More then You Think - MosesArk_Reborn2000 - 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia (2024)

Chapter 1: Beginnings

Chapter Text

It was a regular summer's day, the sun was bright, and the temperature was high. With school out for the summer, students from kindergarten to university were out and about, enjoying the pleasant temperature with friends and loved ones. But there were always outliers, people who didn't much like the sun, people who preferred to spend their time indoors, perhaps working on hobbies or board games with friends. Maybe they were busy with some sort of passion project.

Among them, there was an even smaller group of people, those who didn't have friends to play with, friends to hang with. A young boy with busy green hair was in that group. He had tried to play with the other kids, and for once, wasn't regretted outright by them. But he learned the hard way they only let him play with them because they needed someone to be the villain in their game and hero and villain. It was much like cops and robbers, but much more violent as the scratches and bruises dotting his tiny body as he opened the door to his apartment. “I’m home, mom.” He called out, his voice carrying just how sad he felt at the moment as he removed his dirty shoes before walking deeper into the place.

Stepping into the living room, he saw his mother on the couch, her back turned to him as she watched one of her shows on the TV, a glass of the adult liquid in her hand. He didn’t comment on how common that had become these days. “How was your time with your friends?” She blandly asked, not turning to look at him, as if her entertainment was more important.

He opened his mouth to tell her what the other boys did but “…Good.” He just lied, he had tried to tell her in the past and she would just dismiss it as roughhousing and tell him that he couldn't handle playing with them, he shouldn't bother. Maybe she was right, it hadn't always been like this, he and Kacchan used to always play together, talk about what kind of heroes they would be, and watch All Might save the day on the news and in their cartoons. He didn't like to play nice with him anymore, he didn't like to play nice with anyone anymore. He had seemed to hate him ever since he fell into the creek, he thought he had hit his head and told Auntie about it, but the next day, Kacchan found him during recess and he was mad, really mad.

There was a silence between them, nothing but the drama playing on the TV filling the void in the apartment, his mother’s back still turned to him. he waited for her to say something, to see him, to ask him about his day or what happened like she used to, but there was nothing. “How was your day?” He eventually broke it, rubbing his face to get rid of the tears of how absent his mother was these days as she barely spoke with him, only smiled when they were out at the store and never hugged him anymore. He wished he knew what he had done wrong, but she never told him what he did, so all he could do was apologies and promise to be better next time which never seemed to be enough for her like it had been before.

"I'll be taking another shift so I'll be coming home late. So you're going to bed early, Izuku." He wasn’t surprised by that. She had working late shifts for almost a year now. It meant more money for stuff, but it also meant she wasn’t around.

“Oh…okay.” He didn’t make a fuss about it, she wouldn't stay if he did. Their afternoon was quiet, the bad kind of quiet as he knew that sometimes, Mom needed her quiet time but that had become a norm. He knew staying in the living room wouldn't be good as she'd ignore him, so he went to his room to quietly play with his toys. It wasn't all bad, he still had the full top ten heroes set which he could entertain himself, even if he didn't yell out their ultimate moves and jump around, even if he was alone

He was fine. He knew he could be worse off, mom always said to be grateful for what he had, so he was, even if it wasn't much. Hours passed, and Izuku moved to draw in his coloring books or practice his reading but he soon got bored of most of it. he was saved by his mom calling him for supper. Scrambling for the bathroom, he pulled out the stool and washed his hands like she had shown him before he went for the kitchen. Mom was already eating, already dressed for work at the hospital with her doctor's coat on the chair. She didn't say a word as he climbed into his seat and did a quick prayer for his food, she barely looked up from her phone as she scrolled through work messengers or something, he didn't know and he didn't ask.

Looking at his plate, he saw that it wasn’t katsudon like they normally had for dinner on Fridays. “I didn’t get the groceries for it from the store, now eat your food.” Was her response to his question about it, short and irritated as she kept her attention away from him as he just silently nodded, not pushing it.

The TV was still on, but it was playing the evening news now, which he paid attention to from the kitchen. He couldn't help but smile when he saw the news about Best Jeanist stopping a bank heist, or how Edgeshot stopped a massive drug production operation. But his eyes sparkled when the news shifted to All Might and how in just one day, he managed to save a small coastal town from a tsunami by throwing a punch so strong, it blew back the water. The sparkle in his eyes diminished as a father on screen thanked the number one for saving him and his family. Izuku's eyes turned to the empty third seat at the table. “Did…did dad ca-”

For the first time that day, his mother looked at him but it was with an annoyance worse than when he broke the vase that grand-dad left them. “No, now go shower, Izuku.” He still had some food on his plate, but he knew he messed up.

“Yes, mom.” He nodded as he obediently and quietly placed his chopsticks down and got off the seat to walk towards the bathroom. He only stopped at the turn, working up some courage. “Can…can I please watch it before I go to bed?” Inko kept her eyes on him, annoyed they might have been as she got up and picked up his plate to clean things up before work.

“Why would you want to waste your time on that?” She asked him, turning to scrap the leftovers into the bin before she placed the dishes into the sink to quickly wash them.

"Please, Mom." Inko signed, not wanting to waste any more time arguing with him as she placed the first clean plate in the disk rack.

“Fine, but only once. No repeats.” He nodded though he didn’t move as he asked another question. “Mom…did I do something wrong?”

She froze as she did the dishes, before turning to look at him with annoyance. He flinched under her stare before she signed, turning back to the dishes. “Clean yourself up otherwise no video.” He left without a word, rushing to do as she told him, thinking he was just making it worse even if she didn’t say yes or no like the teacher said a question should be answered.

Once he cleaned and dried himself, he was back in his room in his seat waiting for his mother to turn it computer on. It took longer than normal, but his mother eventually came, wearing her coat already as she wordlessly booted up the computer and went online. Once they found the video, she turned her gaze to him, freezing him for a moment as Izuku didn't want to anger her at the last minute.

“You watch it once, and only once. Then you turn it off and you’re in bed, understood?” He couldn’t nod his head fast enough as she huffed and clicked play before leaving to finish getting ready. He couldn’t even say thank you before she was out the door, leaving him alone.

The video didn’t have the same punch as it used to. Yes, she taught him the basics of using the computer so that he wouldn't bother her as much, but he hoped that they could watch it together, maybe watch someone else if it meant she would smile with him again, but she was gone. Watching All Might’s debut, seeing him save so many people with a smile on his face, he couldn’t help but wonder if he could save him, bring back the laughter and smiles that had been absent ever since he went to the doctor and learned he didn’t have a quirk. He didn't think that was too strange, even if most of the other kids had quirks, there were like 3 others in his class like him…or, there were.

They were all gone. One said that his mom got a new job and would be moving to Korea, the other just never came back to class, and the teacher said her family also moved. "All Might, I know you're super busy saving the world and stuff but, could you help us too?" He asked for the video, but looked at the All Might action figure in his hands, closing his eyes as he made his request and hoped the number one and bestest hero in the world would hear him.

“Dad’s never home anymore, he used to call every night and is super funny, but now he doesn’t.” He didn’t know much about his dad, he knew he worked super far from home, so he could only be around on holidays, but he remembered that his dad used to sound super happy whenever they spoke on the phone before bed. Even though he didn’t mind that he was gone most of the time, he still made sure to buy him stuff like foreign hero toys, even if he treasured the All Might action figure he got him the most.

Now, he only had that last phone call to think of. The call mom made after they came home from the doctor. She had looked strange the entire time back, really sad too but she wouldn't tell him why. She called Dad and he didn't sound happy, at least he thinks he didn't as Mom got super upset on the phone before she handed it to him. his dad, who always was warm and had a bad fire pun waiting, just told him he'd be busy for a while and hung up before he could even say goodnight.

"We have pictures of him, but it would be really nice if you could have him come over for dinner, maybe I can show him all my toys." He smiled, as that would make his day as whenever dad was over, they always did all the fun stuff they could. Go to the beach, to an amusem*nt park, to a hero convention, or even just sit at home and play. That stopped after the doctor's appointment, with Mom telling him that his dad was working more. Pretty soon, Mom was working more too.

"Maybe you can help Dad get a new job, that way Mom doesn't need to work all the time. work is making her tired, so she doesn't play with me anymore, but if you fix things, then we can be happy again. And then I can train so I can be like you too, and make people smile." That had to be the issue. He had heard from older kids that parents had to work and sometimes that would take the piss out of them, he didn’t know what that meant, but he figured it meant it left them tired.

But if All Might fixed it, then things would go back to normal! Mom wouldn't spend so much time resting on the couch with her adult liquid and instead pay attention to him again, smile at him and give him lots of hugs. Dad would call more often and visit so they could have big adventures together.

Turning the computer off and crawling into bed, he held his All Might toy tight as he thought that if he was the issue, then maybe All Might could help him it up to them, be a good boy again as All Might always said on the TV.

The memories of the past faded as his alarm went off, as loud and impossible to ignore as it was designed to be. Cracking his eyes open, he moved to turn the infernal thing off as he rubbed his hand through his hair, yawning as more of the blanket fell off his body, revealing his exceptionally fit topless torso, one covered with old scars, from fights and rigorous training. Getting up from his bed, he started with his morning routine. It might have been 4 am but he never skipped exercise for petty reasons. Without fault, he pulled out his workout clothes from the drawer, grabbed a water bottle from the kitchen and was out the door.

He would only return 2 hours later, sweaty but wide awake and feeling great as he finished the last of the water and tossed it into the sink to clean later. Humming a little melody, he showered to get rid of the sweet and sink before getting into his school uniform. He kept humming his song even as his mother's bedroom door remained closed. Stepping into the kitchen, there was a tap on the window that drew his attention. He smiled when he saw who it was as he opened it and allowed the two cats to enter, the small animals elegantly coming in and jumping to the floor where they pawed at his pants.

"I know, your food is coming, be patient, Peach." He looked towards the blonde-furred cat as she nuzzled into his leg while the Red and brown-furred one purred at the kitchen sink drawer. "Mario, what the heck are you doing?" The cat looked at him with absolutely no shame as Izuku fondly signed, he didn't expect much shame from them but they always helped make his day a little bit better. Opening the doors, he saw that among the bags of other stuff, close to the back was the can of wet cat food, just a can.

"I'll need to pick up more cat food." Picking it out, he looked it over and was happy that it was at least large enough for the two of them as he grabbed a can opener, and served the two felines their meal on the small bowls close to the dinner table. After finishing preparing his nutrient-rich breakfast, he sat down to eat. The cats finished before he did so he picked up Peaches and sat her on his lap, patting her gently as he ate while the cat purred in contentment. Mario was off doing whatever he did, frankly, that boy seemed to think his apartment was a castle to be exposed. Meal done, he quickly washed the dishes, not reacting to the fact that the sink was clean of anything else.

"Alright, you two. You know the drill. I'll see you when I see you." He told the two cats as he grabbed his middle school jacket and scarf from the rack, opening his front door for the two cats to exit before he did. They hissed but didn't give him altitude as they walked out of his apartment. He didn't own them so they came and went as they pleased, at this point he was half-convinced that they went to whatever apartment gave them the most food and attention.

Deciding against the bus, Midoriya jogged to school, keeping a good pace and a smile as the warm weather, great morning work-out and great smell of the trees in bloom, the last one before summer kicked in. Avoiding people in the street, he reached the crossing right as the light was about to turn red. Despite a driver honking the horn at him, he waved at him as he had already made it to the other side before the car even for to the line.

But then, he heard a roar coming from down the street, away from where he was going but he couldn't help himself as that noise, and the growing crowd could only mean one thing. A thing he saw with his own eyes when he jogged over and saw a massive villain standing on the metro line above Tatooine station. The villain appeared to have a gigantification quirk, rare but not too rare. He wondered what set him off as he seemed to be incensed. Keeping his distance in case things got rough, he kept silent as he watched the ensuing battle as Death Arms, a local hero worked with another hero, Backdraft to protect the people while Kamui Woods, a rookie to the solo scene dealt with the villain himself.

It was…good. He couldn't put his finger on it, but this fight didn't excite him as others would have. Perhaps it was the fact he had already seen Death Arms and Backdraft in enough incidents to be able to guess what they would do. Maybe it was the fact that he had to listen to a bunch of high schoolers drool over Kamui Woods as he worked. Perhaps it was the fact that according to someone in the crowd, the only reason this villain was on the rampage was that he was a purse snatcher that could cornered…it was probably that last one. The bottom line was that when Mt. Lady came in, that was the most exciting thing of the entire thing as she ended this clown of a villain with a single strike and her introduction made him smile-that was the woman that knew how to make a dynamic entry and if he wasn't seeing things, she a great ass too! She clearly put in her time in the gym and followed a good exercise program, he couldn’t help but shed a tear as he gave it a thumbs-up as he appreciated people who treated their bodies like temples and ensured they were in great shape.

“Wow, kid. You like her that much?” A man next to him asked, having seen him and his reaction to Mt. Lady as the pro shrunk down and waved to the reporters and crowd.

"Of course, how could I not? Did you not see what I just saw?" Midoriya replied, that even if he felt bad for Kamui Woods, the villain was handled and with minimal damage to boot.

“Oh, I did, kid. I did." He didn't quite understand why the man seemed to giggle there, or why he had a little red to his face. It wasn't that hot and it wasn't like there was anything funny with that just happened. Well, perhaps her take-down as that came out of nowhere and left Kamui Woods in the dust, but he didn't see what was funny about that. As he left to get to school, he wondered about just how much things had changed ever since the glowing baby was born in China 140 years ago, the world has seen its greatest change since the Iron Age as with time, more people developed extraordinary powers: quirks.

With the rise of superpowers becoming a normal thing, came an explosive rise in crime. In a world where any petty criminal could do what that one just did; the police would surely be overwhelmed and the streets no safer than those of an active warzone. But to combat that threat, came a new profession, heroes. People like Death Arms, Backdraft, Kamui Woods and Mt. Lady, are specially trained to not just use their quirks to protect and serve the people but to combat and defeat villains. But there was one that stood above them all, the shining symbol of peace.

The world’s greatest Hero: All Might.

Even now, being a middle schooler, he couldn’t get over just how cool he was! He was the pinnacle of everyone it meant to be a hero. He wasn't just the strongest but the most inspiring. He was someone who never did anything less than 110% of what was needed. A man who while he never talked about his quirk, always harped on how hard he trains and still does to maintain himself. Midoriya knew that he could never come close to that kind of power, even with all he had learned, but he could do nothing but appreciate and respect the symbol of peace as someone who helped inspire him to take the path he took and stick with it, even when things got hard.

His good mood evaporated when he finally made it to class. Walking through the halls, his fellow students kept their distance, whispered whatever new thing was being said about him if he was lucky, or downright said it out loud for him to hear. It got worse when he pulled out the door to his class. Most were already present and there was a group of boys snickering in the corner as he walked in and he didn’t need to wait long before he saw way.

‘Quirkless’

‘Weakling’

‘Outdated human’

‘Primitive’

‘Deku’

These were some of the many…many insults and slurs that covered his desk. Seeing it, he tightened his fist, the desire to get some sweet revenge for this rising in him before he snuffed that fire out, taking a breath through his nose and out his mouth, he repeated this three times before he calmed himself. Not even deigning to give those bullies his attention or reaction, he simply reached into his school bag and pulled out a dirty cloth and a spray bottle filled with detergent. He sprayed a little formula into the desk and got to cleaning it, having decided to shake things and he packed the one which smelled like blueberries as he had gotten a little tired of the old lemon he normally used.

As the door opened up, his old friend sauntered in, his hands in his pockets and his posture terrible. With him were Katsu and Fumio, who he could hear talking about Mt. Lady's debut as well, but focused less on her hard work and performance and more on the fact she was hot. He ignored them after that point, wasn't like they paid him any mind as they walked up to Bakugo's table as the blonde took his seat, placed his feet on the table and leaned back.

"Damn, who the hell is spraying detergent in here?" Bakugo asked, though most just laughed at his act as he pretended like he wasn't even in the room, nor did he ever even acknowledge the fact why Midoriya had to bring cleaning supplies with him to school. In his mind, he was a fly that was annoying but was unseen, unimportant and he had accepted that. He preferred it actually, it meant that he didn't need to deal with him as much as he would. Keeping his attention on cleaning his desk, he managed to clean up with enough time to put everything back into his bag before the morning bell rang and the teacher walked in, carrying with him a stack of papers.

Setting them down, the teacher started to explain why he had them. “Morning students, I’ll skip the pleasantries and get right to the hear to the heart of the issue. As 3^rd years, it's high time for you to seriously think about your future. For that reason, I'm going to pass out handouts for you to put in your plans, but-" Grabbing the top form off the stack, his serious demeanor melted away as he tossed it into the air.

“You all want to be heroes, don’t you?” The class collectively cheered out a yes, almost every one of them activating their quirks in joy and perhaps to show off, Midoriya couldn't tell. "Yes, yes. You all have great quirks, but remember that using them in school is against the rules!" Midoriya also had his hand up, but no one seemed to notice.

From his seat, with his feet kicked up, Bakugo spoke. “Sensei, don’t go and jump all into the same group. I find that insulting. Unlike these extras, I’m not going to be stuck at some dead-one nobody hero school out in the sticks.” He said it as if it was a fact of life, the same as the sun rising in the morning. Of course, this blatant disrespect towards their classmates didn't go unanswered as the class started yelling at him.

“That was uncalled for, Katsuki!”

“Yeah, Where the hell do you get off saying stuff like that?!”

“You extras should just accept your role in life!" Despite that pushback, Bakugo was unrepentant as he continued to hold himself far above them.

Their teacher, who Midoriya had realized on their first day was just as incompetent as his 2^nd and 1^st-year homeroom teachers, didn't even try and reign in Bakugo for his behavior. He merely looked through his tablet where he kept notes on them. “Oh, if I remember correctly, you wish to apply to U.A. high, Bakugo.”

Hearing that threw a bucket of water on the rage that the class felt towards the dirty blonde boy, how could it not as U.A. wasn't just some hero school? It was regarded as the best of the best, with only Shiketsu being able to call itself its rival in all things. To attend such a school, even in its general studies course was a surefire way to set yourself up for success in life .“The national school?”

“They’ve been in the top 5% of schools for the last 0 years!”

“It’s a miracle just to get in, they have super strict entry requirements!”

Hearing all this talk about how great U.A. was and how much of an impossibility it would be to get into the place only made Bakugo’s ego larger. “And that is why you’re all destined to be extras till the day you’re old and grey!” Uncrossing his feet, he jumped onto his desk, standing tall over the room with a smirk across his face.

"I aced the mock test, as expected of the future number one. I'm the only one from this place who even has the chance to get into U.A. And I'm going to surpass All Might and become the next top hero. My name will go down at the top of the highest earners." He proclaimed his goal to them all, the room falling silent as despite his terrible attitude and penchant for not even using their names, none could ignore his potential. Not only was he the top student grade and P.E. wise, but his quirk was made for hero work.

“Oh, Midoriya wished to go to U.A. as well, strange.” Bursting that bubble, the teacher stated another stunning face as he stretched his head before looking Midoriya's way in confusion. Despite both his eyes and the eyes of their classmates being on him, Midoriya sat straight as he lowered his hand.

“That is correct, sensei. I’m also aiming to apply for their hero course come spring.” Midoriya nodded his head, but his determination didn't elicit the same response as Bakugo's while they looked at the blonde with awe, it took no less than 2.4 seconds for the students to break out in laughter.

“Huh, Midoriya? No way!”

“Like you have any chance at getting in!”

“News flash, Midoriya. You can’t become a hero just by studying!”

“Would they even let an outdated human try to take the exam? He’ll break something in 10 seconds flat and try to sue them!”

In the face of this ridicule of both his dreams and his capacity to even attempt it. he stamped out his fury once more, even if it was stronger than before. He wouldn’t let them dictate his fate as he remained determined in his response. “Of course, they’ll let me take the entrance exam. U.A. did away with that foolish year 3 years ago, there might be no precedent-” There was a ping in his head, and the hairs on his skin stood right. He didn't question this sensation as he jumped from his desk, right before Bakugo brought his hand down onto it, an explosion slammed into the wooded construct, breaking it.

Landing on his feet, he was faced with a pissed-off Bakugo, whose hand still smoked from his use of his quirk. Midoriya didn't think for a moment that the teacher would do anything to stop him, the man barely cared to keep the rest of them in check, the notion that he would write up their golden goose just made him frown, not that any could see it as his scarf kept the lower part of his face hidden from them. "You must have a screw loose, Deku! Even these extras have a better chance of doing that than you do! What can you do when you quirkless!" Bakugo yelled at him, throwing that fact at him like it was an insult.

“This isn’t the right place for this, Bakugo and you know it.” Midoriya still raised his fists, first into a boxing stance and then into a relaxed martial arts stance, his palms open with one held back.

Bakugo seemed to take offence to the fact Midoriya wasn't backing down, as he growled like a savage and let loose some more blasts from his hands. “Where do you get off telling me what I can and can’t do, you quirkless reject? you think you can stand in the same ring as me?” Bakugo asked him, his eyes little pricks at this point as he wanted nothing more than to show this weakling his place; that being nothing but a pebble on the side of the road to his greatness!

"I seek something. A goal that I hold dear to my heart. If I need to best you to achieve it, then I shall fight." Midoriya knew that what he said would be interpreted as fighting words, but he also knew that Bakugo took just about anything other than submission and praise of his self-professed glory as fighting words as well.

As he suspected, Bakugo only got more aggressive as he took a step closer to Midoriya. “You think that you can beat me?”

"I don't waste my time thinking about such fights," Midoriya replied, keeping his eyes squarely on Bakugo, ready to defend himself if he tried to fight him. Even if he would be the one punished if things came to that, he wouldn't just let him pummel him so that he could feed his ego. The tension didn't stop when the teacher finally spoke up and told them to return to their desks, even though Midoriya didn't have a desk to return to. Returning to his seat, he knew that Bakugo hadn't dropped this and that once that bell left them out for the day, he'd collect on this slight to his vision of glory. And Midoriya would be ready for it.

When that time came, Midoriya was ready. As the teacher was as competent at his job as a bear was at babysitting, he didn’t care to act when Midoriya packed his stuff 2 minutes before the bell went off, completely ignoring the last pieces of his lecture on Japanese history. When the bell went off, Midoriya jumped from his desk, over the desks of a couple of other shocked classmates and made it to the door in record time. He heard Bakugo curse as his chair scraped against the floor in his attempt to stop him, but Midoriya was out before he could even get to his feet.

“Deku, get back here!” He paid no heed to Bakugo’s angry yelling, nor the sounds of explosions as the blonde’s anger got the better of him as usual. Even as the halls started to fill with students leaving their classes, eager to get out of school, he didn't slow down in the slightest. The first person who saw him barreling towards them yelped, bracing for the impact but he evaded him, diving now and then left, right, left again, he moved through them like water through rocks. When there was no space, he used the environment such as jumping down between the spaces of the stairway, using the trashcan as a jump pad to clear a group of students blocking the way, or just smacking the heads of teachers aside. He knew that their efforts to stop him running in the walls were more to give Bakugo or whoever else wanted to mess with him a leg up.

Bakugo though was persistent. Midoriya was making good time and had already made it down to the first floor, but Bakugo's explosions weren’t far behind. If he had to guess, he had worked on his propulsion skills enough to evade the crowds, what that did for the students he couldn’t say but he would assume that a few would have hearing issues for a while if they were close to him when he set off his blasts. Seeing the entrance way ahead, lined with their lockers for small effects and their regular shoes, he knew that in that open space, Bakugo would only close the distance so he needed to lose him fast. So, he decided to hide by jumping up onto the lockers as he lay on his stomach, took a breath, cleared his mind and vanished into the background.

6 or so seconds later, Bakugo was on the scene, looking like an enraged Pitbull on the hunt for the rabbit. He looked around the place but didn't notice him before he rushed out, assuming that he had just left without his shoes to buy himself extra time.

Waiting another couple of minutes to ensure he was far enough away, Midoriya got down from his little hiding spot with barely a sound and calmly walked to his locker, with most barely giving him any attention, as if they couldn’t see him. With his biggest problem most likely wasting his time looking for him, he was able to retrieve his shoes, clean out his locker of the normal hate mail and leave the premises.

"He might have missed me today, but he's going to be even worse tomorrow," Izuku said to himself as he pulled out the list of things he needed to get from the store before he went back to the apartment as his mother only ever left him the cash to pay for stuff and rarely did any shopping. Lucky for him, there was a small store not too far from his school which was willing to do business with him. So his afternoon and evening were planning out nicely for him, he even cracked a smile as he had something to look forward to later.

Coming to an underpass, he wondered about U.A. and its entrance exam. The written portion would be hard enough as regardless of quirk preferences, they didn't accept anyone with subpar grades, which would be an issue as his grades had been slipping these past few months thanks to him spending more time training, so he'll have to adjust. The practical was from what he would find, purely combat based which really bothered him. It seemed irresponsible bias towards physical quirks that could apply in combat, yet there was much more to hero work than just that. Surely a school like U.A. would know that, so why rig things from the jump?

Of course, that wouldn't matter to Bakugo as he was nothing but violence, having won the genetic lottery, he was all but assured a place if all he had to do was break stuff. But he wouldn't let that stop him, so what if he lost that same lottery and came out quirkless? So what if he couldn't blow stuff up with a touch, breathe fire, or levitate stuff with his mind? All Might didn't get to the top thanks to his quirk, he put in the work to get there and Midoriya knew that if he trained his body and mind, he'll be able to get into U.A.'s hero course as well, rigged exams be damned!

He froze misstep, that ping in his mind went off. Looking around, his narrowed-eyed gaze landed on the man-hole cover as he felt like something was coming, a threat was coming his way. Crouching a little, his 6^th sense proved to be right once more as the manhole cover lifted up and from it, a green slime-like ooze came out, before it formed into a tall humanoid shape.

“A medium-sized invisibility cloak…it'll do." Well, if he didn’t know before, he knew now as the villain tried to jump him, but dodged him, dashing to the side. Their slime body proved to be extremely agile as the villain turned back to him without needing to worry about bones, forcing Midoriya to roll to the other side before he decided to stop playing, took a breath, cleared his mind and vanished from the villain’s sight.

The villain, for his part, paused in confusion as he looked for the kid. He was sure he was just there, where the hell did he go?? He looked towards the entrance and didn’t see him run, but he didn’t hear him either. “Does he have a teleportation quirk for something?” He asked himself, only to be frightened when Midoriya seemingly reappeared right up in his face, the kid’s eyes reminding him of a lion right before it clamps down its jaws on its prey’s neck.

The boy didn't speak as with lightning-fast movement, reached his hand into his slime body, gripped his eyeball and pulled it free. The villain screamed in pain as his body wiggled and jiggled as he struggled to maintain its form. Landing a couple of meters back, Midoriya looked at the eye on his hand, being careful not to squish it as he examined it. It was nothing like the fish and frog eyes they dissected in biology, so closer to what he would expect of what a human eye would be like from what textbooks said. Watching it dilute and focus on him proved his theory that his body could function even separated from the main body.

Seeing the kid from two different angles, the villain was now pissed. Before he just needed an escape route before he was in town for no f*cking reason, but now? Now he wanted this little brat dead! Midoriya felt another ping in his mind, stronger than before he detects malice from the villain now, an intention to do him serious harm. Eyeball in hand, he turned to face the threat, ready to pull the same trick twice and see if he wouldn't blind the threat till, he would call the police to pick him up. Then he felt another ping, something was coming-

The manhole cover that the villain came from shot up, slamming into the ceiling of the underpass enough to leave a dent before it fell back down to earth. The reason for this was made clear in the form of a tall, muscular blonde man with a small bag of shopping. The light of the entrance into the place might have blocked out most of his features, but both the now terrified villain and shocked Midoriya could recognise this person anywhere.

"It's all right now, young man." Climbing out from the man-hole, the man's foot landed with power and authority, his back straight with a smile on his face. "Because I am here!" All Might proclaimed, bringing dread to the villain and a sense of relief and fan-boy-like excitement to Midoriya as before them, stood the symbol of peace himself.

Chapter 2: Seeing through the Symbol

Chapter Text

“sh*t, how the hell did you catch up so quickly?!” The villain panicked as he threw long tendrils of sludge towards the number one, hoping to slow him down long enough for him to escape. His anger at the kid that was still holding his f*cking eyeball was forgotten in the moment.

Alas, his efforts were in vain as it didn't even seem like the symbol broke a sweat dodging his strike. "It takes more than just a little confusion to keep me away when there are people in need!" Rushing the villain, he closed half the distance before he or Midoriya would even see him move to begin with. He would have easily closed the distance completely but he had something else in mind as he pulled back his massive fist. “Texas-”

‘Oh no.’ Midoriya instantly realized what was about to happen and hunkered down, keeping his feet in place before-

“Smash!” All Might finished one of his iconic ultimate moves, punching the air with so much power that it generated a powerful wind current blast that flew right at them. The villain was caught right in the centre of it, feeling the force of a hurricane battering him, and with it, his control over his semi-liquid body started to fail as the wind tore him apart.

‘Wind pressure?! He can do this with just a punch?!’ The villain thought to himself in panic before he felt his body be torn apart by the wind, knocking him out as he was splattered across the floor and wall like water from a balloon.

‘He’s as powerful as I thought-no, he’s even stronger!’ Midoriya felt his feet moving back, their grip on the earth weakening even as he put more effort into it. despite that, he was smiling at this experience, giddy to be in the presence of someone like All Might, a man who preached hard work over natural talent and was the living result of that.

With the attack finished, All Might was expecting to see the slime villain reduced to a living splatter, and the boy he was assaulting on his but to his shock, the kid that wouldn’t be older than a middle schooler was still on his feet. With their being visible drag marks on the floor leading to his feet. ‘Strange, he was able to keep on his feet and barely be pushed back.’ He knew he had been holding back, but it was still rare to see something like this, he didn't let that bother him as he instead let out a belly-powered laugh. “Hahaha, apologies, young man. Had I not been confused by the city sewage network; I would have apprehended this villain before we could have ever threatened you.”

Midoriya didn't even notice that he dropped the eyeball in his fan-boy-fueled excitement, running up to the pro with stars in his eyes. "It-it's fine, All Might. I can't believe it, I'm talking to you, in person, and you're real!" He had only ever seen him on the TV for this, not having the chance to attend conventions like he would have liked for the sake of training, but oh-man, he was going to near drooling over him like this Kamui Woods fan girls and he felt no shame for that.

All Might took this in stride, continuing to laugh as he reached into his shopping bag for something. “Real I am, now, excuse me for a moment, I need to secure the villain before he comes to.”

“How are you-” Midoriya started to ask but he saw the man down both bottles of soda like it was nothing, wiping his lip to clear away any excuses, he held up the empty bottles for him to see.

“Now, I have the containers.” All Might raced around the underpass, scooping up pieces of the slime villain and forcing it into the bottles, he even managed to get his eyeballs in there…somehow. “And done! This should hold him till I deliver him to the proper authorities.” That done, he now held up the bottles which were filled to the brim with the slime villain.

Picking up a smell, All Might smelled his armpit and pulled with a yikes look on his face which faded into a laugh. “Oh my, they tell you that hero business can be messy, but it doesn’t save me from how high my laundry bill will be. Word of advice, young man. Stay out of the sewers.” Midoriya couldn’t stop his head from nodding at high speeds. He might not see him as his idol, but he respected him, he looked up to him for all he had done to help the world and save people.

That only fuelled that small part of him, that little kid who obsessed over All Might and wished to be his sidekick when he got older. Seeing the man turn, most likely to leave to do what he said he would and then help someone else, he made his move. “All Might. If you could answer just one question of mine, please!”

“A question? Very well, young man, but make it quirk. Pros are constantly fighting both villains and time.”

“Power or character, which do you think is more important for a hero to have?”

"That is quite simple, young man. A powerful hero is certainly a good thing, but it is the heart of the hero that makes or breaks them."

'He…he agrees with me, HE AGREES WITH ME!' "So, you believe that if you trained hard enough, even a quirkless person could become a splendid hero?" He asked for a follow-up, he knew he had just asked for the one, but he couldn't help himself.

His question, however, grabbed the attention of the top pro in a way that he wouldn't have expected as he stopped himself mere moments before he would have leapt away. Turning back to him, he looked at him with new eyes, having not seen a confirmed quirkless person other than David's daughter in almost 20 years. "Quirkless?" Before anything else could happen, he felt a familiar and unwelcomed pain in his side as his body started to leak steam as he struggled in vain to keep it at bay for just a few more minutes.

Midoriya was shocked by this turn of events and wondered if this was the work of another, maybe the slime villain had an accomplice who was trying to help him escape but he couldn't sense anyone close by. Turning back to the pro, he was about to ask him what he should do but stopped as he didn't see the towering muscle bond man with perfectly kept blonde hair and a reward-winning smile.

Instead, he saw the exact possible, a much shorter man who looked like a stiff breeze could knock him over. He wore the same clothes as All Might, but on his frame, they were several sizes too small, almost like he wore bedsheets to cover himself. His arms, neck and head were all bony, lacking any definition while his blonde hair was much dirtier and unkept compared to All Might. It seemed that the only this imposter shared with the symbol of peace other than clothing choice and hair colour was their eyes, both were a piercing shade of blue that seemed to lock onto and hold anyone in the place, though there was now a sense of exhaustion in them, like a engine that had been on full throttle for so long, that it was close to breaking down.

“What are you?!” Midoriya demanded as he raised his hands, ready to take this man down and call the cops on him if he had to. Even if he had saved him from that villain, he wasn’t about to let some prankster insult All Might like this.

Undeterred by the threat of physical violence from the boy, the man raised a hand. “I am All Might-!” His statement was interrupted by him coughing up what must have been a full cup worth's of blood, and with how skinny and frail he looked, he needed every drop!

“That is a terrible lie, also do you need to see a doctor? It’s not normal to spew out blood like that!” Midoriya asked him, now inclined to drag him to a clinic so that he could be checked on as this was far from normal.

“Young man,” The man signed, looking around before he gestured for him to follow him. "Why don't we take this somewhere more private? There are some questions I need to answer about this situation and my current condition." He didn't know what his game was, and he knew that following strangers to isolated spots was one of the dumbest things he could do. But he would be lying if he said he wasn't curious or concerned about this guy. Besides, if worst came to worst, he would easily take this guy and get the heck out of there.

He followed the man some ways away from the underpass, with him checking on his pockets now and then to ensure that the villain was still secure. After a while, they managed to find a deserted park. The play area looked like it needed to be worked on, but nothing close to what he had seen in other areas. Finding a park away from any bushes or other obstacles that could hide an eavesdropper, the tired and very sickly-looking man all but collapsed onto it though Midoriya remained standing. "Now, All Might impersonator, I believe you owe me an explanation!" He refrained from pointing at him as that would be rude.

“As I said, I am All Might,” Midoriya didn’t believe that for a second and the man picked up on that as he thought of a way to explain it in a way he would. “You know that thing guys do when they suck in their gut and push out their chest to look like they have muscles? It’s like that?”

“…What?” Midoriya didn't understand why he chose that of all examples as he had never heard of that being effective, there was a reason that must do it as a joke, at least the people he knew did it for a joke.

“But…how? How would that add an extra meter of eight and at least 200kgs worth of muscle?” He scratched his hair, he had seen some crazy stuff, especially ever since the master had taken him in and began to train him but he can safely say that he had never seen something like what this guy was describing.

He seemed less annoyed by his question and more amused as he chuckled. "Trust me, young man. There are questions that even I don't have the answers to but when you've seen and done all I have, you learn to stop thinking about the minor details."

“I wouldn’t call that minor.” He muttered before he shook his head, he couldn’t let himself get distracted. “However, I’m still unconvinced that who you say you are?”

“And why is that?”

"All Might always has a fearless smile, one as bright as the sun is warm regardless of if he's signing autographs, giving TV appearances or saving lives from villains and disasters." Midoriya, even if he didn't worship the ground the man walked on, never forgot that core feature of his. That smile, that attitude, that 'you can do it' energy he seemed to bring he was in the scene. Even if All Might couldn't save his family from falling apart, his unending smile helped to save his soul.

"But all I see in your eyes is exhaustion, pain and defeatism, almost the exact opposite of All Might." He narrowed his gaze at this man, someone who walked and spoke like he was expecting death itself to appear and take him. a man whose presence made him feel worry-not relief.

“A fearless smile?” He asked himself “As I’ve said, I am All Might, but the situation is a little more complicated than it looks, before I tell you more, I’m trusting that you don’t speak of this to others to share it online.”

Midoriya was about to ask him what more he could say before his eyes widened. The man lifted his oversized shirt, to reveal an ugly pink, red and purple mess of scar tissue on the left side of his torso. It looked as if he had been struck by an electrified industrial drill for goodness sake with the skin tightened and dry. “5 Years ago, I fought against a powerful villain, probably the strongest one to ever exist. While I managed to defeat him, it wasn’t till after he did this to me.”

He lowered his shirt, taking a pained breath as he did so. "My left lung and stomach were lost and it took multiple surgeries to save my life…but they along with the injury took a toll on my body." He could still recall them, Recovery Girl yelling at the doctors as they worked, the brief moments when Nighteye was at his side between surgeries urging him to live. His teacher was a calming presence whenever he was lucid.

“At present, I can only maintain my hero form, my All Might form for 3 hours a day.” He finished the explanation, his shame for his reduced time thick in his voice.

“Just 3 hours…is that why you’ve been seen less these past few years?” Midoriya couldn't help but ask h-All Might. He had noticed it over the years, he couldn't think of someone who didn't but must assumed he was just getting old, or maybe handling a family issue as no one knew anything about his personal. Even the number 2 hero, Endeavour had more information out there about his adult children.

“Correct, young man. I might wish to work from sunrise to sunset like I used to, but that is no longer possible.” He used to irritate his sidekick with that, but he always enjoyed it. Being active, racing to wherever he was needed.

“Was Toxic Chainsaw that much of a threat?” All Might co*cked an eyebrow there, that was an obscure reference but he did recall fighting against that villain a couple of weeks before the incident so it would line up.

“Him, no way, as if some gutter punk could hurt me!” The punk’s quirk might have been impressive, being able to spread radiation to his immediate area, but All Might was too fast for him. he just rushed him, knocked him out and then carried him somewhere isolated till his body was safe for the police to handle. His total exposure time was less than 10 seconds. “You wouldn’t know the name of the villain, or find any reports of news stories on the incident. It was suppressed. I asked them to.”

“But why?” All Might looked at him, his bright blue eyes, sunken in his head, capturing the boy and holding him in place as even weakened, he still had his stare.

"Because All Might always has his fearless smile and saves the day. The symbol of Peace can't be daunted by evil, so the people can never know that I smile to mask my fear." He looked to the side, to the city that was one of the many in Japan he defended. It was filled with so many people who were just trying to live their lives, who could only do that because they knew that he was out there, protecting them. If they ever found out about his time limit or heaven forbid, his injury…

He turned away from that line of thinking that was never far from his mind these days. "Young man. Earlier, you asked me if you could become a hero even if you didn't have a quirk. My answer is no. Pros risk themselves every time they put on the mask; they understand that any one of their patrols could be their last. That they might meet their end in a disaster or to a villain. I can't in good conscience tell you that you could do the same without some power.

Midoriya…didn’t know what to say to that, but he felt angry. He didn’t know why. He knew that objectively; All Might was correct. Without the power to back up your ideals, you'll never accomplish anything, it was a fact of life, more so in the hero business. It was a perfectly rational response, responsible even but-

All Might wasn’t meant to be rational; he never did what was logical, he always went beyond. That was what made him the number one! He gave it his all and them some, and pushed himself to his limit and beyond them every day. "But you just said that character matters more than power, now you're backtracking?"

"I never said that. I said that one is more important than the other, but I didn't say that one could survive without both." All Might countered, making him stop at how…wrong that sounded coming out of his mouth.

All Might took his silence as agreement as he got up with a huff, before turning to leave but not before he said one last thing. "If you wish to help people, there are plenty of jobs out there that would achieve this. You could go into medicine, perhaps become a support item engineer, even a detective-!"

“You’re just like all the rest.” Midoriya interrupted him, his head looking down as he tightened his fists at his side. “Obsessed with power…obsessed with quirks.” He should have never expected anything more from him. Not when from the moment he woke up in an empty apartment that his mother hadn't returned to in God knows how long to when he returned to that same empty cold space after another day of dealing with his quirkist school and classmates. Students, his teachers, random people on the street, it didn't matter.

Quirks did. Quirk this, quirk that. What quirk do you have? Don't you think that quirk is cool? Hey, that quirk is pretty villainous. He couldn't go a single DAY without hearing something like that. without someone looking at him like he was defective goods. He tried to keep it contained, to not get angry over something that he had known for years, but all that did was fuel his anger that he had gone the entire day suppressing, the entire day keeping a carefully made lid on but that lid was breaking, and frankly, he was too angry to care.

“Young man, things are more complicated then-”

“No, they aren’t!” All Might’s eyes widened at his outburst, as in that instant, he felt like something in the boy, call it a 6^th sense, but there was something more with him, but he didn’t have time to figure out as the boy continued, tears in his eyes born from both deep disappointment and anger. “They shouldn’t be complicated. I already know heroes get hurt, that heroes can die, but you…you were supposed to be different. Always given speeches on how anyone can be a hero so long as they had a brace heard and the dedication to self-improvement to better themselves, that the circ*mstances of our births didn’t dictate our destine.”

All Might wished to stop him, but found that he…couldn’t. Those were his words, weren’t they? He wasn't lying when he spoke them, he had always believed in them, didn't he? Thinking on it, when did they become hollow? How much did he allow his injury at the hands of All for One to affect him so?

Midoriya rubbed at his eyes, getting rid of his tears, not wanting to spread them for this, for him. Not after what he learned about him. “What a hypocrite.” He felt slapped by these words, as Midoriya turned his gaze to him, devoid of that earlier respect, now they held contempt as he brushed past him to leave. After a few paces, he stopped to say his last piece. "You're not All Might, as far as I'm concerned, he never existed. But your secret is safe with me. My dream doesn't need me to out you. But I will prove you wrong, you can count on that.” He didn’t say more as he took a breath, cleared his mind and vanished from the pro’s sight, leaving him dumbfounded as he looked around for him, never seeing him quietly leave the park.

Getting his stuff from the store, Midoriya found himself in a terrible mood. He had never believed in the saying about meeting one's heroes more than he did now.

'Idiot! Why did you believe him any better than the rest, if anything!' He wanted to smack himself for ever buying into it. that childish hope that he'll be different. He continued picking stuff and tossing it into his cart, most of it generic and cheap fruits, vegetables and spices, with few things with high fat or sugar content. He did make an exception with the fish, getting enough to last him the next 2 weeks, and some premium canned cat food.

Getting to the till, he didn't so much as flinch as the clerk who knew him charged him 10% more than anyone else, he was used to it and he was lucky that this place only extorted him instead of downright refusing him service like other places had. Walking out of the place and out into the open Tatooine market, he felt as if the Heavens themselves were seeing how much they could foul his mood. Stalking towards him, was Bakugo and his two cronies. The blonde looked even angrier than before, most likely because he didn't catch him but he spared him no mind as he walked past him, the boy and his cronies never saw him as he blended into the crowd, as perceivable as a black dot on a black cat.

Getting back to his complex, the only thing that he could say he liked about the place was the garden portion and the trees that lined the walkway. The former was small, but he did his best to care for it, watering the plants and flowers, and weeding it when he could. He always felt at ease when surrounded by the green, though he could never place it. Entering his apartment, he closed the door behind him and kicked off his shoes, not bothered with slippers as he approached the kitchen counter where he dumped his shopping.

He unpacked the staff and put it all into its appropriate place, with that done, he went into his room to change out of his uniform, grabbing some casual stuff and a good, durable pair of shoes from his closet as well as fresh exercise clothing and gear which he packed into a gym bag.

Within less than 20 minutes of coming home, he was already out the door again. Making it to the street level again, he looked up towards the orange skies. "I have maybe an hour left of daylight left." His eyes moved towards the outskirts of town, more accurately, to the mountains that lay outside town, to his destination.

"Then I don't have time to waste." He said to himself as he got into a runner's position, before bolting off, shocking some people on the street as they yelled at him as he went by, with another yelling that he shouldn't be using his speed quirk in public. He never stopped enjoying hearing that, hearing how the fruits of his labour were mistaken for a quirk. Looking at his fitness tracking watch, he saw that he was moving at a good speed, 35km/h but decided to push it as he put his legs into it, and pretty soon, that speed had climbed to 50km/h. Racing through town, he allowed the anger, the frustration, the annoyance. All of it left his body and was replaced with a deep joy, a song of happiness.

It took less than 5 minutes for him to reach the outskirts, where most of the upper-end houses were. A few minutes later, he was out of town and on an old country road that led up the mountain. It was long and winded, with a killer gradient but he had run this route before and he'll keep doing it, so he merely smiled.

Despite his new personal record, it had still gotten dark by the time he arrived at his destination. Seeing the imposing tall walls in the distance, he slowed down his run into a light jog. The lights of the main gate and those on the walls helped guide him into this place, located in the middle of nowhere far away from anything else. Outside, two people stood wearing martial arts gi with bo staffs held at the ready. Seeing him, the dutiful sentries went to attention with Midoriya slowing down as he approached. When he was 10m away, he came to a stop, huffing as he wiped the sweat from his breath.

Despite it being night, the light of the gate and walls illuminated the place more than enough for them to see his face and relax. "You're a bit early." One of them, a man in his late 30s noted as he looked at his watch.

Knowing that it was safe to approach, he did so with a small smile on his face. "I wanted to see if I couldn't beat my time."

He handed his bag to the second sentry, a woman in her late 20s with dyed blonde and red hair. As she looked through his bag for any contraband, she snorted his way. “Eager for training then?”

“Of course, I am, today’s the day the master evaluates my progress.” He handed a card to the man, his I.D. as while they knew him, the two were strict when it came to protocol. The man checked went into their little guard house to check his I.D. authenticity.

Once he confirmed that it was legit, he handed it back to Midoriya with a snort. “Oh yes, wouldn’t want to be late for that. but don’t you think you might have screwed yourself over by rushing here and wasting energy?”

Maybe, but Midoriya had been training for years, he had come so far that he didn’t think that his trip to the sanctuary would tire him to such an extent. “Believe me, I still have some in the tank. Besides, if that run could jeopardise my odds, then I wouldn’t be deserving of the promotion.”

“If you say, good luck them. You’re going to need it.” The woman told him as they stepped aside and allowed him to pass. Walking up to the massive doors, he placed his hands on each of them before pushing them open, revealing the interior that they and the imposing walls hid from the world. Inside, he saw a sprawling and massive property, easily the size of a small town with all the facilities one would need as he could see parks, dorms even if separated by gender for the most part, bathhouses for each, mess halls, a nursery for the young and a school house for the older kids in the community who through one reason or another, didn’t attend school somewhere else.

Recreational spaces were plenty for several sports or just simply outdoor fun and the farm areas that lined the main path. As it was night out, there was little activity to be found on them but he had seen them enough in the day to know that could normally be filled with people and farm animals.

As he walked through and reached the buildings that acted as dorms for men and women, he spotted smaller parks and gardens, each with small ponds which he knew were teeming with exotic fish of all shapes and sizes but he could tell most lights in the dorms were out, not hard to see why as he could tell further away, up on the hill, the hot springs seemed to be having no issues with people. Another place people were at this hour was the mess halls, either having their dinner or just hanging out with the rest of the community they’re built for themselves within these walls, so far from the judgement and apathy of society.

All of this paled in comparison to what sat at the centre of it all, the beating heart of their sanctuary.

The Dojo.

Looking at it, he felt that just calling that was a gross oversimplification. The picture that came to mind when someone said 'dojo' was a small building, where martial arts were taught, often either out in the boonies or smacked between two modern buildings as if a relic of now past time. But the building he looked up at was anything but. Standing 4 stories tall and sitting on a piece of land the size of 2 thirds of a soccer field, it looked closer to a school than a dojo. Built from wood and painted yellows, red and white, it stuck out among the browns and greens of the gardens that surrounded it.

From where he stood, he could already hear the sounds of training, of feet stamping on the hard wooden floor, of movement as people were thrown or wrestled to the mat, as others went through practice drills to the beat of a drum or the single worded command of a supervisor. It would be intimidating for a first-time visitor but for him.

He wouldn’t wait to enter.

Passing by others on their way out, they greeted him warmly which he returned. It didn’t take him long to get to the men’s changing room and get himself ready.

Stepping into the main training floor, Midoriya had changed out of his street clothes and into his real training gear, not his exercise clothing. This consisted of a worn short-sleeved green karate gi with a brown belt tied around his waist, designating his proficiency to others. In addition, he also wore bandages around his forearms and knuckles with padded gloves to further protect the back of his hands and knuckles when blocking or striking. He had removed his scarf, letting his full face be seen as he walked through the hall towards the other end. Along the way were dozens of people, dressed in a similar style as they through their kata, shouts from supervisors louder than ever, all spoken in unison but different groups did different things.

Looking up at the ceiling, along the beams that crisscrossed it, he could make the near-glowing eyes of dozens of cats that watched them from above, their gaze seemingly implying that they saw more than you thought and that they knew more than they should. Even with the lights illuminating the place, it was like those feline eyes created false stars for anyone who looked their way.

Seeing so many felines wasn't cause for any attention, however, as the dojo space was filled with cat iconography. From statues of cats along the walls to the walls themselves being painted with dozens of carts of all shapes and sizes, from real to fictional, it was clear that this space was inspired by felines. Approaching the end, he finds the person he is looking for. Lounging on a throne-like is overseeing the entire hall, with two massive Siberian tigers lying on either side of her.

The person in question was a tall, muscular woman with amber eyes that while might have been passive in the moment, he knew that they could become infernos at the drop of a hat. A sight that would be all the more intimidating by her careful application of black eyeliner which made her eyes stand out all the more. Her thick orange and white hair was kept in a waist-length ponytail, with what appeared to be orange and white cat ears pocking out the top of her head. With how much hair she had, some of her ponytail was resting on the armrest of her throne.

Her attire on the other hand was quite different to what one would expect from a woman who gave out so much authority and power from just being in the room as it was made up of a revealing red and white knee-length qipao, her midriff exposed to emphasis her chiselled abs which she liked to joke could be used to grate cheese. Woven into her qipao was a golden tiger pattern with black trim, with the entire thing held together by 4 small metal fasteners. Thankfully, she didn't just wear that as she knew her modifications left a lot out in the open, so her bottom half was covered by a loose black silk pair of pants and red sandals. Over this, she wore a white and orange haori with a torn right sleeve, on its back was her crest and the motto written in Japanese which translates to 'Excellence through never-ending diligence'

Her fusion of Chinese and Japanese fashion looked good, but he was just glad she had some pants on else he and everyone else would be seeing what colour underwear she was wearing with how she was sitting.

Upon approaching her, he brought his hands up, with his right clenched into a fist and left an open palm, pressing them together, he bowed before he. “Evening, Kenmikoto-sensei. I am ready for my evaluation.”

Looking at him, Teitora Kenmikoto’s amber eyes twinkled with amusem*nt as she took a puff of her pipe. “Evening to you as well, my ever-studious student. Couldn’t wait the 20 minutes for the evaluation to get going, couldn’t you?” He chuckled as his face turned a little red for being called out by her. However, while he would normally feel irritation if not pure anger at this jab, he felt only amused affection from her with a bashful smile stretching itself over his face.

“I’m afraid not master, Kenmikoto-sensei. But the early bird gets the worm.” Still bowing, he waited for her to allow him to stand straight which she did by tapping her pipe on her armrest.

"And it fools that rush in and gets nothing," Kenmikoto told her, her eyes conveying a deep wisdom that only years of experience could ever truly bring. “Remember to temper her eagerness, my boy. Even the greatest lion knows when to wait and listen.”

“Yes, Kenmikoto-sensei.” He bowed once more to her as she got up, stretching her arms over her head which made her abs and… above-average bust stick out all the more as he looked away, still red in the face.

“Still, since you’re already here. We might as well start it. I was getting a bit bored. Come.” She instructed him as she stepped down from her throne and walked towards a door to the side, her two tigers following behind her with Midoriya behind them. Leaving the dojo hall, they walked through the outdoor paths that lined the building, with the night sky bright and clear to them thanks to their distance from the light population of the city.

"I assume that you had a hard day, Izuku?" She suddenly spoke up, her back to him as she took a drag at her pipe.

"How did-forget it. I can't keep anything from you, can I?" Midoriya only shook his head, smiling as he gotten used to her just doing stuff like that with him and others. She was able to read the room and people as if they were books and she was the only one that was truly literate. In a way, it could make talking to her unnerving as she always knew more than you wished, but it also helped ease things if you got past that as he had. After all, it was easy to speak with someone about a bad experience when that person could understand perfectly how it affected you.

She turned to face him, her pace casual but purposely, not a single wasted motion. “You’re an honest soul, deceit doesn’t come easy to you.” She smiled at him, her praise making him blush. "But no, you and anyone else would be hard-pressed to keep secrets from me, especially when I can feel the tension coming off you." As she most likely already figured it out, he spoke up.

“It was…more of the same. Nothing to write home about.” She hummed, a slight frown to her as she looked out towards the rest compound, to the farm area which grew trees by the hundreds, some having already been cut down and organised into neat piles of logs.

"It being normal doesn't make a bad day any less bad. It makes it worse. Have you been practising your breathing exercises?" He had confided in her about his treatment at school, and society at large once. After a particularly bad day when he came to train, she had sat him down and after some encouragement and assurance that he was safe, he broke down and cried about it. It pained her heart to see one of her students, one of her people in such pain but for as much as she wished to visit these vile people, she held back.

Instead, she offered him a place there as he was already a student, and already had connections among them. He could easily find a family willing to take him in, and he could transfer to their school but he refused. He wished to prove a point, to make it clear that they couldn't break him down or stop him. She felt it foolish to remain in a dangerous situation and made him promise that if another incident occurred, then she'd pull him out.

With the compromise, she taught him ways to keep himself in check, control his emotions and remain collected and calm as she taught him that bullies always pick their marks and harass them because it makes them feel bigger than they are, and part of that is seeing your reaction, much like how a child might act out if it means drawing your attention. Deny them a reaction, and you deny them their satisfaction and leave them with frustration instead.

"I have, it helps keep me grounded." He recalled just the one incident where he let himself blow up, but as he promised, he wouldn’t talk about his meeting with the hero with others. If Kenmikoto caught that he was holding back something, she didn’t make anything of it.

“That is good. Remember sinking to their level makes him no better than a dog biting another dog.” She reached a hand to one of her tigers, which moved like a housecat to place its head under her palm as she patted them. "Frankly, how that school of yours tolerates that Katsuki brat is beyond me, but the desire for fame can blind even the wisest of men." It didn't take a genius to guess why they allowed that egotistical menace of a child to run rampant and she hated it. She had been around a long time, a VERY long time and seen how society twisted itself backwards to change for quirks. One of the worst was how they valued heroes like status symbols, and how by proxy, a school tries to tie themselves to promising future heroes for the fame that it would bring.

Even if that meant actively shielding that promising student from any punishment their actions might bring to keep their records clean enough to pass most hero schools stringent entry requirements.

“I doubt my teachers would fall into that camp, Kenmikoto-sensei.” She laughed at that little jab from the boy. He was an honest one, yes-but that didn’t mean he wasn’t blunt when it came to his observations.

“You're right, my boy. But let's not give them any more time than they deserve.” Coming to their destination out back, they found themselves in an outdoor training patch, one that was lit not by electrical lighting like the dojo, but by dozens of charcoals burning torches stuck into the ground. In the centre of the space was a small patch of water, its waters reflecting the light from the touches and appearing to almost shine like liquid gold. Despite being the size of a tennis court, it was shallow, too shallow for anything larger than a goldfish which meant there was nothing in it.

Approaching the water, she didn't stop even as the tigers did, taking a seat at its edge. Reaching the water, she took another step, and another, and another. Each one didn't result in her feet sinking into the water, other than the surface rippling as she moved, she remained dry as she walked on it towards the centre of it. Only then did she turn to him, her gaze one of strength. "Come, Midoriya Izuku. The evaluation begins now." He knew what she was expecting, those eyes didn't lie. The first part of it was to see if he could follow her and if he could perform even while maintaining the same form she was, if he couldn't, he just knew she would fail him on the spot.

However, even with the nervous sweat forming on his brow at how daunting that sounded; he didn’t back down. “At once, Kenmikoto-sensei.”

Chapter 3: Training and Charity

Chapter Text

“At once, Kenmikoto-sensei.” Midoriya looked at the water, before he took a slow breath, through the nose and out the mouth, repeating this a couple of times as he centered himself. He could rush it, but this was his evaluation, he couldn't afford to mess up, and he refused to mess up. Closing his eyes, he felt it, his tenet in his body, felt as it flowed and shifted in his like his blood. Much like before when he made himself vanish from the 5 senses of Bakugo, the villain and then All Might, that last one bringing up some feelings of irritation, he took control of it again but instead of merely closing off its flow out of his body to conceal himself, he was now manipulating some of its flow to the soles of his feet and shoes.

Once he felt that the flow of tenet to his feet was stable and strong, he took his first step onto the water, then another, and then another. With each one he took, his feet touched the water, but they didn't sink as he couldn't hide his excitement at that, jumping up into the air with a fist pump. He had practiced for weeks to get this down, running up trees, walls and the many ponds that dotted the compound, more the few times he flew but now? Now he barely needed to think about it. Kenmikoto didn't rush him even if he was taking his time, smiling as she allowed him a moment to feel accomplished in what he had managed.

Lucky for her, Midoriya didn't waste too much time as he quickly made his way over to her, leaving the two standing in the middle of the large body of water, with nothing but the star-filled sky and the many charcoals burning torches to give them light. When he met her in the centre of the pond, all amusem*nt fled from her eye, her narrow ember eyes gazed into his soul, trapping him in place as she walked around him, inspecting him like one would a prize racehorse before a big competition. She didn't say anything, merely hummed and grunted when she saw something, though if that was something she liked or not, he couldn’t say.

She went on for a couple of minutes before she spoke, with no warning. "Begin!"

He didn't question or hesitate, sliding into position as he shifted his stance, crouching lower to the ground, lifting his front foot and slamming it into the water, producing a splash, but again, he remained on its surface. His arm was held at his side, with his other first outstretched, closed tight. From that stance, he began his kata, like thunderclaps, he performed swift, powerful and fast kicks, jabs, punches, elbows and knees against an imaginary foe.

“More ferocity!”

“Faster!”

“Stronger!”

“Be flexible!”

With each order she gave, he followed her commands to the letter, increasing the intensity, speed, the strength, shifting his stance and balance to ensure he couldn't be tripped up. Listening to her roar out commands, it was less a woman and more hearing a tiger's roar reverberate through your very being. Sparing a glance at the actual tigers, he could see that they felt this as well as they were cowed by her mere voice, submissive to her will as their dominant caretaker. But he didn't dare linger on them too long, shifting his focus back to his movements.

"Be creative, boy! There is no such thing as a tiger, lion or jaguar that hunts by the book! You need to be faster than lightning, as nimble as a leaf in the wind, strike with the force of a raging inferno, and process the devil's cunning." She instructed him, which he followed, not just increasing his speed and power yet again, but also shifting his stance from the more traditional martial arts position to a strange hybrid of styles from across the world as well as gymnastics and acrobatics as he started not just moving about, but jumping, rolling, backflipping, cartwheeling and any other ways to move, twisting his body as he did so as if evaded his imaginary foes counters and retaliatory strikes.

This was a style that his master had created, a style that had few set forms, that encouraged on-the-fly attacks, blocks, counters and joint holds. A style of pure freedom. This is what she had taught him over the years, and he hoped to one day master it.

Heavenly Tiger style

This went on for a few minutes, but despite the rapid, high pace energy intensive strikes, kicks, jumps, flips and feints, he didn’t feel the least bit tired, if anything, he felt better than he had all day. Under the star-filled sky, on a still body of shallow water under the watchful, piercing eyes of his master, he felt alive.

Kenmikoto hummed as she watched him, picking up on this growing feeling of exhilaration in the boy, as it showed in his movements as with time, they started losing more of that human element to them, a piece that existed in all human martial arts, instead, he started to resemble any cat worth its salt, constantly shifting his balance and focus, as capable of striking whatever he envisioned was in front of him as he was at striking something that snuck up on him. He was also maintaining fine control over his Mizohyōjutsu as it didn’t matter what part of him was touching the water, he was able to shift that little piece of focus needed to manipulate the tenet in that portion of his body to ensure he so much as sink a couple centimeters into the water.

After seeing him run through dozens of different combinations of varying lengths of the kata she had taught him, she decided it was time to move to the next part of the exam. After all, if all she needed to see from him was that he could fight on water, she wouldn't have bothered with this and just passed it up to someone else to supervise.

“Nezumito." Her instruction was short, blunt and unyielding. Ceasing his movements right as he brought his foot down onto the water in an axe kick, he closed his eyes. Relying on the skills that he had honed in these halls under her tutelage for the last 9 years to guide him, he shut off his sight and instead relied on his 6^th sense, that prick feeling he got in the back of his head that alerted him to both Bakugo’s attempt to intimidate him, and to the villain.

Only now, it wasn't just that, it felt more detailed, more expansive. The best thing he could compare it to would be a kind of echolocation mixed in with a scent as he could 'feel' the different objects and animals around him, he could 'feel' his master, even in the very edges of it, he could detect the many people still in the dojo, walking, sparring, training-it all came him.

Digging deeper, he could pick up the scent of their emotions, of how intrigued yet on guard the tigers were, he would have never realized that if not for knowing how they never let their guard down when their mistress was in play, these emotions, they all came off them like colored smoke he could see in his mind’s eye, that he could track as they moved.

Turning his mind’s eye to his master, he wasn’t even surprised by the fact she wasn’t as cut and dry as the tigers, as he struggled to make any sense of what she was truly feeling, but he could detect just a sliver of pride-pride in his skills, in how far he had come. Knowing that, knowing that he had someone like her feeling such things for his efforts sent a shot of joy into his heart which only made him wish to work all the harder.

His eyes still closed; he started moving about the water as if he hadn't just given himself a sensory handicap. He threw a couple of punches and jabs, performed a kick and knee, and felt that he was still in tip-top shape to continue. She agreed with him, so they moved on.

“Húxū” Having tested his 6^th sense to ensure it worked fine, he was prepared for her command as he took that stretched field of ‘sight’ and added layers to it, increasing its sensitivity, increasing how much detail he could detect. At the same time, he shrunk it, he reduced it from 20m where he couldn't make out anything more than shapes past 10m, to a far smaller 6m, but within that space, he could detect everything, from the shifting air to the stray leaves passing by, even the rustling of their clothes and texture of the water they stood on. It would have been a sensory overload, and it still kinda was but he kept himself calm and centered, allowing it to wash over him, but not overwhelm him.

Through this, he detected something coming towards him and coming towards him fast, 'seeing' it as it passed through the many layers of his bubble, he could pick up the relatively small size of the object, how it seemed to have 4 triangular points, and how it was spinning towards him. Quickly he was able to surmise that this was a shuriken, which he reacted to by shifting his body to the side, letting it pass harmlessly by where his left shoulder would have been. He wasn't given time to rest as another 2 were sent flying towards him, their trajectory would mean they would hit different parts of him. Crouching, both passed over her.

Then he ‘saw’ a third, coming on right for his chest which he reacted to by thrusting his palm into the water and throwing the water at the shuriken, which was enough to knock the thing off course and send it to the side where he heard it plump as it sunk into the water.

His master didn't give him time to rest, she didn't give him a warning as she continued the barrage, throwing an assortment of shuriken, knives, rocks and even her smoking pipe his way, forcing him to either dodge. Some came close, those that came in groups where she planned out how he'd dodge some and throw them to catch him off guard, but he somehow managed. She didn't remain stationary either, moving around him, throwing at different angles for different targets, her speed making it seem like he was being attacked by 3 even though he could only track her.

Soon, the bottom of the water was littered with projectiles and weapons, where she was storing them, he didn’t know but he felt that his bubble was starting to strain. Mercifully, his performance seemed to have been enough for her.

“Enough, you may open your eyes.” Opening them, he saw that she was impressed by him, even if she was pouting at the loss of her pipe which she’ll have to fish out of the water and dry out later.

"It did well in dodging my attacks, but you must remember you can't just remain still, it would have been easy for me to simply overwhelm you if I so choose." She advised him, as she had been able to run circles around him before he seemed determined to barely move from that spot. If she so wished, she could have just rushed him and attacked him directly.

“Apologies, it was a challenge maintaining Húxū, moving at the same time would have disrupted both," Midoriya replied, taking a breath to cool down as he was still learning how to multi-task with more than just two things. If he wasn't walking on water, perhaps he would have been more mobile, but as it stood, it would have stretched his concentration too thin and led to him either falling into the water or needing to see the doctor about multiple shuriken and knife wounds.

“You need to work on that, Izuku.” Kenmikoto nodded her head, being firm in her instruction, but not harsh.

“I will.”

"Then let us continue." Seemingly vanishing from where she just was, he was only able to see her again when she was right in front of him. Her speed was so great that those knives, stones and shuriken might as well have been snails. He couldn't even blink before she slammed her palm into his shoulder, a blow that sent him tumbling back a couple of steps and was accompanied by a throbbing pain from the impact. Midoriya was only barely able to maintain his mizohyōjutsu as he hissed from the pain of that one blow. Still, he was on the clock and rolling his shoulder, aside from the pain, he was pretty sure it wasn't broken or dislocated.

Observing him, Kenmikoto noted that he was still in fighting order, even if she suspected his shoulder would have a bruise later, it was a marked improvement over when he started as back then, a blow like that would have sent him down and in need of the doctor. "Ashi." She told him a moment before she rushed him again. He didn't wait, and quickly followed her instructions by controlling his tenet once more, not just to walk on water but bringing up to the surface, just above his skin on his arms and legs, boasting their strength and durability. Right in time for him to perform a cross block, her blow this time around still moved him back, but he took no damage.

She kept on him, striking him any way she knew how using the same style of combat he had just been practicing for her, but comparing the two would have been insulting as while he liked to think he was proficient, above average. She was in a whole other league, not so much moving as she flowed through every attack, block and counter. He found himself blocking and evading more than he did trying to fight back. Her speed forced him to reactivate Húxū in some capacity, using it to help him ‘see’ her attacks in the moments leading up to them, granting him the much-needed time to prepare to move out of the way or block.

This 6^th sense boast didn't help him as much as he hoped as she managed to get through his defense, knocking his feet from under him, tripping him up, palm strikes to the face, chops to the side, punches to the gut. More than a couple of times, he lost his concentration and fell into the water, soaking his bruised body but she didn't give him a chance to so much as breathe. "Get up." She didn't yell, she didn't scream, but her voice, her orders still carried the same strength and uncompromising power of a tiger's roar.

And each time she said it, he got right back up for another round, the growing number of bruises and pain was something he ignored in favour of proving himself to her, of showing her just how serious he was about this. 10 minutes, and 4 other knock-downs later, she suddenly switched things up. “Toratsume!" She yelled, her fist reared back and no doubt having enough strength to kill a weaker person. Rather than try to block it, he copied her movement and pulled back his fist, sending as much of his tenet into his hand, specifically his knuckles, as he could. That excess tenet flowed out of his body and into his boxing gloves, increasing their durability right before their two fists collided.

Rather than sounding like flesh and bone crashing into flesh and bone, it sounded closer to an iron hammer striking another iron hammer, with a dull clang ringing through the air. Not even a moment later, she struck again, and he matched it once more. Now, he couldn't afford to take a blow, he had seen that those hands could do without the armament of tenet, with it, a single blow could very well kill him. but she was relentless, keeping the pressure on him, keeping him on the back foot as he struggled to try and counterattack. Landing on his back, he was caught completely open but he managed to spot something in the water which he plucked out and held in front of it.

His master fist stopped mere centimeters from contact with it, with a silence falling between the two, only broken by their breaths as she, at last, pulled her fist back and smiled at him and what he was holding as a means to protect himself.

Her pipe.

"Cheeky bastard, the evaluation is over. You did well." Looking up at her, she dusted off her clothes and took a step back, allowing him to get back to his feet.

"Does that mean I-" She smiled at him, her eyes that of a proud teacher watching their student cross another major milestone.

“Yes, you passed, Izuku. Congratulations.” She bowed to him, a gesture he quickly matched even as his face broke out into a huge smile, how could he not when he made another step towards his goal and got his red sash, after so much blood, sweat and tears, he had done what he had been told would take him another decade of training, he had reached the highest rank below 5 heavenly sashes.

Getting up from the bow, he handed the pipe back to its owner with a sheepish look to him. “Sorry about using the pipe against you like that, I know it’s your favorite.”

“Fighting fair is fighting stupid. You knew I had a weakness, and exploited it, as I taught you.” She waved him off as she placed it into the sleeve of her haori. “However, you should go take a shower and if the bruises persist come morning, speak with the doctor about them, understood?” She instructed him as the two walked off the water and back onto dry land, though she was the only one that was still dry.

“Yes, sensei.” Midoriya bowed to her once more as the woman hummed in response before turning to leave.

"Then you're dismissed." Midoriya took this ad turned and left as well, heading back inside to collect his stuff before he went to the men's bathroom to clean himself up. Kenmikoto on the other hand, took a moment to walk about the gardens, enjoying the peace as she thought about her student, one of her best students and how hard he seemed to work. ‘He’s certainly a diligent boy, perhaps…he could do it.’

After a relaxing shower, Midoriya changed into a pair of clean clothes he had packed and headed for the mess hall to grab something to eat. Entering it, he saw that it was even larger than the main floor of the training dojo, with a large central area and 2 levels above them to the side, the place lit up with intricately made lights and plenty of windows to allow the cool night air into the massive space.

It was calming, and comforting even as he moved through, joining the line of other latecomers, making small talk with the person in front of him. They might not know each other's names, but the people here were different to the ones beyond the walls. They were so invested in their conversation on an upcoming festival that once he collected his tray of food, he joined the man at the same table of 40 people. He smiled the entire time, an honest smile as he could never tire of this place, of its people if he had been at home right now, he would be sitting by himself, with only whatever was on the TV to keep him company.

But here, within these walls, in this hall, he was never alone as no matter the time of day, rain or shine, there was someone present, someone he could just walk up to and start a conversation. Here no one cared that he was quirkless, after all, over 70% of the people that lived here were quirkless as well.

Shoving some grilled fish into his mouth, he giggled as the spiced fish melted on his tongue, giving him an explosion of rich, savory flavor. “You know, if you like this place so much, you could always just move here.” Looking up at the source of that statement, he saw another one of the residents, someone he was particularly close to.

The speaker was taller than him, but not by much despite being in his 20s. With bright blue and black hair but what stuck out most about them was their scars, his exposed arms and part of his face were badly burnt, with the scar tissue being far dryer and a light shade of purple. But he focused on the amused blue eyes of the man as he took the free spot next to him, a plate of him in his hands.

"Someone needs to care for the apartment, I don't have the cash to pay for a housekeeper to do it." He swallowed his fish before he answered, with the man humming a response. They've had this conversation more than once so he didn't bother pushing it.

So, he decided to focus on something else. “How was the exam with the old lady? Since you’re not stress eating, I’m guessing you passed.” Midoriya pouted at that statement, picking at his food.

“I don’t stress eat, I-” The man didn’t even let him finish making an excuse, waving it off.

“Pack on the nutrients, or whatever else you wanna call it, it is what it is.” He told as Midoriya opened his mouth to argue that, but decided it wasn’t worth it, not when he was pretty sure that Hanen was doing this partly to screw with him.

“It went well, I passed it, though I feel like I could have done better.” He replied, thinking back to the test and how he could have done better.

“What else is new with you?” He was met by a sarcastic remark from the man who took a bite out of his food. “You want me to spare with you again?” He looked at him out of the corner of his eye.

“I don’t think that will help; I think I need to work more with my tenet when my martial arts.” He was pretty sure that he could improve that aspect, but then again, the master was clear that there was always room for improvement, so he would have to prioritize stuff he wasn’t that good at.

"That sucks, but hey-all the power to you," Hanen replied as the two fell into a comfortable silence, not needing to carry on a conversation and merely enjoying their meals and each other's company before they finished, putting the empty trays into the table set aside for them, the two left the mess hall into the evening air. Walking towards the men's dorms, Hanen asked him a question.

"Hey, something came up and I won't be able to help out on Saturday." He started, with Midoriya catching on pretty quick.

“So you need me to cover for you, right?” He asked the man, as this wasn’t the first time something like this happened and when it did, he normally asked him.

"That's the gist of it." Hanen nodded his head, not telling him what he was going to be busy with.

“I can do that, but you owe me.” Midoriya had planned to spend his weekend training, but he wouldn’t hurt if he lost a day helping out.

"I'll pay you back," Hanen promised him, which Midoriya had no reason to think he wouldn't, he had asked him to cover for him in the past, and always paid him back, even if at times he felt like he was screwing with him like when he paid him back by giving him some old playboy's magazine just to see him turn red and toss it into a fire.

Finally reaching the dorms, they stop at the first one as that was the one that Hanen lived in. The older man turned to walk inside, waving over his shoulder. “Cool, see you when I see you.”

"Have a good night," Midoriya called back to him before he went to the other one and entered, quickly finding the room that had been set aside for him whenever he had to stay the night. Unlike his apartment, the space had more life to it, even if he didn't sleep here all that often, he had put more hero posters, along with print-outs of different foods and their nutritional benefit, exercise regiments and a detailed calendar of events and achievements he had raked up. Moving to it, he crossed out the one that read 'get your red belt' with a happy sigh.

Shooting his mother a quick text saying he was staying with friends, he turned the lights off, removed his clothes till he was just in his boxers and collapsed onto his futon, falling asleep in just a few minutes as he knew he would need to get up earlier than normal to make it back home, shower and get a fresh uniform so that he could make it to school on time as he didn't want to give his teachers any more reasons to make his life hard.

When the weekend came, Midoriya could have gotten out of bed faster, than he had thought, when he showed up for school the next day, Bakugo had been waiting for him and tried his darndest to make his day a living hell, with no help from the teachers no matter what he did. It seemed just ignoring him made him worse as just got louder, and bolder when he didn't give him any sort of reaction and left him looking stupid. It wasn't till the next day that he kept his distance and went back to the default of acting like he didn't exist, which Midoriya was more than happy with as the less he had to deal with him, the better.

Having chosen to spend his Friday after school at the sanctuary, he was able to soak up the atmosphere and go to bed far more content, because of that, he was up with the sun barely peeking out from the horizon. Stepping around, he took a deep breath of the clean, cool mountain air before rushing off to the farming area.

When he got there, he saw that there were few others, mainly farm workers as they set up the carts that were going to carry their precious cargo. That cargo was boxes upon boxes of freshly grown produce. Common fruit stuff like apples, oranges, bananas, peaches, and pears along with more rare fruits such as mangoes, avocadoes, lychees and guavas. There were also vegetables such as carrots, broccoli, spinach, tomatoes, onions and eggplant. All of which he knew was top of the line as this same produce was used to prepare the hundreds of meals that the mess hall cooked up daily. Walking up, he saw that most of them weren't on the carts yet, so he moved to correct that.

“Morning, Ōbi.” Midoriya walked up to the person managing things, a man in his early 30s with a large build and brown hair shaved more on the sides than the top of his head, like himself, the man was quirkless but was still one of the strongest people in the sanctuary.

Looking up from the form he was reading, the man smiled. “Morning, kid. Think you could help load them in, we were meant to do it yesterday but other issues need to be addressed." He pointed towards the dozens of boxes that needed to be loaded.

“Sure thing.” Midoriya nodded as he went and picked up the first one, walking towards the carriages and loading them up, giving the boxes to the person already on the cart who was moving them into position.

Continuing this for a while, others started to show up as well and helped to move things. Including a large foxlike woman who stood heads and shoulders over any of them. her size and strength making it easy for her to carry 4 boxes at once while she talked with one of the women. he couldn't hear what they were talking about, but going from her smile, it must have been pleasant. "Seems like it's a lot this time around," Midoriya noted as he walked up Ōbi for what felt like the 15^th time with a box, heading towards the 3^rd cart in the line.

"That's because it is, it's around 2 thirds of the remaining crop for the year which we're hoping to unload," Ōbi replied, surprising Midoriya as he knew they had their ways of boasting crop yields, because of that, even when he tried to do the math in his head, he figured that just the 9 out of the 12 carts they were loading up wouldn’t be enough to carry that much.

So, he asked. “Then why are only loading 9 of the carts?”

“The rest is for everything else,” It wasn’t Ōbi who answered, but the tall woman from before. Walking up to them, he could see that she was far taller up close, far taller than even All Might. He blushed a little as he noted her foxlike curved figure while her blonde hair was done up to just reach her shoulders with a single strand over the right side of her face. It looked good on her. Lucky for him, she didn't notice him staring.

She has large blue eyes with bushy eyelashes and pointed ears, along with green fur and a white furry underbelly.

Continuing to explain things, she gestured to the back where others were coming forward with even more boxes. “Teas, medicinal herbs, bandages, cast powder, books, clothing, toys-anything that we could make or afford to donate as they need all they can get.”

Trying, and failing if Ōbi's amused smile was anything to go by, to hide his reddened face from the taller woman, he looked up at her, focusing on her large blue eyes that seemed to sparkle even when she wasn’t doing much-dammit! “Morning, Kyūfune. I hope you slept well.” His voice rose a little in pinch.

Takasame Kyūfune looked a tad confused by his sudden pitch change but shrugged it off, thank the heavens. “I did, I knew we were leaving early.” She replied, having only seen him briefly the night before she was called off to help with something. but now that she was with him, she looked around for a certain someone. “Where’s Hanen?”

Part of him felt a bit jealous that he was asking about him, but he crushed that under the biggest mental rock he could find. She was merely curious as to why someone who said they'd be there wasn't, no need to add any weird connotations to it. “He said something came up, so I’m covering for him.”

“Odd, but I’ll speak with him when I see him.” Kyūfune brushed some hair behind her ear, like him, she was used to him doing stuff like this. He left for work and missions without much warning, showing up out of the blue like he had always been there. With that said, it took another 20 minutes for everyone to make it, and for loading to complete. With that done, they got on board with Midoriya riding in the cart behind Kyūfune’s along with Ōbi, the taller woman needed all the space they could spare for her to ride comfortably.

With no horses or donkeys, it fell to them to move the carts by sheer force of muscle which didn't prove to be an issue as 12 people got into position, took the reigns of the carts and started pulling. Slowly, but gaining in speed, the carts each must have weighed 1,200kgs began to move at a comfortable pace. Approaching the main gates, the guards opened the gates for them, allowing them to leave with waves and wishes for a safe journey.

Outside of the walls of the compound, the lead cart picked up the pace as they went from just 3km/h to 12km/h, then to 16, and finally, they were moving maybe 25km/h. They were far slower than any motorized vehicle, but that didn't stop the rare person who saw them doing a double take when they saw a convoy of carts being pulled by mere men and women. As they approached town, Midoriya was eager to see the faces of people who saw them and wondered if there wouldn't be any fresh ones that weren't already used to their eccentric group.

Still, it would be a while for they got to Raxus ward, and they'd need to swap out horses halfway there, so he took the time to sky gaze, watching the clouds.

Raxus Ward was different to many other wards in Japan, it wasn’t one of nightclubs and bars like Kamino, nor was it one of schools and parks where you could let your kids play around with little parental supervision like Chandrila.

Raxus was a dump, in every sense of the word.

Located on the fringes of Shizuoka City, it had once been a thriving residential area with green parks, a clean river and plenty to offer for anyone who wished to start a family away from the stress and mess of the city, now it had long since been re-classified as industrial land with many companies moving in within weeks. Now, the landscape was one of refineries, factories, warehouses and all other manner of industrial enterprise.

All this growth of industry might have created hundreds of jobs and pumped billions into the local economy, but none of that was clear for the people that lived here as their once green and peaceful ward had been polluted and exploited till it was but an ugly shell of its former self. A heavily industrialized cesspit with junkyards and abandoned buildings. City officials liked to pretend that the issue could be solved if people moved if they just left the place and allowed it to be used for its purpose, but that ignored the fact that some people simply couldn't move.

Not necessarily because they couldn't afford to, but because this place, this hell hole, was the only place that didn't shun them, belittle them, and hurt them for the crime of merely existing. Cities might have had lower rates of discrimination when compared to the countryside, but that didn't mean it didn't exist-and Raxus was a prime example of that as its residents, those with mutant quirks, quirks seen as villainous or outright quirkless people. Stuck between the lynch mobs of the countryside, and the willful ignorance of the city.

This was the world that Midoriya and the rest of them arrived in, a world where people kept to themselves and did their best to not get involved, or else they ended up beaten up or worse. As they rode on through, Midoriya couldn't help but wonder how things could have been allowed to get to this point, and why people and heroes would allow such a tragedy to happen and continue to happen. But then he recalled All Might, the hypocrite who hid his humanity to pretend to be more, and with that, he had his answer.

It’s easy to think that you’re living in a perfect era when you don’t need to do anything when you ignore the issues.

Approaching their destination, it was revealed to be an old community centre turned into a soup kitchen/shelter for people who couldn't find somewhere else to sleep without needing to keep an eye open. It was one of the poorest ones in the region, but it was also one of the few that didn't refuse quirkless people which meant it didn't have much in the way of support such as donations, which is why they were there.

Riding up to it, they met with an old lady in her late 70s, her once vibrant blonde hair nearly entirely grey as she leaned her weight on a cane. With her were a few of the shelter’s workers/residents. Stopping before them, she took out her phone and saw the time, 9 a.m.

“I’ll never get tired of people actually showing up when they say they will.” The elder joked as Ōbi jumped out of the cart he was riding on and approached her.

Finding her wit funny, the man chuckled as he pointed at himself. “Granny, being fashionable late is an idiot’s excuse for not getting there on time.”

“If only some could learn that.” She pocked the side of the man next to her, one wearing worn, second-hand clothing who just grumbled about it, but didn't try and retort, Granny Biscuit wasn't one you opposed on a whim. “Go on, help them unload stuff!" She smacked the other as the three rushed in to help them off-load some of their goods as one-third was meant for the shelter, giving without payment or any expectation of compensation other than the understanding they'll use it to care for the people under their care.

The rest was to be sold. “Get to, people. We open in an hour!” Ōbi yelled at the group as they all waved.

“Sure!” With that, they got to work, moving things off the carts, and setting up stalls and stands for their goods. Watching them move like a well-oiled machine, Ōbi turned to Granny Biscuit.

“We’ll see about getting you canned goods for winter.” It might have still been May, but he wasn't one to leave things till the last minute, especially as the issue around getting that much-canned foods would be a hassle as the shelter had hundreds of people living in it, hundreds more that came by for meals regularly. Just supplying them for a single week would be challenging, making that 3 months of winter, and potentially dozens of cases of people falling sick and needing to keep their strength up primarily through healthy nutrient-rich food and you had a logistics nightmare.

The old lady waved him off, that canned stuff might last but it always tasted like metal. "Ba! Never mind that. These people should eat a hot meal prepared with fresh ingredients. Taste a hell of a lot better, too."

“I can attest to that, granny.” Ōbi chuckled as he watched them set up shop.

Chapter 4: Raxus Ward

Chapter Text

After the group carried everything they came to deliver into the shelter, they started setting up their stalls, as they worked, the residents of Raxus slowly started to come out to observe them, upon seeing that they were wearing the robes of their sanctuary, the mood lifted as they'd had done a lot of charity in the area for years. Because of that, once they had set up the last stall and rung the bell to announce they were open, dozens of people appeared within minutes, bringing some life to the spark as people came and went, often carrying food, clothing and anything else they could buy.

Midoriya, much like the rest, was in his travelling robes with the only difference being he was one of the few with a bright red sash tied around his waist and his green and blue scarf wrapped around his neck. "And for 20 apples, 25 oranges and 12 bananas, that'll be," Midoriya did the math in his head for a moment before he passed them the bag of previously mentioned goods. "7,200 yen."

The mother and child, both quirkless smiled as she handed the bag to the 8-year-old to carry while she pulled out her purse, a beaten old one, and then handed him the cash. He pretended to ignore the fact that even that price, low as it was, took half of what she had. "Oh, thank you. It's hard enough getting groceries here, but some fresh produce does the soul good." Her boy was already snacking on an apple with a smile on his face, enjoying the sweet flavor of the red fruit.

Midoriya placed the cash into the register he had set up, before waving them off. "Have a nice day, Ms. Miko." The next in line was a woman in his mid-40s, taller than All Might and with an appearance that was a cross between a cactus and a pufferfish.

Midoriya didn't feel any fear when he saw her, in fact-he smiled. "Hello, Mrs. Tanaka? How have you been?"

The mass of intimidating muscle groaned as she tapped his back, smiling back at the boy. "Back's been giving me problems, but things have been…good." There was a pause at the end that Midoriya had noticed that whenever he brought that up, his regulars all seemed to hesitate.

"Is that right," He asked, but the woman didn't answer so he let it go for the moment. If it was serious, they'll figure it out soon. "Would you like the regular?" So asked a much more relaxed question as the man nodded.

"Yes, please."

"One moment please." Midoriya picked out another plastic bag, this one large enough to be easily carried by something with hands the size of Mrs. Tanaka. With that in hand, he went about gathering the regular order which was mainly vegetables such as carrots, tomatoes, onions and eggplant. He repeated this process with a second bag before he placed both on the table. "Here you go."

Mrs. Tanaka didn't bother going through the bags, she trusted him to get it right as he always did and instead pulled out her wallet and counted the payment, a fraction of what she would pay for this if she had gone to the less sh*tty parts of town to shop. "I'll never know why you sell everything at a loss." She noted as she handed him the cash as it was always the same with this little bi-weekly market, just about everything was sold at a 3rd the price of what it would normally go for.

"Profit isn't the point, most of what we make goes to buying fertilizer," Midoriya replied as he placed the cash into the register, much to the interest of Mrs. Tanaka.

"Then how'd you manage to grow so much to begin?" She didn't know much about gardening, but she could only assume it was both labor-intensive and expensive. They even managed to bring them fresh goods when it was the middle of winter so unless they had a massive greenhouse, she was stomped.

"That's a secret." Midoriya laughed as the woman only shook her head before collecting her goods and turning to leave. "Tell Ms. Kenmikoto to take care of herself!"

As he handled one of the many food stalls, off to the side, Kyūfune was handling medical treatment. As she wasn't officially a medical student, she didn't have the funds or clearance to be giving out drugs so in place of that, along with a standard check-up, she was handling prescriptions via herbs and other plant-based medicines. Her role as their chief nurse nets her quite the fame among the people as even while she was busy with them, children couldn't help but play with her hair, robes or her blue sash. She handled it all in stride with humor and smiles, parents leaving with happy children even if they came because of a flu or bruise that wasn't disappearing.

She did have one thing that all child doctors had, which was a sack of sweets from which she handed out one to each child after their time with her. Waving one family of 8 kids off, she turned to handle the rest of the growing line of patients. "Next!"

Her next patient was one of her regulars, an old man in his 80s who walked with a cane and his grand-son to aide him, the boy no older than 12. Waiting for him to take a seat with a groan, she greeted him. "Old man, Roshi, how have you been?"

"Things have been good," Roshi replied, though she didn't believe it so she turned to the boy. His grandfather might dare to lie to her face, but the boy knew better.

"Have they, Madarame?" She asked the bald kid, who started to sweat both from her stare and his grandfather's, but he fell to the one he saw as scarier.

"He's been sick for the last few days, but I only managed to get him to show up today." The old man ticked to the side as his flesh and blood outed him to the nurse as she signed, pinching her nose as he wasn't the only old person to try that and most likely wouldn't be the last.

"Old man, why did you wait so long? You know the shelter could call me." She asked him if there was a reason that she did her best to have an open schedule outside her classes.

"It's not such a serious issue that I had to take the time out of your day when she could focus on the young," Roshi replied, which didn't amuse the fox woman in the slightest as she crossed her arms and frowned down on him, an easy feat for her as even seated in a specially made chair, she was still much taller than him.

"Your health is as important as everyone else, and I won't tolerate any talk to the contrary." She narrowed her glare at the man, getting a quiet nod from the old goat. Knowing that he'd bail or 'forget' if she left him to his own devices, she turned her gaze to the boy, Madarame. "I trust that you've been in good health?"

"Yeah, I got a cold the other day, but it passed after like 2 days." The boy nodded. "Been doing a lot of exercise and eating right as you said." She smiled as she heard that, with unhealthy foods being more available in Raxus, a lot of people relied on that so it was nice to hear that the boy was taking care of himself.

"Good. Remember to keep an eye on your grandfather, if his condition takes any turns for the worse, bring him kicking and screaming to the shelter and have them call me." She pointed towards the man in question, ignoring his complaint about her treating him like he was 6.

"Don't worry, I got my friends to agree to help me carry him if that happens." The boy only added to it.

"What am I, chopped liver?" The old man asked as Kyūfune set to work with his check-up.

"Chopped liver doesn't pretend it's fine when it's not." Madarame didn't try to hide how he laughed at his grandfather's expense.

Sometime later, Midoriya was busy packing a bag with a dozen apples for a customer when they started hearing commotion close to the informal shopping stall's entrance. Hearing it only increase and how his customer seemed both scared and…expected of whatever was the cause was enough of a reason for him to check it out. he waved over someone else to man his spot for a second before he went over to see what the issue was, being joined by Kyūfune.

Walking to the source, they found a group of around 7 people, all in their mid to late 20s, their scarves tied to either their arms or hung around their necks marked them as part of some gang, which shouldn't be possible as gangs didn't operate in Raxus, not for the last 3 years. The commotion was the group of thugs harassing someone over their purchase of vegetables, even knocking the bag out of their hands with a cruel laugh which was a step too far for them. Midoriya noted that their customers didn't stop them, but that was all he did as he stepped forward and shoved one of them away, giving Kyūfune space to help the man up and direct him to another stall where they'd be safe for the moment.

"If you came here to cause trouble, then you should just leave." He told them, with the man that he pushed glaring back at him, reaching for the bat he had.

"Is that right?" He tried to intimidate him but failed spectacularly as Bakugo was far more intimidating than this guy when he was 12. It also helped that he back up.

"It is," Kyūfune added, standing at her full height behind him which must have been far more intimidating than they were expecting, which he couldn't blame them for as the lovely lady was 291cm tall and weighed 211kg. She glared at them with the same height difference as an adult would an elementary school kid.

But, that shock passed as the thugs tried to regain some of that earlier advantage when they had been messing with someone just because they could. "How, I didn't know the trash could afford a bodyguard, or are you one of them?" Kyūfune crossed her arms there, taking into account that they were all 'human' looking, with not a single mutation among them which meant that this must have been one ofthosekinds of gangs.

"Leave, before it causes you issues you don't want to deal with." She repeated what Midoriya said earlier, neither giving them an inch of ground even as they still acted like they were in command of the situation, feeding off the unease and fear of the ground.

One of them, a tall man with dark blue hair shifted. "Oh come on, we don't mean to impose. We just wanted to check up on these criminals, they might not be the sharpest tools in the box, but they can have a good future in manual labor if they work hard." His backhanded compliments weren't appreciated as even while scared, people glared at them for mocking them.

"I fail to see why you're bringing up your futures," The man stopped and felt a vein pulse on his forehead at Midoriya's reply as the boy pointed towards the end of the street. "No one here wishes to waste their time hearing them, now leave before we make you." His warning didn't work as the man was far more focused on the fact that this kid dared to insult him, turning to him and looking at him like he was a misbehaving dog, the man's eyes took on a glow before they widened a bit as he saw something surprising.

"A quirkless brat should keep his mouth shut." The thug was surprised by how Midoriya didn't flinch or shy away from him when he brought up his lack of a quirk as the boy just catalogued that the thug's quirk must have been some sort of scanning ability focused on his eyes. He wasn't sure what it could do, but it seemed like he was wasting his power if this was what he turned to.

"I'll hold my tongue where there is a reason to," Midoriya replied, his stance relaxed, his arms hidden in the long sleeves of his robes as he faced the thug. The leader continued to glare at him when his effort to scare him failed, but another of the thugs stepped up, flexing his quirk which turned his hands into stone.

"Wanna repeat that?" Midoriya turned to address the new one.

"I'll repeat it ten more times if I have to, I've worked with the hard of hearing before." He mocked him, which enraged the man enough that he charged him with a yell. The people looked away from what they thought would be a one-sided beating or a brawl but Midoriya only responded by raising his hand, empowering it with his tenet before he caught the blow, a sound akin to rock smacking into iron ringing through the air.

The crowd and the thugs were stunned by this, as none of them had ever thought they'd see the day a quirkless person could catch such a blow. The thug that threw it was the most shocked as he knew his strength, he knew that a single blow could damage concrete and should have sent the kid to the hospital! That shock turned to fear as he tried to pull his fist back but found that he couldn't as Midoriya closed his fingers around it.

"A person controlled by their ego and temper is less a man and more a dog," Midoriya noted, no sign of effort despite how much the thug was struggling to free his hand, Kyūfune refraining from stepping him as she knew he had this handled. When the man tried to punch him with his other fist to free himself, Midoriya acted. "But even an unruly dog can be cowed." With his hold on the caught fist, he flipped the surprised thug over him, slamming into the dirt with a thud and pained groan from the villain as he landed belly first, his face smacking into the dirt and getting sand in his mouth. A moment later, Midoriya was on him, his arm in a joint lock held behind his back.

"You litt-" Midoriya pulled his arm further.

"If you move, I'll dislocate your shoulder." He told the man, who looked up to him and saw no hesitation in him, only a determined frown. The sight of one of them being so disrespected and taken down by a quirkless kid sent the rest of them over the edge as rushed him screaming bloody murder, the one with the bat being the one in the front as the weapon burst into flames, most likely an effect of his quirk. Seeing them coming, Midoriya prepared to handle them without hurting too badly, but Kyūfune handled that.

She caught the flaming bat in her hand, it being large enough that the bat looked like it was meant for a child in her hand. The sudden stop of momentum tripped up the thug as he fell, losing his grip on his weapon and using it to knock back 3 others, the 'light' smacks she gave them sent them into their butts in pain before she looked at the weapon, whose flames hadn't even managed to burn her as she grabbed it in both hands and bent the metal into a U-shape before tossing the now useless weapon aide.

Looking at them, the thugs felt like the bit off fare more than they could chew as they came here to mess with quirkless and mutant nobodies, not face off with a beast of a woman and her quirkless sidekick! "You had your chance." Her voice grabbed their attention, with her eyes keeping it as they might have appeared calm, but they could tell she was close to letting her temper get the better of her. "But we'll give you one last one: Leave. Now." Midoriya got off the man he pinned and stepped back, allowing him to scramble back to the others, nearly on all fours.

Turning back to them, they seemed like they were still dumb enough to take their chances with them, perhaps thinking their numbers would make up for their clear power difference, but a single look at the other stalls made it clear that the other robbed people had yet to step in, and from how they were looking at them, it wouldn't take much for them to get rid of them by force.

They picked themselves up, their dignity and pride thoroughly broken as they turned to flee, the quirk scanner screaming they'd regret this before they vanished down the street. Neither believed it as even if they brought it back up, they'd just embarrass themselves.

With them gone, the two turned back to the stalls. "Alright, they'll gone, let's continue this people, we don't have all day." Kyūfune clapped her hands together as the two moved back to their stations, but were confronted by others.

"How did you do that?" Someone asked Midoriya, the boy turning to face him.

"You mean the catching his first thing?" He asked to clarify, which for a furious nod from the man. He was silent for a moment before he responded. "Hard work, years' worth of it." The man looked confused by that statement as he had never heard of a training method that could do that!

"How did you catch a flaming bat?" Madarame, who had remained in the market while his grandfather went back home, asked Kyūfune, his eyes shining as he looked up at the woman. "Your hands aren't even burned!" Her palms didn't even appear to be singed despite handling a flaming metal bat.

Kyūfune only smiled, bending so that she could place a hand on his head, her palm warm to the touch. "I've seen far hotter flames than that, compared to them, my hands are just a little warm." The boy blushed a little at the attention before he said something about trying to score some apples before he ran off with a couple of his friends.

Having watched the entire thing, Ōbi sighed as he turned to Granny Biscuit, the woman looking pensive as she warmed him. "You should be careful with them; they belong to a gang of hoodlums that have been giving us grief for the better part of a month. They've been demanding so-called protection money and made it clear what would happen if we didn't cough up."

"That long, but I thought this place was cleared of gangs." He asked, to which the woman took a moment to respond.

"It was, but they moved here after striking out in other wards." Ōbi's brow rose at that, finding the entire thing idiotic.

"So what? They reject that couldn't even cut it against other gangs so they bully those weaker than them?" He asked, to which she nodded as that seemed to be the case with this latest group. "Why didn't you of you say anything?" He asked, they would have happily sent people to handle them, heavens knew that the heroes weren't going to bother.

"Have you at least filed a police report?" Midoriya asked, walking up to them as the woman gave him a look that implied, she was questioning his sanity.

"They barely pay attention to this place, as far as they're concerned, so long as the business interests aren't affected, we don't exist." She replied as the police station was built close to the factories, but far from them. they were lucky if a patrol passed by here once a week. Hearing that, Midoriya felt disgusted, even if he didn't expect much from them, he thought they'd at least be interested in taking down a gang or two but it appeared they preferred to target them as well or act as glorified bodyguards for the many factories and workshops in the ward.

"We'll get some people to stick around, keep an eye out for anything. But it'll take around a day for me to organize something but I assure you we will clear out these rats." Ōbi informed her, his eyes hard to which she nodded, knowing that the former street urchin was an honest lad, if he said he'd do something, it'd take more than just inconvenience to stop him.

After they chased off the thugs, the rest of the day goes by without much in the way of an incident. The sick are seen too, food is sold or traded for, children get to play with brand-new wooden toys and clothing is donated for those who need it. It was a relaxing way to spend a Saturday as near the end, they sold all that they had so they took the time to speak with the people, forming groups where they spoke about their lives, their families, their goals and the like.

Midoriya found himself lucky enough to sit next to Kyūfune in their group, talking about their plans he mentioned that his grades had been better recently, as they saw a bit of a dip as he focused more on his training, which one of the grannies told him was a good as rain or shine, a good education was essential, though they expressed some concern when he reminded them he was aiming for U.A. as the place wasn't one of the top ten high schools in the country overall, it was incredibly expansive. He might not live in Raxus with most of them, but that didn't mean his mother was swimming in cash either. Lucky for him, U.A. offers scholarships for this exact reason as a lot of applicants like himself, didn't come from wealthy families so in his application to U.A., he had also added in an application for financial aid.

With Kyūfune, she spoke about how she finally got accepted to Tokyo University's medical program for the following year, so long as she maintains her grades, her fees will be handled by her mother who they joked has so much money yet has a simplistic lifestyle as it doesn't take much to make her happy in terms of material goods. Some of the older guys joked that if she ever had issues with her new classmates like she did the old, they could mess with them from the shadows till they came crawling, begging for her mercy which she told them she didn't want.

But the time came for them to pack up and leave, waving at the people as Ōbi once again assured Granny Biscuit that they'd have aid for them by the following morning. With that finished, they gave their goodbyes and promised to return in 2 weeks with more goods for them. They never noticed that unfriendly eyes watched them leave the ward in their carts before turning their attention to the shelter they left behind, completely undefended.

Sometime later, the convoy was making their way out of the city and onto the mountain road that led them back to the sanctuary. The sun was already done, bathing the area in a calm, cool night eye as the group talked amongst themselves. In that, Midoriya felt…off. He didn't know what, but felt like something was happening and that he was missing a piece of the picture. Looking around, he saw that some of the others also seemed to feel it but just like him, none knew what was causing it. Ōbi was wondering if they perhaps left something behind when he got a call on his phone, pulling it out, he was surprised to see that it was the shelter, perhaps they had forgotten something but for the life of him, he couldn't figure out what.

Seeing how he had a way to figure it out, he quickly answered the phone and brought it to his ear. "Granny Biscuit, it's real unusual for you to-"

"There's a fire!" It wasn't Granny Biscuit who replied, but a small child who sounded terrified, a loud roaring and crackling as in the background of the call.

He didn't have his phone on speaker, but the child's cry was heard by most of those close by, causing the convoy to stop as everyone turned their attention to him. "What, who is this? What do you mean there's a fire?" He asked.

"The shelter, it's burning! The gang people came back and-please come back!" The child begged them but was cut off. Looking at his phone, he saw that the call had been cut on the other end. He didn't know what this was, but he knew those brats wouldn't dare cry wolf so he knew it was serious.

Jumping out of the cart he was riding, he saw others doing the same, ready to hear his orders. "You heard that, people! Let's move, leave the carts behind!" He pointed to two of them, both older than him before he pointed towards the mountain that had been ascending just a few moments before. "You two, run back to the sanctuary and start preparing supplies and aid, if this is a fire, we're going to need as much as we can get!" Both nodded, not wasting time arguing with him as they turned and ran up the road, moving faster than anyone without a speed quirk should be capable of.

"On it!" Watching them leave for only a couple of seconds, he turned to the rest of them, seeing that all were ready.

"Let's move!" He jumped over the group to make it to the back before rushing off, his body leaning forward and his arms back, this being copied by the rest as they followed after him, running as if they were cars with how fast they were going.

Making it back to the outskirts of town, they turned and started heading towards Raxus, obstacles like cars, walls and even people did not slow them down as they jumped, dodged or rolled to avoid them, leaving behind surprised people yelling at them. "Alright, we don't know much about this, but standard procedure means we split up the tasks. We'll need people rushing into the blaze, others to try and put it out, and a third group to handle whoever we find in need of medical attention!" Ōbi gave quick and clear instructions to them as they run

"Fire suppression, first aid and search is the name of the game, got it?" He yelled to ensure they heard him.

"Yes, sir!" Midoriya was one of the loudest as they moved, but they soon got tired of the obstacles in the way, and people yelling their way so they decided to ascend with Ōbi being the first to jump, contacting the wall but like a spider, he started to climb it, with the rest following suit. Midoriya took a slightly faster route by keeping moving straight, and going in steps as he jumped into the hood of a car, then onto a wall-then a balcony and finally making it to the rooftops with the rest of them. free of people, they were able to further increase their speed. Before long, they could make out the dilapidated and ugly that made up Raxus in the distance, but also something else.

"I see smoke, it's in the direction of Raxus!" Midoriya called out, as he saw in the distance, deep within the ward, there was a large smoke cloud rising into the air, in the direction of the shelter.

"Heavens, that's a lot of it. Fire suppression, once on site, organize a bucket system! If you find anyone with hoses, take him and hook them up to whatever taps you can find!" Ōbi increased their speed again, now jumping from roof to roof at speeds of 90km/h, at times, they don't even run as if the distance is short enough, all it takes is a single jump to make it from one side of the roof to the other if not clearing it to make it to the other roof that lays ahead. Midoriya felt his legs growing tired, but allowing more of his tenet to flow to them soothed the muscles and increased his stamina, a trick which the rest were using to keep up such insane speeds for as long as they were without their legs practically rebelling and detaching themselves.

Ignoring how a policeman saw them and yelled for them to stop or else he'd fine them for illegal quirk use, Ōbi turned to see Midoriya who was right behind him. "Midoriya, you're with me on search and rescue!"

"Understood!" He knew he was the smallest one there, but also one of the best when it came to using tenet for tracking and reinforcement. Which made him ideal for crawling through tighter spots if need be.

Ōbi then turned to his other side, seeing that giant fox lady who was further back, she was starting to sweat but keeping pace with them. "Kyūfune, I'm leaving the supervision of the first aide to you!"

"I'll do what I can!" The fox woman replied though she would be limited as she was only able to grab a few of the remaining medical supplies they brought with them. Soon enough, they reached the boundary line between the two wards, which was as clear as night and day as while there was a middle ground, it was tiny and both sides were within yelling distance which showed off how one side might as well have been plucked from a different time all together.

"How's the fire brigade coming along?" Ōbi

"Dammit!" The person he was speaking to, a woman with a shark-like appearance, yelled as she ended the call with the fire department. "They say it'll take them 20 minutes at the fastest to get a fire engine on-site!"

"20 min-dammit! We'll work with what we have then!" Ōbi didn't have time for this, that was over twice the time for a bad day for the fire department, but when they had to drive from another ward to get here, it made f*cking perfect sense!

"Have you called home yet?" He turned to another, the group jumping down to street level before continuing their journey.

"They're aware of the situation and are waiting to meet the two we sent back, but it'll take time to get anything ready. The best we can hope for is after-rescue aide." That was the best they could hope for as while they had cars and trucks at the sanctuary, they weren't purpose-built ones. It'll take time for one or more to be loaded up with barrels of water, hoses and pumps before they can make the trip, which didn't even include the fact they'll need to navigate evening traffic.

When they finally made it to the scene of the fire, sweaty and breathing heavily, they saw that it was far worse than they had first thought. It wasn't just the shelter that was burning, but the flames had already started to spread to the surrounding buildings, turning the place into a blaze that could grow to swallow the entire ward. Ōbi, seeing some people at the side caring for others who appeared to have been seriously burnt, ran up to them for information.

"What happened?" The man, barely 40 and covered with soot, looked at him before turning his attention back to the elderly grandfather he was tending to.

"Those gang bangers came back, with more of them after you left. They tried to get their payback but a fight broke inside, one of them had a quirk that secreted flammable liquids, and another was a human lighter," He snapped his fingers, he guessed that they hadn't meant to start this fire, probably just intimidate them but it didn't matter now, did it? "sh*t went downhill from there."

"Where's Granny Biscuit?" Midoriya asked, trying to spot the old lady but not seeing any sign of her.

"She was inside, the closest to them when the fight broke out, but we got separated and I haven't seen her since!" Someone cried, their arms burnt badly as Kyūfune was already treating her. Midoriya felt his worry skyrocket as he knew what kind of person that old lady was, she would have met with those gangsters herself.

"Fire suppression, get as many volunteers and buckets as you can! Search and Rescue, we don't have time to wait for our clothes to be doused in water, we're going in as if, make sure to cover your mouths and don't breathe in the smoke!" Ōbi yelled as they did last-minute prep before they entered the building, it would have been better to wet their robes, but they could only work with what they had.

"These are our people, don't fail them like the world has!" He made sure to remind them all, his eyes as hard as stone as he looked at them all, seeing no hesitation in any of them as he grunted.

Removing his scarf, not wishing to see it burned, Midoriya handed it to a small child but while he did so, he was asked a question he wasn't keen to answer. "Will the heroes be here soon? Like All Might?" The girl looked up at him, her eyes scared, worried and hopeful all at once like his eyes would have been at her age.

"I-" He like her, knew that the number one was in town. He had saved some people earlier that day, but unlike her, he knew that he had a time limit that he could have very well already burnt through for the day. He didn't like the man, but he gave his word to keep his silence, more than that, he just couldn't bring himself to see the hope in the girl's eye die as he went with what he could. "We'll pick up the slack till they get here."

With his promise said, he and the other 7 rushed into the burning building, trusting that the 8 they left behind to handle the fires would be capable of it. bursting into the main reception area, they found that it was the least damaged by flames, but saw that was rapidly changing as the fires spread out from deeper inside the building. The next room was far worse, it had been the main floor where a mess of beds and tables had been set up, a room which only hours before had been peaceful as folks wither retired early, watched TVs, or played card and board games.

Now, everything was burning, beds resembling burning bushes while the wooden bedframes creaked or buckled under the strain of the flames. Electronics, when they could see them, sparked and fizzled, as they were turned to slag and trash but none of this had anything on what drew their attention

It was the bodies.

It was clear that when the fire started, there had been a mad dash for the exit, the main one being the most accessible, but with all the furniture around, the place became a bottleneck as people fell and were trampled in the confusion. Running over, they saw that most were in serious need but alive, others…weren't so lucky. Midoriya wasn't ashamed to admit that he had to lower his face covering as to throw up to the side, but that only made it worse as the stench of the dead and dying invaded his nose, making him dry heave as his stomach tried to empty itself again despite being empty.

Ōbi smacked him on the back and forcibly pulled his face covering back over his mouth and nose. "That's part of the reason we block our noses, the smell isn't pretty. Focus on those you can save, for now, it helps." Midoriya nodded at the former firefighter's advice, breathing through his mouth for a moment before looking around, trying to find people which didn't take long. His first being a young man in his late 20s maybe, his fur-covered body badly burnt, with some spots missing fur entirely and revealing pink and white blistered skin. Seeing that he was unconscious, Midoriya had to carry him out of the building, making it outside, he saw that others had already been taken to the first aide station where Kyūfune was barking orders left and right, her demeanor completely different in the crisis.

He didn't waste time and run back it, helping more people out either by acting as a support or carrying them on his back. On one of these trips, he stumbled onto someone he recognized, the man crawling towards the entrance after what must have been engulfed in fire, his clothes nearly gone and his skin badly burnt. He would have felt sympathy for the man…if he wasn't one of the same thugs that tried to f*ck with them earlier that day.

Knowing that he was part of this, that he and those morons he called friends set this place, a place of safety ablaze made Midoriya consider just leaving him and letting karma run its course. But that wasn't what he wanted to be, he wouldn't dishonor his master's teaching by becoming someone like that.

"Hold on and don't complain." That didn't mean he had to be nice about it as he ignored how the man screamed in pain from how roughly he picked him up and threw him onto his back before running for the exit. Making it to the first aid station, he laid the man down before Kyūfune. The fox woman turned to assess her latest patient and like himself, she recognized him and for a moment her beautiful blue eyes became storms, swelling with anger but as quickly as it came, it went.

"I'll handle them, you go." He nodded as he turned and ran back in, they had only just started clearing the place, they still had 5 floors left to check, dozens of rooms and hallways to comb through for survivors. Before he got back in, he saw that the fire suppression team was making progress, having found as many buckets as they could, they formed chains of people where buckets of water were passed from person to person before it reached the end, at which point he was thrown into the blaze before they handed the empty container to a runner to took it back to the source to be refilled. It was managed well, the best they could manage in the situation but it was slow, and he feared that it might not be enough.

Chapter 5: Raxus Fire

Chapter Text

"Crap!" Izuku cursed as he checked for the pulse of a child, no older than 8, only to find nothing. He wished that it was the first, or even second corpse he had seen, but the fact was that in the last 20 minutes, he had seen more death than he ever hoped to see in 20 years. Stepping back, he noted the bright red hair and the unicorn doll on their hand, making it all the harder to focus as he recognized them, he had made them apple and grape juice to take home only hours before…they had been so happy.

Now he’ll never see that happiness again.

Leaving the small room, he rushed down the halls of the shelter, glad that they had at least cleared the first 2 floors and were nearly done with the 3^rd. He focused on the fact he managed to find and save 11 people, not the fact he found 6 dead, or else he'd break down and become a sobbing mess. Turning a corner, he met up with Ōbi who was carrying an unconscious woman in his arms bridal style.

"Have the firefighters arrived yet?" He asked, speaking as loud as he could to be heard over the raging fire and creaking structure, they didn't have much time before something gave and neither wished to be around for that.

“I didn’t see them, just keep focusing on what you can do!” Ōbi yelled back, not stopping as he turned around another corner, heading for the stairs to get his passenger to safety. Izuku muttered that he'd ring someone's neck but moved on, kneeling, he extended his tenet-much like he had done when he was doing his exam for his red belt. He didn't let the walls or the fire stop him, feeling out for any movement, any irregular shapes that could be considered human. He ground his teeth as the fires didn't make it easy, as their constantly changing shape messed with his perception, but he was able to detect a few more people on the floor.

Right as he finished, people rushed up the stairs and found him, all of them wearing their robes and any other spare pieces of cloth that had been doused with water. He pointed at several rooms and paths in what most would assume were random. "There, there, down that route, the middle path 4^th door on the right!" These people knew better than to question him as they ran past him to where he directed them, busting down doors or if time was short, walls to get to the people inside. Midoriya took one where he felt a body, but couldn't detect movement. Breaking the door down, he coughed through his mask as he took in the space, seeing a small window which had been opened up, allowing some of the smoke to escape while to the side was a familiar person, slumped against the wall.

“Granny Biscuit!” He yelled, almost teleporting to her side and inspecting the old woman. Her cane was missing, and she was badly burnt, but she had a pulse, a weak one but it was there. Sparring the window thought, he realized that she must have ended up in her and opened the window to give herself some air. ‘I need to get her out of here, fast!’ He slowly picked her up, being careful not to make her wounds any worse than they already were, but now wasn’t the time for a proper examination.

“Hold on, we’re going to make it out of this, you hear me, Granny? I’m not letting some idiots do you in!” He told her as he left the room, followed by another as they raced down the stairs, the lower levels not as bad as when they started as others ran all over the place with buckets of water, dousing fires wherever they could. Making it outside, he saw that the small area for treatment had expanded to now have dozens of people, some awake, most still out as Kyūfune ran about, barking instructions and treating people in equal measure. She at least had help from locals who either could follow orders, or have some first aid knowledge.

It was the same with the fire suppression as the two lines from before had turned into 6, with 3 supplying the buckets for people entering the building while the rest worked on the exterior, but the blaze was a difficult bitch and wasn’t going down without a fight. Laying Granny Biscuit down, two people rushed forward to aide her, too busy with that to say a thing to him, not that he would have heard it as he ran to a small water station, picked up a pale and tossed it over himself, getting his clothing and body wet again.

“Please, you gotta help me!” Turning to the side, he saw a woman being held back from running into the inferno by Ōbi

“Mam, we’re doing all we can!” The older man yelled at her, but she didn’t seem to care as she continued to struggle against him till someone came up and grabbed her from behind.

“But my son,” Even while restrained, she kept crying as her eyes focused on the burning building. “My son’s still in there!”

“Which floor?” The woman and the group turned to Midoriya, the boy fixing his wet robes to ensure they covered everything.

“What?”

“Which floor did you last see him?” He repeated, louder than the first time as the mother managed to collect herself enough to speak.

“The 4^th.”

“Midoriya don-!” Ōbi’s warning was ignored as Midoriya didn’t even let the man finish before he turned and rushed back in like a bat out of hell. “Goddammit!” The man cursed to high heaven before he told the husband to keep his wife away from the blaze lest she become another corpse before he went to get himself prepped to chase after the boy.

The 4^th floor was just as dangerous as he feared, the flames hadn’t spread everywhere, but that only meant that the smoke was seemingly everywhere, even through a wet cloth over his nose and mouth, he could almost taste it on his tongue. Reaching out with his tenet, he had to move slowly as he ‘felt’ his way through the smoke-filled space. It was that use of Húxū that saved him as he felt it before it appeared. Diving to the side, he evaded the wall where he just was exploding as the fires reached something extremely flammable, perhaps a gas tank that was stored, it didn't matter as turning back, he saw his way out blocked by debris.

He steeled his heart, turning to continue the search as he felt through the rooms, not even opening them when he felt nothing. With those with movement, he called out for a response but got none. He didn't have backup, he couldn't wait for them but…but he couldn't just leave them. that wasn't his nature. It was this resolve that saw him break down the first door, grab the thankfully breathing body and leave, following this process for the next several doors, till he was straining to pick them up as had to carry them one at a time to his next spot, this slowing down with each new person he found.

By the time he reached the final door, he was trying to protect 8 people of different sizes, appearances, genders and ages. Turning back, he saw that the fire from before was gaining on them, making him grateful he grabbed those he could rather than leave them to a fiery end. The air was warm even before he breathed it in, he kicked the door down, his augmented strength shattering the wood and sending bits and pieces flying around the place.

There, hiding behind a sink in what he realized was a bathroom, was the child he suspected he was after, they certainly shared the same horse-like features he had seen with the mother, but like the rest of the people he had found, they were barely awake thanks to smoke inhalation, smoke that was now entering the room faster thanks him busting the door down. Grabbing their shoulders, he pulled their fading attention to him and him alone.

“Hey, everything will be fine, I’m here to help. You’re gonna see your ma and pa again, just you wait.” He lowered his mask, letting the kid see his dirty face but also the big smile he was sporting.

“…Are you…a hero…?” The boy didn't seem to react much, his head a fog which only made Izuku hyper-aware of the fact he was running out of time

“I try to be, and I will save you.” He replied, not wishing to lie but also wishing to live up to that idea. To what All Might preached, to what he believed.

“Kay…” The boy nodded but also cracked a lopsided smile as if remembering a funny joke. “You look like Rag-Gal…” Midoriya kept him awake the best he could, smacking his cheeks before he moved to check the rest of the room for a way to help the people he had with him and escape before they all burnt.

‘Window’s too small to climb through, even if I did, there’s no way I’ll be able to get everyone out.’ He eyed the window, but it was small, clearly meant for ventilation over scenery or any potential movement, not unless you were the size of a toddler. Gently moving the boy, Izuku stood on the sink counter to look through it.

“Good, it’s facing the front.” He was close to being above the entrance, which meant that most people were there. Jumping down, he eyed the wall for a moment before he pulled back his fist. “Here goes.” He uttered as he punched the wall, shaking the already structurally compromised room while leaving a small crater surrounded by cracks from the site of impact.

“One more!” Not sparing a second, he pulled back another, stronger blow before he punched through the wall, the force of the blow creating a large enough that the people on the ground picked up on it.

“What the-the wall exploded!”

“Dammit, where are the hoses?”

“Guys!” They looked up, seeing Midoriya clearing away bricks to increase the size of the hole. With that done, he started waving at them. “I’m sending people down, be ready!”

“What does he mean by-what the f*ck are you thinking?!” Someone asked as Midoriya vanished back into the building, only for that question to change as he now held a middle-aged man in his arms in a scene that didn't take much to realize what his plan was.

“Ready to receive?” Midoriya yelled back to them, ignoring the second question as this wasn't the sanest solution, but he was on a timer and this was the best he could come up with.

“Oh for-Yes, give us a second!” The woman on the ground yelled back to him before she turned to the rest of them, including the mass of people that had arrived. “We need the biggest blankets you have!” They didn't have many blankets, but they did have plenty of people willing to give up the shirts off their backs and a spider mutant woman who volunteered to rapidly sow them all together. In less than a couple minutes, they had a blanket with the area of a small apartment held up by 16 people who moved into position.

“Alright, don’t mess this up!” Midoriya warned them before he dropped the unconscious man down to earth, right into the blanket which held, softening their fall. With the first person safe at ground level, he continued to drop people down to them, the seconds between when they got the person off the blanket to get ready for the next felt like hours as he watched the fire getting closer, with the smoke leaving through the hole only getting worse as he started to cough from it. As he reached for the boy whom he had come for, the last person up there with him, he felt another disturbance in his Húxū which made his eyes widen as he realized he didn’t have any more time.

Without a second thought, he grabbed the kid and jumped out of the hole, much to the horror of the crowd as an explosion followed after them, if he had remained even a second longer, they would have been caught in it, but as it stood, there were only pushed further by its force, a glance told him that he would miss the blanket entirely. With no other option, he transferred as much of his tenet as he could into the boy in his arms and braced for a harsh landing.

When his back and shoulder impacted the cold, hard pavement, there wasn't so much a crash as there was a crack and thud as he felt the air leaving his lungs, quickly followed by a searing pain all over his body, with the worst being the parts of him that impacted first as he found himself laying belly up, his arms to his side-one he was pretty sure was broken. Seconds after his rough landing, the rest were rushing over, fearing the worst but he could at least give a thumbs up as he felt it, the steady drumbeat of the little boy's heart, the rise and fall of his chest pressed against his own.

“sh*t, you have to be the craziest person I know, the hell was that about?” Someone asked him as the kid was taken off him and rushed to the medical side, his concerned parents following right on after as Midoriya was helped up by two others.

"It was either a date with the pavement or the flames,” He hissed in pain as he moved, jolting his thoroughly messed up shoulder and arm. “I think I chose well.”

"You're lucky you didn't hit your crack your head open, you dunce!" The woman yelled at him as he laughed, feeling a bit light-headed.

“As long as the…people,” His vision started to blur, the voices and sounds of everything around him fading into white noise before-“…safe.” He was out, his eyes rolling back as he passed out from the pain of his injuries.

He didn't know how long he was out, or what happened. One second he was being, the next he seemed to be back on the…bed? Groaning, he fought to regain consciousness, hearing bits and pieces as he did so. “He’s coming to.”

“Already? What the hell is this kid made of? Most people would be out for at least another day.” What was surprising about that? Anyone from the sanctuary knew his training was no joke, a simple 4 floor drop wouldn’t be enough to do him in….Unless these people weren’t from the sanctuary.

When he finally opened his eyes, he found himself on a stretcher, his head and right arm from his shoulder going down wrapped up, the limb being supported in a brace. To his sides were two EMTs, both looking at him with shock…when did they get here?

Ignoring them for the moment, he looked around and saw that he was still in Raxus, still close to the shelter which was now largely burnt out, with 3 different fire trucks still shooting water into the burnt-out structure while firefighters entered the buildings, others coming out carrying stretchers like the one he was laying on, but only covered with tarps. He didn’t need to be told to understand what that meant.

Against the instructions of the paramedics tending to him, he forced himself onto his feet, with the two holding him down. “I’ll be fine, focus on everyone else.” His assurance didn’t mean much to them, but the sneer one of them was shooting him didn’t give an impression that she liked or even wanted to treat him.

“You want to die? Fine, the world doesn’t need your kind anymore.” He grunted as he got to his feet, refusing to wavier when she could see him. rather, he turned to glare at her over his shoulder.

"I don't have any plans to die till I'm old and grey." He spat back, flipping her off with his good arm before he walked off. As he moved, he was able to take a better inspection of himself and besides the bandages around his head and his cast-covered arm, his torso was also wrapped up, his top missing-most likely tossed but at least he still had his red belt. His day was made even better when the child he had handed his scarf to. "Thank you for helping us." She walked up to him, giving him a small hug which he returned.

"We must be there for each other whenever we're needed." He messed her hair a little, getting a pout from the girl as she handed him his scarf back. Taking it in his hands, he held it like it was a child. "You helped me by protecting this, it…it's important to me." He looked at it, smiling as he recalled the day he got it.

"Is it expensive?" He couldn't help but laugh at that, confusing the child.

"Heavens no!" He knew that it was cheap, that he could easily get a new one from just about any clothing store but…that wasn't the reason for its value, at least to him. "It was a gift from my mother." For what felt like the first time in hours, he smiled as he thanked her, wrapping it around himself with just one hand. Walking closer, he saw that most of the rescue team was sitting with the people, making sure that they were as comfortable as they could be. The fire suppression was still working, even though their role was mercifully reduced with the presence of the firefighters while the first aid people continued to work as well, only they were now helping move people onto ambulances, he just hoped that they got the treatment they deserved.

Approaching them, he walked up to Ōbi speaking with a police officer. The man had removed most of his robes, leaving him with just his white vest and a bandage around his left forearms. He couldn't hear what they were saying, but he could guess that it wasn't pleasant as things got heated with his senior and started to get angry.

“You call yourself a cop, what a disgrace to the badge!” The man yelled at the cop before turning to walk away before he punched him.

Jogging up to him, Midoriya spoke. “That seemed like it didn’t go well.” Ōbi sparred him a glance, if he was shocked that he was on his feet again, he didn’t show it.

“Shouldn’t you be on your way to the hospital?” The man asked him, looking him over and seeing how bandaged up he was, and he walking with a slight limp.

"I'm still walking, I'll heal up later if I have to." Midoriya shrugged it off, only for the man to mutter something about him being an idiot under his breath.

“One of these days, I’m going to knock some sense into your head.” He spoke up, louder as they got closer to where the rest of their people from the rescue team were resting, their robes off and to their sides as some fanned themselves, or drank water that was offered to them by locals.

“Maybe, maybe not.” Now wasn't the time to talk about Izuku's habit of running into danger without thought to save another. “You didn’t answer my question.” Ōbi snorted before he gestured to the shelter and the many firefighters working.

“You were out for about 90 minutes, maybe a little longer, maybe a little shorter. Point is, the calvary arrived a little over an hour ago.” The was a dismissive disgust in his voice when he mentioned calvary, not that he blamed him as he wouldn't be surprised if that was a sentiment shared by all of them. When they called the fire department, they gave them a time of arrival of 20 minutes. That call had been before they arrived, where they spent over 20 minutes saving as many people as they could. All that meant that the firefighters, ambulances and the damn cops acting as crowd control didn’t get here till they were well over an hour late.

“Amazing what they could have done if they showed up sooner.” He felt an anger in him, a desire to lash out but he controlled himself, he wouldn’t allow him to be lowered to the same level as those dogs.

“That's not the issue. The f*cking issue is that according to their primary assessment, the entire 'incident',” Ōbi glared at a group of cops as they questioned a couple of people, none of them looking the slightest bit comfortable with the presence of law enforcement. “Was an unfortunate tragedy caused by overpopulation and poor handling of flammable materials.”

“What the hell, it wasn’t an incident, it was an attack!” Midoriya’s rage exploded, his yell so loud that he drew attention from others, both residents and law enforcement alike, but he didn’t care. "We have one of the f*ckers right there! If they had done their jobs and showed up sooner, we wouldn't be hauling so many bodies, we wouldn't have lost so many people!" He pointed at the mass of bodies, all of them covered by tarps, blankets, shirts-whatever could be sparred. Around them, families and friends mourned their loss.

They had been attacked, they had been the victims-to even hint that some blame lay with them made him see red. He was stopped from running to the cops to yell that fact in their faces by Ōbi who grabbed his shoulder, the man’s face as stormy as his but restrained in its fury. “Trust me, I know the feeling, I barely held back from clocking that cop in the face.” He wasn't scared of spending a night in jail, but he had to remain here, helping to run the rescue and recovery efforts as he didn't trust these cops or EMTs as far as he could throw them.

“Excuse me,” Both turned to see who was interrupting them, only to find themselves having to turn their heads up just to look the much taller man in the eye. “But I would like to get your statements about this tragedy.” The number one seemed…sheepish, apologetic even. His costume was slightly burned from the fires but the man was untouched by them.

“All Might?” Midoriya asked, surprised to see him before that surprise turned to irritation. All Might recognized him and must have realized that the boy wasn't his biggest fan at the moment.

“He arrived first, they,” Ōbi explained, nodding to the rest of the first responders. “Followed after him.” It had been…a surprise to see All Might just land, his signature smile visible for all to see before he rushed in to help, coming out just as quickly with people or at one point, holding up the ceiling to allow others to save people, the weight of the hundreds of tons of brick, steel and concrete easily held up by the blonde.

“Of course, they did, where the number one goes, the cameras are sure to follow.” Midoriya snorted, when did they call? They take their sweet time, but when All Might acts, they chase after him like love-sick puppies. “Didn’t you already ask others?” He didn’t wish to speak with him.

“We did, but it will be best if we speak to everyone involved, and not a lot of them can say they did what you did, young man. That was a mark of a true hero.” All Might told him, the phrase catching him off guard as he felt it vibrate in his chest, sing to his heart in a way he didn’t know that words from his fallen idol could.

"…Someone had to step up when there weren't any." He replied, but he agreed to speak with the man, it meant speaking with a cop that he might have struck.

Chapter 6: Journeys for Power

Chapter Text

If Izuku could be somewhere else, he would, but alas, he was a teenage boy and thus needed to attend school, even if he was barely tolerated by the staff or the students. Sitting at his desk as he waited for the teacher to arrive to start homeroom, he wished that he could be at Raxus, helping people on the ground, or at the sanctuary, aiding in the preparation of provisions like food, clothing and herbs. In the two days since the fires, things that he expected had happened, as well as things he hadn’t.

One of the things he expected was that by Monday, he was right as rain, with no band-aid on him or any other sign that he jumped out of a 4^th-floor window onto hard pavement. Another thing that happened during that recovery operation was when those damned thugs had decided to flex their muscles to patch up their wounded pride, they had done so when the shelter was largely full of people, entire families inside either having their dinner, resting or putting the young, sick and elderly to bed. All that meant that over 400 people were inside when the fighting started, quickly followed by the fire.

That was packed, extremely so as the community centre was originally built for just a little over 200 but that number had only grown in the years as it was one of only 3 shelters in the entire prefecture that took the quirkless in without hassle. They had heard horror stories about other shelters that either prioritized those with quirks who actively were hostile to quirkless who were lucky enough to be accepted.

Of the over 400 people, they had confirmed at least 140 dead, with both residents and the firefighters still pulling bodies out when he was forced to leave. Most of the dead were those same sick, young and elderly, people too weak or small to fight their way out in the initial chaos before they fell victim to the smoke. Another 120 were injured, with most being taken to nearby hospitals on mass but that also meant the people were spread out, with it proving slow for friends and family to figure out who was sent where, or at least, that was what he heard while he helped distribute wood and blankets to those left without a home.

But the master was nothing if not kind and immediately opened the sanctuary to them, with many families offering to host other families for the time being, so that meant he was busy most of Sunday helping people move what little they had, with trucks coming and going regularly to pick up people and ferry them up the long mountain road.

'But things wouldn't be so bad if they just got there when they were supposed to!' He might have kept his face passive, disinterested in the affairs of those around that he didn't even bother to clean up his desk of its usual flurry of insults and suicide messengers, but in his mind and heart, he was seething in rage. If those damn firefighters hadn't taken so long, if they had bothered to care for the lives of all those people even a little, then maybe they wouldn't need to plan so many funerals.

His disappointment for All Might took on some shades of resentment, as they had only come in force once the number one had decided to grace them with his presence because of course they did after all anything involving All Might was big news, a fact by how the media was quick to follow and focused almost all their attention on All Might who had the gall to smile as he worked.

He knew that he wasn't being reasonable, that All Might probably was busy, or thought that others would pick up the slack, that he probably was smiling because he was trying to reassure people that help was there…but he didn't care. The hypocrite claimed that he did what he did so that people could live without fear, a lot of good that did, so many died terrified, confused and in pain, most likely waiting and praying to heroes that never came till it was too late.

He gave the man his statement, but he didn't have much faith that'll lead to much, for those that survived anyway as 11 thugs had gone into the shelter, and they only managed to find 4. Did he care that the other 7 perished in the flames and smoke? Not really, no. Karma was a bitch and she came for them. It was the living he was concerned about as while the dead rotted in hell, there was the issue of the charges against the 4 that lived with the police being so blasé about it, he wouldn't be shocked if they got hit with misdemeanors for illegal quirk use, maybe an assault charge but an actual murder or lesser manslaughter conviction would need the law to see them as what they were, a mindset that would force them to let go of the idea of victim blaming.

He sighed, turning his attention to the window as he wished he could have spoken with the master at all during the weekend, but she had been busy with body identification, preparing for funerals and helping with treatment a top of her normal duties, so he didn't feel like it would have been appropriate for him to ask for what little spare time she had. Still, his brain kept going back to the inciting incident, he couldn't help but wonder why so much could happen, so much suffering and pain, so many lives cut short, because of what? Some petty gang's ego? Was something like that worth such a price? Because those that were meant to protect and serve them all had better things to do? Or were they seen as so lesser that their lives meant nothing to them, to the thugs and the heroes?

He wasn’t sure, and that only angered him. Almost as much as the news coverage of the entire thing, which they barely did as when he got home last night and put on the news while he made dinner for himself, the fire was only mentioned in passing with more focus paid to how the great Symbol of Peace was quick to appear-a line that almost made him throw his cooking stick through the TV-and handled the situation. Nothing on the preparators, the injured, the dead-just some feel-good fluff piece that said nothing of value. Why, because it didn't matter, they didn't matter as the victims were quirkless and mutants, who cares about that when they can praise the blonde hypocrite?

“You hear about the fire over the weekend?” He listened in to some of his classmates, who happened to be discussing the fire rather than whatever it was that Hawks or Uwabami did.

“Damn shame about that gas leak, but when you live in the slums, sh*tty maintenance is always a thing.” A classmate of his, a girl with a quirk that turned her hands to flames replied.

“Only idiots would live somewhere like that, what did they expect?” His fist tightened as he tried to keep himself calm, even as he listened to such disrespect.

"I heard that it was a dumpster fire gone out of control." He didn't know where that rumor started, but he'd like to have a word with whoever saw fit to say something so misleading.

The straw that broke the camel's back was hearing another classmate, a boy who could turn his hands to stone scoff at it, as if the tragedy was somehow insulting for him to hear. “They had it coming, you live in such a sh*tty place and light fires all over and you’re gonna get burnt. Maybe they’ll learn from it.”

“Take that back. Now.”

“What?” The boy and the rest of the class turned to Midoriya, who had got up from his desk and was staring at the boy with an intensity that might just cause him to burst into flames.

“I said,” His grip on his desk tightened to the point that the wood started to creak and buckle under the pressure. "That that back! They were victims, they were attacked. They didn't deserve their fate any more than you do and I won't tolerate your foolish ideas contradicting that." He yelled at them, making them jump back in surprise and slight fright as Midoriya was never known to express such emotion, often keeping himself neutral and flat with only brief moments when anything more shined through, but this was much more than that.

Right after he yelled, the door to the class opened and in walked one of Midoriya's least-liked people. “What this, Deku? Trying to bark at your betters?” He glared at the green-haired boy, having heard him on his way in and not taking kindly to him asserting himself in his domain.

“I’m telling them to respect the dead,” Unfortunately for him, Midoriya cared as much for his ideas of his dominance as he did a rat’s ass. “To insult them for being attacked is a mockery I won’t stand for.” He stood tall, his eyes squarely on Bakugo who approached him, the frown on his face turning into a sneer.

“So, what if they got attacked, if they lost it just means they're weak." Midoriya for a moment, was stunned by that. He knew that Bakugo cared little for others, that he valued strength over everything else and saw himself as the strongest, but he had hoped that some part of him understood that heroes fought for the sake of others.

“What?” Everything else faded away, his attention solely on Bakugo who seemed to take his reaction as a victory.

"You heard me, Deku. Just like you, the only thing those extras are good for is talking a big game and running away. Anyone with real strength would have defended themselves.” He aggressively pocked the boy in the chest, forcing him back a couple of steps but on the third, Izuku didn't budge, with Bakugo being surprised that he didn't, even when he put his whole hand on his chest to try and push it, it was like Izuku was bolted to the floor.

“…I’ll give you…one chance. Apologies, right now.” Midoriya stated, slowly as he felt his anger at this blonde increase to levels, he didn’t know he could feel towards him. Sadly, for him, Bakugo didn’t pick on this.

“I don’t listen to pebbles," Bakugo responded, getting ready to blast Midoriya onto his ass and be done with this conversation, but never getting the chance. The moment he finished his reply, Midoriya reacted with a powerful punch to the face that didn't just knock him off his feet but sent him flying to a couple of desks, crashing into them, knocking them over and leaving him on the ground with the rest of the class stunned at what they just saw.

That shock turned to fear as they all felt an aura form in the room, a force of will that was coming from Izuku who pulled back his fist, glaring at Bakugo with a level of disgust one would reserve for a piece of gum that they stepped on. He had always been quiet, non-confrontational but right now he was anything but as he raised his other fist. "Then I'll have to beat some respect into you."

Bakugo was…confused for a moment, he had just been struck by a weakling, but then why was he on his back on the floor? Why did his nose feel like it was broken, and why was Deku of all people looking down on him?? His confusion turned to pure rage as he got up, ready to correct this massive mistake in the universe and ensure that it was just that, a mistake.

“What the hell is happening in here?” The tension was immediately broken by the arrival of their teacher, who opened the door and saw the mess the class was in, with his best student and the…other looking like they were about to have a back-alley brawl. However, he caught how it looked like Bakugo was injured. How did that happen?

Neither boy answered, their attention remaining on the other though they did stop any attempt to fight. In the absence of them saying anything, someone else did as they pointed at Midoriya like he was the murderer. “M-Midoriya punched Bakugo!” With that, the rest ganged up on him and while, yes he did throw the first punch, he would happily share those punches with the rest of them for their willful removal of context.

“You did what?” Hearing this, the teacher zeroed in on Midoriya with a harsh glare which didn’t phase him. “You couldn’t help yourself, could you? Now you’re picking fights? Go to the principal’s office, now.” He turned to glare at the man, making him jump back in fright from the intensity of it before Midoriya turned back to Bakugo. He wanted…so badly to teach him a lesson, to make him understand just how little he was, how little he mattered in the grand scheme of things instead of being God's gift to humanity…but he had enough problems as is.

“Fine.” He lowered his arms, grabbed his bag and walked towards the door, stopping to stand next to Bakugo to say one last thing. “We’ll settle this, Bakugo. We’ll see which one of us is the pebble on the side of the road.” With that promise, he walked out of the class, slamming the door shut with enough force that it cracked.

“I can’t believe this! What were you thinking, Midoriya? Starting fights, who do you think you are? This school has rules and we’re sick and tired of students like you that think you don’t need to follow them.” Midoriya couldn't help but frown at the irony of that statement, but he knew that pointing it out would only make his balding principal all the angrier with him for daring to threaten their chances of the golden boy of Aldera getting into U.A.

He had been sitting in the principal's office for the better part of 30 minutes now, after he had explained the situation to the man and why he chose violence, the principal had soundly ignored that, including how technically Bakugo started it by pushing him and focused on his admission to throwing a punch.

What he was more focused on was scolding him like a petulant child and demanding he apologies which he said he'll do so when hell freezes over. He might not have used that language, but he did convey that the man has been getting increasingly pissed with him and his refusal to play ball. "And of all the students you decide to injure, you attack your class's star pupil, Bakugo. The boy has a bright future ahead of him, can become a great hero and he doesn't need you interfering with for petty reasons." If he didn’t stop ignoring the reasons he gave him for striking Bakugo, he’ll punch him in the nose too as he was getting sick and tired of hearing that what he did was ‘petty’.

The man reached for the folder he had, his academic folder and slid it across the table for him to read. “This isn’t the first time your behavior has ended up on my desk, from your grades being just above average and you’re constantly taking sick days.” He knew that he wasn’t the smartest, but he also know that what he was seeing was almost assured bullsh*t as no way his grades were that low. He knew that he consistently got in the top ten of his class, but he didn’t expect anything more from these people as letting the quirkless student outshine the other ‘real’ students wouldn’t be good for them, now, would it?

However, he couldn't help himself and be a bit catty with the man after having to listen to him pretend to be an adult and fair educator. "I would have thought you would like not having to deal with me or have to worry about my contaminating the 'good’ students with my presence.” He never said he took those days off because he was sick, but if they wanted to believe that the quirkless kid also had a pathetically weak immune system, he'd let them believe it so long as he could use it to serve his goals.

“Don’t get smart with me, you little brat!” His snarky comment wasn’t appreciated by the man who looked like he was going to continue to yell at him and imply him a failure and problem child when the door opened, his…mother walked into the room still in her suit and phone in hand.

Walking in, she was speaking on the phone, not even glancing at him as she took the seat next to him, with Izuku crossing his arms and looking anywhere but at her. "Yes…I'll be back in an hour, maybe a little longer…No, you don't have to clear anything." She ended the call and turned to the principal. “Morning, principal. I’ve been told that my son was involved in an incident?” She cut straight to the point, not greetings, no questions on why he did it.

“He was. Earlier, he started a fight with another student, Bakugo Katsuki and broke the boy’s nose as well as damaged school property. Worse is that he’s completely unrepentant and refuses to apologies for his gross misbehavior.” He glared at the boy who didn’t buckle under his glare, meeting it with his own.

"I'll sooner drink acid than apologies to him." He had been taught to have a backbone by his master and to stand by his beliefs even when others questioned them. Bakugo deserved that punch to the face, he deserved a proper ass-kicking and he wouldn't say otherwise just to appease this guy.

At last, she turned to her son and looked at him with a raised eyebrow. “Aren’t you two friends, why would you fight him?” How little she was involved in his life for her to still think they hung out like they were 5.

Of course, the principal had his theories as to why he did. "If I had to guess, it stems from jealousy as it's no secret the two boys are destined for different things, with both having applied to U.A.'s hero course, it's clear that Katsuki with his talent and quirk will get in whereas Izuku-!" Midoriya slammed his hands onto the desk, rattling it and knocking stuff. He wasn’t going to sit there and watch this poor excuse for an educator tell blatant lies to cover Bakugo and his ass.

“You know damn well that wasn’t why I hit that prick.” The man stumbled over his words as Izuku glared at him, his control over his anger frayed and worn from the fire, and its aftermaths and he had to listen to people speak of it like it was something minor, something not worthy of respect.

“Izuku, be quiet!” Inko grabbed him and pulled him into his seat again, but his glare didn’t let up as the man collected himself, deciding to ignore the boy for the moment.

"You can see what I mean about his jealousy. Either way, we've already called in Katsuki's parents and we'll have this sorted out soon." He used his outburst to prove his false claims, but Izuku bit his tongue, recognizing that he wasn't going to win this rigged game. “In the meantime, Izuku is suspected for 2 weeks, and when he returns, he’ll be given another month’s detention.”

“I understand, I’ll be sure to make it clear to him that he was in the wrong and needs to correct himself.” She stood up and bowed to the man, before dragging him out of the room.

There was once a time when spending time with his parents, even on a drive to and from somewhere would have made his day. But that time had passed years ago as Izuku sat next to his mother as she drove them home, his mother not too pleased with him as she let him know. “I can’t believe it. I expect you to behave, attend your classes and do your chores, but then I’m called away from work for this?” Of course, because why he did it wasn’t important, all that was important was that he dragged her away from work and forced her to spend time with him.

“Picking fights with people with quirks? Have you lost your mind, Izuku? You should know better than that, you’re not like them, you’re fragile.” What did she know about him, he didn’t need some stupid quirk, nor did he want one. He wasn’t the fragile piece of glass she thought he was. For the entire ride, he didn’t respond to anything she said, and let her rant and scold him. He didn’t see any reason to respond as not once in the drive did she ask him about his day, how he had been since the last time they spoke, even shared the same space at the same time, she didn’t ask him to explain himself, wish to know why he started a fight.

No, because she had all she wanted to know, and him bothering to dispute it wouldn’t help his case as she didn’t want to hear his side of things. She barely tolerated her failure of a son as is.

“You better not make a habit of this, do you understand, young man?” She told him as they entered the apartment. Izuku dropped his bag by the door, too frustrated to take it to his room.

“I’ll do a lot worse to that Bakugo or anyone else if he keeps disrespecting the dead.” He muttered, his thoughts back to that moment when he struck the boy, he hadn’t reinforced his fist, but a small part of him wished he did just so that Bakugo would have got a concession.

Inko heard this and disputed it. “You’re not the one that decides who to punish.”

“Then who is?!” He turned to her, angry as this was getting old. “Who decides whose good or evil? Who decided that I could step up and defend people and be the one punished while Katsuki gets off with nothing but a broken nose?” What sort of system punished one for doing good? Mocked you for having bad luck that led to you needing a shelter, that encouraged people to see quirks first and people second?

"Has my life been decided to be lesser than that prick’s who can’t even be bothered to remember names?” He asked her, stepping closer to her but she wasn’t phased by his outburst as she turned around to leave, she had work and already lost enough time dealing with this as is.

“I don’t want to hear any of your excuses, Izuku. You’ll grounded for the next month since you can’t seem to understand this kind of stuff just makes us look worse.” She told him over her shoulder, only for Izuku to laugh at that comment.

“What do you mean ‘worse’? Why am I the problem child? How could you even make that call when you can’t be bothered to spend more than 5 minutes a month with me?” He asked her, not giving her to give him any response as he left for his room, the door slamming shut. With his breath shaggy, and his anger bleeding out of him like water from a sponge, he sat cross-legged in the middle of the room to calm himself via meditation.

“Things…things need to change.” He thought aloud, his breath coming back under control as he regained his composure. As he did, he recalled that night and how All Might, with his power, was a key factor. As he was now, he was capable, far more than anyone in his class, close to the prodigy Bakugo…but that wasn't enough. He wished to change the world, to help those who were forgotten, mistreated and abused like him and to do that, he needed to become so strong that he became a symbol like All Might. A force so great that none could dare challenge it.

‘I need to reach it, which means I’ll need more power to do it.’ He might be grounded, but that would imply he would listen to it.

He needed to speak with the master. But until then, he would let the natural energy of the world around him flow through and over him, carrying away his frustration and leaving him as calm as the clear pond’s surface.

"Enter," Teitora stated as she continued to fill out paperwork. She didn’t need to look up to know who entered her study, closing the door behind them as Midoriya came up to her desk and bowed to her as one would to their master.

“Greeting, master Kenmikito. I was hoping to speak with you before you retired for the night.” Midoriya greeted her, waiting for her to allow him to stand at his full height before he did so. Looking around the space, he saw that it was adorned with feline-themed décor from an oil painting, to a couple of statues and even the paint on the wall which resembled a tiger's stripes. Her two tigers were present, as always as one was sleeping in the large bed in the corner while the other lay on its stomach playing with an oversized cat toy.

Along with that sight, there were many knick-knacks that the woman had collected over the years, from expensive sculptures she inherited from her parents, to what looked to be the biggest piece of jade he had ever seen, the polished gem being the size of a soccer ball and sparked under the light, no doubt the thing must have been worth millions.

“You seem tense, Izuku. Is there something on your mind?” Kenmikito didn't look up from her papers but still managed to state her correct observation of him.

“Many things, master. But I came here for something else.” Midoriya replied, having calmed down considerably compared to the morning but that just left him feeling…lost. A feeling he wished to correct with what he was about to ask of her.

“Well, them, spit it out.”

“I wish to complete the final trial.” Her pen stopped mid-stroke as she turned her attention to him, her amber eyes burning him with how little amusem*nt they carried.

“You shouldn’t joke about such things, Izuku. It lacks any value of humor.” She advised him but he wouldn’t back down, even if he knew what he was asking could very well result in his slow, painful death.

“I’m not joking. I wish to take the last step.” She looked him over, looking for something he didn’t know. Because of that, he wasn’t sure what to make of it when she returned her gaze to his eyes.

“And why, pray tell,” She leaned back into her seat, bringing her hands together as she watched him. “Should I even green light this? You know that what you ask for isn’t something that will be easily obtained, nor can be reversed.”

“Because…because I can’t remain as I am, not if I wish to achieve my dreams.” He had thought about it a lot before he came over, and despite the perils and risks, he couldn’t not take this chance.

“I’ve known that my goals will be harder, harder than anything else that I could attempt but I still chose this path.” He could recall when they first met when she saved him when no one else did. That was the day she started to supplant All Might to him. Seeing her strength, not just in body but in mind and spirit inspired him to train day in and day out, to push himself further than anyone would have believed him capable. For a while, he believed that he was making good progress in that, in 10 months he could take the U.A. entrance exam and hold his head up high.

“The fire…it changed things as for all that strength, I wasn’t strong enough,” That day might very well stay with him for the rest of his days, among all the tragedy, he felt humbled and humiliated when he saw just how…little he could do. “I didn’t have the pull needed to save people. I am seen as strong enough to defend their honor when they were slighted.”

“And you think this will give you that?” She asked him, with Izuku nodding his head.

"As you've said in the past master, even the tiger needs to prove its might to maintain its rule over the jungle. I am strong, but to face what comes next, to do what I need to do, I need as much strength as I can get.” She went silent, watching him again, observing him like he was nothing but a specimen under a microscope, looking for any impurities or flaws, and ready to refuse him and tell him to leave.

But she found none, he was young-yes, younger than anyone else who even attempted what he was asking for, but he was also one of her best if not her best students. His talent for tenet was better than close to anyone she had trained and he trained and refined his skills religiously, never settling when he could improve himself, even if by centimeters.

“What you seek has killed people before you, it has taken all but one person before you and could very well take your life as well.” She warned him as she had lost many other students to this, each of them had had great potential and confidence, but none of that saved them. “You have this one chance, my boy. One chance to take back what you've said and walk away. Once I agree to this, there is no taking it back, not with me."

Izuku to this, smiled though it lacked any warmth or amusem*nt, but it was resigned and eager. He knew he was taking a dangerous step, but a part of him couldn’t help but want to see what it would entail. “I want this.”

Sighing, she nodded. Accepting that he made his choice. "3 days. Be back here in 3 days at the crack of dawn, no later." He stood straighter before he bowed to her once more.

“I won’t disappoint you, master.” With that, he excused himself and left her in her study, the woman feeling the decades coming down on her shoulders all at once as she leaned into her chair, her eyes going to the ceiling and its many paintings.

“I don’t wish to see you lose your life if it’s just to impress me.” 8 times. 8 times she had allowed her students to do this and 8 times she had lost them. some got further than others, but none ever made it to the end. She only prayed that the 9^th would be the exception.

“Izuku,” Izuku felt his heart skip a beat, and not in the usual way when he heard that voice as he turned to see Kyūfune approaching, the taller and older woman stopping once close enough. “Are you staying the night again?” She smiled as she looked down on him, her clothes still dirty from working out in the fields tending to the crops and harvesting what they could to accommodate the extra mouths to feed.

“No, I just wished to speak with the master.” He shook his head, knowing that she wasn’t going to be happy with what he’d done.

“About what?”

“I asked to go for Sage training.” There was silence from her, as if his words didn't register in her head as she kept on smiling like he had just said something amusing, or mentioned the weather. But in a flash, she moved and with a yelp, she grabbed him in her arms and lifted him to her eye level, those pretty pools of blue now a stormy sea from her rage.

“…Are you an idiot?” She asked him but didn't give him time to answer before she added onto it. “I need you to be honest with me, do you have a half dozen screws loose?” She pulled him closer.

“I might, but my goals were never for the completely sane.” He replied.

She didn’t find his response funny as she started to shake him like a rag doll, her mutated body giving her more than enough strength to do it even without needing to use tenet. "You need to march on back and beg her to reconsider. This is suicide! You'll be lucky if there is enough of a body to identify!"

Despite being shaken around like a doll, Izuku didn't change his mind. “I won’t.” His response came through over the vibrations of being shaken.

“Why?! What could be worth risking your life?” She mercifully stopped doing that to ask him for his reason.

“They mocked them.” He looked into her eyes, his own filled with nothing determination as strong as an age-old tree that had stood the rest of time. "My classmates, they heard what happened and couldn't stop talking about how it was their fault for being attacked, that they should have known better." She let him down but kept her focus on him as he did her.

“That they only suffered because they’re weak. That they deserved to die just because they couldn’t defend themselves.” He repeated what he heard, what made his blood boil which had the same effect on Kyūfune as she wouldn’t lie and say that she didn’t get similar stuff during her morning classes, but she didn’t want him to die for it.

“I fought for them, knocked Bakugo right on his ass, and got 2 weeks suspension among other things." He bitterly smiled as her eyes widened at that, with him turning from here to the grounds, the place lit up by dozens of lights with the night sky overhead. As his eyes took in the many flower beds and shrubs that dotted the place, he continued.

"Even my mother is more concerned for appearance than reality as to her, it's bad enough that she has a quirkless son, one that sticks out is even worse." He kept his sight away from her, not seeing how she was handling this. "The world as it is…will never accept this, accept us. Not as long as we don't have the power to force them to."

He turned back to her, his eyes alit with a fire that she couldn’t deny. "That's why I must become a sage so that I can get that power. To use it to fulfil my dream and destroy this broken system for all their sakes."

She knew that, but it didn’t make it any easier to let him go off with that beast. She wished to tell him to stop, to not do it even if what he wished for was such a beautiful world, a world where she wouldn’t have had such a bad childhood, a bad present, but more than that, it was seeing just how determined he was. Kneeling, she gave him a quick kiss on the cheek before she pulled him into a gentle hug.

"All that means nothing if you die," She whispered to him, her grip on him tightening ever so as she considered that this could be one of the last times, they could do this. She had been abandoned by her birth parents and had lost so much just because she was a heteromorph. She had found connections in these walls, met some of the most wonderful people she could, and found a woman that she was proud and happy to call her mother in all but blood in the form of the master. She even had Izuku, the little kid who trained his heart off and loved old kung fu movies.

Thinking about it, she couldn’t help but add something. “I don’t want to lose people I care about, not before you’ve worked up the nerve to ask to sit with me at dinner.” She pulled back a little to see his reaction.

Izuku’s face, which was already a bit red from her little kiss and hug, exploded as he registered her words. “You kn-” She placed a finger on his lips to silence his babbling, he was cute when he babbled like that, reminded her of that soft side which made him who he was.

“That you like me? Kinda hard not to. You get this look on your face whenever I bring up other guys like you jealous but trying to not let that control you, it’s cute.” He blushed even harder at that, he couldn’t believe he had been so obvious. Just how many times had he made a fool of hime-wait, was that why the others laughed? They knew, didn’t they?

Bastards.

She giggled, bringing some humor to the situation as she reluctantly let him go, standing back up to her full height. “Make sure you live, and I’ll let you take me down the dining hall where we can celebrate you becoming a sage with a big meal.”

“I will, I got too much riding on this to up and die.” He smiled as he responded.

As instructed, 3 days later, he was at the gates of the dojo. He hadn’t been able to sleep most of the night and arrived early, getting there to see that he had people waiting for him. That being the 5 top students, each ranked higher than him and acted as the 5 hands to the master. With them were Kyūfune, Hanen and the master. All of whom had arrived early much like he did, but while he would focus on them normally, it was the extra party present that had his attention.

He had been used to seeing cats around the place, anything from housecats to the tigers that the master had taken as pets and guardians. But the feline that sat next to the master with a fanged smile that spelt nothing but bad news for him was closer in size to an elephant. Even when sitting on its hind legs, it was easily taller than Kyūfune, making the fox woman that towered over everyone else seem small by comparison.

It looked like a tiger if tigers could have jet-black fur, but its stripes were all wrong. It looked like a lion, but its mane wasn’t large enough, perhaps it was a cheetah, but its legs didn’t seem lean enough. He couldn’t make heads or tails on what this was and from how its sapphire and ruby eyes shifted in glee, it took joy in confusing him.

“Master, I have arrived.” He bowed to her, with the woman grunting back.

“Early I would say.” She ignored the fact that everyone had arrived early, even Hanen who looked like he wanted to fight someone for being told to wake up so early.

Izuku nodded before his attention shifted back to the elephant-sized feline among them. “Might you introduce us, master I find myself not knowing how to address our guest."

Before Kenmikito could respond, the big cat giggled, its voice so different to whatever he expected as it was like listening to dozens of cats of different breeds, sizes and ages giggle. "Well, if nothing else, girl, this one has manners, unlike the last one you saddled me up with." This transferred into its words but Izuku was more concerned about the lack of respect it was showing.

“Hey! I don’t care if you’re a cat the size of a mountain, show the master the proper respect she is due.” He glared at the monster cat, which only smiled at him as if he was an idiot while the master sighed, she might have seen this coming but it didn't make it any less painless.

Before the boy could say something else, she cut him off. “Izuku, this is Shizune, the spirit of the mountain and they’ll be your teacher as they were mine. Which makes them my master.” Hearing that, Izuku turned with a duck-like face of surprise to the monster of a cat which took deeper amusem*nt in his shock.

"Yup, she's as great as she is because of my brilliant teaching." The cat stated with a paw on its chest before pointing at him, one of their claws shooting up like a sword which made him flinch. "So why don't you bow low to your new master, I want your head kissing the dirt, human."

“That can wait, Shizune.” The newly named Shizune turned to pout at the woman, but she didn’t budge on this as it dramatically signed, retracting its claw.

“Oh fine, buzzkill. I remember when you were such a little hell-riser. The decades have made you boring.” Kenmikito didn't rise to the bait of her master, she had far too much experience to do something like that.

“I like to think they made me responsible.” She answered as the cat moved to inspect Izuku, not so much walking around him as they did floating even though he swore he saw their legs touching the floor but they made no sound, reaching out with Nezumito, he was shocked to find that whatever Shizune was…they were immense, as just feeling their aura made him sick with fear and awe.

If Shizune noticed that he finally picked up on the fact they were youkai he shouldn’t piss off, they didn’t show it as Shizune continued with the inspection. “Well, he’s certainly in good shape, you said he’s 14?” She turned back to Kenmikito

“He’ll be 15 in 2 months.”

“I forget, are all humans his age this small?” They ignored Izuku’s offended response as they tapped his arms. “I’m used to the tall and muscly ones you normally send to die.” They finished as they moved away from the boy before she gave her assessment.

“I doubt he’ll do any better than them, but once the deal is struck, it can’t be broken.” This didn’t help the mood of the gathered group as the master just looked resigned, the five hands looked mourning as if he was already dead, Kyūfune was holding back tears while Hanen just looked pissed that he was trying to become a sage when he knew the risks.

However, despite their lack of faith in him, Shizune wouldn’t let him just back out as before he could even blink, they were back in his face, their tail wrapping around him like a boa constrictor, holding him in the face as they moved closer to him, his eyes focusing on those blue and red orbs that starred back at him with so much wisdom, wrath and power than he ever thought could be possible. At that moment, he fully understood that if he was a puddle to the master's lake, Shizune was an ocean.

With a voice that sounded like the roars of 20 tigers, they laid out how things would work. "Alright, human. Here is the low-down of what's about to happen. For the next 6 months, I own you. You'll do what I say when I say it, how I say it. You won't have the time to argue or question me because the training will leave you too exhausted to even plead for mercy. It will be cruelling, dangerous, and insane by your human standards. I've been told it's torturous." They smiled as if that was an achievement to be proud him.

“If I can’t back out, why are you telling me this?” He asked, getting a chuckle in return that seemed to exude bad luck for whoever heard it.

“I just like seeing the faces you humans make when you start to realize what you’ve signed up for.” They answered but were mildly surprised and a little eager when they saw that despite that, he didn't falter. Oh yes, maybe this one would be more entertaining than the others.

“It’s a good thing that I’m not going to back down.” He had already had both his master and friends try to dissuade him from this, but he was set on it.

“I like you, you have a strong spirit, maybe you’ll last the first 2 months.” They let him go before pushing him towards the rest of the humans, taking a step back to give them space. "Go on and say your goodbyes, it might be the last time you see them, well they'll see whatever remains of you, but you get it."

Kyūfune handed him a locket and some finely craved wood and gold forged in the workshop. “Take care, Izuku. Remember what you promised.” She told him as she knelt and hugged him, a gesture he returned.

"I will take care of yourself, I know you can overwork." He replied as she laughed and broke the hug, wiping away from tears.

"Look who's talking." He smiled her tearful smile with one of his own before he moved on to the next, Hanen was silent, choosing to just watch him for a moment before he finally spoke.

“You’re an idiot for doing this, you know that, right?” Despite his words, the man was smiling as Izuku smiled back, shrugging his shoulders.

"I've never pretended to be the smartest person in the room," Izuku replied as he lifted his fist, getting an amused grunt from the man who gave him a fist pump.

"Take care of yourself, if there is anyone who knows what it does to you to fly too close to the sun, it's me." He gestured to himself. Izuku never did find out how he got those burns, but he had figured that it was a training or quirk accident.

“You got enough for the both of us.” Hanen laughed at the pretty poor joke.

“Smart-ass. What about the old hag? I’m pretty sure she’ll notice you missing after a week or two.” The two lowered their fists as the older man crossed his arms.

Izuku waved that concern off. "I left a note saying I'll be spending my days at the library studying with friends. If you just show up to clean the place now and then, she won't notice the difference." Hanen would think he was exaggerating how bad things were in his home life, but he had already heard the story of how the woman forgot his last birthday and when she saw him 2 weeks later, she just told him to ‘Buy groceries, I’m been staying late at work.’

"Great, I'm your cleaning service." The man hugged him, catching him by surprise as the older man patted his back before letting him go.

"Just be sure to feed Mario and Peach when they show up. Oh, and don't worry about my school, I already sent in a notice that I'll be out just before Winter break." He told them who muttered that he wasn't a cat sitter but he didn't refuse it.

Lastly, Izuku walked up to his master who had an unreadable expression. "Master." He didn't know how to frame this, she was his mother, his protector, his hero. He knew that she didn't like this, but he still wished to do it. He wondered if that made him ungrateful.

"Izuku. I wish that I could stop this, but even if I could I wouldn't." She took a breath, a hint of worry appearing in her eyes. "I'll respect your wishes on this."

“Thank y-!” He didn’t finish the sentence as she pulled him into a one-armed hug, crushing his head against her chest.

"You better come back alive, or else I'll feed whatever remains of your corpse to Ruby and Sapphire." Her two tigers nodded their heads in agreement, they also liked him but he was sure that they wouldn't feast on his remains…mostly sure.

With that said and done, he walked back to Shizune who had remained silent, his bag of gear in hand but they stopped him, pointing to said bag. “You’re not going to need most of that clatter.” Izuku looked at his bag, it wasn't very big, and he only packed one.

“What do you mean, it’s just the essentials.” He looked back to Shizune who looked unmoved by this, gesturing him to empty it right there and then.

"You'll need a couple of changes of clothes. That's it." He waited for them to say anything more, but groaned as he started doing it, placing his bag on the ground and removing stuff, starting with spare shirts and pants before Shizune burst out laughing at him. "I'm kidding, you can bring whatever the hell you want, just don't expect to have a signal so unless you like to play games, a phone's useless." He was in for 6 months of this…wasn’t he?

Muttering something about crazy cats, he put all his now slightly dirty clothing back into the bag and zipped it up, standing up once more to look around for what transport they were using. “So…how are we going to get there? Walking?” Was he going to ride them or something?

“Like this.” The spirit stated as it pounced on him, engulfing him in its body, swirling around him like mist. "Hold onto your stomach." Was the last thing they heard before the mist vanished, taking the youkai and boy with them.

Chapter 7: Tenet

Chapter Text

In a second where there was silence, there was another where a rumbling clap could be heard as Shizune and Izuku arrived at their destination. Izuku hadn't realized just how bad the teleportation would be as it felt like he had eaten rotten food, seen his grandfather naked and ridden the world's most intense roller coaster all in the span of 5 seconds. “Oh, I think I’m going to be sick.” Once his feet touched the grass, he was already sprinting to the nearest bush, which fortunately there were many as he threw his head into it, not caring for the leaves and sticks and lost his breakfast.

Shizune watched the kid throw up his food, having suspected that he'd have that reaction as they had been told that their teleportation was extremely jarring for human senses. “I told you to hold onto your stomach, human.” They stated. “Honestly, what is so bad about that?” They never had any issues with it, they knew they were great but were humans just that weird?

Not rising to their bait, he let out the last of his vomit, hating how his mouth tasted like acid and bile as he wiped it away with his sleeve. “Okay…okay, I’m good now. So,” He looked around, seeing that they were in a clearing of sorts. “Is this the place?” But it was certainly different. He knew that it couldn't be any later than maybe 6 but the place was covered in a thin but very notable mist, one that he suspected never truly left. The sun was up in the sky, with plenty of white fluffy clouds.

In the distance, he could make out other peaks which made him suspect that they were in the middle of a mountain range, but he couldn't place where on many of those peaks, he could see waterfalls, he could even hear water flowing in the distance, all around them in fact as the entire area was covered in streams and rivers. Looking around, he saw that the many plants that lived in the area were wild, lush and extremely beautiful, many of them taking from all sides of the rainbow with insects like ladybugs and butterflies all over the place.

From the thousands if not tens of thousands of flowers, shrubs, moss-covered trees and giant mushrooms that dotted the area, the scent of nature was nearly intoxicating, relaxing in ways he would sooner compare to drugs. If there was but one constant, it was the fact he could see and hear dozens of cats, some as small as typical house pets, others the size of jaguars.

Shizune seemed pleased with how enthralled he was with their home and couldn't help but boast. “Yup, welcome to Mt. Myōboku. My scared grounds, my scared mountain.”

“Where is it?” No way this was close to the sanctuary, hell he didn’t think it was anywhere in Honshu.

“Somewhere in the wide expanse of the universe.” Shizune grinned, their face filled with shiny white teeth as he signed, he should have known he would get a non-answer from the youkai. For all he knew, this wasn’t even on Earth anymore, but in a world which Youkai called home.

Trying to not think about the implications that could come from travelling to another world where no one but a supernatural creature could ever hope to bring him home, he decided to focus on something he could influence. “Well, where are we going to stay?”

“I stay wherever I please, you on the other hand,” Shizune could sleep wherever they pleased, but since the human would need shelter, she gestured behind to a structure he hadn’t noticed till now. “Over there.”

That structure looked like a run-down old shed. Its door was barely holding onto the hinges, and its windows were little more than boards that could held closed by rope. It had been built by the 2^nd fellow to attempt training and they hadn’t seen the need to tear it down once they croaked.

Izuku wasn’t expecting much, and so long as he didn’t have to worry about freezing to death in the night, he would take it. “…Alright. Anything else I should know about? I am yours for the next 6 months.” He asked as he walked towards his new dorm to leave his stuff, his teacher floating by his side.

"Not much, I thought I could give you the day to walk around and see all the splendor and glory that is my mountain before I ground you into the dirt.” They casually stretched as they talked, with Izuku nodding along once he reached the dorm and opened the door, seeing that the interior was as bad as he suspected with the bed being little more than a pile of leaves and an old blanket, he'd have to gather more to replace them since most looked dead. There was a small spot in the corner with a chimney, a spot to warm himself and cook food, but he also noted the lack of pots and pans so he'd be eating fruits and anything he could stab on a stick to roast but with so many rivers, he was bound to find some fish.

And it was a mountain claimed by a cat spirit and inhabited by cats, there had to be fish in the rivers.

Setting his stuff down, he left the shed and closed the door as gently as he could, wincing at how its hinges creaked and moaned from that simple movement. He didn't know where he should start with the tour of the place, but he thought it would be best to try out the rivers as he'll need which ones he can draw drinkable water from and fish in, then he'll explore the forests for spots for wild berries and fruits which he could eat.

With a plan of sorts in mind, he turned to leave but was stopped by Shizune, who had curled up into a large fluffball not too far from him. "But before then, why don't we talk? I wish to gauge what is it you know about tenet, and what you believe Sage training is.”

“Of course,” Recalling that he didn’t have much choice, he approached and sat on the grass, noting that it was still covered in dew and wet. “What is it you would like to know?”

“It’s cute that you think you can teach me.” Shizune giggled, not caring for his unimpressed look. "As for my question, I want you to explain to me what you think tenet is." He raised an eyebrow at that, he knew what it was, they knew what it was-why would they need him to explain it?

Still, that couldn’t be the only thing to the question, was this a test perhaps? Did they wish to test his knowledge on it? Maybe, as if they taught the master, it stood to reason that there were perhaps things she hadn’t taught him or didn’t know herself. “Tenet is…” He stopped himself, thinking about the demand from Shizune. They didn’t ask him to tell him what tenet was, but what he thought it was, so the best response would be his take on it.

“Tenet is the power that exists in all living things, it’s born from a mix of spiritual and physical power, which is why different plants and animals have different amounts.” He settled on something short, but straight to the point.

Shizune nodded. "Good, you're at least well taught as I can't stand dealing with humans who can barely explain such simple things." She had dealt with at least two others before him that were like that, the 6^th wasn’t good with words even if he could understand the basics well enough and the 3^rd was just an insanely talented idiot.

‘I’m not sure if they hate humans, or just love to mock us.’ Izuku wondered to himself as he heard that reply.

“And what is tenet used for?” Shizune asked him, laying their head on their legs, calm and relaxed now that they were at home.

“A lot of things, primarily reinforcing from both internal and external damage. It can also be used to enhance and expand one's own five senses to superhuman levels comparable to that of a person with a sensory quirk." He thought about the 5 basic techniques of tenet, two of which he hadn’t yet learned never mind mastered.

“And can all things use tenet?” Shizune asked him, getting him to shake his head.

“No, it requires training, years of it to be considered able to use it in any meaningful way.” That was one of the first things he learned.

“That is your first false statement, human.” Shizune smiled at his confusion as they decided in their infinite wisdom to grace him with the answer. “How can all things have it, yet not use it? You might as well say that all mammals can’t use blood.”

When they put it like that, he supposed it made sense, but that left questions of its own. "Like you said, all things have it, and its primary use is to reinforce the body," Shizune stated but quickly added. “That is how all humans and animals alike can develop quirks, how else would an otherwise normal be able to handle their newfound abilities? I don't know about you, but humans aren't meant to shine like the sun, or cover themselves in fire and walk around like that's normal."

"But that's just their quirk at work," Izuku replied, he had studied quirks for years, leaned about them the same as everyone and there wasn’t anything that could hint to tenet…but then again, he could still recall that damned trip to the doctor, the man stated that even then, decades since quirks had appeared that there was still much, they didn't understand. Was part of that because no one thought of tenet?

“If that is the case, why does it take up till their 4^th birthday for them to develop one?” They asked him, getting no response as he wanted to say it was because the body needed time, but if the quirk was a part of you, wouldn't it appear at birth as it did with some cases? Present Mic frequently talked about how much he loved his parents who loved him even after he nearly deafened them when he was born.

If time was the issue, wouldn't it make more sense for quirks to present themselves in one's teenage years when puberty was already making radical changes to them? He never stopped to think why it was 4 that became the norm.

Shizune could see the gears shifting in his head and nodded, pleased that he was capable of such thought. “I’ll tell you why, it’s because they spend the first 4 years subconsciously building up enough tenet so that when they first use their quirk, they don’t kill themselves.”

"If that is the case, why don't more people know about it? Why did I only find out about tenet when I met the master?" He couldn't help but ask as this could change everyone. If tenet became much more known, it could answer so many questions and open so many doors!

“Because most don’t realize what just happened. And it’s not uniform as some people do the process of gathering tenet in the womb, or perhaps their mother unknowingly shares some of their own with them, hence why some humans are born with their quirks active right out the human oven.” Shizune explained as they didn't spend too much time watching humans, but they had done it enough over the centuries to make educated guesses, which as far as she knew, had been proven accurate with how humans and these…quirks worked.

“But I’m quirkless.”

“One needs tenet to use a quirk without dying, but one doesn’t need a quirk to have tenet.” Shizune yawned, having thought such a fact would be obvious. “But I digress, training one’s tenet through physical activity and experience is why quirks gain in strength, as they increase the strength of their container that is the human body, which means they can hold more tenet. Izuku nodded, that part he knew.

"Of course, there are exceptions as while tenet can improve the body, these changes aren't permanent. Hence genetics come into play as you might know." Shizune continued to explain the relationship between tenet and quirks, but there was another issue Izuku was seeing with it.

“But that is all subconsciously, it’s less thought and more instinct, right?” He asked, waiting for them to nod before he continued. “Then could they train their tenet directly to further increase their power?” All Might's body was crippled by that injury of his, but if he learned to use tenet, couldn't he enhance it to decrease that limit? He wouldn't regain the lost limbs, but he'll be in better shape overall, he could see his time limit pushed by to 5, maybe 6 hours because of it. If not his body, then couldn't he further increase his already demi-God-like power?

What if weaker heroes did so, would someone like Ingenium be capable of casually running over water and up buildings without needing to push themselves? Would someone with a minor telekinesis quirk like Inko be capable of pulling entire cars towards her? Would Hisashi be able to breathe out hot enough flames in great enough quantities to compete with flame heroes like Endeavour?

“Yes and no,” Shizune wiggled their head. “Sure, like some of those humans you know, they could train in it, but their quirks serve as a block to any meaningful development.” He co*cked an eyebrow at that.

“How does that work?” There were plenty of quirk users in the sanctuary that used tenet just fine. Just thinking of one name, Kyūfune was great at using one form of tenet which he didn’t.

“Like I just said, they subconsciously use their tenet just to maintain their bodies thanks to the effects of their quirks, in many cases it fuels it." They started as they waved a paw in the air. “Imagine someone that can expel water from their hands, where does the water come from?” They asked him, with Izuku's mind jumping to Singapore’s top hero and rumored close friend to All Might, Big Red Dot. Despite the fact he looked like a humanoid lion, his quirk was related to water and allowed him to produce vast quantities of it from his mouth, with enough force to even knock trucks into their side.

“Their bodies.” He wasn’t surprised when Shizune shook their head, he wasn’t all that confident in his answer.

“And where, pray tell,” They learned in a bit closer. “Would a human body store that kind of water?” When he didn’t answer, they continued.

“Here is another example, what does a human that creates and controls fire use to fuel that?” He thought of Endeavour, and while largely unapproachable, he couldn’t help but respect his drive. But when it came to his quirk, he couldn’t answer as perhaps it was his will that allowed him to control his flames, but fire worked on three basic things: Oxygen, fuel and heat. The human body could perhaps provide two of those things, as insane as that was, what was he burning as fuel?

In a flash, he realized that that was. “Tenet.”

Shizune nodded, pleased that he was starting to understand what they were trying to say. “That’s right. They’re already using all the tenet they’ll ever have access to just to use those quirks of theirs, which comes on top of mutating and protecting them from the quirk’s effects.”

“But that doesn’t answer the question, why can’t they train it?” He asked, as that didn’t explain why they couldn’t train in tenet, only why they couldn’t use it like he could.

“Tenet might exist in all things, but it’s unique to all of them. quirkless like yourself are blank sheets, so tenet can serve multiple purposes with you, which is why you can train it far more effectively.” If they could give an example, it would be an all-purpose container. You could put anything you wanted in it, so long as it could fit.

"For someone with a quirk, it's different as their tenet is always used in just one way, it takes on 1-maybe 2 forms. For them to gain the same advancement you'll have in perhaps a month, they'll have to train for 16." In contrast, those with quirks were specially made-containers meant to hold certain things. Because of that, they were great at what they were designed for, and subpar at anything else.

“So, they can train in it, it’ll just take too long to make any use of it?” If Shizune was right in her estimation, then for someone like Hawks to become as proficient as he was after a single year, he’ll have to dedicate 16 years, even if he started now, he would only be as good as Izuku by his early 40s. And that didn’t take into account that Izuku had 4 years’ worth of training under his belt when it came to tenet.

"Yup, if you flimsy humans had longer lifespans, then we can take but since it takes mastering sage mode to slow down the ageing process to begin with, you can see the dilemma so many of your kind face." Shizune bemoaned how short a human lifespan was on average. Sure, older folk tended to be a riot to either mess with, or speak with, but they were far from their prime and couldn't entertain them in ways a younger one could.

"Slowed ageing?" He knew about that part, at least partially as he was taught early on that even just a novice who achieved a gold belt was at the stage where their bodies would naturally be tougher for longer. But he didn't think that it slowed down the ageing process itself.

“Yes, tenet users typically enjoy a passive ability of cell rejuvenation. You can’t regrow limbs and you can still die, but you’ll find that the aging process is decreased.” They waved that off, much to his surprise.

“And this is taken to new levels with sage mode?” He asked, seeing another reason that people before him would have sought out this power.

“Yup,” Shizune nodded. “Once you reach your peak, which I’m told is 30-35, you’ll find yourself staying for decades. Just look at the girl you call master, how old do does she appear to you?” They asked him, putting him on the spot as he stopped to think about it. She didn't look like a spring chicken, that was for sure, but she was far from an old hen either.

“Early, maybe mid-30s.” If he had to compare her, she looked like she could have known people like Present Mic and Midnight, or at least attended high school a couple of years before they did.

“And how old do you think she is, and no,” Shizune asked, raising a paw to stop him before he could respond. “No nonsense about it being rude to think about a woman’s age.” Closing his mouth, he thought about the question.

Sure, she looked to be in her 30s, but that wouldn't line up with what he had seen in his time under her tutelage. Not only was she referred to as the founder of the sanctuary, an institution that was 50 years old, but she had students far older them him, people in their late 30s who spoke of her as if she raised them, or was someone who was in their lives since childhood. There was how she walked, how she moved in most spaces as he had seen Bakugo enough to know when someone walked as if they believed they owned whatever room they were in. But with her, he saw what it looked like when someone did own the room, not just through power, but experience and wisdom that could only come from age.

Then there were the times when she would reference events and people from decades ago, such as when she mentioned a hero who had retired over 30 years ago or a celebrity that hadn't been considered 'dream boat' material for the better part of a quarter century. She preferred to watch older entertainment, stuff that couldn't even be found on TV and needed to be brought on niche websites, saw modern games as 'boring' whenever brought up and enjoyed 'classics', stuff so old that one needed to play them on PC as no console made in the past 40 years could support it.

“You’re going to do that a lot, aren’t you?” Shizune spoke up, interrupting his mutter storm he blushed, looking away as he couldn't believe he did that before a youkai. “No answer the question.”

After another moment of thought, he said his answer. “Late 60s.”

“Wrong, if I’m remembering things right, that little girl is around 95.” His eyes almost fell out of his head at that, that couldn’t be right, even if tenet, he knew users in the sanctuary in their mid-80s who very much looked to be in their late 40s.

“9-9-95?!”

"Yes, little human. She's quite old enough to be your great-grandmother. Hope you weren't thinking about asking her out on a date." Shizune poked fun at him as they might not be human, but they knew enough about them to know that their little student was quite the catch, the cat-like features only made it all the better.

Izuku didn't fall for that though, even as he collected himself after learning that detail about her age which he swore to never bring up he ran the risk of losing his head. “I wasn’t.”

“How boring,” Shizune pouted, they'll have to try harder to make him flounder, how else were they supposed to get their entertainment from him in between brutal training sessions? “But anyway, you can see how mastering the sage arts has helped her then.”

"Yes, but how does this relate to actual sage training?" Izuku asked.

“To answer that, you need to know what sage mode is.” Shizune started to explain as they drew what looked to be a human body in the dirt, one that had a little box shape in its chest.

"Normally, whether you have a quirk or not, you create your tenet energy as a living being. Training such as the one you've been through can be used to increase one's standard amount, increase the size of the container, and strengthen the body to allow it to use greater amounts of tenet without injury." They tapped the box, seeing that he was following along well enough.

“Sage mode is taking tenet from your surroundings and mixing that with your own, giving you access to power that no single person could ever hope to create on their own.” They added to the drawings squiggly lines moving towards the container, which now looked to be both larger and filled to the brim.

“It’s taking from the creatures and lifeforms around you?” Izuku didn’t know how he felt about that, essentially stealing the life force of others to empower one’s self was the most villainous thing he could think of. He wished to achieve his goals and make a better world, but he didn’t want to stoop to such levels to do it, he refused to.

“In a way, all things naturally leak out tenet, unless they’re trained like yourself and most of the other humans under the girl’s care, it will always leak out of you. Same with plants and animals. To use Sage is to access that wasted tenet and pull it into your own body.” Shizune informed him, lessening his concerns about the ethical ramifications of it.

“Of course, this is heavily dependent on what life can be found around you as while it can linger and even travel in the air, areas with increased life like forests and cities were the best place to gather," Shizune added, to which he nodded as he made sense that a technique that drew on life needed life to function. However, the odds of him finding himself somewhere with none at all were slim to non-existent as what would a hero be doing in such a location.

“Is that why we’re training here, because of the abundance of life?” That would make sense, but Shizune didn’t immediately confirm it.

“Yes and no,” He looked back at them, eager to hear their reasoning. “There are plenty of living things here, sure, but it’s also easier to learn Sage mode in the spirit world as you humans call it. If I were to train you in the human world, it could take us easily 4 times as long and I don’t feel like using over 2 years of my time for humans that almost always fail to become sages.”

"I don't have 2 years to use to train." He decided to focus on what he could understand, and focus on the spirit world stuff later.

“Then we’re on the same page, human.” Shizune wasn’t in the mood to explain it to him. If he wanted to learn, he could do it on his own time with one of the other cats that lived here. “As for the training that goes into sage mode, it builds on the ideas that created the five training levels of tenet itself.” They wiped away their drawing in the dirt, their eyes turning to him.

"Why don't you explain what those are and how you understand them in this new context." They didn’t ask, they ordered. Knowing that this was another test of his knowledge, he wouldn’t back down even if he was concerned that he might get some stuff wrong.

“Because everything is always leaking out tenet, and it takes time for it to reform even with training, the first thing we’re taught is Mōfu. This allows us to open all 261 tenet points on the body to allow for even and quick distribution of tenet which would otherwise leak out randomly.” He explained, with Shizune nodding as he went along but he couldn't be sure if that was due to them agreeing with him or just pushing him to continue.

"The next part is learning how to control the flow of your tenet and keep it around yourself for your use, this is what causes those who train with it to be able to maintain healthy cells and promote accelerated cell growth. Granting increased healing and stamina even if you're older." He knew that a lot of people stopped there, as while they couldn’t do nearly as much, the boost to their immune system, stamina and physical appearance was enough.

“The next would be Osaeru,” He began, trying to word it as well as he could. “While learning how to control the flow of your tenet is all fine and good. That doesn’t eliminate the fact that it’s still traceable. It might be a bit harder, but it can be done which is why learning how to stop the flow of your tenet entirely can mean the difference between victory and defeat. It also has the added benefit of increasing fatigue recovery and healing.” That was why it could be a challenge to even notice that a tenet user was in a room.

It had its downsides as they’ll still be seen. And if someone was already tracking you, they’ll notice you vanishing and just get more alert to try and find you again. It also meant that you couldn’t use or detect tenet which left you a sitting duck. "I see it like how in some games, the player character just needs to stop taking damage and find somewhere to rest for a big to regain stamina and health."

“Weird way to put it, but not inaccurate.” Shizune chuckled at that but otherwise didn’t stop him.

“The third training form would be Shūchū,” Izuku continued, thinking of those days when he reached it. “When you get to this level, you take what you learned in the first two and expand on it, learning how to more accurately direct and control your tenet energy. Not just stopping its flow, or keeping it around yourself as an invisible blanket.” The master compared it to learning how to stand, and then how to walk, with the 3^rd step being how to run, even on uneven surfaces.

“The master had us train with it by placing a seed on our foreheads and instructing that we concentrate on sending our tenet into it. Too fast and the seed dies, too slow and the flower that forms will be deformed and small. The key is in control, finding the right amount and learning how to keep it there.” He smiled as he recalled when he went through it. a sunflower growing on his forehead was one of the funniest things he'd ever seen.

After that, she told him and those who were training with him to continue to do it, while carrying out tasks such as chores and answering random questions, teaching them parrilla processing as they couldn't take the time to constantly focus on it, it had to be something near instinctual much like running as no-one does it while thinking about how they'll move their muscles and retain balance.

“The last of the four basics would be Senren, which is when we…I was trained to increase the output of my tenet energy to explosive levels, greatly amplifying base strength and durability. It also serves as training to increase how much tenet one can generate and hold." If the others were considered to be blanket, this was a sword as while it boasted defence, it was better used in offence as he did when he ripped out that villain's eye, as he allowed him to pierce through its murky, slime body and effortlessly snatch its organ.

“Those are the basics, things that anyone that wishes to train in tenet needs to learn and eventually master.” Shizune nodded, pleased that he managed to understand all four steps. As they observed him again, they could tell that he was well versed in that, as his tenet wrapped around his entire body like a blanket, without any conscious thought from him. He also had far more than most humans did, if they had to rate it, she'd say at this stage, the boy had a High C-category.

It wasn’t the highest they had worked with, being below the average, but considering all those before him as people in their mid to late 20s, it was quite impressive.

“However, because sage mode at the end of the day, is an augmentation to what you already know, it means nothing to someone who isn’t proficient in the 5 basic skills of tenet.” They didn't want him to have any delusions of what Sage mode was. At its core, it was a bower buff.

Izuku thought they'd be more, and looking at Shizune's grin, he suspected that there was but they simply weren't telling him. But as he couldn't force them to talk even if he wanted to, he just went along with it. “I can only use 3 of them at the moment, but I was learning from a friend how to use the 4^th.”

“Those being?”

“Nezumito, Hyōjutsu and Yukitora.” Izuku answered with his three strongest in no particular order but developed a little red on his cheeks when he recalled the 4^th. “My skills with Feline purr are…below subpar at the moment.” Kyūfune was helping him with that, as while she wasn’t the best, she had the most in-depth understanding of it, which he supposed made sense as she wished to be a doctor.

Shizune nodded, taking in what he said and while they would have liked for him to be proficient in all 5, 3 wasn't bad. With Nezumito, it was a boast to his 3 senses of sight, smell and hearing along with the bonus of a 6^th sense which among other things, measured their strength from a distance, could detect the presence of others, pick up on emotions and core natures of people and even detect intention. Of course, that was all things that needed to be gained through hard work and training but she knew enough about the boy to know he could track presence, emotions and strength. They also know that he could use the more advanced form of Húxū which was necessary for him to have reached the belt he now had.

Hyōjutsu was simply, the art of using tenet to augment one's speed, acrobatics and agility to be more like a cat's, the superior if you asked them. It could be used to flood their muscles, veins and bones with tenet for a momentary increase in speed to cover short distances so fast one could assume you teleported, which worked best when avoiding an attack; another use would be when the user focuses a fixed amount of tenet to the bottom of their feet, or any other body part really and stick to practical any surface they wish, from walls to even ceilings. They liked that one the most as screwing with humans by appearing upside never stopped being amusing; the third use come from using what the second did, but to another level and walking on water, making it so that no stream, river or lake could keep you from your pray; the last one would be flooding their entire bodies with a controlled, continued flow of tenet to boast their speed, reaction time, reflexes and acrobatic ability to superhuman levels.

The third one, Yukitora was the most direct one for combat, even if with other two helped as that was the skill of coating parts of, the entire body or objects in your procession with tenet to augment their durability and power. It was also the only one that was 'visible' to others who could interact with tenet, with the color being entirely dependent on the person. It was also the skill that took the idea of Senren and applied that to others, mainly inanimate objects, which could be used to cause tremendous internal damage, or just cause the object's structural integrity to utterly fail and…well, explode.

"But with what you said about the training methods, they'll all be correct and crucial to learning Sage mode," Izuku asked.

“As we established, tenet is typically made inside the body, but Sage mode draws on tenet from outside the body.” They tapped his belly with her claw, which they had extended before he could even realize it.

“So, training must first begin with the container, your body as we need to both increase its capacity and strength, else you’ll just leak out all that excess tenet at best.” He didn’t like how that sounded.

“And at worst?” Shizune merely smiled at his discomfort.

“You’ll die a very painful death.” They had seen it once before, with the 4^th trainee if they were recalling things right. They had tried to force it early when they weren't paying attention and by the time Shizune had arrived to help, they were already convulsing on the floor as their body tried and failed to handle the influx of tenet before they died. A shame really, Shizune liked their jokes.

“What will this training include then?” Izuku gulped.

“First, I’m going to place a seal on you, which will block your use of tenet. Then I’ll train your body into the ground, breaking you down and building you back up so that physically, you can handle the power.” Shizune waved her paw about, and in it, appeared a small paper seal with the kanji for ‘seal’ written on it but they didn’t do anything else with it.

Waving their paw again, the seal vanished. "If you survive that part, we'll move on to the next which will take what you learned in Senren and crack it up a notch. Increasing the 'size' of your tenet points, your body's tolerance for it, and the size of your tenet container."

"That…doesn't sound too bad," Izuku stated, to which they smiled at him like he was a naïve child about to be humbled in the worst possible way.

“That’s what they all say, and just like them, you’ll curse my name before pleading for even the smallest mercy in less than a month,” They got up and walked closer to him, looking down at him in a way that blocked the sun, casting him in their shadow where he could only focus on their eyes. “That I can promise you”

Chapter 8: Lingering Burns

Chapter Text

Toshinori sighed as he relaxed into his seat, alone for the first time that day as he sat inside his apartment that wasn’t too far from Might Tower. Despite being the number one and earning millions a month from hero work and sponsorships, he neither lived in one of those high-end lofts that celebrities and big-time CEOs lived in nor was his place filled with furniture and fine arts where just one piece cost more than the average person made in a year. Granted, the rent was 450,000 a month, but that was more for the location and he could accept that if it meant he was close to work.

All in all, the home of the top hero in the country, and the Symbol of Peace…was remarkably average, which on some levels he supposed spoke to just how little time he spent there as other than sleeping and breakfast and dinner, he was almost ways out, so why bother hiring a decorator?

Still, it was a change from his old apartment which while much the same in terms of furniture and style, was even closer to work and people knew he lived there, which in his early days, he didn't mind. The building security kept the press and fans at bay, and it was always nice to wake up before a shift and see how many people he was helping, seeing how happy and safe they felt just by his presence.

But, feeling the grievous injury on his side, he recalled that he moved to help keep his secret as people would suspect something if they saw both him in his hero form, and his weakened form coming and going. So, he said that he was moving house, but never said to where. Then a couple of days later, he signed a new lease and made sure that he was never seen as All Might anywhere close, which meant that Yagi Toshinori could come and go as he pleased. It helped that the area was still home to many other heroes who respected one another's privacy so no one talked with the press which was a Godsend.

“He was the one, a worthy successor.” He thought aloud, as he recalled his first encounter with him. How passionate he sounded, and how offended he was with his words. He had wished that he could have said something better, but he had believed those words to be the right ones.

"If only things weren't so complicated." He groaned, covering his face with his bony hand, as the boy had made his feelings for him clear, which he couldn't fault him for. After the fire was also a terrible time to bring it up. He had some doubts that the boy was too…angry to take his quirk, not to say that he wasn't passionate about heroes, and what they meant. His passion reminded him of his own, that he didn't become a symbol just to pretend but to do actual good in the world.

But that also came with a deep-seated resentment, a fire that seemed to burn bright within him, and he feared it would burn anyone who got too close. Those concerns were lowered through conversations with the locals and survivors of the fire that painted a cruel, but also hopeful message for him. Hopeful in that by their word, which he was inclined to trust, young Izuku as they referred to him, came with the rest of the volunteers bi-weekly and helped out the best they could, distributing food and other supplies, offering free medical assistance and just doing all that they could to help, a notion that made the old pro smile as he couldn't think of a better example of true heroism at work.

That only became stronger as they were clear that they called the fire brigade first, and got less than acceptable results, which made the man frown, as they only called them back after the fact, to which they rushed back and managed to take control of the situation, organizing a rescue effort while getting a fire suppression group started. Because of that, he was sure that many lives that would have been lost that day had been saved, including 4 of the perpetrators who would live to face justice for their crimes in court. Izuku had gone far and beyond even that and saved a child and several others even if that meant jumping out of a 4^th floor, with his only concern upon landing being that the boy was safe.

But then he also recalled the cruelty of the situation. From how villains had managed to cause so much harm, to how the fire department had taken far too long to arrive, how others didn't bother to show up till they saw the number one racing towards the area like parasites. He remembered in shame how he only decided to head on over when he realized that others hadn't, which meant people perished and why he took a bath of all things. If he had only been more proactive if he had just…

He shouldn’t think of that, Nezu had already been clear with him that he couldn’t have known that other heroes, people whose job was protecting people and saving lives would be so dismissive of the lives of people for something as meaningless as their quirk status. But…he couldn’t help but feel guilt. Was he so disconnected that he never noticed their bigotry? Or did they always hide it when he was around? He didn’t know and was afraid of the answer.

He could only take some solace in the fact he gave a few of the heroes who had only arrived to mooch off his fame a very public dressing down. As far as he was concerned, if you couldn't work to serve everyone, then you didn't get to save anyone. If he could, he would have had their licenses suspected, but he wasn't the HPSC and they had been quiet about the whole thing. At the very least the fire chief had been sacked after the fact that that was something that Naomasa did something about.

But it all felt like hollow comfort as by the time he had managed to arrive, the blaze was well and truly raging and had been for some time. He managed to pull 40 people from it, but there were many more who were already gone, people he had failed. It was only after that experience that he saw Midoriya again, and just like when they last spoke, his eyes spoke of an anger, one born from a deep-seated betrayal, a wound that had never been allowed to properly heal. None of which he would blame him for, as almost a week since the fire, the numbers of casualties were grim.

Of the living, 128 were injured, necessitating that they be sent to several hospitals to get the treatment they needed, 26 more of those who failed had perished en route to the hospital, or while in hospital as was the extent of their injuries. Such would have been bad enough, but that nothing compared to those lost as 143 had been killed in the fire, of which 67 were children no older than, innocent souls that had their entire lives ahead…snuffed out, and he couldn't help but think back to Midoriya's words to him and feel like he was a hypocrite. He wasn't there for them, he wasn't there to save them, and his presence didn't inspire other heroes to act either and because of that, they all lost their lives.

Feeling the tears of guilt, anger and frustration form, he quickly wiped them away as he forced himself to continue, he wouldn’t run from this, he didn’t deserve to run from it.

Instead, he had remained as long as he could before he left, promising as much aid as he and his agency could provide. The next day, he was back to help, and the next day, the day after that. While he hated it, his continued trips and vocal defense led others to step in to help, or voice support while sending aide. The last person he expected to be on his side was the man who made his dislike of him clear, Endeavour. The flame hero was quick to send millions in aid, though if it was his personal finances or from his agency, he didn't know.

Hawks followed suit as while he didn't send truckloads of supplies, he was present with him after the first couple days, the rising star having flown from his usual stomping grounds in Kyushu to help and he was pretty good, better than him as while the locals were as weary of him as they were the police, Hawks was able to ingrain himself with them in ways he couldn't as if the young man could speak to them on the same wavelength.

With their backing, he had managed to convince the rest of the top ten to release a joint statement about the disaster, stating their support for the people, intentions to continue to supply aid, and making their feelings on the response from the local police, EMTs and fire-fighters clear and use them as an example to the rest of them to shape up…

At least, that was what they wanted to do, but they had been…dissuaded from this by the commission President who didn't want to 'ruffle too many feathers' or 'spread needless panic and concern by directing so much attention to a single tragedy'. It was all flowery language, and he hated it all the same. So, they had to come to a dissatisfying compromise. To avoid causing internal conflict, they only got to release a watered-down version of the original statement with just the first two statements summarized and numbers left off of it.

At the very least, even with their statement curtailed, he was proud to see that the other top ten heroes had been stepping up as they all agreed, spending time there themselves and helping, assigning their side-kicks to assist in keeping the peace which led to a lot of arrests from an area where villains had gotten comfortable operating in since heroes rarely ventured in. Those that couldn't for one reason or another stuck with donating money, food, water and other supplies.

'I would be better if the press wasn't so determined to get something to report.' He thought to himself as so many of the top ten being in the same place consistently drew attention, and while the press had been there once to talk about the disaster for a day or two before moving in, now they were there to stalk them, taking pictures and yelling questions or requests for interviews as if they had time for that! it didn't help that so many seemed less interested in why they were there, and more in who they were. As if the suffering of the victims didn't matter when one could talk about what Mirko or Crust were doing.

It got so bad after just a week that he was surprised that Mirko didn't send them flying, but she did have more self-control than most gave her credit for. It was Endeavour that he worried about as the man was rarely there, and when he was, they avoided him like the plague. All in all, in just 2 weeks, they had managed to get almost 115 million in aid and food. Far from enough to repair the shelter or replace most of what was lost, but it was a solid start.

But it was those people from the… Kenmikoto Foundation if he was recalling things right, had been a far greater presence than he and the heroes combined and seemed to have an unending supply of food as they were the ones that managed to soup kitchens and always managed to serve hundreds of meals, 3 times a day. If the locals were weary, they were downright cagey and barely spoke with them. Not even the charismatic Hawks could get more of them than a respectful, but short conversation. He didn't like it, but he asked his friend to look into them as there weren't many groups that could be so hostile towards heroes unless they were connected to crimes.

Fortunately, from what Tsukauchi could find about them, it was all above board. They owned and operated a massive compound out of town, were largely self-sufficient and it was all owned by an eccentric multi-millionaire who also used the site to care for felines of all shapes and sizes.

Now, if only he could find the boy again as he hadn’t seen him at all since the fire but according to a very tall woman he encountered, that was because he was out of town but the way she said it set off some alarm bells in his head. Still, he wanted to give the boy a chance and wait for him, but he knew he couldn’t wait till the new school year started. He needed time to assess the physical readiness of his successor before giving them his quirk and preparing them if they weren't at that level yet. To that end, he had given himself a self-imposed time limit, if he wouldn't track the boy down in 4 months, which would leave him with 6 to handle training. If he can't do it by then, he'll hand it over to the young man that Nighteye recommended to him.

Bakugo was no stranger to anger; most days didn't go by without something triggering him. But most times it was small, nothing more than an annoyance, an event that he'd forget before he knew it. But as he went through his normal summer workout in the gym, striking a punching bag with as much force as he could muster, he could barely contain his fury as his red eyes burned, wishing to see the source of his ire be turned to dust, or more preferable, for him to get his hands on it and blow it to smithereens.

It might have been the middle of July, and summer break was on, but unlike those morons that wanted to waste time, he trained himself so that he could be in the best possible shape for the U.A. entrance exam. He knew he would get it, that was a foregone conclusion, but that didn't mean he didn't want to blow everyone out of the water. However, while he would normally be picturing himself breezing through whatever exam U.A. had, and leaving the awed extras praising his skills in his wake, all he could think about was that day, that mistake of a day!

As his fist slammed into the punching bag, he couldn't not see Deku, glaring at him after landing that f*cking cheap shot! That was the only way he could have done that, no way a pebble-like Deku could have busted his nose otherwise. He didn't care that the weakling for suspended, that the rest of the extras couldn't stop making fun of him for it, all he could focus on was the humiliation of it all. He didn't need to hear the extras say it, he just knew in his bones they were laughing at him behind his back, whispering that he wasn’t the greatest, lies!

All he wanted was to right such an inherent wrong by breaking every bone in Deku's f*cking body, but with his suspension, he wasn't in school and when he went over to his house, the bastard was never there with his neighbors being as useless as him, saying that the moron was out from early morning to evening every day, leaving him no time to visit him and get his payback. But then when he finally thought he had an opening with the suspension up after 2 weeks, he waited outside the school gates for him…and waited…and waited.

His next strike hit even harder than others, followed by increasingly powerful blows that smacked into the dummy thanks to his ire-fueled state as he realized that the bastard had chickened out, he knew what was coming and decided to pull himself out of school. One of the extras asked why he wasn't there and apparently, his teacher called the school to inform them he wouldn't be attending school for a bit but didn't give a reason.

He knew the truth. Bastard knew he was screwed and decided to run! His fury increased as the days went by, turning into weeks with the semester ending with Deku never showing his face at school again. He got so sick of it that he left his house near dinner, ignoring the old hag yelling where he was going to teach the asshole a lesson in his own home. Imagine the surprise and rage when he gets there, to find no one. He didn't know where he was, he didn't know when he'd get back, he didn't even know the name of this teacher so he could demand they tell him. So he was stuck, unable to correct this cosmic injustice for who knew how long, knowing that bastard, he could have booked it just so that he could claim he was the first person to make him bleed and get away like the deceitful coward he was!

Going back to his apartment complex, he tried to question the rest of them for information and got nothing of value, one person told him that Deku hadn't been seen since close to the end of May, having packed a small bag and left. When pressed, the extra didn't just do what he said and despite being an old f*cker who had to be in their 80s, either was too senile to understand his greatness or was as blind as they were old as they told him to get lost before he called the cops. All this only made him angrier as he now had reason to think that Deku wasn't sick at all and that he was up to something every time he was pulled from school, but on what, he didn’t know.

His fury reached a fever pitch as he smacked the punching bag, hitting it with a powerful explosion that didn’t so much send it off its hooks, but turned the dummy into a pile of burnt leather and filling. The door to the private room was ripped open after that.

“What the hell did I say about the explosions? If you’re gonna keep breaking my sh*t, I’ll ban you from my gym, you punk!” The owner of the gym, a dark-skinned dwarf of a man yelled at him.

“Whatever you old fart.” He said over his shoulder as he went to the side of the room to collect one of the spare dummies he kept around.

"The hell you say for me? Just for that, I'll be charging you double for it!" The man yelled back at him before slamming the door shut.

“Bastard.” He wouldn’t have thought him serious if he hadn’t already done that, which only made the old hag all the unbearable when she yelled about the charge against her card. If this wasn’t the only gym in town that could handle him, he would have left. If that asshole of a gym leader was an Olympic power lifter that could pick up a car over his head and tear it two, he would have flipped the man off.

But like with Deku getting that cheap shot on him, the universe seemed to be in a mood to screw with him.

Finishing up his set, he showered and changed into his street clothes before leaving the place, the sun wasn't setting yet, but he had some studying to do as a well-trained body meant nothing if he wasn't the smartest one in U.A.'s upcoming freshmen class. Passing by the shopping district, he saw the news and to his disgust, they were still talking about that fire and how the fund set up by All Might and Endeavour had raised another 12 million for the survivors of it. The newscaster was way too happy about it but of course, Endeavour was involved, his agency always got involved when fire-related sh*t happens.

With All Might, he couldn’t understand it as he would get more done chasing down villains. “Poor bastards.” Someone close to him muttered, watching the news report much like he was.

“They should have seen it coming, you heard the news, that place was crawling with criminals.” Another wrote them off, which he agreed with.

"Yeah, they should have moved when they had the chance. Now we have to worry about helping them rebuild. How do we know money isn't being stolen by villains?" A mother asked, her hand keeping her young brat close to her.

“Till they can prove it’s not being used by invalids; they aren't seeing a dime of my money." Bakugo glanced at the man and figured that he didn't have the cash to give, but decided that he didn't have the energy or interest to speak so he just left. Hopefully, he wouldn't have to hear about that sh*tty fire again when he got home.

“They’re what?” Kyūfune asked her friend, the two seated across from one another in the dinner hall of the sanctuary.

It was pretty late, close to the dinner ball but there were still a few dozen people inside, talking or just relaxing after a hard day's work in the summer sun. “The Hero Public Safety Commission is hosting a charity dinner, though it would be more fitting to call it a gala."

Her fellow mutant and close friend, Tauras Ayae repeated herself. “It’s to commemorate the fact they’ve raised 186 million since the homes and lives of people were burned to the ground.” Ayae was a black- and white-haired woman who kept her hair in a ponytail. She was tall, the second tallest woman in the sanctuary second only to her best friend as she came in at 2.31m. She was, however, the most muscular thanks to years of work in the fields and handling the larger cats like the lions.

Her mutant quick, called Bovine gave her the physical characteristics of a cow, more accurately a bull such as a large pair of horns, cow ears and tail, and altering her legs to resemble those of a cow, complete with hooves instead of feet and fur that went up to her mid-thighs. It also had the annoyance of giving her the largest bust of any of the girls since she was technically a cow, and cows were known for their milk which has led to her beating the snot of more than a few perverts who made comments about it as while she looked like a cow, she also had the strength of one. Under each eye, she had thick black stripes.

Her clothing consists of nothing but ripped overalls, a large black shirt underneath and a pair of workers gloves. She also wears a "cowbell" around her neck as to her, if she was gonna be a cow, she might as well enjoy it.

“How is that worth celebrating? I saw the quotes for labor and materials, even if chose the cheapest options for both, which I know we won’t, that’s not even a 7^th of what we’ll need to rebuild just the shelter.” Kyūfune responded, offended that anyone would think such a low amount was worth celebrating to which, Ayae raised her hands in surrender.

"Hey, I'm not happy about it either, it's more for those on top to feel good about themselves. And frankly, getting over 100 million in donations for dregs of society like is an achievement.” That knocked the wind out of Kyūfune's sails as she hated it, but understood it as people barely acknowledge them in the first place, no doubt most of those who donated were people who just wanted that good feeling and nothing else and had no intention of giving more than the bare minimum one time.

And after 2 months, most of those people had been filtered out as the donations slowed down and the heroes that had flocked to help all returned to their usual stuff. It wasn't even a week after Endeavour left that the news focused on his latest arrest, with their story being nearly forgotten. “I know, but…”

“Yeah.” Ayae gave her a copy of the basic rundown of the monthly donations, separated into heroes and the general population. To her expectant dismay, she saw that pros and their donations had risen around 15% since last month, but with everyone else, they had gone down 40%. If this doesn't stop, they'll run dry on donations in just a couple of months.

Looking back to the cowgirl, she saw that while angry over it, she was resigned to it, as how could they have expected anything else from a world that saw them as freaks? In an attempt to hide how much she wanted to throw a boulder; she just shrugged her shoulders. "It was thanks to All Might that we had any goodwill with the sheep. But even he can't keep up in the spotlight forever."

No fire, no matter how bad, was going to change that most of those early donations were one-time things, less for them and more for the feeling it gave those who donated. Once they could think they weren't as sh*tty as some other guy, life moved on and they forgot about them.

“Is that why the master even agreed to this meet with them?” Kyūfune asked, referring to the commission representative who had arrived a short while ago and requested to speak with her. They would have normally turned him away, as they had no allegiance to the commission but the master had met with him and allowed him entry, as to why? None of them knew.

“I can bet you 20K that the pros will milk this for some additional good press, help get them up there in the rankings.” Ayae waved her finger around.

“But why, she hates these kinds of pony shows as much as the rest of us?” The fox woman asked, as their master was not one for pointless actions, or dog and pony shows. Surely, she saw through this, why even entertain it?

Ayae shrugged. “You’ll guess is as good as mine. Either way, I heard it’ll be held in a week.”

“I refuse.”

“Ms. Kenmikoto, please take some time to think this through.”

The three were in her office, the master of the sanctuary lounging on one of the sofas while her guest sat opposite her. His assistant standing behind the sofa with her back straight and arms behind her back. She seemed like a professional little girl, but Kenmikoto would trust her tigers over the little girl anyway. Both beasts at her side with one resting on the sofa with her, its head on her lap while the other lay at her feet.

"I don't need any more time than what I already wasted." She repeated, both bored and irritated by this conversation. "I don't even know why I even allowed you into my lands but I'll repeat it. I won't be attending your farce of a gala, nor will I be sending a representative of myself or my people." She told him, having heard the sleep-deprived man's sakes pitch and been as interested in that as she was in jumping off a cliff.

Mera Yokumiru didn't let up, he had been sent to ensure she would attend and he wouldn't fail, even if he had no clue why Madam President was so insistent a feline-loving recluse should be there. "But it would be a great opportunity for you to garner additional support."

She cut him off with a hand wave. Her eyes locked onto him, he felt as if his skin was burning under her amber gaze. “The support has died and been buried, don’t insult my intelligence by saying otherwise, boy.” Again with the boy, she barely looked older than him, when did she get off calling them like she was his grandmother?

“Besides,” She reached for a drink, downing it in a single go before slamming the empty glass onto the table. "I know for a fact that the commission doesn't give a rat's ass for any of this, if they didn't, they wouldn't have been so quick to squash out attempts to bring attention to how inept the police and firefighters were.”

That, he knew of and it had been part of the reason he told madam president that the woman would be less than thrilled to accept their invitation.

“You know that it wouldn’t have helped anyone if you dragged their names through the mud,” Mera replied say what you will about him, he wasn't going to threaten the peace with ultimately meaningless noise. Make no mistake, the Raxus fire was a tragedy, but one that didn’t warrant further unrest and possible harm when it could handled quietly.

“I’ll let you believe whatever lies you wish, I’m not your mother.” She poured herself another drink, her patience for this man running thin as she mused sicking Ruby and Saphire on them…

No…it wouldn’t be worth the paperwork.

Her careless tone finally got the man’s assistant to act. “Show some respect, you’re speaking to-!” Only for Ruby, the tiger on its master's lap to growl at her. Leaning back in his seat, Mera saw that the other beast was also up, its eyes focused on them in a way akin to a fat man's when they entered an all-you-can-eat buffet. Looking back at the woman, she barely seemed to care her massive predators were acting aggressively towards them.

He might not like her, but he didn't know enough about her to make any serious decision, only that whoever she was, she was important enough to be on Madam President's radar, which either meant she was a high-value asset or a dangerous piece that needed to be kept in check.

"Ruby, calm," Kenmikoto stated, with the tiger obeying without delay, returning to rest its head on her lap while the other one went back to rest. “Apologies for her, they can’t help themselves you see, they just love snacking on rats between meals.” Neither felt any real regret in her words.

Mera, calming himself tried to regain the initiative. "It's not wise to threaten government officials, that could see you imprisoned." Only to be met with a lazy smile as the woman took a sip of her drink, her guest not having touched their own.

"Where's the threat, I merely stated a fact that my tigers love rodents. Are any of you rodents?" His eyes narrowed at her, seeing her game for what it was. "If you see yourself as that, that is your interpretation of my words, nothing more." He had so many questions about her, who was she? Why did the president insist that she or something in her name attend? Why could she say such things without so much as flinching?

He didn't know it, but while his poker face was pretty good, it was useless against someone who could pick on emotions as Kenmikoto giggled, sensing his frustrations, confusion and fear of her. "Don't feel so bad, little by. I've been at this game long enough that I was a master of it when your parents were still in diapers." He looked at her like she was insane, but in a world of quirks, was it that impossible for a woman her age to still look as fine as she did?

“…What can I offer you to make you agree? If it’s money, then we can work something out.” He gave up, if he couldn't convince or coerce her to agree, then he'd just have to pay her.

“Oh, interesting…very interesting,” Hearing that he would go so far, Kenmikoto sat on that for a moment as before, she believed that she was being asked to attend just for the PR, but she knew how the HPSC operated, they wouldn't go this far something as trivial as good PR. No, there was something else going on, something that the president needed her to something in her stead to be present for.

“Is your madam president upset? I can’t imagine she would authorize this if she wasn’t.” Mera didn’t answer, as he had already lost this battle, he could at the least minimize what she could get out of him, though he didn’t know how she was.

"Oh, now you're silent, but that is an answer in of itself," Kenmikoto stated as flippantly as one would state the weather. “Still, money would be a boost to our efforts as my wealth alone, while vast, isn't infinite." She thought about it before reaching into her coat and pulling out a small notepad and pen. Opening it, she quickly wrote down something, tore the paper out, folded it and passed it to him.

"This much." He picked up the folded note and opened it, to which both Mera and his assistant's eyes nearly shot out of their heads at the number of zeroes she had put onto it.

"You're crazy, where the hell do you think we could find this kind of cash? The commission doesn't have such funds just lying around!" He yelled at her, nearly jumping to his feet if not for the ever-present threat of being mauled to death by a crazy cat lady's tigers.

Taking a snip of her drink, her smile made his chill rush down his back. "I'm sure that you'll be more than able to, after all the commission does keep assets aside for rainy days, doesn't it?"

Hearing that, he felt his heart skip a beat as he locked eyes with her. If this was anyone else, he would just assume they were referring to spare funds that agencies typically kept for emergencies, but that smile, those amber eyes that whispered that they knew something he didn’t-they told him that she knew something that few others did. Not even his assistant was privy to such as she just looked on confused at his reaction.

“…You’re playing a dangerous game, Kenmikoto Teitora.” He muttered, beginning to understand why Madam President wanted to keep this woman inactive. It wasn't just her power and eccentric tastes, but she knew things that could destroy hero society.

At his warning, she laughed and leaned back into her seat, treating it as her throne. “I work and sleep in rooms that have two Siberian tigers in them at all times. The only times they aren’t present is when I’m in the mood for some fun,” Both blushed at the implication, but she didn’t care as she was old, sure but that didn’t mean she didn’t have the same…need for scratches that they had. "Besides, remember what I said, I've been at this game longer than you've been on this earth. Danger is just another part of my life."

"You'll get your money, but you better keep your end of the deal," Mera told her as he got up, wanting to just leave with whatever dignity he still had left.

"In this world, what is a woman if not the strength of her word." She stated, enjoying her victory over him even if she had known this was a foregone conclusion from the moment he stepped into her office. "I'll be there, it'll be fun to see this president of yours up close for myself."

With the two walking off, she couldn’t resist one last dig at them as she got up from her sofa to walk back to her desk. “Have a good evening now, children. Don’t talk to strangers on the way home!”

Once more, this triggered the assistant who turned to yell at her. Whatever that was remained unsaid as at that moment, a house seemed to appear out of nowhere at her feet, hissing at the pant-suit-wearing villain which scared the hell out of her.

“What tha! How many cats are there?” She looked around, but her eyes went up to the ceiling where she and Mera made out at least half a dozen pairs of narrow, cat eyes watching them, the orbs reflecting the light at them.

“It’s a sanctuary that cares for felines,” Kenmikoto spoke up, her smile ominous. “They’re everywhere, and they see and hear everything.” With that, both quickly left, wanting to put as much distance between them and this cat-infested place as they could, even if that meant driving down that terrible mountain road that did his car no favors.

Turning to her pets as she took her seat at her desk, she asked them a question. “What do you boys think, is he upset that he hasn’t got laid in a while?” Both seemed to find the question amusing that they could tell that man was overworked, maybe if he was more laid back…nay, not her type.

“And that was the meat of the meeting, we need the money, they’ll willing to pay out the nose for us.” Kenmikoto relayed all of this to her hands and Kyūfune whom she had summoned. Of course, she left out that last bit.

“But master,” One of them, a small woman with a mutant-type quirk that turned her into a harpy, Ozama was her name asked her. “Who will you bring with you? You can’t be thinking of attending by yourself.” She hummed, turning the invitation that the commission agent had left hind in her hand.

“Oh relax, Ozawa. I already have someone in mind.” She turned her attention to the tallest person in the room, which made a certain someone blush.

“Me?!” Kyūfune squeaked out as Kenmikoto gave her an amused smile and nodded.

However, that smile faded into a stern frown. "You've been neglecting your studies, young lady. Been working in the fields far more than you're supposed to. This will do some good for you." Kyūfune looked a little ashamed by that, as the woman could admit that she had been helping them gather food and other supplies for Raxus far more than normal. Even if it was summer break, she still needed to study hard to ensure she maintained her grades else she could lose her spot at Tokyo U.

"I feel like you agreed for more than just one reason." Another of her hands, Stones was his name which fit his personality well enough. The man was built like a boulder and had a general attitude towards life of stubborn kindness.

She sighed, as she figured that at least one of them would catch onto what she wanted. “A part of me is hoping that they act out of line, so I can smack them down a peg.” The group groaned at that, what? She needed entertainment too! It wasn’t like she was the one starting the incident, merely finishing it.

“Also, the letter said I couldn’t bring any of the bigger cats with me as they ‘dangerous predators I have no control over’ which is some horsesh*t if I haven’t heard it.” The invite had been clear on that front, and she felt like it was the president trying to get one over her. It would be an event with some of the best pros in the country, would two tigers be that out of place?

“What will I even wear? I have nothing for an event that fancy!” Kyūfune asked, as the 19-year-old's wardrobe was to be put politely, practical. She didn't own a single dress, and just one suit for crying out loud!

“That can be easily fixed. We’ll head to Tokyo in the morning and pick you out the best damn dress and shoes we can get.” She got up from her desk, already planning where to go, and who to see. Oh, there was that one dressmaker who wasn't a bigot or an idiot, he'll be great for her.

Turning to the fox woman, she walked over to her and grabbed her arm, pulling her along as only a mother could. “And no, I won’t let you argue with me, you should let your mother spoil her little fox from time to time.”

“Mom!”

Chapter 9: Charity Gala Farce

Chapter Text

Never let it be said that the Hero Public Safety Commission was an unimportant, underfunded government agency. It was one of the most powerful organizations in modern Japan, being one of the strongest and most influential hero governing bodies in the world in the same ring as its counterparts found in the E.U, United States or China and it showed what was supposed to be a relatively simply gala dinner to celebrate how much was raised for the people of Raxus, ballooned into a massive social event that anyone who was anyone was expected to attend. Hosted in the Valorum Centre, a massive mushroom-shaped building that was one of the biggest stadiums/ entertainment centers in the world, and one of the grandest spots in all of Tokyo.

Using their massive influence, wealth and resources made securing such a location and preparing it for the night's events easy for the president. With the press out in full force, they and those watching at home could see as hundreds of guests arrived and walked into the venue, either stopping to wave or speak with reporters who merely posed for the cameras. In dresses and suits that cost more than most made in 6 months, the assembly of politicians, corporate executives, foreign guests such as ambassadors, support company representatives, media moguls and all other kinds of famous people arrived.

However, they were considered to be playing second fiddle to the real stars of the show, the heroes. Despite the time, the commission had elected to announce that a surprise hero billboard chart would also be held. The media had spent the last week theorizing about it, adding hype to the machine which only encouraged more attention in a self-sustaining cycle which ensured that any hero who wished to up their public image attended, while those who received an invitation would have been foolish to not attend. Just to attend to such a crowd required a small army of staff who patrolled the grounds, kept the press back, checked those who entered, prepared the food, and served it to the ever-growing crowd of people while also managing everything else.

Inside the massive building, the main area, which was surrounded by a 5-tier ring, had been decorated to the tee, with flower arrangements, large banners, intricate lightwork and silk fabric clothes hung around. The centre area was packed with people as they all conversed with one another, polite discussions about the latest investment, who captured who, which hero was doing particularly well so far, offers for partnerships or ambassadors offering pros good deals to spend time in their home country.

It was all disgusting as far as Kenmikoto was concerned, as this was meant to serve as a means to allow the rich, ignorant and uncaring to feel good about themselves, that they 'helped' those less fortunate. She hadn't thought that the commission would use it as a means to further their gains by including a slap hero billboard event but she could only blame herself for underestimating how morally bankrupt such an organization was. Now the entire thing was less about them, and being treated more like the opening night to some long-anticipated blockbuster where all the performers, directors, writers and other big-name staff would be in attendance.

Kenmikoto watched the entire thing from the 3^rd ring, leaning against a pillar while she held a small wine glass in her gloved hand. Her eyes and ears saw and heard it all, reminding her of how…boring it all was, as she had been to such events in the past, far too many to care to count and it would appear even for a woman of age, that if you attend one of these things, you have attended them all as there was barely anything new to take him. However she found it amusing to see not only were the entirety of the top ten, but they all had forgone their hero costumes for the event. From what she had heard about them, it was quite an achievement from madam president to get people like Mirko and Hawks to respect the dress code, as the one who owned the place with her blood red dress which revealed just how muscular her leg was, while the other was stealing hearts in his silk black and red suit which complimented his wings.

All Might had the most attention from others, with Endeavour not even close with the man being as approachable as normal. However, she raised an eyebrow when she saw that the number 2 hadn't come along, having brought along his youngest if her sources were correct, his dual white and red hair sticking out like a sore thumb as the boy wore a white and blue suit, as if trying to contrast his father's black and orange one. She kept her attention on him for a moment, wondering why the man decided that tonight would be a good night to unveil his masterpiece when the brat wasn't even in U.A. yet but then again, the flame hero was nothing but ambitious and no doubt had no fear that his child wouldn't make it, so seemingly decided that tonight would be a great time for the boy to gain some connections of his own, before anyone in his future class even had the chance.

“It would seem that the number two is trying to give his boy a leg up, do you suppose it’s out of love?” She asked her plus one for the day, turning to her daughter.

“I wouldn’t know, maybe…” Kyūfune replied, not paying attention to the issue as she’d rather fuss over herself for what felt like the 50^th time since they left the compound. "Heavens, I feel ridiculous." The fox woman felt exposed as her mother had forgone her normal clothing and instead went for an elaborate and finely made, form-fitting, knee-length red Cheongsam that matched her tanned skin, with pink and black accents to add spice, the same with the gloves she wore. Her thick orange hair relaxed and styled into a thick braided ponytail with a jade pin through it. Finally, she added to her already impressive height with a pair of orange 3-inch heels.

Kyūfune in contrast had been dressed in a 1920s style black slim fit drop waist dress, with white elbow length gloves and 2-inch heels that didn’t feel like they didn’t anything for her. Her hair had also been done up, styled into curls with a feathered tiara head which she wondered who would even see when she was so tall. Unlike her mother, she had also gotten some make-up done, namely eyeliner and fur-friendly blush and lipstick.

Seeing her daughter doubting herself again made her wish to find whoever first made her feel like this and break every bone in their arms, but that wasn’t important as Kenmikoto pointed her pipe at her, the woman making it clear to the guards and wait-staff that if they wished to take it from her, they'll have to fight her for it. "You are anything but, you're a young and beautiful woman. Show some pride in that as if muscle-bond men can show off their pecks, you can get away with some skin. I already know it'll make one boy crazy." She blushed at that, not used to such attention from anyone.

“Most boys would barely give me the time of day.” She muttered, her experiences throughout her life informing this as her mother waved them off.

“And by doing so, they reveal their inner ugliness. Such filth isn’t worthy of a little fox who is one of the best catches out there. How could she not when she had me for a mother?” Kenmikoto replied, both complimenting her and herself, which Kyūfune expected but couldn’t resist smiling at. Her mother might embarrass her just for the fun of it, but she loved her fiercely, always had as she would sing her to sleep, or let the ever-growing girl hold her when she needed it, reminding her that she was as beautiful on the outside as she was on the inside.

Maybe…maybe tonight will be different. Even if she had reservations about taking any of the men she might meet on their offers for a date, it was still a room filled with people who were supposed to come from the tougher spot and it wasn't like she was the one notable woman present as Mirko seemed to gathering a following much like Hawks, even if she seemed to more irritated then amused by all the suits trying to gain her attention.

“Evening,” They turned to see someone approaching them, a blonde woman in a white and purple knee-length dress. "I never thought I'd meet a woman that could be taller than me but here we are." She smiled as she looked up towards Kyūfune, even the other woman was a beast, with eyes that reminded her of a tigress that was observing its territory.

Kyūfune frowned at this sudden interruption, and what sounded like an extremely poor attempt to break the ice. “I’m sorry but who are you and why would it be hard to meet people taller than you? You’re not exactly on the tall side.” The woman just laughed at that, grabbing a drink off the tray of a passing waiter.

“True, most of the time I’m like this, but when I use my quirk, well I tower over buildings,” She replied as she lifted her hand to Kyūfune to shake. “Mt. Lady, might I know your name?” The fox woman didn’t think this was a good idea, but an encouraging look from her mother convinced her to take the plunge as she shook the pro’s hand.

“Kyūfune Takasame.” It was over for her after that as it seemed like the pro wished to speak with her about her last villain fight, drawing her away so that they could speak in private while the fox woman looked like she was barely following this. Kenmikoto merely waved her daughter off, holding back to tell her to play safe if only to not turn the fox woman into a blushing mess. Her smile remained as she turned back to the centre floor, now leaning on the pillar as she spoke, seemingly to herself.

“If you wish to talk, it would be prudent to man up and just walk out.” She stated, and for a moment, it appeared like she was speaking to herself another person appeared, having gone unnoticed by both Mt. Lady and Kyūfune. The person in question was quite old, easily in his late 60s, but remained in great shape with a scar-filled bald head and long white beard. Their pale orange eyes resembled her own, down to the fire that they held in them.

“I was expecting nothing less from you.” The man spoke, his age showing in his words, yet they still carried a deep rumble of power that made even his younger comrades respect and listen to him.

Kenmikoto wasn’t one of those as she snorted at his words, taking a small sip of her drink, her back still turned to him. “Why’d you even bother getting the blonde here? Or am I to believe that the media chasing Mt. Lady just happened to decide to take a break from things and find us by chance?” She had felt their presence a while ago, and once Mt. Lady appeared and he stayed hidden, she knew what his game was.

To his credit, the man didn’t try and deceive her, having more than enough experience in that department to know it would be fruitless. “I didn’t trick her if that is what you’re implying, I merely suggested that she might find someone of interest up here.” He had seen the tall fox woman and used that as his bait, pointing her out to Mt. Lady when she stepped away from Death Arms and Kamui woods. “As for why I did so, I wished to speak without an audience nor did I wish to leave your companion by herself as she seemed on edge.”

“How nice of you, or it would be if that was all there was to it. If you wished to speak with me, you could have called, but it would appear that is too much to ask.” She replied as they both knew he had been avoiding her, even if he had lost her number which she doubted as he might be old but he wasn’t senile, she called him now and then and never got past voicemail.

He didn't fall for it as his eyes hardened. "It wouldn't do well for me to have regular contact with a woman like you." She met his gaze for the first time, a sad look to her even as she kept up the smile.

"How harsh. One shouldn't speak to their mother like that you know, I'm not above taking you over my knee and spanking you like when you were 5." Honestly, it didn't matter how old her foolish son got, or that he was now one of the top heroes, if he wished to act like a brat, she'd treat him like one. Even if she felt saddened that he saw her as a risk.

Later, after the guests had time to meet and speak with one another, the main event of the night kicked off as they were led towards the main hall, where tables had been set up for the many guests. Taking her seat, Kenmikoto found herself sharing a table with Death Arms, Kamui Woods and Mt. Lady, as she saw that to her joy, her little fox was far more relaxed around the heroine and had invited the two to their table. When asked if there would be space, she pointed out that each table sat 5 and they were just the two.

There was quiet chatter for a few minutes as the last of the guests arrived and took their seats, in the interim, while Lady and her little Fox continued to talk, she found herself in a surprisingly engaging conversation with Kamui Woods about gardening tips. When most of the lights cut out, these quiet conversations ceased as Madam President herself took to the stage. The 40-something, despite her average looks, cut an impressive figure mainly through her sheer confidence as she walked over to the podium as she owned it like she had no challenge to her authority.

But that didn’t mean she had attended in her normal business clothing, as she had gone with a modest black number with a diamond necklace being the most expensive thing on her as she could imagine she had an intern get her the dress. Kenmikoto was never the less impressed by little madam President as despite wearing the most modest dress there, she through sheer presence was more than able to stand out for all the right reasons.

“Evening, I would like to thank you all for attending these proceedings. It is always a pleasure to see just how much support the heroes of our society get, as well as witnessing how we could come together to help those in need.” The president’s soft yet stern voice was carried over the microphone to the many speakers installed across the place, ensuring that all heard her loud and clear. Her opening statement was met by some claps from the guests, even if Kenmikoto felt slighted that the fire was playing second fiddle to a hero pony show.

“While I understand that this hero billboard is months early, we thought it would be prudent to present them now and help affirm the faith that the people have put in us. While only a select few have managed to make the top 50, we hope that each of you continues to protect lives as you're done up till now.” She moved just a little as the massive screen behind her turned on, with the massive logo for the HPSC being first seen before it was replaced with that of the billboard charts.

“To that, we’ll start by presenting the names of those who placed in the top 100 spots from 100^th down to 20^th.” It wasn't much to write home about as the screen changed to a list format, with the hero's name and rank shown and little else. It wasn't much fanfare but she hadn't expected much when the big attention grabbers were those that made it to the top 20, there were still people who clapped when they saw a particular pro's name, such as Mt. Lady who saw that she had come in 47^th, impressive for a hero that had only been solo for less than a year but then again, she had name recognition from her time under Best Jeanist. Death Arms merely grunted when his name was a while before up at 74^th.

As the numbers continued, Kyūfune looked toward the woman seated next to her with a frown, wondering how to approach the topic before deciding to rip the band-aid off. "Mt. Lady, why did you approach me? Was it just because of the novelty of speaking you someone as tall as me?" Kamui Woods's name came up at 40^th, which got him some excited applause from a few young girls, fans no doubt as the mask-wearing pro waved towards them, the man having seen fit cover his face with a mask and hat, much like how Edgeshot still wore a half mask even in his suit.

Lady took in the question and nodded to it. “I suppose that was it. I’m used to guys being taller than me, just look at those two,” She stated. “But girls? That’s a blue moon event.”

“So there was…no other reason?” Kyūfune asked her, looking a bit dejected as Mt. Lady caught into to this.

"Was there supposed to be one?" Lady asked her, if was she perhaps swinging for the home team and thought she was into her.

“No,” Kyūfune shook her head. She couldn’t fault her for that, not when she had also forgotten till they started speaking. “It’s just surprising.” Lady didn’t have the chance to make sure she didn’t make a mistake with her as the list came to an end at the 21^st stop. Those in the 11^th to 20^th spots got more fanfare than just their name on a list as going from 20^th down, they not only showed their names and rank but their picture and some of their highlights since the last ranking. Shishido, who came in the 18^th seemed to of had a good year, stopping a major bank robbery which got him some support from the audience.

In time, they made it to the cream of the crop, to the names that just about everyone knew, the top ten. Even before the names were called out, there was hype among the attendants, some of it because people already knew that a few were all but assured to be in it, others because they hoped to have broken into it after not seeing their names or the name of the hero they liked already called out. As her son would say, that second group were quite optimistic as outside the top 3, the ranks meant little, more results of the ever-changing popularity landscape than any actual results. However, when she looked towards those in the top ten, she saw that they had been sat in their section, separated from what ‘rabble’. At their tables weren’t friends or sidekicks, but investors, executives and anyone else that could have shelled out the 500K for the chance to sit next to a top then.

“Is it true that you had to pay to sit there?” Kyūfune leaned to her to whisper.

“Yup. Most likely it’ll be used to help pay for this entire thing.” Little Madam President was nothing if not pragmatic, after all, when you could recoup some of the cost of a charity gala, why not? As for the pros she could see, she didn’t quite understand a few of them. All Might she could get, the man was as basic as it came in his desire to be a hero, so much so that she spotted him a few times helping out in Raxus, both in his hero form and in that frail skeletal form he used. She wondered what could have led to it, having picked up that he breathed weirdly which led to the assumption he was suffering from some sort of injury, but she never pursued it.

Endeavour was just as simple as the number one, if only in his desire to surpass the demi-God that stood so far ahead of him, she wondered if he truly thought he had a snowball's chance in hell of actually reaching him. His efforts had been useful, but the man tended to work with just his sidekicks whenever he was around. Jeanist was the most eccentric, bringing in fresh clothing for people, though it was predictable all jeans. Mirko was there once or twice but didn't stick around long though she could tell it wasn't for lack of interest and more lack of useful talents in the clean-up as she was a brawler first and foremost, recovery and repair wasn't her specialty.

As Madam President took to the podium once more, her eyes trained in Hawks, a wildcard if she had ever seen one as he was young, and seemed laid back but he always seemed tense, as if he couldn't stop himself from taking it all there was. More than once she felt his eyes on her, the first time she could pick up surprise and fear, and after that, steady concern. She wouldn't be surprised if he was the one who informed the president that she had left her compound to help.

From across the room, their eyes met and to others, if they could even tell what was happening, they would have merely assumed she was smiling at the handsome young man, while those on Hawks' end might have thought he was flirting from a distance, befitting his laid-back character but that couldn’t be further from the truth as it was less flirtatious and more a silent conversation between a bemused cat and the little bird that had entered her domain.

“A round of applause for those heroes who have placed, and for those who didn’t as we hope they continue to protect and serve the greater good.” The head of the HPSC’s statement drew their attention off one another as they turned to the stage, offering their claps along with the rest of those in attendance.

“Before we get to the top ten, I would like to extend a hand of gratitude to the donors of this event, and the pillars that help ensure that heroes have the tools they need to carry out their important work such as Baktoid, Kuat Enterprise, Geo Industries as well as chief law enforcement officers and those in government such as the chairwoman of the National Public Safety Commission.” When each party was mentioned, the light would shine on their table, allowing them to stand and accept their applause. A wise move from the commission to invite them as the representatives of those companies, each was a major player in the hero support item industry, people who no doubt created special gear for the commission when asked in exchange for privileges over competition.

Once the last person, that being the 60-something-year-old head of the NPSC took her seat, the Hero Commission president took a bit of a surprise turn. “But they aren't the only ones that deserve thanks for their efforts as I can't forget to mention the heroes and other wealthy benefactors present who donated their time, resources and funds to the people of Raxus in their trying times after a senseless attack from villains saw their homes and livelihoods burned to the ground.” Kyūfune frowned, keeping her hands on her lap as she wondered how they'd talk about it, what she'd draw attention to, or if she even cared about it, to begin with. The fact that they were hosting this despite the fact they were seriously lacking funds hinted that she didn't.

She was in the minority in this as a large part of the audience applauded her, disgusting the fox woman more than she thought would happen that night as she could see it in their faces, how proud they felt, how much better they believed themselves over people like that, like her just because they decided to give 1 or 2 donations to their 'lessers’. There were even heroes in that group which disheartened her a little. It wasn’t done, they still needed to rebuild what little they had! This wasn’t the time to pat yourself on the damn back!

Kenmikoto reached for her hand, grasping it in her much smaller one. Despite the massive size difference, when she squeezed it, Kyūfune felt some of that tension leave her body, giving her mother a grateful smile to which the woman returned as they got back to focusing on the president.

“A special thanks to the Yaoyorozu conglomerate, who donated more than 21 million, but the commission has decided to set an example which is why I’m happy to say that we’ll be donating 100 million to the Raxus reconstruction project.” While the father/daughter duo stood up to soak up the praise when their family business was announced as the single biggest private donor, Kenmikoto paid greater focus to the president who while had covered it up well enough to avoid most even noticing, she saw how brow twitched ever so slightly, and how for a moment her eyes locked onto her with a passion and hate that only made the old cat lady proud.

She might have been roped into this farce, but forcing the commission to pay through the nose made it all worth it, that was a nice way to explain why they would be giving away such a large sum but it wasn't like she could come clean and say she was forced to as it would somewhat…diminish the good mood.

Keeping her frustration over having to redirect such a large sum of their funds to the rabble in check, and with the ego boasting for the many donors the commission had done, she finally moved on. "With the ranking of the top ten heroes, we have at the 10^th spot, it is Killer Whale Hero: Gang Orca.” Gang Orca nodded when the light focused on him, with a couple of dozen people applauding his success, including the seal-looking man who sat at his table. “Taking the number nine spot would Dragoon Hero: Ryukyu.” When it turned to the 9^th place, those who applauded Gang Orca were dwarfed as at least a third of the place seemed happy for the humble woman who didn't look all that excited about having the literal spotlight on her.

“Is it just me, or are people paying Ryukyu more attention than Gang Orca?” Mt. Lady asked as that was weird to her.

Death Arms, who had seen it as well, merely shrugged it off. “She did place higher than him.”

Lady thought about it for a moment before she agreed with him. "Yeah, maybe you're right. Plus, she's on the eyes." She missed how Kyūfune glared at her out of the corner of her eye at that comment, the woman having her idea as to why Gang Orca despite his efforts was seen as lesser to his fellow top hero. It was the same reason the man despite his deeds and attitude kept getting voted in the top 5 of heroes that looked like villains.

“And what does that mean?” She muttered, but Mt. Lady didn’t hear it but Kamui Woods did as he turned to look at her out of the corner of his eye, wondering what she meant by that question.

He didn’t have time to ask her as the president continued with the ceremony. “Coming in 8^th, we have the Equipped Hero: Yoroi Musha.” With his name called, the veteran stood for the crowd but didn’t wave at them, merely letting the applause greet him while Kenmikito merely smiled, happy to see the little boy dressed like a samurai proclaiming he’ll be the best, that same boy who digested all she could teach him on tenet make it to top ten. Seeing him reminded her of his father, may his soul rest in peace.

Mt. Lady nudged Kyūfune in the side, drawing her attention. “Yeah?” She pointed towards Kenmikito and then towards the old man.

“Does your friend know him? I think I saw them talking not too long ago?” Kyūfune looked towards her mother, and her eyes as she looked at Yoroi Musha as he took his seat again. While she could tell the pro what was up, she decided against it and merely shrugged.

“The 7^th spot goes to the rising Rabbit Hero: Mirko." The woman in question didn't so much stand but brought her leg onto the table, presenting one of the two powerful legs that they all knew could shatter steel and concrete in a single kick, though Kenmikito could see that the president seemed to take issue with that provocative move from the battle loving pro. Still, she didn’t focus on it, having long since accepted that Mirko might play ball, but that didn't mean she'd play by all the rules. "At 6^th, we have a regular in the top 10, Shield Hero: Crust.” In contrast, Crust stood with a tear in his eye and a big smile on his face, leaving her to wonder if the man was more of a child at heart than the others.

“Coming at the 5^th spot, we have the Ninja Hero: Edgeshot. Following him, at the fourth 4^th spot will be Fiber Hero: Best Jeanist.” While Best Jeanist was far more media friendly and dressed to impress in a suit that surprise, wasn't made from denim, but instead made the pro look like a model straight off the runways of Paris or Milan. Edgeshot by contrast, was silent, in both his attire which despite being a suit seemed more like what the staff were wearing, and in character as he barely reacted to his place on the ranking which helped explain why the president didn’t give him time to posture like the others, having known that he wouldn’t have done so.

As the name had been read, she noted that more people applauded them, but with the top 3 spots, even with their names still yet to be revealed, two of which were a forgone conclusion and she could tell people were eager to hear them. This was a mood that the president no doubt knew would happen and was purposely feeding to gain as much hype as she could. "Taking the 3^rd spot, we a man that has reached the top with lightning speed and no sign of slowing down, Wing Hero: Hawks.” The man waved when the light focused on him, his easy-going smile matching his surroundings as his entire table was nothing but a beautiful young women. She kept her laugh to herself when she heard her daughter call him a player when one of the girls swooned over him in front of everyone.

“In second place, we have the man who has more resolved cases than any other hero, Flame Hero: Endeavor.” The man in question had decided to attend in a suit, but his flaming facial hair had been present the entire time, which gave away some of his irritation either at the event or for the fact he was once again 2^nd place to All Might, someone that hadn't changed even once since he reached the top 2 spot at age 20. At his table, sat two of his sidekicks, both in evening wear while his son sat the furthest from him, looking stiff as a board.

Perhaps it was one everyone expected, but it didn’t do anything to lower the excitement as the president reached the last name. “We have finally reached it, the number one. This sacred spot at the very top goes to our Symbol of Peace: All Might.” Unlike the others, it wasn’t just a few lights that focused on him but every single one as the man stood up in his tacky pinstripe yellow suit, a hearty, powerful laugh coming out of his smiling mouth as the entire room erupted in cheers, even a good chunk of those in the top 50 joining in as the symbol took a bow.

However, as All Might took in the praise and admiration that only the best could get, she noted that his table just had the two others. The first was a dark-haired man who she didn't recognise as anyone of renown, perhaps he was a new sidekick to the number one, but wouldn't that have made news? The man only ever took on one sidekick and they cut ties five years ago. The second person was…an animal? She was sure that it wasn’t human, it didn’t give off the same presence as one, but it also didn’t give off a presence which she could identify as belonging to just one animal.

It took her more time than she would have liked to admit to realize that it was U.A.'s principal Nezu, though that raised its own questions as to why would All Might bring him. He might have gone to U.A. but that was 40 years ago, Nezu wasn't the principal back then, so she would be surprised if Nezu was alive back. Did he not have any friends he could bring? Perhaps because the Symbol of Peace was extremely private, he didn't wish to expose close friends and families to all this.

"Mt Lady is exhausting," Kyūfune said to herself, having split with the pro who had been quite the chatterbox, filled with energy but after her comments at the billboard announcements, she had decided to take some time for herself. Lucky for her the heroine had caught onto this and while she didn't know what was the reason for the tension between them, she hadn't pushed it when Kyūfune said she wished to seek out her master. She would have said mother but that was a no-go for several reasons, one of whom being that the last thing she wanted people to hear were rumors that she ran to her mother.

Walking about the reception area, she found that without Lady, she didn't have anyone to talk to, and it wasn't like she had a line of options either as she could feel how people's eyes locked onto her. First out of surprise at her size, then followed things that she had gotten used to even if she hated them: fear, suspicions and disgust. She had seen it so many times that she did her best to avoid looking anyone in the eye, keeping herself together to not act like a scared middle schooler all over again. This wasn't school, but a room of the rich, powerful and influential, the last thing she wanted any of them to see was weakness.

Rather she focused on her mother’s lessons, on the calm surface of the lake as she let the feelings of fear and anger fade. She couldn't control how others saw her, nor would she make these people recognise her as a person and try to approach her. All she could do was control herself and make choices that she could live with and that she was proud of. It was in this calm state of mind that she found her mother, the woman in the middle of a conversation with several wealthy people. Seeing her approach, she excused herself from them and met her halfway.

As they walked away, she asked a question“ Why did they bother with this entire thing? It’s just been a colossal waste of time and money, why even bother having such a large event for the hero rankings? Most don't even watch them live and just read about them in the morning." Kenmikoto smiled at her, as if pleased with the question.

“It’s all part of the show. People need these kinds of pony shows, or how else would they connect to heroes when they only see them out in the field? I can already tell you that more than a few people were pleased to see the number 2 in a suit and tie, or the legs on our resident rabbit hero." She replied, getting a few laughs from the group of wealthy people that she was pretty sure her mother cared for as much as she did a fly on the wall.

"Is it appropriate that you should be making such statements?" Kyūfune asked her, to which she waved her off.

"A woman of my standing and accomplishments can say whatever the hell she wants." She replied, before leaning in a little closer with a smirk. "Besides, you can't deny they're hot as well, though I would pick the dark-skinned bunny for any…play date." Her eyes darted to the side where the mentioned woman seemed to be being bored out of her mind by her conversation with Crust.

“You’re insufferable.”

“And yet, you love me all the same.” She smiled at her daughter, wanting so much to grab her cheek and wiggle her around, present company be damned but she had to focus.

"Still, you're right in that this event is more for show than substance, as they've raised 286 million, which is a little over a 5^th of what we actually need. Yet I can imagine that it cost more than 30 million to host this entire thing.” She saw the entire thing as a waste, part of the reason that she left behind such a lifestyle was the opulent spending that was done either to fill a hole or merely to present the fact you could.

"Excuse me," Their conversation was interrupted by a newcomer, not a hero but someone that was in her daughter's age group, if older by a couple of years. Like the rest, he was dressed to impress with slick-back orange hair and a smile that said he was rolling in his parents' money. "You wouldn't happen to be madam Kenmikoto, would you?" He paid his attention solely to her, ignoring Kyūfune which automatically lowered her opinions of him.

"That's right, to whom am I speaking?" She presented her gloved hand for him to kiss her knuckles, the man acting like he was doing her a favour when she most likely made more cash in a month than he did in a year, and had enough strength in a finger that slap the smug smirk off his face.

“My family was one of the donors. We might not have managed to match what the Yaoyorozu’s contributed, but we’re sure that the 1.2 million will go a long way to help.” Oh, it was one of those talks, she had already dealt with a few and none had been any good.

“It will, every yen counts when managing such affairs.” She slapped on her polite smile, wondering when this would end so she could engage in fruitful talk.

“It’s a shame that we can’t do anything about such a sh*tty area, one filled with crime and vagrants.” Her smile didn’t change, but Kyūfune started to openly glare at the man as he leaned on the pillar.

Grabbing a drink from a passing waiter, she took a sip, slowly swirling it in her hand. "Oh, it's so bad. The only real issue is the rats, they show up out of nowhere, act like they own the place and are incredibly difficult to get rid of." She told him, her smile going just a little feral. “The worse ones are the ones that make a mess of things.”

“I can’t say I agree, but I’ve never been able to stand the sight of rodents.” Another knock against him, if she thought he was annoying before, he was slowly earning her ire. Perhaps picking on this, even if he didn’t know where the source was, he finally turned to her daughter who looked close to throttling the punk. “I’m sorry…miss…have I offended you?” He asked, sweating at the site of an angry mutant, wondering if he should perhaps get security involved.

Taking a breath through the nose and out the mouth, Kyūfune grabbed a drink, her first of the night and sipped, but with someone her size, that meant that more than half the glass was gone. “No, I’m merely thinking of something…unpleasant.”

“That’s a relief, I have to remember that there are good ones.” He thought he was smart muttering that last part, but both heard him loud and clear as Kenmikoto kept upper the façade of ignorance and patience.

“And what do you mean by that?” Thinking that he had been sleek, he grew more confident in his words.

“I mean that Raxus is underdeveloped. With insane levels of crime and unemployment. When all the residents are those kinds of people, it would be foolish to not consider a connection between the two.” He stated that the area was one of only 8 places in Japan where the population was over 40% mutant, most places including Tokyo were only 15% mutant. Throw in the fact that Raxus also boasted a large quirkless population and he was surprised that things hadn’t gone to sh*t sooner as you can’t put criminals and the unevolved in the same spot and not expect problems.

What he didn’t know was that his words were doing nothing but angering the fox woman more as he had the gall to act like an intellectual. She had to deal with crap like this from her less-than-polite classmates, she didn't appreciate having to deal with it here. “Apologies.”

“Excuse me?” The man looked towards her, taking a step back when he saw how enraged she was.

“You heard me, apologies for that garbage!” She yelled at him, cutting through most of the conversations happening around them leading to more attention on them.

Gathering his wits, the boy stood his ground. “Garbage, my dear, that was facts. It’s not my fault that mutants are the most likely to become villains.” She growled at him, making him and several others nervous upon the sight of an angered mutant woman. All while her mother merely stood by her side, silent but supportive.

“Yes, it is, because people like you treat them like dirt or criminals, they struggle to find honest work.” She remembered how hard it was to find places that would take her for junior and high school, how much sleep she had thought that Tokyo U would reject her because she was a mutant.

The man scoffed at this, his anger rising to match hers and only drawing more attention to them as even the heroes started to pay more attention, among those being the numbers 3,4,7,8 and 10. “Wrong, there is no law in the books that allows for discrimination of that nature. Maybe if they were better candidates, they'd be picked more for work."

“Like that has ever stopped people!” She yelled back at him, nearly throwing her glass to the ground as she had heard that bullsh*t for years! How 'we don't discriminate' or 'we're an equal opportunity institution, that didn't stop them from mistreating you and hyper-focusing on whatever you did to justify it! It didn't stop people from blaming you for what the other kids did! It didn't stop teachers from accusing you of cheating on tests just because you scored higher than most!

“You, my dear,” The man spat the word out like it was trash. “Should hold your tongue.” She made him reject those words, taking a step closer to him, towering over him while her glare locked him in place.

“And what will you do if I don’t?” She asked him, daring him to try something, to back up his words as she was more than willing to handle it. “Call security? Cry foul?” Some of the security moved to intervene, but Hawks and Yoroi silently stopped them. neither suspected that it would get that out of hand, but also saw them as just a means to add fuel to this fire

This proved to be the right decision as when the expected help didn't come to his aid, the pompous college student was forced to back down as he knew he couldn't handle her in a fight. “Animals.” He growled, fixing his tie and trying to get some of his lost dignity from this humiliation back. “You should teach this one some manners.” She would have punched him then and there for how he turned to her mother and referred to her in such a manner, but her mother beat her to it.

With a smile akin to that of an enraged tiger ready to tear into a fool who dared to get too close to her cubs, she replied to his provocation. "I have, but it seems that the same can't be said for you. Now leave before you embarrass yourself more than you already have." She ordered him, making it clear that should he try to refuse, it would be at his own risk. Stuttering in confusion and anger, he yelled something about his family would never forget this before leaving.

There was silence for a moment after that, as people focused more on how close to losing it her daughter looked, which pissed her off as she turned to glare at the crowd, her amber eyes alit with a fury. “I’m sorry, but are we your evening’s entertainment?” Her eyes, and the aura she gave out affected people in different ways. To even pros like Mirko, their bodies screamed at her that she was dangerous, to those with years of experience in the field such as Edgeshot, he knew that she was a force not to mess with. To the younger members in the crowd, like Todoroki and Yaoyorozu, they felt chill force itself down their spine while a stone settled in their stomach as it was like they just witnessed a massive tiger glare at them from the thick brush, about to pounce on them.

It didn't matter the reason, all that mattered was the effect as they all turned away from it and tried to pretend like they didn't see whatever they just saw. Downing the last of her drink, she placed it and Kyūfune’s which she took from her hand onto the tray of a waiter that had been left frozen in terror at her. With that done, she grabbed her hand and made their way for the exit. She had done her part, and if All Might could bounce early, so could she. If anyone wanted to stop her, they'd be eating out of a tube for the next month.

Breaking from the main area, she took Kyūfune aside to speak with her. “Taki,” her daughter naturally knelt so that she could bring her hands to her face, wiping away the angry tears which were now being replaced with tears of grief. “Are you alright?” Her daughter tried to collect herself but was struggling as all of it was just coming out of her. Shaking her head, she hugged her mother, hiding her face in the Kenmikoto’s neck as the woman soothed her, muttering that she could cry if she needed to, that she had that right.

She hated how she felt like this. It wasn't the first time she dealt with someone like this, she knew it wouldn't be the last. So why did this affect her so much? She knew that those with power didn't care, it was why things never changed, so why did seeing it first-hand make her feel so angry, so broken up on the inside? How could her mother have the strength to face all that and not so much as flinch, to have the strength to take it all in and make them bow to her?

"How can you stand it? Hearing all that…horrible stuff by saying like it's a fact of life? How do you not react?" Teitora sighed, her anger towards that punk forgotten in favour of caring for her little fox. For the little girl whom she took in at the age of 7 and grew to love with all her heart. An aura of menace formed, sending anyone close by packing, giving her time to and the privacy to address this.

Pulling her face free of her neck, she gave her a little kiss on the forehead just like she used to when she would tuck into bed, and a pained smile. “A tiger might hate the swamp, but it learns how to swim through it to get to the other side.”

Chapter 10: Power of Sage

Chapter Text

If this was anything else, Izuku was sure he would have lost count of the days a long time ago, but when every second of training felt like it was an hour of brutal conditioning, you managed to keep track if only to help preserve your sanity through the madness. It was because of that that he knew he had been at this for a little under 4 months. Waking up, he was surprised to find that…he had been allowed to sleep in, as when he looked out the window of his little hut, he saw that the sun was already in the sky, and might have been that way for perhaps an hour. Normally Shizune forced him out of bed an hour before the sun was up.

Not looking this gift horse in the mouth, he thanked the heavens for the fact he was able to get 2 hours extra sleep before he left his hut, having slept in his worn-out pair of shorts and nothing else as he wandered over to the river to freshen up. Moving down the beaten path, he could appreciate the beauty of this place and the fact its weather pattern wasn't erratic as there were some clouds, and a good breeze but that was it. Such a thing was rare on this otherworldly mountain as he could recall how the weather could change without warning or reason.

Some days it would be unbearably hot, leaving him sweating even as he did the simplest tasks, other days it would be the exact opposite as he'd wake up to find the place covered in a thick blanket and snow with freezing winds blowing through the place, leaving him shivering even if he wore as many layers he could manage while still being able to train. Other times it'll be nothing but pouring rain from dawn to dusk. He had tried to ask Shizune about it, but they would always laugh in his face and tell him that 'they had secrets that they didn't feel like telling the little human.' The last time he asked had been a month ago while it was snowing like a Russian Winter, after that reply, she strapped another 30kg worth of deadweight to him and told him to get back to running.

Making it to the river, he knelt to wash his face to fully wake up and drink up the fresh mountain water. Seeing his reflection in it, he couldn't help but give it a nostalgic smile as he saw just how different he looked from what he had appeared when he first arrived. His hair, which had always been far too fuzzy and wild to be properly combed or styled had somehow become even wilder, greener in it than black. It was also longer, nearly reaching his shoulders much like the mane of a lion, combing a hand through it, he could pick out small twigs and leaves that he hadn't been able to get rid of before he collapsed onto his bed last night and passed out.

His hands drew his attention next as he pulled his hand free of his hair, inspecting it and seeing that despite the fact he washed his hands every morning, his nails were still dark with grime and soil, which along with the fact they were longer than he had ever let them by, made him look as wild as a caveman. As he washed them in the river to try and clear the dirt away, he observed his body in the rippling water, seeing how his torso and arms were covered in scars from the intensive training Shizune was putting him through. Training that normally lasted from before the sun rose to after it set, as had been his schedule for nearly 4 months now, was nothing but grueling, punishing training with little time for rest or meals.

Meals that he had to get himself as he learned the hard way during his first week when he waited for them to get him something a tiring 20km run, only for Shizune to reappear, act surprised that he decided not to eat during his break and forcing him to continue with wall climbing up a small waterfall. Safe to say that he made sure to always keep an eye out for fruit trees and berry bushes after that so that he could use as much time as he could actually eat during his breaks.

But he'll take the physical training over the sensory training any day of the week, as Shizune and he had spoken about how tenet could increase one's perception of their surroundings, but under them, he was put through sensory deprivation training. He'll go hours without sight, smell or hearing blocked and be forced to either fight against the various wild cats that called the mountain their home or escape through obstacle courses that he never knew how they found the time to set up. For every inch of progress he made, they'll add another mile worth of challenge for him as if they didn't want him to feel like he was making any progress, even if he knew that he had to be…right?

Finishing up, he left and went to look for his master, finding them in their usual spot which was lounging in what looked to be an old shrine, why they liked it? When was it built? Who built it? He didn’t know the answers to those questions. Looking up at his arrival, they gave him a lazy wave.

"Look who's finally awake, was going to get you myself if you slept in any longer." Shizune smiled at him as he came and sat close to them.

“Most people would assume I work up at the normal time.” He replied, thinking that it couldn't be any later than 8 am.

“You’re too crazy to count as most people, little boy.” They waved that off, anyone that could touch it out for as long as he wasn't sane in their books. “But we have other things to work on today.”

Midoriya straightened up, ready for whatever they could throw at him. "What would that be? Are you going to strap a boulder to my back and make him jump from tree to tree? Climb up a raging water with one hand tied behind my back? Plunge my hands into heated sand? Wrestle a Lion?”

“You’ve done all that. if I try and take it a step further, I’ll probably break you.” Shizune waved that off, though they were impressed with his performance as out of the 8 that came before him, only 3 had made it this far, the rest dying at some point before, or just losing the will to continue. Frankly, they liked that about him as no matter what she put him through, how far she pushed him, he kept coming back for more.

“Then what?”

“Sage.” That one word froze him for a moment, before a smile broke out across his face, his joy reaching the stars as he couldn’t help but cheer, jumping to his feet as he had made it, he had cleared through whatever testing process Shizune had and made it!

“Yes, we’re finally moving into it.” Shizune let him have his moment, he had earned that much anyway and if the 3 were any indication, it'd be the last happy moment he had. “Remember what we talked about when you first came here, on what sage was?” They asked, bringing his attention back to the meat of the discussion.

Midoriya nodded, taking his seat once more. “Yes, it’s essentially a boast to everything I’ve already learned by pulling in tenet from my environment to use.”

“Correct, but there is another use of it. It’s an offshoot of Toratsume and Feline Purr,” He knew of those two techniques, though he only practiced the one and not the latter. "Which allows one to affect and alter the physical world through the use of their tenet." He blinked at that, having never heard of a use like that…wait, no he had. But such techniques could never be used in any situation requiring speed.

Shizune saw his confusion and explained it. “Now, normally this is a slow and draining thing, requiring multiple uses to get anything substantial done, which is why it’s best for tasks that normally take a long time to begin with such as farming as spending a couple weeks growing something might seem long, but when that plant would normally take a couple months to grow, it’s a smart play, it also cuts down on the work-force needed as now a fraction of the people are needed.”

That was why they could grow so many crops in such a small amount of time, everything from fruits to literal trees for lumber, but it was as she said, long and tiring, requiring teams of people working in shifts to get sustained growth of any worth.

“Are you saying that Sage power amplifies this?” Midoriya asked, to which Shizune got up, stretching their supernaturally long body before they walked over to a small pond.

"It does," They started as they reached one of her claws towards the water, gently tapping the surface of it to his amazement, as they pulled their claw back, the water followed like a string. "And when properly used it can do whatever one wishes of it." Shizune twirled her claw around, the water, which remained attached to her via the little water cord, formed into a swirling top, then a ball before she flicked it at him, which he easily dodged despite the speed and surprise of the move. When he heard the water smack into a rock, it wasn't much of a wet slap he heard, but a thud followed by rock cracking.

Turning his head, his eyes shot wide open as he saw that the rock, half the size of a car, now had a circle shape indent in it, one which had at least a dozen cracks forming. The water she threw did that? What would have happened if it struck him?

“I…” He gulped down some sweat when he saw them smile at him, he knew that smile way too well and was getting ready to run if he had to. “I didn’t know you had a quirk.”

“That wasn’t a quirk, little boy, that,” Shizune replied, their smile showing far more teeth than should be capable of fitting in a mouth. “Was what sage power could do when used by a master.”

Seeing his confusion, they enjoyed it for a second, but they still had to explain it to him. “What I did, was impart some of my tenet into the water so that I could control it, but since one can’t control tenet once it’s left the body, I kept the cord of water attached.”

“But how would the water have done that? I heard that when you apply enough pressure, it can cut through steel but that was just a ball of it.” Midoriya asked if they had formed the water into a thin line, or a blade and swung that at the rock, maybe there would have been some damage but they didn't. they went with a blunt attack that by all accounts, was far too slow to do even half as much damage.

"Tenet doesn't just vanish once it's out of your control, so I just imparted some into it to make it so that the water could crack the rock," Shizune explained, getting him to nod as he thought of ways they could used in a practical sense, even outside combat as depending on how long it could last, he could see it being great for rescue work.

“So, when will I be able to do that?” He asked them, getting a chuckle from the youkai.

"So eager, Sage training is done in 2 phases. The first allows one, in this case me, to project their will onto the physical world but keep in mind it works best on the basic elements of nature." Okay, he was following there, even if he’ll have to ask about the elements thing.

“The second is the most dangerous as it’s where one forces their tenet reserves to drastically grow in a short period to cope with this excess of tenet flowing into them.” That part confused him. He understood why it was dangerous, and why it would be needed but there was something off about it.

“Wasn’t that what I had been training for all this time?” He asked them.

“Yes and no,” They giggled. “That training barely impacted your tenet, rather I was training up your body to become a suitable vessel, forcing it to adapt so that when you got sage power, it didn’t rip you apart from the inside out.” That…was certainly a mental image, but that at least explained why he barely felt any different with his tenet despite all his training. Was he just at the level where he couldn't provide any more physical power to add no matter how much he trained? Did he need more experience to add to the spiritual side of it? Was it some combination of the two or something else entirely?

Shizune smacked him over the head with their tail to get him back in the game. “But the real question is this:” He blinked, seeing that they had closed the distance, now surrounding him with their body, twisting and swirling like a viper made from black water. “Are you willing to die for power? Willing to take the risk now that you’ve reached the cliff?” Shizune whispered to him, being so close to his ear that he could feel their breath.

Despite how much time he had spent with them, how much he thought he had grown comfortable around them, that question, the images it brought up in his head made him shiver, his heart skipping a beat as he was reminded that this…this wasn’t something he could beat, he didn’t think anyone could beat them. “How far will you go for your dreams?” They asked him, this time in his other ear as he tried to gain some air in his lungs to speak.

“To the ends of the earth, even further…” He was shaking, his heart and mind screaming for him to run, but he remained still, locking his legs the best he could to ensure he didn’t flee or buckle, not when he had come so far. “I’ve come too far, trained too hard to just give up now. That would be crazy.” He managed a give them a shaky smile, a flimsy thing that couldn’t stand up to much, but it was enough to please them as they laughed, their laughter booming through the area like the roars of a dozen lions.

"Oh, I like you, human! But you're not the first to say that to me, and it didn't save the others from an agonizing death that followed.” They reminded him, though he hadn’t forgotten, not when they had shown him their graves in his second week as a means to ‘keep him humble.’

“But like with them, I’ll honor your wish, it might be your last one anyway.” Before he could ask what that meant, flashed him a smile made up of nothing but teeth before striking, biting down on his neck faster than he could react, flooding his body with their essence before just as quickly retreating and stepping away from him, leaving him stumbling and confused as he reached for his bloody neck wound, pulling back his hand with a hiss as he looked at his bloodied hand.

Before he could question them on them, or even how they managed to hurt him when he had his Yukitora active, pain like nothing he had never felt set in, crashing into him like a towering wave that washed him away in it. He tried to resist it, biting his tongue to not scream but it was futile as the massive injection of supernatural tenet entering his body overwhelmed him as he fell to his knees, gasping for breath as he finally screamed in pain, feeling like every part of him was on fire as his pain receptors were all firing.

He couldn't even remain on his knees as he fell onto his side, rolling about as if to try and put out the fire his body was sure was engulfing him as he continued to scream and plead for it to end, all while Shizune dispassionately watched his suffering. He didn't notice, he couldn't notice anything as it felt like his body was burning on the outside and was starting to implode on the inside, giving him so sense of relief or rest. If Mōfu is like a warm blanket, this was a lava bath as it felt like it was seeping in every pour, stretching it out to allow even more into him.

He tried to get up, to run for the pond, but all he could manage was crawl to it, every movement felt like hell as his skin felt like it was melting off him while his muscles were tearing and his bones imploded as all 261 tenet point on his body were rupturing, shrinking and growing randomly and extremely painfully. Soon blood started to flow as his body's catastrophic failures and regeneration were taking their toll, leaving him blind and deaf as liquid that kept him alive flowed out his ears, and eyes while all he could taste and smell was copper thanks to similar effects happening with his nose and mouth.

"It burns!" He managed to get out over his screams, moans and pleas as he collapsed once more, the strength of his limbs falling him after he had only managed to crawl a couple of meters, nowhere close to the pond which wouldn’t have offered him any help even if he had managed to will his body to crawl close enough to try anything.

Izuku blinked, taking in the sight and smell of his surroundings. With a groan, he slowly got up, rubbing his head as he felt the lingering effects of a major headache. Looking around, he saw that he was…in a cave? When did he get here, wait-did…did he pass out? Feeling the breeze higher up his leg than normal, he looked and saw that he was in nothing but his boxers.

Reaching for his face, he groaned into his hands as he wondered just what the hell happened to him, but his fingers caught his attention. They looked different. His fingernails had been longer than normal, sure but now they looked even longer, sharper and had a green tint to them, as he tried to make sense of that whole thing, he noted that there wasn't any sunlight entering the cave, nor were they any lit candles but despite that, he could see just fine. Looking around, he saw that it wasn't just because his hands were close to his face but he could make out details on the walls, from groves and cracks as if it was daytime.

It wasn't just his eyes that seemed to have changed, but his sense of hearing and smell as well as he could hear much more clearly how the air coming in from the entrance was moving down the cave, how there was a couple drop of water leaking from the top of the cave a little deeper in as they splashed down into two puddles that had formed. He could hear some small forest critters scampering about, looking for cover for the night despite the fact he couldn't see them but he could smell them, with the scent of a couple of rats clueing him into what they were, along with the smell of moss growing on the walls.

Deciding he needed answers and some clothes, he got up from the slab of rock he had been left on and walked towards the entrance, noting that his sense of touch was also greater than normal as his bare feet told him a lot of the environment that he otherwise wouldn't have been able to tell. As he reached the entrance, he paused as he wondered if this was sage power, if that was what the master had. If that was true…did that mean he made it? What else could it be? He had taken the bite and lived to speak of it, that was an absolute win!

Giddy with joy, he all but danced out of the cave into the open, the moonlight sky illuminating the clearing, along with the thousands of stars that dotted the sky, constellations he didn’t recognise in this alien world but still beautiful in their wonder. He never had time to star gaze before, always too exhausted from training but now? Now he wanted to just sit on a tree stomp with a telescope and a map and plot out the stars, take in their wonder. Hell, he didn’t think he needed a telescope, such as how happy he was with his newfound sight, leaving him to wonder how he ever managed before as it felt like he had gone his whole life wearing someone else prescription glasses.

The smells of the forest drew him next, the drew on the leaves, the scent of dozens of plants and flowers he’ll never find on earth, the rich soil and thick plentiful shrubs, all inhabited by cats, bugs and fish that he wished to explore, to study, to hunt. His body yearned for it, for all of it. It was all…almost overwhelming.

“You know,” His head shot to the side, looking towards the pond where Shizune lay on their back, moon-bathing with their head turned to face him like an owl’s. "The little girl had the same reaction. Even ran off into the woods and didn't come back for two whole days while she explored to her heart's content." He blinked, not so much at the comment that his master went on the Tarzan for a while, but at the fact he could make out their shape far more clearly than before.

“This…this is…it?” He whispered, praying that this wasn’t some fervor dream as Shizune gave him a soft, amused smile.

"Yes, you have tapped into sage mode, which is why you're basically running on feline time right now to which you should be grateful as you could have been bitten by something unpleasant, like a dog." They waved that part off as if she would allow a student of her student to ever make a contract with another youkai, they had standards!

“So, how do you feel?” They asked him, with Izuku feeling himself, noting that his body even felt different, or maybe his hands were just more sensitive.

“I feel…good, better than ever really.” Taking a deep breath, he felt like he could fight 10 of those damn tigers Shizune has around, and come out on top.

Shizune chuckled at that, unsurprised at his response, though they had been pleasantly surprised by the fact he had woken up at all. "That's because you have far more tenet in you, which is allowing you to augment your base senses. But you'll need to learn how to suppress them unless you want even minor stimuli to be enough to screw with you."

“Oh, and to help with the tenet exhaustion as right now you’ll burning through far more than normal.” They added, giving him a downside to this which he had to contend with, people with animal quirks or just boosted senses often complained about such things, like how if you had a dog’s sense of smell, most public places could be unbearable.

“Noted,” Closing his eyes and concentrating, he could certainly feel that he was tapping into his tenet, but he also could feel that the pool he normally tapped was far larger than normal, a lake inside of him. “As for the rest, is this normal?” Flexing, he felt like his muscles and bones were made from steel, a couple of shadow boxes only confirmed that.

“Yes, much like the little girl, you've found yourself upgraded to the deluxe human body thanks to sage mode. So, I hope you don’t mind how you’ll look for a while since once you hit your prime, you’re staying there.” God, he hoped so, he wasn't exactly the tallest guy in his age group, and he had seen enough of his Inko's high school photos to know he shared an unfortunate resemblance to her. He wouldn't mind if he could age up a little more, and gain a couple more inches in height before hitting his peak.

“Still, there is one difference between the two of you; how long you were asleep for.” He looked towards her, wondering as to what was so special about that.

“Wait, it’s not the same day?” He asked, as with the moon up and the unpredictable weather and climate of this place, he couldn't even be sure that the moon and stars followed a similar pattern to Earth.

“Of course not, silly human. You’ve been unconscious for the last week.” He blinked at that, it taking a second for it to sink in.

“A week!?”

“Quiet down, it’s not that big of a deal.” Shizune liked it better when he was quiet and asleep.

“You and I have a very different definition of what counts as a ‘big deal.’” Midoriya had so many questions. How was it possible to sleep that long? Was it because of that damned bite they gave him? How was he still in tip-top shape when he hadn't eaten or drank anything in days? Did they force-feed him? What about the bathroom situation?

“I wouldn’t say so, you beat your master’s time.” The master, she went through that experience as well? What was he thinking? Of course, she did.

“How long was she out for?” He imagined that she was out for a couple more days, maybe an extra week if Shizune hadn’t yet perfected whatever process she did to him decades ago.

“2 months.” They gave him a smile that made them look like they belonged in Alice in Wonderland, even as they gave him such a ludicrous number. That was impossible! She was the strongest person he knew, the best at using tenet, how the heck did she remain out cold and he was up and running?

Shizune raised an eyebrow at him. "Or did you think I just decided that 4 months was enough for you? That's the benchmark."

“2 months…Heavens that’s a long time…” He groaned into his hands before he asked one of his other questions, namely the one related to his state of dress. “Wait, is that why I’m in my underwear? Wait, did you change my underwear during the week?”

"Yes, it's long but she was the only one before you to survive. Yes, I changed you. Yes, don't worry about it, I'm as interested in you as you would be in your housecat." He didn't take much comfort in that as a supernatural being or no, he wasn't in the business of letting just anyone see him in the buff. His only mercy was that no one else would know about it and if asked, he'll deny it without hesitation.

“I’ll just have to lock that away in the ‘Don’t think about it box.’” There were a few memories in there, but as the name implied, he didn’t think about them. his motto being that unless he needed therapy in the future, that section of his mind would remain unexplored, a place to banish sh*t like this.

“To each their own, onto other matters. This presents us with a unique opportunity.” Shizune finally got up and approached him.

“Such as?”

“The plan was to wait for you to wake up and send you back to the human world, but since you work up so early. I can help you with your training in sage mode as right now, you’re as green as the grass you sit on.” They explained to him, and his eyes widened even as a small part of his brain realized that she planned to dump him back without any real training and maybe some advice.

"Really? That's amazing!"

Shizune fanned herself, soaking in his praise and letting their pride grow even larger. “Yes, yes, and I’m a merciful and benevolent master but you can praise me more later,” He gave them an unimpressed look at that. “Right now we need to figure out your nature affinity.”

“Does this have something to do with the nature elements we talked about…last week?” Damn, that would take some getting used to.

“Yes. Your affinity as the world implies, is the natural element you connect with the most. You’ll find using that one both the easiest for you and the one you have the best chance of taking the limits and beyond. Now you could learn another, but you’ll burn through far more tenet to do something that another with an affinity with said element would.” They started.

"Also, since it's not your element, you'll find it far harder to even learn how to use it. Much like how those with quirks would need to put in far more time and effort training to match what you could achieve in a fraction of the time as a quirkless person." He supposed that made sense, like if you were good at one track event, that meant you were athletic, but that didn’t mean you could do another one as easily.

“Okay, makes sense. I’m guessing your element is water?” He recalled that little water stunt that may or may not be enough to knock him on his ass at best or kill him at worst.

“Yes, and little Tei’s is rock but she managed to specialize further, or did you think she just found all that jade in her office?” Shizune smiled as his jaw dropped at that revelation.

“She made it?!”

“Every last piece.” They were quite proud of their student, and her habit of just making jade whenever she was bored by molding earth into it. “Give me a second to gather everything, if you want to go mad for a bit, I won’t stop you.”

10 minutes later, he sat across from a collection of things. Those items are a: pot with a fire in it; a jug of water; a wooden log; an iron ring the size of a type; and a rock. "Reach out to each of them then and see which one feels the best."

“Okay.” He nodded as he looked them over, wondering which to start with before he reached for the fire, reasoning that perhaps he'd have an affinity to it thanks to his father. Reaching his tenet out to the flames but found he could barely do anything with them, they kept on dancing without any input from him. When he reached for the metal, it proved to be a stubborn element, giving him even less than the fire as it didn't so much as move. With the rock, there was…something, a connection there but it was weak as the best he could do was tether his tenet to it and make it slightly wobbly. Same with the water as when he tried to do the same trick that Shizune did, all that happened was that it tipped the jug and spilt the stuff all over the soil.

With just one element left, he placed his hand on the wooden log and imagined it growing as he pumped some of his tenet into it, at first there was nothing but then the wood slowly started to react as from the seemingly dead piece of wood, a tree branch started to form, forming smaller branches which grew leaves on it. When he removed his hand, he found that the log had turned into a small bush. “Whoa.”

"Seems like we found it," Shizune stated, surprised that he managed to connect with wood to such an extent, it had been a while since they had met anyone that used that element, even if they considered other youkai. Midoriya didn't reply as he reached for a piece of the shrub, a tiny branch which he moved to break off, but stopped himself and instead, tried something else. It took a moment, and some effort on his part but the branch broke itself as if an invisible force had shattered it from the inside out. With that new piece of wood, he stood up and walked a little ways away, with Shizune silently watching him as he worked.

Coming to a stop, he poured more of his tenet into the piece of wood in his hand but tried to control it. His efforts were lackluster at best, but impressive to Shizune as she hadn't met a human that could do such right out the gate the branch in hand grew in size and length, becoming a staff while the top portion became a tree, with dozens of small branches, each with leaves growing. Once the bottom touched the ground, it didn't stop and continued to grow, forming roots which dug into the earth, allowing Izuku to perceive even beneath the soil thanks to his tenet flowing through the entire three/staff.

His roots found other roots which upon contact, increased that field of vision, as well as his reach as his tenet started to flow into more plants, from the trees to the flowers and even the grass, influencing all of them and causing them all to rapidly grow and expand.

Blinking, he came back to reality, feeling exhausted as he nearly fell over, having to lean on the tree that he was standing next to, wait…where did that tree come from? Turning to it, he realized that it had been that tiny twig he had picked up, only he had turbocharged its growth into a tree easily 5 times his height. Around him, the grass had grown an extra 3 inches, while the flowers that once covered the edges of the place were far larger, more vibrant and plentiful. Without realizing it, he had added to the local environment.

'I don't know where she found this one but,' Shizune thought to themselves, amazed by the display as they reached for a flower that had sprouted next to them. Their eye turned to him and they couldn't help but feel giddy at the prospect this boy would bring. 'He'll be an interesting human to watch. I haven't seen a display like this in…centuries.'

Chapter 11: Test of Strength

Chapter Text

It was a strange feeling, being where he was. For so long, he had thought he would be awed and intimidated by the gates of U.A., of taking its famously challenging entrance exam. He had dreamed of this day for years, of taking this first step towards his goal yet, he felt none of that. He could feel his heart beating eagerly in his chest, and his arms buzzed with energy but there was no fear or awe to be found in his gaze.

Maybe it was because when he thought about it, this wasn't his first step. No, that had been years ago, when he was just a little boy, with no hope to ever achieve his dream who had the fortune to meet his master and gain a chance to prove himself to her. Thinking of that, and every step along the way seemed to do the trick. Dressed in his now former middle school uniform, he reached his hand to comb a hand through his hair, which was longer and wider than before, being a shorter version of the mane his master had, falling to his shoulders with some of it gathered into a ponytail to keep it in check. His green and blue scarf was secured around his neck, covering his chin and mouth despite the springtime air being warm enough to go without it. It was the same with his nails which he had allowed to grow out much like the master.

The woman in question stood by his side, having decided to see him off at the gates, those similarities making it easy for people to assume she was his mother dropping him off, but none bothered them if they felt the urge, as they had their exam to focus on. Turning to him, her amber eyes burned with authority and power, but also a distinct gentle love for her pupil. "So, this is where it leads, all your work."

Nodding, he turned from the shiny glass and steel building that made up U.A. main campus to his teacher, and mother in all but blood. "It's only thanks to do that I can even step up to this starting line."

"True, you've come a long way from the little sh*t that I picked up all those years ago." She placed a hand on his shoulder, that single gesture expressing how proud she was of him as she gave it a gentle squeeze. "You've more than earned your place in this world, it's your hard work that has brought you here, my boy. Be proud of that as I am of you."

Wiping away some tears at her kind, honest words, he gave her a smile which had his eyes shine in a way so similar to the one he gave her when she first found him all those years ago she almost forgot he wasn't that little boy anymore. He had grown into a fine young man. "You were always there to guide me, show me the way when things got hard." Humble too,

Shaking her head, she didn't let him get away with praising her too much. "Not even a diamond is made from nothing, and you're turning out to be one of the best I've ever found." Turning on her heel, the crowd of early bird students parted without thinking for her to walk back down the hill that U.A. sat on.

"I'll see you later, master," Midoriya called out to her as she waved back at him over her shoulder.

"I expect nothing but your best, my boy." She replied, as confident in his success as she was in the sun setting only to rise again. That little act meant more to him than he would ever say, it was certainly more than what Inko had done, as she had only seen him once after he returned from months of training and only asked him 'if he had let his hair grow', seemingly never noticing he was gone or not caring enough to question it if she had.

Shaking his head to clear away such depressing thoughts, he entered the school grounds, he found a quiet spot to sit and plan how he'd do this. U.A.'s hero exam was a two-stage thing, the first being a written practical test to test your knowledge on core subjects like Japanese, Math, Chemistry, Biology, History etc. Everything a middle schooler was expected to know. That was hard enough, which was why he had to study up in the days leading up to the exam to ensure he didn't flounder and get sick in it. But it was the second part that the U.A. was famous for, as they would place them in an arena of some kind and have the students battle it out against robots of different values.

From what he could find about it, that part of the exam had remained consistent for the last 6 years, which meant he had to move fast and hit hard as there was always a limited number of robots to fight, encouraging students to be proactive and even steal points where they could else, they'll fall behind. He didn't particularly like it, it wasn't an exam that allowed those with no battle-focused quirks to shine but that was just how things were, people wanted heroes to be flashy, bright and attractive, more celebrities than protectors so U.A. was a school that produced many of those same sorts of heroes, which would reflect that. His mind flashed to U.A.'s greatest success story, All Might and his mood soured as he took a breath to calm himself.

Even if that wasn't the case, the exam still all but forced people to fight among themselves for points, stealing them where they could to gain even a small advantage but U.A. only offered 16 spots for the hero course, the other 4 always going to recommendation students, so only those with the hunger and will to fight for what they wanted could ever hope to be one of the 16 out of hundreds to make it. The lion that didn't work didn't eat-it was as simple as that. Reaching for his pocket, he filled up the bag of seeds he had brought to ensure that he would be one of those lions that ate his fill.

Thinking of battle plans, he felt someone approaching him, his sensory capabilities still hinted as he could tell from the way they walked, the way they breathed and even how the wind seemed to flow over them that they were another student with little if any practical training outside basic physical fitness. Opening his eyes, he saw that he had been right on the money as the dark-haired girl with passive but so clear blue eyes approached. Her eyes reflected her demeanor well like many others who were extremely nervous, or excited. She was relatively calm, a bit on edge but a far cry from the rest.

"My apologies, did I disturb you?" Even her voice was calm and level, not a beat above what it needed to be to be heard.

He shook his head. "No but is there a reason you approached? To take a seat?"

"Yes, I would like to sit and collect myself before the exam." She asked once more, her eyes moving to the spot on the bench next to him. His cheeks reddened just a little at the fact a girl was asking to sit next to him, but it passed like a scent carried by the wind. He would need to thank Obi for his help with that.

"There's plenty of space." Moving a little to give her more space, she didn't smile or nod, merely taking the spot she wanted while he watched her out of the corner of his eye like a cat, if she felt his gaze on her, she didn't react as after a time, she pulled her phone out and went through it, doing what he didn't know. Despite the fact she seemed to have this air about her that got his interest, he turned away from her to focus on himself. The two remained silent as they either planned their battle strategy or relaxed before they were thrown to the lion.

In this relaxed silence between the two students, more students arrived and the space became a bit livelier as groups formed as friends from the same school or area found one another, offering up advice, words of encouragement or bragging that they'll be one of the top scorers, that last group tended to be those who flexed their quirks as if peaco*cks showing off their plume of feathers which irritated Midoriya to no end.

"Loud." The girl next to him said, her gaze never leaving her phone.

"You said it. It's easier to think when it's quiet, or when I'm taking a nap." Midoriya responded, with her turning to him after his statement.

"Do you take a lot of naps?" She asked as he rubbed the back of his head, wondering how much he could tell her without coming off as crazy.

"It's a habit now, I haven't had the best sleep schedule for a while now and I try to get some sleep where I can." That was an understatement as even after he survived being dosed with sage energy, his training schedule barely changed, so whenever they let him off the hook, he would find anywhere that seemed comfy enough to nap, whether that be in the shade or sunbathing. Lifting his hand to her, she smiled at her.

"Midoriya Izuku." He introduced himself as the girl looked at him, and then at his hand before shaking it.

"Kodai Yui." With the introductions done, they went back to the silence though it didn't last long as in a couple minutes, a new figure approached them. A boy with literal pitch-black skin whose relaxed slouched walk made him seem lazier than he must have been.

"Is this seat taken?" He asked, to which Kodai was the one to respond.

"No." With that, the boy took the seat and the trio exchanged greetings and introductions, the boy being named Kuroiro Shihai, they exchanged little talk after that, mainly simply questions about the exam and hobbies, with it never getting close to quirks which Midoriya appreciated as he rather not give up the bag so early. It was when he spotted a familiar head of blonde hair in the distance that he gave a different reaction as his eyes narrowed and his mouth became a thin line as he used Osaero to mask himself, his skill with it at such a level that the two seated next to him blinked as they looked around, wondering where he left and how he did it without making a sound. It took them a minute to realize he had never moved but by that, Bakugo had walked by them, having never even noticed him.

Once there was some distance between them and his old friend-turned-bully, he deactivated it, which made his presence all the easier for the two to notice. "Hey, what did you just do just now, it was like you came one with the shadows," Kuroiro asked him as he looked over to him.

Leaning his head to the side like a housecat, he answered. "In a way, I did but you're also wrong, after all, everyone always watches the shadows for threats, but never wonder if that threat could hide in the light." He gave them both a cheeky smile even as they looked on in mild confusion.

"That doesn't make sense," Kodai replied as he continued to smile, wondering if this was what his master felt like when she messed around with people.

"Trust me, if I tried to explain it, it'd make even less sense."

'Of course, this would be my luck.' Midoriya thought to himself later, making a good impression of a grumpy cat as he sat next to the person he had wished to avoid but it seemed that U.A. organized their seating by the school and had the only two from theirs, they were placed together. Bakugo's reaction to seeing him was less than pleasant as barely contained his rage, the boy no doubt remembering the last time they had seen one another, with Midoriya glaring at him before tapping his nose, which only made the boy all the angrier but he couldn't attack him here.

Despite his taunt, he wouldn't mind sitting somewhere else while Present Mic introduced himself and explained how things would work for the written and practical exams, he felt Bakugo's gaze never leave him as he mewed from how loud it got whenever Present Mic spoke, as the man sounded just as exciting and inviting as he had on his radio show but he just has to roll with it and get used to having increased senses, only for this enjoyable moment of seeing a pro in action to be interrupted when someone raised their hand to ask about the 4th robot that hadn't been touched upon despite the fact Present Mic hadn't finished his explanation, it didn't help Midoriya's view on them since they were just as loud as Present Mic.

As if not done ruining the flow of things, the boy turned to point towards where Izuku and Bakugo were seated. "In addition, you with the unkempt hair, you're incessant meowing is distracting, if you think this is some pleasure tour, leave now!" Bakugo snickered only for that to die as instead of folding or remaining silent, Midoriya shot to his feet, hissing at the boy with his hair flashing up like the fur of a cat.

Such an aggressive response made the boy flinch back, while others looked on in concern as he hissed back, "It's rude to point at people like that, and I'm only mewing because Present Mic is loud! It's disorientating in my ears!" His cat-like appearance completed the picture for them as Present Mic stepped in before an argument could break out, speaking softer this time as he calmed the tensions, with Izuku getting back into his seat, not caring if Bakugo was looking at him with wide eyes before he went back to glaring, muttering that he thought he was some kind of cat boy now on top of being quirkless.

He no doubt had questions for him, like where he had been for almost ten months, why he looked different and more but much like with those last 2 weeks of school where he showed up and avoided Bakugo like the plague, he did the same here as when he pressed his side to talk, he didn't so much as look his way as he snatched the pen, snapped it and tossed it back at him with a single action. Seeing that the papers were being passed around, Bakugo bit back his anger as they got their tests and they were allowed to start, with just 2 and a half hours to finish it.

Over 3 hours later, having completed the written portion and given time to change, Midoriya stood outside the walls of the testing area, the size of it surpassing ridiculous as he knew there were at least 6 others, which didn't factor in the other facilities that U.A hosted on its grounds. Even for a hero school, U.A. was massive. Along with the rest of the students, he stood in his training clothing, the worn fabric a welcomed feeling on his skin after months of training in rags just to cover up his dignity. The only difference was that his bright red sash replaced the brown belt around his waist.

The only difference is that unlike most, he had a bag with him, a little brown one tied around his waist which carried the seeds he was planning to use. Standing by himself, he did some stretches to loosen his bones, his body bursting with energy, not so much tenet but just his eagerness to start, to prove that he deserved to be here and maybe show up some others.

Cats were prideful creatures, and Shizune would have his head if he didn't do his best to outshine the rest of them,

As he got himself limber, others talked about the size of the place, themselves or continued to brag about how many points they'd get, which irritated him as they should save the showboating for afterwards yet here they were, counting their chickens before they hatched. Looking around, he didn't see or sense the two from before, so they must have been in other areas, he did see the tall spectacled boy from before, wearing a blue and white form-fitting runner's suit, one that left his calves exposed, probably for the odd engine like exhausts sticking out of them. 'So he must be a runner then.' He theorized as the guy noticed his gaze and turned to walk over, with Midoriya frowning as he prepared to have to deal with whatever grief the guy would give him.

"You there, I came to apologize for my earlier actions. I allowed myself to forget that those with animal mutations tend to have traits of those same creatures, so of course the volume of the announcements would be discomforting to you." The taller boy bowed to him, catching him flat-footed as this was the first time something like this happened, that someone outside Raxus or the sanctuary would apologize…Wait, did…did he think he had a cat mutation?

Recalling his appearance, he could see that the case could be made for that, his hair was wild like a lion's mane, some of which even resembled cat ears while also covering his human ears, and he kept his nails long, easily coming off as claws…He could use this, if people thought he had a quirk without him saying it, then he wasn't lying was he? He felt a spirit-perhaps his angel or demon, one that resembled Shizune on his shoulder egging him on, to see how far he could take this, how much he could leave people confused about his powers as the teachers would know he's quirkless-but not his future classmates.

He liked that idea.

With a Cheshire-like grin, he waves him off with a meow that sounded far too real to have come from anything that wasn't a feline's throat. "Apology accepted, just don't do it again and oh, remember to do your best." He replied as the boy nodded, a grateful release of tension from his shoulders, but while Midoriya thanked his past self for all those years he spent trying to mimic All Might giving him exceptional acting ability, and before his fellow examinee could respond, something else happened.

"Okay, start!" Midoriya didn't think nor wait to ask what that was all about, months of training with a deranged cat youkai made him far more reactive than the rest who turned to Present Mic to ask what he was talking about, by the time he explained that there were no countdowns in real life, Midoriya was already gone, having turned to the entrance and sprinted in like a cheetah on PEDs, adding to the image of being a heteromorph, he leaned so far forwards at that times, he would run on all fours with a determined glint to his playful, eager eyes.

As he rushed on ahead, his body started to be enveloped by a feint, heard to detect a green-reddish aura as he saw a 2-pointer turn the corner, not even slowing down, Midoriya instead increased the flow of tenet to his hands before a single swipe, he took its head clean off, his fingers cutting through the metal like an axe through cheap plywood, landing after his first take-down, he didn't even stick around to see it fall before he was off again, 2 points was nothing.

Seeing 2 1-pointers up ahead, both trying to double team him, he changed his approach style, zig-zagging to confuse them before leaping towards that and grabbing one's head in both hands and twisting his body mid-air, twisting the robot's head along with him before ripped the now twisted off clean off and threw it at the second one's chest, knocking it back as he landing in a roll, turned on his heel and jumped for it, a fist pull back before he punched straight through the dented metal to its core, grabbing onto what he could, he ripped his hand out and with it, a bunch of wiring and other internal components as the robot stared at him for a moment, as if shocked before it's big red eye lost light and it fell over.

"That's 4, I'll need far more than that." He thought aloud, rushing off to try and find more targets to handle. Finding more, he despatched of them just as a quirk, keeping his tally of his points to himself as he saw that the others had managed to catch up and spread to all the larger street which turned into a battle royale between them and the robots, the sound of metal buckling and breaking almost unending and random as people around him destroyed mechs using all manner of quirks. As he jumped off a 3-pointer he had got the drop on, he heard them calling out points which were scores either close to his, or higher.

Seeing that he wasn't going to get any real work done with so many around, he sprinted down an alleyway to search for villains that didn't move towards the larger groups. This proved to be a good choice as while he didn't spot any 3-pointers, there were plenty of 1 and 2-pointers, the latter having trouble with the smaller alleys and streets thanks to their size. Turning a corner, he saw that someone else had the same idea, but wasn't having nearly as much success as him.

Seeing the purple-haired boy, he could tell he was both tiring from his sweaty face and labored breath and also that his efforts to smash the robot's head in with a piece of a defeated machine weren't going to pan out, with that in mind, Midoriya jumped in to help him, leaping off the walls of the buildings to their sides while he reached into his bag and pulled out a single seed. His movement was picked up by the purple-haired boy who looked up in time to see a faint green-reddish aura emanating from the newcomer's clenched hand before from it, a massive wooden hammer sprouted.

"Watch out!" He heard the boy cry out as he covered his hand as the newcomer brought the hammer down on the 2-pointer's head, crushing it like it was an egg. The robot wobbled for a moment before crumbling down, leaving the victorious Midoriya standing over it, his hammer resting on his shoulder he turned to the guy he just helped. "You are alright?"

"Y-yeah…I had that one…" Midoriya doubted that. Up close, he could tell this guy was way out of shape, with little muscle on his bones to speak of, or even that much endurance if his labored breaths were anything to go by.

So, he was blunt with him, time was of the essence and he wasn't going to waste it dancing around the bush. "No, you didn't, also you're as skinny as a toothpick. I would say you're overlying on your quirk, but since you didn't use it to kill that thing sooner…you don't have a suitable one for this kind of exam, do you?" The guy's eyes widened at how quickly Midoriya broke down his situation before narrowing in anger. Where did he get off talking like that as if he couldn't just make wooden hammers appear out of nowhere?

"You like hammers?" He blinked at Midoriya's random question.

"What?"

Midoriya tapped the wrist of the hand holding his weapon as if he was wearing a watch. "Clock's ticking, do you like hammers?"

"I-no, I'll be better off with a bat or-!" Midoriya reached into his bag and pulled out another seed, clenching his fist, there was another flash of red-green light from his hand, the seed started to rapidly grow and shape itself till within seconds, Midoriya held a fully formed baseball bat which he tossed at the guy who fumbled, barely catching it.

"Great, then take this, it's made from Hinoki wood so it should be pretty strong but mind the shock since it doesn't have a rubber handle." He gave him quirk instructions before turning around and running off. "Good luck!"

"What the hell is that guy…" The boy he left behind asked, but got no answer as he only shook his head, and looked at his gifted tool for a moment before holding it properly and running out, he wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth, a choice proven to be right when he used his bat to smash in the head of a 1-pointer, scoring his first point of the exam.

With Midoriya, his mind had already moved back to the exam as he swung his hammer into the leg of a 2-pointer, before finishing it off with a twirl which brought his hammer back up overhead before he brought it down on its head. With that latest kill, he had 35 points. Seeing another person struggling with some robots that were trying to overwhelm them, he pulled out another seed and grew it into a thick wooden javelin, imparting a little more of his tenet into it to increase its strength.

He lined up the shot and threw it, nailing a 3-pointer right in the side of the head, the javelin traveling half its length before finally stopping, but then it had done more than enough damage to take out the robot. Midoriya moved in and finished a 2-pointer with a double stomp to its head and a quick, heavy swing of his hammer to the second 2-pointer. The person yelled that he stole their points, but he was already on the move again. "He should be more careful about your surroundings," He yelled back at them before he turned the corner and vanished from sight.

Watching all this on numerous monitors being fed footage in real-time from dozens of cameras scattered across the different exam sights, the teachers of U.A. sat and made their assessments, recording points and impressive feats when they occurred, while also crossing out names of applicants that violated the spirit of the exam by fighting or sabotaging each other. Hero work was competitive by its nature, but no hero should undermine another like wild animals fighting over scraps of meat.

"Applicant 345 is out."

"Applicant 127 is out."

"Applicant 82 is out, also be sure to send his file to the commission so that other schools are made aware of his concerning conduct."

As the rest of the staff crossed out the names of applicants, All Might, in his weakened true form, learned towards his new colleague. "Is this normal? That's the 39th person who's been eliminated."

The Rated R hero, Midnight smiled as she replied, finding it adorable to see the symbol of peace so out of his depth when it came to teaching. "It's normally higher, we typically have to disqualify at least 90 people. This crop is going to be one of the better ones."

"Their skills are also a cut above the rest." Snipe, Japan's second greatest marksman, who was close by added as Cementoss nodded.

The cement manipulator added another thing to the discussion to help All Might understand their methods. "The rules as explained to them are simple, but the exam tests more than just fighting ability. They aren't informed of how many villain bots they are, nor their locations of movement patterns."

"So, they must also display exceptional scouting, judgment, and speed to have any hope in rising from the rest to claim a spot at U.A." Power Loader, a hero who taught the support course finished.

"All of which is turned into points for easier judgment of their abilities, yet in the end all that matters is how many villains they take down. An illogical move if we judge more than just combat prowess." A pro in black leaning against the back wall added that the man has made his feelings about a purely competitive exam clear in the past. As the man said that, All Might found his attention caught by one of the screens where he saw a orange haired girl carrying some people in her enlarged hands, ignoring the fighting as she focused on protecting the injured applicants she was taking away from the danger

Midnight caught where his eye was focused and playfully nudged his side. "Seeing something you like, All Might?"

"Young K-applicant 78, she's not so much focused on the exam as she is helping others." She raised an eyebrow at the fact he nearly used the student's name, at least she assumed as she hadn't gone through all their files yet, not when most won't cut it, but it was strange that All Might seemed to but she shrugged it off as the man over preparing.

"That is the X-factor we love to see, the desire to save people is the most important thing to a hero." Vlad, one of the tallest members of staff added as he crossed his arms, pleased with what he was seeing before he saw another student acting similarly. "And she's not the only one, Applicant 189 is also putting on quite the show." Their attention shifted to the screen with Midoriya, noting that the boy was displaying most of the skills they were looking for.

Information gathering from how his head and eyes seemed to dart to side, tracking targets or looking for them, mobility and speed from how he used the environment to get around like a house cat, and the skill and strength to bring it all home as he ends his fights quickly with few blows, even if his smile reminds the principal a bit too much of a cat that had caught a bird and was now toying with it for its amusem*nt.

"He's certainly putting on an impressive showing, he must have been trained by a former hero before taking the exam with moves like that." Midnight guessed, as it wouldn't be the first time that happened, even if that was more common with recommendation students.

"It can't be…" All Might, on the other hand, looked at the feed with shock and confusion, something that the others noticed.

"Is there an issue, All Might?" Cementoss asked him as the number one picked up his teacher's tablet and unlocked it.

"Let me see his file," Seeing the boy's number underneath him, he quickly typed that into the search bar and found the boy's file, skimming it he reached the section on his quirk and found that he wasn't wrong. "So, he wasn't lying but…how could he be doing this?" What he was doing, that speed, strength, especially the hammer which he couldn't have brought with him in the beginning, none of it was making sense.

"Is there an issue?" Snipe asked, his attention shifted to the number one whose sunken brow was creased.

"I met the boy last year, he told me he was quirkless." The rest were surprised by that but immediately assumed that there was something wrong with the statement.

"Quirkless? That's impossible." Power Loader stated, suspecting that either All Might was remembering things wrong, got the name wrong, or the kid had lied.

"His file still states that…a late bloomer?" Looking through her tablet, Midnight saw that the man wasn't wrong, at least on paper as it clearly stated that he was quirkless.

"There's never been a case of a late bloomer past age 8, nevermind 14," Vlad added, as such a thing would be unprecedented, and if that was the case wasn't the paperwork changed as the way the boy was fighting wasn't the movement of a kid that didn't know what they were doing, but one that had months, years even to practice.

"Well, it's not like he could just get power off a tree, now can't he?" The dark-haired underground hero's remark made All Might's non-existent stomach flip as he knew of only one way that could happen, not a tree, but a monster in human skin, and he wasn't the only one that noticed for while the rest discussed what this could mean, the principle leaned close to All Might,

"All Might, you don't think…" His beady eyes turned to him, and while the room was dark, the man could tell he was just as cautious as he was and afraid which no one could fault him for, just remembering that man, and the battle that followed sent a spike of ice through his heart.

Squashing that feeling, he shook his head. "Impossible, he's dead and gone and even if he wasn't, he wouldn't send one of his people here, for what reason?"

Nodding, the principal turned to the screens again, his hand reaching for the big red button as he replied to both All Might and the rest of his staff. "Regardless of Midoriya's quirk situation, there is still an exam going on, one that has reached its final phase." He wondered how the boy would react as he pressed the button to unleash the 0-pointers on the applicants.

Midoriya had just finished taking out one of the few 3-pointers he could find when he felt the ground rumbling, as others looked around, he closed his eyes and focused his tenet, searching through the area for what was causing the rumbling, because of that, he was the first to realize what had happened.

"You gotta be kidding me, it's huge…" He muttered to himself, with others looking at him strangely before the 0-pointer I question made itself known, with its size being greater than the buildings around them, its one hand was large enough that it smashed the upper level of a building just by being placed on it. Midoriya knew that Present Mic said it was to be avoided, but did they have to do so big with it?! There is making an obstacle and then there is constructing a robot kaiju! When the robot pulled back its fist and punched down, debris flew all over the place, hitting some people, how the hell did U.A. get away with something like that?!

He wasn't the only one who upon seeing it turned to run, there was no point fighting something that large for no points, made all the more pressing when Present Mic announced that there were just 2 minutes left on the clock.

But then he heard a pained moan over the rumbling and shouting of the rest, he turned his head to where he thought he heard it, and saw someone had been trapped by the debris, the same debris from earlier. Looking around, he saw that no one else was going to help her, he couldn't even tell if they noticed in the panic as his mind flashed back to the fire, to the collapsing building, to the bodies.

He didn't even think about it, his body moved to her side as it recalled that night as well, and refused to allow it to repeat. He didn't even care about the 0-Pointer that was getting closer, threatening to crush them underneath his multi-ton tracks. Halfway to her, he saw that he wasn't alone in his rescue effort, as the guy from before was running with him, out of breath and looking worse for wear but the bat he gave him was still in good shape. They shared a look with no words, before coming to a silent understanding as they reached her.

Getting to her, he shifted his hammer into a staff, letting the head fall off to save time as he handed it to the other boy, "Lever, help us lift it." Was all he said as he crouched down and forced his fingers underneath the rock at the same time the other boy forced the end of the staff in. They were no count as they both started to lift the piece of debris, with Midoriya cursing the fact U.A. built the buildings to scale, which meant it had all the weight one would think and more. Seeing that they wouldn't have time to get out even if they worked together, Midoriya hatched a plan.

"I'll slow it down; you get her out of here!" He yelled at the boy, who along with the girl they were trying to help looked at him in shock and disbelief.

"What? How the hell are you going to do that?" He yelled back at Midoriya but he was already running ahead, his hands reaching into his pouch to grab seed.

"Just do it!" He yelled back as he yelled a bunch of them in his hand, which was followed by a dim light of green and red from his clenched hands as he created two more staffs, but that had cups at the ends which housed the rest of the seeds he pulled out. Slamming the ends into the ground, he sent his tenet through the staffs into the seeds, forcing them to grow underground. Needing more time to do this, even after learning how to do it under Shizune, he controlled his duel staffs to wrap around his waist to keep contact as he clasped his hands together, his aura now much more visible as his entire body gave off light of emerald and crimson.

As the 0-pointer crossed a threshold only he could see, unleashed his attack, "Wood Style: Nature's Bind!" From the ground, 9 trees burst out, smashing through concrete like it was nothing as they shifted into spiked roots that rushed the 0-pointer, wrapping around its treads as smaller branches worked through way, most were crushed by the machinery but others weren't as more continued to snake in, climbing over the beast as Midoriya kept his concentration up, pumping even more of his dwindling tenet into it and forcing the wood to continue to expand and infiltrate. The ever-increasing number of branches and roots continued to move, penetrating the structure as they continued to climb up the 0-pointer.

Its tracks were soon halted, too many gears stuck in place while dealing more damage as within the body of the machine, the roots wreaked havoc, tearing through whatever was inside, causing a cascade of failures. With a final push, Midoriya unclasped his hands and fell to his knees, winded from such a feat, but it had been done as the 0-pointer remained still, its body and systems too damaged to continue.

Taking a deep breath and feeling the sweat on his brow, Midoriya guessed that he had used after that stunt and the rest of the exam, around 75% of his tenet reserves, which would take time to replenish naturally as he got up to his feet, letting the wooden belt he made break off him like it was a dried-out twig. Turning to the rest, he saw them slacked jawed at what he did, as in less than a minute, he had managed to stop the 0-pointer by basically trapping it in a carnivorous forest. None more awed than the two he had been with, as the guy carried the girl in his arms, probably because she couldn't walk right.

Turning back to the wooden hell he created, he wished to undo it to get some of his spent power back, but with how the 0-pointer was leaning, if he did that, it might just topple down. As he reached for his bag to make a spear he could use to score more points, Present Mic's voice cut through the air

"Time's up!"

Letting out a soft meow, he walked towards the side where he could lean against the building and rest up, thanking all the training he had gone through as if not for that, he would have floundered just after making a few weapons, still looking at his hand and clenching his fist, he knew he had a long way to go.

"A-are you alright?"

Letting out an intrigued purr, he looked to see he had been approached by the two, the girl now using the exhausted boy as a support rather than letting him carry her. "I'm fine, just winded after that."

"I would be scared if that wasn't enough to tire you out." The sleep-deprived-looking boy replied, his eyes turning to the creation he left in his wake. "Just what kind of quirk was that? Are you related to Kamui Woods or something?"

Midoriya could have told the truth, but the Shizune-looking spirit on his shoulder was a better idea. So he merely smiled as he giggled. "A cat's gotta keep some of its secrets, right?" Not a lie, was he wasn't saying he was a cat but he could let them interpret it to mean that he was.

"Figures…" The boy muttered as Midoriya turned his attention to the girl with rosy cheeks.

"What about you? Is your leg okay?" He asked her as she awkwardly laughed, rubbing the back of her head.

"I twisted my ankle earlier, it's not serious." She replied as she reached her hand to him, a beaming smile on her face. "Uraraka Ochaco, thanks for saving me!"

"Shinso Hitoshi, the bat came in real handy." Shinso followed her lead, though he had dropped the bat earlier to carry her.

"Midoriya Izuku and it was no issue. Heroes help people, don't they?" Midoriya introduced himself to them as they heard someone else approaching, going by the commotion the rest were causing.

"Alright, where are the injured?" They looked to see a small, elderly lady dressed like a nurse walking through, supporting herself with a syringe-shaped cane. "The exam is over, if you got hurt, please come to me, if you can't move, please say so or someone calls out for them!" As people stepped up, her lips would stretch to kiss them, with a faint light emanating from the kissed body, healing them as she handed them some candy and she moved on.

"Guess that explains how reckless they can be with the exam; they have one of the best healers in the world on standby," Shinso stated as they got up to get Uraraka to her before they went home.

Chapter 12: First day of School

Chapter Text

Watching the tree finish its accelerated rise, Midoriya unclasped hands to observe his work, the tree was healthy, thick and tall, great for its intended purpose as lumber.

"Was that all?" He turned to the farm worker he was helping, the octopus-headed man looking the tree over for a moment before giving him a thumbs up.

“Yup, that’s plenty for the day, kid.” Midoriya smiled, happy to have been of help, even if he had been at it for a while.

"Hey, we could use some help over here!" Looking to the far side, he could see some people cutting the already chopped-down trees into small pieces of lumber.

"Coming!" He replied as he jogged over, having gone through this for an entire week so far. His return after his training had already been a loud affair, as everyone was surprised that he managed to survive, almost everyone. Those he was closest to were just impressed and relieved to see him back in one piece, with the master being especially impressed when she learned he woke up 2 months before she did and used that time to further train with Shizune.

The party might have gone on for a week if he didn't need to check up with the school and get his things for the U.A. entrance exam. He didn't know his score for both parts, but was confident that he had easily made it into the higher echelon of points as while he hadn't done the same, he had been able to hear how many points others were scoring and knew his score would have been in the higher tiers of that.

Of course, that good mood didn't last when he had to, reluctantly, return to his middle school. Seeing that no one cared that he had been absent for months didn't sting as much as he thought it should, but then again, they never pretended to include him in anything so he was already an outsider. The only person who seemed to care was the last one he wished to be as Bakugo upon seeing him at his desk, had nearly flown over in a fury, demanding answers from him as if he was under any obligation to answer him, even the teacher walking in and being surprised to see him back didn't stop him till he was threatened with detention.

That didn’t stop him out of class, be it before school, lunch or afterwards, that explosive annoyance was relentless. So he had to take steps to avoid him and never return him as he knew where he lived and didn’t stop banging on his front door till after he threatened to call the cops. With his apartment less of an option than it normally was, he left a new note, not caring that the old one hadn't even been moved from the table and left to live within the sanctuary, and in the week since the exam, he’s been helping to create building materials for the construction project, which he was pleased to hear was almost done after the commission paid the master through their noses to get her to appear at some PR event.

Reaching the work team, he placed his hand on the large tree trunk and with a little of his tenet, he managed to cut it into 6 different pieces. The edges weren't clean or perfect, but that would be much easier to correct than it would have been to cut through the entire thing.

Patting him on the back, the muscle bond woman laughed. "Dang, kid, you've come a long way with that fancy sage training of yours, you'll do the work of 10 people." He smiled at her, enjoying being around his people and using his hard-earned skills to help.

“It’s good practice, you know.” He replied before his stomach growled, getting her to laugh again as she looked at her watch and saw that it was close to lunch.

"Alright people, time to get some grub, we can continue after we've filled out bellies!" She yelled to the rest of the crew.

After a hard day’s work in the fields, and a relaxing shower to soothe his muscles, he found himself seated in the master’s office, a warm fire blazing in the hearth while he absentmindedly scratched Peach’s ear, the cat sleeping on his stomach as he lounged on the wooden floor, matching the cat in her cozy state. His master was at her desk as was normal for her as she smiled at her student.

“And just when did you decide to become one with the carpet?” She asked him as he continued to purr on the floor.

“When the carpet revealed itself to be so comfy and called to be with its warm embrace.” He replied, sounding to be completely at peace with the world she rolled her eyes, as even her tigers got up to join the two on the carpet, making for quite the amusing sight.

“You do know that it’s filled with tiger fur, right?” She reminded him that she might have it cleaned regularly, but her tigers are large cats and it didn't take long for their fur to get everywhere. It was why they didn't go near her bed.

He just waved that off, compared to the hell he had been put through by that cat spirit, a fur-filled carpet was a luxury. "I can live with that, better than dirt anyway."

“Lazy cat.” She snorted as she got back to paperwork, leaving the office in peace for a while with nothing but the crackling of the wood in the fire and the soft purrs of the tigers, house cats or one boy to fill the silence, sounds that relaxed the master.

After some time, she finished working on one stack and got to work on the other, starting up the conversation. "When is your acceptance letter due?" She didn’t need to see it to know her pupil made it, but knowing the fine details would be nice.

Midoriya took a second to think about it, his mind far too calm to move as fast as it normally did. “Any day now, I already changed the address to hear so we just need to wait for the mailman to make the trek.” He replied, as ever since he went on his training trip, he had made arrangements that important letters and mail went here, with mainly junk mail still going towards his apartment in town.

“What a cruel thing to do.” Kenmikito smiled as she could only wonder how much the mail service, used to an urban environment, hated having to make such a detour and go up a mountain.

Midoriya felt no such shame in his choice. “As a mailman, they should be ready to go anywhere, brave any road, and face any mangy mutt to deliver a package.” A few moments later, there was a knock on the door, which opened to reveal Kyūfune, the medical student holding a letter bearing the crest of U.A. in red on it.

"It came. But the mailman was pretty angry to have traveled this far to deliver it." Kyūfune said as she walked in, taking a seat on the couch while Midoriya got up from the carpet to join her.

“It’s his job, now why don’t we see what’s inside, or would you like to be the first to see it, Midoriya?” Kenmikito asked him as Kyūfune handed the sealed envelope to the shorter boy who took the chance to snuggle up to her, starting to purr which only made her blush a bit, even if she combed a hand through his hair, noting that it was even fluffier than normal, as it had been like since he returned.

Basking in the warmth of her body, he shook his head as he looked up at her with a big smile. “No, you’re close to me,” Turning to the master, he held up the envelope .“I want the most important people in my life to see this.” With that said, he used his fingernail like a letter opener to slice open the envelope, he found that there were some papers, most of them forms he'd need to fill in but what stuck out was a small metallic disk.

“A disk?” He asked as he took it out, seeing that it was a projector of some kind he placed it on the coffee table and turned it on.

“I am here as a projection!” Without warning, All Might popped up, wearing a striped yellow suit, the same one he loved to wear for any televised events. The abrupt nature of this and how loud the man was got the entire room to jump in surprise.

“What the-” Midoriya looked on, his surprise overpowering any frustrations he felt towards the number one.

“All Might?” Kyūfune asked, wondering why he was in a recording from U.A. while Kenmikito kept her piece, her eyes narrowing just a little as she had some guesses as to what this was.

Laughing, as if he had expected this result would happen, All Might continued. “I can tell that you must be confused, young Midoriya but allow me to explain, it’s been kept a secret but the reason I came to town was because I’ll be joining U.A. as their new teacher in the coming school year, so why not announce it to the students by having me record this message for all those that made it in?” He revealed to them, with the two students being surprised that he would do such a thing.

All Might was famous for his ‘work alone’ approach and while he wasn’t as abrasive as Mirko who would outright tell you to piss off, All Might was someone that in his over 30 years of being a pro, had only had 2 sidekicks, one was the genius quirk researcher and support tool inventor, David Shield who now ran I-island as its head researcher. The second was Sir Nighteye, a fellow Japanese hero but that had only been a duo for a few years before they ended things. Put simply, the man was too fast, too strong, just too All Might for most to keep up, never mind help.

So for that same person to announce that he was taking up a teaching job, it was out of left field, to say the least as he barely had much experience working with others long term, would he be able to handle teaching students? Perhaps, but now that he thought about it, having the top hero as a teacher for what he could only assume is the first years seems like overkill.

All Might didn’t give them much time to continue to ponder this fact. “But I’m on a timer here, a lot of recordings to make and I know you want to hear how you did, so let’s start with the written portion of the exam. Despite your extended leave of absence in your final year of middle school, you managed to pass the written exam, albeit barely with a score of 57%.”

Midoriya groaned into his hands, as he didn’t want them to necessarily know that part. “I didn’t have much time to catch it, and it wasn’t like I had time to study when that cat was trying to kill me every other day.” He didn’t even bring any school material with him, and even if he had, he would be too exhausted most days to even read any of it without it going in one ear and out the other.

"That's no excuse, we'll just have to use some of your training days for study," Kenmikito replied, the boy looking up to see she was serious about that. seeing how dejected he got, Kyūfune giggled as she placed a hand on his back.

“She’s right, you know.” Looking at her with betrayal in his eyes, he just had to accept that he'd be spending more time hitting the books than hitting the weights. Lucky for him, All Might continued, giving him something else to worry about.

“Your performance during the practical was far more impressive, as you managed to score 33 villain points. However, that isn’t enough to make it into the hero course.” The number one was clear on this, which left him feeling dejected. He had known he would struggle with the written portion, but he had come up short in the practical as well. After all the time training, all the hardships, after nearly dying? Was this the limit of his ability?

He could feel his nails digging into his palms from how tight he was squeezing his fist, but he couldn’t find it himself to care. He needed to get into a top school, it was part of the plan to prove himself as people would disregard anything but the best, but the issue was that he hadn’t applied to another. Shiketsu rivaled U.A. yes, but was more secretive about it, they didn’t broadcast their Sports Festival, so he would need to wait till his 2nd year to think about making a name for himself.

He wasn’t alone in this, but those with him didn’t want him to go any deeper as Kyūfune took him into a hug. "I'm sure you can apply to go through general studies then." It wasn’t ideal, but he could embarrass someone in the hero course enough to take their place instead in less than a month's time.

“Yeah, but-!”

“That is what I would say if that was the whole story, but U.A. works differently to that, young Midoriya .” All Might interrupted them, bringing good news. “ You see, U.A. doesn’t just test intelligence and combat skill, but your character as well, which is where rescue points come in!” He announced to them, the trio was more invested in this, none more so than the master herself who had been less than pleased with the false announcement that her pupil hadn't made it.

“But first, watch this!” All Might pulled out a remote from his coat and pointed it to a TV behind him. On the screen was a highlight reel of his exam, but instead of focusing on his battles, it focused on something that he had forgotten he had even done-helping people. From luring bots towards, getting them out of the way, saving that Shinso kid and giving him a tool to better his chances, even his final act of handling the 0-Pointer.

All Might's smile seemed a bit more genuine after that, less the cookie-cutter PR-friendly smile and more the smile of a man proud of what he had seen. “Look at that, without a thought to the contrary and more than once, you went out of your way to help others. Even if that meant facing off against the obstacle that was the 0-pointer. How could U.A. turn away such a spirit? Perish the thought! A hero at the end of the day isn't the one with the most power, but those who save the most lives.” He told them, with Midoriya being wide-eyed at that fact. He hadn't been thinking that much about it, he just saw people in trouble, and helped them-that was all.

“And because of your actions, the panel of judges rewarded you with 50 rescue points, which combined with your villain points puts you at 83 points, placing you in second place!” All Might told them as the screen changed to show the top ten results of the exam.

1st Place: Itsuka Kendo. Villain Points: 36. Rescue Points: 59. Total 95

2 nd Place: Izuku Midoriya. Villain Points: 33. Rescue Points: 50. Total 83

3 rd Place: Katsuki Bakugo. Villain Points: 77. Rescue Points: 0. Total 77

4 th Place: Eijiro Kirishima. Villain Points: 39. Rescue Points: 35. Total 74

5 th Place: Ibara Shiozaki. Villain Points: 36. Rescue Points: 32. Total 68

6 th Place: Tenya Ida. Villain Points: 52. Rescue Points: 9. Total 61

7 th Place: Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu. Villain Points: 49. Rescue Points: 10. Total 59

8 th Place: Fumikage Tokoyami. Villain Points: 47. Rescue Points: 10. Total 57

9 th Place: Yosetsu Awase. Villain Points: 50. Rescue Points: 6. Total 56

10 th Place: Neito Monoma. Villain Points: 39. Rescue Points: 14. Total 53

He couldn't ignore it, nor did he want to as this wasn't some dream but a blissful reality he didn't recognise 8 of those other names, but he could see that he had managed to surpass 7 of them as All Might nodded at him. “You earned this, young Midoriya. Through your efforts and hard work, this statement is a result of that: Come, my boy. Welcome to U.A. I hope to see you in class soon enough!”

With that the projection ended, with an option for it to be replayed, not that they noticed it as Midoriya had jumped to his feet, pulling a surprised Kyūfune to her feet as he started to twirl her around. “I did it!” He didn't even notice what he was doing, as the Peach, Ruby and Sapphire all moved out of the way as the boy led his partner through the impromptu celebratory dance.

“I did it, I did it, I did it!” He repeated his smile nearly splitting his face as he vibrated with positive energy as his dance partner got into the swing of things, matching his movements before they found that she was leading the dance, her larger size leaving her dominant but Izuku wasn't just following, as he kept up with every step she had and had a counter ready.

While her daughter and possible son-in-law danced like a couple of morons, too into their act to notice that they knocked over some of her things, she got up and retrieved the projector, going back to the part with the results and chuckling when she saw that he had managed to score higher than both the younger son of the Iida family and that Bakugo fellow he regularly complained about. “Yes, you did. And what do we have here? You bested that Bakugo brat by 5 points. Looks like his quirk didn’t net him the victory he was after.”

“Who cares? I managed to get into U.A. the best hero school in the country and I didn’t need to use a quirk to do it!” Midoriya continued to celebrate as he dragged a laughing Kyūfune to his level and kissed her straight on the lips, savoring the taste before releasing her with a pop as he continued to dance, leaving the woman shell-shocked as she reached a hand to her lips as Midoriya grabbed Ruby and started to dance with the 320kg Siberian tiger which looked just as surprised by the fact as one would be if told this happened.

“I got it and I kissed the girl I like, I’m on top of the world!” Midoriya seemed to be too far in the clouds to even recognise the words he was saying as the door slammed open and a smirking Hanen stood there.

“What’s this about kissing girls?” He asked the room.

“Wha-“ Before the fox woman could respond, her mother beat it to it, looking like a cat that had just caught the canary.

“The boy made his move, at last.” Midoriya didn’t care that it seemed like his crush was an open secret, it wouldn’t need to be a secret any longer anyway.

“Dammit, I owe Obi so much money,” Hanen muttered as he walked over, slapping a hand onto Midoriya's back while scratching his dance partner's chin, the tiger closed its eyes in an adorable fashion which almost made him forget it could tear him limb from limb. “Anyway, I heard you celebrating from down the hall, how’s it feel to be going to the best of the best?” The man asked, feeling happy for his younger friend. The man worked for this, even when life tried to tell him no, he could respect that.

"It feels great," Midoriya replied, a stupid-looking smile on his face as Hanen just laughed it off, his burnt skin stretching but he didn't seem to care if he could feel it at all. Leaning on the kid's shoulder, he brought him close.

"That's the spirit, you better show them, chumps, what we're made of, or I'll roast you." Raising his other fist, Midoriya finally let the tiger get back to its nap as he returned the gesture.

“When did you make a bet?!” Kyūfune finally got through to the two of them as Hanen looked towards her, confused for s

"Bet? Oh that, yeah it was a while back. I thought he'd only get his stones when he turned 16, guess I was wrong." He had no shame about admitting that to her face as Midoriya broke from his hold and went back to Kyūfune, grasping her larger hands in his scarred ones.

With a smile he declared. “I promised myself I wouldn’t make a move till after I got it, she only deserves the best after all.” She blushed a little at how honest he was, his good news-induced confidence started to infect her as well.

“Is that right,” She asked him.

“Yu-” She didn’t give him time to answer as she grabbed him and pulled him close for another kiss, this time he would be the one left breathless as she rubbed his cheeks with her thumbs, feeling how his breath hitched before she broke it, leaving him blinking, his brain needing time for a hard reboot.

“Then I believe I owe you a dinner date, come on.” Leading him out, she saved her mother and fellow student as the door closed behind them as she made her way to the dining hall, her boyfriend led like an extremely thirsty horse to water.

“Don’t do anything crazy you two! Having kids at your age is just a sh*tty experience!” Kenmikito yelled after them, knowing that they heard her as she turned to the other human occupant of her office. Seeing that they were alone, he went to business.

“About that job you asked me to do…”

Days earlier, the teachers had gathered to review the results of the exam before finalizing them and sending out the letters confirming if a potential student made it in or not. "As expected, not a lot for many rescue points," Snipe noted as he and the rest looked over the results of not just the top 20 but the top 20 students.

"Well, they weren't told that they'll be graded for it," Cementoss added.

“Still, hero work is more than being flashy and breaking things. Heroes on TV and online talk about that all the time.” Ectoplasm retorted as he reviewed some footage from the exam, sad that so many students had been focused solely on combat, even when some could see others in need. In some cases, they got into arguments over skills like it was some of the game.

“I would be surprised if most could see past the fame and glory chasing.” Snipe chided them.

Midnight drew their attention to one exception to that. “And yet, some of them didn’t need rescue points at all, as our 3rd place holder managed that without a single rescue point to his name. His combat ability is exceptional, to say the least." Bakugo might have been a rather unsettling look the entire time, but he also made an effort to avoid others, so they could tell that he wasn't just a rabid dog when it came to fighter-more he was the type that enjoyed it a bit too much but there were plenty of pros like that, Mirko being a prime example.

“He’s not the only odd one out as 1st place performed remarkably well, but according to her papers, her quirk isn't just increasing the size, mass and strength of her hands." Present Mic stated as the screen flipped to Kendo, that the girl left a mark on both the examinees and teachers with how valiantly she had performed, from her quirk and effective take-downs to how fast she could turn on a dime if it meant she could save someone, even taking time out of own efforts to give tips and direct people to where they’ll have more chances of scoring points.

But the best part of the performance would be her taking on the 0-pointer. Some examinees had been trapped by it and she left the group and faced off against it with power they didn’t think was possible, she slapped the floor and sent herself flying towards its face which she proceeded to give in with a single strike. However, Aizawa noted that she was lucky that the exam ended right after she landed, as her hands looked to be broken from that.

“It’s quite strange that she learned that what? 2 weeks before the exam?” Vlad stated, with All Might being silent.

“I’m just happy that she didn’t hurt herself too badly using her quirk as you saw the state of her hand.” Nezu stepped in, directing attention from one potential problem child to another.

"However, on the flip side, those behind and in front of him all got substantial rescue points as the first place wouldn't have got such a high score without them." The screen flipped to Midoriya’s performance which to put it into a single word, he would describe as exceptional. There wasn’t a wasted movement, and he kept good track of his surroundings, he would go so far as to say his movements reminded him of a cat on the prowl.

“Hard to believe he’s quirkless.” Midnight noted as Eraserhead frowned.

"I find that hard to believe after that performance, there are support items that could mimic his tools, but not only did he not register any for the exam, but his final act would be all but impossible without some sort of quirk." The underground hero stated, blunt as ever with his skepticism clear, not that he was alone in this.

"And yet, when Recover Girl tested his blood, it came back negative for any quirk genes, which matches his medical records," Ectoplasm added as the medic had been given instructions to get some of his blood and test it later by Nezu, and she had confirmed that the boy was telling the truth.

"What the kid did was unusual, I would say it should be impossible." Snipe nevertheless was critical of that result as a quirk test or not, no human had that sort of power and ability.

“No kidding, I had a chance to examine the wood he left behind and while it’s incredible quality, it shouldn’t have had the strength to be used in such a fashion, never mind grow so rapidly.” Power Loader spoke up, as he had been the one to clean up after the exams and that meant recovering pieces of wood to test, as he perhaps thought it was some sort of new edge support item, a self-replicating high-speed plant or something but he got nothing. It was just regular Hinoki wood.

"Unless of course, he was enhancing it." Nezu mused allowed, freezing the footage on a particular scene, where Midoriya had stopped and clapped his hands together. It was familiar to him, in ways both good and bad.

“Which only adds to the questions we have relating to him.” Thirteen added.

"What's our next move then? The boy scored the highest of the applicants in the physical portion, but we have no idea how he did any of it. The commission will want answers about that." Cementoss asked as this was a rather delicate situation.

However, Nezu didn’t see it as delicate in the same way they did as he smiled and took a sip of his tea. “We’ll treat him like any other applicant, and his score more than warrants him having a place in the spring hero class.”

His response turned heads as Snipe leaned in close to him. “Is that wise? Izuku Midoriya's quirk status aside, there are worrying gaps in his academic record, the boy did vanish for most of his 3rd year and we don’t know why or to where.”

"He's right, the boy is not terminally ill, nor do we have any records to state any long-term stay in a hospital." Thirteen added, which were concerned that Nezu didn’t take lightly, but he had ample reason to suspect that they were making a mountain out of a molehill.

"While alarming, there is nothing wrong or illegal with his transcripts for medical history. We judge him based on his character, but if your concerns are too much to set aside, we can have all first years undergo a medical examination in their first week." Nezu stated, looking towards his staff.

"Of course, that doesn't mean I'll let him onto campus without precautions, we'll keep an eye on him and his activities to see if he's truly a bad seed but till such a time when he does something to warrant it, he shall be treated like any other student.” At his statement, none chose to continue either because they saw it as pointless or could agree with him on some level. With that issue put to bed, there was another issue.

“With that settled, how will the hero classes be organized? Vlad, Eraser, do you have any preferences for students?” While Nezu selected 15 of the students for each class, the homeroom teachers in question could select up to 5 others, as he implemented it so that if he somehow made an error, the teachers who knew their capabilities best could pick students they felt were best equipped to help.

"I'll take Kendo, her quirk is unstable at present and she'll need to work on it before she does permanent damage to herself or others," Eraserhead replied, which made sense as his quirk made him excellent for handling power types if for no other reason then humbling them before they went out into the field and made a critical mistake.

"I'll take Midoriya. If his character is an issue, I'll keep a good eye on him but as you said, he deserves the benefit of the doubt.” Vlad replied after him, the man excelling in teaching students with more technical quirks but as Eraser's senior educator by a couple of years, he was more experienced with handling more unpredictable students such as Midoriya and his yet-to-be-identified power.

The day finally came on the first day of class. Midoriya was up bright and early and carried out his morning routine of a jog, shower and breakfast which he ate in silence. The TV was off for once as he wasn't in the mood for the news at the present, and besides he could read up about it later. As he ate his breakfast, he found a note on the desk from his mother, who must have returned after he went to bed and left before he woke up. He didn't know what he expected when he opened it, perhaps a good luck or other good wishes, but instead it just read 'I'll be coming with groceries' which had him raise an eyebrow but not much else as he finished his meal.

Feeding Mario and Peach, the former seemingly angry with him for not taking him to the sanctuary, he looked over his uniform in the mirror one last time to ensure that it was clean, pressed and presentable, the only issue being his tie which he couldn't quite get done right. But that was minor as he grabbed his scarf, tied his tie the best he could and was out the door from his now-empty apartment. Leaving the apartment and stepping foot on the curve, he took a deep breath of the spring air before smiling as he turned to run towards U.A., leaving people baffled till they noticed his uniform and just chalked it up to New Year excitement.

They were partly right. Getting into U.A. was a challenge in itself, as the acceptance rate was 1 in 300, with the only two ways being through the general examination which the bulk of people used to get in, and the recommendation exam which required one to be sponsored by an influential party, mostly pros. To make things worse for most, those recommendation spots took up 4 of the 40 spots in the hero course. According to the forms they had sent him, those recommendation students were split evenly across the two hero classes but it didn’t say why and how classes were made.

All that was important, but what was the source of his good mood was the fact that he had a girlfriend! Just thinking about it made him flutter as he purred contently as he ran towards school, making it onto campus long before the bell was meant to ring. He wouldn't say their first date was the best, having always thought he would sweep her off his feet like they did in those dramas, but just being able to have a nice meal with her in the dining hall had been a great evening, so much so that he hadn't punched everyone that kept commenting that it took long ensuing to make a move.

That didn’t mean he didn’t trip them though.

Slowing down, he started to look around for his homeroom, as he had been assigned to class B but he managed to spot its sign over a near comically large door. Looking up at it, he wondered if U.A. built it that way for the truly exceptional large door as if he wasn't wrong with his measurements, even Kyūfune could walk through with her arm lifted straight up and not touch the top, she could even jump to try and probably still not make it.

Looking at the big red making on the door labeling it as 1-B, he reached for the handle. "It's hope they're not in my class." He thought aloud to himself, his mind thinking back to Bakugo and that boy with the glasses, the latter of which he didn't have much problem with but he would like to have a fresh start with this. The former was just a pain to deal with, not helped that he got the same acceptance letter which showed their scores and had to stand with him at their graduation as the principal went on and on about how they 'always knew they were destined for greatness.' He barely managed to keep a straight face, not from fury but some amusem*nt as the 180-change in his assessment of the 'weak quirkless troublemaker' should have been studied.

Opening the door, he finds that despite its size, it slid open with little effort from him, but his attention was taken by the other occupant in the room, already at their desk as they quietly read a book, their face as passive and serene as it had been the day of the exam.

Walking up to her desk, he thought it would be nice to greet her. “Morning, Kodai. It’s nice to see that you made it.”

"You as well." Her blue eyes remained as calm as a pond's surface but still bright. "Good job on placing second." He felt a little giddy about that, but as much as Shizune would say he should let her praise him more, that just made him uncomfortable.

“Have you been here long?” So, he moved the conversation along.

Kodai shook her head before returning her attention to her book, which he only now realized was a title in the Make-Out Paradise series. How she got her hands on it, or why she saw fit to read it during class on the first day was also a mystery. “Just a few minutes.”

Deciding to head to his seat, from her at the back of the first row, he took out his guide and saw that he had been assigned a seat on the other end, slapped right in the middle of the 4th row. Setting his bag down and taking his seat, he rested his head on his arms and closed his eyes, to focus on the tenet around them while he did some light breathing exercises. Wondering what the first day will bring.

Chapter 13: Hello, Why don’t you Introduce Yourself?

Chapter Text

Opening the door, he finds that despite its size, it slid open with little effort from him, but his attention was taken by the other occupant in the room, already at their desk as they quietly read a book, their face as passive and serene as it had been the day of the exam.

Walking up to her desk, he thought it would be nice to greet her. “Morning, Kodai. It’s nice to see that you made it.”

"You as well." Her blue eyes remained as calm as a pond's surface but still bright. "Good job on placing second." He felt a little giddy about that, but as much as Shizune would say he should let her praise him more, that just made him uncomfortable.

“Have you been here long?” So, he moved the conversation along.

Kodai shook her head before returning her attention to her book, which he only now realized was a title in the Make-Out Paradise series. How she got her hands on it, or why she saw fit to read it during class on the first day was also a mystery. “Just a few minutes.”

Deciding to head to his seat, from her at the back of the first row, he took out his guide and saw that he had been assigned a seat on the other end, slapped right in the middle of the 4 th row. Setting his bag down and taking his seat, he rested his head on his arms and closed his eyes, to focus on the tenet around them while he did some light breathing exercises. Wondering what the first day will bring.

And that was where he sat as the rest of the class slowly filled in, either by themselves or in twos or threes, more people entered the class and went to their desks, or continued to talk. One boy seemed louder than most, but not so loud that it hurt his ears. Soon enough he felt someone approaching his table and raised his head to meet them, seeing that they were a fairly tall bow with black hair tied into a low braid and sharp dark eyes, though at present those eyes were welcoming.

“Apologies, I didn’t mean to wake you, I just noticed that we’re in the same row.” The boy opened, as Midoriya returned his politeness with his own. This was his new school and new people and he made a promise to himself to take full advantage of that.

“No problem, but I wasn’t sleeping, just gathering my thoughts. This is our first say after all.” He replied as the bow nodded before reaching his hand towards him.

“Rin Hiryu and I know the feeling. It took me a while to absorb it when I got my acceptance letter.” He introduced himself, laughing at the end as he recalled what must have been a stressful, but ultimately happy moment when he opened that letter.

“Midoriya Izuku,” Midoriya did the same, shaking his hand and noting that he had a strong grip, better than just about all his old classmates. “Still feeling a little hyper, but hopefully they'll pass." Though he wasn't much in awe at being at U.A. when you spent months with a spiritual creature that made it their business to nearly kill on the daily, your bar for what can leave you in awe raises substantially.

"They'll have if we wish to train to become the best heroes we can," Rin replied, leaning against the adjacent table as Midoriya laid his head on his crossed arms, a cat-like smile on his face.

“I have a feeling that I’ve trained harder than you,” He told the boy, who rather than get confused or upset, met his smile with a smirk of his own.

“Is that a fact?” As they talked, Midoriya spared the rest of the class a glance now and then, to see who was who and match their tenet to a face. A girl with hair similarly dark green like his own had an amused smirk on her face while she spoke with the loud boy from before, a tall fellow with white hair and shark-like teeth who seemed to be enthusiastic. There was an even taller furry student, who seemed to be engaged in conversation with a girl with vine-like green hair. Then there was the short blonde with large horns sticking out of her head who must have been a foreigner as her eyes were a bit wider and she spoke terrible Japanese.

All in all, it was quite a group of people, much livelier and more distinct than his old classmates which gave him hope that things would be better here after they must have been incredibly hard workers to have made it into the U.A and with the reveal of the rescue point system, he imagined that they were good people as well. The door opened once more, with him and the rest of the class moving their gaze towards it to see it was 3 classmates, most likely the last to arrive. At the front was a pale-skinned ash-blond boy with no lips, in the middle was a small girl with brown hair that covered her eyes, giving her a mushroom-like appearance while the last happened to be Kuroiro.

The two in front of him were in conversation about something when they stopped once they realized they had all their attention. Rubbing the back of his head, the boy spoke up, directing his words to the class as a whole. “Wow, we’re the last ones here?”

“You are,” Everyone sans Midoriya looked behind to see a tall muscular man with an overbite and cropped white hair. The man in question gazed at the three students at the doorway, making them sweat a bit at how authoritative he was being just with that gesture alone. “Lucky for you three, you just barely avoided being late, now head on in and take your seats.” They didn't waste time as the three quickly moved to their desks, some as those standing till the class was fully assembled, ready for whatever he had for them.

Regardless, as the man walked to the front, there were still excited whispers as people recognised him as a hero. “Oh man, an actual pro?"

“All the staff at U.A. are pros, even if retired. It’s part of the reason it’s different to everyone else.’” The lipless teen added an eager energy to him.

"You mean superior to other schools?" A blonde with the air of a used car salesman asked back, getting a raised eyebrow from Midoriya but his attention shifted back to the man up front.

“Quiet down,” He told them, which they followed as the man gripped the podium and leaned forward. “Welcome to your first day at U.A., I'll be your homeroom teacher, Kan Sekijirō otherwise known as Vlad King. You may address me as Kan-sensei, Vlad King or Vlad-sensei, whichever works for you.” There was silence as the group looked at each other, wondering what to say but the man didn’t give them time for it.

“Is that understood?” He repeated with more force.

“Yes, Vlad-sensei!” The class replied as one, which satisfied him as he nodded.

“Good, remember that while we’re pros, we’re also your teachers and this is a school, so try your jaws off the floor.” He reminded them as he spared the clock behind him a glance.

“With that said, we have orientation to get to. We're leaving in a single file, starting with the first seat in row 1, that means you Awase.” The boy in question, one with black hair and blue and white headband quickly got up, followed by the one behind him. As each row got up and left, Vlad remained in the class to keep an eye on them, which led to it being a rather quiet affair even when Rin, the last person in the class, left with Vlad behind. Outside, before Vlad could take point and lead them towards the auditorium, they noticed a door down the way, most likely for class A was open but there was no one there, Midoriya couldn't feel anyone in the room either, strange.

As they walked, they could pick up students from other courses thanks to their jacket designs, but what was strange was while they could make out at least 3 other designs, for support, general and business respectively, there was a distinct lack of another group with jackets like their own. It would seem that class A was missing as his classmates looked around, trying to spot them in the crowd or asking questions about it; had they merely left before them and were already there? Were they behind them? “Did they get lost?” A white-haired girl with hair covering one of her eyes asked.

“I doubt that their teacher would be so incompetent to get lost with his class on the first day, still they should try and be punctual." The blonde used car salesman replied, his eyes narrowing as he kept on trying to spot them in the crowd of first years.

One of his classmates, the girl with vine hair, asked Vlad about this. “Excuse me, Vlad-sensei, but will we find class A already there?”

“Doubt it, they like to skip this.” Was his response, but what was normal about an entire class not attending? Why? Another classmate, a dark-haired boy right behind Awase, asked for a follow-up.

"Hold on, they're skipping orientation? The entire class? Is that even allowed?" He asked him if U.A. was the best of the best, rivaled only by Shiketsu. One would assume that meant that they would at least force students to attend such things but it seems that they were wrong about that.

"Teachers are given a lot of leeway in how they manage their classes, so while it's incredibly rude, it's within the rules," Vlad grunted back as they arrived at their destination, where they found that first years sat first, the closest to the stage which made the absence of class A all the more apparent as there were 20 seats very much empty but while they and the rest of the first years were nervous and confused, a look to the entering 2 nd years showed that few of them cared, even when Midoriya focused on one of their teachers, she spared the empty seats a look and moved on, adding credit to Vlad’s statement about how normal it was for class A to seemingly always miss this.

However, when he looked to the side towards class C presumably, he saw a familiar head of purple hair and tired-looking eyes but Shinso didn't see him and he didn't want to call out to him lest he get them both in trouble. Still, while not in the hero course, it was good to see that he had made it into U.A. anyway, so he made a note to look for him after school but there was the lingering question of whether he got rescue points too, he did try and help him save Uraraka, did he perhaps not earn enough or something?

That sounded sad as while incredibly out of shape, he had that fire in his eye, he wanted it and he wanted badly to be a hero but fate wasn't on his side, Midoriya wasn't one to believe in letting fate control you, and he could think of ways to help his sleep deprived and very skinny schoolmate make into the hero course.

When the last of the 3 rd years sat down, the principal, a strange chimera in a fine suit and large yellow shoes walked towards the podium, tapping it to ensure that the sound was good, he didn't get the chance to say a word before an explosion was heard in the distance, which made the first years jump to their feet, their fight or flight instincts telling them there was an issue. But they were the only ones as not only were the staff calm as ever, but the second years were merely looking towards the source of the noise while the third years didn't so much as blink much like the staff.

Midoriya knew U.A. was crazy but this was getting to be a bit much, was that what class A was doing right now? Blowing off orientation to blow stuff up-Bakugo. He wasn't in his class, which meant that he must have been the source of that. Part of him hoped he had done something to get in trouble and was venting, but that wouldn't explain why the other 19-plus homeroom teacher was absent. Calming, he and the rest of the first returned to their seats, visibly shaken and uncomfortable about the lack of answers they had.

Nezu, in contrast to their confusion, only chuckled over the mic. "Well, we at least know where class 1-A is, same place as usual but let's start with orientation, shall we?" With that, the chimera started and it became clear after the first few minutes why Class A skipped as Nezu didn't so much act like a normal principal as he did an eccentric mentor figure, sprinkling his words with metaphors relating to proper grooming and animal training, most of which flew right over their heads as he wondered if all sentient animals did this, as Shizune also had the habit of talking in riddles to mess with him.

He shivered at that, praying that his new principal wasn't as sad*stic and ruthless when it came to teaching, or else he might not survive their 3 years here. Thankfully, it wasn't complete confusion as Nezu's words did speak to the history of the school, how proud they were to have achieved what they have the students that have produced and what goals they had for the future. Eventually states how it's tradition for the teachers of each homeroom to come up and introduce themselves so that the entire school knows who was with what pro. Again, it was 1st years first but with class A absent, not a single person batted an eye when Vlad went on stage first, even if he could hear his blonde classmate muttering that class A was full of it for ignoring this, followed by Present Mic who home roomed class C and so forth.

After him, Midnight came next and aside from making some of the students look away, red in the face from her presence and rather provocative way of carrying herself with how she sashayed towards the podium. With a smile that led to a few nosebleeds, she explained that she was the one in charge of clubs and while hero and support students weren't encouraged to join then, the school had no rules against it if their youthful spirits wished to further express themselves. That being said, if their grades slipped past a certain point, she'd deal with them as he looked to pull on his collar there as the way she said fed into the dominatrix theme she had going.

Thankfully for their teenage minds, Hound Dog was far more appropriate in his words as he explained that he was the school guidance counselor and what that entailed making it clear that regardless of year or course, if they ever needed someone to talk to about any issues, that he was their guy and how anything they did speak about will be kept between them.

The aging veteran hero, Recovery Girl was next and much like the guidance counselor, she kept things short in how she was the school nurse but how she nor U.A. would tolerate reckless behavior so while she’ll see anyone, she won’t just let them get off Scot-free for stupid acts such as testing if you're bulletproof by having your friend shoot you with their gun quirk which was spoken with too much annoyance to by just a theoretical example.

Then came the time for words from the representatives of the student body, as 3 rd years of every course gathered on stage to pass on some words of inspiration started with the hero course as a bright-faced blonde went up, with whispers from the 3rd years talking about how it made sense for the leader of the Big 3 to handle it for the hero students. The guy had spirit, almost as much as Present Mic as he welcomed them to U.A.'s hero course, stressed how challenging it would be, ways to handle the stress and keep up to date with studies and training and encouraged them to seek out their seniors if they ever have issues as heroes exist to help people and helping their juniors should come naturally to them.

As he walked off the stage, the students gave him a round of applause as he might have only been a student, but he gave speeches like he was a pro who had mastered their media craft. Even students in the other courses seemed to agree with this as he returned to his seat, and was replaced by someone from the general studies class who talked about how they might not be majoring in one field like the others, but how they gave them something the rest didn't-options. The girl highlighted not just careers they could study for in U.A. and its many facilities and resources for that, but clubs that could help them with that.

Support went next. The rather…flashy blonde talked about how they were the creators of U.A. the masters of the workshop and those that everyone else turned to when something needed to be built, maintained or upgraded. With her noting that if not for the support course, U.A. wouldn't have nearly as many bots as they do for things like the hero course, or the many smaller robots used around campus for other duties. With her saying that from 2 nd year onwards, they can even form partnerships with those in hero and business and create their proto-hero agencies which serves as great experience and insight into the workings of one.

Lastly, it was Business which ended things before the event ended with Nezu reminding them to always do their best.

Once they returned to class, Vlad let them sit before he informed them that they'd be heading out shortly for a quirk assessment. One of his classmates, a tall slender boy with pale yellow-green skin and two hooked blades jutting out from either of his cheeks raised their hands.

“Yes, Kamakiri?”

"Did class A already do this, one seemed to care about that explosion earlier." The boy asked him, with the rest of the class realizing that it made the most sense as Vlad nodded.

“That is correct, their homeroom teacher likes to hit the ground running but more for the slow and steady approach, which is why before we head out, you’ll introduce yourselves since if all goes well, the faces you see now will be the same for the next 3 years.” He explained to them, getting them to look around again, as some must have known one another from before U.A. or met during the exam but as a whole, they were mysteries to the other.

A chubby boy with ice-blue hair and large, wide black eyes raised his hand next., “Vlad-sensei, how will that work?”

"You'll just come up to the front of the class, state your name, quirk and one other unique thing about yourselves." Hearing that quirks would be involved made Midoriya flinch, as he now found himself in an issue as while the staff knew he was quirkless, his classmates didn't. He had gone through the exam and pretended he had one, but that was less a straight deception and more him allowing others to assume that he had one, but he couldn't do that here as he needed to say he had a quirk.

He didn't think Vlad would let him lie about his quirk status, but at the same time, if revealed he was quirkless, would U.A. turn into a repeat of middle school? He had spoken with just one other classmate and while he seemed nice, so did others he met before they learned his quirk status. This was a new start, he didn't want to waste it with the baggage of a past he would rather leave buried back dammit, this wasn't going to be easy.

While he tried to figure out a game plan, Awase was the first to step up and take the stand. "What up, the name's Awase Yosetsu. My quirk is called Weld , which is pretty self-explanatory as I can fuse objects at the atomic level so long as I'm touching both objects." Awase explained. "For something unique, I'm a mobile games fan, so if you want to know something about one, I've probably played it." As he walked back to his desk, he stopped as he recalled something else.

“Oh, and I scored 9 th on the general exam.” Hearing that, some people gave him impressed looks as he returned to his seat, but Midoriya was confused by that, as with the name said, he had already figured that out because he got the letter.

But that would only apply if they got the same letter as him. Were the results of the exams not made known to the rest? Or was it just the top 10?’ Seeing how being 9 th meant he could make that statement, and most found it impressive, perhaps that was the case.

Next up was another boy, thin but not out of shape and pretty lazy-looking with dark shaggy hair and a slight tan. "My name is Kaibara Sen, my quirk is called Gyrate , which means I can rotate any part of my body like a drill. I have a hobby about photography and own a few high-end cameras for it.” He kept it short and sweet before he returned to his seat.

Third in line was Kamakiri, the boy walking with innate confidence in his steps. Facing the group, he began. “Kamakiri Togaru, quirk is Razor Sharp . I can produce blades from any part of the body, the two coming out of the face are always there so no, it's not for intimidation. My blades are wicked sharp and strong as I can slice clean through stuff like wood and metals with ease. And intend to be the best of all of you, so don’t think coming in 9 th will mean you’re better than me.”

“Bring it!” Awase yelled back as the boy returned to his seat, but Midoriya ignored that as he focused on how Vlad didn't say anything when Kamakiri didn't say a thing about his hobbies, did that mean they were free to omit information? The students continued as Kuroirio went next with a pretty flexible quirk, especially for nighttime operations while Kodai Yui was just as non-descriptive with her quirk, not even explaining it and instead mentioning that she liked matryoshka dolls of all things.

After all, Komori Kinoko went next with a quirk which had him give her special attention, as she would be incredibly useful in the sanctuary, as there were plenty of herbs and other drugs that could produced via mushrooms, with the class smiling and encouraging her when they heard that she wished to be a idol hero, as she has the attitude for it, being incredibly bubbly, he envisioned that a few of the kids in Raxus would love her.

Shiozaki Ibara came next, and the girl seemed to be incredibly humble as while she gave her name, rank and the fact that she liked charity work, she didn’t say what her rank was even though he knew it to have been 5 th , which would have been the highest yet. The next two after her didn't have anything mind-boggling to say, but they didn't leave without an impression as Shishida Jurota was extremely eloquent while Shoda Nirengeki was more soft-spoken but passionate about boxing.

The next was the blonde girl from before, Tsunotori Pony. A foreigner who revealed that she was Florida through her broken Japanese with her hobby being anime which led to Awase joking that she was the dreaded weeb which she took in stride as she replied with a classic ‘Don’t mess with me, I have the power of God and Anime on my side.’ After that, she returned to her seat and Tsuburaba Kosei, the boy was pretty upbeat with a subtle but exceptional quirk and a passion for baseball and tennis, an odd combination.

Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu, was a confusing name but he made sure that they knew his first and last names merely sounded the same, but weren't spelt the same as he even brought up a little board where he spelt them out. Despite the odd name situation, 7 th Place meant that he wasn't a joke as his quirk might have been simple but only an idiot thought simply meant weak, not when he could become a human wrecking ball with hammer fists.

Tokage Setsuna was the first of the recommended students to speak, which meant one of the remaining students was the other one. She didn't so much say what her quirk was as displayed it by splitting herself into 9 different pieces, which freaked some of them up when they felt her hand or foot touching them before they returned to form one laughing body. Despite that, she had the eyes of a perceptive and intelligent person as she left with a mention that she liked dinosaurs.

f*ckidashi Manga and Honenuki Juzo went next and both seemed to be alright people, f*ckidashi had a versatile quirk and a passion for making kids laugh while Honenuki came out as the second recommendation's student and both open but also competitive as he returned Kamakiri’s challenge with one of his own, though his reveal of what he liked led to fun little exchange.

"My, I didn't know that you liked such a thing, you must like to go to massage parlors all the time, don't you?" She wiggled her eyebrows as she said that, with others getting red in the face at the implication.

"Not even, I don't need to pay for something like that," Honenuki got back into his seat, chill as a cucumber even as Tsunotori asked how he would be so sure of that. "But I tell you that my hands can work magic for relieving tension and stress." Okay, now they weren't sure if he meant one thing or the other!

Vlad clapped their hands to get their attention back on track. “Keep the innuendos for later. I know you’re teenagers but remember the time and place you find yourself in.”

"Yes sir." Both students replied as Bondo Kojiro went next. When it came time for his turn, Midoriya had figured out a game plan, took a deep breath, and got up to the front. Collecting himself once he got to the front, he started.

“My name is Midoriya Izuku, I enjoy gardening and overall spending time in nature away from the hustle, grime and noise of the city. As for the exam, sorry to say but I outplayed all of you and scored 2 nd place.” He took pride in how those that mentioned their rank froze once they heard his name and knew he was being honest, while the others looked at him in awe. Even if he didn't have anything against them or reason to suspect they were bad people, he couldn't lie as he felt good to see so many quirked individuals that made it into U.A. look like him like he was the bigger fish.

With that said, he bowed to them and went to return to his seat, but f*ckidashi pointed out something he forgot. “Hold on, what’s your quirk? You didn’t even say its name.” He didn't see it, but Vlad also had his attention on him, wondering what move the boy would make.

Midoriya turned to f*ckidashi, with a confused look which turned into a Cheshire cat-like grin, the boy shifting his hair just a little via the use of his tenet to make it seem like those 'cat ears' he had going twitched. It wasn't him telling people he had a cat-like quirk, just him making it seem like it and letting them come to that conclusion.

“My quirk? I could say what my quirk status is, but where’s the fun in that? I’ll let you all figure that out. If you can before the end of the semester, you can give me a nickname that you can all use.” With that little bet, Midoriya returned to his seat. As others wondered what his quirk was, asking if they had seen him during the exam and what they had heard, the boy behind him was smug for some reason as he got up, touching his hair as he went, close to where he thought he saw those cat ears of his but froze after doing so, his eyes wide as plates as he turned a confused look at Midoriya who met it with an expectant look of his own.

“Monoma, please keep going.” Vlad brought him back to reality as he continued, a confused thoughtful look to him as he started his introduction.

With the class’s eyes on him, he opened up his introduction. “Monoma Neito at your service. I rounded out the general exams with the 10 th place spot.” While not the best, he took pride in that and the rest seemed to acknowledge that he was worthy of that.

“My quirk is called Copy , which allows me as the name implies, to copy and use the quirks of others. Right now, my limit is just 3 quirks for 5 minutes, after that the quirks fade and I need to copy it again." He explained, though he kept something to himself, at least till got some answers. "One other thing is that I enjoy French food and Franco-Belgian comics, I got into the latter recently." Taking his seat once more, his eyes locked into the back of Midoriya’s head as he tried to figure out what his deal was, and how he managed to score so high on the exam.

Monoma couldn’t just copy but he could tell what a quirk was by touching its user, it was part of how he could plan how to use it, but the issue was what he touched Midoriya, he felt nothing so unless his hair was an extremely convincing wig, that would mean he was quirkless.

Midoriya felt his gaze on him but didn't act on it as he figured that he must have been upset or trying to gauge him after he revealed that he came in 2 nd where Monoma only managed 10 th . While this happened the next person went up to speak, a girl with chin-length pale gray hair that hung over her eye, obscuring most of the left side of her face. Her pale skin and dark bags under her eyes made her look ill but she still moved like normal so perhaps it was a stylistic choice?

“Greeting, my name is Yanagi Reiko, my quirk is called Poltergeist which grants me the ability to manipulate objects close to my body, however unlike many greater telekinetic powers, I can only use my powers on objects that have a total weight of the average person.” She explained herself to them, shifting some pens off Vlad’s desk into her hands before returning them without moving from her spot. “You could consider my hobbies to include surfing the internet and horror movies.” She bowed and returned to her seat with the last of the group taking the proverbial mic.

“Morning everyone, my name is Rin Hiyru, if my name wasn't a giveaway, I just came clean and confirmed I am from China, and still have family there. Like Tsunotori, I have taken a liking to Japanese culture, more accurately, sushi.” Rin started, lifting his arm and folding back his sleeve to show how his arm was nearly instantly covered in green scales, including changing his nails into claws.

“My quirk is called Scales , which allows me to form scales along my entire body. The scales produced are both durable and strong, so they can be used for both defense and offense quite well. I can also shoot them off my body like a bullet." With that displayed, his quirk faded away as he pulled his sleeve back to normal and retook his seat as Vlad got up again to address them.

"Now that we've handled introductions, we'll head out for our quirk assessment, you'll find your P.E. uniforms in your desks, sized to the measurements you sent but if you find there are issues with it, such as adjustments that need to be made, speak with me and we'll sort it out," Vlad explained as they opened their desks and found their uniforms, nearly folded and ready for them, having most likely been put there while they were busy with orientation.

"You have 10 minutes to get change and meet me on the P.E. field, get to it, people!" Chairs scraped against the floor as the students grabbed their gear and went for the door, needing to first find the closest locker room to the P.E. field.

Chapter 14: A Not so Quirk Assessment

Chapter Text

Inside the boy's locker room, which took them a while to find, Midoriya had just removed his shirt when one of his classmates saw his torso and lost it. "What the hell, dude?" Tsuburaba called out, his eyes on Midoriya's scarred and burnt body as the rest looked at him with varying levels of concern, horror and shock.

“sh*t, those are some pretty bad scars.” f*ckidashi’s head changed into a concerned emote.

“And so many of them,” Shishida noted, worried that his classmates might have been the victim of a grievous and vile villain.

Midoriya didn't understand the issue for a moment before he recalled that most didn't go through training nearly as brutal as he did. "It all came from training. Nothing to write home about it." Still, he didn't quite understand how to express them, as his response only led to more confusion and concern.

"Nothing to dude; you look like you fought every slasher horror villain in a handicap match and lost." Awase pointed out that as they knew scars came via training, most had a couple here and there, but there was that and whatever happened to Midoriya.

Reaching for his green compression shirt to wear underneath his P.E. uniform, Midoriya tried to laugh it off. "Don't be silly; if I did that, I wouldn't have a head right now." Awase gave him a bland look at that poor attempt at a joke.

“What sort of training leads to that?” Monoma asked, curious as Midoriya pulled his top on, fully clothed and ready for whatever Vlad had prepped for them.

"The type that prepares you to achieve your dreams; come on, we don't want to be late." His cryptic reply and retreat from the locker room didn't solve the discussion.

"Just so we're clear, I'm not the only one worried, right?" f*ckidashi asked, getting nods from most of them.

"We'll keep an eye on him; if something happens, we'll tell the teachers," Honenuki stated as he hoped that Midoriya had been severe and that he just trained at a whole other level, as the alternatives didn't paint a good picture. With that done, the boys finished getting ready and left for the P.E. field, where they found Vlad waiting for them; not long after, the last of the girls arrived, prepared for what their teacher wanted to put them through, which he explained.

Sometime after he had sent them off, and they searched for the changing room, the last of the class met up with Vlad on the field. The man standing with his arms crossed. "Only 15 minutes to change and get here. We'll need to shave that down to just 10, but that can wait." He told them as he gave them an intense look, his jaw straight.

"You all managed to get into U.A., one of the hardest to get into schools in the country, but don't let that go to your heads for a second. You're barely first years, with much to learn as future heroes and people." He told them that he was as tolerant of overinflated egos as lions were to hyenas, and Midoriya was all for that.

"To that end, I'll go through some tests to see where you all stand. This isn't going to reflect on your grade for the semester, but I want you to give it your all; as an extra incentive, we'll be ranking your performance for each of them, and whoever has the lowest overall score will be on classroom clean-up duty for the next week, is that understood?" With that threat hanging over them, those who looked a little disinterested in the test had a shot of lightning pass through them.

“Yes, Vlad-sensei!” The class replied, with the man finally smiling as he directed them to the first part, the 50m dash.

"Good, now it's get to it." While the track was large enough for 8 people to run, Vlad limited it to pairs so the camera recording their time wouldn't have issues. First up was Midoriya and Kodai.

“It seems we’re running mates. Let’s do our best!” He gave the quiet girl a big thumbs-up as she turned to him.

“Yes.” She didn't say more as she went into position, her feet planted on the runner's gear. At the same time, Midoriya kicked his runner's gear away and instead got into a position akin to a cat before he dashed.

“On your marks, get set…” The machine counted down before it played the sound of a gun going off. With that, Midoriya was gone as he funnelled his tenant through his veins and muscles, momentarily increasing his speed and reflexes to superhuman levels; this was Tenghyōjutsu, and he used it to dash to the other side of the track, his limbs propelling him forward like a cheetah on the pursuit. At the same time, his hands helped to keep him balanced as he crossed the finish line far ahead of Kodai, the machine stating his time to be a shocking 3.86 seconds.

Skidding to a stop, he got up and turned back to it. "Not bad, but I should have probably stretched a little more. I could have shaved a little extra off that time." He moved to return to the rest, who looked on in surprise at his time as Kodai finished only 4 and a half seconds later.

"A little extra-dude, you damn well might as well be a cheetah with that speed; wait, that's it! Your quirk makes you as fast as a cheetah, right?" Awase slammed his fist into his palm, thinking he had figured it out.

“Nope! Try again.” Midoriya chuckled as Tokage and Tsuburaba took their positions, like in the first pair. At the same time, Tsuburaba got into a traditional runner's stance; Tokage stood straight, her eye on the other end.

"Speed is fine and all, but" She stated as the machine counted down; once the 'gun' went off, she broke into 15 separate pieces that flew across the track, leaving Tsuburaba behind. "There's more than one way to skin a cat." She managed to cross the line first, with her head getting over with a time of 5.01 seconds.

These two set the trend as Midoriya watched how many of his classmates approached the dash with unique spins. Tsunotori rode across it on two of her horns. However, she nearly fell near the end. Shishida, when the gun went off, bulked up and somehow got even hairier, finishing it with the second-best time behind Midoriya's; he even ran like him through that probably because of how his quirk worked.

Kuroiro, perhaps, had the craziest use of his quirk as when his turn came up, there was a passing cloud overhead which cast a shadow over the track, which he took full advantage of once the 'gun' went off, he fell into the shadow it cast and raced to the other hand, popping out like a jack in the box with the third best time.

Next was the grip test, which Honenuki dominated with an 'unreadable' score, which he achieved by turning his machine into mush and letting it fall to the floor as a muddle.

“What the hell? How does that even count?” Awase yelled as Honenuki walked off to the side.

"Vlad-sensei, the machine didn't register anything," Kaibara added as the man looked towards the two, then Honenuki and then to the machine still puddy on the gym floor.

“It counts as he technically squeezed it.” Vlad made his judgment as the two nay-sayers grumbled as they went back to trying to set their own scores; meanwhile, it was like seeing that galvanised Tetsutetsu to go even harder than before as it looked like he was going to try and do it with just his hand turned to see. Still, his entire arm got coated in the silver metal skin.

“Let’s go!” The boy squeezed as hard as he could, the machine handling it pretty well as U.A. made sure to have them made so that they could be used by some compelling people, far better than what most exercise stores would have in stock as Tetsutetsu's beeped, presenting a score 280kg.

“Impressive score,” Monoma walked up to him, slapping his arm in congratulations at such a high score before his other hand that held his grip test machine flashed steel, the quirk copied. "You wouldn't mind if he took a page from your playbook, right?" Tetsutetsu didn't mind as Monoma used the borrowed quirk to score 224kg, much lower than the other but still well above anything he would have achieved naturally.

"350kg?! Damn, man, that's high!" Kamakiri smiled as he and others crowded around Shishida, the guy having bulked up once more and gotten the highest score. Watching from afar, Midoriya wondered if these tests would be as easy for his furred classmate as the first two. If that was the case, he was in for a real competition.

“Aren’t you going to try?” Kuroiro, who had already done him, asked him.

“Hmm, oh yeah, give me a second.” Unlike with the race, Midoriya couldn’t use Tenghyōjutsu, which was exclusively for speed and agility augmentation. It could increase his base strength, but not by much, so instead, he used ashi, which clad the desired area in the user's tenet, increasing offensive and defensive power, which should work for this if he only focused on his hand to increase his grip strength.

Funnelling his tenet into and over his right hand, he breathed and squeezed as hard as he could, with the machine beeping after a few seconds. Holding it up, he and his dark-skinned friend saw it was 268kg. They are not the highest but well within the top scorers. “A new record.” If he remembered correctly, his last score with something like this had been 241kg. He's improved.

“Remind me never to let you get a hold of me.” Kuroiro’s dry comment had him smiling as Shiozaki set another impressive score with a solid 225kg, thanks to her vine hair, which did it for her.

“Noted.”

Standing long jump wasn't much to write home about as 5 of them cleared the 12m sand pit. The first was Yanagi, who floated herself across the pit, by midpoint, her face was red and sweaty, so that clearly took a lot out of her. The second was Tsuburaba, who created air platforms and walked across, which was weird, but he didn't touch the ground, so Vlad counted it. Monoma nearly joined that group, but he fell a little over halfway through, as he didn't have the lungs for it like Tsuburaba. Tokage pulled the same trick as in the dash, but she floated across slowly this time.

Shiozaki was the third person who cleared it as she used her hair to slingshot herself right over the clip. The girl landed gracefully with a roll as she patted herself down from the dirt and bowed towards Vlad. Midoriya was the last one, though he just barely made it over the line on landing, something that Shishida couldn't say as he landed a solid meter away from it.

With the repeated side steps, Yanagi did the worst here out of the group, most likely because she was still tired from pushing herself in the last one. At the same time, Monoma, for the first time, didn't copy anyone's quirk but still set a respectable score. And when Awase commented on that, he seemed offended.

"I'll have you know I keep it in great shape." Was his response, though if he was irate, was anyone's guess with how he flicked a strand of hair; perhaps he was just being dramatic. As the rest went through, Midoriya noted that Kuroiro kept looking up, only to see the sky was clear, with no clouds for him to pull the same trick again, but this gave him an idea as he removed his top, leaving him with just his green undershirt. Much to their confusion, he followed after his friend when he was called up.

Once he was in place, he did his thing. "Some shade should help, right?" He asked as he helped his jacket overhead, aiming it for the sun and casting a shadow that covered his dark-skinned friend and the spot he stood on. Seeing this, the white-haired boy looked at him with surprise, but Midoriya only smiled back; he would have given a thumbs up, but his hands were busy. Kuroiro didn't stay surprised forever as he gave him a grateful nod before blending into the shadow and zooming, rapidly building up his score.

"Excuse me, sir, but is that legal?" Yanagi asked Vlad as the two kept it up, the shadow dancer seemingly gaining speed as if he was aiming to set a score so high that no one could challenge it.

"The rules don't forbid interference, only sabotage and right now, the boy's doing the opposite." Vlad smiled as this was what he liked to see in his students: a healthy sense of sportsmanship while being a hero was competitive. At the end of the day, it was a job about helping others. But that had to move along, and once he saw that the boy had beaten the second-highest score by nearly doubling it, he called it off. As the two high-fived over the move, with Midoriya putting the jacket back on, Shiozaki put her hands together.

"He's merely being a good classmate and aiding someone in need." She stated, and for some reason, a beam of light shined down on her from…somewhere; Midoriya already had to consider the implications of the tenet of Shizune; he wasn't about to get anywhere near this new rabbit hole.

When it came time for the ball throw, he saw some pretty impressive distances achieved by Shishida, who used his beastly strength to throw, or Tsuburaba, who created a bat made from air and hit the ball away, or even Tokage, who floated her hand as far as she could before throwing the ball, he wanted to leave a mark, and that meant he couldn't just use increased physical power to throw it. As his turn approached, he tapped his foot on the ground with his chin in hand as he tried to figure out how to do this.

He could flick it, perhaps, as he could put more power into his finger right when he let go, but that didn't seem…flashy enough. Maybe that damned cat had rubbed off on him; perhaps it was because his master loved to steal the show, and he wished to follow in her footsteps; it didn't matter the why, only the end, which was he needed a better way to do this. If he could show off how he walks on water, maybe…Wait, he could use that!

With Shiozaki's finishing her turn, the girl having used her hair to make a sling to throw the ball, it was his time to step up as Vlad handed him a ball from the box he had by his feet. Rolling his arm a few times, he eyes the other end of the field and spots a few of the balls already thrown scattered all over it, but he is aiming for much higher than that. Pulling his arm back, he first sent his tenent through his entire arm, from the tips of his fingernails to the base at his shoulder, all to ensure that his limb could withstand the force at play, this was Ashi.

Then he shifted things up a little, altering its flow to take some of it into increasing his speed, which saw his arm move forward 3 times faster. This was Tenghyōjutsu. He now had the speed and power; all he needed was something that he had seen Bakugo do hundreds of times, which was to create an explosion. At the last possible, right as his grip on the ball weakened as he began to let it go, he funnelled as much of his tenet to the tip of his pinkie, and then, unlike with water or even wall walking, which required steady steam to keep you glued to the surface, he overfilled it, shooting it out of his pinkie.

The result spoke for itself as the ball blasted away from him, almost like a cannonball, to the stunned awe of the class as they watched the ball keep going higher and higher before reaching its peak and falling down to earth. Unlike every other ball, it didn't land in the field, but in the one next to it, with a crazy 685.8m being his distance. Midoriya hissed a little as he nearly broke his finger with that, but he smiled through the pain. "Yes!" He yelled, fists to the air as he looked back towards Vlad, who looked almost as stunned as the rest before he managed to get his face under control.

"Come on, people, let's keep moving!" He said aloud, the group breaking up to get to the next area while Kodai and Kuroiro approached him.

"How did you do that?" Kodai quietly asked; it seemed she remained relatively passive even when curious. This made him want to see her smile even more, as it must be a rare and pretty sight.

“Hard work.” Was his response as she hummed while Kuroiro rolled his eyes, not thinking he was being serious, which he was…even if he was leaving stuff out, but it wasn't necessary. Tenet might be a power they didn't know about, but cultivating it took years of hard work and dedication.

When it came time for other exercises, Midoriya went through them quickly. Much to their shock, he completed the 800m in 64.8 seconds, as Tokage, who was in second place, was 40 seconds behind him. While the rest looked at least winded from this and the rest of the tests, Midoriya looked fresh as a daisy, which left people even more dumbfounded as they wondered what kind of quirk he had to make him this athletic. The only one who was silent about that was Monoma, who kept his eye on him the entire time once he crossed the finish line.

With Sit-ups, he partnered with Kodai, the silent girl going through her own first because "I have a feeling you won't stop". So once she had finished her set, a respectable 42, he would prove her right in her assessment as he got to 148 before he decided that was high enough, a score only beaten by Tokage who detached her upper torso from the rest of her body. Others like Shiozaki used her vines to pull and push her, decreasing the strain on her core muscles and letting her nearly reach the triple digits. When it came to seated toe touches, once more, Kodai went first, got around to 34 before Midoriya took over and went to 160 just to ensure Tokage couldn’t upstage him again, which she nearly did.

But with all said and done, it was time for Vlad to present the results.

"Alright, I saw some good performance out there, not just in power but also in how you approached the situation. That's good, as hero work needs such outside-the-box thinking when the going gets tough." Vlad started as he looked over the group before he pulled a remote out.

“With that said, here are the results.” Tapping the button, a hologram screen appeared with their placements.

1. Izuku Midoriya
2. Jurota Shishida
3. Setsuna Tokage
4. Neito Monoma
5. Juzo Honenuki
6. Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu
7. Ibara Shiozaki
8. Togaru Kamakiri
9. Kosei Tsuburaba
10. Sen Kaibara
11. Hiryu Rin
12. Shihai Kuroiro
13. Nirengeki Shoda
14. Yosetsu Awase
15. Reiko Yanagi
16. Kojiro Bondo
17. Manga f*ckidashi
18. Pony Tsunotori
19. Yui Kodai
20. Kinoko Komori

“First place!” Midoriya cheered, as it felt damn good to score so high, not just because of his hard work, but for the fact he outmatched 19 quirked students good enough to get into U.A.

"Someone that isn't as shocking as it should be," Kaibara noted, as they could recall some of the crazy stuff he did during the exam and how, even now, the guy barely looked winded.

“Why me?” On the other hand, Komori was down in the dumps about the fact she scored dead last.

"Midoriya, remember that this is merely the starting point. You might be in the lead now, but that could change anytime. Keep on your toes and take every session of training seriously." Vlad put a stop to that little celebration. Midoriya looked at him, surprised for a second before he recalled where he was and how maybe acting like that over one victory was foolish.

“Yes, sir!” The man grunted as he turned towards Komori.

"Komori, same to you. You indeed came in last, but training can easily see that change. Don't let this dishearten you when you still have 3 years with us to better yourself." Where he had been firm with Midoriya, he had been softer with Komori, a good trait for a teacher as she took his words to heart, nodding with a determined smile.

“Yes, Vlad-sensei!” With these two settled, his gaze went over the group.

“As for classroom clean up, she’s not the only one that will be doing it as for the next weeks, we’ll work our way up the list till the last day of school, with it being someone knew each week.” He informed them, with the group looking back at the scores and being able to see that if that was how things would be done, that only those who placed in the top 4 would be exempt from clean-up, at least for the first semester.

"Now, head back and get yourselves cleaned up. You'll find your schedules and other files on your desk back in class." He dismissed them as the group broke off and returned to the changing area to shower and get back into their uniforms. As they walked off the field, Midoriya found that he was yet again approached by Kodai and Kuroiro.

"Thanks for what you did back there; if this had occurred at night or in the shade, perhaps I could have performed better," Kuroiro stated as Midoriya smiled and told him it wasn't an issue. He was merely helping a classmate in a pinch.

“You scored 12th.” Kodai pointed out that he performed much better than her as she came in 19th.

"I'd like to be within the top 10 next time. Can't you say the same," Kuroiro replied while he was one of the dark. That didn't mean he didn't wish to stand among the greats; why else would he have applied to U.A. of all schools?

Kodai chewed on this for a moment before she replied. “I suppose. But I wouldn’t mind a smaller jump of 3, maybe 4 spots.”

"Feels a little piecemeal to me." Kuroiro countered as Midoriya shook his head.

“That’s not a bad thing, you know. We all have to pace ourselves. If I didn’t, I would have broken so many bones by now and probably be wheelchair-bound from it." He smiled as he remembered those days, seeing how far others were and trying to do extra training behind the master's back, thinking he could go faster.

Safe to say, she wasn’t pleased when she found out he was overdoing it.

However, the training issue brought up another point that Kuroiro and the other boys had about him. "You must have been through some pretty intensive training; after all, one doesn't earn such scars from simply working." They had been concerned, to put it lightly, when they saw him shirtless as they changed, as the boy was covered with scars. It was like the guy fought against villains daily.

"Extremely, but I think most came with a hard-learned lesson." He, on the other hand, saw these marks on his flesh as marks of pride, instances when, through blood, sweat and tears, he took another step if it was small, towards his goal.

“Most?” Kodai, now curious, asked him as his smile faded, and his eyes fogged over with grief and rage as he recalled that damned fire, how despite their best efforts, they lost a lot of good people.

“Some came from…tragedies.” He didn’t wish to bring up more, not wishing to ruin this good mood between them as they made. "But that's only a reminder that I need to keep pushing it. As Vlad said, I can't get complacent.” He raised an arm and flexed, his scarred muscles rising in a show of force.

"I shudder to think what you'll be like in just a year, never mind 3." Kuroiro shook his head as he guessed that if this guy was as intense in training as he thought, the next time they did this, Izuku would set scores triple what he did today.

“Tiger.” Kodai guessed, with Midoriya shaking his head with a laugh.

“Nope.” He replied, though it was a good guess as he styled his 'ears' off those of Ruby and Sapphire, even if it was hard to tell who had ever seen a green tiger?

“Rats.” As the trio vanished into the building, where they'd need to separate to head off to their different locker rooms, back on the field, Vlad met with his fellow teacher, Eraser. The man had taken his class out first like usual, yes. Still, he had also done so he could take a step out of the class and observe class B as they went through the tests, more accurately to watch the unknown that was Midoriya.

“Well?” Vlad asked.

“He wasn’t lying, I had my eye on him with my quirk active randomly through every one of those tests, especially the dash and ball throw. And he didn’t even seem to notice.” He had thought that there was an effect earlier, but that was merely him seeing something when there was nothing.

Vlad thought about that, worried as it blew their most likely theory that he was simply hiding his quirk from them right out of the water. "Is there a possibility that his quirk is a mutant type?"

Aizawa knew the limits of his quirk and how he couldn't erase the effects of quirks on bodies mutated by them. He could stop someone with extra limbs from using them, but they were still there, and even then, it wasn't always the same, as some mutations were too extreme for his quirk to consider them quirks. “Maybe, but we have no proof to suspect that.” He replied though he didn't put much stock in that idea. "Still, we should keep an eye on him as this is unusual, to say the least."

"And that's all we're do; he hasn't done anything to warrant such suspicion from us," Vlad said, as he wasn't much for this increased attention on the boy. He could admit he was an abnormality, but Midoriya had only acted in the best ways since the exam, even if he purposely dodged the question about quirks earlier and played it off as a game.

"Besides, he can do all he does without a quirk on record?" Aizawa looked towards him, meeting his irritated gaze as he sighed. "Relax, I'm merely stating the facts. I agree that we should give him the benefit of the doubt. But in the end, he's your student, so I won't interfere further unless he breaks school rules." With that, the underground hero turned to get back to his class.

After a day of learning about the school, meeting their upperclassmen and teachers, and exploring the school, the final bell rang early. They didn't have a full day but were told it would be business as usual the following day. Waiting by the main building entrance, Midoriya and Kodai had already swapped out their indoor shoes for their regular ones. "That was a good first day," Midoriya noted, as there were few others present, most taking the short day to head home early or do something fun with friends.

"Hmm," Kodai replied as she scrolled through her phone; at that moment, the third member of their group appeared.

"Sorry about that, I wished to use the restroom before we left, in case the one by the station was occupied," Kuroiro said as he went for his shoe locker to swap out his own.

“No sweat.” Midoriya waved it off as Kodai nodded. Once the boy had done that, he walked over but found Midoriya wasn't moving.

“Aren’t you going to move now?” He asked the guy, who shook his head, his eyes facing the stairs that led up to the classrooms.

“In a minute, I’m waiting for someone.” He replied.

"Who could that be? Most of the class has already left." Other than Monoma, he hadn't seen anyone else as they wanted to take full advantage of the short school day. To answer that question, Midoriya saw a head of purple hair walking down the stairs.

“Him,” He nodded at him before he walked over, wrapping an arm around the taller boy's shoulders, who let out a surprised yelp as he was dragged to Midoriya's level. “Shinso!” He smiled as the boy turned his eyes to see him.

“What-Midoriya, is that you?” Shinso asked as Midoriya let go with a laugh, hands on his hips.

“In the flesh, my friend!” He confirmed. "I saw you earlier at orientation, but that wasn't the best time to speak."

“Yeah, class C.” Shinso seemed upset about that, which Midoriya could understand. While General was a good deal, it was as if you were aiming for another more specialised one and didn't make the cut.

“That’s general, right?” Kodai asked, finally taking her attention off her phone now that they had a new face in the group.

“It is, I didn’t make it into the hero course, unlike some people.” He looked towards Midoriya, who didn’t look ashamed in the slightest. After all, it wasn’t like his success came at the failure of Shinso’s.

“That is unlucky since you must have earned some rescue points during the exam." Still, he felt for the guy.

“That was…Uraraka, right?” Shinso tried to think back to that day, which he had been trying not to since he got his letter and learned that he missed the cut-off point.

"I believe I didn't see her in my class, so she's either in class A or general," Midoriya replied.

"She could have applied to another school, you know. I knew a few kids from mine that also applied for U.A., didn't make it, and went somewhere." Shinso suggested as the group finally left the building, the sleep-deprived-looking boy having swapped his shoes as they talked.

"Same," Kodai replied, as she had heard some classmates say something when the teacher announced she got it.

“Well, cross our fingers she’s here, I wouldn’t mind catching up with her. But you didn’t say if you got rescue points.” Midoriya replied as she seemed nice, and if his class was this welcoming, class A, barring a certain Pomeranian, was pretty welcoming as well.

Kuroiro, seeing an opening for the issue of Midoriya’s quirk, made his move. “You were in the same exam area as each other?” Shinso looked at him funny for a moment before nodding as the dark-skinned boy smiled, figuring that he made a breakthrough. “Interesting, did you perhaps see what his quirk is? He’s been cheeky about it all day.” Midoriya raised an eyebrow while Kodai looked a lot more invested in this.

She was the only one who noticed that Midoriya didn't seem surprised or concerned about what could easily be a massive clue about his secret quirk. Shinso, on the other hand, shrugged and told him what he knew. “Sure, he can control wood. Turn seeds into wooden weapons in seconds, even create and control massive trees.”

“So, your quirk is nature-related? You are one with the beast and plants?" Kuroiro asked as that would fit all they had seen from him, from the cheetah-like speed, tiger-like strength and lion-level endurance.

Midoriya didn’t so much sweat as he smiled like a cat that knew something you didn’t. "In a way, yes, but in another, no. Try again, my friend." Kuroiro looked shocked that he had been wrong before grabbing his face, his equally black hand covering it in a way that left his face void and lacking features.

“Dammit.” The boy groaned as Shinso picked things up from there. As Midoriya laughed at that disappointment, they didn't notice that Monoma was nearby, having eavesdropped their conversation. Filing away what he heard, he also moved to leave, as he had his theories about the boy to think about.

Back with the 4, they continued their conversation. “I did gain some, but it wasn’t enough to make the cut.” He had earned more points than he otherwise wouldn’t have without Midoriya’s help, which made the blow a little less heavy. "So, my next option is the sports festival; if I can impress them, I'll have a shot."

“Not with those noodle arms,” Izuku pocked the boy's arm, getting an annoyed grunt. “Come on, have you ever even gone on a jog or something?” Shinso chose not to answer that which itself was an answer which made Midoriya narrow his gaze, a flower of irritation blooming in his chest at the idea that someone wouldn't work towards their dream. What, did he think he would just get it by chance?

Kodai looked him over, the taller boy feeling naked under her passive gave. “Out of shape.”

“I’m not that bad.” He muttered as Midoriya rolled his eyes. This dude was in denial.

“Oh really?” He stated as he spotted someone familiar down the way, off on the side of the path, enjoying the flowers. “Shiozaki! Could you please come over?” He yelled out, with the vine-haired girl looking up to see her classmates and a boy she didn't recognise. Still, she had no reason to refuse, so she walked over to them.

“Is there something you need?” She asked as Midoriya nodded his head.

“Can you please lift your arm? It’s important, I swear.” She raised an eyebrow at that unusual request, but it didn't sound perverted. That changed slightly when he insisted she remove her jacket to show off her arm. If not for Kodai nodding that he wasn't being weird, she might have refused him. "Now, please flex." This was only getting weirder, but she did so, her bicep and other muscles showing themselves as Kuroiro whistled in appreciation, which she silenced with a glare.

“Shinso, do the same.” Midoriya didn't either notice or choose to ignore that as he asked Shinso to do the same, with the boy gulping but following it, removing his jacket as well, standing to her side, raising his arm, and flexing it. To his embarrassment, it wasn't even a contest. “See, look at that, you’re as in shape as Far Gum is slim.” Midoriya didn't hold it back as the guy lowered his arm and put his jacket back on. Shiozaki did the same, even as she wondered what that purpose was.

“Dude, how the hell is she in better shape than you?” Kuroiro asked the guy. It should have been the other way around.

“Why didn’t you just ask Kodai for this?” Shiozaki asked him.

"Because you're in the best shape of all the girls." Midoriya's reply was spoken like it was complete, and the girl blushed a little at the reveal.

"You were watching her earlier," Kuroiro smirked at his friend, who turned confused.

“Of course, I was, I observed all our classmates. Didn’t you?” They were training to be heroes together, and if things went well, they'd be together for 3 whole years. Why wouldn't they want to know the physical fitness of their classmates?

Kodai agreed with him on that front, pocking Shiozaki's side, which had a notable bit of firm muscle underneath her smooth skin. “He’s right, you’re fit as a horse.”

The vine-haired girl blushed at the compliment, even if she could now see that Midoriya's earlier statement had been entirely innocent and devoid of inappropriate intent. "I do my best to stay in shape as not only is the body the temple of the lord, but one needs to be in exceptional shape to help more people as a heroine."

"Are you going to keep insulting me?” Shinso asked, his eyes narrowing as Midoriya wrapped an arm around him again.

"Don't worry, my sleep-deprived friend, I shall make a man outta you!" He told him.

“What are you? His personal trainer?” Kuroiro asked him. Midoriya continued to smile.

"Even better, I'm his friend who wants him to be in the best shape possible, even if I have to drag him to the gym kicking and screaming." Shinso didn't look all that happy about that statement, as even now, he could tell that the boy had been jacked.

“…Can I say no?”

"That depends; if I gave you a 10-second head start, would I still catch you in under a minute?" Midoriya's question went unanswered by the boy, who sighed as he accepted his fate.

“As forward as he’s being,” Shiozaki started. "A healthy body is an important part of a healthy life. I wouldn't mind joining you occasionally, provided it doesn't conflict with my schedule." With that, Midoriya and Shiozaki discussed exercise, trading tips and tricks they use to stay in shape and improve themselves. This bled into a discussion on lifestyles and which was best for the most effective sustainable gains, which led to the two finding out that they were similar in wishing for little in the means of material wealth and enjoying hard work and gardening. Regarding favourite food, while Shiozaki's was humble bread, Midoriya's was Katsudon. However, he states he eats it as a treat and usually sticks to a diet of fish, fruits and vegetables.

All this while the other 3 watched, effectively locked out of the conversation. Still, Shinso could hear how they were designing his new diet and workout schedule. It sounded like he was into hell with stuff like 'early morning 2km jogs' to cut down on sweets, fats, and strength and endurance training.

“And that was it.” Midoriya finished repeating the highlights of his day to his master and Kyūfune, the older woman seated at her desk as usual with Ruby by her side. At the same time, he sat on the couch next to his girlfriend. Just thinking he could call her made his heart flutter as he leaned into her warmth. The taller girl wrapped her arm around him.

Kenmikoto gave him a pleased smile. "Sounds like you had a productive day and managed to leave your mark on them by scoring first." That part he puffed his chest up at, his confidence having taken a boast from training with her master and the results he got. “You even managed to make friends in your age range for one. Looks like we can’t make jokes about having you drink milk when you go out.” He deflated as skilled or not; he was still a brat in her eyes.

“I’ve never drank milk when I hang out with anyone!” He yelled back, as not even when he would hang with Obi and Hanen, worse was they ordered him water.

“Did you manage to get their numbers?” Kyūfune steered the conversation away from that, which Midoriya went with as he nodded, pulling out his phone to show her the new contacts.

“We formed a group chat!” It was only one of 2, but she was happy for him as she hugged him a little tighter; the more petite boy is nice to cuddle with in times like this.

Which meant it was a perfect time for Kenmikoto to ruin it. "That is good; as fun as it is watching the two of you, you need friends you don't want to cuddle with and watch cheesy movies with." Both blushed at that as they had done that, but how the hell did she know?! They had watched a movie in his dorm room, as Kyūfune lived in the same house as the master.

“Mother!” The fox woman yelled at her mother, who laughed it off. Ruby also seemed to take amusem*nt from this with a growl that sounded far too much like a laugh.

"What? It's true, isn't it? You're 20, my dear; he's a strapping boy, a bit on the small side, though." She noted that even now, the sight the two created was odd, as she had seen short men with tall girls before. She even knew that some people were turned on by that. Still, she had never seen one with such a height difference, as even if she were seated, she would still be close to Midoriya's total height.

Midoriya didn’t seem to appreciate the slander about his height and bit back. "I might be small, but I'm stronger than I look." But he was confused when, instead of being on his side, Kyūfune covered her face, her cheeks red while the master smiled like a cat that had just caught a fat canary.

“So you would say you… rise to the occasion?” She asked him, and he was about to confirm that, but his girlfriend shushed him by covering his mouth with her hand, a hand large enough to nearpalm his entire face.

“Please stop talking.” She pleaded, seeing the confusion in his eyes and reluctantly, whispering the double meaning behind her mother’s words to him, which got him as flustered as she was as he turned to the older woman.

“Master!” She only laughed harder at this.

"For a teenage boy, I'm surprised you fell for that." Sapphire, who lay by the fireplace on the other side of the room, growled in agreement. Midoriya felt insulted and embarrassed that even the tiger had figured out that dirty joke before he did.

But as fun as that was, there were other things the master wished to talk about as her face lost all sense of amusem*nt. “Still, don’t you think you’re playing a dangerous game by keeping your quirkless secret?” She raised an eyebrow when he didn’t answer immediately, taking his time to think about it as he could feel Kyūfune’s concerned eyes on the back of his head.

“Probably not, but…” Away from them and having time to think over his choices, he could only imagine the uproar once they learned the truth about him. “I want to make friends first before that issue comes up.” It was…nice to talk with them like that, to be so open with classmates without fear.

"If they're as good as you say, they won't care that you have an extra toe joint." Kenmikoto sighed. "Especially since Shinso boy, you're determined to help get in shape."

“I hope you’re right.”

“So do I, but life isn’t worth living if you don’t take risks with people,” She replied. "Now, tell me about your plans for this Shinso boy; I hope you don't plan to work the toothpick to the bone. He's not you, after all." Midoriya seemed to like that change as he went relay what he had thought the boy should do for the Sports Festival and afterwards, with the two women giving their opinions here and there.

Chapter 15: Hero Class

Chapter Text

After spending the evening brainstorming ways to create a suitable exercise plan for Shinso, he retired for the night as he had been eager to start the next day. That day was their first taste of what most days at U.A. were like as they went through their classes like normal. As he expected, just because he was in the hero course meant they slacked off on the other subjects. Like any high school, the U.A. was required to ensure that its students performed at a certain level in pre-selected subjects like Mathematics, English, Japanese, World and Japanese History, Sciences like physics, biology and chemistry, Arts and geography.

U.A. went a step further in that by an edict by the principal some 5 years back, all courses were also required to have classes in ethics, quirk morality and political science. This ensures that anyone who walks out the gates with the diploma has the education to better understand and interact with the world in a fashion that doesn't needlessly harm another. Midoriya could say that he approved of that mindset as if more people were willing to engage in comfortable topics or see past quirk status…. he wouldn't be there now, would he? Not as a disciple to the master, anyway.

It was weird to have all their teachers be pros, both active and retired, but it made for unique classes as they approached their courses in ways that kept students guessing. Present Mic, for example, had fully expected that the man would treat English like his radio show. Still, he was calm, collected and professional. Only breaking out that Mic charm sparingly made it all the more fun even if he preferred to study Spanish or Portuguese as he dreamed of travelling through central and South America, perhaps trying his hand at foreign hero work there rather than the more popular U.S.

Ectoplasm as a Math teacher was a godsent. While the least jarring as he carried himself how they expected, his quirk made it so that he could spawn clones who could focus on individuals, which Izuku badly needed after he missed months of school. Still, if this was a taste of what math would be like, his grades would make a comeback! Literature was a different story as Cementoss wasn't the issue; the man was passionate about his subject and was an avid reader, but Midoriya wasn't the type that particularly enjoyed just reading.

Even when relaxing, he would instead do something proactive like gardening, training, or working in a sand garden, a byproduct of how active his life had been for years. Still, he understood the first two chapters of Kitch by Banana Yoshimoto, one of the 3 books they were meant to cover for the semester. Arts wasn't as bad as Izuku had thought it would be, as while Midnight brought that same flirtatious, sexy energy to teaching as she did her hero work, Izuku was able to focus on what she was teaching over the way she moved or the clear double meaning in her statements by remembering he was a taken man and that he won't break!

If Kodai said he sat as still as a stone throughout the class, he'd firmly confirm that. Science class, specifically chemistry, was where he paid the most attention as while not an egg-head, he needed to study more about chemistry and compounds for his plants to be as powerful and versatile as they could be, as he had to have some level of understanding of what he was doing with them, which was why at the moment he only used wood, which was comparatively easier to manipulate and grow then say, flowers.

When lunch came around, he was a happy camper as his table had all his new friends, sans Shinso, who had opted to eat with his classmates. Kodai thought he was merely avoiding them as he knew what Midoriya was planning for them. The best part was that despite the gourmet options the kitchens offered the students, all of it was affordable. He indulged in more food than expected, filling his plate with greens, beans and fish. Enough that he got Shiozaki to take some of his as they had hero class after this, and they'll need their strength. "I hope you will enjoy your food. It was made with love!"

“You can tell.”

"You served a lot; aren't you worried about getting bloated?"

"Part of training requires you to have a rich diet," "Trust me, I train so hard that I could pig out and still stay in shape."

“Moderation.”

“That’s what I’m doing, Kodai.”

But as fun, if mentally draining, as their morning classes were, it was nothing compared to the raw excitement they felt after lunch as it would soon be their time. Their chance to do what they all had applied to the U.A. for in the first place: Hero training.

However, while he was more pumped for the activity, his classmates were focused more on the teacher handling it: All Might, the number one hero and Symbol of Peace.

A hypocrite.

He let out a deep breath and couldn't feel the same excitement as his classmates. But he also didn't feel the same anger from that day when he met All Might. After Izuku had time to cool off, to really think about it over the last few months, he found that he didn't hate him because he had accepted that he was merely another pro, another person obsessed with what your quirk could do. Did it hurt that he presented himself differently to someone like Endeavour, who had made no secret of what he felt about quirks and their compatibility in hero work? Yes. But that was part of life. His master always told him that disappointments and failures were as natural as night and day, and if you didn't have them, you weren't living in reality.

So he focused more on what All Might could bring as a teacher; those they had in the morning were all clearly skilled in their craft, with the training and experience to be as effective teachers as they were heroes. Was All Might the same? He would think so, as the man has been declining for years, and he couldn't imagine that the U.A. would just let All Might teach without ensuring he could actually teach. If nothing else, he could stomach his displeasure over being taught by All Might and take the positive that a man with over 30 years of hero work could bring to the table.

His wish would be half answered when the door but instead of being the number one hero, it was Vlad. "Afternoon students, I hope you're ready for your first hero class."

Vlad hadn't expected them to sing his praises, but he had thought they'd be pumped for their first hero class as their group of first years had been. Yet what he saw when he walked in and announced himself was a collective disappointment as students groaned as if he had just given them a pop quiz. “Dammit, it’s just Vlad.” Tetsutetsu's head hit his desk, and Vlad felt his brow twitch.

“And pray tell,” His voice made some gulp as they could tell he wasn’t pleased. “Is wrong with that.”

Lucky for them, Honenuki was there to save their asses as he raised his hand. “Sir, wasn’t All Might meant to be taking this?” Vlad felt that made sense and left them in the wrong spot as he had to be the bearer of bad news.

“That was the plan, but something came up which the principal needed his assistance with.” He kept it short, though the truth was that All Might used up too much time stopping an incident on his way to school and then handling class A. By the time he finished with them, he was running on fumes and resting in the principal's office.

His gruff explanation flew with most of them, as teachers got pulled for other stuff back in middle school. However, Monoma asked a question as he found it fishy that he was pulled. “Was he pulled before or after he taught class A?”

Vlad didn’t miss a beat, having suspected such as he figured they had heard that class A had gone with All Might earlier. “After, but don’t let that discourage you. In fact, I would argue you can use it as fuel to grow. So, what if you missed out on All Might today? You'll still grow to become exceptional heroes, and I expect each of you to carve that into your hearts." Vlad kept his words and tone strong. He had taught here for years and saw some exceptional students go through his class. He took pride in that and, unlike his fellow homeroom teacher, made sure they could take pride in that.

As the class collectively replied, this had the desired effect of any lingering disappointment or resentment over missing a chance to be with All Might. “Yes, sir!” Midoriya was one of them because he wasn't that invested in All Might and because Vlad knew how to pick up a room. There was also a tiny part of him that wanted to keep proving himself better than his naysayers believed, and what better way to do that than showing up to the apparent favourite class, even if he suspected that All Might had just used up too much of his time and was resting.

“Now, you first years will be placed into foundational hero studies, an introductory course where we'll learn about and perfect your knowledge and skills in all the basics." Vlad pulled out a bright, flashy card with the word 'Battle' printed in bold English for all to see. "With the first class being battle."

“Battle?” Kamakiri smiled.

"We get to fight?" Tetsutetsu was with him, eager to show what he could do.

“Oh yeah, bring it on!” Tsunotori was the third as Vlad nodded, happy with the enthusiasm.

“Before that, let's start our journey to being the superior hero class the right way." Vlad pulled out a remote and pressed one button, and from the walls, shelves appeared, each carrying 5 thick-looking briefcases with a number on them. "Your costumes are made to order as per your specifications. The only changes made were to impractical designs or against regulations." He started as the students looked at them in awe before getting up to retrieve them.

They figured out that the numbers marked out seat numbers. Because they were the closest ones to them, it was up to Bondo and Midoriya to distribute them to the intended recipient as Vlad approached the door, opened it, and turned to them again.

"Once you've changed into them, we'll meet on Grand Beta. Don't be late!" He ordered them, leaving them to follow through with that.

Midoriya found himself in the dining hall of the sanctuary a week before school started. He had already celebrated his entry into U.A. with a massive dinner where he got a boatload of congratulations and well wishes from the rest of the residents, both permanent and those staying till the final touches could be done on the new and improved community centre in Raxus. But that left him with an issue that he had yet to solve as, along with the acceptance letter, had been the forms he needed to fill out.

It was the usual stuff, like school rules, that he would need to read and then sign that he did so and accepted, same with his parent or guardian, so he was going to ask the master to sign it for him. He also provided contact information for emergencies and other school events, which, again, he'll put in Kenmikoto-sensei's contact details as he was sure she wouldn't mind. But along with that and forms about his size information for the uniforms, there was stuff he had to fill in for his hero costume as the school worked with support companies to produce them for the students, but they were given a set price to work with so they couldn't ask for something too expensive, along with rules on what a costume could and could not have in its design.

He wondered about that but then recalled the uproar that broke out when Midnight made her debut; so many angry parents demanded that they make changes so she didn't 'corrupt the youth' or something along those lines. He had yet to pay much attention to it, but it helped explain why U.A and other schools presumable had to overall their rules regarding costumes. Still, he can remember when Midnight came out with a second costume that fit within the rules and how both he and Kyūfune had spat out their drinks when they saw it, as it was pretty damn clear she chose a colour as close to her natural skin tone as possible which combined with how thin the fabric was made it looked arguable more revealing and risqué than her last one.

Once he had calmed his blush down, he couldn't help but salute the proverbial 'f*ck you' she threw at the regulators as it was everything she wanted, but within their new rules so they could complain all they wanted, but they couldn't do anything about it.

But that just left him confused about what he should submit, as he had spent so much time preparing his body and mind for hero work that he forgot to design his costume, something he was sure everyone else would have in mind. So, he had spent the last 3 hours trying to create something, researching current and former heroes’ costumes for inspiration and even looking towards nature thanks to the fact he controlled wood. Unlike others, he didn't need to worry about a quirk, so his costume didn't need to have anything special about it. It could be simpler, though he still wished to give off the appearance of a quirk, with cats being the animal he was studying, so he looked up the Wild Wild puss*cats.

It was another 3 hours, close to dinner time, when he would finally finish something he was happy to wish for.

Waiting for the students, Vlad grunted when he saw them approaching through the tunnel entrance, as they had made it here in less than 10 minutes. As each stepped into the light, he could appraise each costume and saw that they offered a wide array of ideas, colours, and styles, perfect for heroes, as they needed to be visible and easily identifiable. "As far as costumes go, you'll all understood the assignment; well done. From here on out, when you wear your gear, I want you to do so with pride and honour." He told them that Midoriya was the last one out.

His costume included a black slim-fitting jumpsuit, grey-furred lined shin-length boots, and a pair of dark green fur-lined forearm-length gloves. Over this, he wore a dark green leopard print baggy pair of knee-length shorts held up by a thick grey belt with a large belt buckle with the kanji for 'leaf' etched. On his top half, he wore a dark green leopard print sleeve crop jacket with a collar lined. Finishing the look, he had pouches held in place by his belt to carry supplies and a thick grey snow leopard-like tail that shifted and moved like the real thing.

Seeing this had some of the girls calling it out. "I got it. Your quirk has something to do with a snow leopard!" Komori called out as he giggled.

“Nope. Try again.” She pouted as he moved past her, joined by Kodai and Kuroiro.

“Really, then why go with the design?” The black-skinned boy who had opted for a much simpler and equally colourless attire asked, to which Midoriya merely shrugged.

“It felt right.” He replied as Vlad clapped his hands to get their attention.

"You can discuss your costumes later; right now, we have a class to start," Vlad stated as Kaibara raised his hand.

“Vlad-sensei, this is the same grounds as the entrance exam. Will this be another urban battle?” He asked the man, who shook his head.

"No, this will be a scenario that takes place indoors. While you've undoubtedly seen plenty of villain incidents in the streets, the numbers support the theory that most villains handle their business indoors. Over 60% of them occur in places like abandoned areas, buildings, backroom deals, bars, clubs and any other place that can keep them away from the light of day." He explained as Midoriya thought back to the incident with Mt. Lady and Kamui Woods, then to the Raxus fire, which took place somewhere people liked to ignore.

“In a world with so many heroes patrolling the streets, it’s the smart and dangerous villains that do their best to operate in the shadows, so for this, we're going to simulate a raid on a villain's hideout. You'll be split randomly into teams of 2 and take turns with one team acting as the heroes, the other as villains." Vlad continued, seeing that they were following along with what he was trying to say.

"Shouldn't we get some basic training first?" Yanagi asked as it seemed like they were rushing.

"No better teacher than experience. But remember that this isn't the exam, and you're not fighting robots, so I expect restraint. If you go overboard, I'll disqualify your team, which I'll go on your record." Vlad replied, eyeing them down to clarify that he wouldn't hesitate to do that as he might not expel his students as liberally as Eraser, but that didn't mean he didn't run a tight ship.

“Why randomly split us up? Wouldn't it work best if we could work with people whose quirks complement one another?” f*ckidashi asked, and this time, Midoriya answered for Vlad.

“It’s real to life, you know. Pros gotta be able to work with whoever happens to be on the scene. It won’t always be your partner or sidekick.” Vlad nodded at him.

"Correct. The exercise itself is pretty simple. The villain team will be charged with defending a bomb for 10 minutes, while the hero team needs to either defeat the villains or secure the bomb by touching it. A defeat doesn't need to be a knock-out as all four will be given capture tape; even if you wrap it around their finger, it will be a knock-out, and that person will need to leave." The pro gave a simple breakdown of the objectives for the two teams before he held out a box for them.

“And with that done, let’s draw lots!” They went up one at a time and pulled out a slip of paper with a letter, with the box having 20 slips in 10 pairs. Once that was done, the class found itself split into teams that were made up of Team A, which was Midoriya and Kodai; Team B, which was Tokage and Rin; Team C, which was Tsunotori and Kamakiri; Team D was Monoma and Shiozaki; team E was Awase and Honenuki; team F was Shishida and Yanagi; team G was Tsuburaba and Komori; team G was Tetsutetsu and Shoda; team H was Bondo and f*ckidashi and team I was Kaibara and Kuroiro.

"And with that done, the first group will be these two!" Vlad called out as he pulled out two other boxes, one black and marked as 'villain' and the other white and marked as 'hero'. From the former, he pulled out team A. From the latter, team D. The four students in question turned to face one another, with Monoma having a strange look when he looked towards Midoriya, who returned with a raised eyebrow.

"Everyone else, to the monitor room," Vlad instructed as the rest of the class walked off, Kuroiro giving the three a nod of good luck as he went by. Soon, it was just the five of them as Vlad led them towards a building that, at least on its exterior, was a regular 5-storey office complex, one of thousands to be found in any large city in Japan.

Turning, he opened the door for the villain team to enter but stopped them before they walked in. "Listen up, you have 5 minutes to enter the building and do as you please to prepare. Heroes, here is the floor plan of the place; study it well, as you don't know what the villains could prepare." He addressed the second bit towards the heroes as Monoma and Shiozaki nodded. However, the blonde looked strange when he turned his gaze to Midoriya.

Taking out another box of supplies, which made them wonder where Vlad was even keeping them, he handed them all an earpiece and a bland roll of tape. "Before you leave, here is your capture tape and earpieces. Remember, I'll listen to everything you say, so keep it professional." All nodded, with Midoriya and Kodai suspecting that he might have heard something he didn't want during one of these exercises in the past.

Putting in the air piece, Midoriya did a quick head shake to make sure it wasn’t loose before he turned to his teammate with a thumbs up. "Let's go, Kodai. Let's show them what we are made of!" His tail seemed to share in his excitement as it flicked side to side.

"Sure," Kodai replied, her face and tone still as passive as the two walked into the building.

"I get that it's just training, but I don't like that we drew the short straw and have to play the villains," Midoriya noted as he walked towards the bomb, having inspected the room and found it bare as the rest of the building. U.A. wasn't willing to burn cash on furniture when they had to spend millions designing and building fake cities.

"It pays to know how a villain would think," Kodai replied, inspecting the sole window and finding it locked. Even better, it wasn't overlooking the street, so the heroes couldn't have looked up and seen them.

"Maybe, but I wonder if we would even know that? Vlad-sensei, the villains that do this kind of stuff, are normally the crafty ones. Could we even replicate that?" Midoriya frowned, as villains like that were vile, cruel and merciless. They would start a fire in a crowded building with no regard for the lives that would be endangered. He hoped he never had to understand such a horrible mindset.

Approaching the bomb, Kodai tapped it and found it remarkably light for its size. A quirk shook, and then she found it weighed as much as her desk. “Bomb’s made of paper mâché.” She stated.

"Makes sense; it keeps it light, but it does have a weird design, actually…we can use this." Midoriya was waving that off before an idea popped into his head. Tapping his foot as he thought about it, he could put the pieces together and realise that they had the perfect chance to win this.

“What do you mean?” Kodai asked him as he approached the bomb, placing a hand on it.

“You can shrink the bomb, right?” He asked, to which the girl nodded, but while she could see what he was thinking, there was a big flaw.

“Monoma and Shiozaki know I can do that. They’ll suspect that as soon as they enter.” She replied, which he agreed with, but that was where he came in.

"Correct, but what if we replace the bomb with something else and act like it's the real deal. After all, we get the chance to go first, meaning they don't know what the bomb even looks like." This could only be done in the first round, as he didn't see Vlad hand them a picture of the bomb, so they would look for whatever seemed like it.

Kodai thought about it for a moment before replying. “That makes sense, but can we even make something like that?” They had some basic supplies lying around, but nothing that could pass for a 'bomb' as Midoriya pulled out a seed from his pouch, clenching his fist, he poured his tenet into it till before his teammate’s shocked eyes, he opened his hand to reveal a wooden dog doll.

"I can. It won't take long. In the meantime, you shrink the bomb and hide it somewhere Momoma and Shiozaki aren't going to find." He tossed the small doll into the corner, out of sight and out of mind, as he pulled out another seed to use. Kodai agreed with the plan, touching the bomb as he watched it shrink to the point where it could be held in her hand like it was a toy. As she went to find a spot to hide it, Midoriya got to work; he clenched his hand again and went through the same process, only this time he didn't stop and shaped the wooden construct as it grew, getting so big that he placed the bomb on the floor but kept making it grow till it was large enough for what they needed.

Looking at it, he smiled at his work. While only half the size of the bomb it was replacing, it had the same basic shape. "And done, it's crude, but a cloth thrown over it should help to sell the idea." Luckily, there was a large cloth for them to use as he tossed it over the device and moved some other stuff around it, acting like it was meant to serve as a disguise/deterrent. That was when Kodai came back, her hands empty.

“I placed the bomb in a vent; they won't find it there," She pointed towards the air vent in question, one close to the doorway, which meant they'd be less likely to even notice it was there. “Why does Monoma look at you funny?” He looked at her, wondering where that question came from.

"You picked up on too? No clue. It's not like I knew him before yesterday. Maybe he's salty that I scored so high on the entrance and quirk assessment." Even though he said that he didn't completely buy it as while…eccentric and proud, Monoma didn't come off as the type to stew in his dissatisfaction.

“He comes off as loud and arrogant.” He snorted, having to mask his laugh at how Kodai could be.

“Trust me, he’s a breath of fresh air compared to what I’m used to dealing with.” His mind flashed to another arrogant blonde who seemed to believe he was God's gift to the world and would fight anyone who said otherwise. He hadn't had the misfortune of running into him yet, but he figured it was only a matter of time.

Chapter 16: Class B Battle

Chapter Text

Looking over the floor plans they had been given, Monoma tried to figure out which room the bomb could be placed in. He only knew a little about Kodai, so he couldn't theorise what she would do with objective evidence. He figured she'd try to shrink the bomb, but that was too obvious when they knew she would probably have it on hand. Midoriya, he figured, was a bit of a trickster from how he spoke and moved, even the fact that Midoriya was hiding the fact…no, that wasn't possible; maybe he was just wrong; he had to be with what they saw him accomplish.

All that meant that the bomb could just as quickly be where it could be best defended, like the upper or lower floors where they wouldn't expect, so somewhere in the middle. "It would be helpful if we had more insight into them," Monoma noted as his teammate, who wore rather plain robes, nodded.

“Yes, as they’re playing the rule of villains, they could easily hide the bomb where they please.” She made a face as she said that, which he caught.

“You don’t like that, do you?” He didn't ask so much, as he stated, to which she didn't refute.

“I’m not a fan of deception,” Shiozaki replied, as she had been raised to see lies as terrible things and to always be honest with others. After all, the bitter truth was better for you in the long term than a sweet lie. And she respected pros who lived by that.

"Well, we'll have to agree to disagree on that front." Monoma was a schemer; he knew it; everyone who had known him knew it, and he accepted that. He had to be to make it this far and will need it to keep going. "Your vines would be a good way to attack them, provided they can be used to overwhelm them."

"Correct, but they'll see them coming and block both our fields of view. While I can feel things with them, they need to touch whatever." Shiozaki replied, to which Monoma hummed, agreeing with her as he tried to think of another way in, but with just her quirk, that would be tricky. It would be a different story if he had managed to copy Tetsutetsu, Shishida, or Tokage.

“Hmm, if this trial hadn’t had such a time lag, I could have copied someone else quirk to help us.” But with the time, that wouldn’t have mattered all that much.

“We’ll simply make do with what we have," Shiozaki concluded as she returned to reading the floor plans. “But there is still the question of how we plan to handle this. I would much rather avoid a pointless fight and simply find the bomb.”

"That might be for the best as we might know what Kodai can do with her quirk, but Midoriya…" It was Monoma's turn to make a face as he recalled what he felt from the boy during their first homeroom. He felt nothing in the space where a quirk should reside, but he saw as hell had something. No one could pull off the stuff he had, but…he wasn't sure. All he knew was that I had to talk to him and get some answers before this drove him insane with theories.

And like with him, Shiozaki caught his face but misread it as she frowned. "While my reasons for avoiding a fight were based on my pacificist ideals, I agree with that. He has displayed remarkable physical abilities thus far, and he seems to like me and can control plant matter." She concluded, believing he was merely scared to face off against such a formidable unknown.

“Plant matter?” Monoma asked, pretending to be in the dark as Shiozaki explained part of what had been discussed with Shinso the previous day.

"We heard from someone in the same test area as him during the exam that his quirk seems to have a component to it that lets him create and control wood." As she explained it, she reached for her vine hair, wondering if his quirk was similar to hers or Kamui Woods, or worse, that he could manipulate all plant matter as if that was the case, it would mean she was all but useless against him.

“Yeah, his quirk.” Monoma didn't wish to lie or talk more about that, so he changed the subject. “Either way, we should avoid a fight with them, so I suppose a two-pronged assault. I enter through the entrance here and you from the top.” He pointed to some fire escape stairs to the side. She would need to reach the second floor to reach them, but he had seen what she had been capable of with her quirk during the assessment, so he had faith she'd manage it.

“Wouldn’t that needlessly split us?” Shiozaki asked.

"Not necessarily. We don't know where the bomb is, but odds are, they won't both be defending it. Midoriya would most likely be on patrol of the place, so if we use your quirk, we can slowly encroach on them. If he tries to fight through your vines, we know where he is and can fight him on two sides." The way he saw it, they didn't need to fight him head-on, not only because they wished to avoid a fight but because they weren't sure what he could do. This way, if one of them went down, it still gave the other a chance to find the bomb.

Shiozaki chewed on that but recalled that his plan had a hole. “Doesn’t your quirk have a time limit for how long you can hold a copied power?”

"Not if I have a lock, or in this case, a vine of her hair. If I keep that in hand, my limit will regularly reset." He replied as if he had copied people's quirks from nothing but hair. If Shiozaki's quirk worked similarly, he shouldn’t have an issue. It also meant he could keep distance between himself and Midoriya.

“Very well,” Shiozaki agreed as she removed a single vine of her hair, handing it over to him. "I trust you won't use my quirk for nefarious purposes."

Looking dramatically offended by that, he placed the back of his hand over his forehead in shock. "You wound me as if I'll betray the trust of a classmate."

“Alright, remember you're all hero students, so don't take things too far! Now let the first matchup between Team A and D begin!" Vlad's voice rang through the speakers in the area; Monoma quickly copied Shiozaki's quirk, changing his hair to vine shoulder-length vines.

“May the lord bless you.” Shiozaki bowed her head a little as she turned to head for the fire escape.

“Good luck to you as well.” Monoma returned it as he walked into the building via the main entrance. He knew it was risky, but he also bet that the villains were probably expecting them to sneak in like Shiozaki was. Once he cleared the place, he closed his eyes and reached into that little pocket inside Shiozaki's quirk, as while Neito wasn't as proficient with a quirk as the original holder, he found out pretty early one that he got a sort of ‘manual’ with any quirk he copied, giving him the basics of how it worked and how to use it.

With that reached, excessing, it allowed him to quickly grow out and shift his hair into tendril-covered waves of vines around the place. First blocking off the entrance before feeling out the few rooms on the ground level. Once he cleared those, he also sealed them off, as he wished to box them in. Shiozaki was doing the same on the roof as she closed off windows before going through the rooftop entrance, which wasn't even locked, but she still sealed it once inside.

As they cleared the floors, the students in the observation room kept an eye on them. At the same time, Vlad had his arms crossed, as it wasn't a bad idea they came up with. Still, it wouldn't work if the villains kept their plans up, so Monoma and Shiozaki would need to either be lucky or improvise.

Back with the four in the field, Monoma had just finished clearing the 2^nd floor, and as he was climbing the stairs, he radioed his teammate. "Shiozaki, any luck?"

“Afraid not, but I’ve sealed the roof and everything past the 5^th floor and am making my way down to the 4^th floor," Shiozaki replied as he slowly moved around.

“That’s good, I’m on my way to the 3^rd floor which means one of us…” He stopped when he saw something he hadn't expected, Midoriya seated in the middle of the hallway, a bokken at his side with his back turned to him. “I’ve spotted Midoriya.”

“Where?” Shiozaki asked him.

“He’s seated in the middle of the hallway with what looked to be a bokken in hand," Monoma replied, wondering what Midoriya's game was, as it couldn't be this simple. Even if he was just arrogant, he would be facing the stairs. No, this had to be a trap. He was trying to bait him into attacking him, but why?

“Bokken?” Shiozaki seemed confused by the term.

"Wooden sword. I don't remember him having that earlier, so your theory of creating wood seems to be true." Monoma said, narrowing his eyes as he tried to figure out what Midoriya was playing here, but then he blinked and…wait, what the hell?

“What? Where’d he go?” Monoma asked, looking around the place and not seeing Midoriya at all.

“What do you mean?” Shiozaki asked, sounding as concerned as he was right now.

"He vanished; he was right before me a second ago; now he's gone!" He whispered loudly in frustration. Stepping into the hallway proper, he looked around and saw there wasn't anywhere he could have gone; there were no doors or windows in sight.

“You know,” He heard someone behind him and, without thinking, lashing out with his vine hair. Still, Midoriya jumped away, flipping in the air before landing in a crouch. Unbothered by that reflex, he continued to speak as if it never happened. "You should learn to whisper softer; I heard your entire conversation.” Midoriya made his ears twitch, with Monoma narrowing his eyes as he wasn't sure what was happening.

“You should have taken me out when you had the chance.” He told him, keeping his guard up as he struggled to figure out how Midoriya had just done that. Speed? All Might was fast to just vanish and reappear. No, that shouldn't be possible. Midoriya had a different kind of speed. Perhaps he went invisible? But wouldn't he have heard it? Even if those boots dampened the noise.

Midoriya could tell that the gears were turning in his head over that little trick he pulled. It had been easy; all he did was mask his tenet with Osaeru and walk right over to him. Standing at his feet' height, he gripped his bokken, having made it as short as a wakizashi rather than a full-length one due to the tight space of the hallway. “I could have, but this is training, is it not? What would be there to learn if I just knocked you out.”

Reaching for his earpiece, he kept his eye on Monoma, who looked ready to strike at a moment's notice. Good, he had good instincts. "Kodai, we were right. They split, and Shiozaki's coming from up top." Midoriya informed his teammate; the reserved girl, having been waiting on her side of the building, started walking towards the stairs to head up and fend off Shiozaki.

“I’ll handle it.” Was her response as she cut the line, leaving the two to themselves as Midoriya smiled towards Monoma. However, it had an edge to it.

“ If you want that bomb, you’ll have to go through me.” Monoma didn't reply with words but vines as a wave of them was sent towards Midoriya, who smiled as he swung his bokken to meet their threat.

Watching this play out, the students were confused as Monoma had merely let Midoriya approach him and acted spooked when he leaned over to talk to him. Even Vlad was caught off guard, though he hid this better than them. "Hold on, how the heck did Midoriya do that? Monoma didn't react at all to him walking towards him." Kaibara asked as the two started to fight, Monoma trying to keep Midoriya back with a mass of Shiozaki's vines. Still, his opponent was quick, avoiding the more prominent groups and swinging at the others, slicing through them despite using a wooden weapon.

"Maybe it's part of his quirk? Masking yourself from eyes but not cameras." Yanagi suggested, the girl finding Midoriya to be the pretty spooky one as with this, and the mystery that was his quirk, she would be lying if she claimed to not want to dig into this.

Awase groaned into his hand. “Great, so unless we replace our eyes with cameras, he’ll be able to sneak up on us whenever he wants?” He was not looking forward to that.

"Not just your eyes. Monoma should have also heard him approaching, but he didn't." Honenuki added, though it wasn't wanted, as others started to complain that Midoriya might as well have 2 quirks about how in the hell this could fall under the same branch, and in the privacy of his mind, Vlad was starting to agree with them.

"Regardless of the how, there is the issue of why. If Izuku could sneak up on him, why didn't he handle him then and there?" Shishida broke off the discussion before it could proceed, as there was still one gleaming problem.

Tsubaraba shrugged. "Not sure, but he looks like he's enjoying this battle." The group noted that even as Monoma tried to burry him in vines, and the two seemed to exchange banter, Midoriya had yet to be caught, using one solid swing to slice clean through most of the vines, leaving the floor covered in what must be dozens of severed vines right now.

“Shiozaki and Kodai are fighting.” Tsunotori directed their attention to the other encounter of the match

With the two girls, they starred the other down; Shiozaki composed while Kodai was aloof and passive. "So, the bomb is on the 3^rd or 4^th floor?" Shiozaki eventually asked, her loose vines rising at her mental command.

Reaching into her pocket, Kodai nodded her head. “It’s on the 3^rd; we wanted to place it in the middle of the building." Shiozaki narrowed her gaze just a little at that admission. She must have been confident she could keep her here, a dangerous level of confidence that she would say bordered on arrogance.

She must ensure she taught her better, which could come after this. “I thank you for telling me that, so please surrender.”

“No.” Kodai’s response was to the point.

“Very well,” Shiozaki sent her vines towards her to try and snatch her up. Still, Kodai threw what she had grabbed from her pocket to her before bringing her hands together with the quiet utterance of 'release'. That was revealed to be a toy train, supersized and crushing her vines underneath it. “Where did she?” Shiozaki asked, as she was sure this place wouldn't have such trivial items.

"I carry stuff on me for my quirk," Kodai answered her question, tapping the pouch that her costume came with attached to the belt. Bringing her hands together, she said, "Release." Which shrunk the toy back to its standard size, which Shiozaki used as a chance to try and advance, but was met with another obstacle, this one being an old action figure. She managed to move her vines to catch it, only the object to shrink while another came.

Avoiding the tire-sized coin thrown at her, Shiozaki found herself on the back foot as, in this cramped space, she couldn't use her quirk to its best potential, not without needless destruction to the structure. She refused to be that kind of hero. Kodai knew this, so she wasn't bothering to risk a capture attempt backfiring on her, so she merely chose to run out the clock. "If I can keep you bottle-necked here, you lose."

She saw the vines growing in number as Shiozaki doubled her efforts. Still, she threw another toy train, making it large enough to block off the entire hallway before reaching for her earpiece. “I have Shiozaki on the 4^th floor, I’ll keep her away from the bomb.”

“And I’ll handle Monoma,” She could hear his battle if it could be called that, as all she heard was faint demands from Monoma and what sounded like something being cut. Did he have a knife on him? “Man, this is fun! Talk later.” Midoriya ended the call, leaving her to focus on this, but it was off that he seemed so engaged in this; perhaps she'll learn more about him as the school year went on.

“Weird.” She didn't get a chance to think about it as dozens of vines grabbed the train holding Shiozaki back, thorns jutting out of them before crushing it along with parts of the wall.

Kodai merely blinked when she saw this, as the mass of vines that approached her now had thorns covering them, clearly strong ones if the remains of her train were of any indication. Bringing her hands together again, she shrunk it normally, leaving tiny pieces of wood and plastic on the floor. “Was that smart? Wreaking the walls along with the barrier.”

In contrast to her calm, deadpan, Shiozaki grew irritated with the situation. “I just need to force my way through, as frustrating as that is.”

Kodai nodded, kneeling and picking up a small piece of the wall. It wasn't as heavy as she had thought it would be. “True, but how do you plan to do that when I’m slowing you down.”

"By destroying what obstacles you place before me and capturing you.” Shiozaki's barbed vines raced towards her again, only to be met by a group of boulder-sized rocks appearing out of nowhere.

"Walls are things, too, and you just broke it," Kodai explained, touching more of the rocks and using her quirk to supersize them, forming an over-strengthened wall even as Shiozaki's vines worked through the gaps to grasp at them and smash them to pieces. But she eventually lost her patience. Her growl sounded very out of place with the usually calm, serene girl, and her vines destroyed more than half the rock wall between them.

"That seems bad," Kodai muttered before turning around and jogging off. “Bye.”

Shiozaki felt her ire grow just a little as the source of it fled, but she took a breath to calm herself lest she let anger guide her. 'She's fleeing? She must think she'll have a closer position, but that means she's leading me to the device. All I need is to know the room and one of my vines can touch it; that should count as a capture.' Destroying the last of the wall, she gave chase, only to turn the corner and see it blocked off by supersized random items.

She may move up that discipline for Kodai.

Monoma felt like he was hitting a brick wall as he continued to try to defeat Midoriya. Still, the boy was too quick for him, and despite using nothing but a bokken, he was slicing through almost everything he threw at him; the stupid wooden practice sword that even showed signs of wear and tear would have no cracks.

“How is that even possible?” He asked as he leaned onto the wall, his head included as he sent off more vines towards Midoriya, who sliced them in two before jumping back to avoid the rest.

"Now, where's the fun in telling you?" He replied before he blinked. “Oh?” He jumped up, avoiding the leg snare Monoma had set up as he flipped midair so that his legs were facing the ceiling, which Midoriya used to kick off towards Monoma, striking him across the chest with his weapon as he flew back.

“Dammit!” Monoma cursed in anger and pain from the blow that dropped him to his knees. He knew he would have a bruise shaped like a line across his chest later. Midoriya turned to face him, still not finishing him.

"Nice try there, distracting me with a swarm and laying some of your vines in wait. You even moved yourself to the wall so I wouldn't notice them still attached to your head.” Midoriya instead complimented his trick, as if he had been anyone else, it probably would have been in a bind right about now.

His chest still sore from that counterattack, Monoma turned to glare at him, just a little as he was running out of ideas. “Then how did you see them coming?”

“Have you ever tried to sneak up on a cat on the prowl? It’s impossible.” Again, Midoriya didn’t give him a direct answer, speaking in metaphors and cat comparisons, as he had been this entire time. “But why don’t we spice things up, don’t we?” He dashed towards him, but a moment later, the jet vanished again as Monoma felt something hit his shoulder, making him take a few steps back.

“What the heck?!” Turning, he saw Midoriya standing but holding something in his hand that made him go wide-eyed, especially as he tried squeezing his left hand and found it empty. “When did you…” Midoriya's smile looked less playful and more akin to a cat that had caught a canary.

"I noticed that you never let off this, so my bet is that it's important to your quirk. Probably a time limit, and this," He held it up before tossing it back into the sea of severed vines, not so much a needle in a haystack as it was hay in a haystack. “Was keeping that up.”

“Dammit.” His chest was still sore from that strike, and the shoulder tackle he must have used to disguise him from grabbing Shiozaki's vine from his hand wasn't helping his case. 'My time limits shouldn't be too much of a problem, but that means I've wasted too much time fighting him.' They would have spent a little over 6 minutes fighting if they had kept the time right. That meant he had less than 4 left to mind that bomb as he was smart enough to know he was out-classed, only still in the fight because Midoriya wanted him in the fight like that wasn't a bitter pill to swallow.

‘If the sounds I’m hearing are right, then it means that Shiozaki is managing to push Kodai back, I just need a way to get past him and meet up with her, but how?’ Looking at the floor, he saw the many vines he had already lost and knew that he didn't have much left, as Shiozaki's quirk wasn't unlimited. He couldn't pull a trick like before; that didn't work. Midoriya would see it…coming from a mile away.

But what if that was what he wanted? A game plan came together in his head, a one-shot deal, but he could live with that if it panned out.

Letting go of his bruised ribs, he smirked towards Midoriya, who looked confused by the expression. “You say you can react to anything I throw at you, then try on this.” He sent out a dozen vines towards him, and when he moved to jump, he sent another couple to try and ensnare him again.

Of course, Midoriya saw right through this and managed to evade it with ease. “Really? That was,” He paused when he saw that Monoma was gone. In his place was a wall-to-wall barrier made of vines tightly packed together. “Slow. Clever.” He could hear him on the other side, panting from what must have been exhaustion before he ran off.

Reaching for his earpiece, he notified Kodai of this change. “Hey, Kodai, Monoma got past me and is heading for the bomb, I’ll be there in a second.” He swung his bokken at the vines, the weapon still flowing with his tenet to strength and sharpen it, only this time, when he cut through the vines, he saw that it was really thick.

"Make that a few seconds. Someone didn't want me to follow." Midoriya pulled his arm back to slice at this till he got through.

“That won’t hold him for long.” Monoma thought to himself as he raced away from where he had been getting his hands to him, his hair bald as he used up all his vines to erect that massive barrier to keep Midoriya busy.

“Shiozaki, where are you?” He asked over the comments, hoping she had better luck than him.

What he heard sounded both irritated and tired. “Approaching the stairs to the 3^rd floor. Kodai slowed me down.” He didn't have time to wonder what Kodai could have done to get that sort of reaction out of her as he saw something in a room with a slightly ajar door. Opening the door, he saw a large object poorly concealed by a tarp. He smiled and sighed in relief as he raced for it. All it would take was a single touch, and they'd win.

“I think I found it, we-” His hand ripped the tarp off only to be met with what he could say, with a stone in his gut, was a familiar sight of wood. “Win?”

“What? What is the issue?” Shiozaki asked him as he felt like growling and cursing up a storm as he looked up at the crudely made wooden bomb; no way this was what they were meant to capture, not when he was in this match.

“It’s a fake! Dammit, they swapped out the real one for one of Midoriya’s wooden constructs!” Monoma yelled over his coms, rubbing his bald head in frustration as he let Shiozaki's quirk rescind, but to his mild horror, he still felt his head was bald.

"Right, you are." His eyes shot up around the room to try to find the source of it, but no matter where he looked, he didn't see Midoriya. “Shame that you'll never get to see the real thing."

“How did you catch up so fast?” He asked, looking behind every box, lifting other tarps, even checking the sole window to see if he was out there.

Midoriya's chuckle only made him sweat, which didn't sound comforting. "Oh, that's easy. Instead of wasting time trying to get through your final barrier, I went downstairs through a window. Much easier."

"So, climbed out one window, went up a floor and entered through another?" Monoma questioned, trying to buy time so that he could locate him. However, he didn't know what he'd do after losing Shiozaki's vine, and he had already let the quirk vanish from its 'holding' spot. Usually, he'll just copy his opponent's quirk, but that wasn't an option right now!

“What, is that so hard to believe?” He just knew from that response that Midoriya was messing with him. He had him trapped like a rat and was only deciding on when to take him out.

Unfortunately, or fortunately, depending on who you asked, Midoriya made his decision. "But that doesn't matter much anymore. I could run out the clock, but why use up the full time to finish this?" Suddenly, he reappeared as if phasing back into reality. In his arms was a cartoonishly big hammer, which he swung into Monoma's chest. Monoma felt something crack at the same time as all the air was expunged from his body as he was sent flying, his limbs noodles as he crashed into the wall, collapsing on the floor in a moaning, painful heap.

“A-a hammer...!” Monoma struggled to get air, and he knew that he must have cracked a rib from there as he glared at the culprit, who walked up, resting his hammer on his shoulder. “Really?”

“I didn’t swing it that hard. You’re still conscious, aren’t you?” Midoriya shrugged, though he was still smiling as it had always wanted to pull that stunt. Monoma only muttered something about him being crazy under his breath as Midoriya whipped out his capture tape and wrapped it around Monoma’s leg, the boy not bothering to fight when he knew he had been bested.

“Monoma is been captured; he’s eliminated!” Vlad announced for all to hear as Midoriya reached a hand towards Monoma, who blinked in surprise at the gesture. Looking up, he saw that Midoriya still had a smile on his face, but it lacked any malice, arrogance or taunting presence. It was a friendly smile, the type you'll give someone when you say that you hoped they had a lovely day and meant it.

With his hand still out, Midoriya asked something. “No hard feelings?”

"There are some tough feelings," Monoma started, but still took the offered hand to help him up with a grunt, his ribs and other sores making themselves known to him. “But I’ll deal with them with some help.” As he got up, he shut off his earpiece, wanting to say something he didn't want Vlad to hear.

"That's great," Midoriya replied but found that Monoma hadn't let go of his hand; looking up, the bald guy was staring intently at him.

"I want to talk about your quirk,” Midoriya's brow creased at that; did he want to make a guess? Instead, Monoma leaned in, wrapping a hand around him like a hug to mask him, shutting off Midoriya's earpiece in a move that could quickly come off as accidental. Now, with a moment of privacy. “Or lack of one.” Once he said it, he turned them back on, hoping that Vlad would assume it was an error. As Midoriya looked at him, he just grew a second hard.

“When?” He broke from his victorious foe.

"Later, right now, I'm just gonna let this end so I can go see Recovery Girl," Monoma replied as he made his way out, hoping there was a path he hadn't sealed off. Leaving Midoriya to look at his back as he went, wondering what he'd do if Monoma asked too many questions or threatened to out him as Izuku liked his friends; he really did, but he wasn't sure he could trust them with them. He didn't want to look at him with hate, disgust, or pity.

Chapter 17: Alleviating Truths

Chapter Text

(Previously)

"I want to talk about your quirk,” Midoriya's brow creased at that; did he want to make a guess? Instead, Monoma leaned in, wrapping a hand around him like a hug to mask him, shutting off Midoriya's earpiece in a move that could quickly come off as accidental. Now, with a moment of privacy. “Or lack of one.” Once he said it, he turned them back on, hoping that Vlad would assume it was an error. As Midoriya looked at him, he just grew a second hard.

“When?” He broke from his victorious foe.

"Later, right now, I'm just gonna let this end so I can see Recovery Girl," Monoma replied as he made his way out, hoping there was a path he hadn't sealed off. Leaving Midoriya to look at his back as he went, wondering what he'd do if Monoma asked too many questions or threatened to out him as Izuku liked his friends; he really did, but he wasn't sure he could trust them with them. He didn't want to look at him with hate, disgust, or pity.

After that, they quickly finished their match, but Izuku didn't focus too much on it, even when he heard that Kodai had finally managed to trick Shiozaki into putting herself in a position where she could be trapped. Monoma didn't say anything else after that, walking off to see Recovery Girl, which meant that Izuku was left to stew in his thoughts and worries. He barely paid attention to the second match, even if it was the shortest, nor did he really talk with Kodai or Kuroiro when they approached him.

Both realised that he had something on his mind but didn't push it, which he appreciated as he had no clue how to tell them what he was worrying about in the first place. Still, when the third match started, he took a breath and tried to focus on that. That match was between Tsunotori and Honenuki against Rin and Tsuburaba, which proved to be almost as short as the second match as Honenuki merely used his quirk on the building floors, allowing Tsunotori to attack from the room below the bomb, catching the defenders off guard long enough for the bomb to fall through enough for Honenuki to touch it, willing the match.

Tokage and Komori were next, up against Awase and Bondo, with it turning into a brawl in favour of the villains till halfway through when Komori distracted them with her mushrooms, allowing Tokage to send out a hand to touch the bomb. It was only after the match that Monoma returned, and while they shared a glance, he didn't say a word, though Izuku was confused by the look he had. He had been expected hate, disgust or even some sense of smug superiority over the 'unevolved quirkless boy', but he saw none of them,

He merely looked confused but…also open. He had only seen that look on people from the sanctuary and Raxus.

Again, he had to turn his attention from trying to solve that mystery to the 5^th and final fight of the class, which pitted Tetsutetsu and Kaibara against f*ckidashi and Kamakiri. It was the longest of the fights, as Kamakiri and Tetsutestu essentially cancelled each other out as Tetsutetsu was too durable to be cut. At the same time, Kamakiri was too fast to be hit. Kaibara wasn't as limited, but he was the slowest of the group. In contrast, f*ckidashi had to hold back lest he damage the building too much. Ultimately, the villains barely scratched out a victory by running out the clock.

When it was all said and done, Vlad led them outside back to the entrance into the area. Looking them over, the man held his hands to the waist, a glint of pride in his eyes. "Excellent work, students. If I haven't seen one, a productive first class, with injuries kept to a minimum."

Shiozaki, worried, raised her hand. “Was someone badly hurt in class A?”

Vlad nodded, impressed that Shiozaki managed to get the double meaning in his statement. "Correct, which makes me all the happier to see that you could all excuse a far greater level of restraint as, while an exercise, this was still a battle between you. But to be clear," He’ll have to speak with All Might about that, among other things.

But before that, there was something else he wanted to tell his students. “Always remember that heroes fight to subdue and protect, not to destroy or kill. So always be mindful of your surroundings; the amount of force you use as quirks can be dangerous in the wrong hands." He looked them over as he said that, making sure they all heard and understood it as Monoma raised his hand next.

"Will you be handling our next hero class, Vlad-sensei?" The blond copy quirk user asked, while he wasn't as upset as he was in the beginning, he hoped this wasn't a forewarning of a pattern.

Vlad shared his sentiments as he replied. "Not if things don't go sideways, as All Might was hired to handle first-year hero classes." Nodding, Monoma lowered his hand, ignoring how Midoriya was eyeing him out of the corner of his eye.

“Well then, any further questions?” Vlad asked again, and when no one came forward, he turned to leave. “Well then, class dismissed. I have to start reviewing your purposes to give appropriate grades.” Vlad finished as he left the students, the class breaking into a discussion over the events of their first class, which fell further into the distance as he moved. A little while later, he entered the teacher's lounge, closing the door behind him and seeing someone who wasn't his favourite.

"I would have thought you would still be in the principal's office, All Might," Vlad stated, looking towards the corner of the room where the weakened form of All Might sat on the couch, out of immediate sight from the door. Even then, the odds that a student would realise who he was were slim, to say the least.

Coughing into his hand, All Might turned to Vlad with a grimace as he suspected that his missing class B wasn't appreciated by the blood hero. "I wanted to speak with you first to apologise for missing their first class. I hope they weren't too disappointed."

"You can guess how disappointed they were. And you can make it up to me and them by not flaking on them." All Might flinched at that statement, but he couldn't deny it as he spent too much time with class A, and before All Might realised it, he had burnt through most of his remaining time. That was a mistake he wasn't looking to repeat.

"I'll keep that in mind. I don't want to make this a pattern." He answered, Vlad, looking him over for a moment, a frown on his face before he nodded, having detected nothing but honesty and slight remorse from the symbol of peace.

"It's not me you need to apologise to. I know you don't have all the time in the day, but they don't." Vlad sighed, as this would have been easier if the number one wasn't near crippled by an injury he and the rest of the staff hadn't even known about till 6 months ago. They noticed he had not been as active over the last 5 years. Still, they had chalked it up to age as the man was over 20 years his senior, and hero work was one of the most physically demanding professions.

Still, while he didn't take it too personally that the man ran out of time, he wished he had managed it better as Vlad went over to his desk and pulled up a chair. "Anything else?" He asked as All Might had got up to speak with him.

“I wished to ask about their performance. Any issues on that front?” Vlad hummed, happy that the man was at least trying to keep himself involved in teaching.

"Nothing of importance. They handled themselves well, made some mistakes, but that is to be expected from first years." Vlad replied that he was impressed with them, but compared to students who had just a semester or two under their belts, they were as raw as sushi. Even Midoriya, the anomaly he was, had some gaps in his techniques.

Handing over a flash drive with the recordings of the matches, he made sure to look All Might in the eye as he reminded him. "Remember that you'll be handling their next class. I'll be there if you need help, but you should be directing the ship." Matching his gaze, even in his weakened form, the symbol of peace had a fire to his eyes that was something to be awed.

“Understood, but it’s a far cry from what happened with class A.” All Might replied, taking a breath as he wished that things had gone better with them, as they had all managed to survive the gauntlet that was Aizawa, a man he heard was infamous for expelling students he deemed ill-suited for hero work. But he should have known his luck wasn’t that good.

“That bad? I only heard from Aizawa that he was considering expelling some childish behaviours." Vlad asked as the perpetually sleepy underground hero hadn't looked pleased when he last saw him.

"For the most part, things went well, but the first match proved the most troublesome. Young Bakugo and Iida were the villains and went up against young Kendo and Uraraka." All Might started as Vlad took a moment to try and recall the names. He was familiar with Iida, as he and his brother had been classmates back in the day. It was the others that escaped him for a moment.

Bakugo came in third on the entrance exam, with Kendo being 1^st? If he was recalling things right, Kendo had the quirk that broke her hands.

All Might nodded. "Yup, so they're talented and have exceptional quirks. The problem is personality and mentality. Bakugo's been furious since day one that he wasn't number one on the exam. When he had a chance to face off against Kendo, it was like the actual objectives didn’t matter to him.” All Might continued as he had hoped that Bakugo was merely motivated, but even before he gave a buzz to start, the signs were there from his lack of teamwork and dismissal of young Iida to how dogged he was in just fighting his successor, young Kendo.

Vlad could put the clues together from that. “So, a hothead? Not the first one we've got, and certainly won't be the last." U.A. was the top school in Japan, with only Shiketsu being in any position to call themselves a rival, but that meant that everyone with an ego and a slightly above-average quirk tried to get it. When they did, they tended to act like they were God's gift to humanity or the next All Might.

All Might wished it was that simple as he sat in a chair close to Vlad. "If only, but Kendo saw it fit to engage him, trying to beat him, which led to the building coming down as both went way too far. Luckily, Uraraka and Iida weren't badly hurt, but the trial had to be cancelled for obvious reasons." Never had he seen two people under the name of hero be so violent, nor had he ever seen someone young Bakugo's age look so angry and aggressive.

At that, Vlad turned to him as this sounded serious. "You didn't try to stop things before they went too far?"

All Might wished he had that foresight, or rather, he wished he hadn't let his personal bias cloud his judgement as he had wanted to give young Kendo the chance to get through to him, prove why she was the top on the entrance exam, and young Bakugo wasn't. That was why both were still unconscious in Recovery Girl's office. "I reminded both to focus on the task, but when Bakugo stopped responding, that should have been my warning to step in."

"You're right, it was. But at the end of the day, it's no longer in your hands. Let's hope they only get a month's detention from Aizawa." Vlad replied, as while All Might had screwed up, he couldn't have expected his students, both top scorers with presumable clean middle school records, to be so reckless. He certainly never dealt with a student like that.

"Still, while young Bakugo has the drive, he's far too violent and short-tempered. He sought out Kendo and even went as far as using a support item. I'm not too sure a student his age and temperament should even easily kill someone with that kind of explosive power. If he doesn't change," All Might didn’t finish that sentence.

Vlad did. "He'll be expelled. We've handled students like that before All Might, brats that were the big fish in a small pond with egos that can't accept what was the past, but we can't force them to change. They have to want to get better. I've seen plenty of students with potential squander it, and let me tell you, Aizawa isn't the only one willing to trim the fat with such." He didn't like it, but if the child didn't see the need or couldn't put in the work to better themselves, they were better off as far as being a hero as possible.

The worst case is that they're taken away by law enforcement for a reform program if they were that extreme a case, but that was rare as he, in his 6 years teaching, had never needed to get the police involved. In fact, the last person U.A. had to call the police to take away was the now-death row inmate Moonfish 9 years ago. He had been promising, but his obsession with flesh and blood grew too extreme.

Nezu's choice to expel him came only 3 weeks before he killed a correctional officer and teacher in the juvenile reform facility and escaped. By the time Edgeshot and Yoroi Musha took him down 2 years into his murder spree, he had killed and cannibalised another 22 people.

“Well then, let’s hope we can do enough to get the boy to change, as it’s never a good feeling to see your dreams die.” All Might stated, as while he didn't know of Moonfish's time at U.A., he wished to ensure that they did all they could to ensure that no more students fell to such a dark path.

Sometime later, the school day was coming to an end. With the bell having rung, the students were packing their stuff, talking about what they would do that afternoon, whose homework would be the hardest or if they wanted to hang out a little before they went home. In the middle of this, Midoriya was quietly packing away his stuff. This was what Kuroiro found when he approached him.

“Hey, I wanted to ask if you take long because we would like to leave soon," Kuroiro stated, gesturing to the doorway where Shiozaki and Kodai, his friends, were already waiting.

He smiled, but his eye moved towards someone else as he got up. “Why don’t you head out without me? There’s something I need to do.”

“Okay, what would that be?” Kuroiro asked him, but he didn’t answer as he stepped past him to Monoma’s desk.

He placed a hand on the desk and looked the blonde in the eye. "Monoma. We need to talk."

Contrary to what people would have expected from him, maybe a smug look, he would ask a follow-up on why they needed to talk. But he didn't do any of them as he collected his stuff and got up. "I believe we do." With that, the two left the class and their confused classmates.

"Okay, am I the only one that thought that was weird?" Kaibara asked, with the rest nodding their heads, but this went unseen by the two in question. Instead, they walked down the halls away from other students and staff, heading towards a more secluded part of campus as they used one of the alternative entrances to leave the main building. Even when they entered the forested area, they continued for a couple minutes.

When they finally reached a clearing, Midoriya closed his eyes and listened for anyone nearby, tried to feel out any tenet in the area and only relaxed when both came up empty. "And what, pray tell, was that just now?" Monoma asked, having witnessed all that.

"Same thing as when a can seems to scan its surroundings. Wanted to make sure we were alone for this." Midoriya replied, which had Monoma rolling his eyes as he was about done with the dumb comparisons to felines.

Deciding that if Midoriya was dancing around it, he wouldn't, he cut to the chase. "Right, but the thing is, you don't have a cat-based quirk; you don't have a quirk at all, do you?" He challenged him, a frown on his face, but again, Midoriya didn't detect any emotion he had come to expect from people who didn't know him.

Still, he wasn't about to give up his secrets unless he was sure there was no way out of it as he crossed his arms. "Hell of a thing to say when you saw what I can do."

That might have worked if he hadn't talked to Neito, who had a way around that little assumption. "Maybe, but my quirk has never been wrong. When I touch someone, even when I'm not copying their quirk, I can feel their quirk factor. Get a read on their quirk, even something as slight as coloured hair."

Neito locked eyes with him, not giving an inch to him in this. "But you? If quirks were like different types of drinks and the body cups, your cup might be in peak condition…but empty." Stepping forward, he kept the heat up.

"I touched your shoulder on our first day, and I managed to touch you again today during our fight." He ignored his annoyance over how he only lasted so long because Izuku wanted him to. “Still empty.”

Midoriya, on the back foot, wanted to counter this as there were quirks he couldn't copy, but Monoma beat him to the punch, raising a hand to cut him off. "And yes, there are quirks which I can't copy, but not because the quirk itself isn't accessible to me. Rather, it's quirks that require stockpiled energy. Those are blanks for me as I can copy the quirk but not the energy it feeds off." If Izuku had a quirk, he would have got something from him.

“Like how a mechanic can build a perfect replica of a type of car based on something he saw, but he can't put in whatever it was in the truck or fuel tank?” Midoriya asked, to which Monoma nodded.

"Correct, so will you continue with this or get serious?" Monoma asked him. The tension in the air between them was thick as this was part of what Izuku was avoiding. He didn't want people to know he didn't have some quirk; he didn't want them to treat him differently, to act like he was inferior, unevolved or fragile, but it would seem he was asking too much of the universe.

He deflated. “No…no, you’re right.” Rubbing his face, he prepared for the worst as he knew he could deny it, but that could mean Monoma kicking the hornet's nest with the rest. “I’m quirkless. I wanted to keep that to myself, didn’t want U.A to be…” He didn’t finish the sentence, his middle and elementary school years flashing in the back of his mind.

“A repeat of middle school?” Monoma finished the statement for him, meeting his confused look with a passive one, not a hint of resentment, ego or disgust as he moved to sit under a tree. “Well, I didn't want to speak with you just to get blackmail material, nor do I want to make your time here difficult. I merely wanted answers." He told him.

"Why? How are you handling this so well? You're not," Again, Monoma cut him off with a smirk.

"Freaking out? Rubbing it in your face that I have a quirk and you don't? It's because I get it. I know what you feel." He leaned his head on the tree while Midoriya scoffed at the claim.

“I doubt it.”

Monoma hummed. "Maybe, after all, you're the first confirmed quirkless person I've ever met. But I didn't need to meet one. You understand that trying to break you down would be hypocritical of me and downright shameful." He replied, Midoriya going silent to listen to him as Neito took a break to state his case.

"You know, people value their quirks. Like on the list of things people would say are essential to how they are as people, their unique quirk would be pretty high there. I'm talking top 5." He started, with Midoriya's brow creasing in annoyance as he knew that it was such an important thing that dating apps and shows would have segments based on quirks; even though people decided that marriage based on quirks was pretty bad, it wasn't illegal or gone.

So Monoma kept going. "But that means that they see people like me, people that copy others' quirks, as an attack on what makes them special. Ever since I was little, I wanted to be a hero, just like most kids. But at the same time, once my quirk came in, all I ever heard from people was that ‘you couldn’t be a hero with a quirk like that’, or ‘you only get ahead by copying others’ or ‘there’s nothing special about you.”

Monoma stopped himself before he went too far down that rabbit hole. "I could go on, but you can fill in the blanks."

“I’m…sorry about that, I didn’t realise.” Midoriya, hearing this and knowing that he was being honest, felt like a jackass for just assuming; of course, having a quirk didn't mean a pass; plenty of people he had met had quirks that were seen as inadequate or villainous.

He waved it off. "It's fine; I can only guess that for you, it must have been a grass is greener on the other side thing, but then again, you're the first person outside my family that, without prompt, thinks my quirk is great." That was a surprise, as not even their classmates had said something like that. He even heard Kaibara say that his quirk was creepy but had gotten used to such comments that it didn't even phase him.

"My point is, while you might have been looked down on out of some misplaced pity for lack of a quirk, I was avoided because I was seen as a threat to quirks," Monoma said as Midoriya moved closer and took the spot next to him under the tree. “So, believe me, I get it, wanting to escape that, to start a new with fresh faces in a new place.”

"I guess you could say we're similar on that front," Midoriya relented, as he knew that struggle of trying so hard to be what you wanted even while the world told you otherwise. He understood that for people like them to become heroes, they couldn't act like heroes, or else they'd be left in the dust and that they didn't leave you feeling rosy. “Let me guess, part of why you want to be a hero is to prove that you could and shut up those naysayers?” Monoma gave him a wicked smirk filled with resentment and glee.

“I want them to choke on their words.” Midoriya raised a fist at him, which he met with a fist pump between them as neither felt the need to hide that, to disguise the fact that they were bitter people on some level, close to their cores. They were pissed that they were allowed to ever develop such dreams that soon turned into such heavy burdens.

"But back to the point, I won't give you any trouble because you're quirkless. Just know that if you ever need someone to talk to, you know where to find me." Monoma told him, a smile as genuine as a puppy's affection on his face as Midoriya felt any caution he felt towards him melt away. He chuckled as it would appear that the master was right; maybe he should be a little more trusting.

“I’ll think about it, Mo…Neito. It’s nice to have people you can rely on when things get tough.” Neito didn't seem to mind him using his first name, and he hoped that he would start referring to him by Izuku as well, as they shared a bond, one that the others in class didn't. And because of that, he wanted to do something to celebrate that. "But if we were sharing, I might as well put my cards on the table as well."

“You don’t have to.” Neito frowned, as he didn't want to force him to do anything like that, which only made Izuku wish to do it more because he was being given the choice.

“I know, I want to.” He replied as he took a breath, wondering how he'd word this. "The first thing that I want to do is all based around life force, or tenet, which I learned about from my master, Kenmikoto Teitora.” He started before he explained it all.

“Wow….” 30 minutes later, Monoma was glad he was seated, or else he would have fallen over by now.

"Yeah, I figured that would be your reaction," Midoriya stated, as what he had just told him was pretty big, some of which he did not even know the full story of as he didn't even know what to call Shizune and half the stuff they did.

"If I hadn't seen you pull that wood trick and the vanishing act, I would have thought you crazy." Monoma moaned as he rubbed his face, some of him wishing he had just let sleeping dogs lie. Now, he had this to consider.

"Whoever said I was sane? You gotta miss a few slices of the loaf to just half of what I've done." Midoriya joked, getting a chuckle out of the blonde.

“Oh, that we can agree on.” At least he now knew that their earlier theory that Izuku was getting physically abused was false, but that only made him shudder at the implications of such an intensive training regimen. “So, in theory, anyone could learn this? Bend wood like you?”

Midoriya frowned, his hands raised and lowered like they were scales. "Yes on both counts, but there is a caveat to that. Firstly, having a quirk means you can't pick and choose how you use your tenet as your body is already geared towards one use. You, for example, might be an exception as your quirk lets you copy others, but that's unproven." He wasn't an expert on the issue, so he couldn't speak with any absolute authority.

He felt a little more comfortable with the second one. Reaching his hand onto the tree they leaned on, he shifted some of its bark with his tenet, controlling the wood till it protruded from the trunk, breaking off a part of it and holding it in hand as he explained. "On that second front, wood is my affinity, so much so if I had a quirk, odds are it would be wood-related. So, the odds that you or anyone outside maybe Shiozaki could be the same is low, like really low." He shifted the piece into different shapes, first a road, then a cube, then a prism, before he tossed it aside.

“And then there is the time sink needed for it.” He had also learned that having a quirk, even one like his own, would mean he would need to sink much longer into training to make any actual use. “I think I’ll leave that to you.”

“We all have our talents,” Izuku replied. Truth be told, he wouldn't have minded having something in class join his training. “And for what it’s worth, I think you’ll make a damn good hero one day, in fact,” Getting up, he dusted himself off as he held a hand to Monoma.

"You want to join us for training? With the sports festival in a few weeks, we wanted to ensure we were all in top shape." He offered, which the blonde only laughed at as he reached for the offered hand, pulling himself up.

"Why not? How else are we going to show that class B is the best hero class?" He asked, with Midoriya joining in the laughter as the two walked off, they might have missed their trains, but they could catch another one.

“That’s the spirit!” Midoriya replied as they continued discussing exercise plans and tactics for the festival.

The lights were off despite it being past 5PM when he finally made it back to his apartment. Still, he wasn't expecting much as his long talk with Monoma, the idea that he could trust people outside his circle, left him in too good a mood to care about returning to an empty apartment as he flicked on the lights and locked the door behind him. At least, empty of human life, Mario and Peach were waiting for him, as always, as he petted them and got something out of the pantry for them to eat.

As his feline friends enjoyed their dinner, he skipped a shower, having done that after their hero class, and went straight to his homework as he might have got into U.A. Still, he wasn't going to let his grades stay where they were, he was aiming to get into the top half his class by mid-terms in terms of academics after all. When he finished that, he grabbed Mario and Peach's bowls to wash them out and started his dinner, switching the TV on while he worked to give the place some background noise.

He ignored the framed pictures that still hung on the walls as he moved, as while most were landscapes and other pretty sights, mainly meant to add life to a room, there were others. The first of which is a picture of his father, the second of his mother and the last of the 2-year version of himself. There were others, but there wasn’t a single framed picture of the two together as a family. Instead, there were pictures of him and his master, one that he didn't ignore was placed in the centre, where your eye would naturally fall onto.

He was tired and dirty in it, but he was smiling like he was just one. He remembered that day, the day he finally unlocked all his tenet points and learned how to handle the flow of it. It was mere basis, a far cry from what he did now, but he still held that memory as one of his proudest moments.

"I won't let you down, I swear it." He declared before he got back to it.

Chapter 18: Class Reps Meet

Chapter Text

Before anything else, I want to state my respects for one of the GOATS of manga and anime, Akira Toriyama, as it was announced last week, Friday/Saturday, that he sadly passed away. Love or hate Dragon Ball, it was a trailblazer for anime, both in Japan and the rest of the world. For me, it was the first anime I ever watched as a kid in South Africa and my first taste of a 'not safe' anime; before then, my very Christian parents forbade anything they disapproved of, only for one day after school, Dragon ball was on, and my journey into weebdom and anime started. So many artists were inspired by him, including all 3 mangakas behind the Big Three, One Piece, Bleach and Naruto. The man even influenced things like Steven Universe and The Bad Guys.

So, I want to say, from the bottom of my heart, thank you, Toriyama, for being such a big part of my childhood. You were gone too soon, but we know you're in a better place. I hope we continue to keep your spirit alive through your works and by taking inspiration from them to create new memories.

After the emotionally, if not liberating, conversation with Monoma, Midoriya had returned him fresh and eager for the next day. But in that excitement of having a fresh start and seeing that he was making friends he could trust, he had forgotten a key detail of his situation. In hindsight, he would reckon that most students hadn't realised it till it happened, and that was the implication of the symbol of Peace and number one hero, All Might, being a teacher.

Midoriya wasn't nearly as stoked over it as others. However, All Might was still a celebrity, one of the most beloved of their time, which was why U.A. had kept it under wraps that All Might had even offered a job, never mind accepting it. But that could only last so long as soon as the first day started and students learned about it. They got to talk about it with friends and family on and off campus. So, it was merely a matter of time before someone in the media caught wind of it. Regardless of whether it was true, it was still a juicy story, leading to the media descending on the school like flies to honey in the dozens.

The students were painfully aware that they saw a crowd of reporters, cameras, and microphones blocking them as they approached the front gates.

“Hey, you!” In a business casual suit, if there was such a thing, one of the reporters shoved her microphone in Midoriya's face when he tried to sneak on through, the boy regretting not just masking himself. “How are All Might’s classes?”

Midoriya paused before turning to address them as quickly and politely as possible. "I'm not the right person to ask. The circ*mstance prevented All Might from being able to handle my class yesterday; now, please step out of the way; I wouldn't want to be late for homeroom." He didn't stick around to answer any follow-ups. He kept moving even when the reporter tried to get his attention again. Tokage was the next person after him, but she didn't even bother talking to them, merely pointing in a direction and saying All Might was there if they wanted to ask him.

When they all turned and saw that he wasn't, she was gone, having broken into pieces and floated over their heads onto campus. She waved at them over her shoulder as they yelled that she had tricked them. Kamakiri was the third green-haired student to approach the boy on his phone with earbuds.

Starting to get a little weary of how uncooperative these students were, the reporter didn't come on as strongly as she had before. "Hold on, can you tell us about it?" Kamakiri didn't let her finish as he flipped the bird at her.

"f*ck off, I got to get to class," Kamakiri told her as he entered campus.

“Rude.” If Kamakiri heard them, he didn’t respond as he walked inside, with the 4^th student being Shiozaki and by this point, the reporters were slightly intimidated by their 4^th green-haired student, one that carried herself with poise and strength, her eyes making it clear that if she didn't want to speak, she wouldn't talk. So with wobbly hands, the reporter approached her, Shiozaki mercifully stopping for them, a good sign if they ever saw one.

"E-excuse me, but could you tell us about All Might and his teaching style?"

"I'm afraid that I can't help you, Miss. My class didn't have the fortune of having him as a teacher yet, but I'm sure you'll see someone who can help you." With a smile and a beam of light shining down from…somewhere, Shiozaki walked past them. The crowd parted for her like the Red Sea as it was still nothing, but they didn't feel as burned as before.

That warm feeling died with the next student.

"Hell, am I supposed to know? He doesn't teach general studies." Togeike Chikuchi, a first-year in Shinso's class, was as blunt and unamused with her response, wilting any contentment she had previously gained from Shiozaki. Shinso would have spoken up, but he found the sight too funny, and he only chuckled as he followed his friend onto campus.

"Please, if we could only have a couple of minutes." They had been reduced to begging for anything to write about, as this was big news. All Might becoming a teacher would make front-page news for anyone who got something juicy. It could even land them a promotion if they secured the best details. Still, not a single student had given anything worth writing about!

“No time for that! I got babies to pump out!" A pink-haired girl who loudly announced herself as Hatsume Mei, the future founder and owner of Hatsume Industries, bulldozed her way through, her size deceiving with how strong she was. After that statement, most froze as they interpreted it.

"What the hell? Since when does the U.A. allow student pregnancies?!" The reporter felt like pulling her hair out as the girl didn't even respond to their questions about what she meant by that statement. Frankly, when it came time for a sleep-deprived-looking hobo because, of course, a school as weird as the U.A. had that to tell them to leave, they didn't even fight it. They went without a fuss, which surprised the hobo that most were willing to pack up and leave. Still, he had other things to do, so he turned and returned inside.

None picked up on the figure watching them from a distance, their features hidden by a blue and white hoodie as they watched them.

"Dang, it was hard to get in today," Kinoko said, as she had a hard time getting in today, with Yanagi agreeing with her.

“The press was relentless, even when I said I didn't know anything," Yanagi added, as it was like an unending horde till she just floated over them and the walls.

"You could have told them to f*ck off, you know," Kamakiri suggested before he got smacked over the head by Shiozaki, who frowned at him.

“Language.” The vine-haired girl scolded him.

"What, it's true!" Shishida spoke up as he defended himself, with Awase agreeing with him.

"To be frank, we should have expected something like this would happen. All Might is the top hero; his actions always attract attention like bees to flowers." The news broke the previous night and has been one of the most talked about since. Even when he checked the news every morning, he saw at least three separate headlines about it.

"But we're students; we should have some privacy.” Kinoko pointed out as she'd seen enough gossip to know that the press could be brutal with what they presented.

"She's right. The last thing I need is someone getting a picture of me scratching my ass or fixing my bra." Tokage added, which for her some looks of humourless judgement which rolled off her back like water.

"Maybe we could have told them something to get off our backs if we were actually taught by him," Monoma added his two cents as Tsunotori shook her head with a frown.

"Like that would have stopped them. They probably would have just got more rabid." Honenuki shot that idea down

"Let's just hope they clear up before we go home because I don't want to miss my train because of them," Kaibara added as he wondered how pros handled the press like that every time they stepped out of their houses. Lord knows he'll grow pissed after a week of that, and that didn't even factor into usual stuff like shopping or dating. He doesn't need a camera in his face if he's out to get milk.

Midoriya, who had been mainly silent along with Shiozaki, Kodai and Kuroiro, shook his head. “I have a feeling we’ll need to get used to them. Either that, or we were disguises when we go out.”

"It's Easy for you. You're plain," Kodai replied, turning to her, his 'ear' standing to attention.

"No, I'm not." When she didn't change her facial expression, he was okay with that, as she rarely did, but the fact that the others looked away from him was concerning. “Right?”

“Well…you aren’t ugly,” Shiozaki, bless her soul, tried to lessen the blow, but it was still a blow as he narrowed his eyes.

“Answer the question, am I plain?" Before anyone could confirm or deny this, the door slid open, ending all conversations as Vlad entered.

“Settle down, students.” At his command, the students on their feet quickly took their seats and faced him as the many started to speak. “Before anything else, I want to say you all performed well during yesterday’s combat training.”

"Of course, as a first-year student, I also saw a lot of wasted energy and unrefined techniques. To improve on this, I've already written down those points for each of you to read through, which I expect you'll do." Vlad held up some papers to emphasise his point as he passed them to the first person in each row to send down the aisles.

When Midoriya got him, he read that his performance was essentially what they expected, if to a higher level, but that he shouldn't drag on matches like that as, regardless of fairness to Monoma, it wasn't a habit he should form.

Still, once they had their forms, he stopped as he trusted they'd read over his observations and suggestions and put them into practice.

"Now, with that done, we have another issue to address. That being who will serve as our class representative and vice representative." Just as Vlad expected, his announcement of such a mundane school activity caused chaos as the students started yelling, waving their hands to try and gain his attention. Kamakiri seemed to be the loudest, followed by Tetsutetsu, with even the passive Shiozaki throwing her hat into the race along with Komori, all having different ideas and yelling them like politicians.

All this just made the man sigh as Izuku was with him on that point. It was somewhat disorderly. That being said, his hand was raised, and being a class rep wasn't just extra work; for students like them, it was a great way to learn how to manage others, both out in the field and during quiet moments.

This was an essential skill for anyone who wishes to go pro and open their own agency one day. Such an agency could employ sidekicks, analysts, in-house support engineers, PR and management, and all employees.

Especially since of all active pros in Japan, over 70% of them were still sidekicks themselves, most would remain as such for entire careers for one reason or another. Of that 30% that didn’t, only around 60% kept more than 2 sidekicks for more than 2 years, with the curve being a weird one as most kept less so little; then you have the massive leap to pros that had at least a dozen sidekicks. All that meant was that only 18% of pros had their own agencies with long-term sidekicks or, like Mirko's most well-known example, were solo and freelance.

Eventually, Vlad got sick of the noise and called his hands together to silence them, which did the trick before he started. "I should have seen that coming a mile away, screaming like idiots will get you nowhere fast, nor does it make me any confident in your abilities to make smart decisions for yourself and your classmates. Besides, I'm not the one who picks."

At that, Midoriya raised his hand and waited for Vlad to address him. “Yes, Midoriya?”

“Sir, if I may ask, but if not you, then who will decide?” The pro shook his head as he held up a box from beneath his stand at the front.

"It will be a vote between you all. You write your choice on paper and put it into this box. Whoever gets the most will be named class rep, with the runner-up being their vice." He explained as the quiet Shoda next to him raised his hand.

"But, is that the best idea? We don't know each other well; what if people vote for themselves?" The boy asked.

"That's the one rule: do not write your own name," Vlad replied, clearing up most confusion even as Honenuki eyed the clock hanging on the wall and saw the time.

"Will there be enough time in homeroom for that?" He asked, as they had 5 minutes left in the homeroom and little time to handle this after they reviewed their first hero class results.

"It's an extended one, as all the classes will be picking today, even the second and third years, as it's not a permanent position. Not only can you step down or be stripped of it by us teachers, but classes host an election at the beginning of each year." Vlad started, happy he didn’t have to deal with the older students who had achievements and steady support, as their class elections really felt like the real thing.

The students pulled pages from their notebooks and wrote their picks on them before folding them and putting them in the box as Vlad walked in. Once the last slip was placed in, he returned to the front of the class, where he counted them at his desk for a few minutes. After double-checking to ensure he didn't have a Steve Harvey moment, Vlad nodded and inputted the results into the green board.

As expected, most got no votes, with a tie for ^fourth place among six people: Kaibara, Bondo, Rin, Tsuburaba, f*ckisdashi, and Kamakiri. They had all managed to score just a single vote each. Coming in ^third with a massive increase in support was Honenuki, who had 4 votes. Tokage was runner-up with 5, but first place was upsetting as Midoriya took it with 6 votes.

"Well, there you have it. Our class rep will be Midoriya, and his vice rep will be Tokage." He called both to the front. Midoriya was surprised that he got first. Who voted for him? Looking around, he saw that Monoma gave him a subtle nob, while Kodai was more blatant in hers. There was Shiozaki and Kuroiro, but that still left 2 people he couldn't identify. Stepping up, he was a little more unsure of himself, and in contrast, Tokage acted like she belonged in the spotlight.

With the rest of their homeroom set to finish things up, the day went by normally, even as Midoriya found himself with something new on his mind. Which came to be the topic of his table came lunch. The cafeteria around them was a buzz of activity as it appeared that everyone had shown up to get their hands on something to eat, which made sense as there was only one cafeteria for the students.

Taking bites of his vegetables and fish, Midoriya's table consisted of himself, Kodai, Kuroiro, Shiozaki, and the newly added Monoma. There were others, but they were ^second years, so they didn't interact and did the polite thing by ignoring the other's conversations.

“Confident in your win, class rep?” Monoma asked as Midoriya took another bite and swallowed, placing his chopsticks down.

"Not really. I wanted the position, but I didn't think I'd win it. I'm not even sure I'm the most qualified, as I've never held a position in student government." He knew the importance of his role, having read extensively about it. Still, he assumed he would be lucky to be a choice, never mind winning the top spot.

"I wouldn't worry about that too much, Midoriya. U.A. is a chance for new beginnings." Monoma replied, recalling their earlier talk and connecting the dots but keeping that to himself. "Besides, you wouldn't have gained that many votes if we didn't see something worth voting for in you."

"While I wished for the role, I'm fully confident that we continue to pursue a righteous path under your tenure." Shiozaki nodded before continuing to eat her modest meal of water and bread, which Midoriya still had issues with as it wasn't nutritious enough for optimal growth.

“You proved that you can be a sneaky little cat more than once already; I'm sure that with you at the helm, we'll continue to think outside the box and outwit any issues we have." Kuroiro was a little more descriptive, but they had come to accept that he and Shiozaki had different approaches to life.

"You'll do fine," Kodai said. Our battle trial was enough proof for me." Scratching at his head, Midoriya couldn't deny them now, not when they all had such faith in him.

"If I have such support, then it would be shameful to not at least try. No, I will succeed, and I'll be the best damn class rep you've ever had."

"That's the spirit. We're going to need it to ensure that class B becomes and remains the superior hero class," Monoma said as he leaned in and placed an arm around Midoriya's shoulders.

Midoriya seemed as eager as his new friend as the rest rolled their eyes at this. "Oh, I'll see to that personally. It'll take me time to draw up stuff for everyone, though."

"Draw up what?" Monoma asked as Midoriya smiled at him, making him feel like a mouse that caught the house cat's attention.

"Diet and exercise programs, of course. Being a hero doesn't just burn many calories, but it is exhausting work. To be the best, you must train your bodies to the absolute limits and over them." Midoriya replied, a smile that spelt dread for them all on his face, especially the two boys who had seen what he looked like from whatever hell he called training.

"I'll pass on that; I don't want anything to do with whatever you did to get into that shape." Kuroiro shook his head with a smile, but his stomach sank when Midoriya's grin grew wider enough that he and the rest could see his pearly whites, his canines looking more like fangs.

"Too late, I'm class rep, and I'll make it mandatory if necessary. I'm sure Vlad-sensei wouldn't mind if we borrowed the gym and track on Saturdays." Suddenly, they felt like they shouldn’t have given him those words of encouragement.

"What have we created," Monoma muttered, wondering if he could find a way out of this.

"He's not wrong; the lord praises hard work and kind hearts. It would be irresponsible to carry a hero's badge without giving it our all." Contrary to the rest, Shiozaki was all for it. The girl already did something similar to Midoriya in terms of lifestyle, if only to a far lesser extent.

"You see, she understands it. Regarding your workout regimen, I wanted to ask,” Before Midoriya could finish the question, the alarms blared across the school, shutting down any conversations as students looked up and around in confusion and concern.

“There has been a Level 3 security breach. All students are to evacuate outdoors immediately.”

“What’s a level 3 security breach?” Midoriya asked the upperclassmen seated next to them as the student was about to run off.

"It means someone is trespassing on school grounds; this has never happened before! So, you better get running!” He didn't stick around for a follow-up question; none of the cafeterias did as it descended into chaos as students rushed for the exits, clogging the typically wide path by their sheer number. Before they could act, Midoriya's group was forced from their table by a mob of people.

“Dammit!” Monoma cursed as he got his foot stomped, the boy holding onto Kodai while Midoriya was with Shiozaki and Kuroiro nearby. However, with so many panicking students, they needed help getting together.

Using force would only worsen things, as people already thought it was a villain. If even one of them saw a quirk, they'd respond in kind, and none wanted to see what it looked like when over 600 students fired off their quirks in panic and self-defence.

“Guys, you still there?” Shiozaki yelled just to be heard over the rest.

“Barely!” Midoriya cursed as he got elbowed in the side, shielding his classmate with his form, the same as his shadowy friend. “Dammit, who the hell just elbowed me?”

“This is how U.A. reacts in a crisis? It’s like they’re all headless chickens!” Monoma yelled in frustration as they couldn't move. The crowd was jammed by how many people were trying to squeeze through the exit.

But they couldn't stay like this forever as while his ears were hurting from how loud and chaotic things were, Izuku could hear the fear and pained yelps. People were getting hurt, and he was getting reminders of the fire and how this could have easily been like what happened in that building.

Midoriya would be damned if he ever let something like that happen as he tapped Kuroiro's shoulder, pointing towards the window once he saw he had his attention. “Kuroiro, get to the windows, find out what is happening, and report back!" He ordered, the shadow jumper looking over and seeing a mass of people between him and there, but he could easily navigate it.

“On it.” Without another word, he sunk into his shadow, which was joined by hundreds of others, allowing him to pass under the crowd without opposition. Once he got to the windows, he exited the shadows. Still, he had to fight the final stretch before he was pushed into them, which was annoying but gave him a prime view of the source of this disturbance.

“That’s it? How they even…” Outside, he saw that it was a bunch of reporters. He saw Present Mic and some other guy, who looked like a hobo, busy handling them, but the press didn't seem like they were going anyway.

“Parasites, the lot of them.” He muttered in anger at how this entire affair, all this madness, resulted from a few people who couldn't take no for an answer? Diving back into his shoulder, he returned to his classmates. “It’s just the press. They got onto campus somehow.” Midoriya and Shiozaki shared his irritation at that, but Midoriya could focus on that later; right now, he had a panicked crowd to deal with before someone got hurt. But that couldn't be done from his current position, but he saw a spot above the entrance that could serve his purposes.

“Then the rest need to hear that before someone is trampled! Shiozaki, can your life with your vines?” He asked her.

“Shouldn’t be an issue.” Shiozaki nodded as she willed her vines into action, grabbing onto Midoriya’s midsection and lifting him up over the crowd, both knowing they didn’t have long to do this.

“Throw me towards the exit, I’ll handle the rest!” Midoriya towards her, the girl looking shocked that he would ask such a thing of her.

“But,”

"Trust me, I'm class rep; this is what I'm for!" He cut her off, her eyes leaving nothing to question. She was as rigid and unmoving as a mountain as Shiozaki could only relent to it.

“Alright.” She agreed, and with as much gentleness as one could put into a throw, she tossed him towards the entrance. Midoriya, now a human projectile, covered the distance with a pretty quirk. Still, as he went over their heads, he locked eyes with an orange-haired girl helping a purple-haired boy who looked like he had taken too many hits. There were no words between them; they didn't even know the other's name, but they could tell so much about the other in those few moments of eye contact.

There was a strength to that girl, only strengthened by an inherent sense of kindness and patience. There was also a spark to her; he couldn't put his finger on it at the moment, but she was probably one of the strongest people he'd ever met, and, at that moment, that power was being used to protect and aid someone in need. He didn't know what she saw in him; he didn't have the luxury for that. The moment came and went, and he continued to fly towards the wall.

He braced for impact. Upon contact, he used his tenet to stick to the wall rather than fall off, which he knew would have looked weird to anyone. Still, he had to focus on the big picture. He saw that some had seen him and were now looking toward him, but the majority hadn't even noticed him.

Knowing he'd pay for this later, he gathered tenet in his throat and lungs, increasing their power far beyond what was possible for humans. With a deep breath, he yelled out, “SILENCE!!”

His yell, akin to a tiger’s roar fused with a man’s bellow, cut through all the noise and shouting, stunning people into compliance, if only briefly.

While that one word left his throat feeling like he swallowed glass and salt, he kept going. "Calm down, it's not a threat! I repeat, it is not a threat! It's only some reporters! So, for heaven's sake, calm your asses down and stop acting like animals!" He yelled at them, pointing to the windows where those closest could confirm it for themselves, but while the students started to calm down, he wasn't done with them.

“This is U.A.; you should be ashamed of yourselves for acting in such a manner! What does it take for an alarm to make you forget that? Is that enough for you to risk hurting your fellow schoolmates? Look around at what has happened and answer me, is it?" He continued to berate them. Once terrified, the students looked around and saw people developing bruises, uniforms messed up, buttons torn, etc.

Some caught the sight of the girl from before, holding the much smaller student to her chest, his head bloody from what must have been a knock thanks to his diminutive size putting him in the way of an accidental knee. She looked just as angry as Midoriya did at that moment, at how they had descended into chaos at the proverbial drop of a hat which only made them all feel worse, some seemingly moving to speak but with his throat and voice box already in severe pain, Izuku didn't want any contest to their f*ck-up.

"I don't need your excuses, and I don't want to hear them! Just help those hurt in the stampede, get them to the nurses' office, and have the rest head outside and wait for instructions!" He finished, the students silently following his commands, either out of shame, fear or agreement with them now that things had calmed down.

Seeing this, Izuku jumped from the wall and took a breath before immediately regretting it as he started coughing; with every breath, the air felt like sandpaper going down his throat. He was quickly joined by his friends, who were naturally worried about him.

"Dude, I didn't think you could scream that loud," Kuroiro noted as Midoriya continued to rub at his thoroughly sore throat.

"Raw voice hurts to speak." His voice came out rough and gaggled.

“I would imagine.” The group turned to the newcomer, who approached with an appreciative, friendly smile. "Thanks for that. Things were far out of hand, and if not for Mineta, I would have stepped in sooner," she stated as Midoriya rubbed.

“Lives come first.” He kept his response short, wishing he had a bottle of water right about now.

“I agree,” The girl nodded, extending her hand for him to shake. “Kendo Itsuka, class rep for 1A.” He grasped it, noting that she had a firm grip, even for someone who clearly put in their time at the gym.

He didn't speak, however, leaving Monoma to cover for him. “He’s Midoriya Izuku, class rep of our class, 1B.” The girl let out a huff of amusem*nt, tinged with some lingering annoyance.

"I figured it would be someone from the hero course who got things under control. But I have to get going. I must ensure my classmate gets to Recovery Girl before something else happens." She gestured to the side, where a taller boy with glasses was holding their classmate.

“I’ll join you, hurts like a bitch.” Midoriya gestured towards the exit as the four left, Izuku waving off his friends and trusting that they'd tell Tokage where he was.

Chapter 19: The Show Must Go On

Chapter Text

“Holy sh*t, was the media crazy all weekend.” Awase rested his head on the desk. Things had not been easy for normal for them as they had thought that the press somehow breaking in Wednesday would have been the weird thing, but nope! When Friday rolled around, what was meant to be a typical day went right out the window. They didn't know it at first, as they had been in class, waiting for their turn to have hero class, only for their teacher, Snipe, to get a phone call and immediately leave the class, telling Midoriya and Tokage to keep everyone calm.

They had wondered why they needed to do that. Still, the school went into lockdown as it was announced over the intercom that there had been another break-in that had confirmed villains and that all students were to remain in their classes. They had been concerned and a little scared; Awase could admit that much, but it was a sh*t show like what happened a couple days before. They had been kept in class for an extra hour before Snipe returned and allowed them to leave. On the way out of school, the police were out in force, along with reporters, only kept back by those same police.

It was only after they had all got home and watched the news that they found out that class A had been attacked at the USJ, and over the long weekend, as they got Monday off as well, it was all the news could talk about, despite the fact there were little details about the incident.

"Can you blame them? We got attacked and managed to fend off villains." Honemuki, standing at Awase’s desk, shrugged.

“You mean class A was attacked? I swear, if one more person on the train asked if I was in class A…” Monoma muttered angrily.

"I know what you mean; they're interested in them, and once you tell them you're in a different class, it's like you're not even there." Tetsutetsu nodded as he didn't wish harm on his sister class. That would just be a dick move. But that didn't mean it wasn't annoying when people only showed interest in them. His class got into U.A. in the same way as class A, yet they were seen as second acts because they didn't have bad luck.

“Tokage, Midoriya, any news from Kendo about the situation?” Shishida asked their two class reps, who were at Tokage’s desk.

Turning to their classmates, the two could see that many were worried because of that lack of details, and it wasn't like they could speak with anyone with class A before school started, either. "She said that everyone was doing all right, considering the situation. Including that small guy, Mineta, I think his name was." Tokage replied, as it was confirmed that they knew more than the rest, as they had been informed of details due to their positions as a class rep and vice-rep, respectively.

“What happened to him?” Kaibara asked as if he wasn't mistaken; Mineta was that small guy Kendo had been helping the other day.

"He and Asui nearly got caught by one of the villain leaders; his quirk seems to decay anything it touches, so if he grabs your face," Midoriya replied, which caused a few to shiver as they pictured that scene, it wouldn't be pretty.

“Yikes.” Kamakiri shook his head, but thankfully, that was the only real news about the attack. A few were injured, but nothing that a quirk trip to Recovery Girl didn't fix before they were allowed to return home.

“It was pretty weird to see students on the news being talked about like pros, but wasn’t one of them an invisible girl?” Komori asked, shifting things to a more light-hearted topic.

"I wonder why she didn't release her quirk for the cameras. Is she shy or something?" Yanagi suggested. It was rather odd watching the footage of class A walking out of the USJ, as she hadn't seen any of them outside their class rep, Kendo.

"Maybe, but then there was the blonde dude dressed like a knight. He looked like he wanted more camera time and always appeared in the shot. It was kinda creepy." Rin joked as seeing that one kid try to be in every shot was like a game of find Waldo on easy mode. It got so bad that they had to clearly edit or cut scenes where he appeared after a while.

"Let us just be grateful that our sister class managed to escape such a horrendous situation without serious injury or, God forbid, deaths." Shishida adjusted his glasses as Shiozaki nodded her head.

"They were in my prayers all weekend." Knowing that no one had been harmed relieved Shiozaki.

"But there is a question that I wanted to know: Why'd it get so serious? I mean, All Might was meant to be there to teach them," Kaiabara asked, which got them thinking, as it didn't make sense for things to be as big as they were.

"Oh yeah, you're right. All Might can take out anyone before they blink. Was he held up or something?" Komori asked.

“By what? He would have been in school by then.” Honenuki dismissed that, as All Might should have needed to arrive at school at the same time as the rest of the staff, even if his hero classes took place before lunch. And besides, if he was absent, wouldn't there have been an announcement beforehand?

Midoriya knew why All Might didn't stop things from the get-go, but he kept it to himself. Instead, his eye went to the clock and saw the time as he clapped his hands to draw their attention. "We can discuss this later. Let's get into our seats, people! Homeroom's about to start!" With that, the students went to their seats right on time as with the last person sitting, the door slid open, and Vlad entered.

“Morning, students.” Vlad greeted them as he walked to the front of the class.

“Good morning, Vlad-sensei!” The class replied, getting a nob from the pro when he heard it and that he didn't need to wait for them to settle down.

"I'll cut to the chase: Despite the fact that we've suffered a villain attack, you're not out of the woods yet," Vlad started, getting them to lean forward in surprise and worry.

“What?”

“Is another coming?”

“So soon?”

Some thought there was an expected second attack, and others thought they'd be forced into some sort of exercise similar to what class A went through, but it was none of them. "The U.A. Sports festival is in two weeks," Vlad informed them, getting them to pause as they took that in and wondered what the hell U.A. was thinking.

Shiozaki was the first to question this. She did not wait for permission to speak; she only raised her hand before asking. “Forgive me, sire, but is that wise? As you just said, there was a villain attack not a week ago.”

"I agree with her. Shouldn't it be postponed till things calm down?" f*ckidashi’s word bubble head shifted to display a question mark.

"That's exactly why the festival is going ahead as planned: to show the world and those villains who escaped that U.A. won't be easily cowed," Vlad replied.

“Still, there’s bound to be a few idiots who make an attempt. With so many people, wouldn't it be hard to patrol?" Midoriya asked, as he wasn't against the idea of the festival per se, but he didn't want this to happen only because of short-sightedness. One had to always consider the idiot factor, after all.

"Normally, yes, but U.A.'s security will be five times what it's been in previous years, which includes increasing the number of pros and plains clothes police officers who will be around to patrol and keep the peace," Vlad replied, as Nezu had already gone over what this would include with the staff, though he wouldn't share most of those details with the students just yet.

“When you put it like that, it makes sense why we’re going with it. Plus, there’s the fact that it’s the biggest media event of the year, even bigger than the bi-annual Hero board chart announcement.” Tokage relented, to which Vlad nodded, as if, for better or worse, the U.A. Sports festival was more than just a school event.

"The Olympics were once the shows of shows, but with the rise of quirks, they've seen a reduction of athletes and funding, making them a shell of their former selves. But for Japan, what was once the Olympics is now our Sports Festival, a unique event as U.A. is the only hero school that televises it." Vlad explained that they weren't only doing this to serve as entertainment for the entire country but to demonstrate what the future of heroes would look like and to keep people's concerns low by showing that even when the current generation of pros retire, they'll be as good if not better ones ready and waiting to step up to the plate.

“The second reason is for you students. The Sports festival is where you'll make your first impressions not just with the public, but with hero agencies, scouting for new talent." Vlad added, reminding them how that would work.

"And if you're lucky, you get picked up as a sidekick at one of those agencies," Monoma stated, already thinking of ways to catch the eyes of some prominent agencies.

"Or you can find yourself an eternal sidekick," Kodai replied before looking Monoma's way. “Watch out, Monoma.”

“Uncalled for.” The boy let her expressionless jab flow off his back like water.

"Don't get co*cky. Being recruited by a top agency can indeed be a huge step. Still, even a smaller one can be a milestone so long as you find yourselves at one where you can learn to maximise your strengths and minimise your weaknesses." Vlad stated, bringing attention back to him as he frowned at them.

Crossing his arms, he made sure to be as transparent as day with his instructions: "But just because you aren't all going to aim to make it to All Might's agency doesn't mean I want to see any of you slacking off! This is your first chance, the first of just three, to show the world what you're made of, and I expect to see only 110% from you. Is that understood?"

“Yes, Vlad-sensei!” The class replied with much more spirit than before, as the man let out a huff through his nose, pleased that his students were motivated to succeed. And if they managed to first and 2^nd this year, he'll be even happier.

However, before he forgot, there was something he wanted to inform them of, a piece of advice he hoped that’ll listen to. "Good. Before we end things, I want to inform you that as hero students, you should try your best to mingle with the other courses. At the end of the day, heroes are merely one part of society. Things will fall apart if we don't support those as they support us."

Hours later, with the last bell of the day, the students were packing up their things when Kaibara opened the door, only to find the hall packed with people. “What seems to be the hold-up?” Tokage asked, seeing that while there were a ton of people outside, they were all facing their sister class's door.

"Isn't it obvious, people, to cope with the class that fought villains and came out on top?" Tokage informed them as Tetsutetsu slammed his fist into his table.

"Dammit, they're getting all the attention. I'm going over there to tell them we'll show them what we're made of at the festival." Tetsutetsu shoved the last of his stuff into his bag and went out the door despite Kaibara and Honenuki trying to stop him.

“Wait, Tetsutetsu, and he’s gone.” Honenuki sighed, as he already knew that Tetsutetsu would start something dumb.

“So is Monoma. Oh boy, come on, Midoriya, let’s make sure they don’t start pointless fights.” Tokage noted that Monoma had somehow managed to slip out without her noticing. As he had been salty all day about class A getting all the praise, it didn't take a genius to guess what was happening.

Getting up, Midoriya followed after Tokage to make sure their classmates didn't get into a fight, but he would be lying if he didn't have some choice words for a certain somebody.

“Get out of my way, extras!" And low and beyond, speak of the devil, and he shall appear, or in this case, show off Bakugo's lack of tact. Midoriya didn't need to see it but knew what he must have looked like, as he always looked at others like bugs that annoyed him or fools that inflated his already oversized ego.

“Bakugo, for the love of-stop calling people extras just because you don’t know their names!” Kendo scolded him, and from how annoyed she sounded, it was fair to say she's not had much luck getting Bakugo to reign in that attitude.

“It’s beneath the standards one should expect from a U.A. student, Bakugo!” Breaking out to the front, he remained in the crowd of students, holding Tokage back to watch as things played out. Tokage looked at him weirdly, but he managed to convey that they shouldn't step in, not yet and with Monoma and Tetsutetsu not causing a problem yet, she let him keep her back, at least for the time.

“I came here to see the famous 1A, see what they’re all about,” Shinso says, shifting from Bakugo and his rather colourful descriptions of his classmates, Kendo and her vice rep Iida. “But you're really not living up to the hype, but you still seem arrogant. Is that something that's just a class thing?"

"I can assure you, he's the exception. We're still working on teaching Bakugo some proper manners here." Kendo placed a heavy hand on Bakugo’s shoulder when she said his name, to which he shook it off like it was acid.

“Oh, screw you, man hands!” He growled at her, either not knowing or, more likely, not caring that he was acting like a wild animal.

“Charming. Makes you wonder, doesn’t it? How something like him got into the hero course to begin with. It can make you a little disillusioned.” Shinso stated that the showing of class 1 wasn't all that great to him or anyone watching.

Hearing someone not praise the dirt he walked on had predictable results: Bakugo turned his ire toward Shinso. “The hell did you say, you insomniac twig?” If looks could kill, as the saying went.

"You heard what I said, or are you deaf?" Shinso, for his part, didn’t buckle or bend under Bakugo’s ire or threatening glare. If anything, he was emboldened by it. "But it does make this easier, as some of us in general wish to transfer into the hero course since we didn't cut in on the hero exam, but there is a problem with that."

"Both classes are filled right now; the only way you could be if," Kendo answered his statement before she realised what he meant, the same as most of those Midoriya could see in class A.

“She gets it.” Shinso gave Kendo a smile, one that Midoriya was sure he was making creepy to throw her off his game, as he preferred mind games to set his opponents up, even 2 weeks away from the festival.

“Gets what?” one of them, another blonde but with a dark lighting mark through his hair, asked. Midoriya wondered if he was an idiot or just clueless about how he could not put 2 and 2 together with that.

At least he seemed to be an exception, not the rule, as a purple-haired girl with earphone jacks growing from her ear lobes smacked the blonde over the head. “Dunce, the only way someone from another class can transfer in would be for one of us to be moved out. A swap.”

"This is more proof that there's a chance for it. After all, depending on the festival's results, they'll be willing to re-evaluate our applications, but that'll also watch all of you. If one of you liked Bakugo and Dunce over there,” Shinso emphasised that last part, which the blonde in question took personally. "Don't live up to the hype of the hero course. You might find us switching classes before the end of the semester."

Shinso’s gaze then returned to Bakugo, who looked pissed that Shinso was even talking to him, never mind telling him he could lose what he must have seen as his God-given spot in the hero course. But he let it wash over the rest of them. Many met it without issue.

"Not just them; I wouldn't get comfortable if I were you because your seats right now are our targets, and you're in the way," Shinso warned them, making his feelings towards them clear as day. “Scouting the enemy? Maybe for them, but not for me. This is a declaration of war.”

Bakugo, while pissed, was far from impressed with that; stepping closer, he glared Shinso down. “That’s a lot of sh*t talk for an extra that couldn't even make it past that stupid exam. Do you want to declare war on us? Do it when you're a threat, or go annoy class B. They're second to us anyway, so maybe if you're lucky, one of them will slip up."

“And why would we do that?” Monoma moved, stepping up with a smug smile to judge Bakugo. “If I didn’t know any better, I would think you somehow think that handling some thugs makes you better than us.”

“Asshole? You want to talk sh*t about us.” Tetsutetsu was with him, looking like he would start a fight immediately. Midoriya and Tokage would need to step in if that were to happen.

"If you were worth a damn, you'll be in class A. That's the class that produces the best. You'll all just second fiddles." Bakugo dismissed them, which rubbed Midoriya the wrong way. He had known he would be like this, but his previous statements to Shinso only cemented that. But there was something especially grating about him dismissing his entire class, and he wasn't the only one that felt that way as Tokage looked far from pleased.

When he was done dealing with them, Bakugo moved to leave as a redhead in his class called out to him. "Hey, hold up, Bakugo! It's your fault that they're mad at us. Shouldn't you apologise?"

“It doesn’t matter.” Bakugo didn’t even turn to reply.

“What?”

“It doesn’t matter so long as you rise to the top.” He replied, which was a bridge too far for Midoriya.

"I wouldn't have expected anything less from you, number 3," Midoriya stated. If he thought Bakugo looked pissed with Kendo and Shinso, he looked like he was close to going nuclear as he heard Midoriya's voice.

"That f*cking voice," Bakugo uttered, a snarl forming on his face as Midoriya stepped out of the crowd, right into his line of sight and his way away from this.

Staring down his fury, Midoriya didn't let it affect him, not like it used to, as he instead smiled at him. “After all, you and decency go together as well as kittens and fire-ants.” He noted, which got under Bakugo's skin far more than he would admit, especially as he looked at the one person he so badly wanted out of his life.

“What the hell, Deku…” Bakugo sounded confused to those who didn't know him, but to Midoriya, he could tell he was merely feeling so much anger that it was taking a moment to release. Normally, when he got to this point, something blew up.

Midoriya didn't so much pock the bear as he played Nivana; he danced right in front of it as he continued to press him. “Is there an issue, number 3? I’m only being honest; you've never been someone who cared about being polite or the feelings of others." He kept up the smile, loving how Bakugo barely kept it together.

"You have a lot of balls to show your f*cking face here, Deku!" Bakugo stepped forward, pops shooting off his hands as he desperately wanted to hit it. Blast him to kingdom come, and Midoriya loved it. Seeing how much an unruly dog Bakugo was at his core, unable to even control him when faced with him.

Leaning his head to the side, he feigned confusion. "Do I not have a right to be here, number 3? I earned my place in these halls like you and everyone else." He kept hammering home that he had earned it and had done what Bakugo wanted to be the only one from their middle school to do.

Tokage looked between them with confusion and concern, the same with Kendo and even Monoma. Midoriya seemed calm and composed, even friendly, but Bakugo looked like he wanted to jump him and tear him limb from limb. There was history between them, and it wasn't pleasant, as Shinso observed, wondering where Midoriya would take this.

“Oh, that’s right! How could I forget,” Midoriya made a sound of remembering, bringing his fist into his palm with a giggle. Bakugo had many reasons to hate him, both real and imagined, but there was one that he couldn't resist bringing up. "Is this about how when last we spoke, I laid you on your ass with a single punch?"

That reminder of how he had been struck and hadn't even seen that blow coming made Bakugo see red.

"You lit—" Kendo grabbed him, tighter this time, to keep Bakugo restrained. It was clear that he didn't like Midoriya. He didn't like it most, as he made clear on the first day, but Kendo had thought he had made some progress with Kirishima, but it seemed she was wrong.

While others stepped back in fear, worried that things could get violent, Midoriya continued to dance before the bear, playing the music even louder. "You're still upset about that? I would imagine that you would have got past that, number 3. But then again, it was pretty easy to land that punch." Midoriya added as if it was an afterthought that further angered Bakugo. He had waited for his payback on this bastard, but he ghosted school for months.

Monoma, intrigued, asked, "You keep referring to him by number 3 and not Bakugo. Why is that?"

Midoriya turned to him, a smile on his face as he explained it. “Isn’t it obvious? It’s because of the entrance exams. Our resident bomber scored 3^rd place on it, quite the achievement.” Midoriya stated, which jogged Tetsutetsu and Monoma’s memory as they did recall seeing the name Bakugo in the top 10 rankings. But wait, wouldn’t that mean, “As the person that came in 2^nd, I can only applaud that.” h…oh! Monoma smiled as he realised what Midoriya was doing, and he loved it.

"Well then, number 2, maybe you should back off before things get hot," Kendo ordered, but he merely bowed his head.

"Oh, of course, number 1. I wouldn't want us to come to blows outside a regulated sparring session. We can sort our differences with our words, can't we?" He asked, though she could see how little he meant that, if only in terms of how much he seemed to enjoy riling up her class's resident wolverine.

“Funny, that doesn’t seem like what you want. So let’s end things.” She stated, firm in her words in a way that no one could deny, a spark of energy leaking from her eyes, which seemed to shine. Such was her force that Bakugo didn't immediately yell for her to go f*ck herself.

“Oh, maybe it’s for the best.” Midoriya would respect her wishes; after all, he had done what he came here to do, which was to keep Monoma and Tetsutetsu from starting something.

He never said that he wouldn’t.

“Why does he hate you so much, Midoriya? It can’t all be because you landed a hit back in middle school.” Tetustetsu asked, giving him an excellent chance to have the last word and really f*ck with Bakugo.

Laughing as if it were merely a fond memory, Izuku replied, "Oh, he's just a little irritated, that's all. Probably because he's had his quirk since he was 4, and yet I, who only got my power last year, managed to score higher than him. I'll be upset too if what I thought was a pebble turns out to be a mountain.” Bakugo might have been cowed, but that reminder nearly broke through whatever sense he still had.

"Oh, I can see why that would grind someone's gears. But he can make up for it at the festival, so until then, farewell." Monoma bowed to them as the students from class B turned to leave; they had preparations to do, after all. Shinso snorted, having found the entire thing funny as he went.

"Deku, I wear that, I'll blast your ass all the way into next century! You hear me? You won't have any cheap shots next time!" Bakugo yelled at his retreating back, Izuku turning his head only a little to reply.

"We'll see number 3; we'll see which one of us is the pebble!" He reminded him of his declaration, his eyes shining with anger much like Bakugo's but refined and restrained in form. Now wasn't the time, but it was coming soon.

That weekend, Shinso lay in his bed, fast asleep. His slumber was interrupted when he heard something. “What…?” That sounded like taps on his bedroom window, which…no, that wasn't right. His room was on the second floor, and it couldn't be a bird, right?

“Probably nothing.” The sound continued, but it wasn't all that loud as he rolled over to get a few more hours of sleep. He had things to do later and would much prefer to be fully rested.

Alas, that wasn't what was in store for him, as there was a knock on his bedroom door before it opened. “Hitoshi, time to get up.” A feminine voice called out as he groaned, lifting his blanket from over his head to look towards his mother, whom he resembled in almost every way but hairstyle and the fact she didn't look like she never got enough sleep. That he got from his dad.

"Mom, it's 6 a.m. on a Saturday." He looked at the digital clock on his bedside, which read in clear red numbers that it was 6:21 a.m.

Seeing that he was still in bed, she raised an eyebrow. “Then why did you ask your friends to come over?”

He woke up a little at that. “Friends?” He’s not had friends over since he was 9.

“Oh yes, they’re waiting outside for you.” She replied as she closed the door, with Shinso still hearing the tapping at his window as he got up and went over, seeing through it a strange sight which had him rubbing his eyes to clear up any sleep from them as no way in hell that was real.

“Shinso!” Opening his window, he saw Midoriya standing in their driveway. With him was Kodai, who looked half asleep on her feet; Shiozaki, who was nursing something from a flash; Monoma at Izuku's feet, barely awake; and Kuroiro over his shoulder. His free hand was holding what looked to be seeds, which he must have been throwing the entire time. All of them dressed in what must have been their workout gear. “Hurry up, we got some training to do!” How did he even find out where he lives? He sure as hell never told him!

Shinso wished to go back to bed, as it was far too early for this crap. “Why are you carrying him like that?” He focused on something small: Midoriya, who looked right as rain, carried his classmate over his shoulder.

Putting the seeds back in his pocket, he pat Kuroiro’s back. The boy mutters that this was torture of the highest order, waking up so early on a Saturday. "He didn't want to wake up, but his dad said it was cool if he picked him up like a sack of potatoes. Now get down here! We still need to go through some warm-ups!" Shinso feels that maybe he made a mistake befriending this guy.

“What…the hell, man?” 2 hours later, that thought had only grown stronger as the group took a break in a park, which was still empty Sh.inso crawled onto a bench, his legs feeling like they were made from pudding.

"What, that was just a warm-up. Shiozaki's just fine." Midoriya, who still looked fresh as daisies, pointed towards Shiozaki, who looked a little winded but wasn't near the rest of them. The closest person to her was Monoma, who stood with his hands on his knees, as what Izuku thought was a 'jog' was more of a run for the rest of them.

“You made us run 5km!” Shinso yelled back at him.

"That's not so bad; I normally run 15km." Shinso didn't know what was worse: the fact that he could say that with a straight face or the fact that he could buy it.

“You’re a beast, not even human.” Kuroiro moaned, having never had to run that fast for so long in his life.

"Come on, don't you want to be heroes? Well, that means putting in the work! Come on, let's get through some cool-down stretches. After that, we can head over to a place to train." Midoriya said to cheer them up, and Kodai turned over to him.

“Do we have to walk?” She asked him.

“Ye,” Kodai's gaze made Izuku rethink his words before looking away. "Oh, fine. We'll catch a ride, but I'm not paying."

“Agreed!” The rest called out. After they managed to find their leg muscles again, they went through some cool-down stretches, with the two green heads leading them before Monoma pulled his phone out to order them a ride share, one large enough for them, which, as Izuku said, he didn't chip in for. Once in, they gave the man the directions, with Shiozaki asking why they were going so far out of the way. Still, Izuku assured them it was the best place to train, but when he mentioned that he went there regularly, Monomo felt like he should try jumping ship.

20 minutes later, a trip made longer since their driver didn't know the area and complained that the uneven country-like roads were murder on his suspension, they had made it. Giving the man a sizable tip to apologise for any damage the car took, the group looked up towards the wall compound. "And why are we here? You said we're going somewhere to train," Shinso asked as it looked like they had rocked up to the retreat of some rich person.

“I did, and we are,” Midoriya pat his shoulder as he walked past, greeting the two guards at the gate like old friends. “Hey, guys!”

"Midoriya, I wasn't expecting you today." To their surprise, the guards seemed receptive, shaking his hand.

“And guests, these you’re classmates?” The second looked to the group behind Izuku with some suspicion but little hostile intent as if Izuku had brought them here, and then they couldn't be wrong.

“Most of them, the one who looks like he needs more sleep is from another class.” He singled out Shinso from the group, who frowned at that description of himself. Stepping up, Shiozaki bowed to the guards.

“Shiozaki Ibara, it is a pleasure.” She introduced herself, followed by the rest. The two men nodded before they turned their gaze towards Midoriya once more.

“Likewise. They’re here to help?” Monoma looked at Midoriya funny after that comment.

Midoriya, on the other hand, shook his head. “Maybe some other time. Right now, I wanted to train with them for the upcoming Sports Festival.”

“They’re still hosting that? Didn’t you guys get attacked by villains?” One of the two asked, to which Monoma slapped his forehead in annoyance.

“It was class A!” He corrected them, which they found weird, so Midoriya stepped in to smooth things.

"Yes, now, can you please open the gates for us?" he asked. The two stood aside and opened the massive doors, allowing the group to see the sheer scope that lay before them as Midoriya walked in, turning around to present the area to them.

“Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Kenmikoto Estate. My home away from home.” He smiled, as he had wanted to show this place off to his friends for years but lacked the friends to do it with. But now that he had that, he couldn't wait to show them everything the place had to offer.

Chapter 20: What’s your Dream, Shinso?

Chapter Text

“What do you think?” Izuku took great joy in seeing his friends flabbergasted-faced; who could blame them, as the estate was no joke? With the morning sun still high in the sky, one could see the entire place in its majesty or most of it was the many buildings dotted the landscape, some wooden, some brick and mortar, with spaces in-between for parks, playgrounds, sports fields and ponds. One could be forgiven for thinking that it was less a property for an eccentric billionaire and more a near-perfect recreation of a period in Japan that hasn't been seen in 400 years.

It wasn't just the buildings and the landscape; it was the people as well; with it being a Saturday morning, people were out in full force, playing, watching over children, fishing, swimming in the pools, flying kites or messing around with the cats that lived on the estate, dogs being banned. It made for one of the most confusing pictures out there.

"What do we? Where did this place come from?" Monoma asked, whipping his phone out and checking the maps, seeing that this enormous piece of land didn't appear.

“It’s been here longer than any of us have been alive. I reckon our parents weren't even born when it was founded." Midoriya replied though he didn't know the details as he had never asked for them. Deciding that he could speak with an older resident later, he led them down the path towards their destination, with the guests still processing what they saw, including how open Izuku was with these people and how they were open with him. Kodai compared it to one of those gated community ads where everyone was sociable, but this wasn't an ad.

"There are a lot of people here. Is it a halfway home complex?" Kurorio asked, as he saw some folks helping move boxes in of what looked to be an apartment building.

"Yes and no. Plenty of residents live here permanently. I knew a few who never leave." Izuku replied that, as with the repairs done in Raxus, some folks had opted to return, and others wished to try and move somewhere better, which required house and job hunting, so they remained here in the meantime. Others asked to stay and were welcomed with open arms.

"That sounds rough," Shinso stated that he saw some kids playing with cheap toys, the type one could only find in bargain bins or charities, but they didn't seem to mind as they yelled out special moves and wondered why their guy was immune or dodged it.

"Not at all. The estate has everything one needs: accommodation, recreation, places to work and eat, and everything in between. All housed on a property around over 2km squared.” Shiozaki and the rest blinked, as while their time at U.A. let them see that it was far more extensive than that, it was still an insane amount of land to be owned by one person. Who could fund the purchase of such a large piece of property? As they approached the dojo, a building that was as impressive as the rest of the place, Kuroiro noticed something in the distance, rubbing his eyes to make sure he didn't see things.

"Was it just me, or did I see a tiger in the distance?" He asked, pointing to where a full-grown tiger was just walking around, and people did not run in fear like they should, acting like it was just some alley cat.

When Izuku saw it, he only shrugged his shoulders. “Oh, the master must be out and about, or Ruby or Sapphire are just stretching their legs.”

“Is that safe?” Monoma asked as he had heard plenty of stories of what tigers, even those raised by humans, could do when provoked.

“Of course, they’re real sweethearts. You should see them playing with the younger members.” This point was proven when they saw some kids walk up to the apex predator and start playing with it, one even climbing onto its back without issue as the tiger seemed to stop to entertain them.

“Midoriya!” Their attention went from the Siberian tiger playing with kids like a well-mannered house cat, to the old lady approaching them and just from her appearance, they could tell she'd been through hell as part of her scalp was hairless, thanks to a burn that extended as far as her nose, with her right eye, the eye in the path, being covered by a think pale gold eyepatch to match the colour of her greying hair. She approached them from the side, supporting her weight on an elaborate wooden cane.

“Granny Biscuit!” Izuku's eyes lit up as he jogged over, hugging the woman who returned the gesture in kind with a laugh. Breaking off, he took a step back. "It's good to see you out and about."

"Yeah, well, I can't let my bones get any more brittle by sitting inside. Besides, the weather's too good for that." It wasn't much, but they felt she would have been more active without her apparent injuries. There was a story there, but they didn't dare ask about the pain of coming off as rude.

Smiling at him, the old lady's eyes went over to the rest, her smile falling away as she appraised them with one good eye. Those from class B started to sweat a little under her intense gaze, which reminded them of Vlad King's. “Friends of yours?” she eventually asked.

"Yes, we came to train for the Sports Festival," Izuku replied, to which she snorted. It sounded bizarre to her, but U.A. did make a selling point of being the first for everything, and for the most part, it worked as she recalled when they became the first to hero heteromorph staff back when people still treated them like they were somehow inhuman or dangerous, then heteromorph students followed. Though it took them a while to allow quirkless students, she hadn't heard anything wrong about them yet, so she'll continue to trust them.

"Then I'll leave you to it, but remember that you promised to help around later," she stated as Biscuit continued. She had wanted to go for a nice walk by one of the ponds, perhaps watch the fish.

"I didn't see you later, Granny." Izuku waved her off, the old lady grunting as she waved at him over her shoulder. With that done, they finally made it to the dojo, the building seemingly so majestic and slightly threatening that it felt like it would sooner devour them. Midoriya felt none of them worry as he walked up the stairs, directing them inside.

"This place is huge," Kodai stated. The interior had a waiting room, with stairs and hallways leading further in, up to the higher levels or to the sides of the building. She didn't know that martial arts dojos got this big, and they certainly didn't show them like this in movies.

"What can I say? The master is a martial artist at heart." Midoriya explained with a smile that Shiozaki picked up as the way he looked. It was the same way she got whenever she thought of her priest.

“You speak fondly of her.” She noted, with him turning to them.

"Of course! Without her, I wouldn't be the person I am today. She found and trained me ever since I was little." He missed how Kuroiro and Monoma blanched at that as they wondered what monster made him.

“Found? Like adopted?” Kodai leaned her head to the side, as now, when she thought about it, whenever they talked about their families, Midoriya either remained silent or spoke of his master.

"That's certainly one way to describe it! Now, the changing rooms are that way; they're marked, so unless you're trying to be a creep, you'll end up where you need to." Midoriya replied as he pointed towards the aforementioned changing rooms. Before pointing to where they'll be training, a smaller side room was generally reserved for private lessons but was free for the day. They all arrived after putting their stuff away a couple minutes later, finding him stretching to keep himself loose and flexible.

"Good, good. You'll all be here now. Are you ready to improve or die trying?” he asked them, a glint in his eye making them second-guess themselves.

“No?” Monoma raised his hand, but he merely laughed it off.

“Trick question!” And with that, Midoriya made them regret ever letting him lead their training.

“How the hell does he do it?” 2 hours later, the group rested, or more accurately, Midoriya was taking a sip of water while the rest were piles on the floor. Shiozaki was not spared, as the girl felt her arms and legs were jelly.

"My arms feel like lead," Kodai uttered, somehow deadpan, exhausted and furious at the same time.

"That was certainly an intensive workout." Shiozaki, with a heavy, laboured breath, agreed with it.

“I hate it.” Shinso, the least athletic of them, had it worse as he lay face down on the floor, his words muffled by the mats covering the otherwise hardwood surface.

"Come on, guys! Where's your spirit? It's only the first day, and we still have over a week before the sports festival." Midoriya's statement made them want to jump him if they had the energy, but they could hold onto that as something to look forward to.

Despite his pitch-black skin, Kuroiro was covered in visible sweat. He didn't think he had ever been pushed to such an extent in his life, and yet their class rep, a choice he wondered if he'd survive at this rate, barely looked phased. Oh, sure, he was sweaty, and his breath was a little more notable than normal, but it was the same as anyone after a light joy. "How are you still standing there, fresh as a sweaty rose?"

"That's easy. I do this kind of thing every day without fail," Midoriya replied, making them swear off ever joining him on that. Though if they had known that what he was putting them through was a toned-down version of his actual exercise plan, they would have most likely cried, so he kept that detail to himself.

"Exercise nut," Kodai stated.

“What could compel you to push yourself so far?” Monoma asked him as he took a seat, his legs perfectly crossed.

"Because I have a dream, a goal that I want to reach," Midoriya replied, his smile different from the one he had just had, which was for encouragement. This one was earnest but also sad. “It’s important to me, so if achieving it means a little pain and sweat, so be it.” He reached for the scarf he had been wearing since they met up or, in Kuroiro and Shinso's cases, since he had all but dragged them from their beds.

Blinking away from memory lane, he seemed to recall something else. "Speaking of, I don't even know what your dreams are. So, while we rest, let's discuss that as I want to learn." He asked, and deciding they should take this pause for what it was worth, they answered. For Monoma, it was the desire to be a hero and to spite those who said he couldn't, thanks to his quirk. Kuroiro wished to defend himself from the shadows and clarify that villains were scared to retreat into the dark because he could be there.

Kodai was plainer, as she enjoyed watching heroes and thought that she could enjoy being in that position, while Shiozaki was what they had expected from the deeply religious girl, being entirely altruistic. But that left only one.

“Shinso?” Shiozaki asked, but she didn't force him into it, none of them. If he wished to keep it secret, he was free to do so.

“I’m not so sure about it. My reasoning isn’t as selfless as yours," he said, keeping it vague as he had to make a choice here. Would he say what his quirk was and potentially get the same treatment he hated, or would he keep it secret?

"There is no judgment here, only open hearts and minds," Shiozaki replied, with the rest nodding. So, against what experience had taught him, Shinso opened up to them, if only a little.

"Ever since I was little, I saw heroes and how cool they were. People cheered when they walked by, and they helped people. But then my quirk developed." He started. My quirk, Brainwashing, allows me to control someone else to an extent."

“And let me guess, people told it was villainous?” Monoma asked him, and when he nodded, the blonde ticked. “Figures, people can be fools for the weirdest of reasons, plenty of quirks can be villainous if used that way, Shiozaki would be an absolute nightmare to deal with, but people don’t act like it.” Shiozaki didn't take offence for her part, as he wasn't saying she would; she could only do that, and people could treat her with respect but not others.

"I can shrink and enlarge anything so long as it's not living; there are a lot of ways that can be used to hurt people, pretty messed up ways at that." Kodai had thought about it, never with the intent or out of anger, but when you have a quirk, you tend to experiment and theorize what it can and can't do.

Shinso smiled, as this was…nice. To know that he wasn’t weird for his treatment. "People at one point wouldn't even respond to me, afraid I'll brainwash them. So," Shinso hugged his legs to his chest, not as tired as he had been, but his limbs still felt like they were bags of water. "So I want to become a hero to prove them wrong, to show that I can and will become the kind of person people look forward to seeing and can save lives."

Looking up, he saw that they still had kind eyes towards him. While he could never tell with Kodai, she gave him a thumbs up instead. But one had gone a step further. “Are you crying?”

Wiping away his tears, Midoriya explained himself: "It's just such a compassionate story. How could I not?" He was like him, judged to be something because of his quirk status, yet he refused to be broken by it. If only they had meat before, he could have gotten him into life, and they could have trained together.

"You're being dramatic," Shinso told him with a deadpan.

“No, you are! That settles it,” Jumping to his feet, he smirked at Shinso in a way that made him feel like he should perhaps run. "Shinso, I'm going to train your butt into the ground, so when you get back up, you'll be a splendid hero!"

“Wait, what? I didn’t agree to this!”

And with that hellish start, they trained. Midoriya gave them the Sunday off to rest, but come Monday, they were back at it. School was still on, so they couldn't train in the mornings, but they could afterwards. They would meet after the last bell, take care of the estate, and train for two and a half hours, with Midoriya paying particular attention to Shinso, even singing the song 'Make a Man out of You' to motivate him.

It more pissed him off.

The residents didn't avoid them, but they didn't go out of their way to speak with them, so they didn't interact much with them, but they managed to learn more about them. Shiozaki was more than a little pleased at their gardening operation, asking for tips that she could use in her garden back home.

When they weren't training, they were speaking with students from the other courses as Vlad kept reminding them to try it, that it would benefit them, which they guessed must have had a purpose. Still, they didn't know what, and no matter what they asked, Vlad wouldn't reveal the reason. None of the teachers would, and instead, they would chuckle. That meant that at lunch, they would sit with others and get to know them. Midoriya saw that many of his classmates and those in their sister class seemed to favour support students, which made sense, but that felt like they were leaving a blind spot; after all, Vlad-sensei didn't advise them to form ties with just support.

Because of that, Midoriya tried to form a more balanced group, as by Wednesday, his table wasn't his friend group anymore, and aside from Shiozaki and Shinso, who remained, they picked up a support student by the name of Aoijin Kyūryū and a business student named Jikakamo Kingen. Both were well enough, Kyūryū being quite eager and grilled them a lot for details on their quirks. At the same time, Kingen was more laid back but didn't slack off either. He seemed to take on a management-like role, asking how they'll want to be advertised, coaching them with his admittedly little knowledge.

But the day soon came, and they hoped they were ready for it as the U.A. wouldn't wait. That morning, when they arrived, they were taken through a secondary entrance just for them and screened by the additional security in place, thanks to the USJ incident. Once on campus, they were escorted to the stadium, one that they wondered how they could miss with its size as they had seen soccer and baseball stadiums smaller than this. A behemoth like this could hold well over 80 thousand people, if not more, as it looked like a supersized version of the Japan National Stadium.

The sight of such a building only made Vlad’s statement on how the Sports Festival had surpassed the Olympics in terms of popularity, as this would be the second grandest stage they could ever perform, outside being an active pro, of course. As the 2^nd and 3^rd years would go after them, they had been separated by class and directed to changing rooms. Said rooms didn't have separate changing areas for the gander, so they just waited for the girls to finish dressing into their P.E. uniforms before the boys went in.

"It would have been fun if we could wear our costumes," Tokage mentioned, looking over her uniform.

"It's to keep things fair since we're not the only ones competing," Honenuki replied, having a small drink before they got called up.

"That didn't stop my support students from asking for my measurements. I swear if they were just perving," The sharp-toothed girl added. Their time with their support students had been fun but also eye-opening, as she didn't think much could go into forming a proper partnership. Still, if both parties managed to make it to graduation, it would pay to have clients for them, and for Tokage, having support from people she knew and trusted would make starting out a little easier.

“I'm sure that it wasn't for any inappropriate intent, though I can't speak much on that front as they mainly focused on trying to think of support equipment I could use," Shishida stated. However, he was trying to distract himself from what was coming. Most of them were as regardless of what they said, people were nervous about competing as this wasn't like their middle school sports days; a comparison would be if there was no in-between playing for your local school in small in-house soccer matches and then finding yourself representing your country during the World Cup.

"Oh man, I'm nervous about the first round." Tsunotori was honest about that; she knew her relatives would be watching this despite the 14-hour time difference. Her older relatives even said they’ll be taking tomorrow off so they could stay up late watching.

"We've been training for 2 weeks. I'm sure that whatever it is, we can handle it." Kaibara told her, with Kuroiro shivering as he recalled that training process.

"Kuroiro, are you good? You look like you've seen a ghost," Tsuburaba asked his classmate, who turned to him like he was about to tell him his mother had cancer.

"Never train with Midoriya. He's a madman who has unlimited energy." He warned him, getting a confused look from Tsuburaba before as if called by the mention of his name. Midoriya opened the door to their waiting room.

"Alright, people, look alive! They'll be starting any minute now," He told them as the students finished whatever last-minute preparations they had. As Midoriya stepped in to grab something, Monoma approached him.

“Midoriya,” the blonde smirked, but there was an edge to it. I want you to know that you might be stronger than me, but I’m not going to just let you win.” He warned him, as he knew that in a 1v1, he wouldn't last five minutes, but he had been training and thinking of ways to counter him and his tenet.

“Oh?” Midoriya’s fake cat ears flicked while he met Monoma’s declaration with a sly smile. “I wouldn’t have it any other way. I want to win this, but I want to win it through the efforts and skills.” Cats were prideful, but he wasn't driven solely by means. If he couldn't fight them on an even playing field, where they threw everything they had at him and more, it wouldn't help him achieve anything. More than that, he refused to allow his classmates to not give it 110%.

With that in mind, his eyes turned to the rest, any playfulness gone, in its place the hardened gaze of a panther. "So I expect all of you to bring your A-game and show the world that class 1-B isn't going to play second fiddle to anyone!" His war cry was met with yells of agreement and raised hands.

“Oh yeah, let’s kick class A’s ass!” Tetsutetsu yelled back as the group gathered to head out and make a name for themselves.

“Hey!” Present Mic's voice and image appeared on the big screen to the roar of the audience and fireworks going off overhead. “Pay attention, audience! Get our good sides, mass media!” He called out to them as the over 120 thousand spectators screamed, cheered and roared, all while the hundreds of cameras flashed from the booths set aside for representatives of media companies, big and small, while the over 24 cameras broadcasting the event sent live footage to anyone watching this in Japan, whether it was on their TVs, computers or phones.

Feeding the hype like a ringmaster, Present Mic continued, “It's time for your favourite time of year, a chance to watch the best of brightest that U.A. has to offer to compete to see who stands head and shoulders above them all, the U.A. Sports Festival!”

“Now, let's greet these mighty students in a way that only our wonderful audience can. Are you ready?!” He asked, with the crowd cheering somehow getting louder, much to the annoyance of his co-commentator for the events, Eraser, still wrapped up in bandages from the USJ. Still, even if he wasn't, the man wasn't the type to 'speak needlessly' as he would put it.

“The first to enter the stage they've already had the chance to cut their teeth and face real villains, ladies and gentlemen; it's hero course class 1A!” Present Mic directed the cameras towards the entrance, where class A walked out, heads held high to the eyes of over 100K people.

“They haven’t gotten as much airtime, but this class is also full of talents, hero course class 1B!” Class Be followed them, just as determined as their sister class to leave their mark.

"Damn straight," Tetsutetsu stated as Izuku looked towards the crowds, and while it was far too vast to pick out faces from this distance, he knew that his master was watching. She had said she would the previous night.

“I’ll make you proud, master. Just you watch.” Looking forward, he locked eyes with Bakugo, who glared at him, to which he met with a hardened glare of his own, as this wasn't the time for it.

“Next up, we have the jacks of all trades, general course classes C, D and E!” Midoriya felt it was telling that the hero course was the star attraction before. Still, Present Mic grouping the general studies into a single group only cemented that, as Shinso might have had a good poker face. Still, his classmates were less skilled, or perhaps they didn't care as much as he heard from classmates that most students, in general, didn't even want to compete when they knew they were set up to fail.

“Following them, we have the gearheads and tech wizards, the support classes of F, G and H!” With this new group, Midoriya could pick out his support friend, Kyūryū who stuck out not just because of her shiny violet hair but because she was the only support student who put far more work into their appearance than was necessary, breaking the stereotype of her course being dirty mechanics or nerdy lab-coats as she walked like a boss, a confident smirk on her face.

“And last but certainly not least, the masters of the pen and directors of the play that is life, the business classes of I, J and K!” In contrast to Kyūryū, the only one who walked like a model, most business course students carried themselves like managers and executives, strong not in body but in intelligence and confidence. That wasn't the exception for Kingen, whose duck-billed face was passive but studied like a rock in a river while his red hair was held in a neat little ponytail.

When the last person stepped onto the field, Present Mic announced, “Give a hot Endeavour welcome for all these students, for U.A.'s first years have taken to the field!” The students walked up to a little stage set up, with a certain pro strutting onto it with as much sly confidence as a fox fused with a world-famous supermodel.

“And let us give a U.A. welcome to our empire for this year's first-year Sports Festival, the Rated-R hero, Midnight!” Present Mic introduced as the Sex-symbol heroine posed for the cameras, with Midoriya being pretty sure that he was hearing an increased number of clicks from cameras, not just the media but probably hundreds if not thousands of people in the stands.

“So sinful.” Shiozaki raised her arm to hide her mouth.

“My parents are going to grill me so much for this.” Kaibara groaned as they already gave him crap when they realized that Midnight taught there. The last thing he wanted was for his father to give him another 'talk' about growing up.

“Well, if she can wear that while on the clock, then it’s not bad for TV, right?” f*ckidashi asked, but his head displayed an insure question mark.

“Try telling that to all the parents’ groups.” Tokage joked as Midnight had seemed more than a little miffed with them and their changing the rules. Her first costume was banned, but she got back at them since her current one was the same colour as her skin.

“Quiet, everyone!” Midnight had replaced her standard whip with a fuzz-covered shortened cat whip. “Now, the student that will give the athletes’ oath, Itsuko Kendo of class 1-A!”

“Big sis?” Someone in class 1-A asked as Kendo wordlessly started walking towards the stage.

“She did get the top score on the entrance exam.” Someone else reminded them as a girl Midoriya vaguely knew from general sighed, narrowing her eyes at them.

“The hero course exam.” She corrected this as Iida, the vice rep of class A, stepped in to apologize.

“Oh, apologies, we didn’t mean to offend.” As he did that, Midoriya noticed that even with the time given to intermingle, there was still a divide between class A and the rest, most likely thanks to Bakugo's attitude.

"This is some bullsh*t," Bakugo growled out, no doubt still pissed that he was 3^rd on that exam and missed out on this chance.

“If it were you, number 3, we'd be forced to listen to you brag that you're the greatest for 2-3 minutes," Midoriya stated, to which Bakugo turned his ire to him. Still, he didn't even bother glancing his way as Kendo took to the stage. Midnight stepped aside to let the girl use the microphone set up for this.

“I'll keep this short so we can get into things." Kendo started her words and tone solid and unyielding, even with over 100 thousand people watching and the idea that millions more could do the same in other locations. "As the representative of this year's first years, I pledge that we'll give this all we have and compete with honour and pride. That we'll honour the spirit of U.A. and show the world that we are here!" She pumped her fist into the air, a gesture met by her classmates doing the same before class B followed in a wave that soon had the entire field geared up.

"Impressive. I wasn't wrong about her after all," Midoriya said to himself. Kendo proved to be quite an interesting person, from the look in her eyes to her choice of declaration. He knew that she might be the biggest obstacle from class A, probably the biggest for him there in general.

With the oath given, Midnight stepped forward to continue to explain things. “Now, let's begin with the first event, which many of you have come to know as the qualifier! Many students have been humbled and tasted tears in this event, but there'll be a twist this year!” Midnight smiled, as she could almost taste their confusion since U.A might change the events and even the rules, but they always followed the same formula.

“Over the last 2 weeks, you youthful students have been encouraged to mingle with your fellows from other courses. There was a reason for that!” She started as the screen changed to show a short video of figures with different class letters speaking with one another.

“This event, and the following one, won't be individual based, but team-centric! You'll have 5 minutes to partner up with teams of 5, no more, no less! When the time is over, you'll select who to represent you in the first event. The entire team can compete, but you only need one member to qualify for the rest to qualify!” Midnight explained.

“So that’s why they asked her to spend time with them, so we could grow familiar with them and know what they could do.” Midoriya realized.

“It also means that whatever events they have planned for us will depend on some level on how well we can work together.” His fellow class rep, Kendo, added to that.

“Oh crap, that was a requirement? I barely spent time with anyone.” The dunce from before, Midoriya, didn't know his name, but he was from class A and seemed nervous.

“The time starts now. Form your teams!” Midoriya snapped her whip, and the screen changed to show the clock. Students rushed about to find those they knew best as Midoriya turned to Shiozaki.

“Shiozaki, want to be in the same team?” He asked, as out of their classmates, they knew each other’s operating style the best.

“That would be preferable.” Shiozaki agreed with that sentiment. They had trained together as a group for a while, and his quirk could be a force multiplier to hers if combined.

“Great, now we just need,” Midoriya started but was interrupted by a welcomed presence.

“We’re already here!” Kyūryū cut him off, the girl standing with her arms on her waist, looking as great as ever. “Who else but class F’s most talented student?”

"Same here, and besides, if they planned this, I have a feeling you'll need a good PR guy." Kingen smiled, undoubtedly having cooked up some ideas that they'd love her.

“Room for one more?” They turned to see Shinso approaching, and for one, he didn't look like he had missed three days of sleep, just one. "Better I team up with the biblical force and the crazed cat boy than against."

“Please don’t refer to me in such a manner.” Shiozaki sighed.

“Please keep referring to me like that.” Midoriya giggled. And with that, their time was formed in a little under a minute, with many others either formed or halfway done. When the 5 minutes finished, the field, which had been split by class, was now split into the 5-man teams. When the time ran out, Midnight made the demand.

“Now that our 44 teams have been formed, which of you will represent them?” To answer her question, the teams sent out their most capable students, who were mainly hero students, which those in business and general were more than happy with as the Sports Festival was for them anyway. There were outliers in this; for one, Kendo's team sent her out with some pink-haired girl Kyūryū said was the crazy girl from class H. Midoriya's team was similar to when he stepped up, and so was Shinso, as it would be a great showing if he managed to provide quality for them.

With their teams stepping back, the field that was once 220 students fell to around 110 as some teams sent out just a single person while others sent 3. Midnight smiled at them in a fashion that may or may not have been appropriate. Still, attention quickly went to the big screen, where they saw a massive wheel turning before. Before it stopped, and from the portion it landed, a digital slip flew out and presented what was written on it.

‘Obstacle course’

"Alright, those representing their teams will need to navigate the outer circumference of this stadium, about 4km! While you run this race, you'll be faced with challenges of all shapes and sizes!"

"Our school's selling point is freedom, so while on this race, you may use your wits, quirks, and gear however you please to come out on top; as long as you stay on the course, you have a black cheque!"

"But don't have too much fun. I see a lot of people who will compete, but only the first 32 will qualify, and that includes teams. So if one person makes it, you'll be good, but if more than one does, you're even better!"

"No wonder she didn't tell us that part before we sent out representatives; otherwise, wise teams would have stacked it to ensure that as few people made it to them as possible next event." Midoriya could appreciate that omission of truth.

“Either way, this is our chance to leave a mark," Shinso replied, eyeing the rest of the competition.

“So racers, to your stations!” Midnight announced.

Chapter 21: Obstacles and comradery

Chapter Text

Moving towards the entrance to the track, Midoriya noted how narrow it was. Even with their number cut to more or less half, it would be a tight squeeze, and with students encouraged to work together to have at least one member make it through, that could easily lead to fighting on the track.

Looking around, his eyes naturally went to his classmates, people that he knew and had seen in action. But then there were the unknowns, most of class A, as he knew they had a speedster, and then there was Bakugo. Other than that, they were all a mystery to him.

Glancing at Shinso, the noise of the crowds faded away, replaced with his own steady breathing and drumbeat of his heart. He saw that the general studies student starred right ahead, focused on the prize, but as happy as he was with that, Shinso wasn’t the only one who had something to prove, a goal to achieve.

“This is a rare chance, Midoriya. Give it your all, show the world you stand, and you'll fight." He thought about her words of encouragement before he left that morning. Just like his competition, he had a goal he chased and the drive to achieve it. Watching the green lights count down, he prepared himself for a fierce melee as this wouldn't be easy, but he didn't want it to be easy. After all, the bigger the mountain, the more outstanding the achievement to ascend.

“Start!” Midnight announced, and with that, the students were off, rushing the entrance in a frenzy.

“And they’re off, ready to give some tasteful and insightful commentary, Mummy Man?” Present Mic asked his co-commentator.

“I didn’t want to be here. You forced me," Eraser replied, sounding disinterested in the entire thing.

That fact didn't bother Present Mic as he took the comeback in stride. "That I did, but now that you're here, who should be paying attention to in this race?”

“At this point," Aizawa started, as Midoriya had predicted, the narrow path proved to be their first obstacle as students got squished together, fighting their way through. It’ll be decisiveness and creativity.”

Midoriya's sharp gaze took in the entire thing. He could force his way through, but that would take time, and heroes didn't use force unless necessary. Looking over, he saw Shinso about to use his quirk and grabbed him, a hand over his mouth. "Save it for later. Also, hold onto me; your life depends on it."

"Okay-holy, crap!" Shinso started to ask, complying before he screamed in terror. Midoriya bent his legs and launched himself, with Shinso hanging on for a deal life towards the wall, latching onto it like his hands were covered in glue.

With Shinso latched onto him like a baby monkey, a comical sight considering he was the taller of the two, Midoriya got his 'grip' on the wall with his hands and feet and started running, leaving their surprised schoolmates behind. “If the floor is cramped, try the wall.” He laughed before suddenly like he had to jump, now!

He didn't think and obeyed his instincts, which saved them trouble as the temperature suddenly dropped and ice shot out, coating not just the floor but the walls and ceiling in it; when he smacked into the other wall, he nearly lost grip, thanks to the stuff before he managed to stabilize himself. "What the hell was that?!" Shinso yelled, seeing that most of the students were frozen in place. At the same time, Midoriya's eye tracked a figure racing ahead, the ice not touching him as he narrowed his eyes.

"Class A happened." He replied, immediately followed by 4 of their number hot on the ice maker's heels, one of whom was Bakugo, who blasted himself forward. The other was Kendo, who smashed the ice that restrained her and kept moving, lighting seemingly to dance around her as she did so. As more of Class A managed to get past this delaying tactic, so did Class B, with Midoriya being no exception. As soon as they cleared the tunnel, he landed on the ice-covered ground and, while on all fours, rushed ahead as if he had the best traction in the world, the weight of another not even slowing him down.

“Okay, what’s the plan, genius?” Shinso asked as they passed by most others, gaining on the leaders.

"Easy, you'll trip people up. Just don't make it obvious how your quirk works. That'll give you an edge later." Midoriya replied an eager smirk on his face, matched by the evil grin that Shinso got.

“That I can do,” He replied.

“And already, we're seeing some great teamwork from the students, including, hold on, I've heard of piggyback rides, but that's a little extreme, folks; Shinso is riding Midoriya like he's a horse and Midoriya sure is zooming like one!” The cameras shifted to focus on the two, confusing watchers, but the two didn't mind. If this meant they could make it to the second round, they'd handle it.

“Hey, man-hands, get out of the way!" Shinso yelled, and when Kendo turned to him, less than amused about him repeating the same stupid nickname Bakugo had for her, he tapped his chest right above his heart.

"I'll send you packin-" Kendo started to reply, but found her mind disconnected from her body as her hold over One for All cut, she tripped and fell to the ice-covered floor as Midoriya and Shinso passed her. When her forehead made contact, whatever came over her was lifted as she blinked in confusion. Looking ahead, she saw the two ahead as he cursed under her breath, powered up One for All and chased after them.

"Hey, Baku-moron, is that all you got?" Shinso yelled at the second person ahead of them, who, as they expected, didn't take kindly to being insulted. Shinso did the same thing, tapping his chest when Bakugo turned to glare at them.

“Shut your mouth, you-" Where Kendo was still on the ground, he didn't have that luxury. Once Shinso's brainwashing took hold, Bakugo's momentum carried him forward, crashing face-first into the dirt. If his luck wasn't bad enough, a 2-pointer stood ready to meet him and smashed him in the side of the head, sending him tumbling into the barrier that kept them on track.

That wasn't the only one, as Midoriya and the rest stopped to gawk at the army of robots that awaited them. As if that wasn't enough, they were backed by not one, not three, but at least 10 different 0-pointers.

“Does anything about this school make sense?” Shinso asked, looking at the sheer number of enemies and wondering if their exam zone had this much. Was this part of why they made teams? So, would the fewer non-hero course students justify the overkill?

“And the students hit the first obstacle, which I would like to call Robo-Inferno!” Present Mic announced to the crowds, watching back in the stadium and everywhere else. Seeing others catching up and just goggling at the threat, Midoriya knew that there wasn't time for them to waste. If there was one thing that the crazy cat taught him, it was never to waste time.

"Your quirk doesn't work on the right?" He asked as he considered a solution, but one that he was sure Shinso wouldn't like.

"No, I can't use it on machines, only people," Shinso replied as if that was the case. He wouldn't have struggled during the entrance exam, now would he?

Midoriya hummed as he crouched low, his all-fours position feeling as natural as it would for him to walk as he felt the muscles in his arms and legs tense up, eyeing the closest 0-pointer as it lumbered forward. “Then hold on tight.”

Shinso could feel him getting ready and recalled how he had acted the same way when he grabbed him earlier as the blood vanished from his face. “You can’t seriously think we can get past them!” He liked to think he yelled, but he more fearfully squeaked at his horse for this event.

“This is a race, which means speed is the name of the game. Besides,” Midoriya shivered when he recalled some of the more extreme stuff that Shizune put him through, such as the dairy incident. “I’ve seen scarier.” With that said, he didn't wait for Shinso to try to counter. Instead, he dashed forward, drawing eyes to him as he passed the ice user, who seemed just as caught off guard by them as everyone else.

“What's this? Midoriya sees the threat and dashes right for it? I'll give him an A for spirit but an F for forethought!” Midoriya ignored Present Mic's commentary as he moved even faster, the 0-pointer quickly spotting him and reaching forward with its massive metal palm, crashing into the earth with a thundering thud, which kicked up a dust cloud. Their apparent demise makes other students question the entire thing.

“Holy-was he just crashed?!”

“Wait, they can actually kill us?!”

“No,” The dual white and red-haired ice user refuted their claims as he saw something in the cloud. His assessment was proven right when he saw Midoriya, with a still terrified Shinso on his back, running up the near vertical surface of the 0-pointer's hand, jumping between them to keep the machine confused as he got higher. “I didn’t see it clearly before, but it seems he has an annoying quirk.” A smart move, but that just meant that he could handle him and the problem as once as the temperature around him chilled again.

“Rather than fight then, Midoriya is using his speed to attempt to bypass the first challenge nearly completely. A rational move on his team's part.” Eraser commented as Midoriya reached the head of the 0-pointer and, without hesitation, leapt from it; his limbs sprayed out as he fell towards the rest, a good thing, too, as just as he jumped, the 0-pointer was hit by a massive wave of ice, freezing it.

“Right, right! But there's always another way. Where Midoriya chose speed, Todoroki, the now former front runner, chose power!” Present Mic added as Shinso shivered from the cold of that attack as the duo landed on a 3-pointer. The harsh impact partially crumbled the armour of the robotic foe.

Shinso grunted from the hard impact on Midoriya's back, and the shorter boy was silent as if he felt pain from them. Instead, he chose to continue, jumping from villain bot to villain bot as if the floor were lava, all while avoiding their attempts to attack them. “He nearly hit us with that attack!” Shinso looked back and saw more ice being thrown about, but he couldn’t see Todoroki with so many targets between them.

“No doubt he wouldn’t mind that," Midoriya noted as another 0-pointer moved towards them. Midoriya used the other smaller bots as jumping pads to clear some distance. Sticking the landing, he started to race up.

"You guys have the right idea." Both turned around to see Kendo cloaked in that same orange lightning. Midoriya was surprised since she didn't just match their jump; she was soaring over them, leaving them in the dust. “Why fight when we can avoid them?” She yelled as she passed them.

“Deku!” Midoriya didn't need to look back; that voice and the accompanying explosions were more than enough as an identifier.

“We have incoming!” Shinso yelled as they reached the top, and he saw Bakugo was seconds before him, where Midoriya narrowed his gaze and looked towards Kendo, who was approaching the 3^rd and final 0-pointer, the rest behind them.

"Sorry, numbers 1 and 3, but we're not going to roll over and let you take this!" He yelled as he jumped off it, putting more force into his legs as he soared overhead, grateful that all those times he had been forced to train with stupidly heavy rocks strapped to his person, it made it so that he could easily manage with the extra weight.

"I'm more than happy to take it fair and square!" Kendo replied as ice exploded into existence behind them. It wasn't just that Tokage split into several pieces and zipped on, along with the explosions and ice. Or Tetsutetsu and the redhead from class A rushing through, their quirks making them all but impervious to the robots' attacks as their strikes broke them. A raven-headed boy with a shadow quirk copied Midoriya's example. At the same time, Tsunotori rode a pair of horns while Honenuki turned the ground to deep mud with every step, leaving partially sunk bots in his wake.

“Go, Midoriya!” Kyūfune cheered, watching her boyfriend battle it out against the best his grade could throw at it, and with it being U.A., that was taken to another level.

“Not a bad performance." Her mother mused as she nursed her drink of chilled water. The two had booked one of the private booths to watch the event in person or as in person as they could get with the students racing outside the confines of the stadium. And U.A. is just as crazy as I thought they'd be." She smiled when she saw him clear the last giant robot, though he was now fighting for ^fourth place with that Todoroki boy.

"Yes, he's holding his own but can't keep his lead with the situation." One of her aides spoke up as the woman nodded.

“That boy on his back seems to be a means to handle that. Whatever his quirk is, it’s tripping up the competition.” She didn't know the details, but whatever the boy was doing seemed to keep people at a distance. However, it was funny to see him causing the Todoroki boy to fall flat on his face, only to get up with a frigid fury on his face. She just knew that Enji wasn't pleased with his child's performance.

However, she didn’t think her student would just let anyone mount him, even if it served his purposes. "Wait, he's part of the group that Midoriya brings around?" She snapped her fingers, as she hadn't seen him all that much. He said he was helping friends train.

“Yeah, that’s Shinso. He’s in general studies.” Kyūfune replied as she had met him along with the rest. It was…mildly fun seeing their reactions when Midoriya introduced her as his girlfriend. Still, it was a better feeling when they didn't so much as bat an eye to her appearance and size, with that Monoma boy being more impressed his friend landed a 'beautiful lady too good for him'. At the same time, Shiozaki grilled them to ensure they weren't doing all the acts that couples did, insisting that if they're not waiting for marriage, they wait for at least 6 months.

Kenmikoto dramatically sighed. "Such a heartless brute. He knows the love of his life is watching, and yet he lets another man mount him for all to see."

"Mother! That's not what's happening, and you know it!" Kyūfune yelled back, her cheeks red. Her mother's aide merely turned the other way, pretending they didn't hear this.

“And yet, you’re red in the face.” The older woman smirked, as she loved to mess with her like this.

“Because you put the thought in my head!”

Back on the field, Kendo led the group at a reasonable distance, followed by Bakugo, enraged with Midoriya and the rider competing with Todoroki for 3^rd place. The 3 front runners have woken up to Shino's ploys, so they stop trying, or else they give away too much information. When Kendo stopped, however, he wondered why till Present Mic added his commentary. "Hey, most have cleared the first barrier of Robo Inferno, but our front lady, Kendo, has witnessed the second obstacle: The Fall!”

Present Mic was right as Kendo stopped at the edge of a chasm, one so deep that she couldn't even see the bottom. Dotted in the massive pit were massive columns of earth of varying sizes, all connected via lines. “When did they even have time to make this?” She asked herself, as this seemed insane.

“Don't worry, my students. Your teachers are as benevolent as they are handsome. The Fall is none-lethal with the bottom covered in super pillows, so no matter how you go down, you'll be right as rain, but if you do, you're out!” Never be said that Present Mic was humble when it came to commentary, but that did answer a few questions.

"I just need to make the platforms, then?" She crouched before taking off with a superpowered standing long jump, landing on one of the closer pillars before repeating that. “So long as I can see them, I can plan my landing!”

“Like this will slow me down!” She heard Bakugo closing in on her.

“And Bakugo takes first place? Hold on. He's started to fight with Kendo. Does he want to take her own by making her fall?” Present Mic had to correct himself mid-sentence as Bakugo, instead of just passing her, turned to fight her, slowing them both down as she dealt with him. Meanwhile, Midoriya, with Todoroki hot on his heels, was fast approaching it.

“Midoriya, are we going to jump as well?” Shinso asked, ready to hold onto him.

“We could,” Midoriya just sped up, and once he reached the edge, he kept going, only now picking up Shinso piggyback style as he ran over the line that connected one of the pillars to their side. “But they’ve left paths for me to take.” He asked as they made it to said pillar. Without slowing down, he chose another even longer one and kept going, spotting Kendo and Bakugo coming up.

Shinso looked down at the pit that awaited them if Midoriya missed a single step and gulped. “How the heck are you keeping your balance?”

“Have you ever seen a cat fall off a wall?” Midoriya asked though the truth was that this was much easier than water and floor walking. He just had to ensure that his feet stuck and released with every step, maximizing his traction. It helped that Shinso wasn't an idiot and kept still, so their balance wasn't as crucial as it could have been.

“You and your cat phrases...” Shinso grumbled as Midoriya reached their second pillar, the audience cheering for them, along with the rest of the front runners, as the rest of the pack made it to the beginning of the second obstacle and saw how far ahead Midoriya and the rest of the leaders have made it. He could even hear one crying that this wasn't fair or that his quirk made him stick to whatever he wanted.

“And Midoriya displays his crazy sense of balance! He should be in the circus; I’ll pay to see that!” His hair flicked to the side as Todoroki seemed to be using the chords. In contrast, Midoriya left them unaffected, and Todoroki slid along them with his ice, leaving them useless to anyone else. “Todoroki's not far behind; these two are balanced gods and are still neck and neck!” The dual-haired boy glared at him, either angry that he wasn't ahead or for that little trick they had pulled earlier.

Either way, perhaps both had better things to focus on than one boy's grudge, namely the fact that they were close to passing Kendo and Bakugo, his fellow class rep looking just about done with Bakugo's insistence to fight during a race. Right as the two reached, they saw Midoriya and Shinso doing the same, who, on solid ground, could put more effort into speed rather than traction as he got right back onto 4 fours and dashed ahead.

“It looks like fighting will cost you, as Midoriya and his faithful knight, Shinso, take first and second place, leaving Kendo and Bakugo in the dust!” Present Mic announced as Midoriya’s name rose to the top of the board.

"Like I'll let them do that!" Kendo yelled as she upped One for All to 7% and knocked Bakugo off of her; when she landed, she raced ahead, quickly catching up with Midoriya, who saw her coming and ground his teeth as this girl was persistent and fast.

Reaching the end, Todoroki didn't stop. He kept running, seeing the two front runners and ticking his teeth. "Just what is his quirk? Or is this all his base physical capabilities?" He had no choice as he used his ice to skate along again, even if that meant leaving the ice in his wake that could interfere with the others. It was much faster than running.

"Dammit, swear harder!" Bakugo yelled as he pushed himself ahead, his feet not touching the ground as he flew like the angriest human rocket in existence. All this meant that while the bulk of the action was behind them, these 5 fought tooth and nail for first as Kendo passed Midoriya. Still, he managed to retake before she passed him again, her speed simply being too much for him. Still, he wouldn't give up, especially when he could hear ice forming and explosions behind them.

"It's no wonder you're number 1; you're not making this easy for us, are you?" Midoriya yelled, as, despite the fact he was pushing himself just to keep up, he was having fun.

When Kendo looked back, he could see in her teal eyes, so bright and filled with life, that she was much the same. They might have been others; he might have even had someone on his back, but there was only the other for the two of them. “You can keep calling me that because I’m taking first!” Around her, the lighting and light of One for All shone bright, a fact which was exciting to her as she rarely needed to use it during class as Big Fist was enough most of the time. When she did, she managed just fine with 3%, as she had done when she used it against Bakugo during their first class.

But here she was using over double that. Midoriya might have been a bit of an ass with his love for causing drama and egging on Bakugo. Still, she hoped that he would only get stronger so that she could have a good rival going forward.

“It’s not over till the fat cat sings!” Midoriya yelled back, the blood vessels in his arms and legs bulging as he pushed more tenet into his muscles to produce greater power. As the two kept up their contest of one-upping the other, Bakugo and Todoroki were forced to play second fiddle, much to the confusion but entertainment of the audience as Todoroki was the son of Endeavour yet he was wasn't even in first or second place, but that only made them all the more hyped as if Todoroki wasn't in first, that only spoke to how stiff his competition was, which Kendo and Midoriya embodied to a tee.

Many pros in the audience also wished to see if they couldn't get even one of them as sidekicks in the future, as their skills were a cut above the rest. "Hey, hey, the leaders of the pack are pulling further ahead! Come on, people! Put your baaaacks into it!" Present Mic focused on the students further back, many of whom were still in the first half of the second obstacle. Shinso called out to Midoriya with those front runners.

“Up ahead, they’re mines!” Midoriya and Kendo looked away from each other and towards the path, seeing a massive sign that read as much. Both stopped, with Midoriya skidding a little. His hands were reinforced via tenet to prevent damage as the two looked throughout the land, mainly dirt but with hundreds of small circles in the ground.

“What?” Kendo asked, breathing a little heavier than when she started this, matched by Midoriya.

“And we’ve reached the third and final of the obstacles, which I like to call Minesweeper!” Present Mic announced for the audience as the three students looked over the field, trying to learn as much as they could before the others caught up. “It's not a horde of steel or a steep drop into the dark, but instead, it's hundreds of mines buried in the dirt. Watch your step, or you'll be in for a bad time!”

“But of course, we didn't use mines packed for the kill, folks, as they've all been nerfed, but they still pack enough of a punch that one can make you crap your pants!” Midoriya didn't think that U.A. would have used lethal ones, as while they had Nezu for a principal, he wasn't nearly as crazy as Shizune. Besides, this was a televised event. You'll need to be crazy to broadcast a bunch of teens trying to navigate a live minefield.

Speaking of mines, they figured out that the circles must have been the mines themselves and that they weren't too close to one another, as if one kept track of where they stepped and planned accordingly, they could get through, but there was another way forward that took advantage of the triggering defence for mines. “He seems that they’re loud and flashy enough to scare you, but that depends on the person," Eraser added. Kendo powered down to 3% and started moving through; it was still fast, but she might as well be crawling compared to her earlier speeds.

"That sounds bad, but we can see them just fine, thanks to how they were buried. I bet they did this to slow us down and give the others time to catch up." She concluded as Bakugo and Todoroki were seconds away. Both had quirks that negated this phase, as Todoroki's ice might allow him to create a path over the mines without triggering them while Bakugo could fly across.

“Yes, it’s not a bad bet,” Midoriya started, crouching low and swaying side to side before he rushed in, the crowd and Kendo being stunned by his idiocy, but when his hand came down on a mine, that stun turned to slack-jawed amazement when it didn't go off, or the next to the one following that. “Too bad it won’t work for me!” It was like the mines weren’t even a factor as he raced past her.

"What the hell?! How are you not setting them off?" She yelled as he raced ahead, the mines not even an issue for him.

“A cat’s steps are as light as feathers!” He shot back, enjoying the fact that he could use tenet even now. After all, when one walked on water with proper tenet control, they didn't sink, so he merely used that same idea, only one land.

“That doesn’t even make sense!” Kendo yelled back at him.

“What do we have here, folks? We have a Mine runner in our mists!?” Present Mic cried out as the cameras focused on this weird cat boy and the sleep-deprived passenger as if the minefield had been a field of flowers for them.

“The mines work like any other, pressure imparted by weight. In theory, if you’re light enough, you could walk right over them without triggering them.” Eraserhead explained this to the audience. Though he had his misgivings.

“But he’s running with someone else on his back, my good ole Eraserhead! How light can two boys be?” Present Mic countered, though most would assume he was playing it up as surely the teachers knew what was up. They just didn't give it away.

Kendo's eyes narrowed on Midoriya's back as he moved further ahead, the girl having to keep an eye on her path, which slowed her down. ‘Not light enough. Just what was his quirk? He said he's only had a quirk since last year, and Bakugo implied that he vanished from school for months.' She recalled how pissed Bakugo had been when Midoriya and his classmates left that day, and when Kirishima pressed him for info on why he seemingly wanted to maul him, he confirmed that punch, even if he called it a cheap shot.

He also said that Midoriya shouldn't have been able to get into U.A. as he stopped showing up for classes for months in their final year at middle school. But he must have taken the exam; he placed in the scores, and she went back to confirm as much after his little trip to antagonize her class's worst-behaved student. But sadly, the acceptance letter she got didn't say much about his quirk, and when she asked All Might about it, he didn't have much to say either, though there was clearly something he was keeping from her about him, but she could trust that it mustn't have been all that important.

'So far, he's run on walls and up the near vertical surface of those 0-pointers. Then, there was the trick with the chasm. He didn't even seem to notice the ropes and moved like normal, but he did switch to running upright. And now this, just what kind of quirk is this?' She thought to herself, trying to figure out his secrets before a thought came to mind.

‘Or…is it more than one?’ It was impossible…or at least, it should have been impossible. But if All Might could give her his quirk, one that was designed to be passed from person to person, did Midoriya have a similar deal? Thinking back, he didn't say he got his quirk in the hallway but said his power. Was he avoiding saying quirk because that singular use of the word would be a lie?

Either way, she had to focus on this as he was almost out of reach, and Bakugo and Todoroki were behind her. She couldn’t just run, but perhaps she could trip him up as she bent back a finger and held it in place with a thumb, the roar of One for All in her body rising as she increased its power to 20%, taking aim, she flicked her finger, sending out a bullet of pressurized air which Midoriya just barely saw coming before he got tagged in the side.

"The hell?" Losing balance, he fell onto his side, right on a mine, as he and Shinso went wide-eyed. "Oh shi-!" The mine blew up, the force separating the two and sending them flying in different directions. Shinso landed in an ungraceful pile, and Midoriya managed to recover and land on his feet.

“And an attack from Kendo separates horse and rider, giving her the lead, but Bakugo and Todoroki are hot on her heels!" Present Mic announced as Midoriya got up, a little peeved that Kendo attacked him like that, and with air of all things. How strong was she? His place continued to fall as he had been blown behind Bakugo and Todoroki, putting him in ^fourth. Seeing this, he was about to jet off when he realized he was lighter than before.

“Where’s Shinso?” He asked as he looked around, seeing him in the distance further into the field. He also saw that others had made it, leading them to be Honenuki and several others, most likely class A. The number of people only made the place more chaotic as they triggered mines left and right, which were just nails on a chalkboard to his hearing and an ugly, uncoordinated fireworks show for his sight.

He had to leave, but where would that leave Shinso in this madness? Sure, he wasn't drowning, but people were not making it easy, and with teams involved, he'd get overwhelmed. On the other hand, they just needed him to pass, but he still found himself racing back for his teammate. "Shinso!" He yelled, jumping over a surprised student, using them as a springboard to close the distance, the tripped springboard falling right onto a landmine.

“Midoriya!” Shinso yelled back, getting shoved and nearly hitting a mine, barely missing it as he turned to hell at the person, that being a large boy with large lips. “Hey, watch it!”

"You watc-!" Shinso's quirk took hold as he shoved the guy back into a mine, clearing the area but only briefly as he held out his hand to Midoriya. He didn't waste the chance, as when he grabbed him, they flipped mid-air, shifting around before they landed with Midoriya back on all fours and Shinso on his back, but he was sweaty and winded from how weird that move was.

"What are we going to do? They're too far ahead." Shinso raised a good question, as with the number of people in front of them, they could have quickly fallen into their 20s. That sure as hell wouldn't do, but what could he do to clear them? Fighting would take too long, and he couldn't bounce off their heads like he did with the villain bots, certainly not with the added weight. Still, his eye was drawn to the mines as he saw people being thrown randomly about, even larger students weighing more than them.

“Hang on tight. This will hurt, but I'm not going down without a fight!" Reinforcing his torso, he rushed towards the melee and jumped…belly first... onto several mines. The blast was much larger than all the others, drawing eyes as people wondered who had the misfortune of triggering so many. From the pink smoke, they saw not a person being flung like a ragdoll but a duo on a mission.

“Midoriya and Shinso have reunited and taken to the skies!" Present Mic called as Midoriya bit his lip. That blast hurt even with the tenet armouring. His top was nearly destroyed, revealing his scar-riddled torso, as he had timed that as accurately as he could. He flexed and relaxed his muscles accordingly to help steer and direct the blast hitting him to ensure that he was thrown forward.

They soared overhead, leaving flummoxed competitors in their wake. He spotted the reason that they lost their lead up ahead. She found herself in a three-way battle with Bakugo and Todoroki. The explosive teen attacked both just to keep his lead while they were forced to counter. At least, they had been until he caught their attention in such a dynamic way, the trio looking to see the two coming for them with a vengeance.

With his eyes clear and ready, he landed without triggering the mines, which were much closer together now that they were approaching the end, again a tactic to slow them, again a tactic that wouldn't work on him as his tenet-fuelled limbs propelled him forward like a human cheetah. "Like any alley cat worth its fur, Midoriya sticks the landing and chases that gold like it’s a rat! His return to the running has pushed the 3 front runners into high gear!”

Midoriya ignored Present Mic's commentary for the crowd as he passed by Tsunotori and a pink-haired girl with support items. She must have been from support. His eye remained solely on Kendo's back as she kicked it into high gear, accessing more of her incredible power to rush ahead, clearing the mines and making it to the final stretch. Todoroki and another student from class A tried to slow him down, one with ice and the other with a shadow monster. Still, he danced around the ice spikes and walls, their slippery, cold surfaces nothing to him but jumping pads to avoid the shadow monster.

Shinso wasn't silent, using his quirk and trick questions and statements to trip up people, including the Shadow user, which Midoriya kicked away and the Speedster, who tripped onto a mine and was blown aside, with them no longer an issue, that left just Todoroki, Kendo and Bakugo as they made it to the final stretch. With the finish line within reach, Midoriya pushed his body to its limits, his blood vessels across his arms and legs bulged even further as when he pushed off, he cracked the concrete, leaving behind four small craters as his speeds approached that of a Cheetah’s peak, rapidly closing in on the top spot.

“Look that them go! Eraser, what do you and Vlad teach them?!” Present Mic cried as the 5 approached the tunnel, the rest too far back to catch up in time.

“We didn't do anything; they got each fired up. Because the idea of anyone but then winning isn't something they can accept.” Eraser replied as the 5 crossed into the tunnel, where there were no cameras. As Present Mic hyped the crowd in those few seconds that they weren’t seen, Kendo turned and aimed again, her ring finger almost broken from the last attack, forcing her to use others for a double shot, one aimed at the ever-approaching Midoriya and the other at Todoroki who was right behind her.

Midoriya wasn't caught by this a second time, jumping clean over the shot of air while Todoroki erected a small ice barrier, which, while it defended him, slowed him down just enough for Bakugo to blast past him. Todoroki realized this, but he was too late. The first to make it back into the morning light, and the eyes of the world were none other than Kendo. "And ladies and gentlemen, first place in the goes to Itsuka Kendo!”

When Midoriya cleared the line, to the thundering cheers of the audience, they knew it wasn't for them, that they hadn't taken that gold, but, despite his frustration at that, he didn't feel anger over it. Letting Shinso get off of him and stand on two legs, Midoriya had to acknowledge that it was a fair race and a really fun time. Looking Kendo's way, despite that and the pain in his limbs and gut from belly-flopping an explosion, he was happy for his fellow class rep.

So much so that when she looked at them, she saw that he was clapping for her. His eyes told her that she should enjoy this moment because she earned it through her efforts. That was something no one could take from her. She gave him a smile before returning to doing just that as the rest of the racers arrived.

“You’re insane. I’m never letting you do that again.” Shinso told him, the adrenaline fading as he held his knees in exhaustion and tried to get his heart back into regular rhythm.

“Good. I don’t make a habit of letting guys ride me. Besides, you’re not the one that tanked a mine to the gut.” Midoriya shot back, taking steady breaths as he felt the pain fading from his body as his sore muscles were soothed by rest and his tenet being directed to do as such.

“Don’t make a habit of making such statements. It’s weird enough when you use the regular ones.” Shiozaki told him as the rest of their team approached, the same with the others who met up with their runners to congratulate or cheer them up.

“What? I’m not lying.” She sighed at Midoriya's reply, as he seemed to love acting like this.

“I would ask how the hell you did that and kept going, but you’re just going to say something like ‘will of the lion’ or something.” Shinso asked him.

"Close. More like the strength of the Tiger." He rolled his eyes at Midoriya's reply as the group continued with another topic: their performance.

“Suspicious comments aside, you two did great! You worked like a well-oiled machine out there.”

"Shinso, if you were in the hero course, I can see heroes wanting the both of you, as nothing's better than a dynamic duo." Kyūryū cheered, as they could make out pros looking at them and speaking among themselves, their interest clear.

"With Midoriya, that performance will surely see your stock rise. Sure, we don't know the details of your quirk, but you proved yourself adaptable, incredibly fast, and unique. That'll really stick out against the other more traditional racers," Kingen stated as he stroked his duck bill in thought.

“Would that mean I’ll sell more toys?” Midoriya asked, eager to have something like that.

“More like figurines and clothing. Power types tend to be more popular for toys.” He pouted at that, but at least it meant he would be cared for. The figurines meant that people who brought those tended to be careful with them.

After some more time passed, the last of the students made it back. Most of the stranglers were tired and exhausted after the race, and the school gave them a few minutes to collect themselves before Midnight stepped up to the stage again. "The first game of the first-year stage is complete. Now, let’s take a look at the results of their hard work!”

First place: Class A Itsuka Kendo

Second place: Class A Katsuki Bakugo

Third place: Class A Shoto Todoroki

Fourth place: Class B Izuku Midoriya

Fifth place: Class C Hitoshi Shinso

Sixth place: Class B Juzo Honenuki. Seventh place: Class A Tenya Iida

Eighth place: Class A Fumikage Tokoyami. Ninth Place: Class B Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu

Tenth place: Class H Mei Hatsume. Eleventh place: Class B Pony Tsunotori

Twelfth place: Class A Eijiro Kirishima. Thirtieth place: Class A Momo Yaoyorozu. Fourteenth place: Class D(Person)

Fifteenth place: Class A Mezo Shoji. Sixteenth place: Class A Rikido Sato. Seventeenth place: Class B Rin Hiryu

Eighteenth place: Class B Kosei Tsuburaba. Nineteenth place: Class E(Person). Twentieth place: Class A Nirengeki Shouda

Twenty-fist: Class C(Person). Twenty-second: Class B Shihai Kuroiro. Twenty-third: Class E(Person). Twenty-fourth: Class A Kyoka Jiro. Twenty-fifth: Class B Jurota Shishida. Twenty-sixth: Class F(Person). Twenty-seventh: Class B Setsuna Tokage. Twenty-eighth: Class F(Person). Twenty-ninth: Class G(Person). Thirtieth: Class H(Person). Thirty-first: Class A Yuga Aoyama. Thirty-second: Class H(Person)

After that, the list cut off and the screens switched back to Midnight. “As you can see from the scoreboard, we counted up to 32. Any spot below that, and you've been eliminated. It's sad, but take pride in your efforts nonetheless! And if you're worried about being left out, don't fret, as recreational games are open to everyone later!” She announced, which got some students pumped as while the Sports Festival was designed around and for the hero course, their recreational games were meant for everyone, made all the better by the fact this year was a team event, which meant more non-hero course students had made it through the grinder.

“But now that we've started the process let's continue to boil you all down to see which among you stands at the top! And to do that, we move into the next event, which will be." She stood aside as the screen turned back to the spinning wheel. The students and audience waited patiently for the result before it landed on one.

“Chariot racing!” Midnight announced.

“What?” Midoriya and several other students asked as that didn't seem like any event from the past.

Midnight smiled at their confusion. “That's right, boys and girls. The next event will be an event that has been enjoyed by people going back as far as Bronze Age Greece, but one that we've given a little twist to. Allow me to explain.” The screen changed to an image of a five-person team of herself, Present Mic, Thirteen, Vlad, and All Might. All of whom stood next to a pile of pieces and quickly got to work building something.

“Unlike what you’re expecting, the chariots will not be pulled by living horses but by mechanical ones that you’ll be supplied with. But it's up to your students to build the rest. You'll be given 1 hour to construct a chariot that 3 team members will man, so teams with support students have the edge here!” As she explained, the animated cartoony versions of themselves on screen finished building a pretty basic chariot with 3 robo horses, which Present Mic was playing with.

While the audience followed along with this, she observed the students. Teams that were mainly support students seemed to be the most excited as even if they didn't win, this would be a great showcase of their skills and what they could do when under a timer. Those who didn't have support students were sweating bullets, cursing their now lousy choice to not try and snatch one. She'll leave out that they'll get instructions on building simple chariots for themselves. Then, in the middle were the teams with one or 2 support students who would be the most balanced as they could design and build a chariot that suited their squad and have members who could use it to their maximum potential.

“One is the driver, the other the snatcher, and last the defender. The driver's role is a given, while the defender’s job is to ward off attacks from other snatchers. Lastly, snatchers are the only ones allowed to steal points.” She continued, her momentary focus on the students left to the wayside as the heroes on screen filtered out to how Thirteen was at the reigns, Vlad was on defence, and All Might was collecting the flags of other chariots.

“What are those points, you ask? Well, based on your representative's performance in the last event, your team will be assigned a point score, which will hang from a flagpole on your chariot. That score is calculated based on your finishing spots from the Obstacle race.” She explained that part.

"In other words, each team will be worth different points, so teams with higher points don't have to snatch as many other flags, but they'll be targeted more as well!” Midoriya heard someone in the crowd of students state.

“Oh, now I understand!” Midnight snapped her whip at the interruption.

“You guys, keep your mouths shut. I was explaining that, you know!” Midnight scolded them both before she moved on with things. The screen switched back to show the positions of the 32 who made it, along with a point allocated to each.

“But yes, teams won’t have a uniform point system. How those points were given out is explained on the screen. Starting from the bottom, 32^nd was worth 10, 31^st was worth 20, jumping up 10 points each time.” Midnight explained as they moved up the chart 4 names at a time, with Midoriya eyeing a blonde from class A, Aoyama being less than pleased with his spot as second to last.

“However, first place was as special, worth 5000 points!” Midnight’s announcement was made with silence, both from the students and the audience, with Kendo’s name appearing and just as she said, Bakugo who came second had a value of just 310 but Kendo’s blew that out of the water.

“5,000?!” The winner of the first event repeated before she felt the eyes of the rest of the students on her back, friend and foe alike.

"That's more than every other score combined," a dark-haired girl with a large ponytail said, having quickly done the math in her head.

"In other words, to hold it is a guaranteed win.” Midoriya surmised, thanking the school for this chance as he already wanted to get back at her.

“Which means that gunning for number one is the best play.” The rest concluded as their gazes became hungrier and more demanding. Kendo felt the weight of their gazes and wondered if this was something All Might dealt with, sitting at the top.

Midnight’s smile didn’t bode well for her, as she knew what this did and seemed to enjoy it. “That’s right. To stand at the top means to face all adversaries and conquer them all! But to a challenger, it’s the golden ticket!” She told them that she couldn't wait to see what came during this second event, as the first round was already an excellent opening showing. Still, she and the rest of the viewing audience wished to see more.

Chapter 22: Circus Maximus

Chapter Text

(Previously)

“However, first place was as special, worth 5000 points!” Midnight’s announcement was made with silence, both from the students and the audience, with Kendo’s name appearing and just as she said, Bakugo who came second had a value of just 310 but Kendo’s blew that out of the water.

“5,000?!” The winner of the first event repeated before she felt the eyes of the rest of the students on her back, friend and foe alike.

"That's more than every other score combined," a dark-haired girl with a large ponytail said, having quickly done the math in her head.

"In other words, to hold it is a guaranteed win.” Midoriya surmised, thanking the school for this chance as he already wanted to get back at her.

“Which means that gunning for number one is the best play.” The rest concluded as their gazes became hungrier and more demanding. Kendo felt the weight of their gazes and wondered if this was something All Might dealt with, sitting at the top.

Midnight’s smile didn’t bode well for her, as she knew what this did and seemed to enjoy it. “That’s right. To stand at the top means to face all adversaries and conquer them all! But to a challenger, it’s the golden ticket!” She told them that she couldn't wait to see what came during this second event, as the first round was already an excellent opening showing. Still, she and the rest of the viewing audience wished to see more.

Shortly after that announcement, Midnight also added that to maintain safety, any student who fell off their chariots would immediately be marked, and Cementoss, who was on standby, would alter the track to give them a chance off it if the need arose, also if a member of the team touched the ground, the entire time would be eliminated, but that they'll be watching them to ensure that no-one purposely caused such an incident, as if they did, their team would face a automatic point reduction of half. With that said and done, she snapped her whip, and the timer appeared so they could get to work.

In the time given to the students to build their chariots, some heroes brought in as extra security took the chance to have a little break. At one table sat the long-time local hero Death Arms and the up-and-coming rookies Mt. Lady and Kamui Woods. The three had been placed together partly because he was an elder pro who could teach them a thing or two and partly because he assumed that whoever organized the teams had a sense of humour at his expense.

Taking a drag at his cigarette, he looked to the nearby TV that listed their individual scores of the 32 and the total scores for the teams that made it through. "Normally, the U.A. Sports Festival is about simulating the competition they'll face as heroes. It's all fine and dandy that so many want to be pros, but the fact is, it's not an easy job." Death Arms stated as he puffed out the nicotine smoke to the side.

"What are you talking about? Danger comes with the territory. I'm sure those kids know that by now." Mt. Lady asked him if anyone had entered the hero course and somehow hadn't realized that they were either idiots, arrogant as hell, or some combination of the two.

Death Arms scoffed. “Maybe they understand, at least on the surface, that they can lose life and limb, but what about water and bread? With so many heroes and hero agencies out there, you need to fight for work, else you'll end up barely making anything. Perhaps they can get sponsorship deals, but only active pros or pros with already established brands can make anything from that."

"So, you're saying that they need to fight each other to do good in the world, or else they'll face financial hardship?" Kamui Woods asked, his brow creased. When their senior pro nodded, he shook his head in disgust. “What a hypocritical system.”

Taking another drag, Death Arms conceded that, but it wasn’t a system without merit. "It's not a walk in the park, but it does have the benefit of keeping the number of lazy bums that try and coast by without doing real work to a minimum, and it encourages the rest of us to do our best." He had seen more than a few rookies who thought just having the training and license would be enough, only for most to retire less than 9 months in once the cheques that the commission wrote every rookie hero dried up.

"That was probably the rationale behind the first event, to cut out the weak links." Death Arms gestured to the screen, which showed students hard at work building their chariots for the next part of the festival.

“Doesn’t that just break your heart?” Mt. Lady shook at the head at that, which Kamui Woods took offence to.

"You're one to talk; you shamelessly stole my capture in your debut." He was reminded of the purse snatcher incident and how shamelessly she advertised herself while he was left in the dirt despite having done a lot more than she did.

Lady took a moment to think about it before she replied. “I did that? I don’t recall.”

“You little-” Death Arms stepped in before he had to deal with them arguing like siblings for the 20^th time.

“I say that is their normal modus operandi, but this year is different. As that first event, while it was largely based on the mentality of first-come, first serve, it was in service of a team. With this second event being team-centric, I would bet half my paycheque on trying to instil in them a sense of comradery and respect for others early." His explanation of things moved their attention away from each other and to him.

"That makes some sense, as I recall that a few of my classmates were more of the lone wolves type," Kamui noted.

Death Arms thought it foolish to isolate oneself from others. “In this environment, going in alone makes some sense, but anyone who studies people and animals can tell you we're more successful in groups. That is especially critical for heroes since we could be called to the same situation and be required to work together as seamlessly as possible. We don't get the luxury of ego-driven drama."

Early man didn't just survive but thrived because of luck and cooperation. Even the king of the beasts, lions, had better luck when in pride when alone. Even today, with quirks and all the technology that thousands of years of development have led to, that truth hasn't changed. Of course, there were always outliers, the biggest being their number one who worked alone for most of his career. However, he had the power of 20 pros in one hand easily; he could afford to make that decision. The rest of the mere mortals had to make do with what they had.

"But didn't Midnight say they had the chance to make teams beforehand? That removes the element of how spontaneous co-ops can be," the Lady asked.

"The chance to make teams, not the instruction. If students were willing to take that step, it'd benefit them now, but if not, they're fighting uphill." Death Arms replied as he recalled seeing some students sweating at that. It's a shame, but kids were taught teamwork as far back as elementary school. The teachers shouldn't need to spell that out for them now that they're in high school.

“They also didn’t know about this, so they couldn’t have focused too much on quirk synergy either," Kamui added, as that must have been a purposely ploy by the school, as while agencies could plan those kids out, this was more meant to simulate what it was like to work with others on the fly.

"Either way, this won't be easy for them. But then again, that is the life they're signing up for." Death Arms hummed.

It might have only been a few minutes on the field since the build time started. Still, the remaining teams were furiously working on their individual projects. As promised, they were all provided the essential supplies and tools, delivered by a small army of robots. Still, there was also a large pile of specific goods, which teams that had support students regularly visited to grab something, running off beaming as this was their time to shine.

“We need more screws!”

“Dammit, there’s that blasted piece!”

“sh*t, sh*t, what are we gonna do? I don’t know how to make a chariot!” Kaminari yelled, gripping at his hair as he freaked out, he was on one of the teams that didn't have a single support student, and he had thought it wise to join up with Bakugo. After all, he might have had a personality he described as sewage-soaked garbage soaked on fire. However, he was still the arguably second strongest person in the class, behind Kendo.

“You’re asking me? I’m using the instructions and still having issues!” Sero kept referring to the manual for the thing, but he hasn't been able to start work on anything other than a part of the chassis.

“Just shut it and keep working! I’m not letting that asshole, Deku get away with disrespecting me!" Bakugo yelled at them both, his mood even fouler than usual as not only did he come in second again to Man-Hands, but thanks to Deku letting that sleep-deprived looking extra ride him like a f*cking horse, their team had a higher score than him.

Team Midoriya: Izuku Midoriya(Hero Course); Ibara Shiozaki(Hero Course); Hitoshi Shinso(General Course); Aoijin Kyūryū (Support Course); Jikakamo Kingen(Business) – Points 570

Team Bakugo: Katsuki Bakugo(Hero Course); Hanta Sero(Hero Course); Eijiro Kirishima(Hero Course); Mina Ashido(Hero Course); Denki Kaminari(Hero Course) – Points 520

That 50-point divide pissed him off, and he would be damned if he didn’t correct it.

Scratching his chin, Kaminari asked, “But, didn’t you place sec-” Only to stop when Bakugo turned to him, looking like he’ll jump him there and there, consequences be damned.

“Say it, I f*cking dare you.” He snarled as he had spent the last couple weeks since he saw Deku walking around U.A. like the piece of quirkless trash belonged having nightmares, back to that punch, to him taunting him with that reminder that he wasn't the top dog yet, each time he called him 'Number 3'. At the same time, he referred to himself as 'Number 2'. He might have beaten him this time,, but he wouldn't be satisfied until he took the crown from Man Hands.

"Dude, if you're upset about our points, you shouldn't have left me behind; it was a team event." Kirishima pulled him off Kaminari's case, as he had been doing that much lately. Baku-bro's been in a mood since class B came to visit. He didn't know much about this Midoriya person, and looking at where the green head's team was building their chart only added to that confusion. Still, he seriously doubted that what he and Bakugo's past was anywhere close enough to warrant such aggression.

“You shouldn’t have kept up!” Bakugo retorted in his face, but at this point, he just sighed and returned to trying to assemble their chariot. If they got disqualified for not having a complete one in time, he felt they wouldn't have peace in class for a while.

“Is his default mood just angry?” Mina whispered to Sero, watching their resident douche simmer in internal rage at…she didn’t know, Bakugo seemed like the type that would curse out the morning sun.

"Seems like it," Sero replied just as quietly.

As Bakugo's team floundered in the water, team Midoriya was going strong. With Kyūryū leading them, they were making good progress as Midoriya returned from the supply pile with a bunch more wood. They had been sceptical of building their chariot out of wood when others were taking more durable materials, but he and Shiozaki assured them it would be very much in their favour.

“Is he always that loud?” Kingen asked, as even with power tools being used all around them by others, he could still make out Bakugo’s yelling over it all. It was like he had a damn megaphone right above his voice box.

“Trust me, he can be worse just to be a petty little bitch.” Midoriya gently put the supplies down before he got back to assembling the wheels.

“Midoriya, please don’t curse.” Shiozaki sighed, the girl growing out her vines to act as accessories for the finished product.

"He doesn't seem the most pleasant person; I doubt he spoke with anyone during the grace period." Shinso stated, carefully measuring something before grabbing a saw and cutting the wood into the right pieces.

“I saw a couple of my classmates try, but he chased them off like they had insulted his mother or something.” Kyūryū hummed, looking over some nuts and bolts, trying to pick the most optimal for this build.

“What did they say that could get that response?” Shinso asked, thinking a guy like that would love people feeding his ego. Did they call him out for it?

"I'm not sure. One said he freaked out as soon as they mentioned that he came third in the entrance exam," she explained. But she heard Midoriya giggling, who was soon joined by Shinso. “What’s so funny?”

“Midoriya here taunted him with that when they spoke, and with how prideful he is, it must have really got to him.” Shinso explained, getting an eye roll from Kingen while Shiozaki frowned.

"He gets that vulgar and violent. Is it ever such a trivial thing?" she asked as she finished growing out vines. Their master builder gave her further instructions to help Midoriya make the wheels.

"Shiozaki, as someone who had the misfortune of schooling with him for years, I can tell you that Bakugo's ego is the size of the moon and as fragile as a cheap balloon." Midoriya gave her a flat look. While he enjoyed messing with his former friend and bully, he would rather not need to entertain him, but life was full of compromises. Shiozaki wasn't sold, but with how serious Midoriya looked, she had to accept that.

"How in heaven's name did he even get into U.A.?" She asked as if their fellow schoolmate was such…that she wondered how he cleared the high standards as U.A. was the best; it was why she decided to study there. Indeed, they didn't just allow such misbehaviour and disrespect, right?

"When you have power, people can ignore every red flag." Midoriya's answer didn't help her confident in that, but the rest picked up a deeper meaning to it, as it was tinged with deep-seated resentment, so clearly whatever beef the two had was mutual; Midoriya was just less violent about it.

"I feel like a piece of meat thrown to the sharks," Kendo said as her team worked. Whenever she or Agoyamato went to fetch more stuff for their demanding support engineer, Hatsume Mei, she felt the eyes of the entire field on her.

“Well, you’re kinda are, Ms 1^st Place." The taller general studies student flatly told her, handing Hatsume a tool, the girl working on adding some extra stuff to the chassis of their chart.

“Don’t remind me, I almost wish I let Bakugo take first…almost.” Kendo stated that though she cracked a smile at the end there, as she liked to think herself above whatever petty things their resident bomber was involved with, she would be lying if she said that claiming first over him didn't feel good.

"Yeah, if he won, he might be more insufferable than normal." Uraraka replied as she had tried to talk with Bakugo on the first day, even the second, but after he refused to address as anything other than 'Round Cheek', which she wasn't even sure if he was just being a dick or was a pervert like Mineta, she gave up on that. How Mina could manage was beyond her.

“If nothing else, my respect for your guys has gone up if you deal with that,” Agoyamato glared over at Bakugo, same as others who were getting sick of his yelling. “Every day.”

“Some days are better than most," Asui noted, thinking her experiences as the eldest sibling might help her. However, neither her younger brother nor sister was anywhere close to the bag of trouble that was Bakugo. More than once since school started, she wondered how his parents handled that.

Hatsume giggled as she picked up a blow torch, lit it, and pulled down a welding mask. “Just you wait, Ms 1^st place, with the number of babies I can fit onto this thing, you'll keep that spot and show off how ingenious children are to all the big support companies!" She went to work.

"I feel like she's taking the lion's share of the work," Kendo noted as outside just getting supplies, she had barely done anything.

“(Kero)That’s because she is, but that does give her time to figure out riders. We only have the 3 spots." Asui told her, as Hatsume seemed like she enjoyed doing this. While she thought they should help, Hatsume wasn’t the best at communicating what she wanted or needed from them.

"Count me out, I wouldn't be much help, and honestly, I'm not all that hot about this." Agoyamato stated that he only joined them because he talked with Uraraka in passing during the grace period.

“Hatsume?” They looked at the girl, who turned away from the freshly welded piece of metal; thankfully, she had the mind to shut off the blow torch.

"Hmm? Oh no, I couldn't care less about that. I just decided to bother to show off my babies. I was gonna forfeit when I finished that to get back to improving and making more." She waved off the chance of a lifetime for the hero course. Still, Kendo supposed it made sense since even with the team set-up, it was clear that the Sports Festival was just for the hero course, the rest there mainly to make them look good and stretched this out, as bad as that sounded.

"So that leaves just us, then?" Kendo asked, as she didn't want to think about how biased this event was or her suspicions about Midoriya. But, looking over the cat boy, she couldn’t help but wonder.

Around an hour later, a siren announced the end of the build time. For those that were watching at home, it was time to tune back in as U.A. used the time to air a crap load of commercials Superbowl style. It was time for those in the audience to return from partaking in other events and stalls around the area. “And the time is up, folks! Let's look at what our gloriously magnificent students have created!” Present Mic started, with his co-commentator groaning at how energetic he was.

“You didn’t need to say magnificent if you already said gloriously, Mic.”

“Hmm, a fine line-up of chariots, wouldn’t you say?” Present Mic ignored that as the camera went over the 16 chariots on the track. Some were pretty flashy in design, as was the case for the one with a blonde posing on it. Some had a little more flair to them, even if it was mainly cosmetic, as was the case with Tokage, Kodai, and f*ckidashi's.

Others were bare bones thanks to a lack of creativity or a support student, such as Bakugo and Kuroiro. Others were fitted with an assortment of goodies and gear, such as Kendo and another class A student, their vice rep, if Midoriya wasn't mistaken. He was most weary of that last one since he and everyone else saw her creating most of that added stuff, which didn't cause any issues with the teachers. Still, it did mean she had access to things they didn't.

Lastly, Midoriya's team seemed like they were championing nature as it was mainly made from wood and covered with Shiozaki's vines, the two, along with Shinso, having been picked as the riders. Frankly, while others that had gone the extra mile had gone so with a modern sense to it, it seemed like they were fully embracing the theme of the event as their primarily wooden and vine-covered chariot seemed like the sort of thing that could have been used in those bygone times.

The only real thing they all shared was the flag poles, fastened in place in the middle of their chariots, each bearing a flag bearing their score.

“As long as they’re functional.” Midoriya pretended that he was mildly insulted by the sleepy man's lack of reaction to their master crafts.

“Oh, but where's the fun in that? Come on, this is U.A. We don't do this halfway. We go so far we'll be in the next town over. Isn't that right, folks?!” Present Mic asked the crowd.

“Yeah!” Which cheered so loud that for those with sensitive hearing like himself and a girl with wire-like earlobes, it was a bit uncomfortable, but it wasn't the first time the place got so loud that it nearly hurt. They doubted it would be the last.

Stepping onto a stage set up to the side, Midnight addressed them. “Now, we have a little surprise for you, our chosen charioteers! I can bet a few wondered where you were going to race? Perhaps outside again, perhaps inside here, but as you can tell, there isn't much space inside, so outside feels like a safe bet, right?” That was an understatement, as the students had been lined up on a track in groups of 4 due to a lack of space.

The smile she gave them wasn't comforting as she whipped out a small remote from somewhere on her person cause she sure as hell didn't have pockets. “Well, we thought of that, and this was our solution! If we've already chosen A and B, which are boring, do what every 6^th grader who doesn’t know the answer does and pick C!”

With that, she pressed the button, and almost immediately, the stadium started to shake, as if she had set off a localized earthquake. Looking around, they saw the place falling apart…wait, no.

Things weren't falling apart. They were shifting! In a feat of engineering that would have the great minds of the 20^th century having happy accidents in their pants, the students and audience experienced the building around them, the floor shifting as if the place were a transformer. The stadium's walls lifted and extended outwards, or at least part of it did as the students saw that the stands to their side remained where they were, but to their fronts and rears, they shifted outwards and from the nearly freed space, more track came up, fitting into place like it were puzzle pieces and not what must have been hundreds of tons of concrete and steel.

“What the hell?” Midoriya used tenet to keep his balance, holding onto his teammates simultaneously.

"The stadium is moving?!" Shiozaki asked, her eyes as wide as dinner plates as they watched the ever-lengthening stands, even the seating shifting as people found themselves being shifted and moved about like products on a conveyor belt; sometimes, it was just a single person; others, it was two, and then there were entire groups. Did… the U.A. take into account people who came in groups and families to keep them together? How did you even begin to calculate that, and what sort of system could run on this.

"Witchcraft, witchcraft, I say!" Another student, a dark-haired boy riding with Bakugo, yelled, and for once, the blonde wasn't yelling at them all to shut up, as he was as slack-jawed as they were.

“Where does U.A. find the time or the cash? This is crazy!” Midoriya dealt with crazy; he dealt with a cat, youkai, for months, who he wasn't sure was sane, but it seemed their principal was cut from the same cloth.

But the time the shifting ended, and they managed to gather themselves from what should have been impossible to achieve on an engineering scale, they looked on at how the place had changed. As before, the stadium had been big; it had to be to house the 120K spectators, but it was built in the traditional style, where the main structure was a circle surrounding the pitch, a large pitch but a pitch nonetheless.

What they saw before them was something closer to an elongated oval-like design, as the stands that had been 20 tiers before were now just 5, as the extra space meant they could bring the people to the action. The chariots themselves had also been shifted, so the 16 now stood shoulder to shoulder in a single line, with Midnight standing on a piece of evaluated land that separated the two stretches of track, which had to be at least 500m from corner to corner.

Midnight seemed far too pleased with how dumbstruck they were, but could one blame here. It wasn’t often that one managed to pull such a stunt like this. “You're not seeing things, our dear audience and charioteers. We went above and beyond to ensure this year's Sports Festival tops all others in the past decade. Our U.A. stadium was modified to change its shape, everything from seating to bathroom placement to ensure that we could perform some truly jaw-dropping stunts like this.”

“And with that, I present to a stage that would make the Circus Maximus blush, the Circus U.A!” She waved her hands as fireworks shot out. Most of the students were still digesting that their school could pull this hat trick, while the spectators lost their collective minds. Their screams and cheers were the loudest they've ever been, as Midoriya could only say one thing.

“…I guess we know why they wanted us to build these things.”

“This is too mentally exhausting, I wanna take a nap," Shinso muttered.

"I, too, need a minute to take it all in…" Shiozaki noted as she wished that Vlad had given them some sort of warning. She could understand that part of the job was expecting the unexpected, but she doubted that they'd ever again find themselves in a transforming building.

“It was a great investment, wouldn't you say, Eraser ole buddy?” Present Mic asked his co-commentator.

“No comment.” For his part, Eraser sounded as done with this as they were stomped that U.A.'s credit score wasn't in the negative triple digits with how crazy they were with their spending.

“Well, we'll just have to change that, won't we, folks?” The crowd answered that one quite positively. “But have a track worthy of this great event. From the start, it's over 2km long!” That… was impressive, as the students could see the other end, but that was quite a ways away from it.

“The first event was a 4km race, but since you'll be motorized for this one, the race will have 4 laps, equalling 10.6km!” Midnight told them, which to the more fitness-loving students made a 10km run seem all that bad, while to others, it made them grateful that they didn’t need to run.

“As the rules have been explained, let's take the moment to highlight the teams, shall we?” Midnight said as the screens flashed to show each chariot team along with their score at the jump.

Team Kendo. Riders: Itsuka Kendo(Hero Course); Tsuyu Asui(Hero Course); Ochaco Uraraka(Hero Course) – Total points 5230

Team Midoriya. Riders: Izuku Midoriya(Hero Course); Ibara Shiozaki(Hero Course); Hitoshi Shinso(General Course) – Total 570

Team Todoroki. Riders: Shoto Todoroki(Hero Course); Tenya Iida(Hero Course); Maina Furasu(Support Course) – Total 560

Team Bakugo. Riders: Katsuki Bakugo(Hero Course); Hanta Sero(Hero Course); Mina Ashido(Hero Course) – Total 520

Team Honenuki. Riders: Juzo Honenuki(Hero Course); Pony Tsunotori(Hero Course); Togaru Kamakiri(Hero Course) – Total 490

Team Tokoyami. Riders: Fumikage Tokoyami(Hero Course); Mezo Shoji(Hero Course); Toru Hagakure(Hero Course) – Total 430

Team Tetsutetsu. Riders: Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu(Hero Course); Kosei Tsuburaba(Hero Course); Neito Monoma(Hero Course) – Total 390

Team Yaoyorozu. Riders: Momo Yaoyorozu(Hero Course); Kyoka Jiro(Hero Course); Koji Koda(Hero Course) – Total 290

There were others, but that didn't register with Midoriya; his sight had been on the most threatening of those teams, from his class and their sister's class, but out of all, he wanted to take on Kendo the most. Even if she wasn't the ticket to victory, he felt a part of him demand that they battle, not out of rage or hatred but out of friendship. Twice now, they've locked eyes in the heat of tense moments. Twice now, he's seen a kindred spirit, if not in form but in ethics and drive. It might have been selfish of him, but he wished to face off against her again, to feel that spark.

“Alright, people, help me with the countdown to this bloody race of champions!” Present Mic yelled, the screens changing to showcase the starting number.

“5!” The students started their engines.

“4!" The ones controlling the reigns gripped them tight, having never done this before, but none were willing to back down.

“3!" They eyed one another, those whose job was to snatch points.

“2!” Midoriya took in a deep breath.

“1!” Kendo let one out.