothing.”

“You were gone for days without warning, Yuuma. We weren’t even allowed to send you anything. That’s not nothing.”

Hizashi cleared his throat. “Setting that… personal conversation aside, Isogai-kun, are you close with all of your old classmates?”

Thank all the spirits in the land for Hizashi cutting around to that interesting tidbit.

“Er, yeah. More or less. We got to know each other pretty well isolated up on that mountain. Add to that a trip to Okinawa in the summer and our… time with the Ministry, and. Yeah. We all got pretty close. That’s why we’re all worried because we haven’t heard back from Izuku yet.”

Once again that made some sense. Though it was a bit much to think that would be enough for everyone in a class of nearly thirty students to get that close. And the Okinawa comment didn’t actually make much sense at all. From the sounds of it 3-E had been systematically shorted on just about all the resources the school had to offer, but they got a class trip to Okinawa?

“Is there anything else we can do for you?” Isogai-san asked after a long pause.

“No, that will be everything,” Hizashi answered before Shouta could open his mouth. “I’m sure you’d like to get back to your day, and I need to get this grumpy man home so he can eat before taking his medication.”

Isogai-kun jumped to his feet. “Right,” he bowed. “Thank you for your concern for my friend. Come on, Mom, we should get going, too. Maybe we should pick up some food on the way home for everyone.” The boy grabbed his mom’s hand and practically dragged her out of the room. He may have answered Shouta’s questions, but if there was one thing Shouta took away from the interaction, it was that Isogai-kun had not wanted to talk to them. He was good at hiding it, but he was slow to answer and always seemed to be careful to give away as little as possible. Not to mention the look on his face when his mother said they had time to talk.

“You didn’t need to say anything,” Shouta said as he stood up. “I was gonna let him go anyway, you know.”

Hizashi hummed. “Maybe, but I get the feeling I’m missing a few pieces of the puzzle, and you really do need to eat.”

That was fair enough. “I’ll tell you over lunch?”

“Fine. We’ll pick up some miso to eat at home.”

“Sounds good to me.”

Izuku had managed a full night’s sleep in his own bed and a couple of hours of peace and quite before someone knocked on his front door. Not that he wasn’t expecting it, but he had hoped they’d at least message him before showing up.

“Hey, Midoriya-san, can we borrow Izuku?” At least Kataoka knew how to be polite.

Izuku stuck his head out of his room. “Really guys, you couldn’t even let me know you were coming?”

“We tried,” Rio answered. “You didn’t answer your phone.”

Okuda nodded. “Everyone has been worried since we saw the news. When you didn’t answer we volunteered to check on you.”

Izuku frowned, and went back into his room to check his phone. And then groaned to himself when he noticed the charger dangling off the side of his desk. “Sorry,” he said, coming back out of his room. “I guess I forgot to plug it in when I got home last night.”

“Of course you did,” Karma laughed while Itona held up his own phone and snapped a picture of Izuku with his arm in a sling.

“Everyone is demanding proof that you’re okay,” he muttered, typing on the phone.

“Ah. Well. Mom, I’m gonna go hang out for a bit.”

“Alright, sweety. Just remember your session with Ashisuto-san tonight.”

“I won’t,” Izuku gave his mom a quick hug and closed the door behind him. “To the park?”

The group quietly agreed and began their walk. For once, they didn’t take to the rooftops and fly through the city from above, which just made Izuku more aware of his still injured arm and sore leg. While they walked Terasaka and Kataoka both kept their eyes open and heads on the swivel, ears flicking around as they watched and listened for any threats. Chiba and Itona both stayed quiet and observed while Karma and Rio began their usual demonic teasing. Izuku didn’t completely ignore them, but Nagisa did manage to distract them long enough for Izuku to thank Okuda for the smoke pellets she had made for him and launch into a conversation about how they had worked.

All in all, a very normal walk through the city streets while they avoided the real conversation.

“Alright, cut the bullshit,” Terasaka said as they settled in an out of the way spot. “How are you actually doing?”

“I’m fine. Really. My gear did it’s job and Recovery Girl-sensei handled everything.”

Itona didn’t even look up. “You’re are is still in a sling.”

“Only until tomorrow. Recovery Girl-sensei didn’t want to push to hard after a fight like that. My teachers were in worse condition.”

Rio raised an eyebrow. “Even All Might?”

“Please don’t ask me that.”

The group collectively flinched. They understood the need to not answer certain questions. Even if Izuku’s request was as good as an answer, at least he hadn’t forced himself to lie to them.

“You almost died,” Chiba said. “The villain with the disintegration quirk touched you.” His hand reached forward, hovering over Izuku’s throat exactly where Shigaraki's hand had been the day before.

Izuku pushed Chiba’s hand away while the group gave him a look. “Don’t make us call Karasuma-sensei,” Itona muttered. “We need to know.”

“Fine. Yes. He grabbed me.” Izuku fought the urge to curl in on himself and protect his vital organs. “He didn’t have a chance to actually use his quirk.”

“He shouldn’t have gotten his hands on you in the first place,” Terasaka huffed.

“I’d like to see you do better,” Izuku snapped back. “I was almost completely unarmed, alone and out in the open, and he had a warp quirk on his side. I was already lucky that his little army was dumb enough not to try and dog pile me as soon as the fight started. I’d have beat them, yeah, but not without getting injured and wearing myself out.”

Izuku paused, draining the anger out of him. They were worried. They weren’t belittling him. They knew he could do better. Izuku knew he could do better when he actually had all of his gear. Not even Shigaraki could do much about a gun. “And that’s not how I got hurt anyway. It was their big guy.”

Nagisa nodded. “I heard about him. Nomu, right?”

“Yeah,” Izuku said. “That’s what they called him. As fast as Korosensei and as strong as All Might.”

“I heard he had some other quirks, too,” Rio said. “Shock Absorption and Regeneration.”

“ Do you think he was one of Shiro’s?” Nagisa asked.

“I don’t know, but I doubt it. Nomu didn’t seem very tentically. And even the second Reaper kept some of his personality after Shiro was done with him.” Izuku frowned. “ Itona, did Shiro ever work with the assassin with the warp quirk that came after Korosensei last year?”

Itona finally looked up from his phone. “No, he wasn’t someone that worked for Shiro. He would have come better prepared with Anti-Sensei material if he had.”

“ So it was him,” Okuda said. “I thought the police sketch looked the same, but I didn’t want to assume.”

"Yeah, it was definitely him. He seems to be a bit of a one trick pony for his assassinations, though. He just tries to get them in his portal and close it on them.”

Karma laughed. “Guess he’s a pretty low rate assassin then. Probably got cocky and tried to go for the big money with Korosensei.”

"Alright, that’s enough of that,” Kataoka said. “We should have Karasuma-sensei look into Nomu, but how about we talk about something lighter now.”

"Your homeroom teacher spoke to Isogai at the hospital,” Itona said.

Izuku groaned and flopped on the grass. “Can he just. Not? Please?”

Nagisa patted Izuku’s shoulder. “You said he was an underground hero, right?”

Izuku nodded.

Karma’s grin grew wide. “Then he’s not gonna leave this alone until he gets an answer!” he crowed.

Chapter Text

Izuku yawned for the fifth time as he walked down the hall to his classroom. He chewed slowly on the last of the gummy bears Recovery Girl-sensei gave him after his final checkup and healing session as he approached the door. He could already hear Bakugou and Iida-san yelling inside.

He opened the door, greeted with the sight he was more than expecting. Iida-san stood over Bakugou’s desk, practically looming over their volatile classmate as his hands made broad sweeping motions and he yelled his commands. Bakugou was seated but seemed to take up almost as much space as he jutted his chin out and crossed his arms tight over his chest.

“You need to wear our school uniform properly!” Iida-san yelled. “I have put up with the disgrace thus far, but after recent events we must show our best face!”

“Fuck off, Private School!” Bakugou barked back. “It wasn’t a problem then, and it isn’t a problem now. Who cares about the damn tie anyway!? I’ll do what I want!”

That was right. Bakugou wasn’t wearing his tie. He hadn’t been since the school year started. Izuku had brushed it off before, but Bakugou had fallen in line quickly enough when Aldera had enforced the rule, so it wasn’t like he couldn’t, or wouldn’t, wear a tie. On second thought, it didn’t matter, and Izuku didn’t have the energy for this.

“Iida-san, drop it,” Izuku said, cutting through the noise.

“I don’t need your damn help, D- Midoriya!” said Bakugou.

Izuku didn’t bother to respond as he stepped over to the desk and dropped off the note from Recovery Girl-sensei. He could feel everyone’s eyes on him. They had all been watching the fight before Izuku stepped in, and now he’d put himself squarely in the middle of it. Wonderful.

“Midoriya-kun,” Iida-san said. “Surely, you understand the importance of making a good impression after… what we just experienced. It—”

“I said drop it, Iida-san,” Izuku cut him off. Rude, yes, but he was a bit worn thin after the last few days. There was the attack and all the trauma it had dug up, then the healing from Recovery Girl-sensei, his emergency session with Ashisuto-san on what was supposed to be their day off while he spent the majority of his remaining free time trying to convince 3-E that he was fine, and then another visit to Recovery Girl-sensei to get him cleared. “It really doesn’t matter if Bakugou is wearing the tie or not. Like he said, it wasn’t a problem before, it isn’t a problem now.”

Iida-san gaped at him. “Erm, Midoriya-kun,” Yaoyorozu-san spoke up. “I have to agree with Iida-kun. After what happened, the media will be keeping an eye on us. It would be best to present a calm, uniform front to them. To show we weren’t shaken.”

Izuku raised an eyebrow. He supposed it made sense that two of the kids raised to keep the media in mind would be the ones kicking up a fuss here. “I don’t know about you, but I was pretty shaken. We’re still just kids. Let them see us as we are, it’s not like there aren’t reasons. You wouldn’t expect a pro to look perfectly composed after a close colleague ended up in the hospital, so why should we be any different.” He shook his head. “And anyway, the press isn’t allowed to talk to you without a parent or guardian present. Don’t give them anything, or they’ll keep pressing.”

“Well,” Iida-san said, pushing his glasses back up from where they’d slid down during his argument with Bakugou, “I suppose Bakugou-kun is alright then, but as our class representative you at the very least need to be presentable.” Izuku’s back straightened like it had been replaced with a steel rod. “Your tie is too loose.” He reached forward. “Here, let me-”

“No.” Izuku slapped his hands away, stepping back and forcing his voice to stay steady even as he felt his throat constrict. Deep breaths. It was fine. He could still breath. “No, you will not tighten my tie. It’s fine the way it is.”

“But-”

“No. Drop it.” Izuku raised his voice to address the class. “Homeroom starts soon, everyone get up, we’ve got a new seating chart.” He briefly waved the paper Present Mic-sensei had given him from Aizawa-sensei’s desk when Izuku stopped by the office to pick up any worksheets or forms to be distributed before class.

No one hesitated, quietly grabbing their things and shuffling as Izuku read off the new chart. Taller students were moved to the back and shorter students to the front to the relief of Jirou-san, Sero-san, and Tokoyami-san who had all been stuck behind Shouji-san before. Mineta-san was near the door and surrounded by other boys for quick dismissal and so he couldn’t harass any girls. Bakugou was in the seat next to Mineta-san, where Aizawa-sensei could keep an eye on both of them and Bakugou couldn’t see Izuku two rows back and to his left.

Once everyone was seated, Izuku subtly tried to loosen his tie slightly while taking a deep breath through his nose as he made his way to his own seat, leaving the chart on the podium as well for the substitute that was bound to come through the door any moment now.

Izuku sat in his seat and released his breath. Today was going to be a bad day. His hands were already shaking, and he was struggling to keep himself composed. On top of that, Aizawa-sensei was still on bed rest, which meant they were going to have a substitute, which meant they were probably going to have roll call, unless Aizawa-sensei put something on their attendance sheet to dissuade that.

Maybe Izuku should feign sick and just go to see Recovery Girl-sensei to avoid it (and everything else) until he had everything under control again. She’d probably understand after the first day. But no, Izuku was going to stay here, and he was going to look strong for the rest of the class. They had elected him as their leader, and he had already admitted to being shaken by what happened. He needed to be here for them now. He needed to look like everything was alright and he wasn’t—

The door slid open and Aizawa-sensei walked in. Both his arms were in thick casts and the way he moved carefully told Izuku of cracked or broken ribs that hurt like a bitch. A bandage wound around his forehead, and another patch covered his right cheekbone and stretched back to his temple, only barely missing his eye.

“Morning,” Aizawa-sensei said.

“It is good to see you doing well, Sensei!” Iida-san greeted.

“Should you really be here?” Uraraka-san almost whispered.

“My well being isn’t important,” Aizawa-sensei shot back, ending the conversation. Izuku felt his heart sink. Maybe Aizawa-sensei was up and about, but that didn’t mean he was supposed to be. “Your fight is far from over.”

Izuku shifted nervously. “Our fight?” Bakugou said. No one other than Izuku would have been able to hear the fear on the edge of his voice.

No. Please don’t tell him there was more… “More villains?” Mineta-san moaned, not even bothering to hide the fear in his voice. No, Aizawa-sensei wouldn’t put them in harm's way again. He wasn’t the one to do it in the first place.

“UA.’s Sport Festival is fast approaching.”

That was right. It was coming. Izuku slumped on his desk, tuning out his classmates’ exclamations of relief. And the rest of Aizawa-sensei’s speech. He could get the gist from someone else if there was anything he didn’t know or find it in the student handbook. At least now he knew what he was going to be reading over the next couple days.

Was Mineta-san… complaining? Izuku couldn’t bring himself to care right now. He honestly didn’t think it was anything he needed to worry about, and he couldn’t take another shock today.

Izuku took a deep breath in again, just like Ashisuto-san taught him. In and out. Nice and steady. Everything was fine. He was safe. His friends were safe. His teachers were safe (even if not fully recovered).

Everything was fine.

All he needed to worry about now was getting his head on straight for classes so he could actually learn something. Or he could ignore everything. It wasn’t like they were going over anything new or particularly complicated in their normal classes. (Either that or Korosensei got them farther ahead of the curve than Izuku thought.)

“Midoriya-kun.”

Izuku’s head snapped up at Aizawa-sensei’s voice. “Yes, Aizawa-sensei?”

“Come find me after school.” He glanced back over the classroom. “And don’t forget about your midterms. They might not be as important as finals, but they still matter.” He didn’t wait for any response as he turned and left, closing the door firmly behind him.

Izuku put his head back on his desk. Today was going to be a long day.

Izuku walked quietly behind his friends as they lead the way through the halls to the lunchroom, simply enjoying their presence and conversation. Thanks to the upcoming Sports Festival the conversation had turned to why they wanted to be heroes. They all knew Iida-san wanted to be like his brother, but the others had been a mystery. His friends had glanced at Izuku briefly and, luckily, read his mood well enough to leave him alone for the time being. He would tell them eventually, but he didn’t really have the energy to actually engage with them right now.

Hagakure-san, Izuku learned, was kinda like him. She wanted to help people but had always felt so overlooked because of her quirk. Most people scoffed at her when she’d said she wanted to be a hero, so she decided she’d work hard and prove them wrong. Show them you didn’t need a strong offensive quirk to be a great hero.

Kirishima-san, much like Izuku when he was younger, was trying to emulate his childhood hero. Specifically, Crimson Riot, which explained the hairdo. He actually felt like he hadn’t done enough in the past and was hoping the hair style would help him keep his goals in mind and make him stand out a bit more.

And Uraraka-san… “Money, if I’m being honest.”

The group fell silent for a moment. “Didn’t see that one coming,” Hagakure-san muttered.

“Ah, there’s nothing wrong with that,” Kirishima-san said. “You’re still helping people, and that’s really all that matters, right?”

“I mean, yeah,” Uraraka-san said slowly, rubbing the back of her head and staring at her feet. “I know it seems kinda base and all that, but… Oh, who am I kidding, you all have such noble dreams. It’s so embarrassing.”

“No, it’s not,” Iida-san suddenly spoke up. “There’s nothing wrong with wanting a comfortable lifestyle. You have nothing to be ashamed of. And, as Kirishima-kun said. You’re still helping people! You could have done many other things to get money.”

Uraraka-san nodded. “Yeah, and it’s not like it’s just about the money… My family runs a construction company, but… business has been bad lately and we barely ever make ends meet. Please don’t tell anyone about that.”

Hagakure-san perked up slightly. “Couldn’t you use your quirk to help cut costs? I mean, if you had permission, of course,” she quickly tacked on at Iida-san’s impending rant on following the rules.

“That’s what I said!” Uraraka-san said, whipping around. “But they always wanted me to aim higher. Follow my own path and all that. This way, I can help support them and they can’t say I’m not happy.”

Izuku smiled softly. Now there was the real reason they were all looking for. It wasn’t about the money. Well, it was, but it was really about helping her family. Making sure they were cared for, and if she got to help even more people in the process, then all the better.

“Midoriya-shounen! Would you like to eat lunch with me?”

Izuku swore something in him died when he saw All Might leaning out from around a corner with a neatly wrapped bento. He wasn’t sure if it was the good kind of died (internal fan squealing) or the bad kind of died (embarrassment) yet, all he knew was that he was way too tired for this.

“Yeah, sure.” Izuku pulled up a tired smile and glanced over at his friends. “I’ll catch up with you guys later?”

“Of course,” Iida-san answered, far more subdued than he usually was. He was probably still thinking about this morning.

“Y-yeah,” Uraraka-san “go enjoy your lunch with All Might!”

“So manly,” Kirishima-san whispered. “We’ll see you later!”

Hagakure-san waved at him. “Bye, Midoriya-kun!”

Izuku waved back and followed All Might to the lounge, where he promptly locked the door and deflated into his true form. “Yagi-san, are you alright?”

Yagi-san coughed, wipe away the blood quickly, but Izuku still saw it. “I’m fine, my boy. I should be asking you that. You’re the one that wound up in the hospital after all.”

“Recovery Girl-sensei already healed me,” Izuku answered, taking his seat. “I haven’t had a chance to hear anything from you yet.”

“Ah, yes,” Yagi-san sat down as well. “I’m fine. My time has been shortened, but I’ll be alright.”

“It’s shorter? How much do you have now?”

“About a hundred and twenty minutes.”

“Saying it that way isn’t going to stop me from realizing you’re down to two hours a day.” Izuku sighed. “We need to find you a successor.”

“Yes, I was going to ask you about that…”

Izuku raised an eyebrow. “Do you have anyone in mind?”

“Maybe, but I want to get your opinion first.”

Izuku leaned back, staring at the ceiling. “Well, ignoring the people I’ve ruled out for the sake of brevity, the remaining students in 1-A would by Uraraka-san, Ojirou-san, Kirishima-san, Jirou-san, Sero-san, and Hagakure-san. All of them could make good candidates, and I don’t know enough about 1-B or the other years to say anything about any of their students.”

“But is there anyone you would place above the others?” Yagi-san pressed.

Izuku shrugged. “Maybe Kirishima-san, Uraraka-san, and Hagakure-san, but that’s mostly because I know them better. Well, as well as I can know anyone after only… a week and a half?”

Yagi-san laughed, and Izuku smiled. It was nice, knowing his idol was comfortable enough to laugh around him. “I suppose that’s true. Unfortunately, as you said, we need to make a decision. For more reasons than simply my health.”

Izuku lifted his head to shoot Yagi-san a confused look.

“Izuku-kun, I’ve been looking among the first years for a reason. It’s easy enough to sweep large changes in a person’s quirk or abilities under the rug when they have had no major exposure. But after… things get complicated when people have enough information to start asking questions.”

Izuku nodded slowly. “The Sports Festival.”

“Exactly. I need to pass on One for All before the Sports Festival, so my successor can be ready to face the world head on.”

“So, you’ve made a decision?”

Yagi-san smiled softly. “I have. I only need to talk to them now. Would you… would you be willing to talk to them with me?”

Izuku cracked a grin. “What? Need the moral support?”

“What? No, I just… you’re joking.”

Izuku laughed. “It’s alright. Don’t worry too much. Yeah, I’ll be there. You’d have to wait until tomorrow, at least. Aizawa-sensei wants to talk to me after school today.”

Yagi-san relaxed again. “Of course. I’ll see if I can set up a meeting for tomorrow after school. Oh, and one more thing.”

“What’s up?”

“The police have found another body at Dagobah,” Yagi-san said. “With three victims, all burned down to the bone, they think they have a serial killer.”

A chill ran down Izuku’s spine. Three victims found and who knew how many more still missing. “I’m gonna guess that we won’t be going back to cleaning it, then.”

Yagi-san shook his head. “It’s now an active crime scene.”

“Do they know who the victims were yet?”

“With the investigation on going, they won’t tell us anything. I could go as All Might, but well. With my time limit, that doesn’t seem like a great idea. And All Might has never really been all that involved with the investigative side of things. I always left that to Sir Nighteye and underground heroes. Stepping in now would raise a lot of questions.”

Izuku nodded. That was fair enough. They had no reason to tell a first-year hero student anything about their homicide investigation. “Well,” he said, standing and stretching, “I’ll figure out something else to do for some training. I’ll see you tomorrow?”

“Aren’t you forgetting something, Izuku-kun?”

Izuku glanced down at Yagi-san as he slid a bento across the table to him. Izuku looked at the clock. Ten minutes until class started. Shit.

Izuku dropped down into his chair, pulling the bento closer and prying it open. “Tanksh, Yagi-’an,” he said as he shoved the food into his mouth. With everything else that happened, Izuku was absolutely not skipping lunch.

Hitoshi pushed his way forward, roughly shoving people aside as he tried to get to the front of the crowd.

“Outta my way, extras,” a rough voice cut over the chattering gawkers. “I’ve got places to be and they don’t involve waiting for you to learn to mind your own fucking business.”

“Do not call people you don’t know extras!” another yelled at his classmate.

“Sure, we came to get a look, and aren’t you modest,” Hitoshi said, taking advantage of the momentary quiet to make himself heard and separate himself from the rest of the crowd. “Are all the kids in the hero course like this? Gotta say, I’m not all that impressed if this is all you’ve got to offer.”

Finally, he could see them clearly. There was one boy with spiky blond hair in front of the door that looked like he was going to punch someone soon. A girl and two other boys stood behind him. The girl was watching, her cheeks puffing up in offense. One of the boys, the taller one with blue hair was gesturing frantically for Hitoshi to stop, and the shorter green haired one just looked tired, like he didn’t care about any of this.

He snorted softly and plowed on. He couldn’t stop here. He needed to keep talking or he might lose his nerve. He took another step forward, resting his practiced tired gaze land on the blond, clearly the instigator. Clearly a “perfect born hero.”

“Those of us that didn’t make the hero course are stuck in general studies,” he said. “There’s quite a few of us. Did you know that?” At least half of Hitoshi’s class had been aiming for one course or another and just barely missed. Mostly the hero course, but there were a few support nerds in there as well. “And depending on the results of the Sports Festival, they might consider a transfer.” He didn’t leave space for a response. “I understand the reverse is also possible… There’s a limited number of seats, after all.”

The blond looked less angry and more… focused. He recognized the challenge for what it was, and the threat. Didn’t look worried though. One of the other students, some purple haired kid Hitoshi had missed earlier whimpered. And the green haired boy watched him with a laser focus that honestly made Hitoshi a little worried. He didn’t know why, but the way his eyes settled on Hitoshi almost seemed to pin his heart and leave a blade resting just above him, waiting to take him apart and see what was under all his masks.

No. Focus. Hitoshi brushed the feeling off just as quickly as it set in, rushing the rest of his speech forward. He couldn’t stall now. He couldn’t lose focus. “For a general studies kid like me, this is the perfect chance to knock you off your pedestals. Consider this my declaration of war.” He spun on his heel with those final words, turning his back on them and disappearing back into the crowd.

“Really? That’s it?”

Hitoshi tensed, glancing back. The green haired boy was speaking, eyes never once leaving Hitoshi’s.

“That’s all you’ve got?” he said. “You wasted all of our time for a little chest pounding over your wounded pride? If you’re going to issue a challenge, try to have some style and make sure your target knows who you are by the time you’re done. You didn’t even give us a name.”

“Shinsou Hitoshi,” Hitoshi said, pulling a face after he realized he’d just answered the 1-A student.

The boy nodded slightly. “Good. I am Midoriya Izuku. Now, I hope you have a plan for the Festival, or all of that will have been for nothing. Contrary to popular belief, spite and pixy dust are not enough to make your dreams come true.”

Hitoshi found himself snorting. That was actually pretty funny. Luckily for him, he did actually have a plan. Sorta. That plan may rely a lot on using his quirk, but it wasn’t like a quirk like brainwashing wouldn’t be enough to trip up the vast majority of these idiots.

Midoriya-kun nodded, firmer this time, then turned his piercing gaze on the people around them, allowing Hitoshi to breathe again, and slink back through the crowd unnoticed. “Does anyone else have anything to say, or can we all get on with our lives!” he yelled.

Chapter Text

Shouta was not asleep. He wasn’t, he swears. Tsukauchi can vouch for him.

“Are you sure he’s coming? Maybe he forgot,” Tsukauchi said again. Demonstrating exactly why Shouta wasn’t asleep.

“Yes, he’s coming. No, he didn’t forget. He probably got caught up with something on the way here.”

“What could he possibly get caught in between the classroom and here?”

The door slid open and shut quickly. “Sorry I’m late, Aizawa-sensei,” Midoriya-kun said quickly, bowing. “There was a crowd blocking the door to the classroom. It took a while to get them to clear out so everyone could leave.”

Shouta sent a quick told-you look to Tsukauchi before turning to handle Midoriya-kun. “You’re fine. Take a seat.” He waited a second for the boy to do just that, shucking his backpack and sitting at the ready across from them. “Midoriya-kun, this is Detective Tsukauchi Naomasa. He’s in charge of the League of Villains case.”

“It’s nice to finally meet you, Midoriya-kun,” Tsukauchi said with a warm and disarming smile.

“Nice to meet you, too, sir,” Midoriya-kun replied politely. “Shouldn’t my mom be here for this?”

Well, at least the kid knew his rights as a minor. “We spoke with your mother earlier she already gave her permission for me to act in her stead. This was the easiest way to work out our schedules.” Shouta nudged the coffee table with his foot (curse his broken hands), directing his student’s attention to note that had Midoriya-san’s signature giving Shouta permission to act as Midoriya-kun’s guardian to oversee this police interview.

Midoriya-kun looked over the note carefully, nodded once he decided it was authentic, and set it aside, turning his full (prim and proper) attention to the detective. “What can I do for you, Tsukauchi-san?”

What Shouta wouldn’t pay for a classroom like this. Actually, no. That would be terrifying. Teenagers are not meant to be this quiet and still and respectful in large groups like that. One or two is fine. Twenty is a horror movie.

“Just a standard statement,” Tsukauchi said, pulling out his notepad and pen. “We’ve got a pretty good idea of what happened, but, well… every perspective is useful, and you certainly have a unique one. We would have done this earlier, but it was agreed it would probably be best to wait for you to recover more fully.”

Midoriya-kun nodded slowly. “Where would you like me to start?”

“From the beginning please. Just after you were introduced to Thirteen-san.”

Midoriya-kun took a slow, deep breath, then started. It was what Shouta had expected. Midoriya-kun noticed the warp gate first and began directing his classmates out. The warp villain had seemed to notice Midoriya-kun was directing them, and, when scattering the class after the statement of intent to harm them, sent Midoriya-kun to the plaza with Shigaraki.

Midoriya-kun carefully skated past the smoke bombs he shouldn’t have had without technically lying and moved on to the rest of his fight with Shigaraki, if it could be called that. Midoriya-kun had avoided engaging or attacking where possible, especially after his mouth guard had been reduced to dust with one touch.

Then the warp villain, Kurogiri, had returned, Shouta had gone down, Midoriya-kun lost his composure, and got caught. Shouta managed to give Midoriya-kun an opening but couldn’t stop the Nomu from attacking him when All Might finally arrived.

After that, Midoriya-kun confessed to not being able to keep track of things very well and wound down his recounting of events.

It was quick, clean, and to the point. No unnecessary embellishments, no rambling. Exactly how it should be.

Almost like—

“Thank you very much, Midoriya-kun. I just have a few more questions.”

“Alright. I’ll answer them as best as I can.”

“Of course. By all accounts you were the first to react to the villains, even when the rest of your classmates thought it was just another test. Did you recognize Kurogiri from somewhere?”

“Ah, no, not really,” Midoriya-kun said. “I noticed the smoke from his quirk—probably by luck if I’m honest—and I just… assumed. Even if it was one of Aizawa-sensei’s tests, I figured it would be better to overreact and treat it as a threat than to just ignore it and wait.”

Shouta saw Tsukauchi pause for the barest thread of a second before he wrote down Midoriya-kun’s response and make a small mark next to it. He really didn’t like that. He knew what it meant. He’d been working with Tsukauchi long enough to know his ticks and tells.

“Are there any other details you noticed about Shigaraki, Kurogiri, or the Nomu?”

Shouta let his eyes fall shut, pretending to sleep as he waited out the questioning.

“Shigaraki seems to focus his fighting style on his quirk alone,” Midoriya-kun said after a long pause. “I also… I’m not sure, but I think Kurogiri was wearing a suit and some armor.”

“A suit?”

“Yeah, I only saw it for a second when Bakugou and Kirishima-san tried to attack him. They kinda… blew away some of his mist-smoke stuff and gave a small opening where I could see under it around his neck. I just saw the collar and tie.”

That was interesting. They knew about the armor from Uraraka-kun and Bakugou-kun, who’d gotten a nasty shock when they’d tried to grab onto it, but the suit was new information.

“Well, thank you for your time, Midoriya-kun.” Tsukauchi stood and began walking to the door.

“It’s no problem, Tsukauchi-san. Enjoy the rest of your day.”

Shouta opened his eyes, watching Midoriya-kun closely. “Where did you learn free running?” he asked bluntly. If Midoriya-kun was lying about why he started evacuating his classmates, he might as well take advantage of Tsukauchi’s quirk to hunt down one of the—hopefully—more harmless mysteries about this kid. And see if Isogai-kun was telling the truth.

Midoriya-kun glanced over, confused. Tsukauchi stopped at the door. “The forest around my classroom was a good practice ground, and my homeroom teacher knew free running, so he taught us for gym class as long as we promised not to run anywhere other than the mountainside.”

Tsukauchi left, sliding the door shut behind him.

Midoriya-kun glanced over at the door, then back to Shouta. “Do you need anything else, Aizawa-sensei?”

Shouta nodded. Good, he was still getting to the point. “You were directly targeted and attacked during the events at the USJ,” he said. “You should consider talking to a therapist about what happened and how you’re handling it. If you need, I can help set up an-”

“I already have a therapist,” Midoriya-kun interrupted. “And I’ve talked to them. And I’m going to keep talking to them.”

“That’s good to know.” Well, that solved one problem. Maybe this person and Bakugou’s therapist could actually do something about the horrendous relationship those two have, seeing as Shouta clearly hadn’t been able to do much. They were getting somewhere, sure, but not fast. “Don’t think I didn’t notice the smoke bombs you used on Shigaraki, or that you didn’t mention them to Tsukauchi.”

Midoriya-kun smiled sheepishly. “And?”

Shouta snorted. “I’ll let it slide for now, just don’t do it again. And make sure you pick up your certification paperwork from Power Loader.”

He perked up at that. “Of course!” he chirped. “Thank you, Aizawa-sensei!” Midoriya-kun hopped up and grabbed his bag.

“Midoriya-kun,” Shouta said, stopping him from leaving. He wasn’t done just yet.

Midoriya-kun watched him closely, waiting.

“Are you alright?”

“I’m not the one that’s almost in a cast from the waist up.”

“My well-being is not—”

“Don’t say that!” Midoriya-kun snapped. Shouta had seen him flinch slightly when he’d said that in class but had hardly thought Midoriya-kun would shout at him for it. “Don’t ever say your health doesn’t matter. It does. How would you feel if one of us said that? Is that what you want us to learn?”

Shouta had not expected that. One of his students saying that would wind up in Hound Dog’s office before the end of the day. It didn’t matter if they had graduated or not, he would make them talk to Hound Dog.

“‘Cause if that’s what you want, you’re doing a good job.” Was Midoriya-kun crying? Yeah, those were definitely tears. “If you had said that in front of me a year ago, I would have taken it at face value. I would have thought that’s just what heroes do. I know better now. I take better care of myself now, but I know some of my classmates have already brushed it off as normal!”

Shit. That was what he was doing, wasn’t it? “I’m… sorry. You’re right. I shouldn’t have said that.” Midoriya-kun rubbed at his cheeks, wiping away the tears. “I’ll try to set a better example in the future.”

“By resting?”

“Homeroom is only ten minutes a day.”

Izuku glared at him through red rimmed eyes. “How is that supposed to set a good example?”

“Ten minutes, and you know I already sleep through it most of the time anyway. You all get to see me rest.”

“We get to see you do what you always do. And the floor is not a good place for you to be sleeping with two broken arms.”

“How about I check in at the start and leave the rest to Hizashi. I’ll be resting in the office for the remainder of the day where my coworkers can keep an eye on me and if anyone actually needs me, I’ll still be available.”

Izuku nodded. “Good enough. Hizashi… Present Mic-sensei? I didn’t realize you two were that close.”

“We went to UA together with Midnight and Ingenium. Is that all, Midoriya-kun?”

“Pretty sure I’m supposed to be asking you that.”

Shouta sighed. “You’re free to go, Problem Child. Please don’t make any trouble for Power Loader.”

He nodded again, rubbing the drying tear tracks roughly again. “Until tomorrow, Aizawa-sensei,” he said, before scurrying to the door and leaving Shouta alone with his thoughts. He’d really fucked this one up.

Nothing he could do about it right now, and if he knew Tsukauchi at all, the detective was probably waiting for him somewhere so they could talk about whatever it was that made him concerned. Shouta pulled himself to his feet and started walking.

As expected, Tsukauchi was waiting in the office. And talking to All Might. “Leave him alone, Tsukauchi,” Shouta said. “He’s got a lot of work to do.”

“No, I don’t,” All Might huffed. “I’m up to date.”

“I have seen your lesson plans, All Might. You still have work to do.”

Tsukauchi burst out laughing. “Sounds like you’ve got your work cut out for you. I was waiting for Eraser anyway, so I’ll leave you to it.” He grabbed his things and stepped away from All Might’s desk. “Let’s go.”

Shouta raised an eyebrow under the bandages and turned to follow him. “Where are we going?” he asked once they were out in the empty hallway.

“Nedzu-san’s office,” Tsukauchi said. “I have a feeling he’ll want to hear about this.”

“That bad?”

“Maybe.”

Well shit. The rest of the walk was silent, Nedzu-san welcomed them in warmly, and was quick to start plying Tsukauchi with tea. “Now, what brings you here?” He finally asked once they were all settled.

“Ah, we just finished with Midoriya-kun’s interview,” Tsukauchi answered, setting his tea aside. “There were… some interesting things.”

Both UA staff members shared a look but stayed silent as they waited for Tsukauchi to continue.

“Are you familiar with my quirk, Nedzu-san?”

“Yes, actually,” Nedzu-san responded. “Your quirk gives you the ability to detect deception in verbal communication, does it not?”

“To put it bluntly,” Shouta muttered.

Tsukauchi shot him a wry smile. “Well, yes, but, as Eraser knows, it’s often not that simple. Just like how the truth is no simple thing, there are different levels of deception. Half-truths, stretched details, and bold-faced lies are all different. And telling them apart is not easy. It also depends on how the subject thinks about it. If they honestly believe they are telling the truth, my quirk is useless. And Midoriya-kun…”

Tsukauchi leaned back, running a hand over his face. “It was strange. He was honest for almost everything. But the things that pinged my quirk… Every time he referred to Kurogiri as the ‘warp villain,’ I got a small deception. And he was lying outright when he said he didn’t recognize Kurogiri.”

Shouta sat up. “He recognized Kurogiri?”

Tsukauchi nodded. “And then hid it. I don’t know what happened that put them in contact, but… if he feels he needs to hide it, it can’t be anything good.”

Shouta nodded. His problem child had contact with villains and was hiding it. Did it have anything to do with the government cover up? Or was this a separate problem? When did this start? Did he need to worry about Midoriya-kun going bad? No. No, he knew this kid. He’d watched Midoriya-kun learn how to fight. He’d watched him fight for every inch he got. Then again, that could very quickly turn bad. Having to fight for everything didn’t exactly endear society to you.

“I agree,” Nedzu-san said. “Is there anything else of note from the interview?”

“Um, yes,” Tsukauchi nodded. “As I mentioned, he was honest for everything else. Most of it isn’t new information, but he did mention that he thought he saw a suit under Kurogiri’s mist after Bakugou-kun and Kirishima-kun’s attack. I don’t know if that will be very useful yet, but it’s something.”

He frowned for a second. “Eraser, why did you ask him about free running?”

Shouta slowly leaned back. “Midoriya-kun has a lot of skills we can’t account for. Some of them are more questionable than others. I figured he’d freak out less if I asked about free running instead of bomb making.”

Tsukauchi spit out his tea, coughing and sputtering. “What making!?”

Shouta grinned. “You heard me. He’s also read restricted material. Claims the Ministry of Defense has, and I quote, ‘bad reading material.’”

“And that isn’t a concern!?”

“Oh, it’s a concern,” Nedzu-san answered. “But his statement wasn’t necessarily wrong. Midoriya-kun was in the custody of the Ministry of Defense for a week about a month ago. If there is something to be concerned about, we cannot afford to spook him. He has great potential as a hero, and I would hate to lose him.”

“I suppose,” Tsukauchi muttered. “Is there anything else odd about him? Seriously. I need to go run a background check on him, now. I’d rather know what you’ve found already.”

“You won’t find much,” Nedzu-san said. “He’s clean. In our initial background checks we found nothing, and since then we’ve only dug up the first hints of a government cover up.”

Tsukauchi pulled out his note pad. “Please.”

Nedzu-san briefly explained how Midoriya-kun’s class had potential contact with the villain that had blown up the moon, and how the Ministry of Defense had hidden them away in the days leading up to the villain’s defeat. “Beyond Midoriya-kun’s time with the Ministry of Defense, and the Ministry’s lack of acknowledgment to Midoriya-kun and his class, there is also the fact that Midoriya-kun’s costume was paid for and green lit by the Ministry of Defense directly,” he finished. “I can’t find anything beyond the authorization orders, which don’t say much, but it’s still there.”

This was news to Shouta. “The Ministry of Defense gave Midoriya-kun that?” he snorted. “Must be trying to pay him off or something.”

“That is the most likely option. And it is likely that whatever it is they’re trying to hide has to do with the villain they found near his classroom.” Nedzu-san frowned slightly. “And with our own lack of information regarding this villain, we cannot rule out connections to the League through that contact.”

Tsukauchi finished scribbling his notes. “Thank you, Nedzu-san. Is there anything else you can give me?”

Nedzu-san shook his head. “Not yet, I’m afraid. I’ll make sure to tell you if I find anything interesting, if you promise to do the same.”

“Of course.”

“Now, you mentioned something about Midoriya-kun’s free running?”

“Oh, right. That’s what we were talking about. Yeah, he lied about that, too. Not as much as with him not recognizing Kurogiri, but more than the warp villain parts.”

“Do you know what parts were a lie?” Shouta asked, sitting up.

“No,” Tsukauchi shook his head. “It was all too jumbled together.”

Shouta sighed. “Well, I’m pretty sure he did learn it with his class, so they probably learned it from his teacher, unless I’m missing something pretty big.”

“How do you know that?”

“Because I found a video of his class scaling buildings to get away from some particularly aggressive reporters. It was the same video that strongly suggests they had actual contact with the villain. Likely on multiple occasions. I also spoke with one of his classmates who gave me that same story.”

“It would make sense for them to have learned some odd things for gym class,” Nedzu-san mused as he took a sip of his tea. “Their homeroom teacher last year was an agent for the Ministry. Karasuma Tadaomi. Quite the brilliant young man. He’s received a promotion recently, despite his apparent break from work to teach middle schoolers.”

Shouta sat up. “Karasuma-san works for the Ministry of Defense?”

Nedzu-san cocked his head at Shouta. “He does. You’ve heard of him before?”

Shouta nodded, leaning back again. “He’s the one that introduced Izuku to Sentoki-sensei so he could learn to fight. According to her, Izuku had already learned a few things from Karasuma-san.”

Tsukauchi hummed. “I suppose that’s not too much of a surprise if he works for the Ministry of Defense and was already willing to teach a bunch of fourteen year olds free running. That said I will need to follow up with her.”

“I’ll set up a meeting and introduce you.”

“Thanks.” Tsukauchi-san hesitated. “Taking all of that into account would suggest… it would suggest that the lie is in the conditions. He did learn it as part of his course work, and most likely in gym class.”

“Either they didn’t learn on the mountain, which I find unlikely, or they weren’t told to only use it there,” Shouta said. He did not like where this was going.

“Which begs the question,” Nedzu-san added. “Why did Midoriya-kun feel the need to say that?”

Midoriya-kun signed the paperwork in one last place, handing it back to Higari. “Alright, that’s everything. You are fully certified to handle small explosives and disarm a bomb if no one else is available on short notice,” Higari said, taking back the papers. “Which leads us to the smoke pellets your homeroom teacher subtly mentioned to me.”

Midoriya-kun grinned sheepishly. “What about them, Power Loader-sensei.”

“I know those aren’t licensed gear, Midoriya-kun. Aizawa is willing to let you keep them and pretend that they were always there, but that means it is now my job to get them cleared. I need to know how you made them.”

Midoriya-kun said nothing for a long moment. Right when Higari was about to assume the boy would never answer, he spoke. “I can’t tell you much off the top of my head, but I can email the schematics and chemical composition to you once I get home to my computer.”

And gave possibly the worst answer Higari could think of.

“You didn’t make them did you.”

“No, no,” Midoriya-kun said quickly. “I made them. I just. Wasn’t the most well versed in chemistry? I had a friend that’s basically a prodigy look over it for me and give me some tips on safe handling before I did anything, but the design is mine and I did all the work.”

Higari narrowed his eyes at the fidgeting student in front of him. “Fine, but there are some more conditions before I let this go. I will be verifying the safety of these devices and the compounds in them independently, they will be made by a registered support technician from here on out, and I will not be filing your certification forms until I have those files in my inbox. If they aren’t sent to me in a timely manner, or you break one of my stipulations, I will revoke your certification. Am I clear?”

Midoriya-kun nodded quickly. “Crystal clear, Power Loader-sensei. Um. Do you need anything else from me?”

“No, get out before I change my mind.” Higari expected he was going to regret this, but if Midoriya-kun and Aizawa were to be believed, Midoriya-kun had only used his untested gas pellets on a villain threatening Midoriya-kun’s life. Not that Higari actually believed that Midoriya-kun had designed these himself. The boy was a lot of things, but he wasn’t one to make things he didn’t fully understand. If he had made them, he would have been able to tell Higari everything without a thought. But he couldn’t prove that, so for now he would focus on making sure those damn things were actually safe to use.

Chapter Text

The next day continued as normal. Aizawa-sensei showed up for homeroom and left precisely on time, leaving Present Mic-sensei to take over the class. The rest of the teachers continued their lessons as though nothing had happened.

Well, almost as though nothing had happened. They were Pro Heroes. They were good at hiding everything, but Izuku had spent the last year with an octopus that never stopped smiling, a government agent that buried his emotions just as deep as Aizawa-sensei, and a honey trap assassin. He was used to looking for these things, so he noticed the little changes.

He saw them watching the students a little more closely, making sure they didn’t need a break. He saw them checking the door and leaving their phones out, waiting for something to go wrong. Waiting to get a call.

Everything went fine. Everything was normal until lunch.

“Midoriya-kun,” Iida-san said during lunch on their second day back, pulling Izuku’s attention from the handbook he’d borrowed from the library. “I feel I should apologize for my behavior yesterday. I overstepped my bounds and made you uncomfortable.” The conversation at the table quickly died down as the rest of the group waited to see what would happen.

…Izuku really should have seen this coming. He carefully shut the book. He could memorize the rules for the Sports Festival and plot later. “It’s… It’s fine Iida-san. You couldn’t have known. I was a bit snappish. I shouldn’t have taken it out on you.”

“About that…” Kirishima-san said, “are you alright, man? I mean, you seem better now, but…”

“We’re a little worried,” Uraraka-san finished for him.

Izuku sighed and rubbed the back of his head. “Yeah. Well. Kinda? I mean, I’m definitely better today than I was yesterday, but.” Izuku stopped for a moment. What exactly was he supposed to say here? That he already had plenty of traumas about this kind of stuff? That he was constantly on edge because he’d been through more than enough already and that the USJ just made everything worse all over again?

That he was broken and hurting and didn’t know what to do about it? No, they didn’t need to know about that. Not that he could tell them any of the details in the first place.

“I’ll be alright,” he finally said. “The USJ kinda hit me hard. And Recovery Girl-sensei’s quirk is great for healing, not so great for being able to actually process things.”

Izuku’s friends nodded. Good. At least they could understand that much. They didn’t need to know more than that.

“It’s alright, Midori-kun,” Hagakure-san said, reaching out to pat Izuku’s shoulder. “You do what you need to. I can’t imagine having to be that close to everything, much less actually fighting that Hand Guy.”

“Indeed,” said Iida-san. “It is completely understandable for you to be struggling with this more than the rest of us. Please, do not forget to speak with our teachers if you ever need any help.”

“Or us,” Uraraka-san added. “You can also talk to us if you need anything.”

“Yeah, it wouldn’t be very manly of us to just leave you on your own like that. You need anything, you just say so.”

Right. They might not be E Class. Izuku might not be able to tell them anything at all, but they still cared.

He had to wonder just how far they’d be willing to go if they knew how his hands had been dirtied.

The latter half of their classes were just as normal and nondescript as the first half. Izuku barely paid attention. Tuning in just enough to copy down notes and answer questions where needed. They were reaching the end of what Korosensei had taught them last year now, but Izuku figured he had another week before things really picked up. Just in time for midterms, so at least there would be something new for him on the test.

Actually, on that thought, were they going to have a practical exam for their midterms? Or was it all going to be paper tests?

Izuku shook off the thought. He could ask Aizawa-sensei later. Or All Might, considering he was about to go talk to his mentor. He waved off his friends and wished them a safe trip home as he gathered his things.

Was All Might actually even his mentor? Sure, they still acted like it sometimes, but Izuku wasn’t his protege and successor anymore. And Yagi-san was about to ask someone else to be his student. Would he still have time for Izuku? Or was he going to just… drift off.

“Midoriya-kun?”

Izuku’s head snapped up. “Ah, Kirishima-san! What are you doing here?”

“Uh, All Might-sensei asked to talk to me,” Kirishima-san answered. “I don’t know why yet, but I’m sure it can’t be anything bad, right?” He laughed nervously.

Izuku smiled at his friend. He should have known Yagi-san was going to pick him of all people. “Don’t worry Kirishima-san, I’m sure he only has good things to say about you!”

“Ah, man. Here I was worried about you and you managed to turn this around on me.”

What? “You were worried about me?”

Kirishima-san nodded. “Yeah. You were walking around all dark and brooding like. Didn’t even seem to notice me. You sure you’re feeling alright?”

Oh. “Y-yeah. I’m fine, Kirishima-san.” Izuku quickly waved him off. “Come on. We shouldn’t keep All Might-sensei waiting.” He stepped around Kirishima-san, walking swiftly towards the lounge.

“He asked you to come too?” Kirishima-san scrambled to catch up to him. “Wait. Do you know what this is about?”

“Ah, yeah, kinda? Don’t worry. It’s nothing bad, and you really should hear it from All Might-sensei.”

“Come on, man, give me something! Don’t leave me hanging here!”

Izuku threw a grin over his shoulder. “The faster we get there, the sooner you’ll find out!” he sang before breaking into a sprint.

A loud squawk and pounding feet were the only things telling Izuku that Kirishima-san was following him. The pair raced along the empty halls, weaving around the rare person they came across, usually leaving them yelling in their wake. As they approached the stairs they needed to climb, Izuku felt his grin grow wider. A loud whoop pulled itself from his lungs and he lunged up the first few steps, angling himself towards the wall.

And then he took a solid step up the wall and flung himself through the gap in the railings between floors, twisting to keep his momentum and pin balling up the next flights, until he finally rolled out on their floor and skidded around the corner. His laugh grew on the level ground, ringing through the halls.

He felt wonderful. He felt alive. His lungs and legs barely even burned at all, but the rush through his hair and in his blood as he pushed himself and flew through his surroundings was intoxicating. He hadn’t felt this free in months.

And just as suddenly as he started it, it came to an end. Izuku slowed to a soft jog and stopped in front of the door. His breathing leveled off and he could feel himself settling back down. It wasn’t enough. He wanted to keep running and never stop, never look back.

Izuku shook off the thoughts. He needed to stay grounded here. He needed to focus on the now, keep moving forward. He wanted to run from his pain, but it would never help. It would never be enough.

Izuku was smiling again by the time Kirishima-san rounded the corner panting. Even if the smile was fake, it would be enough to keep his classmate from worrying about him too much.

“Dude,” Kirishima-san said between breaths, staring at Izuku, “how the hell did you do that? Where did you learn that? Can you teach me?”

It felt like Kirishima-san had managed to get his breath back all at once with how he fired his questions off one after another. “I’m not much of a teacher, and it would be a while before you could do anything like that. Find a free running gym somewhere and try it out there. Just… don’t be stupid about it. It can get a little dangerous sometimes.”

Kirishima-san nodded rapidly. “God, that was so manly.”

Izuku laughed. “Well?” he gestured at the door. “After you.”

Kirishima-san glanced between Izuku and the door, before slowly stepping up and knocking.

There was a brief shuffling inside, and the door opened, with All Might standing there in his full glory. “Please, come in, boys!” he said, stepping aside.

Kirishima-san swallowed and stepped forward his hands locked in a white knuckled grip on his bag. Izuku raised an eyebrow, watching both of them closely as he stepped in behind them. He casually set his bag aside and let himself fade into the background as he took a seat on the couch.

“So, uh, you wanted to see us, All Might-sensei?”

All Might nodded at him. “I did! Please, take a seat, Kirishima-shounen. Would you like some tea?”

“N-no thanks.”

All Might coughed into his fist. Izuku knew he saw some blood, but Yagi-san had it hidden away before anything else could come of it. “Then let’s get to business! Everything you see and hear here today is sensitive information, Kirishima-shounen. Can you keep it a secret for me?”

“Uh, y-yeah. I can do that! I couldn’t call myself a man if I couldn’t keep a secret that important!”

All Might deflated in a puff of smoke, coughing softly again as he relaxed back down to his true form.

Kirishima-san screamed.

Izuku really should have expected that.

“Wha- but- what happened!?” he said, starting to hyperventilate.

“Hey!” Izuku said, voice cracking like a whip. “Hey, look at me Kirishima-san.”

Kirishima-san turned to face him, eyes not focusing as he panicked.

“That’s it. Everything is fine. You don’t need to worry.”

“How can you say that!? All Might’s… All Might’s…”

“And that’s why you need to keep it a secret.”

“Please, shounen, try to calm down,” Yagi-san said softly. “We can explain everything to you, but I would rather not have to explain why you fainted to Recovery Girl.”

Izuku couldn’t help the soft snort at that.

“Y-you’re Yagi-san?” Kirishima-san said, his attention slowly shifting back to the skeletal man across from him.

“Yes, I am. Yagi Toshinori, better known to the public as All Might.”

“You knew?”

Izuku nodded. “Do you think you’ll be alright, or do you need another minute?”

“Uh, give me a minute. This is… this is a lot.”

Izuku laughed, a warm smile pulling up his lips. “Yeah. I freaked out just as much when I first found out.”

“How-?”

Yagi-san chuckled softly at the memory. “Izuku-kun made some… questionable decisions,” he said.

Kirishima-san shot Izuku a confused look. “What did you do?”

“Believe it or not, I wasn’t always…”

“Confident?” Kirishima-san supplied “Self-assured? Cool and collected? One of the manliest people I’ve ever met?”

“That. All of that.”

“Somehow I doubt that.”

Izuku shook his head. “I was… quiet. Nervous. I was the kind of person that was easy to overlook. I kinda wanted to be, honestly. Life was… rough. One day I got caught up in a villain attack. Some low life was trying to make off with, I think it was stolen cash?”

Izuku glanced over briefly to get a confirmation from All Might. At the nod, he continued. “Anyway, point is, I was attacked, and All Might saved me. After everything was over, I had some questions. All Might needed to get moving, and I was desperate, so I, uh…” In hindsight, this was actually really embarrassing and Izuku wasn’t sure he actually wanted to admit to it, but at least Kirishima-san had calmed down and seemed to be interested in the story.

“You did what?”

“He grabbed onto my leg just as I jumped,” Yagi-san answered for him. “Scared the crap out of me.”

“You what!?”

Izuku laughed nervously. “Anyway, we’re not here to talk about me being an idiot a year ago. We’re here to talk about All Might.”

“Ah, right,” Yagi-san folded his hands in front of him. “You said you would keep all of this a secret, Kirishima-shounen?”

“Well, yes,” Kirishima-san said, “but I’m a little confused as to why you’re telling me.”

“We’ll get to that, for now, there are somethings that need to be explained.” And with that, Yagi-san was launching into his story. He talked about his injury and his time limit. He talked about his quirk and how it worked. How he was chosen, and how he needed to find a successor while he still could. How teaching at UA did two things for him. Putting him in a position to find a successor and allowing him to set up for his retirement.

“I had offered my quirk to Izuku-kun the same day we met,” Yagi-san said, bringing his speech to a close.

“Wait, you’re All Might-sensei’s successor?” Kirishima-san said, turning to Izuku. “But then why all of this?”

“I’m not Yagi-san’s successor,” Izuku answered. He’d stayed back and let Yagi-san talk until now, but this was his to explain.

“You turned it down!?”

Izuku shook his head. “Not at first. It was the best day of my life when All Might asked if I would accept his quirk, but I changed my mind later.”

“Why?”

“I wanted to do it myself, with my own power and my own strength. I wanted to prove that I could.”

“That’s so manly.” Was Kirishima-san crying?

“Indeed, Kirishima-shounen,” said Yagi-san. “And now, I’ve chosen you. It is your choice.”

Kirishima-san stared at Yagi-san. “You… you want me to…” He was definitely crying.

“I do.”

“But… I’m just… I’m not…”

Izuku placed a hand on Kirishima-san’s shoulder as his classmate wiped away his tears. “Don’t sell yourself short, Kirishima-san. You’re gonna be great. Don’t forget, you’re manly too.”

“I’m just me.”

“And once upon a time, Yagi Toshinori wasn’t the name of anyone special either,” Yagi-san said. “He was just a kid with a hopeless dream.” Yagi-san stood up and moved to kneel in front of Kirishima-san. “Maybe you’re just a kid now. Maybe you’re not anyone special just yet, but we all start somewhere, Kirishima-shounen. You are kind, and brave, and optimistic in ways that so few people are. You are outgoing, and energetic, and I see in you the potential to be a great hero. One of the best, even. You don’t need this quirk to be great, but I think you deserve it.”

“Y-you’re sure?”

“Very.”

Kirishima-san brushed away his tears and lifted his head, looking Yagi-san in the eye. “Then, if you’ll have me, I’d be honored, All Might-sensei!”

Yagi-san grinned back. “Then it’s time for the next step!” he said, reaching up and plucking a hair from his head. “Eat this!”

“What!?”

Izuku burst out laughing. Of course, Yagi-san forgot to explain something.

“I need to ask you something,” Kirishima-san said, rising from the water fountain where he’d been trying to rinse down the hair he swore he could still feel in his throat.

“Ask away.”

“You and Bakugou-kun don’t get along.”

Izuku raised an eyebrow. “That would be putting it lightly.”

Kirishima-san winced. “Right. Yeah. I just. Do you hate each other?”

That was certainly a loaded question. “I don’t know. It’s. There’s a lot of baggage there. We… I don’t think I hate him. Not really. We’re just incapable of holding a civil conversation under any circumstances.”

Kirishima frowned at the floor and turned, resuming the trek down to UA’s front entrance. “Would you hate me if I was friends with him?”

“What? No? You can be friends with whoever you want. Why? Do you want to?”

Kirishima shrugged. “Maybe. I don’t know. Can I be friends with both of you?”

That really was the question wasn’t it. Izuku didn’t think simply being friends with Bakugou would prevent them from being friends. But what did Izuku really know? All of his childhood “friends” went with Bakugou. Would this be the same? Could someone actually manage to maintain a relationship with both of them? “I don’t know. We haven’t really had shared friends since we were really little. I guess the only way to find out is to try? Can I ask you something, though?”

“Of course! You can ask me anything Mido-bro!”

“Why? What do you see in him? What made you want to be his friend?” When was the last time Izuku had seen any of Bakugou’s redeeming qualities? Were they even still there? What parts of Kacchan could even still exist under that mountain of anger and insecurity?

“You know we wound up together at the USJ, right?”

Izuku nodded. The USJ. Where they almost died.

“When we were separated from everyone else and surrounded by villains. He just. He had the air of a real hero, you know? It was so manly how he looked at the situation and didn’t even let it phase him. All these villains and he was so confident that they wouldn’t leave a scratch on him. And he was right! He took them all down like it didn’t matter. Made me feel like I could do something too. Like it was gonna be fine because he couldn’t possibly lose.”

“Don’t sell yourself short, Kirishima-san,” Izuku cut in. “He didn’t beat those villains alone. You fought there too.”

“I know. But I was terrified. Watching him, I felt like I was already behind him. Like he was two steps ahead. Like he’s already a hero. And don’t get me wrong! I know he’s not. I know he’s got his faults. But still. He’s our classmate, and it was like he was one of the closest to being a Pro out of all of us in that moment. I just thought. With all this skill, all this potential. It sucks that he seems so lonely all the time. That he keeps setting himself apart from all of us.”

Oh. That made sense. And it was the exact same thing Izuku used to see when they were small. How Kacchan never backed down and always won. Even against the big kids he stood his ground and got them to back off. “You know,” Izuku said, “he could probably use someone like you at his side.”

“You think so?”

Izuku nodded. “Don’t tell him I said this, but I think he’s forgotten how to have friends. At our old school, he didn’t really have any. Not real ones. He just had people clinging to his coat tails and trying to get the chance to say they were friends with a future hero. He could use a friend.”

“So, you’re fine with it? You won’t be upset if I try to befriend him?”

“Nah. Just. Don’t expect us to get along. And be careful. Remember that you can’t fix him. You can be there for him. You can support him. But the problems he’s got? They aren’t the kind of problems that go away with the power of friendship. He has to do the work. Got that?”

Kirishima-san grinned. “Yeah. Of course. He’s his own person and his faults are his to deal with. I got that.”

Izuku nodded. “Well. I guess I’ll see you tomorrow, Kirishima-san,” he said, stepping out into the afternoon light. “And I don’t suggest trying anything new on your own,” he finished with a firm look.

“Yeah, I got it,” Kirishima-san laughed, rolling his eyes. “Um. I think I’m gonna try to sit with Bakugou for lunch tomorrow.”

Izuku snorted. “Like I said. I won’t stop you. But it might take a while before he actually warms up enough for you to get anywhere.”

Chapter Text

Izuku was exhausted. He should have expected that, honestly. The last few days had been a lot. Between the USJ and those traumas (new and old) and all of that talking about things, it made sense that Izuku still felt emotionally drained.

The nightmares didn’t help. Last night, though, they were different. This time instead of seeing Korosensei die or Izuku’s various other teachers on the ground with their blood on his hands, Izuku dreamed of Bakugou. Crackling explosions, searing pain, the smell of burning sugar, and hissed insults. Of looking over the edge of a building at the ground bellow.

Izuku slept through his alarm this morning. Luckily, his mom noticed and managed to get him out of bed in time for him to get dressed, eat quickly and make it out the door for his commute. Inko had offered to let him stay home today, considering it was more than a little obvious that he’d been having a nightmare, but Izuku insisted.

He needed to be there.

At least. That’s what he thought until he felt his phone start buzzing in his pocket as he waited for his train. His last train if he wanted to make it on time.

Nagisa: mom’s gotten bad again. Dad’s not stopping her

Nagisa: is there anywhere I can go for a little while?

Nakamura: wtf you promised to say something

Nagisa: I’m saying something

Karma: where are you

Nagisa: the park south of Aldera

Fuck. That wasn’t far from him.

Izuku: I’m on my way

He turned and didn’t bother being polite as he ran from the station. It wasn’t far. He could get there. Shit. How bad was it? Nagisa had been putting up with this shit for a while, how bad did it get that Nagisa actually felt like he needed to go somewhere else?

Izuku wasn’t letting Nagisa go home if he could help it.

Izuku didn’t miss a beat, still running as he dialed his mom’s number.

“Izuku, sweety, did you change your mind about going to school? Do you need me to call for you?”

“Uh. No. One of my friends from Aldera needs a place to stay for a little while. I’m going to make sure he’s alright and maybe drop him off at our apartment? If you’re okay with that?”

“Of course! I’ll call the school in a moment. Which friend is it? Do you know how long they’re staying?”

“It’s Nagisa. And I don’t know. I don’t really think it’s a good idea for him to go home, but he might decide to stay with someone else.”

“Alright. We’ll talk about it tonight.”

“Got it. Bye, Mom. Love you.”

“Love you too, sweety.”

Izuku hung up, continuing his dash through the city. As much as he wanted to get out of the crowds, he knew taking to the roof tops right now would probably be detrimental. So he kept his feet on the ground and kept running.

It didn’t take long for Izuku to reach the park after that. Finding Nagisa was the next challenge, though not a difficult one with how much Izuku know about him. Izuku headed straight for the small cluster of trees and bushes.

It wasn’t a large park. There weren’t that many places that would offer a sense of privacy.

Pushing through the brush, Izuku didn’t call out but listened closely instead. He was already making a scene and Nagisa wouldn’t thank him for drawing more attention to them. So he listened.

And he heard muffled sniffles and a quiet swear. Slightly to his left. Izuku lowered himself and walked slowly, feet gentle on the ground. “Nagisa?” he called, voice barely above a whisper.

The sniffling stopped for a moment. “I’m here,” Nagisa replied. His voice was thick with tears and came back only slightly louder than Izuku’s had been.

Izuku stepped a little closer, finally pushing through enough brush to see his friend, and his heart dropped.

Nagisa’s cheek was already bruising in a large hand print, dangerously close the his eye. His feet were torn and bloody from running on pavement without shoes. His hair was down, and he was wearing a skirt and a torn blouse. A girls school uniform.

Nagisa’s mother really had gotten worse.

Izuku set down his bag and forced a tentative smile for his friend. “Sorry, I don’t have a first aid kit with me,” he said, slipping his blazer off and wrapping it around Nagisa’s shoulders as he sat in the dirt nearby.

Nagisa shook his head, clutching the blazer tight and pulling it closed around him. “You should be at school.”

Izuku shrugged. “School can wait. You need me now.”

“Mister Class Representative setting a bad example for his classmates?”

Izuku and Nagisa both turned to Karma. His usual bravado was there, though it was obvious he wasn’t really feeling it.

Izuku rolled his eyes, playing into Karma’s joke. “If anyone complains, I’ll just tell them that emergencies don’t stick to a schedule and neither do heroes.”

Nagisa chuckled softly, brushing the last of his tears away. “Really, though. It’s not that big a deal. You guys shouldn’t get into trouble just because of me.”

“Karma can handle a little bit of trouble,” Izuku answered. “And I already had my mom call UA to tell them I was gonna be late. We’ll be fine.”

Karma nodded as he settled behind Nagisa, pulling a couple of hair ties out of his pocket. “You asked for help, Nagisa. We’re gonna be here for you. Hell, if I hadn’t warned them off, half the class would be here by now. Figured we’d be a bit overwhelming.”

Izuku snorted. “Yeah, for a bunch of assassins, we don’t really do subtlety when it comes to taking care of each other.”

“Makes perfect sense to me,” Karma shrugged. “Korosensei taught us to never do anything by halves. Why should this be any different?”

Nagisa leaned back into Karma as he took his hands away, done putting Nagisa’s hair up into his usual buns. His already weak smile fell. “What am I going to do?”

Karma wrapped his arms tighter around Nagisa’s waist. “We’ll figure it out. We always do.”

“First thing,” Izuku said, “We should probably get you some proper clothes. And patch up your feet. My apartment isn’t far from here. We can go there for now.”

“I don’t-”

“Nope,” Karma interrupted. “You are not a burden. We’re helping because we want to. It isn’t any trouble.”

“And I didn’t just ask my mom to call me in late. She’s fine with you coming over. Even staying long term if that’s what you decide.”

Nagisa stared for a moment, rolling the idea over in his head.

“I’d offer myself,” Karma said softly, “but you know my parents aren’t exactly… open minded. At least go there for today. Please, Nagisa.”

Izuku made the quick decision to keep his mouth shut. Everyone in the End Class knew Karma and Nagisa were close, and were honestly just waiting for them to officially start dating. As much as Izuku had his concerns over now both of their parents, this felt like a very private moment that Karma would not be happy if Izuku interrupted.

Well, Nagisa would probably stop Karma from doing anything too drastic for something as simple as interrupting.

“Alright, fine. For today at least.”

Izuku was very glad he’d killed his muttering habit. “Alright,” he said. “Uh. Do you want me to carry you or…?”

“Izuku,” Karma said as he bent down to let Nagisa climb on his back, “just grab our bags and lead the way.”

“Right! This way!” he said, leading them out of the trees and back through the streets.

It was a quiet walk, and definitely much calmer than the wild dash to the park, but Izuku actually felt like they were getting more stares now than before. It did make sense though. Not only did people have more time to look at them, they were objectively more interesting. One high schooler dashing through the streets? Normal enough. Three high schoolers walking around after classes should have started, one of which is being carried, has no shoes, and is wearing another’s blazer? That’s gonna attract some attention.

As it was, they all ignored it and just kept up simple chatter between them. From the sounds of it, Nagisa was doing well in his classes and had made a couple connections in his new school, and Karma was driving Asano-san up the wall and giving Asano-kun a good challenge in the academic ring.

Izuku for his part, answered their questions about his classmates and teachers, but there was surprisingly little to talk about other than the USJ, which none of them really felt like discussing.

Either way, Izuku guided them through the streets and up to the apartment he shared with his mom. “Well,” he said, opening the door, “I guess this is home sweet home. There’s a first aid kit under the kitchen sink. And I’ll uh. I’ll go get you something to change into.” Izuku darted off to his room as Karma set Nagisa into a chair.

Scouring his room, Izuku pulled out a pair of jeans and a plain t-shirt that said “dress shirt” on the front. They would be a little big on Nagisa, but better than Karma’s clothes at least for now.

With clothing obtained, Izuku went back out to the dining room to see Karma kneeling in front of Nagisa carefully picking bits of gravel out of his feet and slowly disinfecting and wrapping the wounds.

“Here,” Izuku said, holding out the items.

“Thanks, Izuku,” Nagisa said as he took the small bundle. “I’ll go get changed.” He handed back Izuku’s blazer and gingerly walked over to the bathroom.

Karma flopped into one of the other chairs and turned to Izuku with a feral grin. “So, Izu-chan, is there a reason you wanted to carry Nagisa?”

Izuku rolled his eyes. “No, you don’t need to worry about me. Just felt it might be appropriate to offer, given I am the one that’s been doing strength training for the past year.”

“You think you’re stronger than me?”

“In a dead lift, yeah. You’d still kick my ass in a fight though. You’re vicious.”

“True.” He leaned back, arms above his head. “Though I have to wonder what your classmates would think if they knew their ikemen were scared of little old me.”

“Doesn’t matter ‘cause they’re never going to meet you. And it’s not my fault if they can’t do risk assessment yet.”

“What? No objections to the ikemen title?”

“I’ve learned to stop arguing with them. Hell, the only reason they think I am one is because of the front I put up, and I’d rather they didn’t see through that. I bet your teachers don’t know how much of a demon you are either.”

“True. None of our teachers know us anymore, do they?”

Izuku hummed. “Is anyone going to know us? There’s no way anything’s getting declassified until after we’re all dead.”

“Probably not.”

Nagisa chose that moment to come back in Izuku’s slightly too big clothes. “Karma, what are you doing?”

“Making sure Izuku still knows who’s boss.” He winked at Izuku.

Izuku rolled his eyes again. “Karma is a little bitch. We were also talking about our class traumas.” If Karma felt the need to “stake his territory” he really needed to get his head out of his ass and see how much Nagisa cared for him.

“Ah.”

To be fair though, their love languages were a bit different. To be more accurate. Karma’s love language was being a dick. Sometimes being a mild dick to you. Sometimes being a total demon to people that hurt you. Nagisa was a bit more of a quality time and cuddles kind of guy.

“You guys should get to class. You don’t want to be too late,” Nagisa said.

Izuku nodded. “Feel free to help yourself to anything in the fridge. You can go out if you want to, I guess. But…” he shrugged.

Karma wiggled further back in his chair. “Nope. I think I’ll stay right here and play hooky for the day.”

Nagisa stared at Karma for a long moment. “Izuku, please kick him out.”

“Me? Kick him out?”

“It is your home.”

“And he’s a demon. You’re fully capable of getting him to leave if you don’t want him here.”

“And I know you can too.”

“I am no where near as skilled as you are at wrangling him. And, this is important, I think right now what you want matters most. Do you want him gone, or are you just worried about the him missing class?”

“Fine. I guess he stays. But you are going to have to go home and face the music for skipping class eventually, Karma. You know how your parents get.”

Karma shrugged. “They’re out of town. I figure they’ll have forgotten by the time they get home. And that’s assuming the school called them directly and not the home phone.”

“Alright, fine. You win. But it’s not an excuse for you, Izuku. You were only called in later. You need to get back to class.”

Izuku sighed. “Yeah. Sure. I should get going. I’ll be coming straight back here when classes get out though.”

“Make sure you hurry back!” Karma laughed.

Nagisa pushed Karma out of his chair. “I’ll make sure everything’s still in one piece.”

“You are not inspiring confidence. But yeah. Please don’t break anything. I’ll see you guys tonight.”

Izuku did not rush to UA. With first period nearly done by the time Izuku left his apartment for the second time that day, he didn’t really see the point. When Izuku was told by the front desk to go straight to Nedzu-sama’s office, he may have reconsidered that approach. By then it was too late to change anything though, so he simply followed his instructions and was let in immediately.

In the office was, of course, the principal, but also Aizawa-sensei, with the bandages around his head removed, and another person that Izuku didn’t recognize. “Sorry for keeping you waiting,” Izuku said to his teachers while carefully watching the third person from the corner of his eye.

Her expensive suit made it very clear she was someone of some importance, and the slight down turn of her mouth when Izuku ignored her in favor of the UA staff made it clear she was used to being considered not just important, but the most important person in the room.

“No worries, Midoriya-kun,” Nedzu-sama chirped. “We got your mother’s call about the emergency.”

“Now, that he’s finally here, can we please, get started, Nedzu-san,” the woman asked.

“Please,” Aizawa-sensei groaned on the couch.

“Indeed. Midoriya-kun, this is Akeru-sama. She is the President of the Hero Public Safety Commission.”

What.

“And what does the President of the Hero Public Safety Commission want with me?” Seriously. What possible reason could she have to talk to him? He was just a first year student! He wasn’t anyone special! Unless you counted the history being trained as an assassin by the world’s most dangerous “villain.”

Akeru-sama pulled a piece of paper out of her bag and placed it on the table in front of her and slid it towards Izuku. “Please, sign this first, and then we’ll all be able to speak freely on this matter.”

Izuku picked up the paper and read over it carefully. Or, he started too, until he recognized it as a generic non-disclosure agreement. It simply stated that he was not to discuss the conversation he had with President Akeru on this day with anyone that was not present during initial conversation or that had been explicitly cleared by the HPSC.

She had probably expected Izuku to sign it immediately without question. But unbeknownst to her, Izuku had learned a thing or two from the last gag order he got from the government. Namely, check what you’re signing, and if there isn’t a damn good reason for it, just don’t.

“Aizawa-sensei and Nedzu-san have already signed a similar form, Midoriya-kun,” Akeru-sama said after a moment of watching Izuku skim the paper.

“I don’t care,” Izuku responded, placing the paper back on the table. “I’m not signing that yet. Give me a reason to, and sure, but I can’t even begin to think of a reason for you to give an untrained first-year classified information.”

Nedzu-sama’s tail swished gently behind him. “Well, Akeru-sama? I myself am rather curious about why you wish to speak with Midoriya-kun. Gifted as he is, he is only a first year. Surely there are other, more accomplished students that can serve your needs.”

Akeru-sama pursed her lips. “Midoriya-kun is uniquely positioned to manage this task.”

“Again, I’m gonna ask why,” Izuku responded. “I’m a random first-year. I don’t know anything that could help you. I don’t have the skills you need.”

“Is this how you’re going to behave as a hero? Questioning orders?”

“I think it would be my job as a hero to question orders and root out corruption for the benefit of the public.”

Aizawa-sensei’s lip twitched upward for a fraction of a second and Izuku felt a rush of pride at his teacher’s amusement.

“Boy, I am the President of the HPSC. I am one of the most powerful people in our Hero Society. I can make your life hell.”

Izuku rolled his eyes. “One of the most powerful, sure. But the HPSC has been losing standing ever since their failure to handle the villain that blew up the moon. Your approval ratings have never been lower. If someone wanted to move against you, now would be the time to do so. So, you’ll have to forgive me for not taking your threats seriously. Either give me a reason to sign that, start your briefing without it, or I will stop wasting my time and go to class.”

Akeru-sama looked like she had swallowed a lemon. Nedzu-sama calmly sipped his tea, his tail gently swaying behind him in what Izuku hoped was satisfaction. Aizawa-sensei leaned back, radiating amusement.

Akeru-sama finally sighed, and picked her paperwork off the table. “The HPSC would like to recommend that you do not compete in the Sports Festival, Midoriya-kun.”

“Please, elaborate on that, if you would be so kind,” Nedzu-sama said, setting down his tea cup.

“As a quirkless student, Midoriya-kun is at greater risk than his fellow competitors. The optics when one of his classmates soundly beats him are not ones we, or we hope UA, would like broadcast live on national television.”

Nedzu-sama nodded. “I appreciate the concern, Akeru-sama; however, I have full faith in my students. Midoriya-kun is top of his class in both his theoretical and practical lessons. If he wishes to withdraw for his own reasons, we will respect that, but I will not require him to on your recommendation.”

Izuku smiled at his principle. “Thank you, Nedzu-sama. Akeru-sama, while I agree that the Sports Festival is hardly the ideal circumstances for my skill set, I think my showing is going to be much stronger than you expect. After all, no one should back themselves into a corner with only one set of skills.”

“If that’s everything,” Aizawa-sensei said, standing up, “I think it’s about time Midoriya-kun joined his classmates.”

“Indeed, if you would be so kind as to walk him there, Aizawa-kun? We should all return to our busy schedules, don’t you think, Akeru-sama?”

“Of course,” Akeru-sama said, as Aizawa-sensei began herding Izuku out the door.

Izuku bowed again to the group and allowed himself to be led out and down the hallway. He was definitely going to need to find a way to unwind before going home today. But he needed to go home right after school, so maybe he should look into some of the training rooms to use during his free period? That might work.

“You did good in there, Midoriya-kun. She probably won’t remember this by the time you graduate, and not signing that document lets you keep this in your pocket if you need leverage.”

“Thank you, Aizawa-sensei.”

Aizawa-sensei nodded at the class door. “Get inside, Midoriya-kun. Your friends have been worried about you.”

Chapter Text

Izuku let another ball fly past his side as he twisted out of its way. He watched the projectiles in front and listened closely for bursts of air as others were fired at him.

The day was not going well.

He stepped left and ducked as another two flew by, turning around to face the next three and catch a fourth out of the corner of his eye.

Aizawa-sensei hadn’t been kidding when he said that his friends were worried about him. They didn’t say anything after he brushed them off when he first came in, but he could feel them watching him.

An alert chimed and the green circle on the floor moved in another step.

It got worse at lunch when Kirishima-san went to eat lunch with Bakugou. Both Iida-san and Uraraka-san seemed to take offense to that, and wouldn’t drop it until Izuku snapped at them that Kirishima-san had already talked to him about it and it didn’t concern them.

Thump. Thump, thump.

It was firing faster now, with smaller balls flying towards Izuku. He lifted his right foot as a ball struck the ground where it had been and pivoted his hip to let a ball fly by on the left.

While they had both dropped the subject then, Izuku could tell Uraraka-san hadn’t quite bought it.

The alert rang again and the circle shrunk down further, now leaving just enough room for Izuku to maneuver. Still plenty of space with the rate the balls were firing, so long as no part of Izuku touched the floor outside the circle, he would be fine.

Regardless, as soon as Izuku had a free period, he ditched. He made his excuses and stepped out to find this little training room and let at least some of his tension out.

Thump, thump. Thump thump thump thump.

Speed increased again. While they were still moving slow enough for Izuku to track them easily, they were starting to hit his physical limits for moving out of the way.

Hopefully, nothing got worse today.

Thump.

Directly behind him, Izuku needed to move-

The ball struck him straight in the back of the head.

Izuku bent forward rubbing the soon to form bruise and cursing under his breath as the circle on the floor vanished and the balls stopped firing, rolling to the side where they fell into a hole to be collected.

Well, no point staying here, he needed to step out of the room to access the control panel and see how well he did. Maybe start up another run if no one else was there and he had time.

“That was amazing!”

And there were people. Specifically, a familiar third year ball of sunshine.

“Hi, Mirio-senpai.”

“Of course, it was you,” groused the other, a second year, Izuku remembered from his class with Power Loader-sensei. “What are you, some kind of Wunderkind?”

Izuku shook his head. “I was just practicing, nothing special about it.”

Mirio-senpai laughed. “Midoriya-kohai, you just broke the top score for a quirkless run. It was insane! I think Yamamoto-san might be on to something with the Wunderkind thing. Hey, maybe that could be your hero name!”

“I’m not so sure about that.”

“If you two are going to just keep talking, I’m going to set up around for myself,” Yamamoto-san said, pushing her way through them to the control screen. “God knows you don’t need the practice.”

Mirio-senpai just shrugged and let her have the room. “Do you have something else in mind, Midoriya-kohai?”

“Not really, but Wunderkind? Really? That’s so cheesy.” Sure it was better than the ones Izuku came up with when he was three, but not by much.

“No name picked out at all? Well, you better start thinking then, you’re gonna need to have something to go by once the Sports Festival is done.”

“Why would I need a name after the Sports Festival?”

“Because of internships? The hero you’ll be working with needs something to call you while you’re in the field with them. And who knows, maybe something big will happen and you’ll need something to give the press.”

Well. Shit.

Add that to the list of things he needed to worry about. Just after Find Nagisa A Safe Place To Live and right before HPSC Being Bigoted Dicks.

Izuku came home to find the apartment in one piece. By some miracle, nothing got broken in any rough housing. In fact, Nagisa and Karma were curled up on the couch watching some old detective movie and not arguing over which one of them was going to figure out the plot twist first.

The sound of chopping caught Izuku’s attention and, seeing no reaction from either Nagisa or Karma, he casually stuck his head around the corner to see his mom chopping some fruit for a snack, as well as some meat on the counter that was probably going to be dinner later on.

“Aren’t you supposed to be at work still?” he asked.

Inko jumped a foot in the air, spinning towards him with the knife out in front of her. “Izuku,” she relaxed, hand over her hammering heart as she put the knife on the cutting board. “How many times do I have to tell you not to scare me like that. I swear, your getting as bad as your father.”

“Sorry.”

“And I got permission to come home early. With the situation being what it is, my boss was very understanding. That, and I’m usually ahead of schedule anyway, so I have time to spare.”

Izuku nodded. “Do you need anything help?”

“Ah, not really.” She fumbled around for a second, scooping the fruit onto a plate. “Bring this out to Karma and Nagisa, for me, then you should get changed out of that stuffy uniform and relax with your friends. Oh, and Nagisa said that teacher of yours from last year would be over tonight. Something about going over options?”

“Yeah, he works for the government, so he knows some things.” Izuku took the plate from her hands. “He was… at least partially aware of what was going on, but her thought it had been resolved. We all did.”

Inko pursed her lips. “I may not know the fine details of it, but from my experience, things that drive children out of their homes don’t just resolve.”

Izuku winced. “Well, we know that now.”

Inko nodded. “Either way, you take that food out and get changed. Serious talk can wait until your teacher gets here.”

Izuku nodded back and took the dismissal as Inko turned her attention to whatever she had planned for dinner. He handed the fruit to Nagisa, who held out a hand for them as he passed, and quickly changed in his room before dropping on the couch to watch the movie with them.

It was an interesting film, and certainly and old one. None of the characters looked quirked, even as quirky as they were. Luckily, Izuku hadn’t missed much, coming in only shortly after the start, so he was able to follow along even after the twist came up of how exactly the detective had wound up on the island in the first place, and what mystery he was even investigating.

When the film was done, they spent a while laughing at how dumb the killer was, and how easily he could have gotten away with it, or gotten one of the others to do it for him if he had even a single brain cell working between his ears.

All three of them kept the conversation light and simple, too aware of the listening ears in the other room. Nothing particularly new had happened for Karma and Nagisa, of course, but Izuku grumbled about needing to come up with a hero name after the Sports Festival, which prompted Karma to joke that Izuku didn’t need a hero name because “spirits of the forest” like them didn’t need names. Nagisa pushed Karma off the couch for that one.

Eventually, finally, there was a knock at the door.

Izuku welcomed Karasuma-sensei in, and everyone quickly gathered around the dining room table.

“The kids tell me you know a bit of what’s going on,” Inko said as soon as the pleasantries were done with.

“I do,” Karasuma-sensei said. “And I have to say, I would much rather Nagisa-kun not return to his parents. We had hoped that his father returning to the family would help, but seeing where things are now, I won’t be counting on assistance from him in the future.”

“Could I stay here?” Nagisa asked. “Staying at Karma’s isn’t an option either, or I’d go for that, and this apartment isn’t far from my school now. It… it would work out pretty well for me, if I could.”

“I told you as soon as I came home that our door was open to you as long as you needed it. If you want to stay, I certainly won’t be the one telling you to leave.”

“I’m glad you’re willing to open your home on such short notice, Midoriya-san. If you hadn’t my partner and I would have been willing to open our own home if needed. That being said, there are some… legal complications that need to be dealt with.”

Karma narrowed his eyes. “What kind of complications?”

“Ones that can be dealt with. I just need Nagisa-kun to make a choice about which path he’s going to take.”

Nagisa took a deep breath in through his nose and sat up straight, hardening his gaze. “What are my options?”

“I think it would be safe to say that your mother is a bit possessive, is that correct, Nagisa-kun?”

Nagisa nodded and Karma snorted, “Massive understatement.”

“Would you also say that she is unlikely to let you stay here? That she’s going to want you to come home regardless of the cost?”

“Yes.”

“Then, unfortunately, as long as she is your legal guardian, she can legally force you to go back home with her.”

“So we need to change that, right? Need her to not be Nagisa’s guardian?” Izuku asked.

Karasuma-sensei nodded. “That’s right.”

“And it’s not going to be an easy process,” Inko added.

“And that brings us to our options. We can get your parents to revoke their guardianship voluntarily, which will allow Midoriya-san to be assigned as your guardian.”

“She won’t do it,” Nagisa said. “She won’t sign away her rights like that.”

“Which means we have to take it to court,” Inko said. “Which is likely going to be a very long process. And we might not even win, which puts you back at square one.”

Nagisa was squeezing Karma’s hand.

“Or we can petition for you to become an emancipated minor. That would still be a court battle, but a much easier one to win. Once you’re emancipated, you don’t need a guardian. You can stay where ever you want and neither of your parents will be able to tell you otherwise.”

Inko shook her head. “Emancipation at this age is almost universally to join the work force. Nagisa would need to have a job and be financially independent to get it cleared. Working full time to support himself wouldn’t allow him to finish his schooling.”

Karasuma-sensei nodded. “Normally I would agree with you. But strictly speaking, the court mostly looks at financial stability. If the claimant has sufficient savings funds to support themselves for an extended period of time, then a job is unnecessary.”

“If I’m emancipated, would I need to find an apartment?”

“You wouldn’t need to, but you could if you wanted. Whether or not you actually support yourself is your business. The court just needs to know that you could.”

“Would Nagisa have enough?” Karma cut in. “In savings?”

“Probably. A little extra won’t hurt though.”

“Karma, don’t.”

“Nagisa, I’m not going to do nothing.”

Izuku winced. “How about we table the money discussion for later. Emancipation sounds like it would be the safest option. What do you think, Nagisa?”

Inko shook her head. “It’s still going to take quite a bit of time. I could talk to some people at work, try and get you someone pro bono, but we still need to get a judge to sign off on it.”

“That would be where I come in, Midoriya-san,” said Karasuma-sensei. “I can push some things through and get it signed off rather quickly. We still need to put the papers together, but once all that is done, I could probably finalize it within a couple of days without any fuss.”

Nagisa nodded slowly. “Let’s do it. What do you need from me?”

“Mostly bank statements, specifically accounts that neither of your parents have access to would be best. I could come back tomorrow with the papers, if you like. Give you a little time to put things together.”

Inko nodded. “That would be lovely. Perhaps, you could even stay for dinner tomorrow.”

“That’s kind of you, Midoriya-san, but I have a night planned already.”

At Karma’s growing feral grin, Izuku decided it was best to cut this off now. “Well, then I guess it’s time for you to head out? Karma, you should probably be getting home, too.”

Meeting done, Izuku herded his guests out the door, and stepped outside with them before closing the door behind them.

Karasuma-sensei raised an eyebrow. “Do you need something, Midoriya-kun?”

“Given Shiota-san’s general everything, we might need to head her off and delay an investigation. Could you take care of that, Sensei?”

“Not a line of thinking I would have expected from a future hero,” Karma teased. “But a good idea all the same.”

“I can keep that in check, though it would be better to get everything filed before she moves.”

“I would say we have a few days at least,” Karma shrugged. “Possessive and controlling as she is, she’s probably not going to think about the fact that Nagisa isn’t coming home for a little while.”

“And that brings me to part two of why I came out here with you.” Izuku turned to face Karma fully. “Nagisa’s going to need things from home. And there are more than a few items that shouldn’t be left alone in that house for very long. Get some of our classmates together and go get them. Focus on clothes, legal documents and memorabilia before anything else. And try to make it discreet. Don’t just clean out the entire room.”

Karma’s grin widened. “Now that is something I can get behind. It’s been a bit since I was able to actually do anything.”

“Please, don’t do anything foolish, Karma-kun,” Karasuma-sensei sighed. “As much as I know you’re going to want to inflict a bit of suffering on Shiota-san, if they have any idea you were there it will hurt us in the long run.”

Karma rolled his eyes, waving over his shoulder as he walked away. “Yeah, yeah, I got it Sensei. Don’t worry. It’ll be a nice quiet in and out. Nothing fancy.”

With a final good bye, Karasuma-sensei left after him, and Izuku went inside to help Nagisa settle into his new room.

Chapter Text

The two weeks following Nagisa moving into the Midoriya house were hectic and stressful. The first day Izuku found a “mysterious” duffle bag on the front mat, which he promptly moved to Nagisa’s new room. Karasuma-sensei came by and he and Nagisa filled out the necessary papers to petition for emancipation, which were filed and signed before Shiota-san went to the police about her missing son.

The first bad news was when she refused to let Nagisa in to collect the rest of his stuff.

But, well. Izuku didn’t know anything about the break in the Shiota household had that very same night. Nor did he have any inclination to believe that the items taken from the apartment had been scattered to the homes of various friends and classmates before trickling their way into the Midoriya home.

Then of course came needing to change all of Nagisa’s information and emergency contacts. And convince the school that Nagisa had been emancipated and he could actually do that.

All of that while trying to prepare for the Sports Festival and ignore Uraraka-san’s concern over Kirishima-san's friendship with Bakugou, which was progressing nicely.

Which, finally, lead up to Izuku in the waiting room trying to ignore the chatter of his classmates as he ran through his plans one last time. Limited as they were.

He took a deep breath, releasing his stretch as he ran over everything in his head one more time. He knew the patterns. He knew the rules. The first event was going to be a free for all. Something that would cut out most of the competition and it was the place where the teachers were really watching to see if someone wasn’t doing as well as they should. The second event was always a team event, and the third was one on one.

For the first and second events Izuku was just going to have to wing it. There were simply too many possibilities and too many restrictions on what Izuku could bring with him for it to matter at all. As much as he hated it, it was better to just keep what tools he had in reserve until the one on one matches. If he even got that far.

No. Izuku pushed that thought out of his head. He had trained. He was prepared. He could do this. The first event might be a free for all, but Izuku had a wide range of skills he could still fall back on, and strategy for the second event was what he specialized in. He was far from weak or useless without tools. He could do this. It was just the one-on-ones he needed to worry about. One bad match and he would be finished. But that was true for everyone, so no big deal there.

“Is everyone good and ready!” Iida-san yelled over the chatter. “The events are about to begin!”

Izuku moved to the front of the room. He should probably take over and do his job as class president before Iida-san got too into it.

“Bakugou-kun.”

Izuku barely turned to keep Todoroki-san and Bakugou in his line of sight. He didn’t expect much to happen, but at a time like this, with tensions running high, it was hard to tell for sure.

“Objectively speaking, I’m stronger than you,” Todoroki-san continued. “More capable.”

“Huh!?” Bakugou’s head snapped up. “What the hell are you on about, Half-and-half!?”

Well, shit. Looks like this was going to be a bad one. Izuku shared a quick glance with Yaoyorozu-san across the room. She nodded to him and stood, stepping forward to intervene as Izuku stepped back. They’d talked about this after Iida-san tried to tell Bakugou to wear his tie. Bakugou wasn’t inclined to listen to Izuku, and often got more volatile when Izuku tried to intervene, so they decided that Yaoyorozu-san would handle disputes involving Bakugou.

“I’m just saying,” Todoroki-san said as though nothing was wrong. “I have the better quirk and more experience. I am going to beat you.”

“Not with how you’re using that quirk, you’re sure as fuck not!”

“Ooh,” Kaminari-san said, grinning in his corner, “a declaration of war between the two strongest!”

“Hey, man,” Kirishima-san said, stepping in before Yaoyorozu-san could say anything. “Back off. You shouldn’t be picking fights right before we go on.”

“I’m not here to-” Todoroki-san cut himself off as he turned and caught Izuku watching him. “Right now, we’re competing against each other. Not friends.”

Looks like Todoroki-san hadn’t quite come around to the “you need to make friends here” bit Izuku had given him earlier, but that honestly didn’t matter to Izuku right now.

“Oi, eyes on me, Half-and-half.” And Bakugou wasn’t going to let this go. The blonde had stood up while Kirishima-san and Todoroki-san were talking and stepped into Todoroki-san’s space. “Maybe you’ve got the experience. Maybe your quirk might be worth something if you actually used it right. But I’m going to beat your ass out there. You know why? Because you haven’t got the guts. You don’t have the conviction you need to win. So do us all a favor and stay out of the way of the real competitors. I want a real fight out there for first, and I know you aren’t going to give it to me.”

“Alright,” Yaoyorozu-san finally said. “That’s enough. Everyone on your feet. It’s time for us to get out there.”

The class cheered and were quickly moving out the door. Izuku hung back, letting Iida-san lead their classmates out for the time being. He watched as Yaoyorozu-san stepped forward, carefully placing herself between the two boys that were just a few misplaced words away from attacking each other right here, right now. When Todoroki-san finally turned and walked out, Izuku followed quietly, ignoring the small burst of explosions and a restrained yell of frustration behind them.

Jogging forward, Izuku made it to the front just before his class crossed the threshold onto the field. The crowd’s cheering turning from a dull roar to a thunderous wall of sound, with Mic-sensei’s commentary whipping them up even further. Izuku set his shoulders back, and his chin up, settling into a confident stride. The cameras were watching, and they needed to put on a show. Even as his heart beat out of his chest at the sudden reminder that he was being watched by most of Japan, he kept it all buried and locked down under a calm exterior.

One by one, the other classes were introduced as they flooded the field.

“And now,” Midnight-sensei said from the stage above them when the last class came to a stop, “for the student pledge! Bakugou Katsuki from class 1-A! The stage is yours!”

“Right, must be because he placed first in the entrance exam,” Sero-san muttered, as Bakugou stepped forward, forcefully knocking shoulders with Todoroki-san.

“The hero course entrance exam, you mean,” one of the C class students huffed.

Bakugou was at the microphone now. Izuku wondered what he was going to say. Public speaking wasn’t exactly one of his strong suits, but he’d changed since the last time something like this had happened.

“I look forward to beating every single one of you,” he said. “Make sure you put up a good fight.”

The students roared in indignation.

Okay, so maybe he hadn’t changed that much. Izuku knew what he was doing, but that didn’t mean he agreed with it or appreciated how Bakugou had just set every single first year against their class. Asshole.

Was Bakugou walking towards him? Yup. God dammit. There goes ignoring everything for the day.

“Hope you haven’t forgotten about midterms,” Bakugou muttered, coming to a stop next to Izuku, “‘cause I’m gonna crush you there, too.”

Izuku snorted softly. Of all the things Bakugou could have said, that was the last thing he had expected. It was familiar. It was simple. Back to basics. Back to the best of Aldera. Izuku grinned back at Bakugou. “We’ll just have to wait and see,” he said. “I seem to recall placing above you in our last final.”

Bakugou’s grin turned feral and he moved on. There wasn’t anything left to say.

“Now, without any further delay, let’s get the first event started!” Midnight-sensei said, cracking her whip for their attention. “This is the qualifiers. It’s in this stage that so many are sent home every year. For our opening act this year we have…” Midnight-sensei paused for dramatic effect as the screen behind her showed a spinning assortment of events, coming to a stop on- “an obstacle course!”

Izuku felt his grin growing again. He could work with this. Depending on exactly what kind of obstacles UA had decided to use, Izuku either wasn’t really going to be too delayed, or he was going to outstrip his competition by a long shot.

“It’s a race between all eleven classes.” A wall not far from them folded up, revealing a new exit. “The course is a four-kilometer track around the stadium itself! And don’t forget, UA preaches freedom in all things! So long as you don’t leave the track, everything is fair game!” The opening was too small, and it looked like it got narrower as it went. “Racers, to your positions!”

One of the lights went off.

Izuku was not going to let himself be caught in the back. That would kill his chances. He could not lose here.

The second light was off.

Just a little more.

The last light, a loud horn, and they were off. Iida-san, Bakugou, and Todoroki-san were ahead of them in an instant, with Izuku just staying in front of the main crowd. He could hear them crashing into each other and yelling loudly behind him as they were pressed against the walls.

The temperature dropped. Shit. Izuku jumped as Todoroki-san created a layer of ice across the ground. It crawled up the feet of the other students. Well, the feet of everyone that wasn’t in 1-A.

1-A did know how Todoroki-kun worked after all and had reacted just in time as they felt the chill, climbing over the other competitors in the process.

Izuku kept himself up, using a gen ed kid with some limited speed quirk that had been frozen to the ground as a platform to launch off of. He laughed as he heard Bakugou’s angry yelling and explosions. It wasn’t like they really had much advantage yet. They needed to learn to pay attention to the other people around them.

Izuku rolled his landing, keeping his forward momentum and avoiding slipping on the thin layer of ice that crunched under him. Izuku threw a brief glance over his shoulder. The other students were breaking out already, shaking off the cold and pressing forward. Todoroki-san must not have made it very thick.

Oh, well. Izuku needed to keep his eyes on the next task. The next problem. Just around the corner.

“Ha! Now, it’s my turn!” Mineta-san yelled, jumping forward. He reached up to his hair. “Get a taste of my killer—”

Mineta-san was struck from the side and launched backwards by a familiar green metal limb.

“Multiple targets acquired,” the one-pointer said, turning to face the growing crowd of students.

“Every obstacle course needs obstacles!” Mic-sensei said, his voice carried over the arena by speakers everywhere. “Starting with our first barrier, Robo Inferno!”

Wow, that was cheesy. Apt, but cheesy. Izuku could probably wiggle his way through this mass of enemies, but not with how they were spaced out right now, and especially not if he went first. They’d be on him in seconds. Sure, he could just go around the zero-pointers, but the smaller ones were a problem. Speaking of which, that was a lot of zero-pointers. How did they have that many to just throw at them like this?

That wasn’t important. He needed an opening, then he could go. Which meant he had to wait for someone else.

He hated this.

“So these are the faux villains they used for everyone else’s test?” Todoroki-san muttered, glancing up, even as he began to kneel and press his hand to the ground. Izuku stepped back. “Kinda wish they’d prepared something a little more threatening. Especially because dear old Dad is watching.” The ice burst forward, flying forward across the ground and freezing the zero-pointer in place.

Izuku stepped even farther back, moving to go around the side. Todoroki-san was drawing the attention of the smaller enemies down the middle, all while he’d set up a clear trap to cover his path behind him. Even before the other competitors could take advantage of the opening, the zero-pointers collapsed into a pile of junk.

Mic-sensei continued commenting, but Izuku brushed it off as he pressed forward. Just as he thought, there was an opening there that he could take advantage of. The bad news was it wasn’t as clear as he’d thought it would be, and there were a few determined robots blocking his path. Nothing too major. They were easy to get around, but it would still slow him down.

One of the one-pointers didn’t take kindly to Izuku ignoring them, chasing close behind. Izuku glanced around, as the bot got closer, spotting a piece of scrap with a faint bit of ice left over from Todoroki-san’s destruction. He scooped it up and spun to face the enemy. He turned and planted his feet, levering the edge of the metal into the joint of the robot as he ducked under its arm, slicing the limb off.

Huh. That was useful. He should probably hang onto this. And thank Karasuma-sensei for suggesting he learn how to use improvised weaponry. The good news was it had a strap in it that he could tie off and sling over his shoulder. It would distribute its weight better that way and be much less cumbersome to carry.

Izuku settled into a pace just short of his sprint. An easy pace he could keep for a while without draining himself, but he certainly wouldn’t fall behind either. Izuku added endurance training to the list of things he needed to thank Karasuma-sensei for.

A boom echoed behind him. Probably Yaoyorozu-san using her quirk to make artillery to take out the robots. Izuku kept running.

Rounding the next corner, Izuku came to the next barrier. And then he laughed. A small group had gathered near the edge, watching Todoroki-san skate across with his ice and Bakugou fly overhead.

Izuku on the other hand, didn’t even pause. He laughed and whooped as he stepped forward, not breaking his stride as he stepped onto the metal cable stretching from pillar to pillar.

“Now what’s this?” Mic-sensei said. “Midoriya Izuku of class 1-A isn’t even hesitating. Where did that kid get that kind of balance?”

Izuku laughed louder, planning his route. First to one pillar, then the next, never slowing and never stopping. If someone was blocking his way, Izuku just stepped forward, and his movement was enough to cause them to fall. This gap might be a challenge for most, something requiring creativity or caution, but for Izuku, it was an easy way for him to show off some basic physical skills.

By the time Izuku had gotten to the other side. Those that had stopped had gotten their wits back and were well on their way, but Izuku didn’t glance back this time. He needed to get moving. Maybe he’d give Bakugou and Todoroki-san a little reminder that he was competing here, too.

The third obstacle was… a much bigger problem for Izuku. Then again, a minefield was proving to be a problem for everyone. The only people ahead of Izuku at this point were Bakugou, Todoroki-san, and Iida-san, but the others weren’t far behind. As in, already catching up and starting to pick their way through. Which left Izuku with limited time to make a decision about how to cross the minefield.

So he did the impulsive thing.

He pulled the piece of metal off his back, grateful it was coming in handy and he didn’t just lug this thing across a four-kilometer track. A few brief calculations in his head, and he jumped, getting the metal under his feet before slamming it into the ground, using his weight and the strap tied to it for extra control.

He hoped this worked.

The first mine went off, the explosion jerking the metal under him (why did he do this?) and rattling his bones. It pushed him up. The metal bucked and Izuku leaned carefully, letting his balance and weight guide him forward, using the explosion as propulsion.

The next mine went off. It was smoother this time, adding to his momentum. Izuku twisted his weight slightly, aiming himself to the nearest mine.

A third mine went off, and a fourth. He was going faster. With each one it was simultaneously easier and harder to control. The metal bucked less, but the speed made it dangerous and difficult to change directions as he surfed the shock waves and slid through the air and over the ground, a plume of pink smoke in his wake.

“What the heck is that!? Midoriya-kun is… is riding the mines! Looks like he’s going to pass our front runners with almost no effort at all!”

Izuku couldn’t help the laugh that bubbled up at Mic-sensei’s shocked commentary. Even with Bakugou and Todoroki-san turning back to see for themselves, Izuku kept laughing, a wide smile stretching his lips.

(To be honest, their faces actually made him laugh harder, not that he was ever going to tell Bakugou that. Izuku liked being able to walk, thank you very much.)

Aw, shit. He was probably going to hit them. Izuku shifted his weight, angling slightly to try and just barely miss them, going right to avoid Bakugou’s explosions (and as much of Todoroki-san’s ice as he could).

“Looks like our leaders have stopped fighting each other to focus on their new challenger!” Present Mic-sensei went on. “And he’s passed them!”

“De- What the hell, you rotten bastard!” Bakugou’s yell was punctuated with twin explosions as the blonde boy almost certainly launched himself forward.

“Nothing like a common enemy to get people going!”

Todoroki-san made a path of ice, coating the ground and covering the mines in front of them. Izuku grit his teeth as his… sled slammed into the ground.

“Looks like Todoroki-kun’s ice stopped Midoriya-kun’s wild ride of awesome!”

Well, yes and no. Izuku thought to himself in the seconds between Mic-sensei’s announcement, and the approaching catastrophe. The ice was thick enough to stop Izuku from setting off the mines as he passed over them, and thick enough to hold Todoroki-san, but it was definitely not thick enough to handle the stress of being hit at god knows what speed by a teenage boy and a chunk of metal thick enough to have come off an armored tank.

And Izuku’s weight was all wrong for an explosion like that.

The mine went off, bucking the metal and sending Izuku flying. He rolled and tumbled, setting off a few more mines until he crossed into the final stretch between him and victory. He pushed himself to his feet, ignoring the deep ache in his legs and the stinging pain across his body.

(Probably road rash, his brain supplied, and a lot of scraped skin. No broken bones.)

He kept running.

“Holy crap, this kid’s still going! Even after he got knocked around by those mines at high speed, he’s still up and running! What are you teaching these kids, Eraserhead!”

“That one came that way.”

Aizawa-sensei was in the commentator’s booth? Not important right now. Keep moving. Izuku probably didn’t have to worry too much about Todoroki-san at this point, not with the mine explosions having broken his ice path and probably blocked him for a little while, but Bakugou had no such concerns.

And Izuku wanted to win. Wanted Bakugou to kiss his ass, as Karma and Nakamura would likely say.

It had been a while since he got this into a competition.

Even now, tuning out Mic-sensei and running a dead sprint to the finish, Izuku could hear Bakugou coming up behind him. Come on, faster.

Heat and fire and noise ruffled Izuku’s hair. Bakugou descended in fiery anger. He was in the lead.

No.

Izuku wasn’t just going to let him.

Izuku reached out and grabbed Bakugou’s ankle. It was simple really. Like plucking a piece of fruit off a branch. If the piece of fruit swore heavily, was moving at several dozen kilometers per hour, and tried to break his fingers.

The change in weight caused Bakugou to plummet to the ground, slamming into it to at the very least knocked the wind out of him, if not worse.

Izuku jumped over the gasping pile of limbs and anger and kept moving forward, crossing the finish line just in time to be tackled to the ground as Bakugou plowed into him.

“And Midoriya-kun crosses the finish line first, with Bakugou-kun not even a second behind! What a finish! Can you believe it!? I think that’s the closest finish we’ve had in years! Maybe even the closest in Sports Festival history!”

“Definitely closer than anything I’ve ever seen,” Aizawa-sensei interrupted. “We’ll have to check the records to know for sure.”

Heh. The closest race in Sports Festival history, and it was won by a quirkless kid with more guts than was healthy. If only Korosensei could see him now.

Izuku’s smile fell. Right. Korosensei.

“Fuck you,” Bakugou panted, still on top of Izuku, “you shitty nerd.”

Izuku groaned. “Get off me, Bakugou.”

“Make me.”

Izuku fell limp on the ground. He was not wasting energy on this. If Bakugou wanted to stay there, by all means, he could.

“Seriously, this is all it takes to pin you?” Bakugou muttered as he flopped to the side.

Izuku rolled the other way, finally freed from Bakugou’s weight. “Fuck you,” he shot back.

S everal minutes later, and the last of the qualifiers were crossing the finish line. Izuku had taken the time to stretch out, get his breath back, and check over his injuries. He was sore just about everywhere, with his legs being particularly unhappy about what he’d put them through, but the worst of it was definitely the scrapes that were lightly oozing blood. Overall, Izuku was fine and could definitely hold off on seeing Recovery Girl-sensei until after the second round.

Brushing aside the dull pain, Izuku turned his attention to his other competitors. The second round was always a group competition of some sort. That and Izuku needed to start collecting information in general. He knew where to place his own classmates in terms of who to watch out for — mostly, he had yet to see Kirishima-san use One for All, so he wasn’t sure how that would affect things — but he knew next to nothing about class 1-B. Shiozaki- san , Honenuki- san , Tetsutetsu- san , and Awase- san all caught his attention by making it into the top half of competitors. Meanwhile the purple haired boy from before (Shinsou Hitoshi of 1-C, according to Mic-sensei) crossed the finish looking like he’d only gone for a walk. There was also a girl from 1-H that looked like she’d been blown up.

Izuku didn’t outright discount the others, but he didn’t have enough information to get anything off of them. Maybe their quirks were poorly suited to the course—which Izuku doubted, considering how well he’d managed without one—or maybe there was something else at play. Either way, they likely weren’t anyone Izuku needed to pay attention too. Other than maybe the one blonde kid that looked way too smug for someone that finished in the bottom third. Come to think of it, there really should have been a more even spread between classes A and B, but that was a problem for later.

“ Alright!” Midnight-sensei said, taking over from Mic-sensei. “The top forty-two finishers from this round will be moving on! Those of you who placed lower, don’t worry too much! You’ve still got things planned for you!”

Some kind of consolation round? The Sports Festival never allowed disqualified participants to fight their way back in. Or maybe some kind of break event? Izuku shook the thoughts off, he needed to focus.

“ Now’s when we really get started! Everyone’s watching, so make sure to give it your all!” Midnight-sensei continued. “On to the second event! I know what it is, but I bet the suspense is just killing you! Up next is…” she paused dramatically and waited for the screen to flash the title, “the Cavalry Battle!”

Team event. A few of Izuku’s classmates sounded confused.

“ Everyone will form up into teams of two to four members, using a horse and rider formation. The rules are really the same as a normal Cavalry Battle, but with one twist: you have all been assigned point values based on how you placed in the last event!”

Izuku had a bad feeling about this.

“ Oh, so we’re earning points like we did in the entrance exam?” Satou- san said. “Seems easy enough.”

“ And each team’s value depends on its members!” Hagakure- san finished.

Izuku had a really bad feeling about this. There were always risks to being at the top. Especially in hero work. There was no way UA wasn’t going to play that up.

“ If you let me talk we’d be through this by now!” Midnight-sensei snapped, cracking her whip. A second later and her composure was back. “And yes, that’s right. You’re point values start at five at the bottom and go up from there. So forty-second is worth five and forty-first is worth ten. And there’s one last little surprise! Our first place participant is worth ten million points!” Midnight-sensei pointed her whip at him and winked.

Izuku could feel the air shift around him. One moment he was just another member of the crowd, the next it was open season. Ten million points. Everyone was going to be after him.

And if he was a big target, that would also make him a liability. Shit. He really should have held back some in the first round, let someone else take this crap. Instead he just had to go and show off, didn’t he?

No, back on topic. Even if most people weren’t going to want to team up with the guy that had a massive target on his back, there still had to be someone. And there had to be a way to get through this. He couldn’t rely on simply keeping the ten million the entire time. Maybe he could take advantage of the rush and steal some off the others?

So, offense and defense then. Maybe high mobility and high reach? No, then there wouldn’t be a way to keep everyone off him if they were faster. Or maybe Izuku could handle close quarters?

“ The round will last fifteen minutes!” Midnight-sensei said, breaking some of the tension. “As our students so helpfully pointed out, each team’s points are determined by its members. The rider will wear a headband that has the point total on it. You will compete to take and maintain your points. Any headbands you grab must be worn around your neck or higher. Which naturally means that too many headbands will eventually start getting in the way. And keep in mind! Even if you have no points left, even if your formation is broken, it’s not over until it’s over!”

Just great. An endurance run as well. It was looking more and more like Izuku should just find a way to ditch the points.

“ Even with quirks involved, it is still a Cavalry Battle!” Midnight-sensei continued, pulling the attention back to her. “Attacking another team with the intent to knock them over will get you a red card and disqualify you from the match!” Another thing against him.

“ You have fifteen minutes to form your teams!”

“ Fifteen-”

“ Starting… now! ”

Shit. Izuku needed a plan. He needed a teammate with reach in case things went wrong. He needed mobility to dodge, and he needed defense… Should he hold onto the points for as long as possible? Or let someone else take them to get the heat off his back? Either one would be a risky move.

No, teammates first.

Reach… Defense… Izuku crossed the field. He knew someone that could help with that. If he was right.

“ Shiozaki-san,” he greeted with a slight bow. “Would you like to team up with me?”

1-B’s front runner turned to him in surprise. “Why are you asking me, and not your classmates?”

“ I know them well enough to know that most of the ones that I would like to ask would say no,” Izuku answered. “Either they want to fight against me themselves, are already on a team, or they consider it a bad strategy to join on when I have this target on me. Add to that, if I’m right about your quirk, you could very easily dominate this event if you wanted too.”

“ Looks like 1-A isn’t all arrogant bastards,” the boy behind her said. He had silver hair and some kind of… thing around his eyes. Tetsutetsu-san. Izuku didn’t know what his quirk was, but he was definitely strong.

“ No,” Izuku smiled at him. “That would mostly be Bakugou. Maybe Todoroki-san, but the rest of us are pretty normal.” He shrugged.

“ What do you think my quirk is, Midoriya-kun?” Shiozaki-san asked before the boys could get much further.

“ It’s fairly easy to guess when it has such a visible mutation. Those vines you have. You can control them. I bet they could even grow through the cement they’re using for a stage, given you passed the entrance exam .”

She nodded slowly. “And the rest of your plan? Shouldn’t you be focusing on defense? Or are you just trying to make sure I’m not opposing you on the field?”

“ Mido-kun!” Uraraka-san said, barreling into the conversation. “Team up with me!”

Izuku grinned. “Uraraka-san! I would love to have you on my team!” He could probably avoid a lot of his opponents by taking to the sky periodically, although he would have to be careful not to overwork Uraraka-san. “And to answer your question, Shiozaki-san, I don’t plan to rely on the assumption that I could keep our headband until the end. You would provide a way to get new headbands easily and a strong defense depending on what you’re focusing on at the time. Presuming, of course, that you have significant dexterity with your vines.”

Shiozaki-san looked at him closely, then shared a look with Tetsutetsu-san. There was a long pause as the two seemed to have a silent conversation, which gave Izuku the distinct impression he was messing up some preexisting plan. After a long pause, the silver haired boy nodded and stepped forward. “We’ll work with you,” he said, “but only if you take both of us. I can turn my skin into steel, so I can provide a strong defensive wall if we need one.”

Izuku nodded. “Uraraka-san, how long do you think you could keep me in the air?”

Uraraka-san hesitated. “If it’s just you, I could probably go the entire round.”

Chapter Text

“Hey, wake up Eraser! You know you’ve got to actually commentate at some point, right?” Present Mic-sensei said, pulling his co-host from his nap.

“Interesting team composition,” Aizawa-sensei mumbled as the teams took their places around the ring and built their formations.

“ Huh? Yeah, we’ve got twelve teams on the field, but two of them are teams of two. Risky play for them.”

Aizawa-sensei grunted. “True. Those teams are going to have a hard time, if there’s any hope for them at all, but I was referring to the class lines. Almost every team exclusively pulled from either 1-A or 1-B.”

“ True, but that’s pretty normal for the first years. They haven’t had a chance to get to know their sister class yet, which makes coordinating team composition hard.”

“ Then explain Team Midoriya and Team Shinsou.”

Izuku kept his heart rate down and his gaze steady as he glanced over the various teams. Aizawa-sensei was right, every other team was solidly A or B other than his and Shinsou-san’s. But that was expected. As soon as Shiozaki-san and Tetsutetsu-san had joined him and Uraraka-san, they had come clean about their class’s strategy, and they had shared notes on their various classmates, watching them form their teams and decide who would be best to target.

It also explained why 1-B was glaring harder at Shiozaki-san and Tetsutetsu-san than at Izuku.

It did not explain Shinsou-san. Aoyama-san and Ojirou-san were both 1-A, but Shinsou-san had also managed to get Shouda-san (Quirk: Twin Impact, created a secondary impact that Shouda-san could set of at his discretion) on his team.

“Can you all give me a battle cry!” Present Mic-sensei screamed from the booth, whipping the crowd into a frenzy. “There’s the starting signal!”

Midnight-sensei cracked her whip, and the fight began.

Everyone went straight for Izuku and his team, just like they expected.

“You’re not gonna get away this time!” Bakugou yelled across the field.

Izuku grinned at him, deliberately turning his gaze from the rest of the competitors. “Is that so, Kacchan? I guess you’re gonna have to come over here and prove it.”

About half of 1-A stumbled and almost froze slack jawed when they heard Izuku call Bakugou by such a cutesy and childish nickname and Bakugou absolutely screamed as he sparked off several large explosions and urged his team to move faster.

Shiozaki-san drove her vines into the cement, twining around them and digging out the cement under their feet, separating it from the rest before the effects of Juzo-san’s quirk could reach them and soften the ground under their feet.

But that left them rooted to the spot as Team Kendo closed the distance, with Yanagi-san’s telekinetic quirk pulling the ten million point head band from Izuku and into Kendo-san’s reach.

“And just like that the ten million has already changed hands! Team Midoriya is down to nothing and Team Kendo takes the lead!”

“Hnn.”

Izuku flashed another grin at Kendo-san, meeting her victorious smile with a wink. “Thanks for taking that off my hands. I hope you have fun with it!”

And in a heart beat, Kendo-san’s face paled as she became the first to understand her place as a sacrificial lamb.

“I suggest you move quickly to avoid the loud explody one. He doesn’t like settling for anything less than the best.”

“ Shiozaki-chan, you traitor!” Komori-san cried out as Team Kendo tried to quickly back pedal through Juzo-san’s muck.

“We must all do our best to succeed in this world. If that means working with unexpected allies, then so be it,” Shiozaki-san answered.

“ Hey, what am I? Chopped liver!?” Tetsutetsu-san yelled after them. “We work with what we’ve got, and this one ain’t so bad!”

Izuku laughed. “Alright, is everyone ready for stage two?”

“Ready,” Uraraka-san answered, hand on Izuku’s calf, ready to activate her quirk.

“Ready,” Tetsutetsu-san answered, lowering his stance, ready to take on the world to protect the rest of his team.

“Ready,” Shiozaki-san answered, a thin vine gently wrapped around Izuku’s waist, as other vines began to spread out through the softened cement and make a web across the arena.

Izuku nodded, surveying the field. The moment his team had lost the ten million headband, the field had erupted into chaos, each team going after ones nearest them, rather than simply chasing after the big points.

“How about we take out some trash first,” he said. “Can you get Mineta?”

Shiozaki-san nodded. “ He should be easy to reach.”

Izuku kept his eyes moving, tracking fights. Todoroki was starting to bear down on Team Kendo, though Class 1-B’s president was doing an admirable job of fending him off.

And, of course, Bakugou had gotten into a fight with Monoma-san. Shiozaki-san had said he had a chip on his shoulder in particular with 1-A.

And then there was Team Hatsume, giving several teams the run around, while they managed to make off with Team Rin’s headband.

Izuku scowled at that one. It wasn’t worth much, but he had been hoping to count it as easy points.

A thin vine rose from the ground, pulling a headband worth 270 points with it.

“Thank you, Shiozaki-san,” Izuku said as he tied it around his neck.

“ We’re sitting ducks here,” Tetsutetsu-san said. “Let’s go for something bigger.”

“Kamikiri-kun looks distracted,” Uraraka-san said.

Kamakiri. Where was he?

His team was one of the ones chasing after Hatsume-san. Distracted indeed.

Izuku didn’t even need to say anything, Shiozaki-san was already moving the vines in that area of the field.

“And the ten million changed hands again! Team Todoroki has made of with the points, but they’ve been so kind as to leave Team Kendo in the game with their original 225 points!”

Izuku’s head snapped over to that fight. Sure enough, Team Todoroki was running away with a new head band around their neck, leaving Team Kendo frozen to the ground with Kendo-san shaking off the effects of Kaminari-san’s electricity.

Another chain of explosions drew Izuku’s attention to the other side of the arena where Bakugou had taken to the air to chase after Team Monoma.

“What the fuck, he can fly!?” Tetsutetsu-san asked, gobsmacked.

“It was always an option,” Izuku answered. “But I’ve never seen him pull it off before. Not to mention how risky it would be for him to leave his team in a Cavalry Battle.”

“Is that even allowed!?” Present Mic-sensei asked.

Midnight-sensei cracked her whip. “Since Bakugou-kun didn’t touch the ground, I’ll allow it!”

“ Well, that’s good, right? It means we’ll be clear too,” Uraraka-san said.

Izuku nodded. “It was kind of him to test that for us, wasn’t it?”

“ Man, you are creepy,” Izuku heard Tetsutetsu-san mutter to himself.

“What’s this? Team Midoriya is back on the board with 685 points without having moved even once!?”

“ Shit. Fuck subtlety, just get the points and get them back,” Izuku ordered as Shiozaki-san tightened her vine holding Team Kamakiri’s headband, reeling it in as fast as she could.

“Her e comes Kendo-san,” Tetsutetsu-san warned.

“Our next highest is Hagaku- Fuck!”

Todoroki-san had just snatched Hagakure-san’s headband, further padding his lead.

“The only one we planned for left is Team Kodai,” Shiozaki-san said.

“Take it, then go by whatever opportunity you see.”

“Shinsou-san and Hatsume-san are coming for us as well. And since when do ikemen swear?”

“Not the time Uraraka-san. Make me weightless.”

Uraraka-san nodded behind him and activated her quirk as Izuku felt Shiozaki-san’s vine tighten slightly around his waist.

Izuku kept his eyes focused on the teams bearing down on them. All they had to do was protect their headbands. None of these teams had flight, so technically it would be better for him to take off now, but it would make better television for him to wait. And better television meant it would be more memorable, which meant better scouting.

Izuku put one hand on their two headbands as Team Kendo closed in, his other clamped on Tetsutetsu-san’s shoulder to hold him steady.

“Mido-kun…”

“We’ll be alright. Just a bit closer.”

Shinsou-san shouted something to Kendo-san, and she turned to look at him confused.

A clamp attached to a metal cable flew by Izuku’s head, as he dodged out of the way at the last minute before launching himself into the air. He traced the cable back, following it to Hatsume-san.

A support course student.

That was why they had wanted to avoid her in the first place. It was too hard to predict what she would have in her belt.

“Dark Shadow!” Tokoyami-san shouted, his quirk rising from his shadows and flying straight for Tetsutetsu-san, who activated his quirk and took the hit head on.

The metal clamp flew past Izuku again, but this time, he reached out and grabbed the cable trailing behind it and yanked.

At first, nothing happened, and then he felt something give out and the line jerked back a few centimeters. “Damn it,” Hatsume-san yelled.

Izuku smiled and made a show, holding his arm out and casually dropping the limp cable, then took a moment to survey the field again.

Team Kendo was stopped several meters away from Izuku’s team, and Shinsou-san and his team seemed to be leaving. Dark Shadow was still attacking Tetsutetsu-san while the rest of Team Hatsume closed the gap. Most of the other teams were trying to close in on Team Todoroki.

Or, they were. Before Todoroki-san threw up a massive ice wall to keep them away.

A thin vine followed the one connecting Izuku to his team, carrying Team Kodai’s headband up to him.

That would bring them to 850 points. Checking the score board, Izuku’s team was sitting comfortably in third. Unfortunately, everyone that still had points was someone they had decided to avoid. And everyone else was likely to be turn on them in a moment.

Izuku tugged twice on the vine at his waist, Shiozaki-san quickly pulled it taught and reeled him back in.

Dark Shadow screeched and launched himself up at Izuku as he came down. Izuku twisted in the air, ducking under the grasping arms and kicking off the quirk as he flew past.

“Phase three?” Shiozaki-san asked.

“Unless you think you can get a headband off of Shinsou-san.”

“ Two minutes left!”

“I say we don’t risk it,” Uraraka-san said. “We have the points we need, now we just need to keep them.”

Two minutes. They cold make that.

With phase three.

“You got an opinion Tetsutetsu-san?”

“Yeah. My opinion is that I can’t fight all these people at once with my hands behind my back.”

Izuku nodded. Watching the mob reconverging on them. “Then phase three it is.”

Shiozaki-san nodded, her vines growing and weaving together, a large thorny wall growing around them and up over their heads until they were fully encased.

“That should hold long enough.”

“And now we wait.”

Tetsutetsu-san turned to look up at Izuku, now that the threat of attack was gone. “Is this really the only way?”

Izuku shrugged. “You said it yourself, you can’t fight everyone at once, and I don’t have a quirk that can really help you with that. Even Todoroki-san decided to go on the defensive against Bakugou’s maneuverability.”

“I mean, yeah. I get it. Better to advance than not, but this still feels cowardly.”

“ Looks like Team Midoriya has decided to take a page out of Todoroki-kun’s book and is hunkering down to wait out the final stretch! But will they hold out against so many attackers?”

Glancing down, Izuku noticed Shiozaki-san wincing under the barrage from outside.

“How are you holding up?” he asked.

“We are lucky we only need a few minutes.”

Uraraka-san’s grip tightened on his ankle.

A loud boom followed by a crack and crash filled the space, pulling their attention back to the outside.

“ Bakugou-kun has broken through Todoroki-kun’s ice wall! That is an amazing amount of force!!”

“ Which one of them wins depends on how Team Todoroki responds to this.”

Tense second after second passed before the buzzer finally sounded.

“ And look at that speed! Iida-kun carries his team to victory in an astounding burst of power!”

A cheer rose from the crowd and Shiozaki-san released her vines, unwrapping their cocoon. Several of the class B students that had been trying to break through the vine wall gave Shiozaki-san and Tetsutetsu-san dirty looks as they turned to stalk off the field.

“ In first place, Team Todoroki has managed to hold the ten million head band till the end for a total of ten million one thousand five hundred!

“Second place with a strong showing start to finish is Team Bakugou with nine hundred seventy points!

“Third place, the team that kept us guessing! Team Midoriya with eight hundred fifty points!

“And Fourth place is… Team Shinsou? Where did they come from?

“Everyone give a hand to our sixteen finalists!”

“Can I please take a nap now.”

Izuku snorted at his teacher’s voice. Normally he would have put good money on Aizawa-sensei sleeping through the events, but sitting next to Present Mic-sensei would have made that next to impossible.

Izuku gently climbed down from his perch and turned to his team. “Thank you for trusting my plan,” he said, bowing to them. “Without your faith I would not have been able to proceed.”

“Oh, it wasn’t that big of a deal,” Uraraka-san said, trying to wave him off. “You’ve already done so much for me, it was easy to follow your instructions. It was a really good plan too.”

“Well, that’s done, I’m gonna go eat,” Tetsutetsu-san said.

Shiozaki-san bowed back to Izuku. “You made good on your promise, though I had hoped for a better showing in this round. I should go do some damage control with my classmates.”

Uraraka-san nodded. “We should go eat too. And congratulate Iida-kun on his win! I wonder what he did in that last minute. It sounded like without him Bakugou-kun would have gotten the ten million point headband.”

“You go ahead,” Izuku said. “I’ll meet you there. I should stop by Recovery Girl first. I got some nasty road rash in the first event.”

“Oh, yeah. You should go do that. Well, come find us once she lets you go.”

Izuku nodded and disappeared down the halls. He detoured to the 1-A prep room to grab his phone then continued to his destination.

His phone had predictably blown up with texts over the first two events. One of the early ones seemed to be a badly zoomed in picture of him from above. Specifically an angle that was unlikely to be shown on TV, so at least a few of Izuku’s end class compatriots were somewhere in the stands. Not that it meant much during the first event.

The obstacle course hadn’t really seemed to impress 3-E very much. Or at least. The Robo Inferno hadn’t. They just immediately started listing off weak points and making strategies to take the robots down. The tight rope canyon also didn’t impress them. The mines didn’t really either, but they did acknowledge that it would be effective for slowing people down.

And then there was Karasuma-sensei asking someone to tell him he was hallucinating. And Ritsu telling him that he wasn’t.

Bitch-sensei actually bothered to put the cackling in the chat while Karasuma-sensei mentioned needing to run Izuku through appropriate risk taking again.

Karma pointed out that it was clearly working as intended.

Which. It had. Mostly.

The second event required more commentary from the ones in the stands because Izuku hadn’t spent a whole lot of time as the center of attention.

“Midoriya Izuku. I was wondering when I was going to see you.”

Izuku shoved his phone in his pocket. “Eh, it’s really just some scrapes and bruises. But it’s best to go into one on ones in top shape.”

Recovery Girl-sensei raised an eyebrow. “That was extremely reckless of you, young man. Sit down.”

Izuku sat. “It really wasn’t that bad.”

“You skidded across at least five meters of mine field and track.”

“It could have been worse,” Izuku pouted.

“And that is exactly my problem! You could have broken bones! You could have concussed yourself. And for what!? A stupid school competition? A shiny medal?”

“I knew what I was doing. I can take care of myself. I didn’t break any bones, and I don’t have a head injury.”

“I’ll be the judge of that.”

Recovery Girl-sensei runs him through a battery of concussion tests, then spent some time poking and prodding, recording every injury she came across. Which, as Izuku had predicted, included no broken bones.

Recovery Girl-sensei humphed, and released Izuku with a kiss on the cheek, her quirk spreading through his body and wiping the scrapes and bruises from his skin. “You’re very lucky, young man. That could have been a lot worse. Now go find your friends and eat. And no more stunts like that, do you hear me? I don’t want to see you back here today. I swear, you’re too much like Toshinori for your own good.”

Izuku smiled on his way to the door. “I’ll be sure to keep that in mind.”

“I don’t want you turning out like him, Midoriya-kun!” she called after him. “Or Aizawa-kun! Or heaven forbid, both of them!”

Izuku laughed. He didn’t think he was that bad just yet. His phone buzzed in his pocket as he rounded the corner.

Maehara: “Yo. Izuku. Are you going to come eat with us?”

Izuku: “sorry. promised some classmates i’d meet up with them”

Izuku: “and i need to find out what iida-san did in those last seconds”

Maehara: “All good. You mean you’ve never seen him do that before?”

Izuku: “don’t think so. he’s fast, but i never thought fast enough to out maneuver bakugou while dragging three other people with him”

Maehara: “Pretty sure most people wouldn’t have been able to see him move with that burst. Looked like it might have had a cool down time though.”

Izuku: “i’ll have to ask him”

Izuku: “see you guys after the festival?”

Maehara: “Yeah, see you then.”

Well. Now all he needed was some food and some information and he was going to be in good shape for the last event of the Festival.

Chapter Text

The cafeteria set aside for the students was already packed when Izuku arrived. Grabbing a tray of food that Lunch Rush had prepared, Izuku spotted his friends waving him over.

“Hey, Mido-bro! I heard you went to see Recovery Girl-sensei. Nothing serious right?”

Izuku shook his head with a smile as he sat down. “No, nothing serious. I just didn’t want any injuries at all going into the final event. And getting it done before lunch means I can eat up and get my energy back too. But enough about me. Iida-san, what was that move you pulled out there? I couldn’t really see it where I was.”

“Ah, that. I used my Recipro Burst technique. It is something everyone in my family can do. I can force my engines into overdrive for a massive ten second speed boost at the cost of stalling them and needing to cool down afterward.”

Izuku nodded. That was a quite the ace to hold up his sleeve. “You must have been saving it for the Festival, right? That’s why you hadn’t told anyone before?”

“Indeed. And it paid off tremendously. Though, I suppose that cat is out of the bag now. And right before the finals as well.”

“It really is unfortunate,” Uraraka-san said. “But it just goes to show how strong Bakugou-kun is to force you to use it early like that. Actually, back to you Mido-kun. You called him Kacchan!? Where did that come from!?”

Izuku blinked at her. “We grew up together. Of course there’s childhood nicknames.”

“But to pull it out now?” asked Hagakure-san. “What possessed you to do that?”

“He doesn’t think when he’s angry,” Izuku shrugged. “Though I don’t suggest you mention it if you value your life.”

Kirishima-san snorted. “And you don’t think that’s gonna bite you in the ass during the finals?”

“If he goes that far he’s biting himself in the ass.”

“At least you guys are going to the finals,” Hagakure-san huffed. “I didn’t even manage to get any points at the end.”

“Don’t be like that,” Izuku said. “The Festival is just a bad match for you. It’s honestly even worse than the entrance exam when it comes to playing fair in some regards.”

“But I managed to pass the entrance exam! And now a student from Gen Ed and one from Support have both out done me!”

Izuku shrugged. “And practically the entirety of B class has been eliminated, too.”

“Speaking of B class. What were you two doing working with them?” Kirishima-san asked.

Izuku shrugged. “Most of our class was either already pairing up, or looking at me like I was lunch. Shiozaki-san and Tetsutetsu-san both had useful quirks. I figured the hard sell would be worth it, given I at least had a chance there.”

“I will say,” Iida-san said slowly, “I expected more of a fight out of you.”

Uraraka-san ducked her head. “I did, too actually. Don’t get me wrong, I’m happy to be advancing, but I kinda agree with Tetsutetsu-kun. We could have done more.”

“I guess I’m sorry for that, then.” Izuku said, looking at Uraraka-san more directly. “I probably could have been more upfront about it, but you should know, the Sports Festival is always going to be really hit or miss for me. The first event played well enough to my physical skills for me to barely get first, but this event. Either I was going to be dead weight to a stronger team, or I was going to be a deciding factor to a lesser one. I was just focused on getting through to the next event. By playing it safe and getting rid of the ten million, I guaranteed passage to the next round. Trying to show off more and play aggressive would have been extremely risky with our group.”

Kirishima-san frowned. “Are you saying your team wasn’t strong enough?”

Izuku raised an eyebrow. “Only if you equated it to direct physical conflict. Everyone has their strengths. I tried to focus on a team with high defense and long reach. Todoroki-san had a team focused on high mobility and wide area of effect. Bakugou made a team that allowed him to best utilize his quirk and banked on himself being strong enough to handle the problems, and the rest of you being fast on your feet to match his pace. Asui-san, Shouji-san, and Mineta-san had a team with extremely high defense and a focus on trapping their targets.”

Iida-san nodded. “You were focusing on winning the war, not the battle. A perfectly valid strategy, especially as there is much more room to show off and gain supporters in the final event than in the first two.”

“Uraraka-kun, Hagakure-kun.” The table turned to Yaoyorozu-san. “It would seem that UA has planned a half-time event and expects the female students to participate. We should start getting ready.”

“A half-time event?” Hagakure-san asked, exaggerating the questioning lilt in her voice.

“What kind of half-time event?” Uraraka-san continued.

“Um. Apparently, Aizawa-sensei forgot to mention a cheer leading routine we should be doing shortly.”

Izuku frowned. “Aizawa-sensei forgot. Where did you hear this from, Yaoyorozu-san?”

“Mineta-kun and Kaminari-kun.”

“And that didn’t strike you as odd? Yaoyorozu-san, I’m pretty sure he would have told you about it weeks ago if there was a cheer leading routine. And if he forgot, he would have sent a staff member or come to find you directly.”

Iida-san shrugged. “It’s not that unusual for staff to have a student relay a message for them. Especially when they’re busy.”

“Sure, but Mineta-san. And when would he have been the most convenient person to tell? Aizawa-sensei probably hasn’t left the commentator’s booth all day.”

“I… I think I understand what you’re saying Midoriya-kun. And you’re probably right. Mineta-kun is hardly a reliable source. But I expected better of Kaminari-kun.”

“It’s easy for people to loose sight of what’s important and get dragged along by base impulses sometimes. If you’d like Yaoyorozu-san, I can handle the boys. You can talk to anyone else they’ve already gotten to.”

“Uh. Yes. I. Thank you, Midoriya-kun. This is why you’re the Class Representative and I’m just the vice.”

“Trusting your classmates is not a weakness, Yaoyorozu-san. And you know I wouldn’t last two seconds without you helping me through the logistical parts of the job. I’m gonna go hunt down the trouble makers. Just. Don’t worry so much about this, okay.”

Izuku stood and started to walk away, scanning the crowd for Kaminari-san’s yellow hair. As he walked away, he heard Yaoyorozu-san say to herself, “But I should have known better.”

Oh well. Izuku had done what he could, and he was certain Yaoyorozu-san would feel worse if she had actually gone through the effort of getting all the girls together and only learned it was a trick when they got on the field. Anything more Yaoyorozu-san was going to have to confront herself.

For now, he would busy himself with Kaminari-san and Mineta-san, who were laughing and looking far too proud of themselves for Izuku’s tastes.

Izuku put his hands on their shoulders. “Hi, boys. I heard you had a massage from Aizawa-sensei for the girls,” he said with a wide, predatory grin.

Both the boys in front of him paled rapidly. “Uh, yeah,” Kaminari-san said, laughing weakly. “He forgot to mention it earlier. Not a big deal, but he’s busy and all so he asked us to let Yaoyorozu-san know.”

Mineta-san nodded rapidly along to Kaminari-san’s words, as thought moving his head faster would make them more believable.

“And if I were to bring you up to Aizawa-sensei right now and check with him about this supposed ‘last minute’ change that he forgot about?”

“Th-that really won’t be necessary, Midoriya-kun,” Mineta-san said, waiving his hands in the air. “Aizawa-sensei is probably napping right now, and you know how he hates to be interrupted. Do you really want to wake him up for something as silly as this?”

“Yes.” Izuku’s hands moved to the back of their collars and he pulled them up, lifting Mineta-san clean off the ground. “Let’s go. I’m sure he’ll be delighted to hear about this silly little misunderstanding.”

“Wait, Midoriya-kun, please! Have mercy!” Kaminari-san begged, his feet stumbling across the ground as Izuku walked them out of the cafeteria and down the halls. “It was just a stupid little joke! No biggy, right!”

“Yeah, Midoriya-kun, surely you want to see them in those cute outfits too, right?”

“ They’re people, Mineta-san. Not dress-up dolls for you to play with as you please,” Izuku said with a glare down to the wriggling child in his grip. “How are you supposed to respect them as your coworkers if you can’t even respect them as classmates .”

Mineta-san whimpered.

“That’s what I thought. And Kaminari-san.”

“Y-yes, Midoriya-kun?”

“Yaoyorozu-san and I thought you were better than this. Be better. ”

“ Yes, sir.”

“I promise, Midoriya-kun, we’ve learned our lesson,” Mineta-san pleaded. “Is it really necessary to bring Aizawa-sensei into such a petty little matter? Really. I think you’ve got this well in hand.”

“ You’re not getting out of this.”

Mineta-san went limp in Izuku’s hand. “ Did you have to make a spectacle of it?”

“You were going to make a spectacle of your classmates. At least this spectacle isn’t being broadcast to the nation.”

Both boys went quiet after that. Izuku eased up on Kaminari-san’s collar and let the boy walk normally, but he still held Mineta-san dangling from his hand. No one said a word until they got up to the commentator’s booth.

“Please,” Kaminari-san tried one last time, looking up at Izuku with big pleading eyes.

Izuku ignored him and kicked the bottom of the door twice. The muffled conversation on the other side stopped, and there was some brief shuffling before the door opened to Present Mic-sensei in full uniform sans sunglasses.

He raised an eyebrow at the three students in front of him and Izuku’s completely dead gaze and turned around. “Pretty sure this one’s for you Shou.”

A long weary sigh came from Aizawa-sensei just out of sight. “What is it this time,” he grumbled walking up to the door. His eyes drifted over the group. “Do I want to know?”

Izuku dropped his hold on the other two. “Maybe not want to, but you definitely need to given they used your name.”

Mineta-san dipped into a deep bow. “I’m very sorry, Sensei. I swear, it won’t happen again.”

Kaminari-san quickly scrambled to follow.

“Quit groveling, it’s not going to get you out of anything.” Aizawa-sensei turned his attention to Izuku. “What exactly did they use my name for?”

“Convincing the girls that they need to do a cheer leading routine in skimpy uniforms during the half-time break.”

“Under my name.”

“They claimed you forgot to mention it earlier.”

Aizawa-sensei closed his eyes and visibly counted to ten before opening them to glare at the still bowed pair of hormonal teenagers in front of him. “Really? That’s what you decided to do? You didn’t stop to think about how this would play out at all did you. So focused on getting some masturbation material that you didn’t stop to think about what it would mean for anyone else? I’ve seen some stupid things in my time, but I’ve never had a student stupid enough to think using my name in such a juvenile stunt wouldn’t get back to me.

“Count yourselves lucky I still think you have some potential. You’ve both shown a capacity to learn, but you are scraping the bottom of the barrel. You will be going home immediately and you will be facing an in school suspension, and I expect a formal written apology to myself, Nedzu-san, and your female classmates. I will be meeting with Nedzu-san as soon as possible to finalize the details.”

Kaminari-san paled under the glare. “But, Sensei-”

“Do you really think you have the right to finish the festival right now? These are the consequences of your actions. You will stay here and I will call Snipe-sensei to come escort you off the premises. You will go home and you will think about it.”

Neither boy spoke for a long moment. “Yes, Sensei,” they both said finally.

Aizawa-sensei seemed to let the last of his anger drain for the moment as he turned back to Izuku. “Thank you for bringing this to me. You did a good job, Class Rep. You can go now.” He opened the door further. “Get inside, sit down, and do not speak,” he told the other two.

Izuku nodded and gave a brief bow to his teacher and left to return to the light and festivities of the stadium below.

“Alright, alright, alright! Before we get to the final event, we’ve got some good news for everyone out of the running!” Present Mic-sensei’s voice boomed from the speakers as the UA first years streamed back onto the field. “This is still a festival so we’ve got some recreational activities for everyone to have some fun! But before that, we’ve got some business to attend to. Between the sixteen members of the winning teams, we’ll have a formal one-on-one bracket style tournament!”

“ And to decide who goes where, you all will be drawing lots!” Midnight-sensei joined in, holding up a box. “Once we have our bracket nice and filled up, we can get on to the festivities.”

“And before that, we do have one unfortunate announcement. Due to unforeseen circumstances, Kaminari-kun will not be able to participate in this event, so we need someone to fill his place!”

“ Um, excuse me.”

Izuku looked over, frowning. He’d been largely tuning out the standard spiel. The third event was pretty much always one-on-one. And for the first years, usually just a straight fight. Only the upper years got to have fun.

But here was Ojirou-san changing the script.

“I’d like to drop out.”

Really changing the script. Why in the world would someone choose not to compete? Well, other than underground students. But even that didn’t account for much. They still needed to get scouted. And most of them would be transferring in from Gen Ed, so they really didn’t have a choice.

“ I don’t remember anything from the Cavalry Battle,” Ojirou-san continued, ignoring everyone else. “Not until the very end. I… I think I was under the effect of a quirk. I don’t feel like I even did anything. How can I say I earned this spot if I didn’t actually fight for it, just got handed it by someone else?”

Under a quirk? Probably Shinsou-san. His was the only one unaccounted for. And something like that, either mind control or a temporary stasis, would explain why Kendo-san stopped when Shinsou-san approached them.

But what were the limits? And the activation requirements?

“Oh, come on,” Ashido-san said, “by that logic a whole bunch of us shouldn’t be here.”

“Please, you at least did something. You at least made the choice to be on that team, to trust those people. I don’t even have that. How can I hold my head high and say I earned this spot?”

“ I- I don’t remember anything either!” Shouda-san spoke up. “This is a contest of skill, even picking your teams is a skill. I didn’t do anything, so I don’t think I should continue.”

“Well, I guess this is up to Midnight.”

“ Hmm. So young and naive. I accept! Shouda-kun and Ojirou-kun have officially withdrawn.”

“Well, that works out then. The fifth place team has three people to fill our three spots perfectly! Team Hatsume, you’re in!”

“ Alright then, let’s get this show on the road and get those lots drawn! Team Todoroki, you’re up first!”

Lots were draw n and Izuku got the joy of waiting until nearly the last minute to find out who his first match was going to be against. And, of course, he got the first seed.

And his opponent was Shinsou-san.

Probably one of the better case scenarios for Izuku, but, given Shinsou-san had managed to make it this far, Izuku had hoped he’d get a chance to actually show off before he got his ass handed to him.

Depending on how his quirk worked, and on whether or not Izuku even knew that going in, Izuku might have to take him down hard and fast.

“ Midoriya Izuku. That’s you right? The guy that got first in the obstacle course?”

Izuku smiled, turning to face Shinsou-san as he tried his best to sound intimidating.

Before he could get a word out, Ojirou-san’s tail wrapped around Izuku’s face, blocking his mouth. “Not a word, Midoriya-kun. Not if you want to win.”

Shinsou-san huffed and walked away, an amused grin gracing his face.

Izuku cocked his head to the side and raised an eyebrow at Ojirou-san.

Ojirou-san unwrapped his tail and jerked his head to the exit. “Let’s go somewhere private. I’ll tell you what I know.”

Izuku shrugged, but followed as Ojirou-san lead him back through the halls to their waiting room.

“His quirk,” Ojirou-san started as he closed the door behind them.

“Mind control, right? With some form of verbal activation. Likely requiring a response from the target.”

Ojirou-san stopped and gaped. “How in the world did you know that already? Did you also know a physical jolt?”

“ That I didn’t know, thanks for that.” Izuku shrugged again. “I kept an eye on him as best I could during the second event. He used it on Kendo-san. Then you mentioned memory loss and prevented me from talking to him. It wasn’t that hard a leap to make.”

“Really?”

“And then there’s the fact that he supposedly took and failed the heroics entrance exam, which points to a largely non-physical quirk. Something mental or that has precise requirements that can’t be fulfilled by a robot.”

“ I’m glad I put money on you having an intelligence quirk.”

“ I’m sorry, you bet on me having an intelligence quirk?” Better to focus on the betting than the implication that he had to have a quirk.

“Um. Yeah. Sorry. Iida-kun and Yaoyorozu-chan didn’t like it and tried to get us to stop. Obviously that didn’t really work. We did rule that anyone with concrete information wasn’t allowed to participate. Which meant no asking Bakugou-kun.”

“What’s everyone saying?”

“Well. It’s a pretty even split between an intelligence quirk and some kind of prediction quirk. Uraraka-chan and Hagakure-chan suggested that one.”

This. Was definitely going into the 3-E chat.

“ Well, now I just want to see how long this lasts.”

“Come on, man. I was going to tell you about Shinsou-kun and everything!”

“Nope. You get to suffer in uncertainty.” Izuku stood and left the room. He didn’t have anything else to talk to Ojirou-san about and he was just going to keep begging for an answer.

And with perfect timing, Izuku’s phone buzzed.

Sugino: I don’t see you on the field. Come say hi while you actually have time

Ritsu: I suggest you actually go see them before they do something drastic

Karasuma: Please don’t do anything drastic

Karasuma: I can’t help you if you get caught

Sugino: If Izuku gets his but over here no one needs to do anything.

Izuku: i’m on my way if you’ll just wait for a few minutes.

Izuku: And where even are you guys. i don’t have time for hide and seek if you actually want to see me

Ritsu, kind and gentle soul that she was, gave Izuku a map of the stadium with his classmates marked. And a route to them. Izuku gave a quick thumbs up and closed his phone.

They weren’t far, hanging out just outside the stadium among the many stands of food and merchandise.

Tomohito threw an arm around Izuku’s neck, pulling him into a headlock and grinding his knuckles against Izuku’s scalp. “Final round for our UA student! Like there was ever any doubt!”

Izuku wriggled, pulling away from the hold and laughing. “Yeah, yeah. Third round was always a given. This round is gonna be the really hard one.”

Kanzaki looked confused. “From what I’ve seen all of the contestants seem manageable?”

Izuku shrugged. “In a real fight, yeah. But this is a shit set up for me. No gear, nowhere to hide, no way to surprise them. I have to get in close and handle them myself and I have to be careful about not using too much force or I’ll be disqualified.”

“ And there’s the fact that he’s a shounen protagonist to consider,” Fuwa added on. “The way I see it, there are three ways this festival ends for Izuku. It is possible, likely even, that the festival will be interrupted by some grand calamity, given the known presence of the League of Villains. Ignoring that, if there’s going to be more, which there should be, then Izuku will get some surprising wins, getting further than the audience in the stands could expect.”

“Done that already.”

“If there aren’t going to be more festivals, then Izuku can win, but there’s likely to be a cost. Him winning, regardless of the circumstances, is significantly less likely than an interruption or loss in the latter stages, given the current trends of subversion in the shounen genre.”

“Also, I’m not a shounen protagonist.” If anyone was the protagonist of this “show” it would be Kirishima-san. All Might’s successor.

“ How do you know? Make your case.”

“I’m quirkless, Fuwa. Don’t shounen protagonists always have some mythically strong ability? Shouldn’t I have some quirk of legend or something if I were the protagonist?”

Fuwa shrugged. “Traditionally, yes. But again, with the current experiments with subversion, it is also common to have seemingly powerless protagonists that work hard for what they get. Though the reason for their powerlessness is also generally plot relevant. Maybe you had your quirk stolen before it manifested?”

That sure was a theory.

Okuda laughed. “Okay, I think that’s enough Fuwa. It isn’t possible to ‘steal’ someone’s quirk. It’s coded into their DNA.”

“ There’s nothing magical about my quirklessness. It’s just what I am.” Maybe he should change the subject. “Weren’t Karma and Nagisa supposed to be here?”

Tomohito shrugged. “Yeah, they were here a bit ago, they said something about going to find snacks. They haven’t come back yet.”

Izuku leveled a look at him. “I guess we hope that where ever they went they don’t get caught.”

“Hey, there’s a chance.”

“Nagisa does not count as supervision for Karma and you know it.”

“I don’t know Izuku,” Kanzaki said, “Nagisa can definitely get Karma to behave sometimes.”

Tomohito sighed. “We’ll look for them. But you should get going. Your first match should be starting soon.”

Izuku sighed. “Yeah. I honestly feel kinda bad for Shinsou-san. If he’d had better luck he’d actually have a chance to show off.”

“ What’s up with him?” Maehara asked.

“Villainous quirk,” Izuku answered. “Mind control. And between him being a stick and me knowing the activation requirements for his quirk, he doesn’t really stand a chance. He wants to transfer to the Hero Course, so he needs to do well here. ”

All the End Class Assassins present winced. They knew how that went. “And a chip on his shoulder to go with it, I bet,” Maehara muttered. “But he needs to figure out his second blade. Sounds to me like he’s coasted through so far without a challenge just relying on his quirk. He needs to know how to handle people prepared for him if he wants to actually be a hero.”

Izuku nodded. “I know, I just hate that I have to be the one to knock some sense into him. And so early into the last event, too.”

Fuwa nodded. “He’ll definitely be a recurring character, with all that backstory he’s got. Worry about helping him next time.”

Kanzaki gave Izuku a small nudge. “And you really should leave now. It starts soon.”

“Right, right.” Izuku turned and waved over his shoulder. “I’ll see you guys at the a t the classroom tomorrow right?”

They all waved him off and agreed as Izuku started to run back to the stadium. He really didn’t have a lot of time to get to the field for his fight against Shinsou-san.

Hopefully Shinsou-san didn’t take his loss too hard.

Yagi-san was waiting for him at the arena entrance.

“Where were you?” he hissed. “You’re about to go on!”

“I know! I was chatting with some middle school friends.”

His phone buzzed again.

Glancing down, Izuku saw the message. It was from Karma. It was a picture. A selfie. Of Karma and Nagisa. And in the background was the open door to the commentator’s booth with both Aizawa-sensei and Present Mic-sensei in frame, oblivious, backs to the doorway.

“ Alright, everybody! Let’s get this show on the road with our first match up of the final event!”

Izuku cursed under his breath and locked his phone before shoving it into Yagi-san’s hands. “Hold this for me!”

Yagi-san took the phone and ruffled Izuku’s hair. “Good luck, shounen,. I’ll be rooting for you!”

Yeah. Might not need luck to beat Shinsou-san, but now he had a time limit.

He was going to kill those two once he found them.

Chapter Text

“We’ve got the first place finisher of the first round, not looking the least bit worried, Midoriya Izuku from the Hero Course!”

Izuku had to wonder if the fire pits flaring to life as he and Shinsou-san walked onto the stage were really necessary. Looking over his opponent, Shinsou-san looked bored, almost lethargic, really.

Like he wasn’t paying attention.

He probably thought he still had the advantage.

“And unfortunately this guy hasn’t stood out much yet, but getting this far is a feat on its own, Shinsou Hitoshi from General Studies!”

Izuku suppressed a wince. That was not going to help this guy feel respected.

Both boys stopped at their marks.

“The rules are simple! You win by knocking your opponent out of the ring, immobilizing them, or getting them to say they give up! If you go for the kill, that’s a big no-no. We train heroes here folks, not villains. Other than that, no holds bar r ed. Fight as dirty as you like, Recovery Girl will be standing by, ready to treat whoever needs it!”

“ G ive up, huh? Do you get it, Midoriya Izuku?” Shinsou-san spoke. “This battle’s going to test your strength of will.”

Was it now? That implied Shinsou-san thought this was going to be a long fight. And, of course he was fishing for a response early. Present Mic-sensei had said to play dirty.

Izuku smirked at him and raised an eyebrow.

“ If you’ve got any sort of vision for your future, there’s no sense in worrying how you get there.”

Now there is something smart. Izuku’s face lit up in a grin. This guy might not have thought things through enough, but at least he wasn’t worrying about doing things the “right” way while dealing with a shit hand.

“Unlike that monkey babbling about his stupid pride .”

Izuku knew what Shinsou-san was doing, but the slurs were uncalled for.

Midnight-sensei cracked her whip. “Let the match begin!”

“What kind of dumbass throws away a chance like this?”

Shinsou-san really was unlucky that Izuku needed to get back and find Karma and Nagisa before they got caught. Otherwise Izuku might have given him a better chance to show off. Given him a few more opportunities to try and bait him, or to switch tactics.

As it was, Izuku was already moving.

Izuku swung his fist wide, letting Shinsou-san block it with his arm. A mediocre block that barely deflected Izuku’s fist and left Shinsou-san wide open for Izuku to punch up into Shinsou-san’s stomach.

Izuku’s other hand slammed down, grabbing Shinsou-san’s arm and pulling, dragging him around as he struggled to pull air into his lungs.

He twisted, pulling, Shinsou-san’s arm to the back. Izuku kicked out, knocking his knee from under him and pushed forward.

Shinsou-san toppled, crashing to the ground.

Izuku kept one leg over the taller boy’s knees, his other foot trapped Shinsou-san’s free arm, his hand held Shinsou-san’s other arm twisted into his back and his free hand grasped his hair, pushing his face into the cement.

“ Fuck you!” Shinsou-san finally sputtered, trying to buck Izuku off. “You think your so much better than me! That you don’t even need to use your quirk to take down someone like me! Come on! Fight me!”

Izuku looked to Midnight-sensei. Shinsou-san hadn’t moved Izuku an inch even with all his wriggling.

Midnight-sensei barely restrained her self from sighing. “Shinsou-kun, can you move?”

Shinsou-san struggled for another moment. Tried to push himself up with the arm not cranked behind his back. Then went limp. “No,” he said.

“Shinsou-kun is unable to move. Midoriya-kun is the winner!”

Izuku released Shinsou-san. “Hey, Shinsou-san?”

The boy glared at him. “What?” he snapped.

“You don’t know anything about me.”

For a moment it felt like everything stopped. Izuku didn’t see or hear anything. He was just floating in dark silence, barely aware of his body. Then everything snapped back into focus again.

“Did you really just let me do that?”

“Why not? Your quirk’s great, and it’s not like you’re going to do anything to me. The fight’s over.”

Again, everything disappeared. It was an interesting feeling. Izuku couldn’t bring himself to be concerned about it.

“Are you boys done yet?” Midnight-sensei asked as Shinsou-san released Izuku from his quirk once more. “We’ve got to get this show on the road.”

Izuku gave her a million watt smile. “Yeah, we’ll get out of your way. Shinsou-san, you should work on building up some muscles!” Izuku turned and walked out of the arena with as much poise, grace, and calm as he could. With the fight over, the fact that Karma and Nagisa were wandering the private areas of the stadium unsupervised was once again Izuku’s top priority.

Yagi-san handed Izuku his phone once he was out of sight. “That was fast,” he said. “I thought for sure he was going to give you more trouble than that.”

“Why?” Izuku asked incredulously. “He’s got, like, no muscles on him. And he clearly hasn’t done any martial training either. The only thing he had going for him was his quirk. And that only held as long as I didn’t know.”

“Well. Yes-”

“And figuring out quirks is kind of a specialty of mine.” Izuku unlocked his phone, glancing at it and skimming through the messages. Looked like no one had found Karma and Nagisa yet. “Anyway. I’ve got to go. I’ll see you around Yagi-san.”

As soon as Izuku was out of sight he started running. Where would Karma and Nagisa go next? Unfortunately, Ritsu wasn’t helping.

Izuku tuned out Present Mic-sensei’s announcements as Iida-san and Tetsutetsu-san were called to the field. It probably wouldn’t be an easy fight for either of them, but Tetsutetsu-san’s quirk was one the Iida-san’s family likely had considered and trained for well in advance given how common enhanced durability and heavy mutations were. While Izuku normally would have been interested in watching, finding Karma and Nagisa was more important.

If he just had a place to start, he could get this over with quickly and focus on planning out his upcoming fights. Last they were seen was near the top of the stadium at the commentators’ booth. It was risky for everyone to be in the upper levels because they were filled with teachers that would likely recognize them as intruders, so it would be both a good place to hide away from the rest of 3-E and incredibly dangerous. On the other hand, given the rest of the class was likely to converge on those upper levels, the risk may not be worth the reward. They were less likely to get caught if they descended either into the stands with the other students or down further to the ground floor.

And of the two, there were more things for them to mess with down here near the arena. And easy exits if they decided they were done playing with the security. So, more likely to be down here with Izuku. Only problem was that the bottom floor was huge. And there was a chance that they had gone even deeper into the basement and the inner workings of the stadium.

The main benefit Izuku had was that he didn’t have to sneak around like the rest of the class. He could just walk out in the open and search rooms at his leisure.

And just hope he ran into them at some point.

He moved quick and smooth, checking each room and hall he passed, keeping his senses open as he went. He wasn’t likely to see them, but they would leave a trace. Not one that would be noticed by a stranger, but a trace nonetheless.

“ After a real knock down drag out fight, Iida-kun has finally managed to force Tetsutetsu-kun out of the ring and is moving on to the next round!”

Just like Izuku thought, he would be fighting Iida-san next.

As the thoughts passed through Izuku’s head, heat filled the hall. His steps slowed to a stop. A voice spoke from around the corner.

“You disgrace me, Shouto,” Endeavor-san said, his voice easily recognizable to Izuku. “You could’ve crushed both the obstacle course and the cavalry battle if you’d used your left side.”

His left side… Izuku had only ever seen him use his left to melt his own ice. He’d assumed it had been a simple split where one side made ice and the other got rid of it.

“Grow up,” Endeavor-san continued. “Stop rebelling like some petulant child. Remember your duty is to surpass All Might. Understand?”

What the actual fuck was Izuku listening to. He moved and pressed himself to the wall. Hopefully if either Todoroki walked this way, they wouldn’t notice him.

“You’re different than your siblings. You’re better than them.”

“Well, I was expecting drama down here, but not this.”

Izuku’s heart plummeted. Of course Karma was here. Of course he had to interrupt and show himself to the Number Two Hero.

“Who are you?” Todoroki-san asked

“You’re not supposed to be back here,” Endeavor-san said at the same time.

“Are you sure about that?” Karma asked. “Pretty sure you’re not supposed to be back here either, Endeavor-san.” Karma, please for the love of Korosensei, shut up. “But if you would rather throw your weight around after having this very interesting family spat in the middle of a hallway where anyone could hear you, be my guest.” He wasn’t going to back down.

Izuku pushed forward a big easy smile on his face and strode calmly into the fray. “Karma!” he called, false cheer filling his voice. “There you are! We’ve been looking all over for you. You can’t go disappearing like that.” He blinked in the Todorokis’ direction, faking confusion and surprise. “Endeavor-san? What are you doing back here?”

The hero grunted. “I am speaking with my son on a private matter.”

“Oh,” Izuku let his smile drop slightly, like he was disappointed. “Well, I’m sorry, sir, but only students and staff are allowed back here. Not even All Might himself would be allowed if he weren’t our teacher.”

Todoroki-san glared at his father. “Just leave. I need to get ready for my match.”

Endeavor-san glared back, his flames flaring for a moment. “Fine, but we’re continuing this conversation later.” He turned on his heel, stomping in the direction of an exit.

“So, what was that about not using your left side?” Nagisa said as he melted out of the shadows of the hall behind Karma. Okuda stepped forward out of another hallway.

Todoroki-san startled slightly when they appeared. “I refuse to use his flames. I will succeed with only my mother’s quirk.”

He was what!?

“So, what? You’re just gonna half ass it until you get yourself and a bunch of civilians killed?” Karma snapped at him.

Todoroki-san glared at Karma. “Mind your own business.”

“Maybe I will when I’m not one of the potential civilians you’re going to let down in a few years.”

“He’s right, Todoroki-san,” Izuku interrupted. “What are you going to do when your ice isn’t enough?”

“It will be.”

“No, it won’t.”

“It’ll be enough to beat you.”

Izuku shook his head. “Depends on the circumstances. Are you really willing to bet your life on it?”

“Even your enhanced reflexes wouldn’t help you.”

Izuku blinked, honestly confused this time. “My enhanced reflexes? What are you- Oh! That’s your bet isn’t it.”

“His bet?” Nagisa asked, a slight teasing lilt entering his voice.

“It is,” Todoroki-san nodded. “Though I don’t understand why you hide it.”

Izuku hummed. “There’s a betting pool about what my quirk is,” Izuku explained to his former classmates. “Current leading theories are apparently some form of intelligence of prediction quirk. Or, apparently, ‘enhanced reflexes.’”

“ Todoroki Shouto, please report to the arena. Your match is about to begin.”

Todoroki-san scowled. “I need to go.”

Karma rolled his eyes. “Yeah, yeah, whatever. Try not to let your hubris get you killed.”

Izuku let his face twist into a scowl as he watched Todoroki-san’s back. “Fucking asshole,” he muttered. “All the work I’ve put in and he is literally only using half of his potential. I wish I’d kicked his ass during the cavalry battle, too.”

Okuda put a hand on Izuku’s shoulder. “You can always beat him when you face him in a few rounds.”

Izuku raised an eyebrow. “You seem so sure I’ll be fighting him.”

Okuda shrugged. “You definitely have a plan for Iida-san, and while I don’t know if Todoroki-san will be facing the Support Course student or the girl with the frog quirk-” the temperature in the hall plummeted and crashing and cracking filled the air “-I’m pretty sure he can easily out last either of them.”

“ Yaoyorozu-san has been immobilized! Todoroki-kun is moving on to the next round!”

Yeah. That was a predetermined fight if there ever was one. Izuku kinda felt bad for Yaoyorozu-san. She had gotten one of the worst starting seeds in the bracket, just for being set against Todoroki-san in round one.

“So, a betting pool,” Karma grinned down at him. “Are your classmates really that oblivious?”

“Apparently,” Izuku deadpanned. “Now, let’s get you guys out of here before someone else finds us. Please.”

“Fine, you really are turning into Isogai,” Karma grumbled.

“Excuse me for not wanting to explain this to my teachers who already have too many questions about me. Harass heroes on your own time.”

“So I can mess with Endeavor later?”

“Just don’t get caught. He’s already seen your face and knows your given name.”

Karma pumped his fist. “Don’t worry, it’ll be some real karmic retribution.”

Okuda frowned at him. “Wouldn’t you need to know what he’s doing to do that properly?”

“He just said that for the pun,” Nagisa explained. “As far as he’s concerned, anything he does is ‘karmic.’”
Okuda nodded. “That makes sense.”

“So, any plans?” Nagisa asked Izuku.

Izuku shrugged. “I’ve got plans for Iida-san. I’ll have to see if I get past Todoroki-san before I start planning for the finals round. And see who’s winning on the other side of the bracket.”

“So you like your odds better now,” Okuda said. “You sounded like you weren’t expecting to get very far earlier.”

“Oh, I still don’t expect to beat Todoroki-san. I’m going to plan like I would just in case, and I’m going to give it my all and beat the shit out of him regardless, but I still expect to lose.”

“Well, that’s at least making it to the podium,” Karma grinned, stretching as he stepped into the sun beyond the stadium walls. “More than far enough to shake some things up.”

Nagisa paused beside Izuku. Izuku waited, raising an eyebrow as Nagisa thought through what he wanted to say.

“The betting pool,” he finally said, letting the words hang in the air for a moment. “They don’t know do they?”

Izuku sighed. “No, they don’t. I haven’t told any of them.”

Karma glanced back, frowning. “None of them?”

“There’s a few I wanted to,” Izuku shrugged, “but I kept forgetting or there were other people around. So, I just. Haven’t.”

“Do you think it’ll change anything?” Okuda asked. “With them?”

“Probably,” Izuku answered. “I mean. They can’t even comprehend that quirkless might be an option. They think there has to be something. I mean. Would they still respect me? I’m supposed to be their class rep.”

“We do,” Nagisa said, gently taking Izuku’s hand.

Izuku shook his head. “You know me. And I’m not our leader. That’s you and Karma and Isogai and Kataoka. Depending on what kind of leadership we need. They picked me to lead them. I’m quirkless. How can I lead them if they don’t respect me for who I am? If they think I’m useless or need to be protected?”

“Then just show them that you’re not,” Karma said. “You’ve already gotten this far. You’ve got two legacy kids up next. Kick their asses. Show them that their golden spoon and perfect quirks mean nothing compared to a good brain between the ears and hard work. If they’re still asses, well. Be you. Be Midoriya Izuku, assassin, graduate of the Assassination Classroom. They can’t do anything to you.”

Izuku nodded slowly, taking a deep breath and letting it out again. “Right. Yeah. I’ll be fine.” He looked up again, sharpening his gaze slightly. “You guys should get back to the rest of the class. On your side of the stands.”

Okuda smiled. “Don’t worry, Izuku. I’ll make sure they don’t wander off again.”

Izuku laughed softly and smiled as they left. He could honestly only hope that the rest of the festival kept Karma engaged enough to avoid any other issues.

Izuku: if karma does anything to endeavor. I don’t know anything

Karasuma: That does not inspire confidence.

Chapter Text

When Izuku made it back up to 1-A’s seats, the on site staff had just finished setting up for the next round. Hatsume-san against Asui-san.

“Where did you disappear off to, Mido-kun?” Uraraka-san asked. “You missed Iida-san’s match.”

Izuku put on his class rep smile. “I had faith in you Iida-san,” he said, nodding to his classmate. “And I had a few personal things to take care of.”

Bakugou snorted a few rows down. “Your old friends from Aldera cause any problems?”

Izuku rolled his eyes. “They do anything you can see from here?”

“Unless there’s another Izuku here today,” Ashido-san laughed pointing across the stadium and a bit lower in the stands.

Leaning over the front row of their section were Izuku’s classmates, holding a banner that said “3E All The Way! Go Izuku Go!”

“I don’t know why I expected anything less.”

“I think it’s sweet,” Hagakure-san cooed. “You must be pretty close for your friends from middle school to come out to cheer you on.”

Izuku’s smile softened into something a little more real. “We are. And that might be cute,” Izuku said pointing at the banner, “but they are not. Seriously, they’re menaces.”

“Now that the field has been cleared, lets get back to business!” Present Mic-sensei’s voice filled the arena once again. “This time we’ve got another wildcard on the field. It’s Hatsume Mei from the Support Course! She’s facing off against her teammate from the last round Asui Tsuyu!”

“Anyone want to place bets?” Sero-san asked.

“Betting is highly inappropriate!” Iida-san jumped to his feet.

“Um…”

“Come on, Iida-kun, it won’t be that bad.”

“A little fun betting never hurt anyone,” Ashido-san said, throwing her arm around Iida-san’s shoulders.

“Would you want Tsuyu-chan to find out you bet against her?” Yaoyorozu-san spoke up.

“I wouldn’t be betting against her,” Ashido-san pouted. “And besides how would she find out?”

“So I can put you down as for Tsuyu-chan?” Sero-san grinned.

Aoyama-san hummed “I think I will also bet in favor of Tsuyu-chan,” he said.

“ Begin!”

Izuku sighed. “Do you really think you can keep the class’s betting from the subjects?” he asked. “If you bet now, you’ll bet later. And it would be more fair to everyone if you placed bets before the match started anyway.”

Asui-san whipped out her tongue from where she was standing on the far side of the field. A clean and clear attack, probably aiming to restrain Hatsume-san before she could get out any of her gear.

A set of metal rods extended from Hatsume-san’s hips, pushing her up and to one side, Asui-san’s tongue flying past, missing completely.

“Welcome, everyone!” Hatsume-san’s voice echoed through the speakers. “And I thank you in advance for your time today!”

“Does she have a microphone?” Kirishima-san asked.

“ As you can already see, from this fantastic demonstration, my hydraulic attachment bars add an extra dimension of maneuverability to dodge all kinds of attacks!”

“Looks like it,” Satou-san agreed. “What is she doing?”

“A sales pitch,” Tokoyami-san hissed.

“What… ”

“A born sales woman,” Aizawa-sensei grumbled.

Hatsume-san landed back on the ground, and a small puff of dust kicked up from her clunky boots before she leaned forward and moved sliding across the ground like a skater, though there were no wheels in sight. “And my hover boots let you glide over the terrain, negating friction and saving energy all while actually gaining speed!”

She was moving incredibly fast by the time she reached Asui-san, but not fast enough to stop Asui-san from jumping away. Hatsume-san turned quickly, throwing out an arm to steady herself and aim a grapple gun into the air.

Jirou-san winced as Hatsume-san started describing the next gadget. “This is… uncomfortable to watch,” she said.

Izuku felt his phone buzz in his pocket.

Kanzaki: I don’t know what else I should have expected from a support course student.

He put his phone back. Not too much point responding to the group hat right now.

“Was Hatsume-san like this during the Cavalry Battle,” Izuku asked, glancing towards Tokoyami-san.

“To an extant,” Tokoyami-san nodded. “While she did not have the stage or attention to go quite this far, she was more concerned with ‘showing off her babies’ than anything else. Though I could not begrudge her for that. It is just as important for Support Course students to show off their work as it is for us to show our skills. But this… this sullies the contest.”

“At least it is unlikely the rest of us will need to face her,” Aoyama-san said. “I doubt she will see a need to continue after this.”

The fight continued for ten uncomfortable minutes. Halfway through, Ashido-san and Tokoyami-san both decided their time was better spent preparing for their own match than watching the “fight.” Izuku only saw two good things coming out of this match for him. One: he knew who he wanted to work with for support gear, if at all possible. Two: Asui-san didn’t seem all that upset about the situation, so it was likely the pair had come to an agreement before hand. Which did technically lead to a third: there was no possible way Izuku would be facing Hatsume-san in future rounds.

Finally, Hatsume-san stepped out of bounds, satisfied that she had made a lasting impression on the support company representatives in the stands.

“Uh… ”

“Asui-kun wins,” Aizawa-sensei took over for a moment while Present Mic-sensei processed what had happened. “Now that that’s over, let’s get back on schedule.”

“Right!” Present Mic-sensei snapped back. “Well done, Asui-kun! Hopefully you get a better chance to show off in the next round!”

Izuku winced. Asui-san’s next match was against Todoroki-san. A bad match up for someone whose quirk made them temperature sensitive. Especially with Todoroki-san favoring ice.

“ Alright, let’s get back to something most of us can understand a bit better. We have Ashido Mina, from Team Bakugou, against Tokoyami Fumikage, the last member of the lucky Team Hatsume!”

“Any bets for this one?” Sero-san asked as Ashido-san and Tokoyami-san entered the field.

Izuku sighed. “Is everyone comfortable with betting? With being bet on? This should have been set up before hand, with agreed upon weights and balances, and I don’t think any of us know each other well enough to not take it personally.”

“Do you have a problem with the betting?” Hagakure-san asked.

Izuku shrugged. “I personally don’t care, I’m used to being the underdog. But I don’t want to deal with the fallout if someone finds out their friend bet against them.”

The class fell silent. “He’s got a point,” Satou-san muttered into his popcorn.

“ Begin!”

Attention snapped back to the arena. Ashido-san skated forward, sliding across the ground on streaks of acid that left tracks in the cement as Tokoyami-san held his ground, Dark Shadow-san bursting out and surging forward.

Ashido-san flung globs of acid forward, trying to ward off the approaching quirk. They sizzled, but did nothing to discourage Dark Shadow-san. The creature reached out with its large hand like appendages and pushed against Ashido-san, throwing its “weight” against her. The acid now worked against Ashido-san, as she had no grip to hold her ground against Dark Shadow-san as it pushed her back and back and out of the ring.

“ Tokoyami-kun is the the winner!”

“A short and decisive match this time!” Present Mic-sensei cheered. “Though we will have to take a short break to fix up the stage before we move on to the next round. It seems like that’s going to be a common theme this year!”

Asui-san hummed as she sat down next to Kouda-san. “That’s too bad. Dark Shadow-chan must not be affected by Ashido-chan’s acid. The next fight is Kirishima-kun, right?”

Yaoyorozu-san nodded. “Against class B’s Shiozaki-kun.”

“Okay, not betting,” Ojirou-san said, “but do you have any ideas who’s going to win, Midoriya-kun?”

Izuku shook his head. “It really all comes down to if Shiozaki-san’s vines are stronger than Kirishima-san. For most people the thorns would be enough deterrent to stop them from struggling too much, but with Kirishima-san’s Hardening, he won’t be bothered by them. Conversely, his quirk encourages him to take on a slow fighting style, like a tank in a video game, which means it’ll be easy for her to grab him in the first place.”

Satou-san blinked. “Uh… and that means?”

Bakugou sighed. “She’s gonna grab him with her vines, so he’s gonna have to break out of them. And she might not be used to holding onto people who can actually fight back,” Bakugou glanced up at Izuku. “Shitty Hair is gonna win. I thought you were the sunshine and roses and trusting people guy.”

Izuku shrugged. “Being realistic is a life skill some people learn the hard way.” That and Izuku was not about to ruin the reveal. He hadn’t seen Kirishima-san use One for All yet, but it would easily be able to break through any vines.

“The arena is fixed,” Aizawa-sensei drawled over the speakers. “Please don’t break it again. We need to actually get through all these fights today.”

“And that’s why we’ve got Cementoss down there!” Present Mic-sensei said. “Big hand for the guy for making this possible, folks!”

The crowd whooped and cheered politely. Cementoss-sensei waved back at them and gave a mock bow.

“ And really, Eraser, you know things aren’t going to get any better as this goes on.”

“I can hope.”

“ Well, either way, we’ve got another match to get started! We’ve got 1-B’s assassin of thorns. Shiozaki Ibara against 1-A’s rock solid Kirishima Eijirou!”

“Excuse me!” Shiozaki-san turned towards the commentators’ booth. “What do you mean by calling me an assassin? I have not come here to kill anyone, but merely to do my best in this competition.”

“Uh… sorry!”

“I do not believe I have done anything to earn such a scornful title--”

Midnight-sensei cracked her whip, not waiting for Shiozaki-san to finish. “Begin!”

“If I have done something wrong, please, tell me so that I may atone for my mistakes.”

Kirishima-san, on the other hand, clearly didn’t want to attack his opponent while they had their back turned. He shifted uncomfortably from foot to foot, glancing around the arena.

Bakugou slammed his fist on the railing. “Just start the fight already, Shitty Hair!”

Shiozaki-san now turned her attention to 1-A’s seats. “Who just called my hair… that vulgar term!? That discriminatory language is not acceptable at this institution!”

Izuku put his head in his hands. Was this the thing that was going to get Bakugou in trouble? Of all the idiotic things, it wasn’t even something he did.

“Uh, he was actually talking to me,” Kirishima-san said, laughing nervously and pointing at himself. “But, uh, now that I do have your attention, maybe we should, you know, actually fight?”

Shiozaki-san hummed. “As you wish,” she said. “Though your chivalry may have cost you the match.”

Her vines plunged into the cement, and Kirishima-san moved, bolting forward, his skin hardening all across his body. He didn’t move fast enough, though, and Shiozaki-san’s vines exploded underneath him, wrapping around his limbs and holding him in place.

“An amazing first strike for Shiozaki-kun, now that the match has properly started!” Present Mic-sensei said. “But will it hold Kirishima-kun in place?”

Kirishima-san gritted his teeth and pulled. He opened his mouth and released a battle cry as his arms tore through the vines and he lurched forwards, legs breaking free a moment later. He moved with a speed he shouldn’t have. Shiozaki-san only had a moment to be surprised before Kirishima-kun’s fist slammed into her face and she dropped like a sack of flour, her vines falling limp on the ground beside her.

“Kirishima-kun breaks free and knocks out Shiozaki-san in one quick movement! Wow, that kid is fast! Eraser, have you seen him move like that before?”

“I haven’t but it isn’t uncommon for students to keep moves secret from their classmates leading up to the Sports Festival. It’s likely that he’s been downplaying some of his skills in class for moments like this. I hadn’t seen Iida-kun use his Recipro Burst before today either.”

Izuku leaned forward, trying to get a better look. Yagi-san drastically changed between his true form and his hero form when he activated One for All, but Kirishima-san looked largely the same. He wasn’t bigger, or buffer. He was just Kirishima-san. Though… his skin looked a little rougher. Maybe a bit more jagged, and Izuku thought he could see some red from between the cracks, but it was hard to tell from here.

Bakugou huffed. “Told you, shitty nerd.” He stood and started walking away. “You’re next, Sparkles,” he grunted as he walked past Aoyama-san.

Aoyama-san squeaked, and glanced at the rest of the class. “I’m doomed aren’t I?” he asked after Bakugou left.

“Definitely,” Asui-san said.

“Yeah,” Satou-san nodded. “Honestly, just try to make it look good.”

Dark Shadow-san poked his head out of Tokoyami-san and patted Aoyama-san on the shoulder.

“I’m sure you won’t do worse than my showing against Todoroki-kun,” Yaoyorozu-san said with a weak smile.

“I- I should go.” Aoyama-san scurried out of the booth.

Izuku stood and stretched, watching as the medic-bots loaded Shiozaki-san into a stretcher with some help from Cementoss-sensei to free her and her vines from the arena. “I’m going to go chat with Kirishima-san,” he said quietly to his little group of friends. “If any of you want to come with me, that’s fine, but I doubt the next fight will last very long if you want to go prepare, Uraraka-san.”

Uraraka-san nodded and grinned over at Sero-san. “ I hope you’re ready for me to kick your butt, Sero-kun!”

Sero-san grinned back, ignoring Iida-san’s sputtering about sportsmanship. “Is that what’s going to happen? Because I’m pretty sure I’m going to win this match!”

“Relax, Iida-kun,” Hagakure-san said, pulling him away by the hand. “There’s nothing wrong with a little trash talk between friends. It’s how they get pumped up for the fight.”

Iida-san sputtered again and Izuku snorted softly as he followed behind them. “It is still hardly appropriate to talk to an opponent that way!” Iida-san said. “It shows a fundamental lack of respect!”

“In some cases, sure,” said Izuku. “That’s why it’s important to mention the between friends part. Neither of them was taking that too seriously. They were both smiling, it’s fine.”

Izuku’s phone buzzed again.

Terasaka: which one’s Aoyama again?

Izuku: the sparkly French boy with the belt.

Sugino: against blasty? RIP

Kanzaki: what is it the Americans say? Thoughts and prayers?

Ritsu: I believe that part comes after the tragedy.

Kimura: I don’t think we’re gonna need to wait very long.

“Hey! What are you guys doing down here?”

Izuku glanced up at Kirishima-san’s voice, bouncing off the concrete walls of the stadium.

“Midoriya-kun suggested that we come check on you after your match,” Iida-san said, chopping his hands.

“Aww, that’s sweet, Mido-bro,” Kirishima-san grinned. “But I’m fine, see?” He held his arms out to his side so they could get a good look at him.

And he did look fine. His gym uniform was practically shredded, but that was expected. It was going to snag and tear on Shiozaki-san’s vines. But…

“Your skin looks redder than normal,” Hagakure-san said. It looked like she was poking Kirishima-san arm, judging by the odd indent that appeared and disappeared a few times before she backed off.

“Yeah,” Kirishima-san laughed nervously. “Shiozaki-san’s vines must have irritated it or something.”

Izuku gently took one of Kirishima-san’s hands and lifted his arm to look closer. It was true that his skin was red in general, and clearly irritated, but it didn’t quite look even to Izuku. Faint jagged lines that were slightly more red than the rest ran up and down the limb, just barely visible. They didn’t line up right for them to have been caused by the thorns. Really, they looked more like the edges his skin got when he used his quirk.

Izuku dropped the hand and stepped back. “Keep an eye on it,” he proclaimed. If he needed to spell out the truth to Kirishima-san, he could do it later in private. “If it gets worse you should see Recovery Girl-sensei.”

A boom echoed from the arena and the group collectively winced on Aoyama-san’s behalf. “Did he have to go that hard?” Hagakure-san grumbled.

Iida-san made a noise of agreement while Kirishima-san frowned. “What’s wrong with giving it your all?”

“Well, nothing,” Hagakure-san said slowly. “I just don’t think he needed to use that much force against Aoyama-kun.”

“Bakugou does have a problem with excessive force sometimes,” Izuku hummed. “But rarely when it comes to people.”

Iida-san raised an eyebrow in Izuku’s direction. “You think he needed that much to beat Aoyama-kun?”

“To beat him? No. But Aoyama-san won’t be excessively injured. And in a situation like this… how do you think Aoyama-san would feel if he found out that Bakugou didn’t give everything he could? How would you feel if you lost to someone who wasn’t even trying?” Fuck Todoroki-san. If he didn’t learn soon, he was going to get someone killed.

Kirishima-san nodded, his infectious grin growing across his face. “Yeah, man, that’s exactly what I’m talking about! Bakugou-kun doesn’t treat anyone like they’re weak!”

Iida-san was still frowning, but he nodded slowly. “I suppose I can understand that perspective. And that means there will be no hard feelings after I beat you in our match, Midoriya-kun?”

Izuku fought down a laugh, keeping his smile perfectly civil. “What makes you think you’re going to win, Iida-san?”

Iida-san’s arms chopped the air. “A simple intelligence quirk like yours won’t be enough to outpace my engines, Midoriya-kun,” he said. “Surely you know that.”

Izuku shook his head. “The gift of intelligence isn’t in reaction time. And I hope for your sake that Nedzu-sama doesn’t check the cameras back here.” The strength of intelligence was preparation, something it seemed Iida-san was going to learn the hard way. Though speaking of, there were a few things that he was going to have to grab before his fight with Iida-san. “I’ll see you on the field,” he said with a short wave over his shoulder.

“Er, yes, of course!” Iida-san sputtered. “We must both give our best!”

Izuku rolled his eyes and shook his head softly as he rounded the corner out of sight, then winced. Iida-san probably wasn’t going to take his loss well, but it was going to happen one way or another. Hopefully his family was a bit more flexible and understanding than Iida-san acted.

It wasn’t something Izuku could afford to worry about right now. Iida-san had everything he could possibly need to be a hero. He had a great quirk, strong connections, and a leg up in training. He had already been taught basic sparring and techniques by his family, and had plenty of second hand stories to help guide him.

Izuku had his wits and a rule book.

Chapter Text

In the 1-A locker room, Izuku ran through some basic stretches and kept half an eye on the screen in the corner. He hadn’t seen the start of Uraraka-san and Sero-san’s match, but it was fairly even. Sero-san had the advantage of reach, but Uraraka-san’s quirk offered greater maneuverability on flat land. Either one of them getting a hit would be the end of it.

It should have been anyway. As it was they were scrambling to push the other out floating several feet in the air with tape loosely dangling between and around them. And they were vicious. Izuku was fairly certain Uraraka-san had bit Sero-san at some point, though to be fair, it looked like Sero-san had broken her nose. He was pretty sure that Uraraka-san had the advantage in the air like this if she had been using the exercises he had suggested from when Korosensei had trained them to hijack the ISS, but all the tape floating around meant she had to be careful not to get tangled before she could either restrain Sero-san or get him out of the ring.

And then she dropped her quirk. They both tumbled to the ground, Uraraka-san lading and rolling quickly back to her feet and pouncing on Sero-san who was still reeling from the drop. She grabbed, him, activating her quirk again and threw him, sending him sailing smoothly out of the ring.

Izuku couldn’t help the grin as he finished his preparations and headed to the field. “Good job,” he said as Uraraka-san stepped out of the light, a manic smile on her face. “I’d give you a high five, but my hands are a bit full.”

“Fuck yeah!” Uraraka-san cheered, throwing her hands in the air. “Sero-kun didn’t know what hit him!” A short pause and she looked back over at Izuku, her eyes landing on his bulging pockets. “Um… whatcha got there Mido-kun?”

Izuku grinned. “A surprise.”

Uraraka-san frowned. “We’re not allowed extra gear.”

Izuku nodded. “It’s all been approved.” The rules for the Sports Festival were similar to the entrance exam. Either fully licensed support gear, or things they built themselves (though this time they could get their supplies either from a hardware store or from the Support Course workshops.) With the added caveat of it being fully wearable or able to fit in their pockets for anyone that wasn’t in the Support Course. Getting things approved hadn’t been all that difficult.

“Alright then…” she nodded slowly. “Should I be worried for Iida-kun?”

Izuku shrugged. “Only for his pride.”

“Well,” her cheery smile popped back up, “good luck Mido-kun!”

Izuku grinned wider. “Thanks! I won’t need it!”

“Well, that was an intense first round of matches,” Present Mic-sensei said, “I can hardly imagine what we’ll be getting this round!”

“Probably more of the same,” Aizawa-sensei drawled. “Hopefully with fewer delays.”

“ Aw, don’t be like that! You know you’re enjoying this!”

“ Can we keep this moving? Midoriya Izuku against Iida Tenya, both from 1-A.”

“ Fine, Midnight, they’re all yours!”

“Excuse me,” Iida-san interrupted before Midnight-sensei could start the match. “I thought hero students were not permitted any gear outside of our gym uniforms!”

Midnight closed her mouth again and blinked in Izuku’s direction, then turned back in the direction of the commentators’ booth. “Eraser, what is he doing?”

“It’s been approved,” Izuku said.

“If you have a problem with it, take it up with Nedzu-sama,” Aizawa-sensei sighed into his microphone. “You know he handles all that paperwork.”

Iida-san sputtered. “You got gear approved!?”

Izuku shrugged, keeping his hands in his pockets, fingers pinching the “hidden” bags shut. “I read the rules and applied. Take it up with Nedzu-sama.”

“I swear, you kids get weirder every year,” Midnight-sensei muttered. “Well, if it’s all clean, then I see no reason to delay!”

Izuku tensed and prayed. Now it was all or nothing.

Iida-san’s eyes widened, but in a moment he was prepared in a runners stance. Just what Izuku wanted.

Midnight-sensei’s whip cracked and Iida-san was off his line in the space between one heart beat and the next.

Against someone else, Iida-san’s plan probably would have worked. But Izuku was not someone else. He was a student of Korosensei’s assassination classroom. He had spent the last school year training his kinetic vision to let him (nearly) track a target moving faster than the speed of sound. Iida-san had nothing on Izuku’s eyes. All Izuku had to do was react. All Izuku had to do was move and let go.

So he did. He stepped to the left and slightly back, turning as he went, loosening his grip on the bags.

Small metal ball bearings scattered everywhere, spilling from their bags and the holes Izuku had cut in his pockets and down his pant legs. He had a moment to see Iida-san’s eyes widen, but it was too late. He might have speed, but he was best in a straight line. He struggled to turn or stop quickly once he was in gear.

He wouldn’t be able to get the traction once his feet hit Izuku’s trap.

His arms pinwheeled and his feet slipped and slid. The balls kept him moving, sliding from one to the next as he tried in vain to change direction. He fell backwards, but continued to slide. Further, and further, and…

“Iida-kun is out of bounds! Midoriya-kun advances to the next round!”

Silence, then confused cheering. Present Mic-sensei howled with laughter over the speakers and Aizawa-sensei sighed.

There were still ball bearings falling out of Izuku’s pants. He pinched the openings again and carefully pulled the bags out of his pockets and glanced around him. He might have won the match, but at the cost of bobby trapping the entire area around him. He chose his steps carefully, sometimes sliding his foot across the ground and shuffling slightly to push the balls out of the way and make a safe path. Half way across he stopped, “Uh, do you want me to help clean this up…?”

Midnight-sensei snorted and shook her head. “Nah, you’re fine, kid. We’ll just have Cementoss bury them in the cement.”

Izuku nodded and continued his slow trek off the stage. At the edge, finally (mostly) free of his own hubris, Izuku stopped at Iida-san’s side. “Are you okay?” he asked, shifting his bags to one hand so he could offer the other to his classmate.

Iida-san blinked at him. “I am… fine,” he said. He pushed himself up, ignoring Izuku’s offered hand. He looked out at the field of metal spheres and winced. “Defeated by a cartoon’s trick…” he muttered. Izuku knew he wasn’t supposed to hear that and held in his own wince of sympathy.

He didn’t look at Izuku as he walked away. Izuku sighed and followed, letting Iida-san take a little distance and turning down a different hallway. He doubted Iida-san wanted to see him right now.

He probably didn’t want to see anyone right now.

But what did Izuku do next?

Todoroki-san needed a wake up call, but could Izuku give him one? He odds were stacked so high against him… but he still had to try. And maybe… find another option. If Izuku couldn’t take Todoroki-san down and shred his pride, he needed someone else to do it for him.

Izuku sighed and slumped into a chair as he stepped into the 1-A changing room and finally set down his bags of ball bearings. There really weren’t a lot of options left that could beat Todoroki-san.

So he took out his phone and sent a text.

Izuku: come down to the changing room. I need to talk.

“I’m going to be quick,” Izuku said, “your match is going to start sooner rather than later, so we don’t have a lot of time.”

“Well, yeah…” Kirishima-san muttered, eyes darting between Izuku and Bakugou.

“Just spit it out, nerd.”

“One of you needs to beat Todoroki-san. I don’t care which of you makes it to the finals, but he can’t win.”

“Aren’t you facing him next?” Kirishima-san asked.

Bakugou snorted. “Shitty nerd knows his limits.”

Izuku shrugged. “I’ll try, but honestly, you two are the only ones left that stand a chance of beating him.”

“And I didn’t need you to tell me to win, asshole,” Bakugou continued. “I’m going to get first place and there’s not a single thing that Half-and-Half bastard, or anyone else, could do to stop me.”

“Nothing’s set in stone yet, Baku-bro,” Kirishima-san said with a roll of his eyes. “But why do you care, Midoriya-kun? You don’t normally…”

“He’s not trying,” Izuku said. “He needs to lose. He needs to understand that literally half his power won’t be enough. Under different circumstance I could easily take him out, but this festival is a bad set up for me. I could use the rules against Iida-san, heck, I had a plan for Kaminari-san and Ashido-san. But with limited time and resources, I wasn’t able to set anything up to deal with Todoroki-san.”

“He’s not trying!?” Bakugou snapped. “What do you mean he’s not trying!?”

Izuku sighed. “He’s literally only using half his quirk. Maybe a little over that on technicality, but his left side doesn’t just melt his ice. His left side is fire. Actual flames fire. And apparently he’s sworn to never use it in a fight. For some reason.”

“That stupid piece of shit,” Bakugou growled. “Who does he think he is!? What because he’s Endeavor’s perfect little boy, he couldn’t possibly lose!? Is that it!?”

Kirishima-san’s ever present smile had dropped. “He’s sworn off half of himself? Why?”

Izuku shrugged, looking at the ground. He didn’t really know just anything for sure just yet, but the way Endeavor-san had talked to Todoroki-san in the hall… Izuku didn’t doubt that Todoroki-san was trying to distance himself from his father. Which wouldn’t be a problem if it wasn’t going to put others in danger when he took to the field as a licensed hero. “I don’t know,” he finally said. “I didn’t ask.”

“Fuck this shit,” Bakugou snapped. “It doesn’t matter why, but if he thinks he can win like that? That I’ll let him win when he’s got a hand tied behind his back, then I guess I’ll just have to beat the shit out of him until he gets the message.”

Kirishima-san looked like he’d swallowed a lemon as he glared at the floor. “I need to go prepare for my match,” he said softly. He cast a quick glance between the other two boys. “Save the fights for the matches, though, yeah? No need to get your selves disqualified.” Then he spun on his heel and left.

Bakugou grit his teeth and turned back to Izuku as the door swung shut behind Kirishima-san. His mouth opened to speak, but his eyes caught Izuku’s and he snapped his mouth shut and almost ran from the room.

Izuku: cliff notes?

Izuku: other than the who one bit

Izuku: like, any sign of weakness?

Karma: no massive glacier this time

Nagisa: though I can’t tell if thats cuz of fatigue or control

Izuku nodded to himself, finally flopping down into a seat in 1-A’s section. The match between Kirishima-san and Tokoyami-san had already started. It looked like a knock down, drag out fight. Nothing special or technical. Just two boys trying very hard to either knock their opponent unconscious or knock them out of the ring. On the one hand, Kirishima-san was struggling to get close to Tokoyami-san because of Dark Shadow. On the other, Dark Shadow was not winning against Kirishima-san. It hadn’t landed too many hits, and even fewer that Kirishima-san cared about through his Hardening, and Kirishima-san’s hardened fists were not fun to get hit with, especially with One for All adding an extra punch. Apparently, even when you were made of shadow.

“Shouldn’t you be with Uraraka-chan?” Ashido-san said, leaning over the back of Izuku’s seat.

Izuku frowned. “Why should I be there?”

“’Cause she’s going up against Bakugou-kun?”

“And?”

“Cold, man, just cold.”

“What? I’m really not following you here.”

“Come on, man,” Sero-san said, glancing over from the match for a moment. “She’s your friend isn’t she? She’s about to go up against the most explosive personality in the class and you’re just sitting here?”

“If you’re worried about her, maybe you should be with her. Or maybe you can have a little faith.”

Satou-san glanced back. “You really think she’s going to win? Against him?” He shook his head and turned back to the fight.

“I don’t know if she’ll win, but she has options, she has a chance. And she’s smart, she’ll figure something out.”

Ashido-san hummed, looking thoughtful. “I still say you should be with her. Moral support and all that.”

“Kirishima-kun has broken past Dark Shadow and is inside Tokoyami-kun’s defenses!” Present Mic-sensei cheered. “Can Tokoyami-kun counter? No! He’s out of bounds!”

“Kirishima-kun wins and advances to the next round!”

“Too late now,” Izuku muttered just loud enough for Ashido-san to hear.

The class shifted uncomfortably, but no one spoke. They all knew what the next match was. And the rest of the class seemed uncomfortable with it. Izuku fought the urge to roll his eyes at them. Sure, they were the heroic types, all honor and fair play and the like, but they needed to get over this squeamishness before they underestimated someone and held back in a fight.

“ Well, looks like we don’t have a ny clean up this time, so let’s keep this moving shall we?”

“Right on! For the last match before the semi-finals we have… the boy who’s been famous since middle school with the face of a delinquent, Bakugou Katsuki! Versus… the one I’ll be rooting for, Uraraka Ochako!”

Wow. “Isn’t he supposed to be unbiased?” Izuku asked. “Or at least be more subtle about it?”

There were a few nervous chuckles from the group.

“ Begin!”

Uraraka-san didn’t waste a moment, bursting forward with speed enhanced by her gravity reduction, just barely skimming the ground.

Bakugou brought his hand back, then bowled it forward, down and low, directly into Uraraka-san’s face as it blow chunks of cement from the arena. A change from his old pattern of the opening wide right hook, but maybe he was aware enough to realize he’d gotten predictable.

The crowd murmured, the usual cheers tapering off. Smoke and dust filled the air, surrounding Uraraka-san. From Izuku’s position, he could just barely make out some swirls and eddies in the air flow that may have shown where she was moving, but he knew Bakugou had just shot himself in the foot. Not being able to see Uraraka-san was dangerous. He pounced forward on something just as Uraraka-san jumped out of the smoke behind him, closing in on his exposed back.

“ Wow, she made her jersey float as a decoy! That’s some real quick thinking !”

Bakugou swung back around before Uraraka-san made contact, throwing another explosion to force her to back off.

And she rushed in again, head on.

Bakugou pushed her back with another explosion. Filling the arena again with smoke and dust.

And again.

And again.

Izuku sat forward, there was movement. Not Uraraka-san or Bakugou. Something else.

Another rushed attack, another explosion.

There. Just after the explosion before the smoke could clear, pieces of rubble rose out of it. Some small pebbles, other large chunks. All from Bakugou’s blast tearing up the floor.

Izuku watched again. Uraraka-san stayed low, Bakugou struck low. More debris floated up. Into a growing cloud of waiting ammunition. He leaned back, grinning. This might be a bit of a wrench in his plan to knock Todoroki-san down a peg, but he wouldn’t say he would be unhappy for Bakugou to learn a bit of humility as well.

“Is this what a hero should be acting like!?” a voice carried up from the stands, barely audible over the explosions. “If you’re that much stronger, just knock her out of bounds already!”

Other heroes joined in, booing and calling for Bakugou to be eliminated. “Are they dumb?” Izuku asked.

Hagakure-san shifted in her seat. “Are you serious?”

Izuku looked at her. “Yes, I’m serious! How can they possibly all be this dumb!?”

“Or maybe they just have some honor,” Ojirou-san muttered, wincing as another explosion ripped the air.

There was a scuffle in the announcing booth, Present Mic-sensei complaining about something…

“Who just said he’s toying with her?” Aizawa-sensei said, his voice scathingly cold. “Are you a pro? How many years? If you said that in your right mind, there’s no point in you watching this match. Do us all a favor and just go home. Better yet, just turn in your license.”

No one in 1-A spoke, or even moved. Even on the field it seemed like there was a pause in the action. Everyone listening to their teacher with the same attention they’d give him in class.

“ He clearly recognizes his opponent’s strength for her to have gotten this far, and is on guard as a result. It’s because he’s doing everything in his power to win that he’s not going easy on her.”

Uraraka-san dropped her meteors.

From the other side of the divider with 1-B, Izuku heard a scoff. “Really, a pro didn’t notice from the stands? It’s one thing for Bakugou-kun to not notice, she was deliberately keeping him distracted and limiting his field of view, but we’ve all got a clear line of sight on the whole thing.”

Izuku nodded. “And she deliberately kept low too,” he added on, speaking to the other student.

“All to force Bakugou-kun to make her weapons for her,” the voice agreed. “I’m glad to hear someone was paying attention.”

“I told you she had a chance,” Izuku said, throwing a look over his shoulder at Ashido-san.

Another explosion. Izuku glanced back down to see the debris that Uraraka-san had carefully collected to drop on Bakugou’s head being thrown in every direction, knocked off course by a massive blast. Bigger than anything Bakugou had used so far.

“That was a huge demonstration of power!” Present Mic-sensei yelled. “He’s blasted apart Uraraka-chan’s finishing move and remains untouched!”

Uraraka-san tried to pull herself back to her feet. She stumbled forward, lurching in a last desperate attack… and fell. Down for the count.

“… Uraraka-kun is unable to move,” Midnight-sensei spoke, moving down to check on the girl. “Bakugou-kun advances to the next round.”

Set and match. It was too bad that Uraraka-san couldn’t beat Bakugou, but Todoroki-san was guaranteed to learn something over the next couple rounds. All Izuku had to do was try his best.

Chapter Text

“For the first match in our third round, we’ve got a real show stopper, listeners!” Present Mic-sensei crowed from his booth. “First off we have the leader of the first place team from the second event and son of Endeavor, Todoroki Shouto! And taking him on is the first place finisher from the first event, the quirkless wonder, Midoriya Izuku!”

He did not just say that. This was not how Izuku wanted to do this. Surely Present Mic-sensei had more sense than to just blurt that out on live television?

But the oppressive silence of the crowd and the shocked pitying look on Todoroki-san’s face said otherwise.

It was going to have to happen eventually for Izuku’s plans, sure, but he had wanted more of a chance to control that narrative.

“Kick his ass, Izuku!” the familiar voice of Maehara screamed from the stands, breaking the silence at the same time Midnight-sensei cracked her whip and called for the match to begin.

Izuku snapped out of his daze, and jerked to his left for a brief second before turning quickly to the right as he bolted towards Todoroki-san.

He hadn’t had time to figure out safe heating elements that would be able to melt Todoroki-san’s ice and not burn himself while still staying within the rules for the Sports Festival, so it was imperative that Izuku stay out of Todoroki-san’s line of fire. (Or line of frost, maybe?)

The shards of ice grew up into a wall where Izuku had been, following the trajectory of his first movement, missing him entirely. And now Izuku was in close to Todoroki-san’s left side where he wouldn’t be able to use his ice against him so easily.

Izuku swung his fist and struck across Todoroki-san’s temple before pulling back and slamming the heel of his palm into the boy’s ribs. He then spun around and struck at Todoroki-san’s kidney and continued to strike at his other temple with the heel of his foot in a roundhouse kick.

Todoroki-san stumbled away, sending a burst of ice behind him. And Izuku was in too close. He mostly dodged, but his foot got caught at the edge. Not a strong enough hold to keep him though, as he simply pulled his foot free of his shoe and continued forward, once again aiming for Todoroki-san’s left side. His weak side.

If he used his fire he could simply drive Izuku back. Keep him at a safe distance to be trapped in his ice. But the idiot refused even that limited use of his fire.

Todoroki-san tried to build up a wall of ice in front of him, but with the wall being built from his right and Izuku coming in fast on his left, it wasn’t fast enough. Izuku grabbed his left arm and pulled him around, flinging him across the arena in a single smooth motion before rushing in to close the gap again.

Todoroki-san was on his feet again when Izuku got there. Izuku grabbed the front of his jacket and drove his fist into Todoroki-san’s gut.

“If this were real,” Izuku hissed as Todoroki-san doubled over and tried to lash out with his hand,“if I had a weapon, you would be dead by now.” Izuku punched him in the face again. This was pathetic. Todoroki Shouto, the legacy of the number two hero refused to use half of his quirk. Refused to see how that was going to do nothing more than put himself and others in danger.

Finally, he gathered enough wits to drive a spike of ice in the air between them, forcing Izuku back. The ice continued growing, stretching to block Todoroki-san from view, giving him the breathing room he needed to recover from the hits.

“There’s no place in heroics for people like you, Todoroki-san,” Izuku snapped, raising his voice over the cracking ice. “Once this weakness gets out, you’ll be nothing but a liability in the field. Easy pickings for any two bit thugs with even a single brain cell between their ears.”

Izuku moved further back from the wall as he spoke, eyeing the sharp protrusions. “Well, Todoroki-san? What are you going to do? You can’t save anyone else if you can’t even save yourself. You can’t win if you just keep hiding behind a wall.”

The ice stopped growing, settling into a single solid form. “Make a choice, Todoroki-san. Are you a coward? Or are you a hero?” He stepped forward, one hand resting on the ice. It was cold, but not as sharp as he had thought it would be. At least, not if he avoided the points, which still looked lethal if he fell on one.

In other words, completely climbable and not somewhere Todoroki-san was going to look.

He hauled himself up, avoiding sharpened points and moving himself into a secure position. He had a clear view of the field below him, and an easy path down. All he needed now was to wait and not freeze to the ice. And not slip.

“What is Midoriya-kun doing?” Present Mic-sensei said, with all the gravitas and bravado he was being paid for. “His opening attacks were brutal and efficient in a way we hadn’t seen yet and now he’s just waiting? What I wouldn’t give to hear what that boy’s been saying!”

“Waiting is a strong strategy for Midoriya-kun,” Aizawa-sensei added on. “So long as he doesn’t give Todoroki-kun too much time to catch his breath.”

Yeah, Izuku didn’t care much. Todoroki-san probably wasn’t going to want to wait for very long either.

“You should mind your own business,” Todoroki-san seethed. “And worry more about the liability you bring to the field.”

Izuku’s anger flared in his gut and he breathed deeply, burying it back in the recesses of his mind. He had to control himself. He was only worthless if he let them get to him. Remember what Karma said. Kick their asses and be himself and eventually they’d come around. And if they didn’t they probably weren’t worth the effort. Even Terasaka was coming around. Bakugou seemed to be coming around. He would be fine.

“How do you expect to save anyone when you can’t even save yourself?”

Couldn’t even save himself.

Izuku… he couldn’t, could he? He hadn’t been able to save himself from Bakugou when they were kids, or when he’d blown up during finals last year. He hadn’t been able to save himself from Takaoka on Okinawa, or from the Reaper when he held the class hostage. He hadn’t been able to save himself from Shigaraki or Nomu.

No. Izuku couldn’t think like that. Not now, not ever. It might be true, but it wasn’t something he could indulge. He needed to stay focused. Keep his eyes on what was in front of him. Unpack this mess later with Ashisuto-sensei.

“What? Nothing to say to that? Willing to call out someone else’s so called weaknesses without confronting your own!?”

Todoroki-san sounded closer, probably just out of sight, the crunch of torn up cement gravel now obvious with Izuku listening for it. He was moving in Izuku’s direction. All he had to do was wait and drop… just… now.

Izuku slid smoothly from his hiding place, dropping to the ground. He turned to face Todoroki-san and… oops. He wasn’t as close as Izuku thought he’d been.

He lunged forward, swinging for his face again, but the distance was just enough for Todoroki-san to jerk back and get his hand up to defend.

His right hand.

Ice grew up over Izuku’s hand and arm as it was deflected to the side, locking it in place. He swung it like a club, smashing into the back of Todoroki-san’s head. Todoroki-san stumbled, another rush of ice instinctively growing between them. Izuku staggered to the side, barely avoiding getting trapped, but still gaining several new cuts along his calves for his trouble.

“You think I haven’t confronted my weaknesses, Todoroki-san,” he said quietly. “I’ve confronted them every single day since I was five. I still earned my place here just like everyone else.”

Todoroki-san was swaying on his feet. Another good hit and he would go down. He had to be clumsy and slow, still getting his bearings back after the last one. Izuku could do this. Just one good hit.

A deep breath and Izuku dove back in, running straight for Todoroki-san. He could do this. No need for subtlety here.

Todoroki-san finally looked up.

He blinked, face going slack and eyes wide as he saw Izuku approaching. Closing fast.

He stumbled backwards, starting to trip over his own feet. Izuku’s arm was raised. One good hit and he would be done.

A crack like thunder, and chill filling Izuku to the bone, body jerking to a stop.

Too cold, but no numbness as pain slowly filtered in, lagging behind the speed of Todoroki-san’s strike. Nothing vital had been hit, but Izuku could already tell he had surface level cuts just about everywhere.

Todoroki-san was on the ground, shaking. His eyes stayed on Izuku’s.

“Midoriya-kun, can you move?”

Right. Izuku had to answer. “No.”

Her whip cracked. “Todoroki-kun is the winner.” A quiet ripple of polite applause was the only reaction from the audience. “Todoroki-kun, please release Midoriya-kun from the ice.”

Todoroki-san blinked, turning his head to look at her. “Right, yes.” He stood up slowly, still wobbling slightly as he stepped forward and rested his left hand on the iceberg. Steam slowly lifted and ice receded. Izuku wiggled his fingers and toes, shaking off the cold as he stepped out of his former restraints and blood began to seep from the small cuts across his body.

Two sets of bots with stretchers trundled up.

“I can walk,” Izuku said, trying to wave them off.

“Recovery Girl-sensei insists,” one said. “Neither of you is to walk anywhere. She wants to see you both immediately.”

Todoroki-san sighed. “Fine. Let’s get this over with.”

Izuku continued to stare down the bot as Todoroki-san was carried away. “I’m really not that injured. I can walk myself there.”

“Just get on the stretcher,” it said.

Izuku wasn’t going to win this one. No point in fighting, all it would do is prolong the inevitable. He got on the stretcher and let them carry him away.

“What in the world were you two thinking, going at each other like that?” Recovery Girl-sensei scolded as they were transferred into the beds. “Really Midoriya-kun, hitting him that hard in the head? You of all people should know how dangerous that is! And with the ice!”

“I’m fine,” Todoroki-san muttered.

“You most certainly are not, young man! Look at you! You can barely focus your eyes, and you’re shaking like a leaf!”

Izuku turned his head to look at Todoroki-san. Really, Recovery Girl-sensei was right to be more worried about him, Izuku had hit him hard several times over. His ribs, his head, and some of his internal organs would all have been at risk at one point or another during the fight. He would need a full check up. But he shouldn’t be shaking. The adrenaline should have passed by now, but he was shaking. But not from the adrenaline.

“Use your quirk,” Izuku said. “You need to warm yourself up.”

“I said, I’m fine.”

“And if that’s all you’re going to say then you can sit quietly and let me work, but Midoriya-kun is right. Just by touch alone I can tell you’re too cold. That little bit of heat you used to melt him free wasn’t enough to warm your core. You need to warm yourself or you won’t be going anywhere.”

“But the next match…”

“I do have the power to disqualify you for medical concerns, Todoroki-kun. You will warm yourself and you will let me check you over and heal you or you will not be going back out there.”

“...Yes, Sensei.”

Izuku snorted. How long had it been since he had heard a lecture like that? How long had it been since he was on the receiving end of one?

“Don’t you get all high and mighty, Midoriya-kun, you’re next.”

Right. It was at the start of the school year. Not that long ago.

Izuku turned his head back to the ceiling, giving them some privacy, and closed his eyes, focusing on his breathing. Let the emotions pass. Let them go. The fight was over and done and the things said during it were meant to get a rise. To hurt more than either of them normally would.

Let the past be the past and turn his attention to the future. What comes next.

The class knew he was quirkless now.

But what could he do? Nothing really. Not until he knew where everyone stood. Undoubtedly a few would have their reservations. Probably most of them would change in some way or another. Hopefully a few could brush it off.

Some rustling, the door opened and closed. Todoroki-san must have left.

“Alright, Midoriya-kun, your turn.”

Izuku blinked his eyes open, and sat up, turning to face Recovery Girl-sensei. He held out his arms for her to inspect. “I really am fine,” he said. “Todoroki-san didn’t hit anything important. They’re all just small cuts.”

“Even small cuts can be dangerous,” she retorted. “Several of these are dangerously close to major arteries or tendons. Not to mention I doubt he was aiming much at all in that last rush. He could very easily have impaled you.”

“But he didn’t.”

Recovery Girl-sensei sighed. “No, I suppose he didn’t. Still, I wish you kids would be more careful with each other. There’s no need to hurt anyone this badly in some school festival. Scouting options or not, a hero that takes care of themselves and can end a fight with minimal force is better than one that always sends people to the hospital. Themselves included.”

“I know,” Izuku said softly as Recovery Girl-sensei satisfied herself and kissed him on the cheek. “I got carried away. It wasn’t even really about the festival.”

Recovery Girl-sensei hummed. “No, I suppose it wasn’t.”

The door to Recovery Girl-sensei’s temporary office slammed open. “Midori-kun!”

Izuku pulled up a bright smile as Uraraka-san, Hagakure-san, and Asui-san tumbled through the door. “What are you guys doing here?” he asked. “You do realize I wasn’t really hurt that bad, right?”

“Kirishima-kun asked us to check on you,” Asui-san said. “And it felt like the right thing to do after you had your quirk status broadcast to the nation.”

“That and we were actually worried about you,” Hagakure-san added. “Even if you weren’t hurt that bad, you did still get carried off the field.”

“That was overkill.”

“I will use as much overkill as I like to make sure you students don’t make things worse by refusing to see me.”

“Yes, Sensei,” the girls chorused back.

“When have I ever refused to see you?” Izuku frowned.

Recovery Girl-sensei gave him a flat look. “Given Yagi-san has had to drag you to me before…”

“I get the picture.”

“Good boy.”

Uraraka-san snickered. “But really, you were vicious out there, it was awesome!”

Hagakure-san nodded frantically. “It was so cool! I doubt I could have pulled off anything like that! And hiding in his own ice! Brilliant!”

“Thanks,” Izuku said, forcing his smile to stay in place.

“Midoriya-kun,” Asui-san said. “I just wanted to say that I understand why you didn’t tell us earlier.”

Izuku’s smile strained. “Oh, uh, thanks, Asui-san.”

“Tsuyu-chan. And it might have hurt a bit, to realize you didn’t trust us with it, but you can’t have had it easy to get this far, so, I understand. Not everyone will have the same reaction, but they’ll come around.”

Izuku felt his smile wavering.

“Yeah!” Uraraka-san joined in. “Either they’ll come around, or they’ll learn to keep their mouth shut!”

Izuku chuckled softly. “Thanks, Uraraka-san, but I don’t think you can fight the media. Especially not if you want to be in spotlight heroics.”

“Ah, don’t worry about that,” Uraraka-san waved him off. “Everyone knows it’s impossible to hate a competent rescue hero! And I’d never be as popular as those front line patrols anyway, so what am I really losing.”

“Right,” he should change the subject before he got too emotional. “Has anyone seen Iida-san recently?”

Their faces fell. “He said he had some family emergency,” Uraraka-san said softly

Asui-san nodded. “He seemed pretty out of it when he left, so it must have been serious.”

Izuku nodded. “Well,” he hopped to his feet, “no point staying here. Let’s get back upstairs and watch the last matches.”

Chapter Text

The quiet chatter of the class stopped as soon as Izuku entered their section. The entire stadium felt more subdued than it was before Izuku’s last match. Like his status had smothered their enthusiasm. Hard to cheer on a fist fight when a quirkless kid is getting beaten. Or the one doing the beating, he supposed.

“So…” Ashido-san said. “You’re quirkless.”

“And?” Izuku answered. It looked like they had just finished resetting the field. It wouldn’t be long before the next match started. Kirishima-san against Bakugou.

“Nothing, nothing,” Ashido-san backtracked. “Just surprised me is all.”

Of course it did. There was no way their fearless ikemen could possibly have been quirkless. It had to have been something more than natural.

“I thought we weren’t going to ask about it,” Satou-san said.

“I know,” Ashido-san whined. “But you seriously don’t have any questions at all? Like, really?”

“There’s a difference between not having questions and respecting his privacy,” countered Jirou-san with a shake of her head.

Ashido-san flopped back into her seat. “Fine,” she huffed. “But you know Kaminari-kun and Mineta-kun are going to be obnoxious about it.”

“And I’ll deal with them,” Izuku muttered, watching as Kirishima-san and Bakugou finally stepped onto the field. “Match is starting.”

“ Alright! The field has been cleared and we’re finally ready to get on to our last semi-final match! It’s an unstoppable force and an immovable object! The explosive Bakugou Katsuki versus the unbreakable Kirishima Eijirou!”

“Sounds like even you’re getting tired of all the waiting.”

“Come on, Eraser, you know everyone wants to get to the finale already.”

“Yeah, so we can go home.”

“Party pooper.”

“If you two are done squabbling, we have a match to start.”

“ Uh, right. Carry on.”

Midnight-sensei sighed. “You boys know the rules. You can ring out, knock out, immobilize, or surrender. Not that I expect either of you to use the last one, but please remember that Recovery Girl-sensei already feels like she’s had too many patients today.” She spared a glance to each of them at their starting positions. “Begin!”

Bakugou fired off explosions behind him, and both boys surged forwards to close the distance fast. Bakugou’s quirk might be a strong mid range attack to ward off most close range fighters, but with Kirishima-san’s hardening, the other boy would be able to cut through just about anything that wasn’t in the hand-to-hand range. Maybe even that with One for All strengthening him.

Izuku tuned out Present Mic-sensei’s commentary as he focused on the fight, watching for any sign of One for All. Though there wasn’t much to see through the smoke and distance.

And it was hard to ignore all the eyes on him.

“You get one question,” he finally said, giving up on learning anything. “One.”

“How did you pass the entrance exam?”

“Ashido-chan!”

“What? We’re all thinking it! Even people with strong combative quirks struggle with UA’s heroics exam!”

Izuku sighed. “I’m assuming most of them freeze up or didn’t actually take it all that seriously. The exam isn’t easy, but it isn’t hard either if you keep your head.”

Ashido-san shrugged. “Okay, sure. But how did you pass.”

“Same as you,” he shrugged. “I prepared, I read the rules, and I took it seriously. I benefited from rescue points, but you’d have to pull off some spectacular saves to get in on those alone.”

“Oh, come on, that’s it!? You’ve gotta be the first quirkless hero student like ever and that’s all you’re going to say? That’s really all it took!?”

Izuku finally turned and looked at her. “Yes, that’s all it took. Even Bakugou didn’t get in without those three things. No one does. What are you expecting? Some secret strategy? For me to have hacked in and learned secret rules ahead of time, or changed the bots’ code to make them easier for me to beat? Or maybe I bribed them? Or did they let me in on pity? Or maybe because of all the bullshit with Aldera they decided to let me in just so they could see if I turned evil? Because I’m quirkless, I had to do something super special? Well, I didn’t. I got in on all the exact same merits as everyone else. You had all the same information as I did even if you decided not to use it and just rely on your quirk instead. The only difference is that I don’t have the luxury of relying on a damn quirk.”

Ashido-san recoiled as though struck and thick silence covered the class, only broken by the sounds of the fight below them.

A fight Izuku should be watching. It was important. But was it? “I’m going for a walk,” he said as he stood.

“Mi-”

“If anyone has a problem with me,” Izuku cut Yaoyorozu-san off, “take it up with Aizawa-sensei or Nedzu-sama. They’ll be dealing with plenty of complaints from the public already, what’s a few more.”

He walked quickly from there. He wasn’t going to give them a chance to stop him. Though, he did smile slightly when he heard squabbling break out and a particularly loud “how insensitive can you be!?” directed at Ashido-san, and a softer “the ikemen just swore,” that sounded like Sero-san.

He almost stopped for that. Almost went back. Because, yeah, Ashido-san was being insensitive and everyone was being nosy, but they were trying and they cared. They were just confused.

But god damn it, he was mad. Mad at Ashido-san, sure. Maybe at the others a bit for all of their senseless speculation and rampant assumptions. Mad at Todoroki-san for refusing to use his quirk even for his own selfish ends. Refusing to acknowledge Izuku’s strength even as he literally beat the boy over the head with his own ice. Mad at Present Mic-sensei for revealing his quirk status to his classmates and the whole world with just a few careless words.

Mad at Yagi-san for assuming he was going to lose against Shinsou-san just because he had a quirk and Izuku didn’t. It was a straight fight, why wouldn’t Izuku lose to someone who hadn’t cared enough to train for the exam because he had a sneaky quirk and Izuku had nothing.

He was just mad.

And mad didn’t make for a good class president that didn’t bite people’s heads off for asking questions.

And so he kept walking, picking up speed as he got further away from his idiot classmates and sunk deeper into his thoughts.

He imagined what it would look like if he had a quirk to show his anger. Sparks popping on his palm like Bakugou. Smoke drifting from his mouth like his mom said happened to his dad when he got frustrated with something. Hair drifting in defiance of gravity like Aizawa-sensei. Maybe Kataoka’s faint growling or fur standing on end like Hayami.

But instead he was plain, simple, weak little Izuku. No quirk so he was useless, right? Just a little Deku. Not even worth a phone call home or a birthday present.

Izuku froze in his tacks. He couldn’t think like that. He couldn’t go back to that. Hisashi left them before Izuku was diagnosed. Izuku wasn’t weak and he wasn’t worthless. Anyone who thought otherwise had their head up their ass. He had literally just proven that. He got third place at the UA Sports Festival. He was a hero student. He earned this.

Korosensei would be disappointed to know Izuku was thinking about himself this way. After all the hard work he and Karasuma-sensei and Bitch-sensei had put into the class and into him, he couldn’t just go back to that. He had to pick himself back up.

“Shit, Mido-bro, are you okay?”

Izuku took a stumbling step back, head ducked down and hands reaching up to wipe tears from his eyes. “Y-yeah,” he said, taking a shaky breath as he tried to stop the tears that were only coming faster now that he was trying to stop them. “Y-yeah.” He blinked and sniffed, lifting his chin and trying to look Kirishima-san in the eye while he lied. “Is your match over already?”

Kirishima-san hesitated, doubt clear across his features. “Yeah, it’s over. What are you doing down here?”

Izuku huffed a weak laugh, brushed away a few more tears, and pulled his lips into a shaky smile. “Just wanted to get away from everything. I’m sorry I missed your match. Did you win?”

Kirishima-san shook his head. “Bakugou-kun is just so strong and fast. And the way he can use his quirk to fly! I know I saw it during the last event, but it’s so disorienting to have him just suddenly go up and over you when you try to hit him. I mean, I got some solid hits in, and my quirk took a few more than I expected it to, you know? But in the end he got me into a corner and I just wasn’t paying enough attention as he pushed me back.”

Izuku nodded along, finally slowing his tears enough to really see clearly. Kirishima-san’s uniform was predictably singed, but the rest of him was fine. No burns or bruises that Izuku would expect from an all out brawl with Bakugou. And the wide grin stretching across Kirishima-san face really made it seem like he’d had fun fighting Bakugou and enjoyed the match despite his loss.

The red marks Izuku had seen last time however… they were worse than before. Bright red sores crisscrossing Kirishima-san’s body in a jagged web like a strange rash.

“Is that from One for All?” Izuku asked.

Kirishima-san looked down at his arm. “Uh, yeah. I think so,” he said. “Didn’t exactly get much practice with it before the Festival, but my quirk never did this before. And I definitely noticed a few changes during my matches. Faster, stronger. My quirk could take more force with a lot less effort from me, too.”

Izuku nodded. That made sense, and from what Yagi-san had told him when they first started cleaning Dagobah Beach, it made sense that Kirishima-san was experiencing some side effects. “You should probably go see Recovery Girl-sensei.”

Kirishima-san raised an eyebrow with a teasing grin, “Says the guy that tried to argue with one of her robots when he was bleeding all over the stage.”

Izuku grabbed Kirishima-san’s arm and started pulling him down the hall as he rolled his eyes. “It wasn’t that bad. And I wasn’t arguing against seeing Recovery Girl-sensei, just against the stretcher.”

Kirishima-san laughed. “And you thought it was going to get you any where?”

Izuku shrugged. “You never know until you try.”

“Damn right!”

“Now,” Izuku said pushing open the door, “do you want to try arguing again?”

Recovery Girl-sensei glared at them as she looked up from her paperwork. “No one is arguing with me,” she said. “Kirishima-kun, sit down.”

“Yes, Sensei.”

“Now,” she said poking and prodding at the strange marks as she inspected them, “tell me what happened.”

“Oh, um. Well. It happened when I used my quirk during the last few matches. Nothing special you know. Just some quirk exhaustion. It’s all good. Perfectly normal.”

Recovery Girl-sensei sighed and rapped her cane against Kirishima-san’s shin. “Stop rambling, boy. I already know about One for All, but if you plan on hiding this from anyone else, you’re going to need to get better at lying.”

“You already know? Wait, Mido-bro, did you know she knew?”

Izuku shrugged. “I didn’t know, but I’m not surprised. She’s an old friend of Yagi-san’s, and he’s got to have trusted someone with it.”

“Indeed. The old fool should have told you I knew. I’ve been one of his close confidants since his school years. And given I am the nurse here, he told me when he transferred the quirk to you. Just in case something like this happened. Though would it have killed you to have used it in a controlled environment first? Not this ridiculous Sports Festival.”

Kirishima-san blushed.

“Now, again, tell me what happened. How is this different from your normal quirk exhaustion? Were you actively using One for All? How much power did you put behind it?”

Kirishima-san nodded and started rattling off answers. From the sound of it he wasn’t using all that much power, but he also didn’t actually know how much. The quirk was activating instinctively alongside his own, which was great for hiding the increased strength, but not so great for separating out the effects. One for All also seemed to be reinforcing him in some way, not just enhancing the strength of his muscles, but actually negating some of the draw backs of his quirk. Normally, to have the level of durability he was using during this last match he would have needed to sacrifice mobility, and as his quirk failed, his skin would have begun to crack. In patterns very similar to the strange red marks, apparently.

Recovery Girl-sensei hummed and nodded along, taking her notes and examining the marks, eventually declaring them simply some surface level abrasions and irritation that would fade on their own in a day or two, but that Kirishima-san should still be careful of over doing it, either from using too much power at once or not letting his skin heal and rest by using it over a long period of time.

With everything settled, and instructions to test theories in UA’s gyms after he’d healed up and report back to Recovery Girl-sensei, Izuku and Kirishima-san were kicked out of Recovery Girl-sensei’s temporary office with some gummies and sent on their way.

Kirishima-san had been a good distraction while it lasted, but now Izuku needed to figure out what to do next. He didn’t really want to go back to 1-A’s seats, not after leaving like he did. Or even if he hadn’t left abruptly, given all the questions. But Kirishima-san would know something was up if he didn’t.

But did that matter? Kirishima-san had to have heard Present Mic-sensei’s announcement, but he hadn’t acted any differently. Even the positive responses were still reacting. Still acting like something had changed. Something had changed, but that didn’t mean Izuku wanted it to. It shouldn’t matter. He was just as quirkless today as he was last week.

“So…” Kirishima-san said, “you gonna tell me what you’re doing down here instead of upstairs watching the matches?”

Izuku winced, and then smothered the reaction with a glare. “Can we not.”

Kirishima-san slumped. “I guess, but you know I’m going to find out when I go up there.”

“Yeah, and?”

Kirishima-san met his glare evenly, letting the silence hang between them. Then he shrugged. “Well, not much point in going anywhere. Bakugou and Todoroki will probably be done soon, if they aren’t already.”

Izuku nodded. “They probably started the match when we were leaving Recovery Girl-sensei. There’s always a break between the semi-finals and finals to make sure the broadcast is caught up and everyone can get back to their seats to watch.”

“So, we might as well stay down here,” Kirishima-san continued. “We’ll just have to come back for the podiums.”

“For the podi-” that was right. Izuku got third. He and Kirishima-san would be sharing a podium. Next to Bakugou and Todoroki-san. “Right, yeah. Might as well stay down here.”

Kirishima-san’s answering smile was soft as he nodded and turned. He took a few steps down the hall and then stopped. “Uh, I don’t suppose you know where we need to go?”

Izuku snorted. “Yeah, this way.” He led them through the maze of halls and down a set of stairs to a cavernous space directly under the field with support struts rising up above them. A few support workers milled around, running last minute checks on the hydraulic system to lift the podium platform into place. They ignored the two students and continued with their work as Izuku and Kirishima-san found a spot to stand and wait quietly out of the way.

Time passed slowly as Izuku turned his attention inward, tuning out the low constant noise of machinery. He focused on his breathing and tried to process the old feelings dug up by the past hour. Tried to get them to a place where they wouldn’t interfere with the rest of his day.

It had been a while since Izuku had felt that angry. Long before Korosensei, most likely. Or maybe it had always been there and he just hadn’t let himself feel it anymore. It wasn’t like he could do anything useful with it back then. Better to just be numb and keep going than get angry and make trouble for himself.

But he’d gotten used to being respected. Gotten used to not needing to be angry anymore. It was probably still there, simmering in the background, but even Terasaka respected him once he got his head out of his ass and started being a part of the class. His quirk status wasn’t important compared to Korosensei’s insane abilities. What mattered was what he learned and was willing to do for the mission.

He needed to compartmentalize before interacting with the public, or even with his classmates again. And definitely before the media’s opinions got shoved in his face.

A sharp crack echoed through the room from the doorway and Izuku sighed, head dropping. Bakugou must have lost the match. So much for teaching Todoroki-san a lesson.

The door creaked open as Todoroki-san stepped through and let the yelling behind him filter into the room.

“I’m not fucking getting up there!” Bakugou yelled. “I don’t deserve that fucking medal! Not with that Half-and-Half bastard holding back!”

Or maybe not.

“Please, Bakugou-kun, you don’t have to feel like you earned it, but you need to at least accept it for the cameras. It won’t look good for UA if you don’t get on that podium.” Izuku felt himself bristling at the sight of a man dragging Bakugou by the arm. He was easily as big as Cementoss-sensei and had some minor singe marks on his work uniform from when Bakugou had sparked off earlier.

“I don’t give a shit about how it looks for UA!” Bakugou snarled back. “Their reputation is good enough to handle it.”

“And what about-”

“Get your hands off of him,” Izuku barked, glaring across the room.

“Fuck off, Deku. I don’t need your help.”

“Mind your business, boy.”

“I am minding my business. As class representative, it is my job to make sure not only that my classmates are behaving properly, but also that they are being respected by our school. And dragging Bakugou around like that certainly does not qualify.”

The man growled. “It is my job to make sure this festival goes off without a hitch.” His grip had only gotten tighter, with Bakugou starting to grimace at the pain. “And that means getting all of you brats on the podiums to accept your medals with the grace and dignity to match UA’s reputation.”

Izuku stalked across the room, shoving himself into the man’s face. “I told you to let go of him.”

“Make me.”

Izuku grabbed the hand on Bakugou’s arm, twisting slightly at the same time he swiped at the man’s legs with his foot. His grip on Bakugou’s arm broke and Bakugou quickly stepped away from the pair as the man stumbled and fell. Izuku let go of his hand and stepped back himself, stopping just in front of Bakugou and Kirishima-san, who had come over at some point to stand next to Bakugou.

“I won’t let you manhandle my classmates,” Izuku said, arms loose and open at his side. “Just let him leave and tell the audience some lie about having a family emergency or something. I don’t care.”

“I said I don’t need your help,” Bakugou growled, sparking slightly. “Stay out of my way. I’ll get on that fucking stage, just don’t expect me to accept the medal,” he spat at the man on the ground and stalked off.

The man glared at them. “Ungrateful brat,” he grumbled, standing up. With one last angry glance at Izuku he turned and started barking instructions to his men and a few started directing the boys up onto the podium behind Bakugou. Once they were in place, the large man that had dragged Bakugou in said something into a radio.

“Alright everybody!” Midnight-sensei’s voice crackled through speakers in the room. “This festival has been a wild ride from start to finish! Midoriya-kun’s explosive victory in the first round, and Todoroki-kun’s domination in the second! All culminating in the fifteen incredible one-on-one matches these students gave us today! Now, before we bring out the winners, how about we give all our participants a nice big round of applause for all the hard work they put in!” She paused, presumably to let the audience cheer on the less fortunate students. The ceiling above them moved, sliding slowly out of the way, and the podium under them jolted as the hydraulics pushed them up. “And now, let’s hear it for our medalists!”

The wall of sound as they crested the opening was staggering. Kirishima-san was slack jawed next to Izuku, blinking at the crowd. Izuku chuckled, and pushed the sheer magnitude of it out of his mind so he could pull up a smile and wave to the crowd. The crowd didn’t seem to care, but Midnight-sensei’s indulgent smile turned somewhat curious before she turned and seemed to check something up by the stadium’s rim before fully putting her back to the podium and addressing the audience once again.

“And now for the medals these boys fought so hard for!” she said. Something shifted up at the rim. The air pressure changed and some instinct in Izuku screamed for him to take cover. “Presenting them is… well, I’m sure you all can guess!”

“I AM HERE-,” All Might-sensei’s voice filled the stadium with ease and the crowd was instantly silent, reverent, for just a moment. “-WITH THE MEDALS!” He landed on the grass in front of them, wind whipping as he pushed the very air out of his way. If the crowd had been loud before, it was truly thunderous now. Izuku’s hands twitched with the urge to cover his ears to protect them from the sudden onslaught of noise.

All Might-sensei waved to the crowd and let them cheer for a moment before he spoke again. “Now, now, I know you’re all very excited to see me, but we’re here to celebrate these hard working students!” He stood before the podium, his massive height letting him reach them without needing to stand any higher.

“Midoriya Izuku! Your intelligence and strength of will are forces to be reckoned with!” He dropped a bronze medal around Izuku’s neck and pulled him into a hug. “Don’t let minor failings hold you back! You’ve already proven yourself capable of far more than any would expect.”

“Kirishima Eijirou! You have shown an unyielding determination and a steady hand!” Kirishima-san got his medal and hug. “Now you just need to learn to be flexible and adapt new strategies to your opponent in the heat of battle.”

“I’ll do better next time, All Might-sensei,” Kirishima-san said.

All Might-sensei just ruffled his hair and moved on. “Todoroki Shouto! You are strong, but you held back, and it cost you your victory.” The silver medal was draped over Todoroki-san’s neck and All Might-sensei put a hand on his shoulder. “While not wanting to hurt a friend is admirable, and not wanting to use undue force is a fine goal for a hero, you will need to learn when you need to use your full strength if you want to be a successful hero.”

“And Bakugou Katsuki!” All Might-sensei laughed. “You certainly lived up to your promise! We’ll have to see-”

Bakugou snatched the gold medal out of All Might-sensei’s hand before he could place it over Bakugou’s neck, hands cracking and popping as he used his quirk with it in his hand. He dropped it, still smoking and now bent and twisted, to the ground. “This doesn’t count. Half-and-Half didn’t really fight me, so it doesn’t count. I’m not the strongest yet. I didn’t really beat him if he just let me.”

All Might tipped his head back and gave a forced laugh. “Bakugou-shounen, some day you will learn that winning because your opponent didn’t want to fight isn’t a loss. Those ‘fights’ are the best ones for a hero. They are the ones where there is no risk of anyone getting hurt, or of collateral damage. The days a hero doesn’t have to fight are the true victories, and the days all heroes hope for whenever they put on their suit.”

“Whatever.”

“Well, these are your winners, everyone!” All Might said, turning back to the crowd. “And before you go! Everyone here today has the potential to be standing up on the podium! Everyone here has something to learn today, whether you were knocked out in the obstacle course or made it all the way to the podium. Whether you were in the stands, watching at home, or working hard to make these students shine from behind the scenes! Students! You all pushed each other to be better, faster, stronger with each clash of wills! Hold on to the fire and let it lift you to guide others around you! Even as little more than sprouts today, that is what I see in you that will grow into the great heroes of tomorrow! Let’s hear it everyone! For all the people that made today possible! And for those that will make tomorrow even better!”

All Might threw up his hands and Japan roared back at him, from the field and the stands and beyond. The torch that All Might carried for them. The bonfire of hope that was the Symbol of Peace was echoed in every voice lifted back to him.

Slowly, the voices softened from fierce cries to softer laughter and chatter as the audience began to pack up and meander from the stands. The students on the field loosened and let go. Joking and chatting and flopping onto the ground to just be the kids they were. Not future heroes or support mechanics or anything else.

Just tired kids at the end of a long, sweaty day, ready for a shower and a nap.

Midnight-sensei eventually came up and told them they could come down from the podium, that the feeds had been cut and they were all free to head back out. The day was done and they had no more obligations. Feed back on performances would wait until they came back after the break.