Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It started in China, when a child was born shining like the sun. After that, Quirks began manifesting, both mutative and supernatural in ability. However, no one could miss the fact that, while physical mutation Quirks seemed to be universal, the ones classified as supernatural only manifested in women. Men could sprout horns and tails, but only women could control fire and similar abilities. As such, all men were deemed effectively Quirkless.

Not long later, women slowly began to grow taller and stronger than men. At first there was only a few inches difference, but that difference grew as time passed. Within a hundred years of Quirks manifesting, the average woman was over ten feet tall, while men remained completely unchanged.

It was only after this was the last major change to Humanity discovered. As women grew and Quirks became more prevalent in society, there was a slow decline in the male population. Bit by bit, fewer and fewer men were born. When the decline finally stabilized, men only made up twenty percent of the world population.

Between the manifestation of Quirks, the sudden growth of women and the diminished male population, it seemed like Evolution was intent on leaving men behind...

***

"Kacchan!" a young boy with curly green hair hollered as he ran towards an equally young boy with spiky blond hair. "Are you going today too?"

"You bet, Izuku!" the blond boy grinned. "I bet we'll be the first boys in history to get Quirks!"

"That would be awesome!" the green-haired boy, Izuku, cheered with stars in his eyes. "Then we could be heroes, just like Lady Might!" The two young boys cheered and danced at the idea until Izuku suddenly began floating up above his friend. "Kacchan! I can fly!" His friend only laughed while a large pair of arms wrapped around Izuku.

"It was just me, honey," Izuku's mother, Inko, smiled as she hugged her diminutive son close. "It's about time to get you checked out." Izuku beamed and hugged his mom back.

"See you later, Kacchan!" Izuku waved as his friend as his mom carried him away. "Mama, do you think I could have a quirk?"

"We'll see," she smiled. "Even if you don't, you're still more special than you think, honey." Giving him a quick kiss on the cheek, she carried her son to the car, to receive his quirk evaluation.

***

Later that night, Izuku was depressed. He didn't have a quirk, after all. Katsuki might have had a quirk for all he knew, but Izuku was Quirkless, just like every other man on the planet. He just wanted to be a hero with his best friend, but it was looking like that couldn't be a thing.

His mom tried his best to cheer him up, but even after dessert that night he was barely any better. With a heavy heart, young Izuku slowly walked to his bedroom. He was not looking forward to tomorrow morning. Turning off the lights, he slowly crawled into his bed and got comfy.

And that was when he saw the armored man.

Izuku's eyes locked onto them the instant he laid in bed. The person, if they were such a thing, was wearing a complete suit of smooth, dark blue armor, looking like something from a video game. Inside its' helmet, however, there was no face. There were two small flames floating where the eyes should have been. These small flames illuminated the inside of the helmet, showing there was no head inside. With how short they were, they must have been a man. The person stood in front of Izuku's dresser, dead silent, looking right at him.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!"

The man did not react to Izuku's scream of terror, still staring in dead silence. However, his mother did hear him, and in mere seconds he felt the reverberation of her massive footfalls as she ran to his room. She slammed the door open, and yet even at this the man did not react.

"Izuku, what's wrong?" Inko asked with a worried tone as she turned the lights on.

"Th-there's a man standing there, mama!" Izuku cried as he pointed at the still-silent figure. Inko looked in the man's direction for a few seconds before looking back at Izuku.

"Izuku, sweetie, there's no one there."

"Wha...? B-but mama..." Izuku cried again. The man was right there, how could she not see him? Inko looked for a bit longer before her eyes fell on the top of the dresser.

"Hold on," she said as she flipped the lights on and off a few times before turning them back on, giving a soft giggle. "Sweetie, it's just your toys here." She walked to the dresser, passing through the armored man, and moved the Lady Might figures around a bit. "The way they're arranged, the shadow looks like a person."

Izuku was silent as this occurred. His mom couldn't see the man. She couldn't touch the man. The man in question just stood still, looking right at Izuku. Inko gave Izuku a smile, a kiss on the head, and bade him goodnight before quietly walking back out. Izuku was again alone with the man.

"H-hello?" he asked the man.

There was no response.

"A-are you a ghost?"

Still nothing. The man didn't say a thing, didn't react at all. He just stood there,silent and unmoving. With a sigh, Izuku rolled over to go to sleep. Maybe he was just seeing things.

---

When Izuku woke up, the armored man was not by the dresser. Instead, he was standing by the bed, but not looking at Izuku. He was standing as though he were guarding Izuku, arms folded and watching the door. Izuku again tried talking to him, but was again met with silence. Sighing, he got up and got dressed. To his surprise, the man quietly followed him out of the bedroom. As he walked to the dining room, he noticed the man walked around the chairs.

'Maybe he can touch them?' Izuku thought to himself. 'He can touch things, but things can't touch him...' After a quick breakfast with Inko, he dashed out to meet up with Bakugou. It was Saturday, and they agreed to meet at the park next to the apartments to talk about their quirk assessment exams. He didn't have a quirk, but knowing Bakugou's luck he would. How would Bakugou react to hearing he didn't have a quirk? Izuku could only hope he wouldn't get mad.

"Izu!" he heard Bakugou shout. "Over here!" Izuku turned, still followed by the armored man, and took a few steps before stopping.

Bakugou was running toward him, but he wasn't alone. Running next to him was something...like a dog? It was big, furry and had four legs, but the head was weird. It kinda looked like a dog head, but had four glowing red eyes, and its' teeth looked like chipped stone. Its' fur was black with glowing red underneath, almost like a burning coal. The tail was long and hairy, with a small flame at the end of it. Was it a dog with a fire quirk?

"Hey, Izu," Bakugou smiled. "You doing okay? Do ya got a quirk? Turns out I don't, which sucks."

"M-me either," Izuku said, glancing at the dog from time to time. It just stood there, looking at Izuku.

"So," Bakugou asked, "who's the metal guy next to you? He a babysitter?" Izuku froze.

"Y...You can see him?"

At this question, Bakugou stared in silence for a few moments before pointing at the dog.

"Can you see him?"

Chapter Text

"Do you have your phone, sweetie?" Inko asked as she finished prepping Izuku's lunch.

"Yes mom," Izuku responded, waving his phone around before stuffing it in his pocket.

"And your charge-pack?"

"Yes, and it's mostly charged."

"Atta boy." Inko knelt and gave her son a quick kiss on the head. "Have a good day." Izuku nodded and hopped out the door. He waited for the door to close behind him before turning to look over his shoulder.

"Shall we?" he bluntly addressed the silent armored man who stood behind his shoulder, much as he'd done since that night when Izuku was four. He was fourteen now. Ten years Izuku had seen this spirit-person-thing. Ten years that said entity had said nothing, and done nothing but follow Izuku around. If Izuku thought about it, the man would disappear but he would always come out a bit later, presumably through some subconscious thought. Izuku had looked through all sorts of quirk history books and occult forums, but it seemed no one else on the entire planet had a similar thing going on.

"Oi, Dekiru!"

Well, except for one other person.

Izuku grinned as he turned to watch his lifelong friend dash up to him. Bakugou caught up quickly, flanked by his own ever-present spirit-thing. The hellhound-thing simply trotted up as Bakugou lightly smacked Izuku's shoulder.

"Yo! Excited for today?" the spiky blond grinned.

"There's nothing fancy going on today, is there?" Izuku asked. "Don't remember any festivals or special events..."

"No way, ya numbskull!" Bakugou gave Izuku a quick noogie as they started walking to school. "Today's the day we get to choose which high school to try for, remember?"

"Oh, that," Izuku chuckled. "No, I didn't forget. We're gonna try out for UA, right?"

"Damn straight!" Bakugou cheered. "Hero Course or bust, shrimpy!"

"But wouldn't we need quirks for that? I mean, we'd need to be able to do something extraordinary, and I'm not sure how useful our spirit-things would be." At this, Bakugou gave a wide sneer.

"Oh don't worry, I managed to get Ember Fang to do something last night. Woulda texted ya, but you woulda been asleep when it happened." Izuku turned to the hellhound in surprise.

"He did? And Ember Fang? Finally settled on a name for it?" He remembered how, anytime Bakugou tried to think of a name for this invisible dog thing, he would retract it later, saying it didn't feel right.

"Not me! Once he did the thing, I just heard the name! I think he named himself. I bet yours will too, once it does something." Izuku opened his mouth to ask for more information, but he was interrupted by a loud bang down the road. Both boys turned and saw a giant sharkwoman standing next to an elevated train track, fighting someone else. Both boys' eyes widened. 

"A villain fight!" Izuku yelled as he dashed towards the battle. "Let's get a closer look!" Bakugou didn't even respond, just chasing after Izuku, their respective spirits flanking them. As they got closer, they mixed into the crowd of other onlookers, struggling to get past the horde of ten-foot women to actually see the fighting. Reaching the front of the crowd, Izuku's eyes widened. 

"KANNA WOODS!" he cheered. "It's Kanna Woods fighting that villain!" He and Bakugou cheered as the fight ensued. As the fight drew to a close, however, things took a twist as a blond woman who was significantly taller than the shark villain appeared from out of nowhere and dropkicked the shark through the air, knocking them unconscious. Most of the crowd was silent for a few moments before cheering for the debut of the new giant hero, but Izuku and Bakugou just stared in silence.

"...Your cousin did say she would be making her debut soon, right?" Izuku asked.

"Damn hag stole Kanna's thunder," Bakugou grumbled as he pulled out his phone and started texting something. "Come on, time to bounce." As the two walked through the crowd, Izuku was already at work writing in his analysis notebook.

"Titantransformation,apopularquirkbutcapableofimmensecollateraldamageespeciallywithasizelikeherwhichhastoexceed100feeteasilyand-"

"Mumbling," Bakugou stated, pulling Izuku out of his analysis. 

"S-sorry," Izuku nervously chuckled. "A-anyway, you said your hellhound spirit-thing could do something?"

"Oh yeah!" Bakugou grinned. "Watch this." He slowly waved his hand. When he did so, the hellhound opened its mouth a bit before snapping it shut. Rather than sounding like teeth clacking, however, it sounded more like a lighter clicking, followed by a small explosion in the air radiating from its mouth.

"I-it made an explosion!" Izuku gasped. "Its teeth must be made of flint, or something like it, and snapping its jaws causes ignition. I assume opening its mouth wider and shutting it fast would make a larger explosion?"

"Dunno, haven't tried that yet," Bakugou shrugged. "Anyway, after it did that the first time last night, I just heard the words 'Ember Fang' in my head, so that's gotta be what this thing is called." Izuku nodded and looked at his own spirit. The blue knight stayed silent as it followed the boys. What was its name? Did it have a power too? Just what were these things?

The rest of the walk to school was quiet as Izuku thought about his silent follower and Bakugou was in a text-argument with his cousin that apparently involved the inappropriate use of a brick.

***

"Okay," the teacher shouted to the class, "you're all third years now! In other words, it's now or never to decide your future!" 

Izuku and Bakugou listened to the teacher as she went on about handing out the career documents, but didn't get excited like the rest of the class. Izuku was too busy writing in his notebook, and Bakugou was staring out the window. They sat by the windows, in heightened chairs that were probably older than the school itself. When they got their forms, Izuku and Bakugou just smiled at each other and filled them out. They knew exactly where they wanted to go.

"Well well," a harsh female tone came from above Izuku as his paper was yanked from his desk, "what do we have here?" Izuku didn't bother looking up, he knew exactly who this was; long brown hair, blue eyes, and a smile so cold it could give anyone hypothermia. Sanada Reika, a sadistic bully with a Whip Quirk to match. "Trying to get into UA? Really?"

"Leave us alone, bitch." Bakugou scolded as he finished filling out his form. 

"Why are you even trying for UA?" Reika continued, a sneer on her face. "They only accept people with quirks, and midgets like you clearly don't qualify. Do yourselves a favor and try someplace else."

"W-why shouldn't we try?" Izuku asked, trying to be defiant. "I mean, I-I heard they accept quirkless people, so-"

"Shut up, runt." Reika interjected as she slammed her hand on his desk. "Even IF that was true, there's no way they'd accept someone as small and weak and pathetic as you. Pick a different school before you make me do something you'll regret."

"You do realize how stupid you just sounded, right?" Bakugou pointed out. "Your sentence was full of grammar errors." Reika turned and glared at Bakugou as a long white cord slowly emerged from her wrist.

"You'd better shut your trap before-" 

She never got to finish her sentence. Bakugou interrupted her by deftly picking up his (rather heavy) pencil box and hurling it at her face, hitting her between the eyes.

"Sorry," he laughed, "I can't hear you over the sound of my pencils hitting your smug bitch face."

"BAKUGOU KATSUKI!" the teacher hollered. "Lunch Detention for you, young man!"

"What!?" Bakugou glared. "She was bullying Izuku!"

"I didn't see that," the teacher said in a matter-of-fact tone, "all I saw was you attacking Sanada. You get detention." Bakugou grumbled and sat back down as Sanada gave Izuku one last glare before returning to her own seat. Izuku was a bit worried now. Bakugou had always been there to help make sure he could actually get through his lunches without being bullied by any of the girls. Now that he had detention, Izuku was fairly certain his lunch was gonna be fairly unpleasant...

***

Izuku hated when he was right. 

Especially when being right amounted to fleeing down a hallway trying to escape from bullies.

Which is what was happening right now. 

The very instant the lunchbell rang, Izuku dashed out ahead of Sanada and her friends. He was hoping to grab some food from the cafeteria and head out to a secluded spot to avoid her, but that idea was quickly ruined. He was lucky he could eat pork buns on the go, because he had spent the better part of the past 20 minutes running for his life. If he could just survive 'til the end of lunch period, he'd be in the clear.

Sadly, his luck ran out with the pork buns.

With a shout of surprise, Izuku was wrapped in an all-too-familiar long white cord and yanked backwards. Sanada had finally decided to use her whip to catch him. She gave a sinister smile as she dragged him back and pulled him off the ground.

"Finally have you, little brat," she sneered.

"Y-you do know it's illegal to use your quirk like-" Izuku started before being slapped into silence.

"I don't wanna hear your words," Sanada growled. "I want you to shut up and listen, worm. You are NOT going to UA, period. Trash like you doesn't get to go to a place like that. In fact..." She peered over to some nearby recycle cans. "Tell me, girls, think this brat qualifies as paper, or plastic?" Sanada's friends laughed as she dragged Izuku towards said cans. Izuku looked around with tears in his eyes, pleading for help. Sadly, no one around was willing to step in. The girls stared in silence, and the few other boys were just as powerless as Izuku. No one helped him, same as they'd done for for years. Looking at his spirit, the silent man in armor, Izuku could only say one word.

"Help."

Then, something truly unexpected happened. 

The spirit dashed forward and seized Sanada's wrist with one hand, bringing her to a sudden stop. Sanada looked back in confusion and tried to pull her wrist free, but was caught fast. Izuku stared in surprise as the spirit used his free hand to grab the whip close to Sanada's wrist and snapped it like a cornstalk. The bully gave a scream of shock and pain as Izuku wriggled himself free. The spirit, not yet done with the surprises, spun around, yanking Sanada off her feet, and hurled her down the hall. She flew with sufficient speed that she bounced a few times when she hit the floor. In complete shock, Izuku looked up at his spirit, which had returned to his silent vigil next to him. It was at that point Izuku heard two words spoken with conviction.

Cobalt Star.

Sanada groaned and got back to her feet, regrowing her severed whip with ease. Izuku looked at her and, despite being over fifty feet away, he could feel the absolute bloodlust emanating from her. He may have gotten free, but he could tell he was also veritably screwed.

"YOU!" she shrieked as she stomped towards him. "I'M GONNA KILL YOU! I DUNNO HOW YOU DID THAT, BUT YOU'RE DEAD MEAT YOU-"

"DIE, YOU FUCKWITCH!!"

Sanada turned back around to the source of the shout behind her. Time seemed to slow down as she and everyone in the hallway saw Bakugou flying at her. Literally. Somehow, against all reason, Bakugou was ten feet above the ground and flying right for her face, poised to deliver a masterful dropkick. She was too in shock at this sight to dodge, and both of Bakugou's feet collided with her face, sending her flat on her back. Bakugou was not done yet. Landing on top of her, he sat on her chest and unleashed a vicious beatdown on her face in more ways than one.

"NEVER TOUCH MY FRIEND, YOU SNOBBY STIFF-NECKED GOAT-HUMPING MUSTACHIOED BINT!" he roared as his fists collided with her face over and over. "THINK IT'S FUN BULLYING PEOPLE HALF YOUR SIZE, HUH!? WELL HOW DOES IT FEEL BEING BEATEN BY A HALF-PINT LIKE ME YOU CROOKED-NOSED WART-FACED SAGGY-TITTY NO-NIPPLES BITCHNUGGET!?"

"Oooh!" one of the present boys exclaimed at the roast. "He said she ain't got no nipples!"

None of Sanada's friends stepped in, also in shock from everything that had occurred. First, some unseen force sent Sanada flying down the hall, then Bakugou had somehow flew through the air and dropkicked her, and now he was puching away like nobody's business. At this point, they might not have been surprised if Lady Might herself stepped into the hallway wearing a kilt. Fortunately, at that point reality seemed to correct itself, as instead a teacher came around the corner.

"WHAT THE HELL IS THIS!?" the teacher roared as she stormed over and yanked Bakugou off Sanada. The boy was glaring longswords at Sanada while the girl in question was almost unconscious from the beating, fresh bruises forming on her face. Utterly appalled by this, the teacher pulled Bakugou up by his arm and glared.

"You're going right to the principal, brat," she hissed. "Your parents will be called and they WILL hear about this." Turning to Sanada's friends, the teacher continued, "you two help her to the nurse's office." With no other words, and lunch almost ended, everyone went their separate ways, Izuku making a beeline for the classroom. This lunch period was way more exciting than he had hoped. 

***

The rest of the schoolday seemed to pass like a blur after that. Neither Bakugou nor Sanada were present for the rest of the day, and the other students were content to leave Izuku alone. A few of them were present to see Sanada go flying, but none of them attributed that feat to Izuku. After all, he didn't touch her and everyone knew he was Quirkless. 

As class ended, Izuku got a text from Bakugou, saying he was gonna be there late, and to head home alone. Izuku sighed and began the long walk. He really hoped Bakugou wouldn't be expelled for this, but also knew the teachers would likely be against him, like they always had. Although, he did have to admit one good thing came out of today. Looking at his silent follower, than man in blue armor, he gave a small smile.

"So, Cobalt Star, huh?" The spirit was silent at this question, and Izuku smiled bigger. "I'm glad I know your name." He continued the walk home in silence, soon passing through an underpass. He was so deep in thought he didn't hear the whispering coming from behind him.

"Hmm, a bit too small for a host, but definitely good enough for bait..."

Chapter Text

"We thank you for coming on such short notice," the principal of Alderra Junior High nodded as Mistuki Bakugou sat in the available chair. Next to her was Katsuki, and sitting off to the side was the teacher who brought him in.

"It's not a problem," Mistuki smiled as she rubbed Katsuki's head. "I know my son can be a bit of a troublemaker. So, what happened this time?"

"What he did," the teacher glared, "was commit assault on a fellow student. I didn't see how it started, but I came in time to see him sitting on her and beating her face in while his friend, Izuku, was close by."

"Who was the student?" Mitsuki asked. 

"It was the same girl who-" Katsuki started.

"BAKUGOU!" the principal yelled, making Katsuki quiet. "Sorry about that. The student he was attacking was Sanada Reika, a classmate of his."

"Reika?" Mitsuki gave a tight-lipped smile. "I've heard quite a lot about that girl." She gave a sidelong glance to her son. "Quite a lot..."

"I see," the principal acknowledged. "So you see, he's gonna have to be suspended for this, and it'll go on his record and possibly affect what high schools he'll be accepted to."

"I see," she gave a wry smile to the principal. "And is this the part where you ask me if I wish to press charges against Reika?" The principal and teacher blanched as Mitsuki continued "And should I ask Midoriya Inko if she wishes to do the same?"

"M-Missus Bakugou," the principal stammered, "y-you're missing the point."

"Oh, I believe I'm seeing the point just fine," Mitsuki growled. She was no longer smiling, having dropped all pretense of politeness. "I know about Sanada Reika. I know how she's been bullying my son and his friend for years. I've seen the bruises they've come home with. Did you honestly think I couldn't tell what was going on?"

"Th-those are from PE class," the teacher feebly responded.

"Yeah right," Mitsuki spat. "I know the truth, and I know you've been letting it slide just because my son and his friend are both quirkless boys. You know, when I first heard that your school accepted male students, I was initially elated, but now I'm beginning to think I should have home-schooled my son if you're willing to tolerate him being bullied like this."

"P-policies aside," the principal tried to regain control of the situation, "your son performed an unwarranted attack another student and needs to be punished."

"No, I'm pretty sure my son came to the defense of his best friend, who was likely being bullied at that moment as well."

"Your son is a menace and deserves to be suspended!" the principal screamed. There were a few moments of silence as everyone took in what just happened before Mitsuki spoke again in a low, angry voice.

"If you try to do anything to my son and his friend...I will make sure you regret it."

The principal scoffed. "And how will you do that, precisely?" Mitsuki's response was the sort of feral smile the principal had only seen on Katsuki when he knew he had the upper hand.

"Because I have a close friend who works as an editor for the Binary Sunset. You know, the biggest newspaper company in the city?" The principal turned pale as Mitsuki continued, "Now, try to consider that I have access to two witnesses-slash-victims of bullying from this school, combined with photos showing the results of that bullying...along with testimony that you and your staff have done NOTHING to stop it. Can you imagine the absolute shitshow you and your teachers will go through if I gave this information to my friend? I can see the headlines now, 'Local Junior High Promotes Bullying of Boys.' I imagine that would not go very well for you."

Katsuki stared at his mom in utter amazement. He already knew his mom was awesome, but he never knew she was so cunning. And honestly kinda scary. He looked back at the principal and teacher, both of whom were white as a sheet.

"Y-You wouldn't...would you?" the teacher stammered. Mitsuki went back to giving a nice calm smile.

"I most certainly would. However, I'm feeling nice today. Don't punish my son for what happened today, and actually try to do something about the bullying problem, and my lips will be sealed." She then stood up, picking up her son as well. "Now, as school is over, my son and I bid you a good day, unless there's anything else you wanna say?" The principal only shook her head, to which Mitsuki gave a bigger smile, nodded in reply, and walked out, still carrying Katsuki. She carried him all the way to the car, as he was still too stunned at what just happened to form the cohesive thoughts necessary to ask to be set down. It wasn't until she set him inside the car and climbed in herself that she broke the silence.

"Proud of you, Katsuki," she said in a soft, motherly tone. "I always taught you to protect others, and I know that's what happened today. If that bint or the principal try anything else, just let me know, ok?" Katuski nodded again, and then Mitsuki gave a bigger smile. "So, did you dropkick that girl?"

"Both feet, in the face."

"Atta boy. Let's go get you ice cream."

***

Izuku continued heading home, flanked by Cobalt Star. He was deep in thought concerning his spirit; He knew his silent knight possessed strength in a similar manner to Lady Might, but he doubted it was in the same caliber. Could that possibly mean he possessed similar speed, too? Izuku would have to conduct tests later to determine the limits of Cobalt's capabilities.

As he began to ponder what sort of tests to perform, Izuku suddenly found himself immobile. Looking down, he was caught in some translucent blue ooze. He struggled to get free, but only found himself pulled deeper into the mass behind him. As he tried to break free, he heard a giggle above him.

"I love it when they fight," a sickeningly sweet voice stated. "Won't do you any good, kid. I need some bait for a good host, and a weak boy like you is perfect."

A villain! He was caught by a villain! He renewed his struggling, but found himself completely pulled into the slimy body. He could feel her shake around him, most likely giggling at his feeble efforts. As a last ditch attempt, he slowly turned his head to look at Cobalt Star, who stood idly by. It was time to test one of his theories.

'Cobalt Star!' he thought, directing his will toward the spirit. 'Free me!'

In an instant, Cobalt Star moved to action. First he gave a single strong punch into her chest, surprising the slime villain. Unhindered by the slime, he pulled his fist back while delivering another punch with his other hand. Then another, faster than before. In mere seconds, Cobalt Star was delivering blows at blinding speed. While the villain was confused at being punched by seemingly nothing, Izuku was fascinated. Not only was Cobalt Star strong, but also fast? He was more like Lady Might than anything now. In moments, the shocks from the punches pushed the slime back, not yet freeing Izuku's body but getting his face out in the open.

Taking a deep breath, he quickly looked around. There were no people in the area and Cobalt Star was still pounding away, not making any further progress in freeing Izuku but making sure he could breathe. Most of his body was still caught in the slime, and a quick attempt at pulling revealed he could move, but it was like trying to swim in concrete. He was still trapped. His arms, his legs, his backpack...wait, his backpack!

As Cobalt Star continued his relentless assault, Izuku began the arduous process of moving his arm toward the strap of his backpack. He carried a charge-pack, like most of humanity. Being completely engulfed, there was no doubt this villain's slime had filled in the holes of the power outlets on said pack. If he remembered science class right, slime was mostly composed of water, which conducted electricity. With any luck...

Izuku slowly pulled the cord on his bag, current surging through every outlet on his bag. The villain screamed in agony as electricity coursed from the outlets into her body. Izuku was electrocuted as well, but he remained conscious, powering through the pain. After ten seconds of excruciating pain, the villain spat Izuku out before collapsing. Traumatized from both being engulfed in slime and having to electrocute himself to escape said slime, Izuku was too dazed to notice his retaliation had almost rendered the villain unconscious. He most certainly passed out before a massive woman slammed into the ground between him and the villain.

***

Izuku gave a deep gasp when he woke up, followed by groans of pain as his limbs involuntarily twitched. His entire body hurt, still feeling the effects of being electrocuted. As he groaned, he felt a large hand on his forehead. 

"Take it easy, young man," a familiar feminine voice quietly soothed. "You've had a rough few minutes, but it's over." Still breathing shakily, Izuku turned his head to look at the woman. His vision was blurry at first, but as it cleared the first thing he saw were twin blonde ahoge going down to a smiling face. A very familiar smiling face. A smiling face connected to a particularly large woman wearing a plain white t-shirt and cargo pants. Izuku's eyes widened, pain forgotten, as it finally occurred to him just who he was looking at.

"L-L-LADY MIGHT!" he screamed as he bolted upright. 

"My my," she laughed, "such a lively reaction! I'm glad to see you're alright, kid!"

Izuku was in complete shock. Lady Might, his idol, the greatest heroine ever, was right there and looking at him and OH MY GOD SHE TOUCHED MY HEAD TODAY IS A BLESSED DAY.

"O-oh my gosh," Izuku managed to stutter. "I-I am such a big fan, Lady Might! Th-thank you for saving me!"

"Saving you?" Lady Might laughed, holding up a large bottle that, upon closer inspection, contained the slime villain. "Young man, you just about had it handled by the time I got here! Impressive idea to use your charge-pack like that! Now if you'll excuse me, it is getting late, so I'd better get this villain to the police! Take care!" She turned and leaped away. As she went through the air, however, she noticed her leg seemed a bit heavier than usual. Looking down, she saw Izuku was clinging to her leg for dear life. "YOUNG MAN, WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?"

"S-s-sorry for this!" Izuku cried as he hung on. "I-I just had two questions I wanted to ask you if it's not an inconvenience!" Lady Might wasn't sure if this kid was brave or just crazy, but she opted for brave as she landed on the roof of a skyscraper. Before she could say anything, Izuku let go of her leg, scrambled through the inside of his backpack (thank god the inside was waterproofed), and pulled out a notebook & marker. "F-first, may I have your autograph!?" Lady Might stared for a few seconds before giving a hearty laugh and taking the notebook. 

"Sure, young man! I guess I was a bit hasty in leaving if this was what you wanted, huh? My apologies, pup!" She pulled the cap off the marker and quickly wrote her signature across two pages, including a little emoji of herself on the side. She handed back the notebook, and Izuku stared at it like he had been given a billion yen. Lady Might could tell he would treasure this forever. "Now, I believe you had two questions?" At this reminder, the shine left Izuku's eyes and he nervously looked around before asking with a quiet voice.

"D-do you think a boy like me could become a pro hero someday?"

This surprised Lady Might. She was expecting any of the hundreds of questions other fans had asked in the past, but this boy had asked her something completely different. Everyone knew that women were the primary heroes in this world, but it was clear this boy wanted to do more. She knew he wasn't asking out of a desire for fame or wealth, either. The look in his eyes before...yes, this boy wanted to help people. Lady Might knelt down, still towering over Izuku, and gave her answer.

"Young man, I see no reason why you can't become a hero someday."

Izuku's eyes lit up at this. Good gosh, this kid was too adorable. She still had time, so Lady Might decided to continue.

"You clearly have a noble and brave heart, and an overwhelming desire to help people despite lacking a quirk. That by itself is a good mindset already, but you've demonstrated you're also clever and resourceful. Earlier with that villain? I've seen a few male heroes use similar techniques when fighting villains susceptible to electrical attacks, but you're the first I've seen to use their charge-pack like that. However, it won't be easy by any stretch of the imagination. You'll have to do better than your best, and you might decide to settle with being a police officer or a doctor, but so long as you keep this sharp," she tapped his head, "and keep determined, I can easily see you becoming one of the few male heroes. I look forward to the day you can stand up with a smile and tell the world 'I'M HERE!' just like me." It was clear Izuku had paid rapt attention to everything she said, and the contemplative look in his eyes was enough to say he was thinking seriously on her words. With a bigger smile than before, she ruffled his hair and got to her feet. "What's your name, young man?"

"M-Midoriya Izuku, ma'am!"

"Midoriya," Lady Might smiled, "I'll be rooting for you. Take care!" With those parting words, Lady Might took another leap, soaring through the air and leaving the awestruck lad behind. She knew that building, and knew he would have no trouble getting down on his own. She reached down to pat the bottle the villain was in, knowing she had to hurry to-

The bottle was gone.

Oh crap.

Chapter Text

Izuku was literally skipping for joy down the road, flanked by his taciturn and superstrong spirit.

He could be a hero. He could be a hero. LADY MIGHT HERSELF SAID HE COULD BE A HERO! Today was a glorious day! He couldn't wait to tell everyone!

His elation dimmed a bit when he heard a loud metal crunching down a side street, along with seeing a lot of people running away. Another villain attack? Thrice in one day? That was unusual, even for Musutafu. Well, it provided another opportunity to watch heroes work, at least. Still giddy from before, he turned and ran down the street towards the attack. Weaving between the legs of everyone who ran past him (and being careful not to accidentally look up any skirts), Izuku quickly approached the scene when a familiar voice rang out.

"THAT BITCH HAS MY BABY! TELL HER TO SPIT HIM OUT BEFORE I KICK HER ASS!"

Izuku stopped. No way, that couldn't be...

He turned towards the voice and saw a couple of pro heroes pulling Mitsuki Bakugou away from the scene (and she was not making it easy for them). Kacchan's mom was here? Wait, did she say...oh no. All previous joy dissipated, and Izuku ran faster towards the scene of the attack. Squeezing between two other heroes, Izuku gasped at what he saw. It was the ooze villain who attacked him before. In hindsight, he never got a good look at her before, but as she was right now she was vaguely humanoid, though it was hard seeing details with how she kept shifting. Her eyes were the only solid part about her, the rest was a translucent blue similar to some special-edition action figures.

It was this factor that let Izuku see Katsuki struggling inside her. 

The instant he saw his best friend, without even thinking, he squeezed between the heroes that were keeping civilians away and rushed towards the villain. As he got closer, Izuku could see Katsuki's spirit, Ember Fang, writhing on the ground as though it were in agony. If only Kacchan could...wait, he can!

"Cobalt!" Izuku shouted to his spirit as he threw his arm out. "Free my friend!" In an instant, his armored spirit flew forward and shoved their arm into the ooze to grab Katsuki. Katsuki, while struggling for breath, watched in amazement as the knight began the slow process of extracting him. The ooze villain remembered this feeling and looked at Izuku, glaring in recognition.

"YOU!" she roared as she reached out to grab him, only for Izuku to jump out of the way. With that distraction, Cobalt Star was able to pull out Katsuki's upper half, giving him a much-needed breath of fresh air. As he gasped, Ember Fang got to its' feet, instantly recovering from its' prior state. Izuku sighed with relief before dodging another slime wave. There had to be something else that could be done. Some way for Katsuki's dog to help. Looking over the villain one more time, he again noticed how their eyes looked normal. Which meant...

"KACCHAN!" Izuku shouted. "USE EMBER FANG! HER EYES MUST BE HER WEAK POINT!"

Katsuki whipped towards the villain's face and nodded. Waving his hand toward the villain's head, Ember Fang leaped up and, with a clenched fist from Katsuki, opened their mouth wide before biting down on the villain's head. Just as Izuku had seen that morning, the hounds' bite caused an explosion, albeit bigger than before. The ooze villain screamed in agony as her head jerked to the side, her eyes burned from the close-range explosion. 

"EAT FIRE BITCH!" Katsuki shouted as Cobalt finished pulling him free from the ooze. At the same time, Izuku felt a familiar tremor as Lady Might landed next to him and delivered the blow that rendered the ooze villain unconscious. Katsuki landed on his feet as Cobalt returned to his spot next to Izuku. He turned to look at the villain, then back to Izuku, who himself came running up and grabbed Katsuki's shoulders.

"Are you alright!?" Izuku hollered, tears in his eyes. "How bad are you hurt? How did she get you?" He would have continued had Katsuki not grabbed his head and stared with starstruck eyes.

"Dude," Katsuki smiled, "your spirit is fuckin' AWESOME!"

Before they could say anything else, the other pro heroes came up and separated the boys to be checked over by EMT's. Katsuki was, thankfully, mostly unharmed with a handful of bruises from his struggles. Izuku was completely untouched aside from minor burns on his hands and achy muscles from his earlier electrocution. After being checked over, Katsuki found himself in the arms of his dead-worried mother while other pro-heroes made sure he really was alright. Izuku, meanwhile, was being admonished for his recklessness, then the heroes fussed over the burns on his hands. 

"You were brave, but small boys like you can't take on things like that!" one hero exclaimed. Izuku had to admit it was mildly reckless, but only because they couldn't see the man in blue armor that floated behind him. In the midst of the crowds, he spotted Lady Might staring at him. He was immediately nervous, afraid she was gonna try to take back what she had told him earlier. Instead, she gave a smaller smile and a thumbs up before disappearing into the crowd. Izuku gave a sigh of relief. 

"SHUT UP YOU BUTTWIPES!"

Izuku jerked up and turned to Katsuki, the source of the shout. The fiery blond was leaning out from his mothers' grasp, glaring daggers at the heroes who were scolding Izuku.

"What the fuck are you doing underestimating him!?" he roared. "That "small boy" is the only reason I ain't dead! Or did you forget that kind-of-essential fact, you hotheaded fucktards!?"

"K-Kacchan," Izuku pointed out,"y-you're the one being hotheaded..." Before Katsuki could continue his tirade, however, Mitsuki pulled him back and covered his mouth (or rather, his entire face).

"Simmer down, pup," Mitsuki chuckled.

The admonishment of Izuku gradually died down after that. Soon, Inko was brought in by the police, immediately pulling her son into a worried hug. With the villain hauled away and the heroes heading out, the two mothers decided to have dinner together at the Bakugou residence with their kids in tow. The dinner was a small one, with the parents chatting away the fear they felt earlier, while Izuku and Katsuki were left to their own devices.

"Your guy's named Cobalt Star?" Katsuki smiled. "That is so cool, dude."

"Yeah," Izuku nodded. After a few moments of silence, he turned back to his friend. "Kacchan?"

"Hm?"

"I think we need to practice and experiment with our spirits."

"No duh," Katsuki scoffed. "We're gonna use 'em to enter UA, right?"

"Yeah," Izuku acknowledged, "but I mean, I think we need to figure out their limits. Do tests and stuff to get better control, and see just what else they can do."

"You make it sound nerdy, but you ain't wrong," Katsuki shrugged. "Got any ideas?"

"...I need to call my dad."

***

The following school day went by surprisingly fast for Izuku. It was also surprisingly calm, all things considered. Neither Izuku nor Katsuki were bullied by anyone the entire day (with Reika being absent). Instead, a lot of the girls seemed worried about their physical condition, while the other boys of the school seemed to geek out about Katsuki's near-death experience. Even the teachers seemed to be a bit nicer. Izuku was confused by all this, but especially confused at how Katsuki wore a knowing grin for most of the day. 

The trip home was thankfully quiet, and Izuku was determined to get home soon as possible. After quickly finishing his homework, Izuku grabbed his phone. He couldn't do it last night due to time constraints, but now he had plenty of time to talk to his father. Sitting alone in his room, he quietly sent a single text to the number his father had given him prior to calling, just to know if it was safe to call and to let him know it wasn't an emergency. After three rings, the phone clicked.

"Hey, son," a halcyon voice said over the phone.

"Hey Dad," Izuku smiled. 

"I know you said it wasn't an emergency, but is everything okay over there?"

"Y-yeah, everything's good. Better than good, actually. Th-that's part of why I called you."

"Is it?" his dad asked, his tone displaying piqued interest.

"Yeah. You remember those spirit things Katsuki and I told you and mom about?"

"The ones in the crayon drawings covering the fridges both over there and over here?"

"Well..."

Izuku explained everything that happened the previous day. Katsuki showing off what Ember Fang could do. His own spirit, Cobalt Star, saving him during lunch. Cobalt doing it again after school when he was attacked. His run-in with Lady Might, though he rambled excitedly on this part for a bit longer before getting to the second villain attack, when they both used their spirits to beat the villain. The entire time, Hisashi Midoriya listened quietly. After the account was finished, Hisashi remained silent for a bit longer.

"That is...quite the development," he finally stated. 

"Y-yeah," Izuku chuckled. "Anyway, the reason I called you is because Katsuki and I need to think of ways to test our spirits' limits, and was wondering if you had any pointers? I mean, I know you don't have a spirit, but maybe you'd have ideas on how we could figure this out?"

There was mostly silence from the other end. For a minute or so Izuku could only hear the quiet shuffling of papers, maybe some whispering in the background. He was glad for the pause. This meant his father was putting some serious thought into this. 

"Son," Hisashi finally said, "I know you got your analytical side from me. I know you can figure this whole thing out yourself, but I can also see you need a slight push to get the ball rolling. Now, remember what I always told you about doing experiments of any kind?"

"If it explodes, write it down?"

"No, Izuku, the other thing."

"...Always play it safe?"

"Attaboy," Hisashi replied. "I've never heard about anything like your spirits before. That means that there could be a lot of people who would be quite interested in that power if they heard about it. If that happened before you were ready, you and Katsuki could be in trouble. The best thing to do is find a place that's hidden to do your tests. I don't know how you could secretly test your friends' explosions, but if you can find a place with heavy things lying around you could use those to test your 'Cobalt Star' and their strength limit. You know any places like that?" Izuku thought for a moment.

"Yeah," the boy nodded. "I think I know a place."

"Good," Hisashi replied. "Go there, play it safe, try not to attract attention, okay? I'll ask around my job, see if anyone else can add any ideas. Sound good?"

"Definitely," Izuku smiled. "Thanks, dad."

"Always nice hearing from you." Izuku suddenly heard a loud voice from across the line, though he couldn't catch any of the words. "Crap, looks like I gotta get to to work. Tell your mom I love her okay?" With an affirmation from Izuku, Hisashi bade farewell and hung up. Izuku took a breath. He knew a place that could work. They could do this.

***

"Hey, Kacchan, think you could use Ember to clear some of the sand here? Cobalt can't dig his fingers that deep."

"Yeah yeah, lemme clear it for your wimpy knight."

Katsuki directed his hellhound to clear some sand via a string of small explosions, no larger than cherry bombs, from under a rusted fridge. As he did this, Izuku looked around at their surroundings. They were at Dagobah Beach, a place that was once a popular and beautiful spot but was now an unofficial junkyard. Covered in ruined appliances, destroyed electronics and even one or two cars, it was not the sort of place one would expect to find two boys. However, it was actually the perfect place for these two boys in particular.

The tall junk piles hid the boys from view from the road, and mostly from the ocean as well. Much of the junk was heavy, which was perfect for testing Cobalts' strength. While the knight couldn't dig more than a few centimeters down, Katsuki was slowly becoming more skilled in directing Ember to create pinpoint explosions on a small scale. On top of that, the boys had made an arrangement with someone who also had an interest in clearing the beach, in that they would fill a trailer with junk to be taken to a scrapyard, and would receive a portion of the payment. In clearing the beach, the two aspiring heroes were also doing community service. 

After Katsuki finished clearing away the sand, Izuku directed Cobalt to carefully lift the fridge off the ground to be carried to the trailer. Izuku could feel a slight push in the back of his mind any time Cobalt lifted something heavy, but it never felt worse than like someone rubbing the back of his head. He definitely needed to figure out how else to test Cobalts' strength. In the meantime, both boys were just thankful their spot was hidden from everyone.

"GREETINGS, YOUNG MEN!"

Chapter Text

"I thank everyone for coming today," Principal Nedzu greeted the heroes seated around him. The group was mostly UA staff (such as Power Loader and Madam Mic), along with a handful of independent pro-heroes, Lady Might and Kanna Woods among them. Nedzu, being a little under three feet tall, stood on the table rather than sitting on a chair. On the wall behind him was a large television. He clearly had something to show everyone. 

"It is not a problem," Lady Might nodded, "but may I inquire into the reason for such a sudden meeting?"

"This is about the villain attack a few days ago," Nedzu explained as he pulled out a remote and turned on the television. "The one that involved two boys. A Bakugou Katsuki and Midoriya Izuku." With another button press, it began playing footage from the ooze villain attack. "I had to call in a few favors, but as you can see, this footage is from a different angle than what played on the news. Also, this uncut version has some extra scenes you might find interesting." The video played out like they remembered, with some of the heroes being a bit confused.

"It's interesting," Midnight admitted, "and the green boy is adorable, but what are we supposed to be seeing?" 

"Watch this part closely," Nedzu pointed. It was the moment when Izuku first rushed forward. They watched him push his arm forward, just before Katsuki started moving out of the ooze villains' body. "Notice something right there?"

"The boy in the villain started climbing out?" Power Loader asked. "Nothing special about that."

"Pay close attention to the green boy's body movements, followed by the blond's movements," Nedzu instructed before replaying the scene again. This time, a few heroes gasped in surprise.

"H-He's being pulled out?" Kanna watched in disbelief. Observing Izuku's movements, Kanna asked, "I-is it possibly...?"

"Quite possibly," Nedzu nodded. "Now pay attention to this scene." He played the next part, after Katsuki was pulled partway out. This time, the heroes were more attentive and watched as Katsuki moved his arm, followed by a sudden explosion. 

"I don't understand," Lady Might stated. "The official reports say the explosion was caused by a nearby propane tank, but that almost looked like..."

"Like it was a midair explosion, disconnected from anything else," Nedzu nodded. "And yet, so perfectly synced to young Bakugou's own movements."

"Principal Nedzu," one of the other heroes asked, "are you inferring what I think you are?"

"This is the only bit of evidence at the moment," the mouse/bear? replied, "but it is enough to note the possibility."

"Men with quirks..." Madam Mic said in amazement.

"Of course," Nedzu said as he turned the television off, "this is currently just speculation. Nothing else has been reported about them, so I believe they are hiding what they can do, if they can indeed do things."

"Do you have something planned?" Madam Mic asked.

"These two boys," Nedzu smiled, "applied to UA, specifically to the Hero Course. If they really are quirk holders, I would be remiss to let that opportunity slip. If any of you happen to see these boys during your patrols, keep an eye on them. See if they do anything else unusual."

***

That meeting was four days ago. Four days Lady Might had been keeping an eye out, but hadn't seen anything. She was tempted to visit the boy's homes directly, but what if that scared them? Or worse, what if the boys weren't the cause of those events? That would be horribly awkward. As is, she hadn't seen the boys anywhere since that day. They didn't seem to be part of any clubs, so where were they going that made them just disappear? 

It was pure chance she was walking by Dagobah Beach that afternoon. She had expended most of her time for the day, so she was her wilted powerless Toshinori Yayoi self. Even in that form, however, she could hear the sudden small explosion from the junk piles. She stopped and waited, listening closely. After a minute, there was another small explosion. Was it a villain? Maybe some punks messing around? Either way, as a hero, it was Lady Might's job to investigate.

Walking down the steps, she skulked into the junk piles, squeezing between a few piles towards where she thought the noise came from. After a few minutes of advancing she started hearing voices talking. Familiar voices. 

"Could it be...?"

She sped up a little bit, sneaking around a few more piles before coming to a stop. Peering around a corner, she gave a quiet gasp. There they were! Midoriya Izuku and Bakugou Katsuki, the boys from the attack! They didn't seem to know she was there, something else distracting them. So, Lady Might stayed and watched. It seemed like they were cleaning the beach. She gave a smile at this. Even at this age, they were doing community service. They would no doubt be upstanding members of society, no matter the path they chose. 

"Hey, Kacchan," the green one, Izuku, asked, "think you could use Ember to clear some of the sand here? Cobalt can't dig his fingers that deep." This caught her attention. Ember? Cobalt? What were they talking about?

"Yeah yeah, lemme clear it for your wimpy knight."

Lady Might watched in shock as the blond one, Bakugou, stepped towards a rusted fridge and slowly moved his hand over it. As he did so, small explosions erupted from the sand at its' base, scattering the sand away. She watched in amazement as he spent a minute or two clearing away enough sand to expose the edge of the fridge. She almost coughed up blood when she saw Midoriya step close to the fridge and slowly raise his arms before the fridge floated up. He wasn't even touching it. Lady Might covered her mouth. It was true...these boys had honest-to-goodness quirks! 

She swung back around the corner and took a breath. No point in delaying things further. She still had some big time, so she quickly grew to her Lady Might self and stepped back around the corner. 

"GREETINGS, YOUNG MEN!"

Both boys gave a shout of surprise and the fridge fell unceremoniously to the ground. Lady Might internally giggled at their shocked expressions, feeling like a mom who found her sons' hands in the cookie jar. The boys looked at each other for a brief moment before turning back to her.

"H-hello, Lady Might," Izuku stuttered. "W-w-what brings you here?" Lady Might gave a big smile, not realizing just how hard Izuku was working to keep from geeking out.

"I HEARD A STRANGE NOISE AND CAME TO INVESTIGATE," Lady Might laughed, "AND HERE I AM! I MUST SAY, IT IS GOOD TO SEE YOU AGAIN AFTER THAT VILLAIN ATTACK A WEEK AGO!"

"Y-yeah," Katsuki replied, still trying to process everything.

"I MUST ASK, THOUGH, WHAT WERE YOU TWO DOING JUST NOW? WERE YOU MAKING THAT FRIDGE FLOAT?" Izuku and Katsuki quickly looked at each other in shock.

"Ummmm," Izuku started, "i-it's kinda complicated."

"Yeah," Katsuki added, "cuz it's not really us, kinda?" This confused Lady Might. What did that mean? Was there someone else pulling the strings? Seeing the confusion on her face, Izuku slowly stepped forward.

"H-hold out your hand please," he requested. "Like you're going to shake someone's hand." Still confused, Lady Might complied and held out her hand. Izuku then pointed at her hand, and Lady Might was shocked to suddenly feel a distinctly smaller hand shaking her own. The sudden surprise was enough to make her cough blood and yank her hand away. As she wiped her chin, Lady Might froze. She was wiping blood. She never did that unless-oh crap.

The shock from what happened (combined with her diminished timer) made her revert to her real form. She slowly looked at the two boys, who were staring at her with even more intense shocked expressions than before. Lady Might was mostly thankful they weren't screaming. One of them, Izuku slowly stepped forward, pointing at Yayoi while slightly shaking. She closed her eyes, bracing for the upcoming freakout moment.

"Lady Might...d-do you have Marfan Syndrome?"

......wat.

Yayoi opened her eyes and saw Izuku quickly walking around her and looking at her limbs, occasionally poking her arms and speaking a mile a minute.

"YoudefinitelyhavethelonglimbsindicitiveofitalongwithwhatappearstobeArachnodactylyhowwelldoyourjointsbendwhenlikethisdoyouhaveanyissueswithyouraortatocausethat-"

"Dekiru, you're mumbling," Katsuki stated, still staring at Lady Might and breaking Izuku's tangent.

"S-sorry," Izuku bowed as he stepped back. Now the boy looked more nervous than shocked.

"You...you're not freaked out?" Lady Might asked.

"Oh no," Izuku admitted, "I am really freaking out. I'm just not as freaked out because I figured you had an alternate form to hide your real identity similar to Fatgum and-" At this point Katsuki just bonked Izuku in the head comically to get him to stop talking.

"Hush, shrimpy," Katsuki ordered before turning back to Lady Might. "The point we were trying to make earlier is, well, our 'quirks' aren't like other people and we would really like it if you could keep it to yourself. We both promise not to tell anyone about your...skinny side, since I'm fairly certain you didn't want us seeing it in the first place."

"Oh my gosh, Kacchan," Izuku whistled, "that was really well-worded for you."

"Well, boys," Lady Might interjected, "truth is I've been looking for you two. Please don't freak out, it's nothing scary. You see, Principal Nedzu of UA wants to speak with you concerning your...talents." Both boys froze at this and Lady Might continued "Don't worry, it's nothing dangerous. He saw your applications and simply wishes to talk to you. That's all." The boys looked at each other hesitantly before turning around and whispering to each other. 

"W-would it be possible for the Principal to keep our talents secret?" Izuku turned to ask. "W-we don't want too many people to learn about it yet."

"Far as I know," Yayoi smiled, "it'd just be Nedzu and maybe a few members of the UA staff." After this, the boys whispered to each other a bit longer before turning around.

"Where and when does he wanna meet us?" Katsuki asked.

***

Outwardly, Principal Nedzu was as calm and composed as anyone had known him to be. Inwardly, however, he was feeling rather giddy. He was currently standing in one of UA's indoor training facilities with Midnight, Aizawa aka Eraserhead and Cementess awaiting the arrival of Lady Might and the boys from the slime villain incident. Lady Might had found them a couple days ago and convinced them and their moms to meet here to talk about their quirks. They were a mystery he was eager to solve.

A few minutes past noon, the doors opened and the aforementioned group walked in. Lady Might strode in, beaming, in her full hero glory. Behind her were two women Nedzu assumed were the mothers, and behind them were the boys in question. Katsuki was walking upright and confident as usual. Meanwhile, Izuku was hunched a bit and hiding his face under a red baseball cap. That was unusual. Where was that dauntless kid from earlier? Perhaps it was a spur of the moment thing. Nedzu smiled and darted towards the kids while Midnight gave a slight squeal at how adorable they were; Eraserhead and Cementess seemed indifferent to the boys.

"It is so good to finally meet you!" Nedzu proclaimed. "I am Principal Nedzu of UA! Now, I am sure you are wondering if I am a mouse, a dog, or perhaps a small bear. The answer...doesn't matter!"

"I thought you looked more like a rat," Katsuki deadpanned. 

"S-so, what would you like to know?" Izuku meekly asked, still keeping his head down.

"I would like to know everything," Nedzu grinned. "Your quirks, how you came to discover them, and the limits of what you can do."

"Oh, they're not really quirks, I don't think," Izuku stated, his slowly rising fanboy mindset overcoming his meek stutter. "They're semi-tangible entities that only Kacchan and I can see, and recently became able to command." 

There was silence for a good thirty seconds.

"...Pardon?" Nedzu asked. 

"Just like with Lady Might," Izuku continued, "it'll be easier if we show you. Might be awkward to shake hands again, so...sorry in advance." Izuku then pointed at Nedzu and slowly raised his hands. As he did so, Nedzu slowly rose into the air, lifted like a cat. At first Nedzu was stunned, then he started laughing as he orbited Lady Might's head a few times before being gently set back down.

"Amazing!" the Principal laughed. "I had assumed it was telekinesis, but I could clearly feel hands under my armpits lifting me up. Five fingers each, no less. Now, before you explain it in detail, may we see young Bakugou's demonstration?"

"YES!" Katsuki cheered as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a wooden rod, like a piece of a curtain rod. "Someone take this and stand, like, ten meters that way. Hold it out, too." A bit confused, Eraserhead accepted, taking the chunk of wood and standing off a ways. As she did so, Katsuki took a stance like he was ready to draw a pistol. With an evil smile, he screamed "DRAW!" and whipped his hand out, pointing at the rod which quickly exploded, sending shards and flames away from Aizawa's head. Despite the loud explosion, she seemed unfazed, just staring at Katsuki with slightly glowing eyes.

"Magnificent!" Nedzu clapped."Truly remarkable! I assume your 'entity' is a humanoid who shoots fire or something similar?"

After that question, Izuku pulled out his notebooks and explained what he and Katsuki had been able to discern about their spirits in detail. Sketches, height comparisons, and more recently what they were capable of. All the teachers, including Nedzu, were amazed at the level of detail in the notes. His and Katsuki's mothers would occasionally pitch in to give their view on things, as there had been times when the spirits had accidentally bumped into them, which helped solidify their sons' testimonies. Izuku even went on to explain what happened when Cobalt Star first obeyed a command, surprising the rest when they heard that the slime villain was actually the first day the spirits did more than float mysteriously. 

"Anyway," Izuku finished, "we're still not quite sure of their limits. I mean, I haven't found anything Cobalt couldn't lift, and we can't really test how big an explosion Ember could make without drawing attention."

"I see," Nedzu smiled. "Sounds like you need a place that's well hidden and capable of holding things heavier than refrigerators." He gave a comical look-around before exclaiming, "Wait, we're in such a place! Let's use our current setting to figure out your upper limits, shall we? Young Bakugou can go first, since it will take some time for Cementess to make the varying constructs needed to test the weight limit." 

With that, Katsuki stepped forward, willing Ember Fang to go out a bit further. He raised his hand and gestured to a spot of open air. Ember Fang leaped up and opened their mouth further than a dog should be able to before biting down. The ensuing explosion sent Katsuki flying back into his mom's arms. Izuku was immediately by his side, noticing Katsuki was grimacing and holding his arm.

"Someone go retrieve Recovery Girl," Nedzu ordered as he dashed to Katsuki as well. "I should have had her here too. How does your arm feel?"

"Like someone fucking stabbed it," Katsuki hissed. "Doesn't feel broken or swollen, though." 

"It was recoil," Izuku stated. "Looks like you're still susceptible to the shock wave of the explosions, and maybe the size of the explosion also affects you similar to how lifting heavy objects affects me."

"What do you mean?" Aizawa asked bluntly.

"Erm, sometimes if I use Cobalt to lift something heavier, like a car, I feel this slight pull in the back of my head. B-but it's never felt any worse than someone like patting the back of my head." As Aizawa and Nedzu took this in, Midnight returned carrying Recovery Girl on her back. Setting her down, the elderly woman (who was still taller than Izuku) hobbled over and inspected Katsuki's arm as Nedzu explained what was going on.

"Nothing broken, thankfully," she said as she kissed his arm. "Would have been sprained, but it's fixed now. Don't use this arm for anything strenuous for the rest of the day." Shoving a gummy bear into Katsuki's mouth, she turned to the rest and stated, "I'm sticking around in case you idiots try anything else."

"We'll be careful," Cementess replied, having finished making multiple concrete blocks for Izuku to lift. "We just need young Midoriya to test the upper strength limit of his 'spirit' and we'll be done. Do be careful, Midoriya." Izuku nodded and stepped forward. He started with the smallest block, which was lifted easily. Then he moved to the next size up, then the one following that. In a few minutes, he had stacked the cement blocks on top of each other and was floating them around easily.

"I-I think Cobalt could lift even more than this," Izuku stated. "The pull is more prevalent, but still not a problem."

"I MAY HAVE A SOLUTION!" Lady Might beamed. "MAKE YOUR SPIRIT STRIKE ME WITH EVERYTHING YOU GOT!" Izuku visibly blanched at this.

"B-but what if I hurt my arm too?"

"THAT'S WHY RECOVERY GIRL IS HERE!" Lady Might replied before a gummy bear hit her face.

"Don't go being reckless just because I'm here!" the nurse glared.

"Be lenient this one time, Recovery Girl," Nedzu requested. "With progress comes risk, and we risk injury here to determine the upper limits of young Midoriya's current potential. Once we see how far he can go, then we can figure out how to safely increase said limit." Recovery Girl huffed at this, but didn't refute it. Nedzu turned back to Izuku and said "Give it your best shot, young man!" Izuku gave a nervous nod and stepped forward. 

"You got this!" Katsuki cheered.

"Be careful!" Inko warned.

Izuku took a breath and pulled his fist back, despite being ten feet away from Lady Might. The hero smiled and raised her arms, ready to block whatever incoming attack was coming. He gave a scream and punched forward. Only Katsuki could see the armorclad spirit deliver the punch, but everyone heard the sound of impact and felt the shock wave from said punch. Immediately after that, however, everyone heard Izuku scream as he fell to his knees. Inko was immediately by his side, as was Recovery Girl. His arm was dark purple and was bleeding in a few spots. Recovery Girl quickly went to work healing what she could and bandaging the rest. 

"This is why I wanted you to be careful!" Recovery Girl screamed. "His arm is practically shattered!"

"Like his gauntlet..." Katsuki muttered, looking to the side.

"Pardon?" Nedzu asked the explosive teen.

"Um," Katsuki clarified, "when Cobalt Star punched Lady Might, I saw his gauntlet fracture and break, like it hit a hard wall."

"Hurt the spirit," Izuku grimaced in pain, "hurt the owner. I-I think that's how it works. I mean, when Katsuki was caught by that villain and suffocating, his spirit was hurting too. S-so it makes sense the opposite is true." After this, Nedzu spent some time in silent contemplation while the others (sans Eraserhead) fussed over Izuku's injury to make sure it wouldn't get worse. Once they were done, Nedzu stepped forward.

"I do believe I have figured something out," he announced. "Some women with particularly powerful quirks develop them later, right? Perhaps these 'spirits' are a similar thing in that regard. You both have noticed what happens when you exert their full strength, so perhaps you could not command them until recently as a means of making sure you were physically developed enough to use their minimal strength without injury. This means you just need to hone your physicality, and your spirit's upper limits should follow! Ten months' time should be enough for you to expand your abilities."

"Ten months?" Izuku asked as Recovery Girl finished wrapping his arm in bandages. "D-does that mean-"

"It's exactly what you think it means!" Nedzu laughed. "I've seen your applications, I've seen your grades, and now that I've seen your hidden talents there's no way I'm letting you two go so easily. Unfortunately the two recommendation slots have already been filled with a Miss Yaoyorozu Momo and Miss Todoroki Shouko, but if you can prove you got better control and endurance by the time of the entrance exams it should be little work to convince the board to make a pair of slots for...'Special Observation' if you will. If you two can succeed in that," he had a twinkle in his eye, "you boys will certainly make it into the Hero Course." There was a brief silence before the two boys cheered and screamed with joy as their moms hugged them tight. Most of the other teachers were also happy for the boys, the cheer being infectious.

Only most.

Aizawa stared at the boys. Her gaze was dull and tired, but internally she was having a minor freakout. Her quirk let her nullify other quirks. She just had to stare at them and they were powerless. Not only that, but it also gave her a bit of perception in seeing a persons' quirk factor, to see how strong or weak their quirk could be. She had used her quirk on these boys during their demonstrations, and had seen their quirk factor was like a faint candle glow; they had no greater quirk factor than any other man on the planet. 

This flimsy factor and Aizawa's nullification did nothing to stop Katsuki from exploding a wooden rod in her hands. It certainly didn't stop Izuku from floating Nedzu around Lady Might's head like a tiny fuzzy moon. Her quirk, her great equalizer, was powerless against these two boys. If these two were villains, they'd be unstoppable. Never before had she been so glad to hear that two boys had dreams of becoming heroes. 

Chapter Text

It had been a week since the initial examination. Lady Might was helping Izuku's and Katsuki's moms supervise the boy's latest exercise in one of UA's gymnasiums. Despite all she had seen recently, Lady Might was still impressed at how nimble the boys were, seemingly flying between Cementess-built pillars and obstacles despite their diminutive stature.

"Faster!" Mistuki called out. "You were two seconds slower on that last loop, kids!"

"Stuff it, hag!" Katsuki shouted as he sped up. Mitsuki and Inko just laughed at this.

"They're getting better, actually," Lady Might beamed. "Last time they did this exercise they kept tripping up at that third pillar."

"That's our boys for you," Inko smiled back. "Always working to prove themselves. Just like their fathers."

"Fathers?" Lady Might looked at Inko. "You didn't use donated sperm?"

"Hell no!" Mitsuki laughed. "We're among the lucky few to find actual husbands. No sperm banks for us." This surprised Lady Might even further. These days most women who wanted children either visited a sperm bank or hunted down one of the few people who had fertility-inducing quirks to help out. It seemed these two families just kept being full of surprises. 

"May I ask where their fathers are? I have not the chance to meet them."

"Masaru-san is the head designer for his company, so he doesn't get many days off," Inko replied. "As for my Hisashi, well, he works in America."

"America?" Lady Might smiled. "I spent some time there in the past. Is he a pro hero too?" Inko giggled and-

"Greetings, everyone!" yelled a chipper voice before Inko could reply. The adults turned to see Nedzu trotting up with a couple papers in his hands/paws while slowly dragging a tea cart with his tail. "After careful study of the boys' diets and current physiology, I have devised a regimen for them to follow during their ten months of training!" 

"Mitsuki, please go grab the boys," Inko requested as she knelt down to accept the papers from Nedzu. Mitsuki dashed out to grab the boys while Inko stayed kneeling and read the papers. Nedzu quietly sipped some tea and noted her face seemed to show some displeasure at a few points. This was proven accurate as Inko read off "Parts 3 and 4 would be detrimental to them at their current age, and would make parts 9 and 10 more difficult for them. I am aware you're a bit of a sadistic chimera, but you should take their health into account."

"Now, Missus Midoriya," Lady Might started, "I am cer-"

"...Pardon?" Nedzu crisply interjected. Lady Might turned to the principal in interest. Something here was...off. His eyes seemed fully open for once, and the edges of his smile were twitching. Was there something wrong with the tea?

"Oh, how rude of me! I do apologize," Inko smiled. Inko calmly turned away, re-reading the papers as Mitsuki returned with the boys slung under each arm, and Nedzu contemplated what she heard. She had referred to him as a chimera...which was the truth. How could she have known that? Only a few people knew the truth, and most of them were-

Green hair like a deep forest, eyes like polished emeralds, hands and feet soaked in-

Nedzu gasped as it hit him, almost making him drop his teacup. That's how she knew. It had been twenty years, but Nedzu still felt ashamed of himself for failing to recognize her sooner. Taking a breath to recover himself, Nedzu grinned as he watched Inko use her quirk to make her son float at eye level.

The Midoriyas were indeed full of surprises.

***

The following ten months were what the boys would describe as mildly hellish, but only mildly. The working out was intense, but was made bearable by Inko joining in from time to time ("Even I need some exercise sometimes."). School had improved, as well. Reika had returned to school and tried to continue her bullying when no teachers were around, but with their new workout the boys had been able to evade her. Alongside school, the boys continued clearing the beach using their spirits, though they noted it seemed like someone else had been helping as well. 

Almost before they knew it, it was the morning before the entrance exam. The two boys were relaxing and playing a co-op game at Katsuki's house to relax before the big event. Their spirits were close by, Cobalt Star standing at the ready while Ember was flopped on the ground next to Katsuki. It was amazing how much his spirit's behavior fit its appearance.

"Got some heavy ammo over here," Katsuki pointed. "Your Grattler is rigged with Radiation, right?"

"Yup," Izuku nodded. "So, nervous about today?"

"Course not," the explosive teen smirked. "We're tough, we got spirits, and we'll blow those judges out of the water." Izuku laughed at that remark. 

"Just so long as we don't blow ourselves up too." 

"Hey, you blew yourself up last time, I just sprained my wrist. Don't pin that on me, you midget."

"I'm not that short."

"Whatever, you green chihuahua."

The rest of their morning was spent along these lines before they grabbed their bags and hustled to school. They left early enough that they could jog to UA rather than taking the train. The cool morning air was a pleasant feeling, and the jog was thankfully calm and devoid of ooze villains. In less than an hour, they were at the gates of UA. They had been coming on and off for almost a year to practice with their spirits, but it still felt weird knowing that in another month or two they'd be attending as students. Taking a breath and giving each other a reassuring smile, the two boys stepped into the gates...only for both to randomly trip on their own feet.

'Real smooth,' Izuku thought to himself as he closed his eyes. Rather than impacting his face, however, Izuku felt something wrap around his chest and pull him back up.

"Are you two alright?" a worried voice asked from above. Opening his eyes and looking up, he beheld a girl with soft brown eyes and brown hair in a bob cut. She was wearing the school uniform with a miniskirt and pantyhose, which Izuku was thankful for as he had forgotten his red cap at home. Glancing over at Katsuki, he saw the girl had caught him too, and even Katsuki had a slight blush on his face as he nodded his reply at her question. She gave a sigh and smile as she released them and continued, "That's good. You guys are taking the entrance exam too, right? Good luck!" She then jogged ahead, leaving the two flustered boys standing at the gate.

"...Kacchan..." Izuku voiced. "...we talked to a cute girl."

"We didn't say a word, dumbass," Katsuki pointed out, still watching the brunette head for the main building. The two boys stood there for a bit longer before a teacher, Cementess, came up and directed them to their own testing area. It was time to see if they'd advanced enough to enter UA.

***

Yayoi's phone buzzed as she sat in the observation booth, waiting for the practical portion of the entrance exam to begin. Reading the text, she smiled at the news that the boys had finished their own written exam and were moving on to their demonstrations. 

"No phones in the booth," Aizawa deadpanned from next to her. "I know the practical hasn't begun yet, but still. Keep the rules, Lady Might."

Lady Might chuckled her acknowledgement and put her phone away. She would love to watch the boys show off what they could do. Sadly, she had a prior obligation. She had to watch this practical exam and make sure things went smoothly.

After all, her successor was going to be out there rather soon.

***

The boys' demonstrations were thankfully shorter and less painful than the normal students' practical exam. Izuku had to demonstrate he could use Cobalt to punch at a certain strength without shattering his arm, while Katsuki showed off a bigger explosion than ten months ago. True, the recoil still got him a bit, but he certainly didn't go flying and his feral smile showed no hints of pain. Both of these feats were shown to the UA board of directors, some of whom were pro heroes while others were quirkless men who handled things such as finances and publicity. Honestly, Izuku was surprised just how many of the board members were men, and wondered how tall their chairs had to be to see over their desks.

"And there you have it!" Nedzu announced as Katsuki finished his demonstrations. "As you can see, these two boys are capable of incredible things, and it would be quite unfeasible to have them relegated to a different course or, even worse, a different school. So I propose we let them fill two of the slots in Class A Heroics under 'Special Observation' so that they might be able to further their talents under our careful supervision. True, we would have to work to keep their powers secret from the public and any entities outside of UA, for their own safety, but that should pose little difficulty. Does anyone have any objections they would like to declare before the vote is cast?"

"No objections from me!" one of the men laughed. "Those two boys have something 20% of humanity could only dream of getting. I look forward to seeing how far they can go."

"I'm afraid I must object," a pro hero in red raised her hand. "They might have quirks or 'spirits' or whatever, but they are still boys. The path of heroics is a dangerous one, and little boys like them could-"

"I'd rather you not finish that sentence," another hero with eyeglasses over her six eyes interrupted. "There is no rule barring men from the Hero Course. Indeed, throughout UA's 70-year history there have been close to 60 men who graduated from the Heroics Course, and none of them had the abilities these two do. I see no reason to stop these two from trying." At this, the other hero sighed and leaned back, not giving any further objections.

"Anyone else?" Nedzu asked. After a few moments silence, he smiled and declared, "Time for the vote, then! All who are for permitting these two to enter UA under Special Observation please raise your hands!" Nedzu raised his hand along with the majority of the UA Board. When Nedzu called for the opposed to vote, only two of them (one of whom was the red hero) voted against. Izuku gave a sigh of relief while Katsuki returned with his usual feral smile. Nedzu turned to the boys with his own happy smile.

"Congratulations, you two! Welcome to UA High School!"

***

Yayoi was in the booth, watching the practical exam. It was close to the finish, and Madam Mic was preparing to release the Zero-Pointer. Lady Might had spotted her successor earlier, rushing around to earn combat points. She was mildly disappointed at how few rescue points they had earned, but they still had enough to make it into the hero course. 

"Lady Might!" The heroes in the booth turned and saw Izuku & Katsuki running up. Both had excited smiles as they hopped onto the nearby chair.

"Greetings, young lads," Lady Might smiled. "I take it the demonstrations went well?"

"Keep it down," Eraserhead groaned, keeping her attention on the field outside.

"Like there was any doubt!" Katsuki cackled. "Sure, there were two hags that didn't want us in, but we'll just prove them wrong later." He turned and looked out the window. "That what kids normally gotta go through?"

"Yes," Aizawa nodded as the two boys hopped back down from the chair and leaned against the window for a better look. "I and much of the staff find it grossly unfair to entrants with non-combative quirks, but we have yet to change it."

"Good god," Izuku winced as he saw one student take a hard hit from a robot. "No wonder not many men make it into the Hero Course."

"That's just fucking unfair," Katsuki hissed. Suddenly his eyes widened as the Zero-Pointer appeared. "Dafuq is that!?"

"The Zero-Pointer," Yayoi explained. "More designed to serve as a distraction than any-"

"KACCHAN LOOK!" Izuku screamed and pointed out the window. Aizawa told him to stop yelling but neither Lady Might nor Katsuki payed attention, instead looking to where Izuku was pointing. One of the students was trapped under some debris right in the path of the Zero-Pointer. Surely it would stop before it harmed her, right?

"It's the girl from earlier!" Izuku continued. "She's trapped!"

"Then she'd better get free," Aizawa bluntly replied. Lady Might was about to object before she noticed Eraserhead was holding a small device with a single red button on it. Was that the control for the robot? She sure hoped so. Turning back to the boys, she saw them whispering to each other close to the window. Lady Might couldn't tell what they were saying, but after a few moments they both pushed their hands against the window and just stared out. If Lady Might had been paying more attention to outside the window, she would have noticed a swift breeze kicking up dust heading towards the pinned girl. 

"I think they're both barely in range," Lady Might heard Izuku whisper. 

"Grab her, I'll go high," Katsuki responded. This confused Lady Might for a brief moment before realization dawned on her features. At the same instant that Aizawa stood up with her device, an explosion erupted in front of the Zero-Pointer's head. Both pro heroes watched as a series of explosions slowly pushed the robot back while an unseen force gently pulled the girl out from under the rubble. Katsuki tensed up and whispered a curse as a massive explosion blew off one of the Zero-Pointer's legs, tipping it over sideways. Both boys sighed with relief and lowered their hands as the girl got to her feet and ran, pulling up another student no one else had seen earlier. It was close, but she was safe.

"She's safe," Izuku breathed.

"Fuck, we rock," Katsuki snickered.

"Did you two do something?" Aizawa glared at the small boys. Izuku and Katsuki looked at each other, gave large smiles and turned to Aizawa.

"Maybe," Katsuki teased. Aizawa stared for a few moments before sighing and facepalming.

"You're not even in UA yet and you're already giving me a migraine."

"What can I say?" Katsuki shrugged. "We're good at fucking shit up." Both boys laughed at the joke and Aizawa just facepalmed again.

After a few seconds, the test outside was concluded and the applicants slowly made their way back towards the gate. Aizawa escorted the boys out while Lady Might stayed behind, watching the boys go. In a more perfect world, she would have made one of them the next bearer of One For All. Sadly, as her own predecessor explained, One For All could not be given to men. It had been attempted multiple times and all had failed. So she instead chose someone who was just as upright and noble as young Midoriya. Looking out into the field, Yayoi searched for her apprentice. To her surprise, her successor was one of the last ones to return to the gates. Yayoi couldn't help but smile as her successor moved step-by-step towards the gate, making sure the wounded applicant she was carrying wasn't jostled too much. She gave a chuckle.

"Well done, young Iida."

Chapter Text

Lady Might stood on the hill overlooking Dagobah Beach in her withered form. Dawn just broke for the upcoming school year while she was waiting for her successor. As she waited, she smiled at the clean beach. It had been ages since the beach was in its prime, and it brought a tear to her eye seeing it again.

"Miss Toshinori Yayoi!" 

The shout snapped her out of her reminiscing, and Yayoi turned to meet its source. Jogging up was a towering, for her age, prim & proper girl in a pristine UA uniform with shorts under her skirt. Her hair was indigo and cut short. She had scarlet eyes behind thin, square-framed glasses. The most unusual thing about her appearance were the exhaust ports poking out from her calves. 

"Ah, young Iida Tenten," Yayoi greeted. "I am glad you could make it."

"Sensei, it would be improper to miss a meeting with you!" Iida stopped a few feet from Yayoi. "However, I must ask, why did you request to meet me out here when we could have met at school?"

"Just a quick thing," Lady Might explained, "and easier to iterate here." She gestured to the beach, which glittered in the morning sun. "Do you see the beach, young Iida? How pristine it is?"

"I do!" Tenten acknowledged. "I admit, I still feel a bit sore from moving everything."

"Not quite everything," Yayoi chuckled. "Were you aware that two young boys were also cleaning this beach?" Iida stared at Lady Might in disbelief as she continued, "They actually started around two weeks before you did, and worked at it almost every day. By themselves, it would have been impossible to get this beach clean. Similarly, if it was you by yourself, you would have failed just the same. Even if neither of you were aware of each other beforehand, you worked together and made this place beautiful again." 

"Sensei?" Tenten asked. 

"The point I am trying to make," Lady Might stated, "is that you're not alone. You will become the next pillar of peace in society, but you don't have to bear that weight alone. Your classmates at UA, any pro hero you meet, everyone is working to build a better future. Do not be afraid to ask for aid, no matter how small or great the trial may be. We're all in this together." The beach was silent for a few minutes as Iida processed what she had been told. After a bit, Iida gave her predecessor a nod.

"I swear," the student announced, "I will not forget those words. I will work together with everyone for the betterment of humanity."

"Good, good."

"But I must ask, sensei, who were the boys you mentioned earlier? I would like to meet them."

"Ah," Yayoi chuckled, "they are Midoriya Izuku and Bakugou Katsuki. Do not worry, you'll be meeting them soon enough."

"Truly?" Tenten asked as Yayoi turned and began walking away.

"You'll recognize such boys when you see them. After all, they're enrolled in Class 1-A." 

"....Wait, WHAT!?"

***

Chapter Text

Exhausted, Class 1-A staggered back into their classroom. After taking a headcount, Aizawa directed the boys to their seats, which were curiously next to the windows and looked newer than the other desks. The boys climbed onto their desks to sit, thankful the day was almost over. The other students chose to lounge around to socialize in small groups as Aizawa stepped out for a few minutes.

"God, that was sooo scary!" the gravity girl exclaimed. "I thought one of us was gonna get expelled for sure!"

"We should have expected a ruse like that," Momo the Leg Girl replied from her seat next to Izuku. "I doubt our instructor would really expel someone on the first day." 

"You never know, kero," a frog girl piped up from next to gravity girl. "Though I'm more surprised at another thing." As she said this, she turned her gaze towards the boys by the window, and more students followed suit. Mashirao was a bit nervous at the attention, Izuku was too engrossed in writing about everyone in his notebook to notice, and Katsuki glared back.

"What'cha want?" the fiery blond growled. 

"YOU GUYS WERE AWESOME!" the spiky redhead from earlier yelled as she practically flew over to Katsuki's desk. "I mean, like, how did you do so many pushups!?"

"Not to mention your speed," the pink acid girl smiled. "You're pretty fast for such lil fellas. I'm Ashido Mina, by the way." 

"I'm Uraraka Ochako!" Gravity girl smiled as she held out her hand to Katsuki before her eyes flickered with recognition. "What a minute, I remember you! We met before the Entrance Exam!"

"Oh yeah, I remember you!" Katsuki shook her hand. "Thanks for the catch, by the way. I woulda been fine, but my friend back there woulda..."

"-hasincrediblespeedlikelyduetotheenginesinherlegswonderwhatfueltheyuseandyetalsoseemingtohaveincrediblestrengthsideeffectofenginesmaybeorsomeunknownfactor..." Izuku mumbled as he wrote at high speed. The class went silent as they heard him and let out a collective sigh. Except for Ochako, who slowly leaned down to whisper to Katsuki.

"Is he always like this?"

"Only when analyzing," Katsuki replied before turning all the way around and throwing his eraser, hitting Izuku square in the face. He squeaked and flailed from the impact, dropping his pencil in the process. 

"K-Kacchan, what the-"

"Stop mumbling, you're scaring our classmates." Izuku was about to protest before he noticed almost everyone else in class was staring at him. Suddenly feeling very nervous, the boy curled up and apologized. During this whole exchange, Iida slowly made her way over to Izuku's desk. 

"What exactly are you writing, anyway?" she asked as she peered over Izuku's shoulder to his notebook. "...Is this me?" Before Izuku could do anything else, Iida whisked the notebook of his desk. Izuku buried his face in embarrassment as Iida read what was written. "...This is...quite impressive." Suddenly a blond blur shot through the air, yanked the notebook out of her hands and landed on the desk behind Momo.

"You don't just TAKE things, four-eyes!" Katsuki hollered, gripping Izuku's notebook to his chest. "God, didn't they ever teach you manners in your old school?" Thankfully, Tenten caught on and began apologizing profusely as Katsuki jumped back to Izuku's desk and returned the book. "Before anyone else feels like being an asshole and taking things that don't belong to them, Dekiru's hobby is analyzing quirks. It's a nerdy obsession, but he's damn good at it."

"And you're writing about everyone in class?" the redhead from earlier asked. "Am I in there?"

"N-not yet," Izuku stuttered as he reached for his pencil, only to remember he dropped it...off his desk. "Oh, it's down there." Before he could begin the climb down to get it, Momo tapped his shoulder. Turning to look at her, Leg Girl smiled and held out her hand. In a few seconds, there was a slight glow as a new man-sized pencil appeared in her hand. Izuku was wide-eyed with wonder as he took the Lady Might-themed pencil.

"Amazing!" the viridian-haired boy beamed. "I saw you made some tools during the assessment, but to fabricate something so small in such fine detail is a peerless display of skill and control! Your quirk has to be one of the most amazing ones I've ever seen!" Izuku was too busy looking over the pencil he had received to notice the blush forming on Momo's face. He didn't notice anything out of the ordinary until he heard the tinkling of dozens of small green pencils falling out of Momo to the floor. "A-are you alright?"

"Yes!" she exclaimed as she turned to sit properly in her chair with only a few more pencils raining down. "Perfectly fine!" Izuku was concerned, but had to turn his attention back to the front of the class, where Aizawa spent the rest of the school day explaining a few rules, class layout and the basics for attending UA. With everyone else paying attention to the teacher, no one noticed the plum girl glancing at the boys with a lusty smile. Nor did anyone notice the icy girl giving the boys a flat stare.

***

Later that night, Nedzu was in his office, at his greatly-elevated desk, reviewing the reports from the teachers concerning their students. It seemed like they had a promising batch of first years across the courses, with a grand total of 13 boys joining the school. Of even greater surprise, however, was the fact Aizawa had not sent anyone home. Nedzu couldn't remember the last time that had happened. It was honestly impressive. Reading her reports on the class, the principal smiled at how the three boys of Class 1-A performed for their assessment. Even without using their spirits, the boys had done stellar. He was honestly looking forward to tomorrow.

The sound of heavy footsteps, more like stomping, derailed Nedzu's train of thought. He wasn't expecting any visitors tonight. The mouse/bear? looked up at the door in time to see it slam open with enough force to almost crack it. Thank goodness it didn't, that door was expensive. 

Standing in the doorway was a particularly tall woman, almost tall as Lady Might. She was dressed in durable spandex styled to look similar to a slim kimono with a firebird motif. She was wearing some small amount of makeup, but the most striking feature of the arrival was her hair, or rather her quirk. Her fire quirk manifested through her hair, being waist length hair, strikingly similar to feathers. She might have been rather pretty by normal standards if her face was not currently twisted in an angry scowl.

"Ah, Endeavor!" Nedzu greeted. "To what do I owe this pleasure?" The massive woman flinched a bit.

"I am Madame Phoenix." she growled.

"Not until the official name change goes through!" Nedzu pointed out. "Which does make me wonder why you chose that name in the first place, Endeavor." Another flinch. Oh, he did so enjoy messing with her. "But I digress, I feel that your name is not the reason you've come."

"My daughter, Shouko," Endeavor/Madame Phoenix explained, "has informed me there are three boys in her class."

"Indeed there are! All three boys made it into the hero course under their own merit! They are all quite impressive!" He took a quick sip of tea.

"Expel them." 

"Expel them?" Nedzu laughed after doing a spit-take at the hero's words. "On what grounds, Endeavor?"

"It should be obvious," the flame hero loomed over the principal. "They are boys. They are small. They are frail. They are weak. Boys could never become heroes, and you know it. Better to get rid of them before they bring the rest of their class down, or end up hurting themselves and costing you a lawsuit."

"I should have you know," Nedzu smiled, "that I am on first-name basis with over a dozen male heroes who would disagree with you sentiment. Several of whom actually have contingency plans in the event you turn to villainy, and none of them were a detriment to their classes. Why would these boys be any different?"

"I want them gone," Endeavor hissed. Nedzu's smile dropped.

"What you want," Nedzu calmly replied, "is not the concern of this school. As you are not a part of UA staff, you have no authority to demand the expulsion of any student without reasonable cause. So unless you have a reason other than 'they're boys,' they're staying." The chimera's smile returned. "Is there anything else?" Endeavor glared at him for a few more moments before standing up straight again.

"You're making a mistake." Not even waiting for a response, Endeavor stormed out the door. Nedzu gave a small sigh. As cliche as that parting line was, he knew Endeavor would likely try some other way of getting what she wanted. Well, too bad for her she couldn't do anything at the moment. 

"She may be the Number Two Hero," Nedzu told himeself, "but in the halls of UA she's powerless. This means she may try using some outside influence to screw things up." He took a calming sip of tea while glancing to one of the drawers in his desk. "Might need to actually dust that old thing off..."

***

The second day of the school year dawned bright and clear. Izuku and Katsuki were able to ride together this time, and took an earlier train to avoid any more incidents like what happened the previous day (which Izuku would never tell Katsuki no matter how much he asked). The two were currently on the final jog to the school gates, both in high spirits. 

"We finally get to show off today!" Katsuki cheered. "Oh man, I can't wait to see the looks on everyone's faces when they see what we can do. Oh wait, they can't see it."

"Not out here, Kacchan," Izuku warned. "Don't wanna give anyone an idea of anything."

"What anyone?" Katsuki smirked back at his friend. "We're the only ones on this stretch. Not like anyone can-" He looked back, past Izuku and scoffed. "Well, scratch that last sentence." Confused, Izuku looked back and saw three girls coming up the sidewalk behind them. He recognized two of them as their classmates Kyoka Jirou and Yaoyorozu Momo, but he didn't recognize the redhead walking next to them. All three were chatting among themselves.

"We should scoot to the side," Izuku stated. "They might not see us and-"

"Screw that," Katsuki kept walking. "If they stumble and trip on us, that's their fault." Fortunately, the girls didn't close enough to trip on the boys before spotting them and waving. Izuku waved back as the girls sauntered up.

"Nice meeting you out here," Jirou smirked. "Better than yesterday, huh, Midoriya?"

"Please don't remind me," Izuku blushed.

"Well, you can remind me," Katsuki turned toward Jirou. "What exactly happened?"

"Oh you haven't heard?" the redhead gave a snarky smile. 

"Kendou, please don't." a flustered Momo begged as she tried and failed to cover the redhead's mouth. Izuku was about to intervene but was stopped when Jirou stepped in front of him, almost hitting the side of his head with the chargepack she wore on her leg. He was about to ask her to move before she raised her hand, gesturing for his silence while the other girls and Katsuki wrestled behind her. For some reason, Jirou had a nervous expression on her face. Taking a breath, she slowly knelt in front of Izuku. She was still taller, but only barely.

"I, uh..." she started. "...I know I made a bit of a jab at your height yesterday. I meant it in good humor, but...I'm sorry if I offended you at all." It took a moment for Izuku to remember what she was talking about, and when he did he simply smiled and waved it off.

"Don't worry about it," he replied. "I knew you were just messing around. No harm done." There was a sudden guffaw from Katsuki behind them, and Izuku winced. "He's never gonna let me live it down now..."

After that, the group continued to school. The redhead introduced herself as Itsuka Kendou, of Class 1-B Hero Course and member of the Yaoyorozu-Jirou-Kendou communal family. Izuku was fascinated by her hand-enlarging quirk, but noted that Katsuki seemed somewhat interested in the communal family concept, considering the sheer number of questions he had been asking the taller girls. In return, the girls seemed confused why both boys were solo-children, considering they both also had fathers. Their conversation continued along these lines until they were just at the last corner before the UA gates. They noticed a handful of other students, including a few of their own classmates (Mina, Ochako and Tsuyu), huddled together just before the corner.

"What's going on?" Jirou asked. No one said anything, but Ochako just pointed around the corner. Izuku quietly walked past the girls (a few of whom went "ooh" when they saw him) and slowly peered around the corner.

"The gate is swarming with reporters. Looks like they managed to corner some students." He leaned forward a bit. "Think they're asking about us boys, but I can't tell."

"Well, crap," one of the other students grimaced. "If they see you runts they'll tear you apart. Don't suppose you can turn invisible?"

"We're quirkless, dingbat," Katsuki hissed. Izuku, meanwhile, was looking at the wall around campus, then to Ochako for a few seconds before turning to Itsuka. 

"Kendou, how large can you make your hands?"

***

"Please tell us," a journalist grilled the two students she had against the wall, "what is it like having boys for classmates?"

"I-I dunno," one of the students replied, "w-we don't have any in our class." At that admission, the journalists moved on to aggressively interview other students. They were so focused on the closest students they almost didn't see the group of girls trying to quietly reach the gate.

Almost.

One journalist saw them first, then the others descended like a pack of jackals, trying to get the students to say anything. The students, to their credit, were overall tight-lipped, especially the one holding their really big hands over her head. The questions were initially about the new male students, but eventually the journalists tried other things.

"What is it like being a student of UA?"

"What sort of subjects do the pro heroes teach?"

"How many of you are hero course students?"

"What's it like with boys being in the hero course for the first time in over five years?"

"We've heard there's over a dozen boys among the first-years. What do you think caused the drastic spike in boy admittance?"

These questions and more were still met by either silence or calm requests for passage. Most of the journalists pressed on, but one of them saw Kendou's large hands and got to thinking. Pushing past the others, the reporter held a microphone in front of Itsuka's face.

"What are you hiding in your hands?"

"Pardon?" Itsuka replied before flinching. She didn't mean to speak.

"Are you hiding something in your hands?"

"No, of course not!" Itsuka tried to push past to the gate, but the other journalists caught on and tried cornering the hero student.

"You have boys in there, don't you? Open your hands!"

"Ma'am, I assure you I don't!" Itsuka yelled as she and the other students tried pushing past the reporters. The scuffle lasted a few minutes, with a few reporters trying to physically pry her hands open. Just when it looked like they were about to succeed, there was a loud shout that stopped everyone. Both students and reporters slowly turned to the noise and saw Pro Hero Madam Mic standing inside the gates with the principal perched on her shoulder. The Principal cleared his throat.

"I am aware you all have questions, but I should remind you that it is quite illegal to physically accost my students the way you are. So unless you would like to lose your jobs, then-" He didn't finish his sentence before the reporters all scooted back, letting the students rush into the gate. One of the reporters tried to follow them in only for the gate to slam shut in front of her. The teachers and students could hear the scream of frustration from outside, and sighed with relief they were finally inside.

"Miss Kendou," Nedzu said as he climbed down Mics' leg, "could you please open your hands now?" The student nodded and lowered her hands before slowly opening them. Inside her grasp, to Nedzu's surprise, was Tsuyu. The frog student was curled in a fetal position and looking at the principal.

"Sorry, sir, crowds make me nervous," she flatly admitted, like she was reading from a script. Nedzu looked at her in confusion for a brief moment before turning around and looking further into campus...a smile gradually forming.

"Cunning kids."

***

There was a collective sigh of relief from Izuku, Katsuki, and Ochako. The tall girl had a boy under each arm, carrying them like duffel bags as she hopped down from the tree they had landed in. She quickly set them down as she took a breath to stave off the oncoming nausea.

"Shit, that was close," Katsuki groaned.

"We are SO lucky the reporters seem to have the same problem as Hylian guards from Zelda," Izuku nodded before smiling up to Ochako. "Thanks for helping us out there."

"Not a problem," she gave a queasy smile.

Izuku's plan had been fairly simple. Ochako would negate her own gravity along with his and Katsuki's and wait for the other girls to get the reporter's attention. Kendou would make it look like she was holding the boys and, with all focus on her, Ochako would give a jump and fly over the school gates. She then negated her quirk while they were in a tree so that they wouldn't fall too far when gravity took over again. 

"Seriously, though," Katsuki groaned more, "why were they so obsessed? We're just guys."

"You heard that one with the fish tail," Izuku replied while giving Ochako a small water bottle. "Apparently us and Mashirao are the first boys to make it into the hero course in a long time. On top of that, it seems a lot more boys got into UA this year than usual. Some folks think that's interesting."

"No, Lady Might being a teacher would be interesting," Katsuki pointed. "Us getting into school shouldn't be as big of a deal. I mean-"

Seclusion

Katsuki stopped and looked away, towards one of the gym buildings. Izuku noticed his sudden cut and turned to ask what that was about.

Isolation

Now Izuku turned towards the gym. He stared for a bit. He didn't see anything over there, but...

"Izuku?" Ochako asked, confused at the boy's sudden silence.

"You felt that, right?" Katsuki asked. 

"Yeah," Izuku affirmed. "Ochako, you go on ahead, there's something Kacchan and I need to check out." Neither boy waited for Ochako's response, instead jogging off towards the gym building. Towards the random feeling they both got. They were on school grounds, so they didn't feel the need for worry. There were other students scattered around, but none of them paid attention to the two boys. The spirits kept pace with the boys, moving as silent as they always had. As they neared the gym building, that random feeling got stronger. It was a chilly feeling, like stepping outside in autumn with a thin coat, but it itched the back of their heads at the same time. Neither boy could recall feeling this before.

"Think it's something to do with a quirk?" Katsuki asked as they reached the building.

"Possibly," Izuku responded. "...Wait...behind the building." Katsuki nodded and the two quickly walked around to the other side of the gym. As they turned the last corner, they were met with another unexpected sight, but one more pleasant than a horde of reporters. Seated at the base of a tree, reading from a small book, was a boy with messy purple hair. He hadn't noticed their arrival. 

"I don't recognize him," Katsuki stated.

"Must be in a different course," Izuku stated before moving closer. "Hello there! How are you? My name's Mido...ri..." he stopped speaking a few meters from the new kid. He and Katsuki were dead silent as they stared at him. They didn't look directly at him, though. If they did, they would have noticed this boy wasn't quite looking at them, either.

Their focus was completely on the muscular, bird-headed man that floated by the boy's shoulder.

Chapter Text

"HOLY FUCK YOU HAVE ONE TOO!?" Katsuki screamed while pointing at the new boy's spirit.

"I never thought we'd see another one!" Izuku hollered as he whipped out his notebook. "Would it be okay if we asked you a few questions?"

"Who are you and why do you have those things too?" the other boy asked incredulously. There was a brief silence before the two boys started laughing. 

"Sorry about that," Izuku started. "We just didn't expect to, well, see another spirit here. I'm Midoriya Izuku, he's Kacha-er-Bakugou Katsuki. What's your name? And your spirit's name?"

"Hitoshi Shinsou," the new kid replied before gesturing to his spirit. "This is Ivory Quill." His spirit stood still as Izuku made a quick sketch of it. 

Hitoshi's spirit was pretty tall, taller than Cobalt Star, and really muscular. It was shirtless, but wore baggy white pants similar to most depictions of a djinni. Even with crossed arms Izuku could see the gold or bronze bangles around its wrists. Coming from its back was a pair of simple white wings, no fancy coloring patterns anywhere. Izuku, however, wasn't sure which was weirder, the fact this spirit had the head of a rooster or that said rooster head had long silky gold hair. It honestly reminded him of those shirtless men from those weird romance novels Kacchan and his moms would read on occasion. 

"Fascinating," Izuku beamed. "My spirit is Cobalt Star. He's got super strength, like Lady Might."

"And mine's Ember Fang," Katsuki nodded. "He makes things explode. Can yours do anything?"

"Nuh uh," Hitoshi pointed, "I've been answering your questions this whole time, now answer one of mine. How the heck do you have those? I thought I was the only one."

"We..." Katsuki started, "...we dunno. They just kinda appeared when we were four." Hitoshi kept pointing for a few moments before sighing and lowering his hand.

"Figures," he drooped. "First time I see other guys with ghosts like mine, and you don't know where they came from either. Least you aren't freaking out about my guy with his bird head."

"You kidding?" Katsuki grinned. "I've got a literal hellhound the size of a horse following me and Dekiru here's got a suit of Phantom Armor followin' him around. Why on Earth would we be weirded out by your Six-Pack Chicken McSchwarzenegger?" 

There was about five seconds of silence before Izuku turned to Katsuki and asked "How long did it take you to think up that joke?"

"One minute, tops." Before anyone could say anything else, the loud booming of the school bell hit their ears. "FUCK, WE'RE GONNA BE LATE!"

"You're right!" Izuku whined before turning back to Hitoshi. "Um, would it be okay if we talked more after school? I got SO many more questions!"

"...Sure?"

"Awesome!" the green-haired boy cheered. "We'll meet by the gates! See you later, Shinsou!" With that, the two Hero Course boys ran back towards the main building, leaving Hitoshi alone with his spirit.

"...This school is weird, Ivory."

***

Katsuki gave a sigh of relief as he climbed up his desk. "Thought we were gonna be late."

"No kidding," Izuku groaned, laying on his desk. "I'm pretty sure we just beat a few Olympic records."

"How were you almost late if you got on school grounds before the rest of us did?" Momo asked.

"We were investigating something," he mumbled. That was as much as he willing to say at the moment, and was thankful when Aizawa came in to go over their class schedule. It was fairly short, only which teachers would teach which subjects, though she left out who would be teaching their Heroics class that afternoon. When she finished, she gave the students some free time until the next class. As the students talked among themselves, Aizawa pulled out her phone to read something. Izuku, still winded from his earlier run, watched Aizawa with interest. What was on her phone that made her look so-

His vision turned milky, like a dream sequence from a movie. After a few moments it cleared enough for him to see he was suddenly looking over Aizawa's shoulder. Wait. When did he get here? How was he standing so high off the ground? He couldn't look around, his vision squarely on Aizawa's phone. It seemed to be a message from Nedzu.

'Be sure to have Bakugou and Midoriya paired together for the hero exercise, and pay attention to their actions. It is likely they have developed individual techniques using their-'

"Dekiru," Katsuki said as he shook Izuku's shoulders. Izuku looked around. He was back at his desk, and Cobalt was by his side. "What the hell was that? You just kinda got stiff and...your guy hovered by Aizawa's shoulder for a minute." Izuku slowly looked at Katsuki with a look of bewilderment.

"I...I don't know..." he finally muttered in reply. "I just...kinda...I was looking over Aizawa's shoulder..."

"But you didn't move," Katsuki kept whispering. 

"I think..." Izuku hypothesized, "...I think I was looking through Cobalt's eyes. Or rather, their version of eyes. I read part of the message on her phone. Something about pairing us up for the exercise this afternoon."

"...Dude..." Katsuki almost looked like he had stars in his eyes. "If that's true, your spirit is even cooler than before. Most I've learned is how to ride Ember...kinda..."

"Still cool," Izuku whispered. Honestly, between meeting Hitoshi and somehow doing something new with Cobalt, Izuku felt like this day couldn't get any better.

***
Iida Tenten was conflicted. She knew that if she waited long enough, she would learn how Midoriya and Bakugou made it into the Hero Course. She'd waited it out on longer matters before. After all, some of her former classmates in Somei had joked that 'patience' was her personal virtue.

However, this enigma was slowly eroding said virtue.

She had been watching Midoriya Izuku and Bakugou Katsuki the entire day, eager to figure out their secret. She watched them in Cementess' Literature class, noting Katsuki had some issues with dating older books. She was mildly impressed with their grasp of English in Madam Mic's class, but only mildly. They were above average in Ectoplasm's math class, but only by a small margin. Tenten was a bit worried about how Midnight would react to them in Art History, but was surprised to see that somehow Midnight knew them on a personal level. Other than that, their performance was barely better than mediocre. So how did they make it into the Heroics Course? Tenten was not one to accuse people of dishonesty, but she was beginning to think they must have done something illicit to get in.

As soon as she thought this, however, she took a breath to calm down. She was Iida Tenten, Ninth Bearer of One For All, and it is not heroic to believe one's classmates were being deceitful. She needed to simmer down and think of other possibilities. Perhaps lunch would calm her nerves.

She entered the cafeteria with the rest of her class, eager for lunch after the morning lessons. There was also quite a bit of excitement, as they knew they would have their first actual Heroics class afterwards. She could also hear Midoriya's excitement from seeing Lunch Rush. Honestly, his fanboy nature was, dare she say it, somewhat cute. As she purchased her food, a thought occurred to Iida, and she mentally kicked herself for not thinking it sooner. Why not just ask the boys?

"Excuse me," she caught Izuku's attention, "would I be permitted to sit with you?"

"Oh, sure," Izuku smiled (gods that was a cute smile) as he and Katsuki walked to a nearby table. Iida noticed that a few other classmates, namely Uraraka and Yaoyorozu, had also joined them. As they took their seats, Iida turned to ask her question, but stopped when she saw both boys and Uraraka were staring straight ahead. All three had their chopsticks in their mouths and stars in their eyes.



"Is something the matter?" Tenten asked. 

"Kacchan," Izuku turned to his bestie, "...i-is this...?" Katsuki took another bite of his food, his eyes only widening as he looked down at his dish.

"Th-this food is natural," Ochako gasped. "I-I don't taste any synthetic stuff."

Ah, that made sense. Iida remembered hearing about how, due to the sudden growth spurt of women, natural foods became a bit of a luxury. While it was fortunate that scientists worldwide had figured out a way to make produce grow bigger and more abundantly, the majority of modern society subsisted off food grown in "meat labs" which, while still nutritious, had a different taste compared to natural foods. In that way, Iida considered herself fortunate to have had natural foods periodically while growing up. Seeing the looks on their three faces as they dug into their meals made it clear they didn't have that luxury. Meanwhile, a sidelong glance to Yaoyorozu (with her look of confusion) made Tenten wonder if her fellow classmate had ever had synthetic food. 

Tenten waited for the boys to finish their meal before clearing her throat. "Midoriya, Bakugou, may I ask a bit of a personal question?"

"Depends on the question," Bakugou responded.

"I apologize if I sound rude," Tenten stated, "but how exactly did you two make it into the Hero Course? Did you use some trick to beat the entrance exam?" Ochako and Momo gasped the bluntness of her question, but Izuku and Katsuki responded with a big smile.

"You'll see later today," Izuku beamed. Feeling like she was on the receiving end of a cop-out, Tenten opened her mouth to inquire further before another voice cut into their conversation.

"Pardon me," a voice that oozed with condescension stated from behind Tenten, "did I hear you say something about boys in the Hero Course?" Everyone turned to look at the source of the voice. It came from a girl with short yellow hair and a sneer so pretentious everyone who saw it had to hold back the urge to punch it. 

"Yup," Izuku nodded. "My friend and I are in Class 1-A. Who might you be?"

"Class 1-A? Really?" The snotty person laughed. "Wow, the standards of Class 1-A must be abysmal if they let boys into it. What, are you boys mascots or something?" The snotty person just kept laughing after this, not noticing that Kendou was coming up behind her, her enlarged hand at the ready. Before she could karate-chop the cackling blonde a small explosion erupted point-blank in front of her face. It wasn't large, but it had enough force to send the jerk backwards, like someone punched her in the face. She hit the ground with enough force to lose consciousness, leaving everyone in that part of the cafeteria staring in shock.

"...W-what was that?" Kendou asked as her hand shrunk back to normal.

"It looked like a midair explosion," Tenten pointed out.

"I dunno what happened," Katsuki casually stated as he looked around the room. "Somebody's throwin' stuff." Most everyone slowly returned to eating after that, though the question of what happened hung in the air. Some other girls, identifying themselves as members from Class 1-B, came and hauled the singed blonde away. A few of them giggled at the sight of the boys, but otherwise left them alone. Izuku watched as the girls hauled their jerk of a classmate away and chatted among themsel-

Suddenly Izuku's vision shot forward and hovered behind one of the girls. He wasn't quite over their shoulder, but he was close enough to hear what they were saying to their companions.

"Why is Class A so lucky? They got two cuties in their class!"

"Three," another one pointed out. "That boy with the tail you were ogling at earlier? He's there too."

"Three boys! Three in Class A, and more in the other courses!" The first girl groaned as she asked "What did we do to get cursed with Monoma instead of-"

There was a snap in the back of Izuku's mind as he came back. Looking around the room and seeing Cobalt hovering back to their position next to Izuku, he was now certain that he was somehow using Cobalt to eavesdrop. This put a whole new twist on what he could do. Maybe if he actually tried focusing he could do more, and for longer? He definitely needed to practice this.

During this, however, Ochako seemed fixated on the spot of open air the explosion from earlier occurred.

***

Class 1-A was abuzz with excitement. Fresh from lunch, they had returned to their homeroom ready for their first actual Hero class. They had no idea what they were gonna be doing, but as Aizawa said when they returned from lunch, none of them had to fear expulsion unless they did something really stupid.

"I wonder who our teacher is gonna be?" Sato brought up. "I heard an upperclassman say the previous Heroics teacher retired and we got a new one this year."

"I'm hoping it's Hero Thirteen," Uraraka replied. 

"No way," Jiro smirked, "I bet it'll be someone like the Rabbit Hero, Miruko."

"I'm hoping it'll be Mt Lady," Mineta Shinobu drooled.

"Oh gods, I hope not," Katsuki growled. "I really don't want my cousin for a fucking teacher."

"WAIT, YOUR WHAT!?" half the class exclaimed.

"Settle down," Aizawa groaned from her sleeping bag. "Your teacher is running a little late, but they'll be here soon."

"I AM..."

The instant those two words were heard, everyone in class gaped at the door.

"COMING THROUGH THE DOOR LIKE A NORMAL PERSON!" Lady Might announced as she leaned through the doorway.

"Oh my god, it's Lady Might!" Kirishima cheered. 

"Is that her Silver Age outfit?" Kaminari asked. "So retro!" Everyone in the class was cheering and excited over this reveal, except for Izuku and Ochako, who both turned to look at the dumbfounded Katsuki.

"So, Kacchan," Izuku stated, "about that thing you said this morning..." 

"Shut it," Katsuki growled while looking out the window. "I didn't know." Ignoring the boy's muttered conversation, Lady Might smiled at the class.

"IT IS GOOD TO SEE THE NEXT GENERATION OF HEROES IS SO EXCITABLE," she laughed. "BEFORE WE BEGIN, THOUGH, YOUR HERO COSTUMES ARE READY FOR PICKUP! GRAB THEM, GET CHANGED AND MEET ME AT GROUND BETA FOR YOUR FIRST HERO TRIAL!" As the students all rushed out to grab their hero suits, Aizawa got up and stood next to Lady Might.

"You got the message from Nedzu about those two boys, right?"

"OF COURSE. I WILL MAKE SURE THEY ARE ON THE SAME TEAM. I AM QUITE EAGER TO SEE HOW THEY'VE IMPROVED."

***
In a matter of minutes, everyone had grabbed their outfits and changed before heading to Ground Beta. The three boys of Class 1-A were surprised to see a dedicated changing room for men, and even more surprised to see it was spotlessly clean. Izuku kind of wondered if they had to hire male custodians to clean it.

Izuku's outfit was clearly inspired by Cobalt Star, being a suit of green and blue armor made from ceramic plates. Unlike a traditional suit of armor, however, his greaves and gauntlets had small boosters in them that increased mobility and striking power. It also had a dark blue cape that could block blades and was fire resistant. Instead of a helmet, he wore a blue cap with a gold buckle on it. 

Katsuki's outfit also took inspiration from his spirit, but from a clearly different angle than Izuku. He wore a spiky black and red jumpsuit, also with a cape connected to polished shoulder pauldrons. He didn't have anything in the way of headgear beyond a black and orange domino mask. Overall, his outfit had a very hellish appearance.

"Ooh!" Ochako looked down at Izuku and Katsuki with starry eyes. "You two have amazing costumes!" Izuku gave a nervous chuckle while Katsuki gave his signature toothy grin.

"Yours ain't too shabby either, Round Face!"

Ochako gave a giggle as she gave a cutesy pose. Her hero outfit had a clear space theme to it. Her torso, shins and forearms were clad in thick white components that looked like an astronaut suit while her arms and legs were in dark blue and covered with a stars-n-galaxies pattern. Her helmet was similar to an astronaut helmet as well, with a vague blue tint. Unlike the boys, however, she didn't wear a cape.

"You like it?" she asked. "This was actually my backup idea. My first idea was a bit simpler, but when the Support Course made it for me, they made it skintight and it was sooo embarrassing. I'm glad I took a friend's advice and had two ideas in mind." 

"SIMMER DOWN, EVERYONE!" Lady Might called out from her position in front of a large screen, and between two large boxes marked 'hero' and 'villain.' "TODAY, YOU WILL BE PRACTICING INDOOR COMBAT TRAINING! WHILE A LOT OF VILLAIN CLEANUP IS OUT IN THE OPEN, SOME OF THE SMARTEST VILLAINS WORK INDOORS WHERE BIGGER FLASHIER QUIRKS MIGHT BE AT A DISADVANTAGE! KIDNAPPINGS, BREAK-INS, THE BLACK MARKET POMERANIAN TRADE, ALL THESE AND MORE OCCUR IN THE SHADOWS! AS SUCH, YOU WILL BE REQUIRED TO PRACTICE INDOOR COMBAT JUST AS MUCH AS OUTDOOR!"

"Will this be a solo exercise?" Momo asked.

"How do we determine the victor?" Tenten asked while chopping the air with her arm.

"Will there be a penalty for collateral damage?" Sato queried.

"Doesn't my cape look fabulous~?" Aoyama asked as she twirled through the air behind everyone.

Lady Might just laughed. "PLEASE, PLEASE, ALL YOUR QUESTIONS WILL BE ANSWERED!" She rummaged through a pack on her hip for a few moments before pulling out a sheet of paper, which Izuku and Katsuki realized was a script. "AHEM. FOR TODAY'S TRAINING, A PAIR OF VILLAINS HAVE A NUCLEAR DEVICE SOMEWHERE IN THIS BUILDING! A PAIR OF HEROES WILL THEN HAVE TO INFILTRATE THE STRUCTURE AND STOP THEIR NEFARIOUS PLANS BEFORE TIME EXPIRES! THEY CAN ACCOMPLISH THIS BY EITHER DETAINING BOTH VILLAINS, OR DEFUSING THE BOMB BY MAKING PHYSICAL CONTACT! THE VILLAIN TEAM WILL BE VICTORIOUS IF THEY KEEP THE HEROES AWAY FROM THE BOMB UNTIL TIME EXPIRES, OR IF THEY MANAGE TO CAPTURE THE HEROES! THE MATCH WILL BE CALLED A DRAW IF THE BOMB RECEIVES DAMAGE! EACH SESSION WILL LAST UP TO FIFTEEN MINUTES, AND USE A DIFFERENT STRUCTURE EACH TIME IN EVENT OF COLLATERAL DAMAGE! AS FOR YOUR TEAMS, THEY HAVE BEEN CHOSEN AHEAD OF TIME BY RANDOM LOTTERY!"

"Random lottery?" Tenten seemed shocked. "Would it not be better to have us paired up by compatibility?"

"It's difficult to prepare for unexpected situations," Izuku pointed out. "and be it due to travel or circumstances, pro heroes do have to create makeshift teams on the spot a lot. It's not unusual for us to practice a similar thing."

"Ah," Tenten looked down at Izuku with a slightly embarrassed look, "my apologies."

"1000 yen says Dekiru and I are paired up," Katsuki grinned before squealing from being prodded by Jirou's earlobe. "Gah, you bitch!"

"No gambling," she deadpanned. After Jirou said this, the screen behind Lady Might lit up, showing everyone's teams.

A - Yaoyorozu Momo & Uraraka Ochako
B - Todoroki Shouko & Shoji Maya
C - Midoriya Izuku & Bakugou Katsuki
D - Sato Kiki & Mineta Shinobu
E - Kirishima Fujiko & Tokoyami Fumikage
F - Sero Hinata & Aoyama Yuna
G - Ojiro Mashirao & Hagakure Tooru
H - Kaminari Genkai & Koda Komi
I - Iida Tenten & Asui Tsuyu
J - Kyoka Jirou & Ashido Mina

Everyone read the board in silence. Some of them were glad with the people they were paired with, and all were glad they didn't take up Katsuki's bet. Katsuki grumbled at his lost opportunity, and Izuku noted the other teams intensely. Any one of them would be his opponent, so he and Katsuki had to be ready.

"NOW THAT YOU KNOW YOUR TEAMS," Lady Might said as she thrust her hands into the boxes to her sides, "IT IS NOW TIME TO DETERMINE WHO WILL BE THE VILLAINS AND WHO WILL BE THE HEROES! EACH GROUP WILL HAVE FIVE MINUTES OF PREP TIME, SO SPEND IT WISELY! AND REMEMBER, THIS IS A LIFE OR DEATH SITUATION! WORK YOUR HARDEST, AND USE YOUR ABILITIES TO THE FULLEST!" Izuku and Katsuki caught the hidden meaning behind this last phrase, and gave Lady Might a knowing nod. Lady Might yanked her hands out of the boxes, holding a ball in each one.

"THESE ARE THE FIRST TEAMS TO COMPETE!"

Chapter Text

Everyone looked at the balls in Lady Might's hands. In her right hand, from the 'hero' box, was a green bball ox with a big 'B' on it. In her other hand, from the 'villain' box, was a white ball emblazoned with the letter "G." 

"THESE ARE THE FIRST TEAMS TO COMPETE!" Lady Might announced. "TEAM B, TODOROKI AND SHOJI WILL BE THE HEROES! TEAM G, OJIRO AND HAGAKURE WILL BE THE VILLAINS! GO GET READY, YOU HAVE FIVE MINUTES TO PLAN AND PREPARE! EVERYONE ELSE, TO THE OBSERVATION ROOM!" Everyone except the aforementioned teams followed the pro hero, chatting among themselves.

"Bit of a rough matchup, huh?" Sato asked Sero.

"Todoroki's got ice," Sero replied, "but Hagakure's invisible. Kinda hard to freeze what can't be seen, right?"

"She's invisible, not intangible," Izuku piped up. 

Lady Might smiled as the students talked together. It was only the second day, but she could see the buds of camaraderie growing among them. She was glad to be among those to help them along.

***

Mashirao and Tooru stood in the room with the bomb. Tooru was removing her gloves and boots while Mashirao looked at the huge bomb in the corner. He gave it a few taps and chuckled.

"Paper-mache," he stated. "Could almost lift this thing myself."

"Almost," Tooru teased as she pat his head. "I'll scout out the heroes and try to hold em off. You stay here and protect the bomb." Mashirao turned to reply, but stopped and blushed a bit.

"Hagakure," he asked, "y-you're wearing one of those Invisi-suits the Support Course spoke about, right?"

"Maaaybe~," the tall girl giggled. "You can touch me and find out~." This caused Mashirao to blush even more, eliciting some laughter from Tooru as she ran off. "Stay safe, Oji-chan!"

"Th-that nickname hasn't been funny since elementary school!" Mashirao called to his companion. Not getting a response, he sighed and hopped on top of the bomb. He and his companion made their plan. Now he could only wait.

"STUDENTS!" Lady Might called over the PA, "LET THE TEST COMMENCE!"

***

Shouko Todoroki and Shoji Maya stepped into the building. Shoji immediately unfurled her tendrils and reshaped the tips into ears. Todoroki waited as Shoji listened for a few moments before reshaping a tendril into a mouth and whispered to Todoroki.

"One of them is one floor above us and moving quietly in our direction. I hear the other one on the third floor, remaining stationary. Highly likely the bomb's there."

"Right," Shouko stepped forward. "Let me handle this." With another step, she sent out a sheet of ice through the hallway...and up the walls. Shoji watched in awe as Todoroki seemed to encase the building in ice, save for where Shoji stood. 

"I will capture the bomb. You wait here." Shouko then walked into the building, leaving her companion in stunned silence. She walked calmly, not in any real hurry. Ascending to the second floor, she continued her walk until she came upon a spot in the ice with two out-of-place holes. "Hagakure?"

"Th-th-that's ch-ch-cheating," the invisible girl whined, shivering in place. Shouko simply shrugged in response and continued past Hagakure. Going up one more floor, she saw the bomb from down the hall. The door was wide enough she could see most of the room from the stairs, but couldn't see Mashirao anywhere. Either he moved, or was caught in a corner. 

"It was a bad match up," Shouko sighed as she approached the room. "I don't like fighting boys. They're too-"

WHAM!

The moment Shouko stepped into the room, Mashirao appeared right next to her head and batted her away with his tail. She stumbled back from both shock and physical contact, giving Ojiro time to land and leap back up, smacking Todoroki again with his tail. This time Shouko recovered enough to send some ice at Ojiro. Instead of being trapped, however, the small boy rode the ice back into the room. He jumped as the ice finished moving, and the resulting slide was the only thing that kept Ojiro's face away from Shouko's foot. Before he even stopped sliding, Mashirao slammed his tail down and ricocheted at Todoroki's face again. 

***

"Y-you're all seeing this, right?" Sero asked. "This isn't some weird hallucination?"

"Ojiro is kicking Todoroki's butt!" Kirishima exclaimed. "How is that even possible!?"

"YOU SHOULD NOT DOUBT NOR UNDERESTIMATE ANYONE!" Lady Might replied with a big smile. "YOU NEVER KNOW WHEN THEY MIGHT HAVE HIDDEN TRICKS!" 

Izuku and the class continued watching the fight, seeing Ojiro repeatedly leap through the air to strike Shouko. Despite his comparatively-small stature, the force of his blows kept pushing his opponent back. It looked like Shouko could barely counter him, only landing the occasional blow. Anytime she tried summoning ice she barely managed more than a small handful before being struck again. Izuku gasped when he made the realization.

"It's her ice!" he yelled. "Todoroki's ice needs room to grow, and she doesn't have the time nor space she needs with Ojiro attacking her much as he is!"

"But he's getting tired," Katsuki grimaced. "Look, he's slowing down." Class A looked and noticed that, indeed, Ojiro was slowing down. His face was sweating and twisted into an exhausted scowl. "It's like Aizawa said. Jumping and fighting like that can tire you out, but Ojiro can't catch his breath or else the icy bitch'll freeze him. He needs to finish this soon."

"He just might," Momo pointed at the screen. "Look!"

***

Shouko gave a quiet grunt of pain as she fell to her knee. Before she could recover, Ojiro gave an uppercut with his tail, sending her sprawling on her back. Mashirao's beatdown did a number on her. She honestly felt like she had been sparring with a small Endeavor, minus the fire. Lifting her head, she saw Ojiro push his arm into a nearby box. He pulled out a roll of capture tape, but staggered from the weight of it. The two seconds he stumbled gave Todoroki the time she needed. 

Pushing her hand to the floor, Shouko sent a wave of ice as fast as she could at Ojiro. Unlike before when he rode the ice, the boy couldn't jump in time and was caught in it. The ice wrapped around him and lifted him off the ground, almost eye-level with Shouko's standing height. He struggled, but Mashirao was caught fast. He was beaten. 

"Todoroki," Shouko heard Shoji through her earpiece, "are you alright? You've been gone a while."

"I am fine," Shouko sighed as she got to her feet. "It took a bit longer than anticipated, but I have succeeded. Stay down there." Shouko rubbed her head and calmly walked past Ojiro to the bomb. Looking it over to make sure it wasn't damaged, she raised her hand and gently touched the bomb.

"TODOROKI SHOUKO HAS SECURED THE BOMB!" Lady Might's voice boomed over the PA. "HERO TEAM WINS!" As the declaration finished, Shouko turned and walked to the still-frozen Ojiro. She looked down at him calmly, he looked up at her with chattering teeth.

"Are you damaged?" Shouko asked with a hint of concern in her voice. Rather than voice his reply, Ojiro just shook his head and Shouko gave a quiet sigh. "That is good. Be still." She held her left hand to the ice next to Ojiro. The ice slowly melted around her hand, making a small hole next to Ojiro. The boy watched in awe as Shouko pushed her arm around his back, then gradually expanded the heat. As the ice melted, Shouko slowly and delicately lowered Ojiro to the ground. After pulling her arm from under him, Shouko set her palm to the floor and melted the rest of the ice throughout the building. Ojiro was in shock at the sudden change of temperature. 

"You did fair," Shouko admitted as she stood back up, "but next time stay with your partner. She will keep you safe." Then she turned and left the room. 

***

Everyone in the Observation room stared in awe. They were less surprised at the result, and more surprised at how Shouko dealt with the ice. Other than Lady Might, none of them knew Todoroki could control fire too. Izuku had a quick mumble moment as he recorded this in his notebook. After a minute, the students from the trial came back in.

"GOOD JOB STUDENTS!" Lady Might cheered. "YOU ALL DID VERY WELL THERE! NOW, WHO HERE CAN TELL ME WHO THE MVP WAS FOR THAT TRIAL!?"

"Clearly Todoroki," Momo piped up. "Her initial freeze was a good way to capture any villains in the building, and minimized collateral damage. She may have had some trouble with Ojiro, but she was able to outlast him."

"I disagree," Izuku raised his hand. "I think Ojiro was the MVP for this fight. And before anyone interrupts," he turned to the few students who raised their hands to speak up, "I'm not just saying this because I'm a boy."

"You see," he continued, "I say Ojiro was the MVP because he almost won. He dodged the initial trap and managed to keep Todoroki away from the bomb. He may not have known it, but Todoroki must not have been trained in using her ice for close combat and could barely keep up with Ojiro's attacks. Meanwhile, Ojiro had the disadvantage of fighting someone literally twice his size, and had to resort to using a very jumpy fighting style. At the end there he actually had her on the floor and was about to win. However, it was clear he was exhausted from the fight and had trouble with the weight of the capture tape. That moment of struggling might have been all Todoroki needed to turn the fight around at that point, but if it didn't happen she would have lost. Overall, he had a laundry list of disadvantages, and still only lost due to exhaustion."

Everyone was paying rapt attention to the diminutive green-head as Izuku continued, "On the other hand, I feel Todoroki's initial freeze was reckless. She might have known which floor the bomb was on, and which room, but not necessarily the placement of the bomb. If the bomb had been any closer to the door, her ice would have caught it too. If this were a real situation and the bomb was rigged with a temperature sensor, a sudden cold snap like that could have detonated it. Secondly, Todoroki went in alone. In a real bomb situation, you do not go in alone, no matter how strong you think you are. While Shoji is partially to blame by not going in on their own, Todoroki also could have called for help when Ojiro stalled her. Lastly, it looks like Todoroki can control both ice and heat, possibly to the point of summoning fire. Due to the nature of fire, I believe she would have won that fight had she used it, and in not using it she demonstrated she was not taking this trial seriously. To quote my best friend here, 'you can't half-ass hero work,' and it really seemed like that was exactly what Todoroki was doing." 

The entire class stared in silence at his words, some of them absolutely slack-jawed. Todoroki herself was just giving Izuku a glare just as cold as her quirk. Izuku noticed their stares, got self-conscious and was about to mutter an apology before Lady Might gave a raucous laugh.

"AN AMAZING OBSERVATION!" she declared. "I NEVER WOULD HAVE LOOKED AT THEIR PERFORMANCE THAT WAY WITHOUT YOUR INPUT! I MUST SAY I AGREE WITH YOUR WORDS MIDORIYA! BRAVO!" The other students (sans Todoroki) stated their agreement after this, a few patting Izuku on the head. Katsuki just smiled next to his friend, never doubting his insight even once. After a minute, Lady Might cleared her throat.

"NOW WE MUST MOVE ON TO THE NEXT TRIAL!"

***

The following trials were a bit calmer compared to the first one, but no less interesting and full of clever quirk displays. The second trial had Kirishima and Tokoyami play heroes against the villain team of Sero and Aoyama. Izuku was amazed by Sero's clever use of laying tape traps to funnel both heroes into a single hall and thus vulnerable to Aoyama's navel laser. To everyone's surprise, Kirishima tanked the blast, and Tokoyami sent her quirk (which really reminded the boys of their spirits) out to strike both villains and send them falling into one of Sero's own traps. The MVP for that match was harder to decide, with Momo and Izuku comparing viewpoints until they both agreed that Kirishima's durability won the vote. After this it was agreed that it would be these two who would help decide the MVP of each match.

The match after that had Mina and Jirou infiltrate the building while Sato and Mineta defended the bomb. Mineta had cleverly laid her sticky spheres at random points throughout the building, but these were easily thwarted by Mina's acid. It looked like they had the advantage until Sato's super strength was added in. Between Sato's quirk and Mineta's balls, the hero team failed to secure the bomb within the time limit. Despite their loss, both Momo and Izuku agreed that Mina was the MVP due to her effectively neutralizing Mineta's greatest strength.

The fourth match had Momo and Ochako on the villain team while Kaminari and Koda were the heroes. Momo's plan had most of the doors barricaded with metal plates, funneling the heroes into a single hallway similar to the second match. Unlike the second match, however, the villain team waited for the heroes to enter the bomb room through the only open door before Ochako negated her quirk, dropping a heavy rubber cage on Kaminari. While the electric-quirk user disabled herself trying to shoot electricity out the cage, Ochako dashed forward and patted Koda's arm, negating her gravity and pushing her to the ceiling. When it came time to determine the MVP, Momo had to sit out due to her involvement in the trial, and was treated to seeing Midoriya and Bakugou debating who the MVP should be. Izuku believed it should have been Momo due to her barricading the doors and creating the cage that disabled Kaminari, while Bakugou argued it was Uraraka due to their entire plan hinging on her quirk. In the end, Lady Might declared that the MVP was Uraraka, agreeing with Bakugou's words. 

***

"SIMMER DOWN, SIMMER DOWN!" Lady Might laughed as Katsuki cheered and whooped at beating Izuku at something. "NOW, IT'S TIME FOR THE FINAL MATCH, AND-"

"Excuse me!" Izuku raised his hand. "Before you continue, I have to ask. Why was this trial rigged for Kacchan and I to go last?" Everyone turned to Izuku with shocked expressions. Where did that accusation come from? Even Lady Might seemed caught off-guard by that sudden question.

"ERR, WHAT DO YOU MEAN, YOUNG MAN?"

"These trials," Izuku explained. "I know the lineup was mostly randomized due to the balls in the boxes, but I've noticed a distinct difference in sounds between the two boxes. With the previous trial, even with you taking your time shuffling the balls around for dramatic effect, it's pretty obvious that the Hero box had only one ball left in it while the Villain box had two. And since that remaining Hero ball was for Kaminari's team, that clearly meant that this trial was rigged to make sure that Kacchan and I would be last, and on the Hero team. Why is that?" Lady Might hesitated in answering, and during that pause the other students whispered among themselves. None of them had noticed the difference Izuku was referencing, but Lady Might's reaction could only mean he was right. What was going on here?

"If you were really that smart, you'd know the reason by now." 

Everyone, even Lady Might, was surprised to see Aizawa in the doorway to the Observation room. She looked as tired as she did the day before, complete with the juice box in her hand. Met with silence from the class, she drained said box before tossing into the nearby recycle can before walking to stand next to Lady Might.

"The reason it was set up this way," she finally explained, "is because of what you two can do. If you had your trials any earlier, the students following you wouldn't be able to focus on their own tests. By placing you last, we made sure everyone did their best before likely freaking out over what you can do."

"What can they do?" Iida asked, hooked on the information she had just been given. "The way you're speaking seems to infer they-" Aizawa interrupted Iida with her creepy smile.

"You'll just have to fight them and find out, Iida." Turning to the rest of the class, she stated, "Before anyone else asks, what you are about to see must be kept within these walls. Orders from the Principal. You'll be told more at the conclusion of the trial. Asui and Iida are the villains here. Go get ready."

***

Izuku and Katsuki stood outside the four-story building, flanked by their spirits. The outside looked plain, and the windows seemed to lack any sort of glass. The entrance was a set of double-doors that looked like solid and heavy wood. Katsuki scoffed.

"It'd take ten minutes just to find the bomb. How are we supposed to find and secure it within fifteen?"

"I dunno," Izuku sighed. "I believe the bomb is on the top floor, since that's the floor that'd be the hardest for us to reach quickly."

"Wish we could make sure before going in," Katsuki sighed. He turned to Izuku to say something else before seeing the look of realization on his face. "What?"

"We can!" Izuku exclaimed. "Kacchan, please be quiet a minute, I'm gonna try something." Taking a breath, Izuku lowered his head and covered his eyes with his hand. Watching Izuku take slow deep breaths, Katsuki was a bit confused until he remembered what his friend had said earlier. After a few seconds, he saw Cobalt Star run towards the building before hovering up to the fourth floor then moving to the side. It appeared to be looking through each window as it flew by. Katsuki lost sight of it as it went around the corner, then after a minute Izuku gave a loud exhale and lowered his hand.

"The bomb is on the top floor," he gasped. "Far corner room. Iida is by herself, so I assume Asui is patrolling the inside of the building." Katsuki just gaped at his friend.

"You...you learned that using Cobalt?"

"My head hurts a bit," Izuku explained as he took off his hat and scratched his head, "but I managed to repeat what happened earlier today. Now I know I can use my spirit to do reconnaissance. Might not be a good idea to do it too long so soon, though."

"...Dude..." Katsuki said with a massive smile, "...that is fucking AWESOME! Those girls won't know what hit 'em! So, think Cobalt could carry us up to that floor?" His smile dropped when Izuku shook his head.

"Cobalt can't hover while carrying me. He could throw us, but I really haven't practiced that so I dunno how our landing would go. What about you and Ember? Earlier you said you could ride him?"

"I said I could kinda ride him," Katsuki reminded. "He keeps phasing out from under me, and I'd rather not have that happen while we're above the ground." He gave a miffed sigh. "Guess there's no magical solution to getting up there quickly, huh?" 

"Magical..." Izuku muttered. He looked at the windows, at the space between floors, before gasping and grabbing Katsuki's shoulder. "Kacchan, that's it! Black Magic! The scene with the robots in the trees!" Katsuki stared for a moment before giving his signature sneer. 

***

Everyone else in the Observation room watched the two teams prepare for their trial. The students were watching both teams, trying to think what they could be planning, while both teachers were mainly focused on the boys. They noticed how Izuku covered his eyes earlier before pointing up at the top floor. Having access to the comms for both teams, the teachers heard everything Izuku had said. Aizawa hid her surprise at what Izuku had accomplished, and thought back to over a dozen cases where something like Izuku's spirit would have been useful. However, both she and Lady Might wondered what he meant by "Black Magic." Just what were these kids referencing?

"STUDENTS," Lady Might called through the intercom, "THE TRIAL BEGINS...NOW!"

Everyone watched as the boys ran for the building the instant the declaration was made. Instead of going for the doors, however, the boys ran for the wall. Aizawa heard one student ask what the boys were doing, but was stunned into silence with everyone else as the two boys gave a jump and started running up the wall. They watched as the boys ran all the way to the second floor window before they had to start using their hands. The boys climbed up more, with Katsuki going up a bit faster than Izuku. When Katsuki reached the third floor window, however, he stopped moving. Even Aizawa was confused to see the explosive blond just hang from the window with one leg sticking out while the other was braced against the wall. Any questions she was mentally asking were answered when Izuku gave a bit of a jump and grabbed Katsuki's leg. With a grunt of effort, Katsuki swiveled his entire body clockwise, catapulting Izuku up like a bottle rocket. Moments later, Izuku reached the fourth floor window and clambered in while Bakugou resumed climbing. After a moment he reappeared in the window and held out both hands, grabbing Katsuki when he got close and pulled him in. At that point Aizawa checked her watch.

"It's been a little more than a minute and those boys are already on the top floor. They clearly have experience climbing, and complete trust in each other to try a maneuver like that."

"That was awesome!" Kirishima roared. "I wanna try next!"

"That was a good show of upper body strength," Momo could be heard whispering to herself, "but overall nothing unusual. What is it that they can do?"

Aizawa gave a smirk. These kids ain't seen nothing yet.

Chapter Text

Iida was uncomfortable with this situation. She was training to be a hero. She was here at UA to do good in the world. But here she was, with a false bomb to her back in the role of a villain. She knew it was pretend, but-

"You look uncomfy, kero," Asui mysteriously appeared next to her. Iida actually started a bit at her sudden presence. "What's up?"

"...I am just not sure how to get into the mindset of a villain," Iida admitted. 

"Oh, that's easy," the frog girl smiled. "Everything you've been told and taught? Do the opposite. Say mean things. Copy the villains on TV." Her smile disappeared. "Do not go easy on the boys, either." If Iida were not in her armor, Asui would have seen her turn pale at this.

"D-don't go easy on them? B-but they're boys! If I delivered a kick at full strength, I could cave in their rib cages!" 

"Perhaps, kero," Asui admitted. "But think about what our teachers said. These two can do something that made them fit to enter the Hero Course. For all we know, they could handle a kick or two." Iida tactfully decided not to point out that if she used One For All, the boys would have a lot worse than broken ribs. "Besides, they might get offended if we go easy on them. This is the Hero Course, kero, and it shouldn't be easy for anyone." She turned away. "I'm gonna be on patrol. You protect the bomb, in case any of the boys get past me." Then she hopped out the door, leaving Iida alone in her thoughts. She didn't enjoy the idea of using any measure of force on those two, but maybe Asui had a point. Maybe she could use, like, half-a-percent on them? Maybe that would suffice. 

Suddenly the hairs on the back of her neck shot up, and she turned to the nearby window. Nothing was there. Perhaps it was just a gust of wind? No matter. Taking a breath, Iida worked to get into a villain mindset. She would just copy what she'd seen on TV and heard from Tenmei. It was just an act. Just an act.

A minute later, Lady Might announced the beginning of the trial. Everyone else had shown their mettle. Now it was her turn.

***

Izuku and Katsuki stumbled into the window on the fourth floor. The room they fell into looked like a hotel room, with two ruined beds against the wall and a slightly-open door. The two boys, each flanked by their spirit, slowly and quietly approached the door before slipping through. To their chagrin, this building was indeed built like a hotel. The floor before them, and presumably the three beneath them, consisted of a walkway around a large opening down to the ground floor. 

"Stick to the wall," Izuku whispered as he and Katsuki crept to the barrier around the hole. "The room with the bomb is practically opposite of us. Was almost tempted to make Cobalt throw us across, but that big hole in the middle gives Asui the perfect-" Both boys stiffened and went silent as the frog girl in question literally landed on the railing above their heads. Fortunately for them, she didn't look down, instead turning around to look down at the lower floors.

"Come, little insects, it's alright to come on up~," Asui sang quietly. "I'm just a frog who wants to gulpy-gulpy-gulp~."

'The fuck kinda song is she singing?' Katsuki grimaced. He looked forward to Izuku, and stared when he saw Izuku looking down covering his face. A few moments later there was a loud crash from a lower floor. This instantly caught Tsuyu's attention, and she leaped down to investigate. The moment she left the railing, Izuku grabbed Katsuki and pulled him as he ran to a room at the other end of the walkway. Dashing in and closing the door most of the way, Izuku leaned against the wall and slid down to the floor taking deep breaths.

"Was scared that wouldn't work," he gasped. 

"You're getting really good at that," Katsuki gave a thumbs up as he kept an eye out the door. "Don't do it too much, though. Your nose is bleeding." 

Izuku wiped his nose as he continued, "Guess there's a limit to that one. How do we keep her off us 'til we can reach the bomb room? " At this remark, Katsuki gave a smile that was positively feral.

***

"They're going slow," Aizawa stated. "I know they got time, but if they don't hurry-"

"THEY'LL GET THERE," Lady Might interrupted. "I SUPERVISED THEIR TRAINING WITH THEIR MOTHERS. MIDORIYA IS A TURTLE, IN THAT HE IS SLOW YET CONSISTENT. ONCE HE FULLY ANALYZES A SITUATION HE'LL RUSH IN. BAKUGOU IS ALSO QUITE INTELLIGENT, BUT A BIT MORE EXPLOSIVE THAN MIDORIYA." She gave a big smile. "I DOUBT ANYONE HERE COULD STOP THIS PAIR."

"Nice, but could you please tell us how they'd be unstoppable?" Sero asked from behind the two teachers. "I mean, yeah them climbing the wall like that was pretty cool, but they are still boys. They don't even have any mutations to help out."

"YOU'LL SEE!" Lady Might laughed. "THE BOYS WILL SHOW THEIR CAPABILITIES IN A BIT, TRUST ME!"

"Wait," Ochako pointed at the screen, "they're doing something already!" Everyone looked up at the screen, watching the two boys work. Without audio they had no idea just WHAT they had planned, but...

***

Izuku ran fast as he could towards the bomb room. The floor wasn't carpeted, so his footfalls were rather loud, adding to the noise his armor made. In hindsight he should have requested it have some padding or something to silence the plates. That would be something to ask the Support Course about after-his thoughts were interrupted by the loud thud of Tusyu landing in front of him. Izuku skid to a stop, the boosters in his armor helping with that. Tsuyu crouched in front of him, more like a feline than a frog, and gave the second-scariest smile Izuku had ever seen.

"Hello, little insect~." the frog girl greeted. "Wanna give up before I make you bleed?" She jumped at him, intending to pin him down, but missed as he jumped backwards himself. Tsuyu huffed and jumped again, and again she missed and landed next to one of the doors. "This little game won't-"

"DIE!!"

Bakugou came screaming out from the adjacent room, delivering one his signature flying dropkicks. He sneered as his feet impacted her face, right on her cheek. Before he could land or even react, Tsuyu reached up with her hand, grabbed his leg, and threw him into the ground. This caught both boys by surprise, as Tsuyu hardly looked affected by the sort of dropkick that sent other girls literally flying. She glanced down at Bakugou (who groaned as he stood up) before turning back to Izuku, her tongue slowly worming out of her mouth.

"Wanna try again, little-"

This time her words were cut off by Bakugou jumping up and grabbing her tongue. He gave a laugh as he dropped down, using his body weight to pull her head forward. Again, instead of toppling over she simply swung her head around and catapulted Bakugou into the room he originally jumped from. Izuku winced and gave a silent apology as he used this distraction to boost past the giant frog. Tsuyu saw this and moved to intervene before receiving another dropkick from Bakugou. Her head barely jerked from the impact, and Katsuki landed before she could grab him again. By this point Izuku was out of tongue range. She gave a sigh and tapped her earpiece.

"One of the boys, Midoriya, is heading your way. I'll take care of the other one and meet back up with you shortly, kero." Receiving an affirmation from her partner, Tsuyu turned back to Bakugou, who was crouched and ready to fight. "I guess I'll squish you first, little flea."

***

Iida took a breath. One of the boys, Midoriya, had slipped past Tsuyu and was heading her way. She didn't want to fight either boy, but of the two Midoriya was definitely the one she'd wanted to fight even less. Bakugou at least had the demeanor and visible physicality of a fighter. Izuku was fast and nimble, but his technique displayed that Izuku was a lightweight among lightweights. Wasn't there a word for that? In any case, one good hit from her and she would undoubtedly break a bone or two, even without using One For All. 

She shook her head and flexed her fingers. She could hear him coming; he wasn't far away now. She would not use One For All on him. Not even a half-percent. No, she would simply use her speed quirk to keep him away. There would be no need to injure him. Maybe she could even use the wind generated from her speed to tip him over and simply pin him. Yes, that would work. Any further thoughts were cut off as the small green boy appeared in the doorway. Iida put her hands on her hips and tried to laugh.

"I applaud you for getting this far, but you will not succeed, you green featherweight!"

Oh yeah, that was the word.

***

"MIDORIYA HAS MADE IT TO THE BOMB," Lady Might pointed. 

"Why did he abandon his partner?" Momo asked as everyone watched the 'fight' between Asui and Bakugou. "Shouldn't he have stayed behind to help?" 

"Maybe it's to keep from being ambushed," Kirishima replied. "I mean, if they each focus on one person-"

"Doesn't matter," Todoroki finally spoke up from her spot against the wall. "Even if it was four on one, the boys would lose."

"Well, gee," Jirou huffed, "nice to learn your quirk isn't the only thing that's cold." Todoroki only shrugged in reply. Ochako gave a sharp gasp as she watched Bakugou take another hit from Asui. Meanwhile, Aizawa only watched in silent expectation. When would they use them?

***

Katsuki screamed in agony as he bounced off the wall for the third time. Before he hit the ground, Asui delivered another kick that sent him flying across the room. He didn't hit the wall, but he bounced once or thrice before rolling to a stop. He coughed and struggled to get to his knees before hearing Tsuyu give a tired sigh.

"That's enough, little man," she ordered as she walked towards him. "You won't win."

"Try me, bitch."

"I have been." Her eyes narrowed. "I am not impressed, kero." As she got close Bakugou lunged for her head, but she caught him midair and threw him down again. Before he could get back up, Tsuyu practically sat on him while grabbing his chest and lifting so he could see her glower. 



"Did you really think you're cut out for Hero work? I'm not even trying and I'm beating you bloody. This is why useless boys like you should stay out of our way, kero. Once we're done here, do yourself a favor and withdraw from the Course. It'll be better for everyone." Katsuki started coughing as she finished. Tsuyu was marginally worried she'd broken something, only to hear his coughing turn into cackling. He was laughing at her. "What's so funny, kero?"

"You know, Frogger," Katsuki laughed, "girls like you need new material. You ain't said a single fucking thing I ain't heard my entire life. You're just as arrogant as those bitches from middle school, just as condescending...and just as stupid." Tsuyu glared and slammed Katsuki into the ground. 

"How am I the stupid one here?"

"You think you're winning?" the boy sneered. "All you've done is give my buddy time to analyze your partner's strengths and weaknesses, and given me a good reason to vent some fucking frustration on your smug bitch face."

"And how do you plan to do that?"

"I'll answer your question with a question." Katsuki gave the same feral smile as earlier. "Wanna know what fire tastes like?" This question confused Tsuyu, but that confusion was derailed when a sudden midair explosion erupted in front of her mouth. The force of the explosion pushed her off Katsuki and slammed him into the floor again. Before she could recover, another sudden explosion sent her rolling back. She caught herself after rolling once or twice, staring in shock as Katsuki got to his feet. What was going on?

"You think men are weak?" Katsuki sneered. "You think we're useless? Come in here thinking you'd teach us a lesson? Well, here's a lesson in humility for you, fucktard!" He waved his hand and another explosion threw Tsuyu back. 

***

"...Wha..." Kaminari verbalized after a minute of stunned silence. "Y-you girls are seeing this, right?" The whole of Class 1-A stared in shock at the sudden change. One minute Tsuyu had Katsuki pinned, the next she was thrown around by explosions that seemed to come from nowhere. She tried to counter using her tongue, but was constantly repelled. Katsuki, meanwhile, only advanced with a bestial smile.

"Midair explosions," Momo replied. "A-and it appears that Bakugou is the one making them."

"Wait, does that mean he made that explosion during lunch?" Jirou asked.

"How is he even making explosions!?" Mineta squealed and pointed at the screen. "Boys are supposed to be small and cute and QUIRKLESS!"

"We can have mutations, you know," Ojiro glared and waved his tail.

"Enough," Aizawa told the class. "Quiet down and keep watching." 

"Wait a minute!" Ochako yelled. "If Bakugou can do something, does that mean..." Many of the students turned to the monitor displaying Midoriya and Iida.

***

"HOLD STILL!" Iida demanded as Izuku ducked beneath her kick for the umpteenth time. 

"WHY WOULD I!?" Was Izuku's response.

The fight between Tenten and Izuku was significantly less exciting than Bakugou's. Initially Iida had attempted to blow Izuku over using the wind generated by her speed, but the boosters in Izuku's armor kept him upright. Then she tried grappling him, only for the diminutive boy to slip away with ease. After that, she finally gave up and started trying to honestly hit him only to hit empty air.

And Izuku was accomplishing this with both arms folded behind his back.

"If you will not surrender, will you at least take this seriously!?" she yelled.

"What makes you think I'm not!?" Izuku grit his teeth as he hopped over her leg. "Did you not watch my fight against Aizawa yesterday?" Tenten responded with another attempted grab. She remembered perfectly how that fight went. How Izuku lasted the longest out of all of them. How Izuku was the only one to land a blow on Aizawa, multiple blows in fact. How he kept his arms folded until-

Whatever Tenten's next thought was gonna be, it was erased when Izuku's fist collided with her face. Under normal circumstances it might not have done more make a loud noise against her helmet, but with the added force from the boosters in his gauntlets it legitimately dented said helmet. Driven either by reflex or anger, Iida charged up 1% of One For All and swung at Izuku. Her punch missed, but the resulting wind sent him back more than his boosters could counter. Tenten watched as Izuku gave a shout of surprise and flew across the room, and gave a quick sigh of relief as Izuku slowed his flight before deftly landing on his feet. Iida would have to hunt down the person who added those boosters to Midoriya's armor and thank them personally. First, though, she had a classmate to restrain. Pulling out a roll of capture tape, Tenten rushed Izuku in hopes of catching him before he recovered. She rushed him so fast she barely noticed him ducking his head and grabbing his hat by the bill.

"SAY CHEESE!"

The moment he said this, the buckle on Izuku's hat snapped open with a loud bang. Iida gave a shout as her vision was filled with intense light. His hat had a flashbang built into it!? Who would even think of that? Before her vision returned, Iida heard Izuku give a yell and suddenly felt a strong impact on her breastplate. To her continued surprise, the impact was hard enough that it sent her flying away. She landed on her feet and could hear the sound of small feet rushing to the side. Izuku was making for the bomb. Still blinded (but recovering), Tenten rushed toward the noise and was rewarded with a squeak of surprise as she ran right into the smaller boy. It was almost comedic how she tripped and fell on him. Her vision returned in time to see Izuku right under her, and see him with a determined look on his face as he swung his fist at her. It missed, and yet she was again launched away from him. As she landed this time, she looked down at her breastplate and froze. 

What she was seeing should have been impossible. What she saw stunned her so much she hardly noticed Izuku run and tap the bomb. Only Lady Might's voice from the PA broke her from the stupor, and even then she just kept staring at her chest.

Her breastplate was horribly dented, and in the middle of that dent was the distinct imprint of a fist.

A man-sized fist.

***

The walk back to the Observation room was fairly awkward. Izuku was nervous at having actually used Cobalt on someone, even if it was just a mock battle. Bakugou still looked angry and was covered in bruises. Iida was carefully carrying a beaten Asui on her back. The frog girl had taken quite a beating from Katsuki after he let loose, and her outfit was covered in burns. Tenten wanted to ask what happened, but wasn't sure that was the best idea at that moment. No one said a word the entire walk. That silence was broken the instant the boys stepped into the Observation room.

"WHAT WAS THAT!?" Several of the girls shouted. Izuku gave a shy shout and ducked behind Katsuki as the girls (and Ojiro) descended on them.

"What did you do in there!?"

"Do you guys have non-mutation quirks!?"

"Did you make that explosion during lunch, Bakugou?"

"How did you send Iida flying like that!?"

"Enough," Aizawa's voice cut through the questions. Everyone turned towards the teacher as she held up some papers. "You all have a lot of questions, and you'll get your answers soon. Before we do that, however, you need to sign these." Each student took a paper and began reading over them. "These are written agreements to never speak about this outside of class. Not to your friends, not to any social media, not even in any dream journals you might have. If we learn that any of you leaks this information, that is grounds for the immediate administering of amnestics, followed by equally-immediate expulsion. We don't know how these boys have manifested these powers, and far as we know they're the only ones with them."

"And this is why they're in the Hero Course," Iida stated, finally getting her answer as everyone signed their agreements. "So you can observe them as their...quirks develop."

"EXACTLY," Lady Might nodded as Aizawa took back the signed papers. "BEFORE WE CONTINUE, HOWEVER, THERE IS ONE THING THAT MUST BE SETTLED. FOR THAT LAST MATCH, WHO DO YOU BELIEVE WAS THE-"

"Teacher," Izuku finally stepped out from behind Katsuki. "W-with everything that just got revealed, and everything else that's about to be revealed, I-I don't think anyone's worried about the MVP." There was a brief moment of silence as everyone gave thought to his words before nodding and stating their agreement. Lady Might looked for a moment before chuckling.

"ALRIGHT, WE'LL SKIP THAT PART. BEFORE YOU LEAVE, HOWEVER, THERE IS SOMETHING I MUST TELL ALL OF YOU." Once she was sure everyone was paying attention, Lady Might continued, "I WANT YOU ALL TO KNOW YOU'VE DONE WELL TODAY. WIN OR LOSE, YOU ALL DID YOUR BEST. HOWEVER, DO NOT THINK THIS IS THE BEST YOU'LL EVER DO. THROUGHOUT THE YEAR, YOU WILL IMPROVE AND PROGRESS. I'D WAGER IF WE RE-DID THESE TESTS AT THE END OF THE YEAR SOME OF THE RESULTS WOULD BE DRASTICALLY DIFFERENT. BY YEAR'S END, ALL OF YOU WILL BE SO MUCH BETTER THAN YOU ARE NOW, AND I LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING IT. DISMISSED!" All the students nodded before everyone began the trek back to the classroom. As they walked, Aizawa kept pace with Lady Might.

"You're too easy on them," Aizawa whispered. "They won't get any better if you treat them like this."

"THIS IS ALSO ONLY THE SECOND DAY," Lady Might pointed out. "YOU CAN'T EXPECT THEM TO BE PERFECT SO QUICKLY."

"I don't. Just don't be this soft on them all the time." Lady Might simply nodded and the walk resumed in silence.

***

Chiyo sat in her office, waiting for the inevitable stream of Hero Course students to pour in after their first battle trial. Every year there'd be around half the class coming in with anything from burns to punctures. One particularly exciting year involved goats. With all this in mind, Recovery Girl was surprised to see that the only students who needed healing were Asui and Bakugou. The frog girl was practically covered in burns and bruises while Bakugou...

"I don't even know how you're still moving, young man!" the elderly heroine scolded as she tapped his head with her cane. "You got a couple cracked ribs and a hairline fracture in your leg!"

"And why the fuck are you hitting me when Frogger's the one who did this?" the fiery boy tried pushing her cane away, not noticing how Tsuyu looked down and to the side at that statement.

"Because you're the one who decided to keep going! Why didn't you surrender after-"

"I couldn't," Bakugou replied. "Granny, this trial was the first actual chance I had to show-"

"To show off?"

"To show I'm not useless." That got Recovery Girl to quiet down. "To show that my friend and I aren't just novelties to be treated with kiddy gloves. Real pros take injuries worse than this everyday. If we can't handle this, then..." After a few moments, Recovery Girl sighed.

"Let me get a few things and patch you up. Go sit next to your classmate." At this order, Bakugou climbed onto the bed and sat next to Tsuyu while Chiyo hobbled to the next room. 

"Um," Tsuyu said after a few moments, "I-I wanted you to know I don't really think you're useless, kero." Bakugou glared up at her as she continued, "I was just saying those sorta things to make you mad, hoping you'd slip up. I had no idea it affected you as much as it did." After another few seconds of silence, Bakugou just scoffed and looked away.

"Whatever. Just don't do it again." Bakugou didn't see the small smile she gave, but Tsuyu certainly noticed how her smaller classmate appeared to relax.

***

It had been an hour since the end of Class 1-A's hero trial, and school was over for the day. The horde of students shuffled out the gates, chatting and relaxing. Shinsou stood just inside the gates, only his spirit keeping him company. Despite his outward glower, he was actually glad everyone was leaving him alone. Being the only boy in Class 1-C, he had been the center of attention for the past couple days, and he dreaded the idea of continued attention. Especially from that one girl who everyone else had agreed was "too friendly." This morning was not a fun experience.

Now he was just waiting for those two boys from this morning. The excitable green boy and the one who called his birdman a "Chicken McSchwarzenegger." He had never met anyone else who had things like he did, and they were on his mind the entire day. Not only did he have a lot of questions, but-

"There he is! Hey, Shinsou!"

The violet-haired boy looked up to see Midoriya and Bakugou running his direction, their own spirits following close behind. Oh good, they hadn't forgotten him. Getting up from where he leaned against the wall, Shinsou walked up to the other boys. Midoriya was already pulling out a notebook and was jabbering a mile a minute before Katsuki bonked him on the head.

"Stop scaring the new kid."

"Wasn't scared," Hitoshi deadpanned. "Before we do anything, do your moms know about your...things?"

"Of course," Izuku nodded. "Our parents were the first we told. We all get together weekly for funsies."

"Really?" With a nod from the other two boys, Shinsou gave a bit of a chuckle. "That might make things easier, then."

"What'chu talkin about, newbie?" the blond firebrand asked.

"Well, after this morning, I kinda called my mom to tell her about what I learned, and...she wants to meet you."

"...Oh."

***

Several towns away, there sat a bar. It was a small establishment, rarely getting more than a few customers a day due to being located on a backstreet. Those who did visit would recall it was cozy, but mostly unremarkable. Most were unlikely to visit more than once, and those who did usually had less-than-legal thoughts in mind.

The bartender, a woman who appeared to be comprised of black mist with gold spots for eyes, simply polished some glasses while her sole guest sat nearby. She casually glanced at said guest and took in every detail, from the slight impatience of their twitching leg to the perfect stitch-work of their UA uniform. In front of the guest was an untouched glass of orange juice. Even among high-class villains, there would be no alcohol given to minors in HER bar.

"How long do I have to sit here?" the guest asked as they glared at a nearby television that had a camera attached to the top. "I got places to be tonight."

"Just a bit longer," the bartender set the final glass down. As if on cue, the television turned on. Though the image was a bit static-y, both people could see the individual on the other side. A person whose word once moved armies, whose smile could still be the difference between life and a painful death. 

"You have an update?" the individual started, bringing a sneer to the guest's face.

"I can get you the intel you want," they replied. "You'll get it by tomorrow afternoon."

"You sound certain, child. Are you sure you can get the information we need without being discovered?"

"Oh don't worry," the child spy laughed. "I'd just need a distraction to slip the info to your apprentice, but a little thing happened this morning that gave me the perfect idea..."

Chapter Text

It was nighttime at the Bakugou residence, the agreed-upon meeting place with the Shinsou's. Inko was chatting with Mitsuki and Masaru in the living room while Izuku sat staring at the front door. His eyes were wide and focused as he gripped his Spirit Notebook. 

"Good god, Dekiru," Katsuki walked up, "just relax. You're not this anxious waiting for pizza."

"The pizza doesn't come with a spirit."

"It does if you're of drinking age." Izuku responded by batting his friend with the notebook. 

"This is serious, Kacchan. Shinsou is the first other person we've met with a spirit. Aren't you excited too?"

"Yeah, but you're overreac-" There was a knock at the door. Izuku gasped in anticipation as Katsuki rushed over and pulled the door open. The fiery blond looked up for a moment before turning back to the house as Hitoshi stepped in. "They're here!" 

"Welcome, welcome!" Izuku beamed as he dashed forward and shook Shinsou's hand vigorously as everyone's parents came over. "I'm so glad you could...could..." His gaze fell on Hitoshi's parents and his voice fell silent.

The first parent through the door was, to everyone's surprise, a father. He was average-build with brown hair with a small ahoge from the top of his head. His eyes were a pale green, and held a light almost as cheerful as the smile on his face. His suit was a darker green, clearly well-made. Masaru stepped forward and greeted him while Izuku stared in shock at Hitoshi's mother.

The woman was tall, and that was saying something considering the average female. She had long lavender hair with a single braid going down one side and large canine ears on top. Her skin was pale, despite the lack of makeup. She wore an austere black outfit with matching gloves. Her eyes were a deep violet, and clearly scrutinizing everyone in the room.

"Hello!" Hitoshi's father beamed. "It's nice to meet you all. I'm Shinsou Mako, and this is-"

"OH MY GOD YOU'RE SHINSOU KIYOKO!" Izuku shouted, pointing at Hitoshi's mother. "YOU'RE THE PRO HERO ROYAL FOX, AND ONE OF THE TOP FIVE GREATEST DETECTIVES IN ALL JAPAN! YOU HAVE A HUNDRED-PERCENT CASE RECORD! YOU FOUND THE MISSING TSAR'S SAPPHIRE DURING THE TUNGUSKA TRIO'S CRIME SPREE! YOU HELPED UNCOVER THE PRESENCE OF THE BLACK MARKET POMERANIAN TRADE IN TOKYO! AND YOUR QUIRK-" Izuku found his fanboying cut short when Hitoshi's mother quickly knelt down and covered his mouth with two fingers.

"If you know my quirk," she softly stated, "it would be best if you didn't announce it so loudly." To his credit, Izuku calmed down and nodded in agreement before Kiyoko removed her hand. With a small smile, she patted her son's shoulder. "You were right, Hito. He is excitable."

"Any of us coulda told ya that," Katsuki grinned. "Mind if we steal your son for a bit?" Without even waiting for a response, Izuku grabbed Shinsou and pulled him away, eager to get started. Mako gave a laugh as Katsuki pursued his friend.

"Your sons are very energetic. They might help our boy get out of his shell."

"Would be nice," Kiyoko said as she pulled her gloves off and offered her hand to Mitsuki. "It's a pleasure meeting with you."

"Same here," Mitsuki said as she took her hand. "If I knew we'd have a celebrity under our roof, I'd have actually cleaned up a bit." After they pulled their hands apart, Mitsuki wiggled her fingers. "Ooh, bit cold, huh?"

"Now you know why I wear gloves," Kiyoko giggled before offering her hand to Inko. "A pleasure meeting you." Izuku's mom gave a warm smile as she took Kiyoko's hand. The detective's eyes widened as she gasped in shock the instant they made contact. Inko kept a calm smile while Kiyoko had a face of terror.

"Bit of a shocker, huh?" Inko laughed. Seeing the confusion on the Bakugou's faces, Inko turned and calmly explained, "Missus Shinsou here has a quirk that lets her browse a person's memories if she makes contact with her bare hands. Speaking of which, did you see something interesting, Kiyoko?"

"I-I see..." Kiyoko replied before slowly pulling her hand away. "I see that my son is indeed safe around you. I am sorry for the...invasion of privacy."

"Not a problem," Inko continued smiling despite the lingering fear in Kiyoko's eyes. "Come sit down, I'm eager to learn more about you."

***

Shinsou Hitoshi didn't know what to expect as the two boys dragged him to Katsuki's bedroom, all flanked by their invisible spirits. From what he knew of the fiery blond, he expected to see a roughed-up and messy room. Instead, the room they pulled him into was neat and organized with multiple bookcases filled to the brim. In one corner was a large television hooked to a charge-pack and in turn had multiple game systems hooked to it, including...

"Holy crap, is that an actual Gamecube?"

"You bet!" Katsuki grinned as Ember sat down next to the aforementioned machine. "Got a lot of games for it, too. You don't wanna know how long that took."

"We can play it later," Izuku said as he let go of Hitoshi to open his notebook. "For now, could you please tell me everything you know about your spirit?"

"You're really excited about this, huh?" Izuku just replied by staring with gleaming eyes before Shinsou sighed and sat in a nearby chair. "Alright, my...spirit is called Ivory Quill. He first appeared when I was four, a few days before I was taken to the doc for quirk testing. I thought he was my quirk at first, until all the tests showed I had pretty much no quirk factor, like every other man on Earth. My parents believed me when I told them he was there, but only because my mom could see him through my memories. No one else could see or touch him, and when I was younger I kinda tried to see if anyone else could, so everyone picked on me for having an imaginary friend."

"Sounds very similar to our own experiences," Izuku responded as he wrote in his notebook. "Kacchan and I got our spirits the night after our exams. Are you able to control Ivory at all? Does he have any special trick?"

"I've, uh, been able to command him since I was eight, but only for simple orders like grabbing objects from across the room. He can't fight, though. Any time I've tried to order him to do something combative or violent he's not responded."

"Dude, you could control him since you were eight?" Katsuki asked. "Dammit, our spirits really only started obeying us a bit more than a year ago."

"Sucks to be you," Hitoshi smirked. Katsuki gave a short laugh as the violet-haired boy continued, "Anyway, I only recently learned about his 'special trick' as you called it. If I say something to someone and they verbally respond to what I said, Ivory here kinda flies into their open mouths and can control them for a bit." At that sentence, Izuku dropped his pencil.

"H-he can take control of people?" the greenette asked with wide eyes.

"I discovered it by accident about six months ago, when my dad answered a question. Haven't really tried doing it beyond figuring how to do it, though."

"Can you use it on me?" Izuku asked. "I wanna see what it feels like."

"Izuku, don't be stupid."

"It won't feel like anything," Shinsou replied with a disturbed face. "My dad's told me he doesn't remember anything while he's under."

"I still wanna know! Pleeeeeease?" Izuku eyes sparkled and seemed to tear up a bit.

"Oh my god, he's doing the bunny eyes," Katsuki facepalmed. There was a few seconds of silence before Shinsou sighed.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I-" Suddenly, Ivory Quill turned into a small whirlwind of feathers and flew into Izuku's open mouth. Izuku stopped speaking immediately, standing silent like a doll. He couldn't move his limbs, his head, even his eyes. He could see Bakugou off to the side and he was saying something, but he couldn't tell what. Shinsou turned in response, but again Izuku couldn't make out the words. The edges of his vision were blurry, like a cheesy dream sequence. After Shinsou finished talking to Bakugou, he turned back to Izuku. 

"Clap your hands three times."

Izuku immediately clapped his hands three times, despite doing his best to resist. Bakugou laughed and said something else. Shinsou made a weird face in response, so Izuku guessed it was a dumb idea. Speaking of which, he had a dumb idea too. He couldn't look at Cobalt the way he was right now, but since his mind was randomly still under control, he willed Cobalt to go over and smack Katsuki upside his head for whatever dumb idea he suggested. This action surprised both boys, and Shinsou said something before another whirlwind of feathers appeared, and Izuku had control again.

"How did you do that?" Katsuki growled, rubbing his head where Cobalt smacked him.

"I could see things!" Izuku exclaimed. "You made me clap three times, then Kacchan said something I assume was stupid cause I couldn't quite hear him, so I made Cobalt smack him."

"Y-you could see things?" Shinsou asked as Izuku grabbed his notebook and started writing.

"It was kinda blurry, but I could see things," Izuku affirmed. "The only things I could hear clearly were your orders, though. Ivory's power seems to not be brainwashing, but rather physical domination. Could explain why your dad couldn't remember what happened. Our spirits are mental things, so maybe having them lets us experience what happens when we're under your control and even control them." 

"But imagine the things he could do with that power," Bakugou grinned. "Suicides, hostage-taking, robberies, so many things you could stop with a few words. Damn, you belong in Hero Course." 

Hitoshi just stared as the other two boys jabbered about the possible applications for his power. Ever since he accidentally controlled his dad half a year ago, he gained a small resentment of his spirit. He knew any quirk that had to do with mind control was seen as 'villainous' and he wanted no part of that. It was bad enough some people disliked him for simply being a boy. And now here he was, being told his power was downright heroic. It honestly almost brought him to tears hearing it. People outside his family thought he could be a hero someday.

But dammit, this means he actually had to try now.

***

Meanwhile, at the Todoroki residence, the atmosphere was significantly less pleasant.

"Those boys fought your classmates and won?" Endeavor glared. "Is your class that weak?"

"No, mother," Shouko responded from across the dinner table, wishing Fuyumi wasn't at a night class. "Those boys only fought two of us, but one of the students they fought was the frog girl, Asui. I've told you about her skill yesterday, and today she lost."

"And how is she strong if she lost to someone who's not even supposed to be in Hero Course?"

"...I'm not allowed to answer that." Shouko didn't even flinch when Endeavor slammed her hands on the table.

"What do you mean 'not allowed to answer that!?' I am your mother, and a pro hero!"

"And I had to sign a waiver that declared I was not allowed to discuss the boy's skills outside of class. A waiver enforced by the principal, Eraserhead, and Lady Might." Shouko gave a slight smirk at how quickly that shut her mom up. Said hero sighed in consternation and sat back down. "I admit, mother, I am not too happy about it either. Those boys need to be-"

"Kept in their place," Endeavor finished. "I know, Shouko. I know." Shouko's eye twitched, but she remained quiet.

The rest of the meal was silent, neither party having anything else to say. Shouko might disagree with the sentiment, but she couldn't say she disagreed with what her mom said. Men were weak, and as such needed to be protected. They couldn't handle being heroes because of that. That was something she was both taught and learned over the years. This afternoon put those thoughts into question, however. She bore witness to Bakugou literally being beaten black and blue, yet he still won. She couldn't help but wonder how things would have gone if it were the smaller Midoriya being beaten by Asui. Seeing that small green boy beaten and bleeding...

'Don't worry, sweetie, it doesn't hurt that much. I'll be fine.'

Shouko set her utensils down. She didn't want to remember that. Didn't want to remember everything the monster in front of her did to her father. Didn't want to think of what Endeavor would do to those boys if she got her hands on them.

She was decided now. Shouko would do what she could to protect those boys. From her mother, and from their own poor decision.

***

THE NEXT MORNING...

***

"Kacchan, no." Izuku flatly denied as he and Katsuki walked up the last stretch to UA.

"Come on, Dekiru, it's a valid question."

"The only valid question I'm hearing here is asking what dark recesses of the internet you dug this up from."

"Dude, you're the biggest Lady Might fanboy in existence, you gotta have some-"

"No, Kacchan, I have no idea how hard Lady Might would have to slap a frozen chicken to cook it, and even then it's probably such an incredible amount of power the chicken would only be cooked for like half a nanosecond before being vaporized from the sheer force of the impact."

"Which means that for half a nanosecond we'd have our cooked chicken, so the question remains of how hard-oh hey girls." Katuski and Izuku walked upon a group of girls huddled behind a corner. The boys recognized many of them from the previous morning, including Momo, Ochako and Jirou, the latter of whom had her earlobes stretched around the corner. Izuku decided to take the opportunity to look around the corner.

"Reporters again?" Izuku asked. "Deja vu."

"This time they're asking about Lady Might," Jirou affirmed. "Someone leaked that she's a teacher."

"Does that mean we can just sneak by this time?" Katsuki asked. "I don't wanna float again."

"Maybe?" Ochako replied. "I mean, if someone with long hair carries you on their backs and-"

"Hold on," Izuku gasped. "The mass has moved away from the gates. If we run we can make it." At his words, all the girls (and the two boys) immediately rushed for the safety of the school grounds. All their previous training was paying off, as both boys kept up with the girls easily. The reporters had been so focused on their quarry they didn't notice the hoard of students until they passed the barrier, the sudden change of attention also freeing the three girls they had cornered. The reporters tried to give chase, but this time stopped just outside the barrier. One of them gave another scream of frustration. The students laughed and Katuski gave an obscene gesture before they continued to the buildings. Before they reached the school, however, Ochako gently grabbed both boy's shoulders. 

"Can I talk to you real quick?" she asked. "In private?" The two boys looked at each other, checked their watches, then nodded to Ochako. With a small smile, she led them around the corner, away from the doors. When she was sure no one was listening, Ochako turned to the boys. 

"You two were the ones who saved me, weren't you?" Ochako asked. "Back during the Entrance Exam, from the Zero-Pointer." 

"Err," Izuku nervously nodded, "Y-yeah, that was us."

"We couldn't just leave you there," Katsuki declared. "It was gonna squish ya." Ochako smiled down at the boys, before kneeling and pulling the boys into a sudden hug. Both boys froze and blushed in the sudden affection.



"Thank you," she whispered. "Thank you so much." The three stayed in the embrace for a few moments longer before Ochako set the boys back down. "We should get to class." Getting to her feet, Ochako walked back to the doors, leaving the flustered boys behind.

"...Kacchan?"

"Yeah?"

"...We were just hugged by a girl."

It took all their willpower to avoid fainting.

***

Homeroom started not long after the boys reached their desks. Aizawa stood up without leaving her sleeping bag to address the class. Izuku noticed some of the students glancing at him and Katsuki. Just yesterday they learned about the boy's spirits, and it was likely some of them were still in shock about it. He could see Kaminari glancing around the room, likely trying to see something she couldn't see anyways.

"...and that covers the official announcements," Aizawa finished. "Before I let you go, however, there's one more matter to be discussed." She went silent for a few seconds, secretly relishing the looks on everyone's faces, before declaring, "You need to choose a class president."

"THAT'S SO NORMAL!" most of the class exclaimed in relief.

"I don't care how you choose," Aizawa said, "just make your decision before homeroom ends." With that, Aizawa flopped over and slithered to her corner with a juice box hanging from her mouth.

"...Anyone else wonder how she can carry those by the straw?" Izuku asked as the rest of class exploded with excitement, trying to nominate themselves.

"One of life's many mysteries," Katsuki replied, "...just like the mystery of how hard-" Izuku cut him off by throwing a large eraser at the back of his head. After this, the class settled on casting votes for who should be the Class President. After a few minutes, the votes were in...and Izuku hated his life.

"W-why me!?" he shouted as he started at his name on the chalkboard, with two votes more than Momo, who had more than everyone else. "Wouldn't Iida be a safer option?"

"Cuz you and Momo did all the brainy stuff yesterday," Jirou pointed out. 

"As much as I was hoping for the position," Iida chopped the air, "the class has decided you and Momo are the better candidates."

"We'd better go up front to address the class," Momo stated as she got to her feet. Izuku sighed, slid off his chair to the floor, and followed Momo to the front of the class. When he reached the front, he spun around and came face-to-face with Ashido's desk. After staring a few moments, he drooped his head and gave an exasperated sigh.

"Momo, could you..." he asked while gesturing to the podium. It took Momo a few seconds to realize what he meant, then she giggled and carefully picked Izuku up and set him on the podium. The boy sat down with his legs hanging off the front, making a cute scene with Momo standing next to him. "I-I promise to do my best," Izuku stuttered, his nervousness finally hitting him. He looked across the classroom to all the students. Mina had her irrepressible smile, as usual. Shouko was also staring, though her gaze wasn't as dead-fisheyed as before. Katsuki and Ochako were grinning and giving thumbs-up. "A-and to do w-what's best for the c-class, and..."

"Stop stuttering," Aizawa sighed. "It's not actually that hard being class president. It's more like the class spokesperson than anything. Now that you're done, homeroom's over, get to class."

Throughout much of the day, Izuku was in a daze. Momo was nice enough to inform him of what exactly the class president does, and while it was all stuff he could handle he still couldn't wrap his head around the fact that he was it. This little detail stressed him enough he had trouble focusing on his work. Something even more confusing was Todoroki's sudden change in behavior. Rather than disdainful, she was quite supportive. When she saw Izuku struggling to keep focus, she had actually approached him and offered to help. He was confused where this sudden support came from, but decided maybe she was finally opening up. 

***

"Did these benches get higher?" Bakugou asked as he and Izuku sat at the lunch table. "Cuz it feels higher." 

"I highly doubt it," Momo said as she, Ochako and Tsuyu sat down across from them. 

"Maybe you just got shorter, kero," Tsuyu laughed.

"ONLY THING SHORTER IS MY FUSE, FROGGER!"

"Calm down, Kacchan!" Izuku laughed as he pulled Bakugou off the table. "Just sit down and eat. You can explode at Asui after lunch." Katsuki groaned and sat back down. With a glare, he grabbed his glass of milk and took a sip...before spitting it out, almost spraying Izuku.

"Kacchan, what the-"

"WHAT THE HELL!?" the blond roared as he slammed his glass down. "THE FUCK KINDA SHIT IS THIS!?"

"W-what do you mean?" Momo asked as she picked up his glass and sniffed. "Smells fine to me."

"No," Katsuki growled as he hopped off the seat. "No no no, I dunno what kinda swill that is, but it ain't milk. I'm gonna give Lunch Rush a piece of my mind. Probably gave me sour milk cuz I'm a guy, that grumble grumble..." The group of friends watched Katsuki storm off.

"He is really taking this personally, isn't he?" Tsuyu asked.

"Milk is his favorite drink," Izuku explained. "When he was younger, he heard about how milk can help people grow. Even after learning the truth, he still drinks it religiously. If he says there's something wrong with it, there's something wrong."

"Mind if I sit here?" a new voice spoke up. Izuku turned and gave a wide smile. 

"Shinsou! Sure, come on up!" The newcomer climbed into Bakugou's seat as Izuku turned to the girls. "This is Shinsou, Class 1-C. He looks like he hasn't slept in days, but he's an awesome guy."

"Pleasure," Shinsou sipped from his own glass of milk. "So, who's who? I think I recognize the brunette from the Exam, but...okay, gotta ask, who's the peppermint?" Everyone turned in surprise to see Todoroki had decided to sit down on Izuku's other side. 

"Todoroki? When did you get here?"

"Just now," the heterochromatic girl replied. "So, about that-"

Todoroki's words were lost as alarms started blaring through the cafeteria. At first everyone was just frozen in surprise before someone screamed and plunged the cafeteria into chaos. All the students began screaming and running around the room, slamming into the tables and each other. Before Izuku could do anything, Shouko shot to her feet and leaned over him and Shinsou, protecting them from the rushing crowds. Shinsou looked around in confusion, trying to figure out what happened. Izuku looked around, trying to find Katsuki, and his gaze fell on the windows. 

"Momo," Izuku turned to his classmate, "I need you to make me a megaphone my size, and a small rope. Tie it around my waist, I have an idea to calm everyone down." Momo was confused, but nodded and got to work fabricating what he needed with her legs as Izuku turned to Ochako. "Once Momo ties that rope to me, I need you to float me up above the crowd." Ochako nodded, figuring out what had in mind. Once Momo finished the rope and tied it to Izuku, Ochako high-fived him and gently hoisted him into the air. Armed with the Momo-brand megaphone, Izuku took a deep breath.

"SHUT UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUP!" 

Izuku's shout was louder than the tumult of the room, and the fact it came from a guy was enough to make the entire room quiet down and turn. Amid the silence Izuku could hear Katsuki give a muffled "get the hell of me" from the far corner, proving he was alright. Now that he had everyone's attention, Izuku pointed at the window.

"Look, it's just the media! Somehow they got past the gates and triggered the alarms! Now calm down and follow protocol in an orderly fashion! We're a hero school, so act like it!" 

Everyone remained quiet after that. No one in the room had expected someone so small and adorable to be capable of shouting like that. The shock from this seemed to reset their brains, as everyone was calm and quiet and slowly exited the cafeteria. Izuku gave a sigh of relief that it worked as Ochako slowly pulled him back down before negating her quirk. Katsuki came back to the table and was surprised to see Shinsou and Todoroki there.

"Where'd you come from?" he asked.

"Even without the megaphone," Shinsou admitted while ignoring Bakugou, "that had to be the loudest I have ever heard you speak." 

"I-I have my moments," Izuku nervously laughed.

***

At the same time the cafeteria was calming down, a woman in a shaggy jacket waited behind a shed not far from the gate. She glared at the present heroes, scoffing at their words and efforts to repel the reporters. She was tempted to kill one or two of them, and probably would have tried if she didn't hear footsteps coming behind her.

"Hey," the spy greeted. 

"You're late," the woman in the jacket hissed.

"No, you're early," the spy pointed out before holding out a sandwich bag with a USB drive inside. "Here's the schedule for the next week of classes. I took a look myself and I'd say this Thursday is a good day, but it's up to you." The woman in the jacket took the bag, careful to hold it with only four fingers, before stuffing it in her pocket.

"And no one noticed you?"

"You kidding?" the spy laughed. "Once you broke the gates, I just had to give a wimpy scream and those sheep fell into chaos. It was too easy. Now get going before you're spotted." 

"Don't order me around," the jacket woman scoffed before turning and rushing out the gates. No one even noticed her leave. The spy smirked at this, knowing the plan would go off smoothly. Which meant she would get what she wanted, what she was entitled to. 

All according to plan.

Chapter Text

It had been a few days since the media break-in. The gate had thankfully been repaired and, even more thankfully, news crews had been banned from even approaching said gates. This meant the past few mornings had been incredibly calm compared to the previous days. Their classes had also been calm, yet challenging. Overall, the past few days had been as normal as a hero high school could get. Most importantly, though...

"The milk actually tastes good this time," Bakugou noted during lunch. He had grabbed a girl's-size glass of milk, and chugged half of it before the group even reached the table. 

"Please don't do the gallon challenge before hero class," Izuku sighed as he sat down between Bakugou and Ochako.

"Gallon challenge?" Momo asked, sitting across from Izuku.

"Long story." Looking across the cafeteria, Izuku waved his arm. "Shinshou! Over here!" The purple-haired boy heard him and walked over to the table, sitting across from Bakugou. "How's your day been, Shinsou?"

"I did my presentation today," Shinsou smiled. "Nedzu and and the board were impressed. They said if I make it to the last round of the Sports Festival this year, I have a good chance of being transferred to Hero Course. Dunno which class, though." 

"That's awesome!" Bakugou cheered. "You'd better be in our class, though. Got no boys in Class B, so they'd probably smother you to death."

"My class already does that," Shinsou chuckled. It was weird, the purple boy had found himself smiling more these past few days than he could really remember. Even weirder was how he didn't mind it at all. Still smiling, he glanced to the side. "Peppermint incoming." Everyone turned and saw Todoroki was indeed heading their way. 

"Did ya need something, Todoroki-kun?" Izuku asked curiously.

"Just wanted to talk to you about the movie we watched in Midnight's class," the heterochromatic girl said as she sat next to Bakugou. "The one with the male movie actors?"

"An interesting documentary," Izuku acknowledged. "And nice to see there's some industries that don't prejudice against men these days."

"Indeed. Certainly a good profession for men to aspire for. I bet you could do it quite well, Midoriya." Midoriya froze. Everyone at the table froze, in fact. 

"That has to be the nicest thing we've ever heard you say," Izuku almost whispered.

"Who are you and what have you done with Todoroki?" Bakugou asked, recovering enough to chug some of his milk. Todoroki actually looked offended at this.

"I can be nice," Shouko stated with furrowed eyebrows. There was a brief silence before the two boys from Class 1-A started laughing, joined shortly by the other girls at the table. Shouko was confused at their laughter, but assumed it wasn't for a bad reason. Shinsou looked just as confused, but this was mostly due to him not knowing much about Todoroki. 

After their laughter died down, their conversation went back to said documentary. Shouko again stated her opinion of it being a good profession for men, and was somewhat supported when Izuku mentioned a good number of heroes who did acting in their spare time. Shouko was impressed by his knowledge of what seemed anything heroic, the others were amazed by how expressive she had become these past few days. Perhaps the boys showing what they could do had opened her up? Partway through lunch, the PA system dinged on.

"ALL CLASS 1-A STUDENTS, PLEASE MAKE YOUR WAY TO THE BUSES. CLASS WILL BEGIN SHORTLY." 

"Dammit, forgot we had that trip today," Bakugou groaned as he stuffed what remained of his lunch into his mouth.

"We'll see you later, Shinsou!" Izuku shot to his feet. "I'll take pictures!" He dashed off with the rest of Class 1-A, leaving Shinsou at the table. Said boy was giving a sidelong glare at Todoroki as she left.

***

Class 1-A had been on the bus close to 15 minutes. Most of the class was jabbering excitedly over what was happening, and Aizawa had opted to spend the trip sleeping. Izuku was writing in his notebook, trying to distract himself from his current circumstance. Since he was the class president, he was required to sit in the front of the bus with vice-president Momo. She was engrossed in a book of her own, so she didn't see Izuku's blushing. He had been talking to her on and off during the week, but sitting next to her like this reminded him of his first day at UA, when he got mooshed between a train bar and her thigh. 

What a memory. 

He was shaken from his thoughts when the bus hit a bump, making him drop his notebook. Izuku reached out to catch it before it hit the floor, but stopped when Momo caught it instead. She moved faster than Izuku had ever seen her move before. She gave a warm smile as she handed the notebook back to the awestruck boy.

"Got a section on me yet?" she asked. This startled Izuku a bit, eliciting a nervous chuckle.

"N-not really," he admitted. "I-I got the basics down, but I've been...distracted." He neglected to mention that he was distracted by just how pretty she was. The last time he tried taking notes on her he would end up "accidentally" filling three pages with sketches of her in various poses he had seen and one page of a detailed portrait shot. It was kind of embarrassing, and he was super glad Bakugou didn't find out. 

"Understandable," Momo smiled, closing her book completely. "You can ask me now, if you want. We have time." The instant she finished her words, both teenagers heard the growl of her stomach. There was a brief silence before Momo closed her eyes. "Sorry, I wasn't able to completely fill up during lunch." Both teens gave nervous chuckles before Izuku's eyes widened. Before Momo could ask anything, the small boy pulled his bag over and rifled through it. Momo tried to get a glance inside his bag, but had to pull her head back (and Izuku calmly leaned his head to one side) as a spring-loaded snake toy shot out of the bag and over the back of the seat. Ignoring the scream of surprise from Sero and Sato, Izuku pulled out a sandwich bag that was filled with what looked like chocolate-topped protein bars.

"Spirit Bars," Izuku smiled as he opened the bag and pulled one out. "Kacchan and I came up with these while we were training for UA. High-calorie energy bars, good for exercising. We make them entirely from synthetic ingredients, so they're cheap to make. Try one." He handed one to Momo, who eyed it curiously. True to Iida's speculation a few days prior, Momo had never eaten anything synthetic in her life. She wasn't leery about it, she was just taking in the details. It smelled good, at least. Giving a quick glance to Izuku, she ate the finger-length bar. Her eyes widened at the results.

Most people didn't know, but Momo had an accelerated digestive system due to her quirk, along with a mental "gauge" that let her know how many lipids she had available for use. When she came onto the bus that gauge was about half-full. She had eaten one bar, one bar, and now that gauge was almost topped off. There seemed to be more calories in one of these bars than there were in the half-meal she ate during lunch. Momo sat in silence with wide eyes for several moments, long enough to make Izuku worry. Before he could say anything, though, she turned to him with her shocked expression.

"Midoriya," she stated, "I humbly request the recipe for these 'Spirit Bars' of yours. They are perfect for my quirk." Izuku gave a sigh of relief and handed her the bag.

"I'll write it down after school. You can have the rest of these. Just, uh, don't eat more than one or two outside of quirk practice. Kacchan and I made the mistake of eating two of them prior to lunch a few months back, and we weren't hungry until the following morning." This elicited a laugh from Momo and another blush from Izuku as the bus pulled to a stop.

"Everyone off," Aizawa said as she got to her feet. "We're here."

***

The spy walked down the hall towards her classroom. If things went according to plan, in mere minutes Class 1-A would be swarmed by dozens of actual villains. She smirked at the thought. UA's reputation would tank once the casualty report was released. She might not have really enjoyed the idea of killing her female classmates, but such hero hopefuls were too far gone to be taught the right way to live. She didn't care about the boys. Their time had passed.

She was shaken from her thoughts as one such boy, a smaller one with silver hair and cat ears, bumped into her legs. He quickly apologized and dashed off before she could admonish him. Stupid runt didn't even belong here. Or maybe he did, being UA and all. No matter. Things would change, that was certain. Things would change, and she would be among the leaders like she deserved and the so-called heroines would be thrown down from their proud pedestals. 

She stepped into her classroom with a smile. Her classmates had no idea what she really was. With any luck, they wouldn't learn until it was too late. She had some minor hope she could convert them, slowly and subtly, but wouldn't be too broken up if none of them could be saved. Still, her superior did want her to try, so that's the least she could do. Even if none of them would change, that simply meant she would get more rewards in the end. Hmm, speaking of rewards, she thought back to that runt from a few minutes ago, and remembered she always wanted a pet cat...

***

Class 1-A was inside the USJ listening to Pro Hero Thirteen's opening speech on the dangers of quirk misuse. Izuku stood between Bakugou and Ochako and was paying rapt attention. Judging from how Ember Fang was laying curled up next to Bakugou, Izuku assumed his friend wasn't quite listening. Simultaneously, he heard Mineta give a bored yawn behind him. Hopefully there wouldn't be a quiz at the end of this. 

Suddenly Ember Fang shot to their feet and started growling at...at something in the main plaza of the facility. Katsuki also perked up and stared out, his face a mix of fear and confusion. Before Izuku could ask anything, Cobalt shot in front of him and took up a fighting stance. At the same moment, Izuku started feeling something. It was different from when he felt Shinsou's spirit, but he could feel there was something bad down there.

"You feeling it?" Katsuki whispered.

"Sensei!" Izuku shot his hand up. When everyone looked at him, Izuku pointed to the main plaza. "Sensei, Kacchan and I can feel there's something bad down there!" Aizawa turned down the stairs, ready to refute their claim, but saw a bank of black mist begin to form. Everyone watched as the bank expanded to almost completely fill the plaza. Several students gasped in fear as a multitude of people came sauntering out from the mist. None of them looked friendly.

"Is this part of the exercise?" Hagakure asked.

"No," Izuku blanched, his bad feeling reaching a crescendo when a woman who appeared to be covered in hands (some of which were too small to belong to women) stepped out of the mist. "VILLAINS!"

"Thirteen, call for help!" Aizawa shouted as she unwrapped her capture ribbons. "All students, back to the bus, now!" Most of the students began shuffling back towards the doors, but Bakugou rushed forward with Aizawa.

"I can help!" he hollered. "They won't see me coming!" Aizawa grabbed the back of his collar and pulled him back.

"You're still a student!" Aizawa scolded. "Leave this to the adults!" Bakugou was about to yell back, but Aizawa dashed down the steps and rushed the horde before he could. Bakugou was about to join her anyway, but Izuku grabbed his shoulder.

"Come on, we can at least keep the others safe." Bakugou growled but couldn't deny his friends' words, so he turned and rejoined the class as they dashed for the doors. Before they reached the doors, however, another bank of black mist formed in front of them. To everyone's surprise, this one was wearing a nice suit and had glowing eyes. Oh wait, it was an actual person. 

"I'm sorry," the misty woman insincerely apologized, "but I'm afraid I can't let any of you-" A sudden explosion right by her head caught her by surprise. 

"DIE!" Bakugou screamed as he flew right at her head, aiming to deliver another Bakugou-Dropkick. Before he reached her, however, another small fogbank appeared in midair in front of him. Everyone watched as he disappeared into the mist. At the same time, a very large bank appeared under everyone's feet. Several students, including Izuku, screamed as they began to fall in. Turning, Izuku saw Iida was barely on the edge. If she could take one more step she'd have avoided the mist. Well now, there was something he could help with.

"IIDA!" Izuku shouted as he willed Cobalt Star in her direction. "GO GET HELP!" Before his classmate could say anything, Cobalt Star grabbed her arm, pulled her free of the mist and hurled her out the door. Mist woman turned with wide eyes and raised her hand, undoubtedly to summon more mist, but was stopped when Cobalt rushed over and slammed both his fists down on her head. Dazed from the impact, she was unable to do anything as Cobalt grabbed Izuku and Momo and threw them to the safety of a bush above the walkway. Unfortunately, everyone else, including Hero Thirteen, got sucked down into the mist. The fog disappeared soon after, leaving the unconscious mist villain on the ground and Izuku & Momo in a bush. 

"W-where do you think everyone else was taken?" Momo whispered, still scared from what happened.

"Hopefully nowhere we can't rescue them from," Izuku said as he exited the bush. Looking out the still-open doors, Izuku could see a faint dust cloud in the distance. "Looks like Iida got away." Then he looked back down towards the plaza, where Aizawa was still fighting the horde of villains. She appeared to be doing fine, but Izuku noticed the hand villain from earlier and an outright massive black-skinned villain with an exposed brain had not engaged her. They must be waiting for her to get tired.

"I'm gonna go help Aizawa-sensei. You wait here." He took a step but was stopped when Momo grabbed his shoulder.

"Don't," she whispered with a fearful tone. "A-Aizawa was right, Midoriya. We're still students, we should stay out of the-"

"We may not have that luxury," Izuku hissed. "If someone finds us they could use us as hostages. You can go outside and make a radio to call UA, I'm gonna help Aizawa." He gave her a pleading look, knowing he was capable of helping. Momo stared, then gave a sigh as she let him go.

"Don't die, Midoriya." Her classmate nodded and, flanked by his invisible knight, charged the villains.

***

Iida was running fast as she could back to UA. She had to alert the staff to the attack. She had to get help. Her task was one of utmost importance. She utilized both quirks best she could to increase her speed, but soon had to stop. Heaving for breath like she had run a marathon, she leaned against a tree and slowly slid down to the ground. As she sat there, taking deep breaths, she couldn't help but feel shame.

She was the Ninth Bearer of One For All. She was Lady Might's chosen successor, and she was running away. She should have been there, she should have stayed and fought. After all, that mist woman said something that Iida was assuming was gonna be about not letting them leave, which hopefully meant everyone was still in the USJ. They were all fighting. She wasn't. She was out here, sitting against a tree kilometers away catching her breath. It was disgraceful. Her sister would have been disappointed at her cowardice. Lady Might would have been disappointed.

"Retreat is not always cowardice."

Iida stopped. While dwelling on her depressing thoughts, her mind wandered over to a point in time when she had been cleaning that beach. She remembered one sunset where Lady Might had been regaling her on some her lesser-known triumphs. It was also that evening when Iida had learned something she never thought possible about Japan's greatest heroine.

"Retreat is not always cowardice. Sometimes you'll find yourself facing someone who outmatches you in a manner you are unprepared for. Sometimes you'll be there just to buy time for allies to do the greater work. In such events, there is no shame in running away. No shame in pulling back and letting your allies take over when you cannot." Lady Might sighed and rubbed her waist. "Sadly, that was a lesson I had forgotten and remembered the hard way."

"But Lady Might," Iida had asked, "Surely there had never been a time before where you had to retreat? You're the number one hero!"

"Ah," Lady Might had laughed, "but I was not always such! I did not automatically become such when I got my license. Indeed, when I first got my pro hero license I was still unraveling some of the secrets of One For All. And during those early years, there were many times where I had to pull back. Do I remember those times as shameful or disappointing? Indeed not. Every time I did, it was for the sake of others. So remember, Young Iida. Just as there is always a time for fighting, sometimes there is a time for retreat..."

Remembering this, Iida took a breath and shot to her feet. What was she thinking? Even if she turned back now, she'd be too exhausted to fight! The only thing she could do now was keep going! Keep running! All the way to UA, to get help! And every moment she dallied her classmates, her friends, were closer to great harm! She could waste no more time! Taking a breath and revving her engines, Iida recharged One For All in her legs and ran again. Her mission was not to fight, but to get help. And nothing would stop her now.

***

Aizawa was starting to get tired. There were a lot of villains here. Oh, and her eyes were hurting. Fantastic. She was reminded of this when she glared at a villain with electrified hands. Her expression was priceless when said electricity just sorta fizzled out. Aizawa smirked and threw her tool in their direction. As she did, she saw a woman with spikes through the corner of her eye. She was coming too fast for Aizawa to swing her weapon around. She turned to punch this woman, but stopped when the woman was sent flying through the air. 

She wasn't the only one, either. As Aizawa's weapon wrapped around the electric villain, she saw random villains around the plaza go flying, impacted by an unseen force. Aizawa was confused for a brief moment before she remembered who her students were. She quickly glanced around, looking for a particular...there! She could just barely see him with all the green, but she saw Izuku hiding in a bush. She could see him lean his head and dart his eyes around, clearly using mental commands on his spirit. No one knew what was going on. Part of her was angry that he disobeyed her, but she was also happy that he was staying out of the way. Technically speaking.

That happiness stopped when the large brain villain she noticed earlier moved to attack. She dodged this massive villain's first punch, but not their second one. She coughed up some blood as she flew back. Definitely broke a few ribs. She slowly pushed herself up and saw the beast coming right for her. It roared and raised it's fist to smash Aizawa into the floor. 

She couldn't move as it swung down.

***

Ochako stumbled out of the wildfire zone, supported by Hero Thirteen and Kirishima. When she fell from the warp gate, she had landed on some rocks at a bad angle. This combined with the villains they three had to contend with resulted in a nasty sprain. It wasn't anything Recovery Girl couldn't fix, but she wasn't there.

"Set her down here," Thirteen instructed. Ochako groaned as she sat down, eager to get some pressure off her feet.

"You think the rest of us are doing alright?" Ochako asked.

"Without a doubt," Kirishima smiled. "These villains are scary-looking, but they're complete pushovers. I'm not saying this to be discriminant, but I bet even the boys could handle these mooks by themselves."

"You know," a new voice piped up, "it sounded exactly like that when you started your sentence with that phrase." The three turned and gave a sigh of relief when they saw Ojiro walking up with Sero and Sato. 

"Glad to see you," Thirteen greeted. "Did you have any trouble when you landed?"

"Not really," Sato patted Ojiro's head. "This guy here took 'em all out by himself before Sero and I could even organize. Oh hey, have you met anyone else yet?"

"We just got out of the wildfire area" Ochako rubbed her leg. "No one else in there. What about you?"

"We spotted Todoroki heading for the landslide zone," Sero gave a thumbs-up. "Saw Tsuyu and Mineta in the lake, but they kinda jumped to safety. Also saw Bakugou, but he looked pissed."

"When does he not?" Kirishima laughed. "Was he doing okay?"

"Better than okay," Ojiro chuckled. "He was running back to the main plaza. Well, I say running, but..."

***

There was utter silence in the plaza. Even the groaning of the villains Aizawa had incapacitated earlier was nonexistent. Aizawa and any conscious villains just stared in silence at the hulking beast, with it's fist extended...but stopped mere feet from the hero's face. Standing between that fist and Aizawa, with their own arms extended, was Midoriya Izuku.

He was sweating a flood as Cobalt stopped the behemoth from striking Aizawa. He knew this impact from this beast that just screamed bad would mess with him a bit. He knew it was idiotic to reveal himself like this, but something he and Katsuki had learned was that, for reasons unknown, making gestures like this seemed to strengthen their spirits capabilities. Ember Fang could make bigger explosions if Katsuki swung his hand, and Cobalt Star could perform greater feats of strength if Izuku mirrored the action. Plus, doing gestures also tended to help reveal more of what exactly they could do.

This was Izuku's sole explanation for why Cobalt Star suddenly had a shield.

It wasn't a large shield, looking more like a kite-shaped buckler. Upon closer inspection, Izuku noticed the shield looked like it unfolded from Cobalt's gauntlet. Was it always there? Were there more gadgets like that hidden across Cobalt's armor? That was definitely something he would need to investigate later. For now, he had to see if Cobalt could do anything against the behemoth villain. With a groan, he made Cobalt swing his arm to the side, pushing the monster's arm away and making an opening. It was at that point, when Izuku willed Cobalt to attack, he learned something else new about his spirit. Honestly, he was expecting Cobalt to conjure a sword or something equally knightly. Instead, Cobalt Star unveiled a different weapon.

Their gauntlets had claws.

In that moment of vulnerability, Cobalt Star raked it's hand across it's face, eliciting a roar when two of the claws sliced right through it's eye. It staggered back from the strike, but more from the wounds than the force of the impact. Then, to Izuku's horror, the wounds Cobalt inflicted healed right before his eyes. The eye took a bit longer to regrow, and was something Izuku honestly wished he didn't see. The monster roared and raised it's fist to attack again, and Izuku was poised to-

"STOP!"

The monster froze. Izuku froze. Aizawa was barely conscious and unable to move anyways. Izuku turned and saw the hand-villain, the one who screamed a different sort of bad from the monster but also felt worse, walking towards him and giving Izuku a chance to get a good look at her. She was really lanky (maybe another case of Marfan Syndrome?) with short blue hair that looked like it hadn't been washed in days. She had two red eyes that were unhindered by the man-sized hand covering part of her face. Those same eyes were solely focused on Izuku.

"Hello, there," she rasped. "I heard this hero class had boys in it, but it's different actually seeing you with my own eyes. It's like finding a shiny pokemon in the wild! But how did you stop my Nomu? Do you have a tool or something?" Rather than respond, Izuku stared and processed what she said. Her Nomu? Those two words alone gave Izuku a multitude of questions, along with one answer he needed.

This thing takes orders from her.

With a glare and a jerk of his head, Izuku directed Cobalt Star to deck Ms. Hand Fetish in the face, sending her flying to the side. As expected, the "Nomu" didn't react to this. This meant it would act to defend itself and respond to orders, but otherwise would not respond to outside stimuli. Like a golem from that super-old Dragon Age game, only the control rod was a woman with way too many hands that weren't part of a quirk. Oh crap, the woman was getting back up.

"Was that you?" she hissed. "You did that, didn't you? Men aren't supposed to have quirks, though! Either you're faking it or..." Suddenly her eyes widened and she gave a big and scary smile. "You're a glitch! Like a shiny Missingno! Nomu! Capture him!" Bigger crap, the beast was moving.

It roared and swung at Izuku, who deftly dodged the hulking beast. Another swing, another miss. Izuku was scared beyond belief at what Ms. Hand Fetish was wanting, but his muscle memory thankfully had no fear, and kept him moving and dodging the Nomu's hands. While dodging another blow, Izuku willed Cobalt to punch the Nomu in the face. To his shock, the thing barely budged from a punch that was known to level walls. Izuku dodged another attempted grab and sent another punch, this time gesturing for it. Again, the Nomu barely budged. Just how hard was this thing?

"Nomu, stop playing around and grab him already!" the hand villain roared. The beast roared in reply and started moving faster in attempts to grab Izuku. This was bad. He was starting to get tired. He could try punching the other villain again, but that might not stop the monster. He couldn't try fleeing, either, cause that would leave Aizawa vulnerable. So long as their focus was on him, Aizawa was safe. What else could he do, though?

"HEY, FUCKFACE!"

Izuku and Hand Fetish both turned to the voice, Izuku smiling when he heard it. Even from across the plaza he could tell was Bakugou, and he looked pissed. What surprised Izuku, though, was how Bakugou was coming. He knew Bakugou had mentioned it before, but this was Izuku's first time seeing his friend riding his spirit. It was quite a sight seeing Bakugou sitting on Ember Fang's back and holding onto the small spines that grew from his shoulders. 

"HOW THE FUCK ARE YOU FLYING!?" Hand Fetish screamed. "ARE YOU ANOTHER SHINY MISSINGNO!?" Oh right, normal people wouldn't be able to see Ember, so it would look like Bakugou was just flying. That was kinda funn-oh crap, the Nomu almost got him that time. Would it keep trying to grab him until it was told to stop? That was not fun.

"STAY AWAY FROM MY FRIEND, YOU SELF-FINGERING FROG-HUMPING FRUIT BASKET FROM HELL!" After his current creative use of expletives, Bakugou stood up on Ember's back and jumped off, letting the momentum carry him as Ember raced forward and unleashed a large explosion on the Nomu. The sudden attack didn't push the Nomu away at all, but the heat scorched it's skin, which was apparently enough to make it stop. Finally Izuku could catch his breath, but not before making Cobalt punch Hand Fetish again. As Bakugou ran up the rest of the way, Izuku glanced back at Aizawa. Their teacher had pulled herself up to a sitting position, and had her eyes closed. He could see her chest moving, but her breathing sounded ragged. She wasn't in too much danger it seemed, but they still had to get her out of there.

"Bakugou, can you get Aizawa to someplace safe?" Izuku asked as he made Cobalt punch Hand Fetish again.

"I did not fight my way back here just to leave again," Bakugou growled as Ember Fang stood by his side.

"Just get her far enough away to be safe," Izuku stated. "We can't fight at full strength if we have to keep her safe, too. Look, Momo's just up the stairs, take Aizawa up there and see if she can patch her up."

"That sounds reasonable," Bakugou nodded. "Gimme a minute." As Bakugou dashed off to accomplish the task, Izuku made Cobalt punch Hand Fetish a fourth time. It seemed this villain wasn't used to direct combat, and any time she was recovering from a blow was time she couldn't use to make the Nomu attack. Plus, Izuku had a feeling he didn't wanna be on the receiving end of her quirk. After another minute, Bakugou came back with Ember.

"Here's what I know," Izuku quickly whispered. "Big thing here has regeneration and some sort of shock absorption, based on how Cobalt can't seem to send him flying. It also only acts on orders from Ms. Hand Fetish, and if it gets hurt it will defend itself. Dunno what Ms Hand Fetish's quirk is, either. Ideas?"

"Shock absorption is a problem," Bakugou nodded, "but only for sharp impacts, and if the target is grounded. Can you make Cobalt throw it upwards?" Izuku looked back at Cobalt, who was still decking Ms. Hand Fetish periodically to prevent her from giving any orders.

"We'll have to go fast. Ready?"

"Born ready, muthafucka!" Bakugou knocked his fists together, getting a few pops from Ember. 

Izuku had Cobalt give Ms Hand Fetish one more punch to send her flying away before willing it back to the still-unmoving Nomu. It felt kind of unfair attacking an unmoving target, but Izuku remembered what this thing tried to do to Aizawa. With gritted teeth, Izuku made Cobalt grab the Nomu with the intention of tossing it up in the air. Surprisingly, the Nomu was lifted rather easily. Couldn't have weighed more than the cars he had lifted on the beach back when they were training. With a grunt, he gave the mental order and Cobalt threw it upwards.

"We'll hit it at the same time!" Bakugou roared. "Combo it into the sky!" He willed Ember to jump at the same time Izuku made Cobalt hover up to meet the now-falling Nomu. Izuku mentally charged the strongest punch he could muster while Ember Fang's mouth opened up far as it could, then extended down his neck, creating a mouth that stretched all the way to his shoulders. It was kinda freaky, but currently unimportant. With a roar from both boys, their spirits both impacted the Nomu with fists and explosions.

Shock absorption was actually a pretty tricky quirk. It could diminish the force of hard impacts, making even strong punches be like the slap of a baby. However, this hinged on being able to brace for the impact. In the air, with nothing to brace against, the Nomu felt the impact in a different manner than it had been designed to handle. The attack itself didn't really hurt the Nomu (beyond the burns from the explosions), but the force sent it flying up and away like a leaf caught in a fiery windstorm. Both boys watched as the Nomu flew through one of the glass panes covering the USJ and disappeared into the distance. 

Any joy the boys felt from this victory was short-lived. First, the amount of force they put into that final hit was the hardest they could muster, which meant both boys were now kneeling with bruising and aching arms. Secondly, Hand Fetish had finally managed to recover enough to stand up. She looked pissed, too.

"YOU!" she screamed. "YOU DEFEATED MY NOMU!? YOU'RE JUST MEN! WEAKLINGS! THAT THING WAS BUILT TO KILL LADY MIGHT! YOU'RE DEAD!" She rushed at them, hands extended to do whatever her quirk did. Thankfully, Izuku had just enough left in him to make Cobalt trip the crazy woman, then hoist her aloft. He didn't throw her, but rather held her above the ground, facing upwards so she couldn't grab anything to throw. The woman screamed and whined as she flailed in attempts to get free. They thought they had her, until a bank of black mist formed around the hand lady.

"The Mist Lady!" Izuku gasped. "Cobalt, bring her down!" His knight lowered his hands, only to find them empty as the mist disappeared. As that happened, the bad feeling Izuku had since they arrived finally disappeared. The woman had gotten away. The two boys, tired from their exertion, just fell to their knees and caught their breath as their various scattered classmates finally made it back to the main plaza.

Lady Might arrived on the scene mere moments after the entire incident had officially ended.

***

"DAMMIT!" the woman with the hands screamed as she slammed her fist on a nearby table. Mist Lady was standing nearby with the television-and-camera. Said device was turned on, and the person on the other side was listening to Shigaraki's tirade. "THOSE BASTARDS CHEATED! THEY SHOULDN'T HAVE BEEN ABLE TO DO THAT!"

"Calm down, Shigaraki," the person on the TV stated. "Kurogiri, what happened over there?"

"We encountered something impossible," Kurogiri the Mist Lady explained. "That Hero class had boys in it, like our intel stated. However, two of those boys had quirks." Other than the wailing and gnashing of teeth from Shigaraki, there was silence in the bar for a few moments.

"...Pardon?" the TV person asked.

"Two boys had quirks," Kurogiri repeated. "One of them has a strong telekinetic quirk that they were able to use to send their classmate flying out the door before knocking me unconscious with it. I came back to my senses in time to see him and the second boy send the Nomu up in the air before unleashing a massive explosion that sent it flying away. I was unsure just how long I had been unconscious, but with the combination of an escaped student and the loss of the Nomu, I felt our best option at that point was to retreat." 

At this point, Shigaraki's whines had diminished to simple whimpering while the TV person pondered over what they had learned. After a few minutes, the TV person spoke up again. Their tone was calm and reassuring, like they were trying to calm a wild animal.

"Shigaraki, we may have failed to kill Lady Might, but we have learned something new. I would like you to rebuild the League, focusing on quality over quantity. Kurogiri, I want you to learn everything you can about the boys in question. Names, habits, everything. They might be receiving hero training, but with how society is these days, there may yet be a chance we could bring them to our side. We have a full plate, ladies. Let's get to it."

***

It had been a few hours since the attack ended. All the students had been treated for any injuries and questioned by the police. Izuku and Katsuki had been questioned by a detective named Tsukauchi Nanae. She was apparently a friend of Lady Might with a lie detection quirk, but Izuku couldn't help but notice how she twitched every time he or Bakugou answered a question. Was that part of her quirk, too? He was curious, but too tired to really ask about it. 

Once Tsukauchi was done, the boys had been released with the rest of the class. They were on the bus headed back for UA to grab their things before heading home. Everyone was tired and aching, but overall in good spirits. Izuku was leaning back in his seat while Katsuki had apparently outright fallen asleep against Ashido (earning a happy squeal from the acid girl). During the ride, Izuku noticed Yaoyorozu looked...uneasy. He couldn't blame her; There was no doubt she wasn't the only one feeling uneasy. 

Aizawa had also been treated for her injuries, which were thankfully fairly light compared to what they could have been. She was sitting in the front of the bus, looking at all her students. She was more perceptive than Midoriya, and could see that pretty much everyone on the bus was still tense. They had all faced villains today. That was something that shouldn't have happened for another year or two. They were caught by surprise. Looking at her students, seeing how close some of them actually came to dying, she vowed right then and there not to let that happen again. She would make sure they were ready for the future. 

That they'd be ready to be heroes.

Chapter Text

Chapter Text

At the same time the three boys were being measured for their power suits, Lady Might sat in the Teacher's Lounge. She was anxious, her leg twitching in place while her head hung low. This wasn't a conversation she ever wanted to have, but with what happened at the USJ, she decided it would be better to play it safe. She lifted her head as the door opened, and Iida Tenten stepped into the room.

"What did you need, Sensei?" the speedy girl asked as she stood across from Lady Might. The heroine simply gestured to the nearby chair. The student took the seat, and Lady Might took a breath.

"There's something I have to tell you," Lady Might stated. "It concerns the villains that attacked your class a few days ago." That grabbed Iida's attention completely. "You've heard about the two villains who led the attack, yes?"

"Midoriya told me about them," Iida nodded. "A misty one who could create portals, and one who commanded that big brute the police captured."

"Indeed. However, they weren't the real leaders." There was a brief pause as Yayoi let that news sink in before continuing. "Remember how I showed you my grievous injury when we first met?"

"Yes, ma'am. You told me you got it from the only villain you ever had to-"

"I was wrong." Lady Might sighed. "They're still alive, and they're the real leader of the League of Villains. There is no mistaking it." The pro heroine looked out the window. "Their name is All For One. They are a monster as old as quirks themselves, and a master manipulator in every sense of the word. And before you ask, yes I use the term 'monster' appropriately here. All For One has the power to steal quirks from people, which they can either give to others, or hoard for themselves. I had hoped they had died when we last fought, hoped that you would never have to face them, but the existence of that Noumu, a beast with multiple quirks, proves they're still alive. 

"They are the very antithesis of One For All, our line of heroes. But that's not the worst part. You've entered into a cursed legacy, my protege. I had hoped you would be free of the shadow hanging over One For All. But that curse has come back, and its going to fall to you to overcome the mistake of my past. They are someone you will face, and soon. I'm so sorry."

The silence was palpable. The look on Iida's face displayed their unease and shock. It is one thing to be chosen for the next Symbol of Peace, it is another thing entirely to be told you'll have to fight a supervillain. Iida clenched her fist and looked Lady Might in the eye.

"Please tell me everything you know about them," Iida requested. "If I am to fight this 'All For One' someday, I would like to know what I am up against."

"Of course," Lady Might nodded, "but a word of warning. When you face them, you'll discover one thing about them, one possible and blatant weakness. Despite this, do not underestimate them even for an instant."

"What weakness?"

"...Without utilizing any of their quirks, they're about half your height."

***

It had been almost an hour since Iida's meeting with Lady Might. Class 1-A and their teacher were assembled in one of the fields behind the school. To everyone's surprise, the field had been turned into a large hill. It wasn't too high and there were several paths leading to the top, but there was some modicum of steepness to it, mingled with boulders and shallow holes. There were even a few trees. At the very top was a pole with a display screen on it.

Everyone knew what this was, but what stumped them was how this was going to apply to hero work. Didn't villains usually hold a position from all comers? That's what the bomb drill taught them. But if it was all them and just the one hill, that made them even more confused. "Hey Kaa-chan, you don't think they're going to make us do a free for all," Deku asked Bakugo with rising horror. Bakugo smiled wide. "If it is, then we've got home team advantage shrimp!" 

This was usually when Tenten would come in about the exercise not being that simple. Half the class were already expecting it, looking to Tenten, but she was staring into the distance, lost in her thoughts. "Hey Ilda? UA to Ilda?" Jiro started, waving her hand in front of the super-motor girl's face. It took a couple of seconds for the motion to register.

"...Hm? Oh! Sorry Jiro! I was just thinking...about the best way to tackle this activity. I have to get creative about standing still when my quirk's all about movement, a true challenge befitting UA." She sheepishly smiled, chastising herself for getting caught in her wandering thoughts. "Sorry for getting distracted!"

Meanwhile, Todoroki was pursing her lips looking at the hill, then the boys, then the hill again. If she was thinking right, it was going to be a stampede out there, and those boys were going right into the thick of it. She couldn't outright ask them to be excused either. "If I swing this just right though, I can keep them safe and stay on objective. I hope I can- no, I have to." She clenched her right fist and took a slow deep breath. Before she could form more of a plan, the display above flickered to life.

"A good hero can go out and handle any villain they face," Aizawa droned. "However, great heroes can also keep villains away from targets, such as VIP's or important objects. This exercise is gonna be along the lines of a 'queen of the hill' game. Everyone has to get to the top of the hill and keep everyone else away. The pole up there is keyed to everyone's school ID's. It'll record how long each of you can hold the top. The exercise lasts fifteen minutes." Aizawa let the students process that information for a few moments before adding "Oh yeah. To help you feel better after the USJ, the winner gets a coupon for a free ice cream cone from the Naboo Creamery." That got the student's attention, and a few even started drooling. Aizawa gave a smirk and blew her whistle, prompting the students to make a mad dash up the hill.

Iida seemed like a shoe-in to reach the top first due to her speed quirk, but was just as surprised as everyone else when Izuku and Katsuki literally flew past her. Bakugou was clearly riding Ember Fang while it looked like Izuku just had Cobalt Star throw him up the hill. Both boys reached the top a few seconds before anyone else. Rather than do their usual teamwork, Izuku surprised Bakugou by having Cobalt grab him and hurl him back down the hill. The volatile blond grunted in frustration as he bowled into Mineta, who just smiled and hugged Bakugou tight before receiving an explosion to her face.

"No touching, you pervy prune!" Bakugou yelled as he grabbed onto Ember Fang to run back up, only to get frozen in place by Todoroki. "Gah, you bitch!"

Todoroki was running up the hill fast as she could, freezing anyone else who got too close. She didn't actually want the ice cream, but this was still a hero exercise so she would use her ice as best she could. She threw out a wall of ice to her right to stop some of her classmates, but that fell through when Iida literally smashed through it. This startled her. Shouko knew her classmate was fast, but strong as well? Maybe she just used her momentum to increase her strength? Before Shouko could think any further, she found herself being pushed back down the hill by an unseen force. Looking up, she noticed Izuku looking in her direction before turning to someone else who was getting close. The pressure on her ceased, but Kirishima gave a shout of surprise as she was pushed back. He was using his spirit, but even with the boon of an invisible servant, Izuku was still surprised when Tokoyami's very visible servant grabbed him and pulled him down the hill.

It appeared this exercise was more than initially presented.

***

In a hotel not far from the UA campus, Itsuwari Homura and two other members of the Kittery Renaissance waited for the rest of their group. They were all dressed in their casual outfits, with Itsuwari in her usual red suit while the two were dressed as traditional "high school delinquents." She would have dressed the same, but she was too tall to pass as a high school student, even if she wore a mask like the rest. While the other two were busy using their quirks to repair some of their equipment or poking around online, Itsuwari was busy flipping through the three folders she had received earlier. Three folders giving a handful of details about their latest targets.

"Ojiro Mashirao," she muttered to herself. "Bakugou Katsuki. Midoriya Izuku. The first boys to enter UA's hero course in almost twenty years. Other than the boy with the tail, quirkless. Currently in Class 1-A...wait, wasn't that the class that was attacked by villains last week?" She pulled out her phone and scrolled through last week's news pages, and sure enough it was 1-A that was involved in the now-infamous USJ Incident. These boys weren't just students, they were survivors. Now she felt kind of bad to make them disappear. 

Only kind of.

The door to the hotel room opened as two more of her people stepped in, dressed like high school delinquents with dyed hair and carrying heavy bags. Itsuwari sat up straight on the couch, giving her subordinates a comfy place to sit. Said ladies groaned with relief as they dropped their bags and plopped onto the couch.

"How does it look?" Itsuwari asked.

"Grabbing from the school's a no-go," one of them sighed. "After the media break-in last week, all news crews are prohibited from getting within 100 meters of the gates, and after the villain attack security is ramped up tighter than that one castle in Europe, and that place had frikkin' laser guns. Maybe if we borrowed that one plane from the British museum and dove straight down from max altitude..."

"After school seems like our immediate best bet," the other one raised her hand. "We've left Saffron and Catalina to watch which direction they head, so that we can think of a means of ambushing them."

"Good idea," Itsuwari nodded before looking at the woman who was browsing the internet. "Beryl, find anything of note on the boys?"

"I'd say I found a way to grab them," the woman smiled. 

This grabbed everyone's attention, as they all got up from their respective spots to huddle around the laptop. There was only a smidgen of information on the boys scattered across individual sites, but all put together made for quite the interesting picture. She found news articles detailing how Bakugou and Midoriya were attacked by a villain a year prior. How Ojiro was among the finalists for a handful of different martial arts competitions, even winning a few. A few photos showing Izuku and Bakugou at video game contests. A couple shots of Ojiro and Hagakure posing for pictures on social media. The most telling shots, though, were older shots of Bakugou and Izuku taking part in a cosplay contest a few years ago, along with Ojiro doing the same at a different convention.

"The boys are nerds," Itsuwari chuckled. "Girls, get intel on upcoming conventions. I have an idea."

***

"HAHAHA!" Ashido laughed. "I'm queen of the castle!" This statement was accurate, as she stood tall on top of the hill. She had held her spot for several minutes, much to the chagrin of everyone else. Any time someone got close, Ashido would throw acid at their feet. This resulted in a loss of footing and usually the individual stumbling back down. Even the boys, with aid from their spirits, couldn't get close.

Aizawa was genuinely impressed by this (though she'd never openly admit it). She knew Ashido had displayed less-than-optimal capabilities in the past, but using her quirk like this was a stroke of genius. There was hope for her yet. Checking her watch, Aizawa gave a loud whistle, stopping everyone in their tracks.

"Good job everyone," the teacher nodded as she walked up the hill. "You've all shown a knack for strategy, and a few of you even displayed a good amount of teamwork." Walking past Ashido to the pole, Aizawa tapped a few buttons on the monitor, making it show everyone's times on top. To the surprise of no one, Ashido was number one, holding the hill for close to six minutes. No one else even came close. The pink girl whooped with joy, everyone else just laughed with her enthusiasm.

"Queen of the castle!" Ashido danced. "That ice cream is mine!"

"What ice cream?" Aizawa asked. That question made everyone freeze and look at Aizawa with incredulous stares. "That was a logical ruse aimed to make you all work your hardest, similar to the skill assessment at the start of the year."

"Not cool!" the acidic girl whined. "You can't just hang stuff like that-"

"And why not?" their teacher glared. "You're training to be heroes. Heroes do their job for the sake of society, often without reward nor gratitude. If you're in here intending to become a hero for the sake of rewards, go join Management." She checked her watch before continuing. "And that's all we have time for. Go change and go home." The students gave a less-than-energetic acknowledgement before heading down the hill. Aizawa stayed on top to watch them go.

"Excuse me," Aizawa heard from behind her. Turning around, she saw Lady Might trudging up the hill in her withered form. "I couldn't help but overhear you something about a logical ruse involving ice cream?"

"What about it?" the underground heroine narrowed her eyes. 

"Didn't Nedzu actually give you a coupon for this exercise?" Lady Might asked. "Specifically to help cheer them up?"

"They're training to be heroes," Aizawa bluntly replied, indirectly answering the No. 1's question. "They need to learn what it takes to really be a hero."

"And they will," Lady Might solemnly nodded, "but right now they're still children. They like having fun, and still think with their stomachs."

"Then now's as good a time as any for them to learn," Aizawa tersely replied before walking down the hill, ending the conversation. Yayoi watched the hero leave, sighing in dismay. Her fellow hero had changed since the USJ, and she wasn't sure it was for the better. Lady Might could only hope it wouldn't hurt her kids too much. In the meantime, she had an idea. She still had some Big Time, she was gonna use it. With a smile, she bulked up and jumped from the hilltop and landed next to Class 1-A, startling most of them.

"L-Lady Might!" Iida announced. "What is-"

"I heard what Eraserhead did," the heroine stated. "In my opinion, tricking you like that was...quite unbecoming of a hero. Therefore, I've decided to make up for it." She gave her trademark smile. "I sure hope none of you have places to be after school, because I will treat everyone here to some ice cream from Naboo Creamery!" The students stood gobsmacked at this declaration. Getting treated to ice cream by the number one heroine? None of them ever thought such a thing would happen. They were shaken from their thoughts as Lady Might cleared her throat. "Now, who won today's exercise? Young Ashido? As congratulations for a job well done, you get two scoops!"

"WHAT!?" Ashido screamed in disbelief. "But the Creamery never lets people get two scoops on their cones!"

"And I'm Lady Might!" Yayoi stated. "You think they'd tell me no?" She started laughing, soon joined by everyone else. Ashido managed to give the heroine a surprise hug as well. It was a very heartwarming scene, and Lady Might could only think of a few times she felt better.

Unbeknownst to Lady Might and Class 1-A, Itsuwari and her group of criminals were preparing to make their move...

Chapter Text

It had been an hour since school ended, and Class 1-A was all sitting in the Naboo Creamery. True to her word, Lady Might had purchased ice cream for the entirety of the class with Ashido getting the promised two scoops. The class took up most of the seats in the dessert shop, chatting away happily. Lady Might had left a few minutes prior, narrowly escaping the rather-invasive press. Said news crews then tried to interrogate the class, but found themselves locked out. The Creamery staff respected the privacy of their customers.

The three boys of the class sat close to the corner of the shop (away from the oddly-twitchy Mineta) with their properly-sized ice cream cones. Izuku and Bakugou were hogging a window while Ojiro sat on Hagakure's lap, making the tailed boy blush and everyone else laugh. It was after one such good laugh that Izuku noticed something. Everyone was sitting in their own friend group through the Creamery, but Momo was sitting by herself. From the looks of it, she had barely touched her ice cream. Seeing everyone else in their own conversation, Izuku slipped down under the table and walked over to Momo's table. She didn't even seem to notice him climbing into the chair opposite hers.



"What's wrong, Yaoyorozu?" the small greenette asked, snapping Momo from her stupor.

"O-oh, Midoriya," the taller girl greeted. "I-I'm fine, really." 

"...I don't believe you," Izuku deadpanned. "Yaoyorozu, you've been distracted all day, there is something wrong. Please, you can tell me what it is. I won't judge you." The two stared at each other in silence, Izuku's eyes pleading while Momo's gaze was closed. With a small sigh, Momo finally relented.

"Back at the USJ," she explained, "you were down there fighting villains with Aizawa-sensei. Everyone else was out fighting villains...and I just sat in a bush by the entrance." She buried her face in her hands. "What sort of hero student am I, when I didn't even try to help?" She was almost crying for a few moments before hearing a tap on the table. Looking up, she saw Izuku's hand extended out as he looked at her.

"...I was trying to grab your hand in reassurance," he explained, "but my arm is too small. Anyway, Yaoyorozu, something else you should remember is that we're all students. We shouldn't have had to deal with what happened for another few years. I also heard you made First-Aid gear to patch up sensei once Kacchan brought her up to you. Even if you didn't fight, you still did good out there. Don't lose confidence for surviving." Momo stared for a bit, clearly ruminating over his words, before Izuku gave a chuckle. "Plus, Aizawa-sensei did tell us not to get involved. If anything, you're the only one who actually obeyed the teacher." This last statement got a small giggle out of Momo. She smiled and reached over, placing her hand over Izuku's.

"Thank you," she nodded. "I really did need to hear that." She removed her hand after another few seconds, enjoying the innocent smile the boy before her was giving. Unfortunately, it was at that point she realized her ice cream was quite melted, and rushed to finish it. Izuku chuckled and finished his own ice cream. Neither of the two noticed a few of their friends had watched the entire exchange.

***

The League spy was, for lack of a better term, pissed.

All her hard work getting that intel on the class, all that work getting everything right for the USJ invasion...and all of it wasted because of two boys and a horde of incompetence! She was supposed to be relaxing right now, enjoying a good drink and contemplating her spot in her boss's new world. Instead, she was sneaking around like a grunt spying on Midoriya and Bakugou, the two boys that ruined everything. Her boss wanted to know things about them that weren't on official documents (such as what the hell they could do), which meant she had to keep an eye on them.

She growled as she hunched behind a light pole, watching the pair of wretches jabber on their walk home from the ice cream shop. With how careless they were being, she could almost felt she could just slit their throats and be done with it. If it weren't for their weird power, she would have done just that. Worse yet, they had spent the entire walk either talking about some "Yaoi-something" or video games. Say something important, you insignificant footstools!

"Oh my gosh!" a new voice suddenly shouted. "It's them!" The spy ducked behind a convenient trash can as the two boys found themselves almost ambushed by a pair of older women. The two women were in...unusual outfits. Maybe the one in white robes could get away dressed like that, but there is no excuse for a woman to be dressed in a schoolgirl uniform.

"Whoa," she heard the green boy say. "Um, you're dressed as Tomoyo from Clannad, right?"

"YES!" the one dressed like a schoolgirl excitedly replied as she hopped up and down. "And you two! You're the runners-up from the Musutafu Snow-Con cosplay contest a couple years back! Your outfits were so good!" The two women gushed over the boys for a bit, making them both a bit flustered. Even the prickly Baku-whatsit was nervously chuckling from all the praise. The two women even asked for a selfie with the boys. The spy almost felt like gagging if it wouldn't reveal her presence.

"Oh, also!" the one in white robes exclaimed. "Tomorrow afternoon around 6th Street we'll be holding a small contest. Winners will be getting tickets for this year's AnimeJapan convention! They'll be allowed to bring up to two guests with them!" The boy's eyes widened at this and they both promised to be there to give it a shot. The women cheered and patted their heads before dashing away, leaving the boys continue their walk home, albeit more excited than before. The spy continued following, keeping hidden best she could.

After another half hour, the two boys reached their residences and parted ways. With a disgruntled sigh, the spy turned around and started walking towards the rendezvous point with the League. She may not have learned anything about the boy's weird powers, but that contest seemed interesting. After all, it could serve as an opportunity to get the boys out in the open...and maybe get rid of them entirely. She gave a chuckle. Maybe this would work.

***

The Next Day...

***

"...and that's it for class!" Midnight smiled as she closed her books. "Pack your bags and head to lunch, kids." She stepped out, letting her students socialize as they packed. The class was in high spirits, full of smiles and eager energy. Even Momo, who had been down in the dumps previously, was laughing like nothing had happened. This last tidbit made Izuku feel better about things. With a smile, he hopped from his seat and walked to the door. Upon opening it, though, he was met with a forest...except the trees were multiple colors...and had knees...

Legs.

He was looking at a forest of legs.

With a bit of an incredulous face, he took a step back before looking up at the horde of girls standing in front of the door. Most of them were looking down at him like he was a puppy, but several others had contemplative, almost scrutinizing, gazes. Especially the blond one in the front of the group, whom Izuku remembered as the jerk from last week. The girls he eavesdropped on called her Monoma, he remembered.

"Erm," Izuku spoke up as several other classmates converged behind him, "can we help you?"

"We're scoping out the competition," Monoma sneered. "I figured the class who survived being attacked by villains would look impressive, but I guess Class 1-A can't be too strong if it has boys like you in it."

"You saw us last week," Izuku deadpanned. "Did you forget about us that quickly?"

"Well," the jerk shrugged, "with how insignificant boys are, I just-" Suddenly a large explosion erupted right in front of Monoma, knocking her back and causing her to bounce off a few people before stumbling to her knees.

"Looks like somebody threw stuff again," Bakugou snickered as he walked up. Walking past Izuku, he stood as close to the girls as he could and glared up at them. "You see us? Yes, we survived a damn villain attack. All of us. Gender and quirks ain't got fuck-all to do with that. We're all strong enough to be here, so when you come after us..." He gave a feral smile. "Don't hold back." There was silence from the people outside (save for the groans of pain from Monoma). 

"...So manly..." one of them whispered. 

"Doesn't matter," Monoma slowly got back to her feet. "They're boys. They don't even deserve to be in UA, let alone-" This time, Kendou finally showed up and karate-chopped Monoma's neck.

"Sorry about her," Kendou chuckled. "She's...she's crazy." With that, she dragged the unconscious Monoma away.

"Excuse me," another voice chimed in. Said voice repeated themselves a few times as the other girls looked down and stepped aside, giving Shinsou enough space to reach the door. "Hey guys."

"Shinsou!" Izuku smiled as he stepped forward to shake his friend's hand. "You come to check your future class?"

"Came to rescue you from my classmates," the purple-haired boy responded, gesturing to the unfamiliar group over his shoulder. "But checking everything out sounds good, too."

"Future class?" Kirishima asked.

"Oh yeah," Izuku smiled. "When Shinsou does a good job in the Festival, he's gonna get transferred to Hero Course!"

"You say that like it's guaranteed," Iida narrowed her eyes. Izuku just laughed in reply and grabbed his two guy friends before heading out the door. Most of the rest of the class followed, along with the horde of students outside. 

Todoroki lingered longer than the rest. She was in shock at what she heard. Another boy was trying to transfer to the Hero Course? Another boy was trying to enter a line of work that was just too dangerous? Midoriya and Bakugou must have told him something to make him think that was a good idea. She sighed and followed her classmates out.

Just another boy to save from their own foolishness.

***

Growing up with a top detective for a mother gave one the means to notice certain details. Shinsou knew he was in the minority. Not only was he a man in a world of 80% women, he was also a plain man with no mutations to speak of. He was also followed by a shirtless bald man (though he never told anyone outside his family about that). As such, he knew that, upon entering UA, he'd either be coddled or ignored. 

Which is why his current spot, sitting among Hero students for lunch, was rather surprising.

To his left sat Midoriya, muttering away while writing in his notebook. Across from Midoriya was Momo, who was informing Izuku of her quirk. He could see a faint blush on both their faces. Did they have a thing going on? He'd have to ask later, though he felt Izuku might not give a straight answer.

To his right was Bakugou, jabbering loudly with a spiky redhead and a girl with pink skin, while across from him was a green girl with a long tongue. Most of them had some semblance of red to them. Maybe that was Bakugou's favorite color.

Directly across from Shinsou himself was the peppermint girl, Todoroki. She wasn't really talking to anyone at the moment. Instead, she seemed to be scrutinizing the three boys in front of her. Shinsou wasn't really getting a 'hostile' feel from her, but he could tell she wasn't too happy. Maybe he'd ask later.

Overall, Shinsou found it weird just how comfortable things were. No one was really talking to him, but they weren't really ignoring him either. They were treating him like a fellow classmate. It was...nice. 

"Is the Hero Course really this casual?" Shinsou asked Izuku after Momo got up to grab something.

"In my experience," Izuku smiled, "Yup. I mean, I dunno what the other class is like, but our class is pretty cool. I think it helps that our teacher threatened to punish anyone who treated us boys differently."

"That would do it," Shinsou chuckled. 

"What about your class?" the greenette asked back. "Your classmates giving you trouble?"

"Nothing I haven't dealt with before," Shinsou sighed. "Mostly acting like I'm fragile, or giving impromptu hugs when they think I'm depressed."

"With your constant glower, I assume that happens a lot?"

"You have no idea."

"You're a boy," Todoroki spoke up for the first time since sitting down. "Compared to your classmates, you are fragile."

"I'm not a vase," the Gen Ed student glared back.

"Didn't say you were," Todoroki shrugged before sipping her drink. 

"You shouldn't imply things like that regardless," Izuku interjected. "Shinsou here is a tough cookie. I can attest to that." Todoroki didn't respond, simply shrugging. Yeah, she was gonna be a hard one to deal with.

The rest of lunch passed comfortably, with no harassment or alarms. Shinsou bade goodbye and went back to his class, feeling a bit better than he did before.

***

"The fuck was that even about?" Bakugou groaned as he and Izuku walked down the road after school. "Do you know how that qualified as 'hero training' or are you just as clueless as I am?"

"At least she didn't pull another 'logical ruse' on us," Midoriya sighed. 

"But why so many fucking spoons!?"

"Something about attention to detail." Bakugou just groaned at Izuku's response and kept walking. They were on their way to 6th street, to check out that contest they heard about yesterday. Hopefully that would put him in a better mood. As they turned the corner to 6th street, they bumped into a pair of familiar faces.

"Oh hey guys," Ojiro Mashirao waved from next to Hagakure as Bakugou and Izuku rounded the corner. "You here for the contest, too?"

"Yeah," Izuku nodded. "We were told about it by some cosplayers yesterday."

"Same," Hagakure cheerfully waved her arms. "Didn't know you guys woulda been interested. Would have brought you with us otherwise." Izuku waved his own arm, reassuring her that it was alright, as the group walked down 6th street towards the crowd of people that were undoubtedly there for the contest.

Said crowd was fairly big, maybe a few dozen people, all assembled in front of a tent. Between the crowd and the tent was a table. Seated at the table was a group of five women, including the two Izuku and Katsuki saw earlier. They were all dressed in cosplay like before, and were handing envelopes to anyone who walked up to the table. Maybe they were entry tickets?

"Hey it's you guys!" the Clannad-cosplayer from yesterday cheered when she saw Izuku and Bakugou. Another lady, one dressed in a suit of armor, geeked out seeing Ojiro and Hagakure. She must have been the ones who told them about this. With big smiles, the ladies each handed the boys and Hagakure their envelopes and directed them to stand back a bit. Izuku was tempted to open his, but noticed no one else seemed to open theirs yet. With this in mind, all three boys and Hagakure waited with everyone else. Thankfully the wait wasn't long before a tall red-haired women with her bangs covering one eye and dressed like...someone Izuku honestly didn't recognize stepped forward.

"Hello, anime fans!" the woman yelled. "Sorry for the wait, had to get some last-minute things ready! Now, we know you were told this was a contest, but it's closer to a raffle. You all got envelopes? In your envelope is the prize you'll win for participating! A handful of you will win the tickets for the con, but don't worry if you don't get them! Everyone present will be getting something worth your time! If you got a gold card, you get the con tickets! Open them....now!"

Everyone shuffled to get their envelopes opened. Izuku heard the groans from the multitude of people. Evidently none of them got the gold. Hagakure herself gave a sigh as she looked at the blue card in her hands. Taking a breath, Izuku slowly opened his envelope. His eyes widened as he withdrew a gleaming gold card from it.

"FUCK YEAH!" Bakugou laughed as he did the same. 

"Awesome!" Ojiro's eyes widened as his card shined in the afternoon sun. 

"Would the winners of the gold cards please raise em high?" the redhead from earlier called out. The three boys moved forward and held their cards high, trying to make them visible among the sea of women. Thankfully the redhead saw them and pointed them out. "And there they are! What a funny turn of events, all the winners are boys! Would you please come on up?" As the boys made their way through the crowd, the redhead continued, "Like I said, even if you didn't win the con tickets, everyone here still won a prize! Take your tickets to the hobby shop downtown and our people there will sort you out! The winners will be getting some pictures taken among a few other things, so see you all later!" 

The crowd dispersed, with many eyeing the boys jealously. The four UA students stayed behind, feeling a bit giddy at their win. The cosplaying women smiled as they directed the boys to the tent behind them.

"Camera's in there, hon!" the Clannad lady gestured. "Just pose next to the backdrop and make a fun pose!

"Hey uh," Ojiro raised his hand, "since my friend here is gonna be my Guest for these tickets, could she pose with us?" The redhead thought for a bit before smiling and nodding. Hagakure gave a cheerful whoop at this, and the four kids were ushered into the tent. There was indeed a cartoony-looking backdrop for them all, and across from it was an automated camera.

"Pose for the camera, kiddies!" the redhead winked before stepping out of the tent. The four students moved in front of the backdrop and each took a different pose as they waited for the camera to click. And waited. And waited.

"How long we gotta do this?" Bakugou asked through clenched teeth, not wanting to ruin his feral smile. Izuku shrugged...then heard hissing. His head turned to the edges of the tent, and gasped when he saw small tubes poking through under the flaps.

"TRAP!" Izuku screamed. With that word, both boys with Spirits brought them to bear and rushed to the entrance of the tent. To their shock, the flaps wouldn't budge. Just as Izuku was about to direct Cobalt to claw it open, a thick vapor poured from the tubes and filled the tent with an opaque green gas. Being closest to the tubes, Izuku and Bakugou went down quickly. Having stayed in the middle of the tent, the gas didn't quite reach Ojiro and Hagakure before the invisible girl scooped her friend up and covered his face with her hand.
 
"Hold your breath," she whispered while falling to her knees. "Sleeping...gas..." She fell forward, covering Ojiro, who had gone limp in her grasp. A minute or two after the kids passed out, the gas dissipated and the flaps opened, letting the women who organized the event inside.

"That was way too easy," the redhead, Itsuwari, stated. "Kids these days are too gullible."

"Maybe they didn't expect another villain attack so quickly," the Clannad lady shrugged. "We'll get everything taken down here, boss. What should we do with the girl, though?"

"...Bring her, too," Itsuwari directed. "No witnesses." She said this, unaware there was indeed one witness.

As the Kittery Renaissance ladies took down the tent and hauled the unconscious students away, the League Spy watched from across the street and behind a convenient trash can. This was a turn of events she was not expecting in the least. She was here to give Kurogiri the signal to grab the two boys, but it looked like other villains beat them to it. Sensei would need to be told about this. With the Kittery villains distracted, the spy sneaked away. This could prove advantageous...or disastrous. 

***

Inko was getting worried. Izuku said he wouldn't be too late, but school had been out almost an hour and a half by this point. She looked down at her phone as she chopped veggies for dinner that night. He hadn't made any calls or texts that he'd be late. After chopping her current cucumber, she grabbed her phone and sent a quick text to Izuku asking where he was. To her surprise, it was a minute or two before she got a response.

Izu
I'm fine, mom! Just checking something out with Bakugou, won't be too much longer before I'm home!

That just made Inko even more suspicious. Bakugou? Izuku always called him 'Kacchan.' She waited a minute before sending out a very particular text.

Chapter Text

Nedzu was seated in his office. He was reviewing the potential events for the Sport's Festival, making sure the options were most fair for his male students. They were already at a significant disadvantage, so it was the least he could do. His thoughts were interrupted by his phone ringing. 

Not his office phone. 

Nedzu froze as he felt his personal cell phone ringing in his pocket. Very few people had this number, and they knew only to call it for an emergency. Pulling it from his vest, his eyes widened when he saw the ID. This was someone who hadn't called him in a long time. He quickly pressed the button and held it to his ear.

"I'm here."

"Little mouse," the cold female voice greeted. "Someone in your territory has abducted your students." Nedzu froze.

"Who has been taken?"

"Three boys and a girl," the woman replied, "all from your class A. I have left bread crumbs for your team to follow. Save those kids." The woman hung up. Moments later, Nedzu received a text containing the address of the student's location. Nedzu still shivered from that conversation, but he had students to save. Taking a breath, he reached under his desk and slammed his paw on the little black button underneath the corner. 

Someone dared to abduct his kids? They were gonna get hammered.

***

Hagakure woke up with a groan. Her head felt fuzzy, kinda like her brain was full of cotton balls. Opening her eyes, she looked around at the small room she was in. Wait, weren't she and Ojiro-WAIT. As she woke up the rest of way, memories of what happened came flooding back. The tent was a trap. They were hit with a sleeping gas that smelled similar to Midnight's quirk. And now she was in a small windowless room surrounded by boxes. Dread filled her chest when she realized she was also alone. Where were the boys? 

Hagakure rolled to a sitting position and slowly reached for her thigh. Contrary to what people thought, she was not stupid enough to actually go naked to utilize her quirk. She wore a specially-made bodysuit infused with some of her DNA to render it invisible. It wasn't super bulky, but it did have pockets on the arms and legs to hold small tools. One such tool, kept in her thigh pocket, was a knife. Drawing the instrument with ease, the hero student got to work cutting her binds. Thankfully, she was bound with cheap hardware store rope that was cut with little effort. Rubbing her sore limbs, she got to her feet and crept toward the door. She slowly and quietly turned the handle a bit, making sure it wasn't locked or jammed. After that successful endeavor, she stripped off her outerwear (groaning when she realized her phone was gone) and sneaked out into the hallway. 

When Hagakure stepped out she saw another door across from her. This one had three different locks (facing into the room) and a chair barricading it shut. She had a feeling the boys were in that one. She also heard voices down the hall to the right. Figuring she couldn't get that door open without making a lot of noise, Hagakure sneaked down the hallway. At the end was the living room of this residence. Sitting in that room were all the convention women from earlier. She also saw a clock showing she had been unconscious for a few hours. Crap, her folks were gonna be mad.

"So," one of them asked as she set her smartphone down, "any idea what exactly we wanna do with the kids?"

"I say sell 'em," another one suggested, making Hagakure's blood freeze. "I know some folks who'd pay a good amount for the green kid."

"Can't we keep them?" the third one asked. 

"Quiet," the redhead lady, clearly the leader, ordered. "I'll decide what to do with them once we're sure no heroes come after us. Catalina, go make sure the boys are still unconscious." One of the ladies groaned and got up, walking past Hagakure. The invisible girl followed quietly, watching as "Catalina" moved the chair and opened the three locks. The villain entered the room, leaving the door open wide enough for the hero student to look inside. She saw all three boys were also tied up and laid side-by-side on the bed. The room also had boxes and random bits of furniture everywhere. This gave her an idea. As the woman was looking over the smaller boys (and making uncomfortably flirty remarks about them), Hagakure leaned in and slipped her knife in the small space between the wall and one of the boxes in the room. Both ladies heard one of the boys groaning. Hagakure leaned back out just as Catalina turned around, exiting the room and securing the locks. The woman walked back down the hall, but Hagakure stayed by the door, kneeling down close to the crack. 

"Ooh, what happened?" one of the boys asked. She recognized the voice as Ojiro. "W-wait a minute, what the-guys! Wake up! ...Guys? ...Crap." The invisible girl heard a shuffling sound, followed by a groan as Ojiro evidently fell off the bed. She heard him shuffle around, moving closer to the door.

"Ojiro," she whispered. She heard a gasp, and continued before the boy could shout. "Don't yell, listen to me. We've been caught by villains. There's like six of them, too many for me to fight by myself, and I can't get you guys out. I'm gonna try to sneak out to get help."

"Anything I can do?" Ojiro whispered back. 

"Look to your right," Hagakure directed. "When that creepy woman was looking at you earlier, I slipped my knife in the crack between the box and the wall. Take that knife, cut yourself free. I'll try to be fast. Stay safe, Oji-chan."

"You too, Ga-san." 

Hagakure smiled at his use of her old nickname before sneaking down the hallway. Most of the women were just lounging or listening to some radio. The leader was talking about stepping out for a bit while looking away, and for some reason Hagakure felt like this was a really good thing. Looking to the right, she saw they actually had the door propped open for ventilation. Thanking all her lucky stars, the invisible hero student crept out the door. She moved away a few meters before breaking out into a sprint. She had to find help.

***

After Hagakure left, Ojiro got to work grabbing her knife from where she left it. His hands were tied in front of him, so he was able to grab the knife. Using it was a bit more difficult, but he soon managed to cut his bindings enough to tear free. Ojiro rubbed his freed wrists for a few minutes. Those ropes were pretty tight. After he regained feeling in his wrists, he hopped onto the bed and cut Izuku and Katsuki free. Unffortunately, they were both still out cold. Why did he and Hagakure wake up earlier? Was it due to breathing in less of it? Hagakure did kinda smother his face with her hand before she passed out. And maybe her larger body processed it faster? Who knew? 

What he did know, though, was he was stuck. 

The room was windowless, so no breaking out that way. He could see the three locks in the door above his head, plus who knows what on the other side. He could probably break the door down, but who knew how many women were actually there? Sighing in semi-resignation, he sat on the bed next to Izuku. He remembered a lesson a couple days prior, talking about how sometimes in these situations a hero would need to sit and wait for either help or an opportunity to escape. He wasn't sure how long it would take to get help, but if that door opened he was sure he could carry the other two boys out of here. He'd just need to tie one of them to his tail.

He heard voices outside the door. Sounded like two of the women were talking right outside. He could handle two women, hopefully. Jumping from the bed, he sneaked behind one of the boxes close to the door. The women were speaking loud enough he could hear them.

"Don't bruise em too much, alright? You know the boss doesn't like hurting kids."

"I'm not gonna hurt them. I just wanna, you know, try one of them out. Been a while since I had a good lay."

...Now Ojiro was wishing he couldn't hear what they were saying.

After the women chatted for a another minute, the door began clicking open. Ojiro tensed up, his tail ready for a pounce. One of the women, the one he actually met yesterday, stepped into the room and locked the door behind her. Ojiro could hear the other woman leaving. That gave an opportunity.

"Alright," the woman giggled as she turned to the bed, "time to have some fun. Which one do I...wait..." Her eyes narrowed. "Where's the tail boy?" She looked the other way. Ojiro smiled and slammed the ground with his tail. The woman turned in time to receive a kick to her cheek. The woman screamed in shock as she fells back. The hero student wasted no time pouncing again, this time whipping her upside the chin. The woman was dazed and staggered, in no position to defend herself from the third strike. This sent her flying at a wall, knocking her unconscious on impact. Ojiro wasn't even winded. 

Smiling at his victory, he took what remained of the rope he was tied in and used it to tie her up. The longer fragments were good enough to tie her arms, and Ojiro used the smaller pieces to tie her fingers together. He knew how annoying it was being tied like that. After making sure she was secure, Ojiro rifled through her pockets, grabbing the keys. He would sneak out and scout the place. If there were only a few other ladies, he could-

"You alright in there, Saffron?" a voice outside asked. "Thought I heard something in there." Ojiro froze and turned toward the door. After a few seconds, he quietly hopped back to his spot by the door. Time for round two. 

He waited as the locks clicked open again. The villain leaned into the room, looking around. The instant enough of her head was past the opened door, Ojiro sprung his attack. This time, however, the instant his tail impacted the ground Ojiro found his face in the woman's palm. The woman laughed and hurled him at the wall. Thanks to his trained reflexes, Ojiro spun around and hit the wall with his feet. He fell to the ground and took up a fighting stance as the woman took one of her own. Ojiro stared in shock as he saw she had four more arms than most people. No wonder she caught him.

"Nice try, monkey," the woman sneered. "Dunno how you got free, but you won't stay that way." She rushed Ojiro, all six arms reaching for the smaller boy. He propelled himself off the ground, using his momentum to slam his tail in her face as he flew over her head. The woman grunted in pain, but managed to stay on her feet. Ojiro bounced off the ground, delivering another blow to the woman. It was like a repeat of his fight against Shouko, only this time he didn't have to worry about being frozen in ice. The woman kept trying to hit him with any of her six arms, failing with each attempt. Ojiro was beginning to think she was inexperienced in fighting smaller opponents. 

"HEY!"

Ojiro's eyes widened as he saw another woman in the doorway. On one hand, there was only one, which hopefully meant there weren't any more. However, that was still one more angry 3-meter-tall woman. 

"What the hell-" is all the new woman said before some unseen force sent her flying back. This confused the boy for a moment before he remembered who the other captives were. While dodging the six-armed villain, Ojiro stole a glance at Midoriya, and saw one of his eyes was cracked open. He must have been using his 'spirit' to keep the other woman away. Smiling at his help, the hero student continued his assault on the villain. Within another short minute, Ojiro landed a lucky tail hit on the woman's head and knocked her out. At the same time, Midoriya had been using Cobalt to slam the other woman into a wall until she passed out. Ojiro landed on the bed and caught his breath as Izuku sat up.

"So," the greenette asked, "what the heck is going on?"

"We were abducted," Ojiro explained. "Maybe human traffickers."

"Like the Black Market Pomeranian Trade?" Izuku blanched.

"No," Ojiro denied, eliciting a sigh of relief from his companion. "I think this is a smaller group."

"Smaller group, hmm? Thinking back, it felt like they were targeting us directly with that convention bait. Maybe they were hired? Who would hire villains to abduct us? Couldn't be those 'League' people we fought earlier, they seem to-" Ojiro watched Izuku descend into a mutter-storm and left him alone for close to a minute before tapping his shoulder.

"We can mutter after we get out of here," Ojiro pointed out. Then he heard a "snrk!" from Bakugou. "...He's really asleep, huh?"

"It's funny how deep he can sleep despite being such an early riser," Izuku laughed as he hoisted the slumbering blond over his shoulders. "Judging from the silence, hopefully everyone else is gone. Wait a minute, where's-"

"Hagakure left to find help. She was kept in a separate room and got out on her own. She's the one who slipped me the knife I used to cut us free." Izuku nodded his acknowledgement and slid off the bed with Bakugou in tow. "Think we could try an escape?"

"You're going nowhere." 

Both boys froze and turned as two more women appeared in the doorway, one of them closing the door behind them. Both women were wearing concealing outfits, but Izuku still recognized them as the cosplayers who greeted him and Bakugou the previous day. One of them opened their mouth to say something, but was suddenly slammed against the wall by Izuku's invisible spirit. At the same time, Ojiro jumped at the other one. This woman's hands crackled with electricity as she dodged Ojiro's attack and grabbed him by his tail. The hero student grit his teeth before kicking the woman in the teeth. Izuku gently dropped Bakugou on the ground so he could make the gestures for Cobalt more effectively. As Ojiro dodged around the other woman's shocking grasp to hit however he could, the other woman rushed at Izuku but was caught by Cobalt less than a meter away before being thrown back at the door.

Then something really surprising happened. 

As Izuku's opponent bounced off the door again, there was a sudden shout and door itself exploded inward. This explosion sent the woman flying over Izuku and into the opposite wall. Standing in the doorway was a very pissed-off Pro Hero Madam Mic. Izuku had never seen her that angry. As the heroine stepped into the room, Midnight shot past her and decked Ojiro's opponent hard. Between her fist and Ojiro's tail, the woman kind of flopped over as she passed out. Before she even hit the ground, Midnight and Mic were on their knees in front of the boys.

"Are you two alright?" Midnight asked as she looked over Ojiro's injuries, her large hand gently holding his cheek.

"How did you get here so quickly?" Ojiro asked. "Hagakure only got away around ten minutes ago."

"We got information about your abduction around a half hour ago," Madam Mic looked over Izuku as she replied. "We got here fast as we could." She glanced at the other unconscious villains and giggled. "Looks like you guys did some good work already."

"Mostly Ojiro," Izuku pointed. "I only woke up a few minutes ago." As Izuku said this, more heroines appeared in the doorway. They were safe.

***

Itsuwari was dumbfounded at what she saw. She had stepped out not even fifteen minutes ago to buy some chocolate from the nearby minimart, and came back to see their safehouse surrounded by police and heroines. She watched from an alley across the street as the rest of her team was either escorted into cop cars or carried into ambulances. What the hell happened in such a short time frame? As loathe as she was to do it, she had to leave. So long as she was free she could rebuild her team. She turned to flee, but stopped when she saw a woman walking towards her from the other end of the alley. The woman was dressed in all black with a similar facemask. Her eyes were hidden by a pair of simple goggles.

"Who the hell-" is all the leader of Kittery Renaissance was able to say before being pinned against the wall.

Chapter Text

"...and that's when Midnight and Mic burst in the room," Izuku concluded, his face illuminated by the setting sun. 

He was sitting on a couch in the living room of the apartment with Ojiro, Hagakure (who had returned with the cops a few minutes after the fighting) and Katsuki (who was super pissed at missing the action). Sitting on a chair in front of him was Tsukauchi, the short-haired detective lady he met after the USJ incident. The woman had listened intently to the abducted students, her eye twitching a bit whenever Izuku answered a question. He had been told Tsukauchi had a truth quirk, so he did his best to answer the questions without mentioning Cobalt. He assumed it was working.

"And they wrapped things up after that?" the detective asked. With a nod from Izuku, Tsukauchi smiled and closed her notepad. "Thanks for being upfront. Your mom has been called, and she's on her way. Just relax, kid. You earned it." She patted his head before getting up to talk with some other officers around the corner. Izuku sighed and scooted closer to his classmates.

"Well...that was something," Izuku chuckled.

"Still can't believe I slept through it," Katsuki growled. "Did you get all of them?"

"Don't think so," Ojiro replied. "I think their leader escaped."

"Red-haired lady with a fake eye," Hagakure stated. "I saw her before I got away." 

"Shit," the blond boy growled. "She might try again."

"Then we'll beat her face in," Ojiro smiled. Izuku smiled and nodded as Hagakure pet his head in agreement. The mood was lightened when Ojiro looked at Katsuki and stated, "And you need to stop sleeping so heavy."

"I do not sleep heavy, tail-boy!"

"Considering I jumped off a bed with you, yes you-"

"MY BABY!"

The students stopped and barely turned in time to see a massive green blur plow into Izuku. Katsuki recognized who it was instantly, but it took the other two a few moments to see the resemblance between Izuku and the green-haired woman.

"Are you okay!?" Inko cried as she buried her son in a tight hug. "I heard you got taken by mean ladies! Did they hurt you!? Did they give you bad-touches!? Did they-"

"Mom, I'm fine!" Izuku exclaimed, wrapping his arms around his mom's neck. "Really! My classmates helped."

"Except for Katsuki."

"UP YOURS, INVISIBITCH!" This comment got a quick bat upside the head from Inko (sending Katsuki rolling backwards) before she smiled at the other two, still hugging Izuku tight. 

"I heard you two are the reason my son is safe," Inko stated. "Thank you so much."

"He was pretty good, too," Ojiro scratched his head, a bit flustered from the praise. "Seriously, he helped when I really needed it." He would have said more, but any words were reduced to a squeak as Inko pulled him into a hug too. Hagakure giggled and jumped into the hug. Katsuki did not move from where he lay on the couch. 

"Do any of you want to be home soon?" Inko asked. "I made dinner at my place, and I'd say you've earned a free meal. Could even stay the night if you want." At that remark, Ojiro's stomach growled.

"...Looks like we're taking you up on that offer," Hagakure laughed.

***

At the same time Inko was taking the kids to her apartment, Tsukauchi was in a cop car heading back to the precinct while talking with Officer Sansa, a cat-headed individual and one of the only men on the force.

"They're called the Kittery Renaissance," Sansa read off from the passenger seat. "Small group of villains that specialize in removing 'problems.' We've got a good-sized file on their past crimes, linking them to events in Europe too."

"Any intel on why they went after kids?" Tsukauchi asked.

"We only got the subordinates," the cat cop shook his head. "Apparently all jobs were accepted through the boss directly. They were present for the job offer, but say they were only there to act as security in case of an altercation. They got no idea who technically hired them, only that said individual used a man to make the deal. If we had the-" Suddenly Sansa's cell phone rang. The officer picked it up and listened for a few seconds before his fur bristled. "We'll be right there! Detective, some of our girls over on the corner of Yavin and Jango got the boss!" 

Sansa barely finished the sentence before the brown-haired detective turned on the sirens and sped towards the scene. The cat cop was surprised from the sudden speed, clinging to his seat like the scared cat he was. Sansa was very glad there was a seat belt in his size. Weaving between other cars and the occasional train, Tsukauchi arrived on the scene in under ten minutes. The detective barely stopped the car before hopping out, leaving the diminutive cat to stagger out on his own.

"N-next time...I drive..."

Tsukauchi followed the other officers down the street a bit before turning down an alleyway. Due to the setting sun the alley was mostly dark, so the cops had lights set up were the leader of Kittery was located. To the detective's surprise, it was less 'the cops have her' and more 'the cops found her.' Itsuwari Homura was currently pinned to the wall around 25 feet above the ground, held in place by pieces of metal bent around her and stabbed into the wall. One such pipe was eerily close to her head. Whoever did this clearly left her to be found.

"Well," Itsuwari shouted, "you gonna let me down or just keep staring like a bunch of idiots!?"

"We'll get you down after you answer some questions," Tsukauchi glowered. "Firstly, who-"

"I was hired by someone who went by the moniker 'T.E.'" the villain growled. "Never saw what she looked like, only took the job through a representative. From the words exchanged, I'm pretty sure the client is a Heroine or someone working in public service."

"...Alright," the detective nodded, feeling truth in her words. "Now, who did...this...to you?"

"No clue!" the villain yelled. "Dumb bitch just kinda showed up outta nowhere an hour ago and dragged me here. Asked me the same questions you were about to ask, but threatened to impale my skull with a pipe if I refused. She was dressed in all black, musta had some metal quirk, cuz she did all this with her mind. At the end she got a call from someone named Hansel then left me here, speaking of which now let me down!" Tsukauchi sighed and gestured for the other cops to (somehow) pull the villain down as she stepped away. What the villain said was bad enough, but now she had some new vigilante to deal with? She really needed a raise. As she walked back towards her car, her phone began ringing. 

'Now what?' she thought as she pulled her phone out. "This is-"

"Hello, Detective Tsukauchi Nanae," a strange voice spoke. "Name's Hansel. Let's talk."

***

A few hours had passed since the boy's rescue. The evening news had given a quick report on the incident, but it was covered quickly and passed over in favor of a report about Mt. Lady. During said report, a car sped down the road. Said car was being driven by Pro Heroine Midnight, and sitting on her lap...

"Yes yes," Nedzu spoke into his phone. "I am actually on my way to...converse with the culprit right now...No no, that won't be necessary. I think I can convince them not to try again...Yes yes, I got this handled. Have a nice evening." Nedzu hung up the phone and gave a sigh as he leaned back into Midnight's stomach.

"Who was that?" Midnight asked.

"Someone you should hope to never anger," Nedzu replied. "How much longer?"

"Pulling up now." Midnight parked the car outside a large house. Opening the door and perching the principal on her shoulder, the heroine asked, "Are you sure that-"

"Positive," Nedzu replied with a grim tone. "Take us in." Midnight nodded and walked up the path to the front door. It was kind of weird just how large and...formal this house was compared to the rest of the street. Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, Midnight gently knocked on the door. Mere moments later it opened up, revealing a college-age girl with glasses and white hair interspersed with red locks. The girl was surprised at the sight of two heroes on her doorstep.

"Good evening, Fuyumi," Nedzu smiled from his perch. "Is your mother home?"

"Y-yes," the girl, Fuyumi, nodded. "Come in, please." The younger woman led Midnight and Nedzu to a side room before walking off to retrieve her mother. Midnight sat down and placed Nedzu next to her. The mammal was smiling, but had that glint in his eye that Midnight had long learned to fear. After another minute, the mother of the house entered the room and sat across from them.

Midnight had to admit, she had never seen Endeavor, recently renamed Madame Phoenix, like this. She had always seen the heroine in her uniform, face covered in makeup. Now the Number-Two-Heroine was wearing loose slacks and a short-sleeved shirt with no makeup whatsoever. Judging from the sweat on her face & arms, the heroine must have been working out before being called. She had a slight glower, but nothing particularly derisive.

"What is this about?" Madame Phoenix asked.

"How about the fact you hired a team of villains to abduct a trio of my students?" Nedzu plainly replied, as though he were simply commenting on the weather. At this remark, the heroine's eyes narrowed and she scoffed.

"The hell are you talking about?"

"Claiming deniability?" Nedzu smirked. "I guess you can get away with that legally, Todoroki Eiko, but logically it's quite clear you are the main culprit behind today's attempt. I mean seriously, referring to yourself as 'T.E.' was a dead giveaway. Do not assume hiding behind English initials would hide you entirely."

"I had no involvement," the heroine, Todoroki Eiko, growled, "and to accuse me of such a thing is groundless slander. If that is all you came to talk about, you may as well leave."

"Ah, but there is more!" Nedzu started poking through the pockets on his vest. "You see, there's something I need to show you. Haven't actually had to pull this out for a while, but-"

PAP!

Everyone in the room was shocked when Nedzu suddenly yanked a small white pistol from his vest and fired it at the heroine across from him. Eiko hissed as she saw a small white dart poking from her arm. Yanking it out and tossing it aside, she turned to Nedzu with a face twisted in absolute fury.

"What the fuck do you-"

"Oh my," Nedzu laughed, "you actually do have hair." Everyone stopped at that. Eiko slowly rubbed her head while Midnight looked at her in shock. There was no fire coming from the heroine. Not even a small spark of the usual mane of fire that adorned her head, resulting in an unmitigated view of Eiko's ruby-red hair. If the air wasn't filled with tension and worry, Midnight might have found her hair rather pretty to look at.

"What the hell did you do, rodent?" Eiko hissed.

"Military-grade quirk suppressants," Nedzu smiled as he waved the pistol. "A single shot and you're effectively quirkless for three days. The effect is cumulative, meaning additional shots increase the duration of effect. That also means unless you want to be quirkless for an entire week you'll stay seated and listen to what I have to say." Nedzu stood up in his seat, his usual smile replaced with a glower of his own.

"We know it was you who hired Kittery Renaissance, Endeavor. Maybe law enforcement can't do anything with you using initials and working through an as-yet missing middleman, but for someone like me the pieces are all there. So, unless you wish to suffer more...permanent ramifications, you will refrain from doing anything to any of my students in the future, no matter their gender."

"You dare threaten me in my own house!?" Eiko roared.

"I am warning you!" Nedzu gave a humorless laugh. "There is a literal force of nature watching over the students of Class 1-A! The sort of individual who can not only make you vanish from the face of the planet, but do so in such a fashion that no one would even look for your body because no one would know there was a body to look for! You're not a good heroine by any stretch of the imagination, but even I know your sudden disappearance would cause some problems for society. Take that into account when I tell you that mere minutes ago, while I was on my way here, I had to talk fast to keep that person from killing you! So unless you want to suffer a sudden and unstoppable abbreviation of existence, you will stay away from my kids, because I doubt I could protect you a second time." Before Eiko could say anything else, Nedzu slipped his pistol back into his pocket and climbed back onto Midnight's shoulder, signaling the fellow hero to stand up.

"Like I said, your quirk is suppressed for three days," Nedzu cheerfully stated, his prior resentment vanishing. "Surely someone with your work ethic has a few vacation days they can use, no? Have a good evening!" Patting Midnight's shoulder, the heroine carried the principal out and away from the enraged heroine. As much as Eiko wanted to crush that rat under her foot like an insect, she knew it would cause more problems than solve. She'd just have to find another way to get back at him.

***

"It was nice hanging out with you all," Ojiro smiled as he and Hagakure stood at the steps outside Izuku's apartment with their parents. "Admittedly, the whole 'abduction' incident earlier really sucked, but at least we got out of it fairly quickly."

"Feel free to hang out whenever," Izuku smiled. "Don't be strangers." He shook everyone's hands before watching the group leave. Bakugou had gone home earlier, still cranky he slept through the whole thing. Now that it was over...Izuku could only hope Aizawa wouldn't yell at them for falling for that sort of trick. He and the others would definitely be more careful from now on. He turned to head back inside his-

Danger

Izuku froze. That wasn't a 'danger' feeling as in he was in trouble. It was like someone was warning him. He knew this feeling.

Beware

This was a Spirit feeling. Izuku quickly looked around. Was there a bearer nearby? Where were they? Who were they? Did they-he stopped again. There was something there, not far down the street. Standing under a lightpole was a man. Well, Izuku first thought it was a man, until he noticed the details of the individual. First, they had to be close to eight feet tall. This could be attributed to just being a tall man, if not for the fact said entity had egregiously long limbs. Said individual also didn't have a face, or any hair. Their head was devoid of such features, save for an...opening, he guessed, that looked a bit like a bleeding grin...or a frown. Could be either one, cause it looked like said person's head was upside-down. Said entity cocked it's head to one side before taking a step towards Izuku. Then another. Then-

Izuku was running down a large hall. In his right hand was a large gold key, his left was grasping the hand of a young girl with long with hair. Her red eyes were filled with worry as they turned down a dark hallway, away from the sounds of conflict behind them. They reached the end quickly, arriving at a closed door. Izuku held up the key to unlock the door, but an explosion rocked the area, startling Izuku and making him drop the key. He knelt down and used both hands to feel for it. It was too dark to see it. Where was it? They needed it to-

"Izuku!" the little girl screamed as she looked back down the hall. Izuku himself turned and saw an adult woman with short hair, a fancy suit and a mask like a beak. The woman's eyes were filled with rage.

"I HAVE HAD ENOUGH OF YOU, WORM!" the woman roared as she flew down the hall at them. Izuku heard the younger girl cry his name again as the woman reached them faster than he could react. The woman grabbed Izuku's head, and he screamed as he felt his face begin to-

Izuku gasped and fell back, hitting the wall behind him. What was that? A vision? A nightmare? He wiped the sweat from his face before realizing the Spirit (because that's what it had to be) was right in front of him. He looked up at it's head and was about to call out Cobalt before the entity held out it's hand, offering something to Izuku. Keeping his eyes on the being's head, he warily held out his hand to accept whatever it was. The Spirit leaned down and opened it's hand, dropping a tiny metal flashlight in his hand. It was barely any bigger than Izuku's middle finger, something that could be easily hidden. Izuku looked down at the flashlight, rolling it between his fingers, before looking back up at the Spirit only to see it had vanished. The Spirit feeling had disappeared as well. Izuku quickly called out Cobalt and made it do a flyby around the entire street, looking through it's eyes, only to come up empty. Whomever that Spirit belonged to was long gone. Looking back down at the flashlight, Izuku felt he had definitely been given something of great importance. He pocketed the tiny thing before rushing back inside. Whatever that vision was, he could only pray it wouldn't happen anytime soon.

***

Todoroki Eiko woke up early the following morning. She had gone to bed completely enraged at what happened. The people she hired failed miserably, Nedzu managed to figure it she was the one behind it (even if there was no way to prove it in the easily-bribed courts), and now she was effectively quirkless for a few days. She hated this. She would get back at that rat if it was the last thing she did.

When she opened her eyes, she froze. She was looking right a pair of teal eyes in bed with her. With her somewhat-sleepy mind, it took her a moment to realize she was looking at a reflection of her eyes.

A reflection on a knife blade.

Eiko shot straight up at that realization. Stabbed into her pillow, centimeters from her face, was a knife. It was a long thin knife, the sort one would use to process fish. Perturbing Eiko even further was the lock of scarlet hair laying next to the knife. That meant someone got into her room, cut off some of her hair, stabbed her pillow and got away all without waking her and without setting off any of the house's alarms. Who could have accomplished even half of that? Looking at the knife more closely, Eiko noticed there was a ribbon hooked to the handle. Grabbing one of her hair pins, she used it to gently lift the lavender ribbon and saw there was something written on it.

Leave the children alone

After those words, rather than a signature, was simply a picture of a swirled lollipop. Was that supposed to mean something? Gritting her teeth, she gave a growl and stormed out of her room. Odds are she was gonna spend these next three days pissed off.

And she would make sure whoever did this would know not to piss off Madame Phoenix.

Chapter Text

"You know," Bakugou groaned, "you'd think being abducted by villains and held prisoner would earn us a day off from school."

"One would think," Izuku sighed as he and Bakugou held onto a pole, trying not to accidentally look up any of the other train passenger's skirts. They were on an earlier train, hoping to get into their class before anyone else. They figured that if they got there at regular time, their classmates would swarm them at the door, and they didn't want Aizawa to mark them tardy. Once the train stopped, the two boys rushed out and made a beeline for the school. Before they got too far from the station, however...

"BOYS!" a voice shouted from behind them. Izuku and Katsuki barely had time to turn before Iida Tenten appeared from out of nowhere, whisked both boys off the ground, and sped towards the school. "I will escort you to class this morning!"

"We can walk ourselves!" Bakugou yelled as he struggled in Iida's right arm.

"Isn't it illegal to use your quirk in public!?" Izuku shouted from under her left arm.

"I'm not using a quirk!" the much taller girl replied. "And at least let me carry you to the school building!" Despite Bakugou's continued protests, the speedy girl carried both boys to the doors to UA's main building before gently setting them down. Bakugou grumbled as he unwrinkled his coat while Izuku bowed and thanked Iida before the three made their way to the classroom. To their relief, they were indeed the first to arrive. Not even Aizawa was in the room, and some of the students were sure she'd sleep in there before class. They were quick to clamber onto their desks before anyone else could step in and hinder them.

"I am glad you are unharmed," Iida said after a few minutes of awkward silence. "I know you boys are capable of defending yourselves, but when I heard you were kidnapped, I did get worried."

"Well you can stop worrying," Bakugou waved, "we handled it."

"You mean Ojiro and I handled it," Izuku smirked. "You slept the entire time."

"Go fuck a toaster, Dekiru." Izuku laughed at this before the door slid open and Aizawa shuffled into the room. The teacher looked at the three present students for a moment before walking over to Izuku. The small boy jumped a bit when she dropped almost two dozen folders on his desk.

"Joint activity with 1-B today," Aizawa droned. "Familiarize yourself with them." She then walked away before Izuku could ask anything. The two boys were confused, but Bakugou spun around so he could look in the folders with Izuku. Iida would have joined them, but that would have required her to leave her seat and she didn't want to risk Aizawa's wrath. After another fifteen minutes, the other students began piling in. Hagakure literally carried Ojiro to his desk before letting him go, and thankfully the rest of the class didn't mob the three boys with questions and concerns. They did, however, occasionally give worried glances in their direction as Aizawa informed the class about the joint exercise later.

***

Shinsou was not having a good time.

First he was stressed out while watching last night's news with his mom. Learning his two best friends (and their classmate) were abducted by villains and held for hours before being rescued. True, he also learned they were safe, but the stress persisted for a while. As in, he actually had trouble sleeping that night.

Then, once he got to school, his entire class swarmed him. Apparently, they got the idea that he was probably at risk of abduction as well. As a result, each of his classmates decided to take turns being his "protector" throughout the day. The only good thing about this was they lightened up on the hugging. Everyone else, however, gave him weird looks. Even that catboy from the management course looked at him funny. That legit hurt. Thankfully, he was able to escape his 'protectors' during the lunch time shuffle. As he slipped away, he looked around for Izuku and Katsuki. Before he found them, however, his gaze fell on Todoroki Shouko. He gave a bit of a smirk.

There was something he could do.

After getting a glass of water, he walked past a group of girls and poked Shouko's leg. The taller girl looked down at the boy with a confused, yet bored, expression. Shinsou just gestured to the hallway, indicating he wanted to talk. The lunch break had just started, so they had time. Shouko quietly followed Shinsou out, and the two waited for the hall to empty.

"What did you want to talk about?" Shouko asked with a cold voice.

"It won't work," Shinsou plainly stated as he drank from his glass.

"...What won't work?"

"Your plan," the boy pointed at the ten-foot girl. "Your getting close to Midoriya and Bakugou, talking to them about other careers. You've been trying, rather lamely I might add, to convince them to choose a non-heroic career. It ain't gonna work. They're deadset on being heroes, and so am I." For the first time in a long time, Shinsou was reminded that being raised by a detective had it's perks. Todoroki stared blankly for a moment before her eyes narrowed into a glower.

"It's not safe for men to be heroes," the icy girl declared. "You're too small, too fragile. The meager mutation quirks men can possess aren't enough to make up for women who could shoot electricity or command animals. Your gender just has too many shortcomings to handle it. Take my recommendation and try something safer." Hitoshi just stared at the girl, his face dull yet his thoughts a chaos of indignation. Rather than yell, however, he had another idea. Without saying a word, he walked over to the nearby drinking fountain and refilled his glass. Looking back at Todoroki, he held out his glass...and let go. While he was able to see Ivory take the glass into their hand, Shouko only saw his glass floating in empty air. Her eyes widened as Ivory (and the glass) floated up to her face, though she didn't react until the spirit splashed the water on her.

"Believe me," Shinsou deadpanned, "our stature is our only shortcoming, Todoroki Shouko." He turned to walk back to the cafeteria before hearing the girl call him.

"How many...How many of you are like that?"

"...Wouldn't you like to know?" Hitoshi replied before looking over his shoulder back at her. "Practice hard for the Sports Festival, okay? If you face any of us...we won't be going easy." With those words Shinsou continued back into the cafeteria, leaving the stunned Shouko leaning against the wall, alone in the hallway.

***

After a rather uneventful lunch, Class 1-A found themselves at one of the training grounds. They were standing at the edge of a large forest clearing, everyone in their hero gear. Aizawa was standing in front of them, but hadn't said a word since they arrived. 

"...So..." Bakugou whispered to Izuku, "is today's lesson enjoying the weather or something?"

"Dunno why cloud watching would be a joint lesson," the greenette replied. "Plus, this is Aizawa. No way it'll be that easy." 

Bakugou opened his mouth to reply, but the sound of moving foliage caught their attention. Everyone in the class turned and saw a bunch of other students coming up from their right. It took a moment, but Izuku and Bakugou quickly recognized them as the students of Class 1-B, their fellow Hero class. In front of that group was a tall and muscular woman in red with spiky white hair. Despite being in UA for weeks by this point, this was the first time Izuku had actually seen the heroine Blood Queen Carmilla.

"Got here early, huh?" Carmilla asked Aizawa with a smirk. "Just that eager for your class to eat dirt?"

"Save the bragging for after the exercise," Aizawa flatly replied. Turning to her own students, the dark-haired heroine explained, "Today is going to be a joint combat exercise between classes. You against 1-B." The class looked over 1-B, taking in the details of their fellow students. Izuku and Bakugou were more familiar because of the files Aizawa had given them this morning. But why did she let the boys see them, yet take them back before the rest of the class assembled?

"You serious?" the one they all recognized as Monoma jeered. "We're gonna be fighting a class with boys in it? I thought this was gonna be a challenge."

"Monoma," Itsuka stepped forward, "they are Hero Course, and we all had to sign NDA's to be allowed out here. They must have something going for them."

"Sure," the blond sneered. "They got the fact they're decorations and, dare I say, pets, going for them." Everyone across the two classes gasped at her words. Well, everyone except for Izuku and Bakugou, who were both getting a little mad. "Ah, whatever. Maybe they'll be smart and drop out when they see how weak they really are."

"Wanna bet on that?" Bakugou smirked as he stepped forward. Despite barely being more than half as tall as the rest of the students, there was a menacing aura around Bakugou. "Kinda sounds like you need to be taken down a notch. HARD." With this remark, he glanced at Izuku, who met his gaze and nodded. They had an idea on why Aizawa did what she did, now. 

"Me and Kacchan, go first," Izuku stated as he stepped forward. 

"Of course," Monoma shrugged. "And who do you want to be beaten by? Me?" Katsuki gave a feral smile.

"All of you."

There was absolute silence after that. Class 1-B stared at the boys in shock, while their own class had worried expressions. Even Carmilla was stunned at Bakugou's words. Aizawa just smirked underneath her ribbons. The silence was broken by Monoma's haughty laughter.

"Sure thing!" she agreed. "Let's see how many seconds you last against actual hero students." She sneered as she walked back into her class. The other 1-B students stared at Bakugou with some measure of worry, like they were worried for him, before huddling together to discuss their battle plan. 

"Dekiru," Bakugou whispered, "which ones were the most dangerous ones again?"

"Shiozaki, Bondo, Tokage, Kendo and Monoma," Izuku replied. "I vote we take out Bondo first, her glue could immobilize us." 

"Agreed," his blond friend nodded as they walked out into the clearing.

"Be careful," Uraraka whispered, earning a reassuring smile from both boys. The rest of Class 1-A looked on worriedly, but slowly sat down to watch the fight.  Stretching their arms, both boys summoned their spirits by their sides. The clearing got very windy as Class 1-B gathered at the far end of the clearing, no doubt using the distance to their advantage.

"We should call this off," Carmilla whispered to Aizawa. "Those boys will get flattened."

"Everyone ready!?" Aizawa hollered, ignoring Carmilla's words. With a nod from both sides, Aizawa raised her hand. "No crippling injuries, quirks and other tricks are permitted! BEGIN!"

Class 1-B ran at the boys in a staggered formation, each student grouped up where their quirks would compliment each other. Monoma stood in the back, sneering but ready to support whoever needed it. Izuku and Bakugou rushed at the class, surprising them with just how fast they were going. Bakugou smirked as Bondo Komiko ran at the front, ready to use her glue.

"DEKIRU, THROW ME!" Bakugou ordered. Izuku nodded and gestured at his friend before making a throwing motion. Cobalt responded by grabbing Bakugou and throwing him like a missile at the massive student in front of them. Class 1-B's charge was paused by this sudden development while Bakugou spun around, flying feet-first.

"GOOMBA, FUCK YOU!" he screamed as his feet impacted Bondo in the forehead. Evidently, she had a soft skull as Bakugou's impact knocked her out cold, causing a tiny bit of adhesive to dribble from her holes. With a feral smirk, Bakugou kept the momentum by jumped at the head of the next student while Izuku rushed at Tsuburaba Kirei. This student quickly exhaled a lot of air, indicating her using her quirk. Izuku gave his trademark innocent smile as he ran up the invisible wall Tsuburaba had created before launching himself over the top. His foot impacted her face, stunning her long enough for a boosted fist to collide with her temple. She fell to the ground before Izuku did. The moment Izuku hit the ground, however, he felt a tremor underfoot. The small boy quickly cartwheeled away as thorny vines shot up where he stood, then continued shooting up in his direction. He had Shiozaki Ibara's attention. Once the vines stopped, Izuku activated his suit's boosters again and rushed into the mass of 1-B students. He darted around, striking legs as he went, intending not to disable but to sow confusion.

At the same time Izuku was kneecapping people, Bakugou continued imitating a famous white rabbit and jumping from student to student, using their bodies as stepping stones to reach his objective. Monoma was watching with angered confusion as the blond boy got closer with each hop until he was flying right at her. He seemed to slow down as he got within centimeters of her, still giving that bestial sneer.

"Somebody's throwing stuff!" Bakugou roared as he waved his hand at her. Due to some of the students pursuing Bakugou, close to half of Class 1-B watched as a massive explosion sent Monoma screaming into the trees. The shockwave from this blast sent Bakugou flying backwards, right into the open arms of Kaibara Sen. The plain-looking girl barely started spinning her arms to throw Bakugou before a smaller explosion hit her in the face. Bakugou landed and held out his hand, being yanked through the air by an unseen force before Kendo could grab him with her massive hands.

"Did that guy just use a quirk!?" Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu (a very unfortunate name) yelled as she saw another student go flying from an explosion. "I thought-WHOA WHAT THE!?" That last exclamation was due to the iron-skinned student being hoisted into the air. She looked down and gasped when she saw the cute, small Midoriya was the one doing the lifting (not seeing it was actually Cobalt). Izuku gave his trademark smile before his face hardened into a determined glare and he gave a yell as he swung the iron girl around. Of all the things that could have happened after entering UA, being used as a club to beat her own classmates was not what she expected. She softened up so that it wouldn't hurt them too much, realizing too late that now she was also getting hurt every time Izuku slammed her into someone. 

Aizawa smirked as the fight progressed. Something no one else seemed to understand was that a fight like this was perfect for those two boys. They were small. They were fast. Their spirits were invisible and strong. These factors put together made the boys into something dangerous.

Ambush predators.

Their speed let them get into their effective combat range quickly. Their size made their opponents underestimate them, leaving them open for devastating opening attacks. Aizawa knew that, due to Carmilla's own bias against men, Class 1-B had not been training against smaller opponents. However, as Aizawa watched, she also knew that didn't necessarily mean this was gonna be easy for the boys.

Izuku gave a shout as Kodai Yui gave him a hard kick to his gut. He dropped the now-unconscious Tetsutetsu and flew back, landing in Katsuki's bleeding arms as he rode by on Ember. After recovering from the kick, Izuku launched off the canine spirit and used his armored spirit to punch Awase Yumeno into the ground while Katsuki faced off against the bestial Shishida Junrei. When he landed, he gave a shout of surprise when he sank to his knees. Turning, he realized Honenuki Junko had used her quirk to soften the ground. With a quick gesture, Izuku had Cobalt yank him out and hurl him at Honenuki, who only barely dodged a foot to the face. Izuku kept flying and impacted Hiryu Rin, who wasn't fast enough with her scale quirk to avoid harm. While the initial impact only stunned Hiryu, Izuku using her head as a launchpad to leap back at Honenuki was enough to knock her down. As he flew through the air, Izuku swiped his arm at the girl, making Cobalt Star uppercut her chin in time for the greenette to kick her in the stomach. 

As Izuku and Honenuki fell to the ground, Bakugou was avoiding attacks from the slender Kamakiri Touko. Said 1-B student had spawned blades from her arms and was swiping at Bakugou wildly. She had a smile almost as feral as Bakugou's own, clearly enjoying the fight. Bakugou himself had been using Ember to launch explosions at her, but with how close she was he couldn't make them too big without risking harm to himself. Unfortunately, these small explosions didn't even faze the taller student while she had landed the occasional lucky swipe. Gritting his teeth, Bakugou moved to gesture for a bigger attack, only to find himself frozen in place. Kamakiri noticed this and stopped her attack before she inflicted actual harm. Both students were confused until they looked to the side, and saw Yanagi Reiko holding a hand out at Katsuki. From the files they got earlier, the boy remembered her quirk was telekinesis, so he guessed she must have been using it to hold him still. 

"Do you yield?" She calmly asked as she used her quirk to turn Bakugou's head. The boy only sneered before a larger explosion sent her flying back. Freed from her quirk, Bakugou held out his hand and let Ember yank him away from Kamakiri before using a larger explosion on her. The shockwave from this explosion sent him flying back, and it was pure luck that his flight didn't land him in Kendo's large hands. He skidded to a stop a few meters from the redhead before having Ember bite a series of explosions along both her hands. Again, Kodai proved herself a master of sneak attacks by delivering a hard punch to Bakugou's back. He went soaring from the impact, and again let Ember yank him away from the fighting before she could land a second blow. His retreat moved him in the direction of Shiozaki, who was focused on trying to bind Izuku while said boy danced between flying objects from both Tsunotori Pony and Tokage Setsuna. Smirking at how awesome his idea was, Bakugou sent Ember out to explode Shiozaki from behind. The vine girl screamed as she flew into the furball that Izuku was stuck in, her sheer size disrupting the projectile's flight. Izuku took the opportunity to jump on the mid-air Shiozaki and use her back to launch himself at Pony. He also copied Bakugou as he used Pony's flying horns and Tokage's random body parts as stepping stones to get close to the equine girl. She did not expect to be rushed, and received both of Izuku's feet to her cheek before Cobalt grabbed her leg and slammed her into the ground. At the same time, Bakugou sent Ember Fang to explode Tokage's main body while she wasn't looking. 

Both boys regrouped and got a slight reprieve as they turned to the remaining Class 1-B students. Out of the twenty students in that class, only five were still standing. They were in a group as well, led by Kendo, facing the boys with sharp determination. For a few moments, the only noises heard in the clearing were the groans of the still-conscious yet defeated students lying around. 

"Feel like surrendering?" Bakugou smirked. "We ain't even used our biggest attack yet."

"I think you know the answer," Kendo glared. Izuku looked down, flexing his fingers.

"....Shame."

Suddenly, the ground underneath the 1-B students fractured, like a strong force had punched it. Moments later, a massive explosion erupted from the epicenter of the fracture. Izuku and Katsuki were outside the blast radius, but the 1-B students were sent flying while being pelted by the stones and soil displaced by the previous cracking. None of the 1-B kids got back up, bringing a climactic end to the fight.

Once the students landed, Izuku and Katsuki started hobbling back towards their class. They had not gotten out of that fight unscathed by any definition, and were definitely feeling it. Bakugou was covered in cuts and bruises, Izuku was limping after that last kick to Pony's face. Their classmates rushed forward to support them (with Momo outright picking up Izuku) while Carmilla looked over her devastated class in shock.

"...Do...Do those boys have quirks?" she whispered to Aizawa.

"Now you know why you all had to sign NDA's," Aizawa replied before turning to her class. "Good work boys. You just demonstrated that, no matter the size, one must never underestimate their opponents. If anything, apparent harmlessness should be taken as a threat. Yaoyorozu, please escort the boys to Recovery Girl. Everyone else, help Class 1-B to the infirmary before coming back out here for a shorter exercise. Be back in fifteen minutes." Class 1-A rushed to help their fellow classmates up, with Iida volunteering to extricate Monoma out of the tree she was dangling from, while Momo carried Izuku and escorted Bakugou off the grounds. Those two boys had earned a short break.

***

In a certain bar a few towns over, Shigaraki and Kurogiri were waiting. The misty barkeep was busy re-cleaning a handful of glasses while Shigaraki was sitting at the bar, idly scratching her neck. They were expecting an update from their spy today. The last few updates had some promise, including an apparent kidnapping attempt which had their leader, the TV person known as Sensei, laughing. Kurogiri herself had also done her share of research on the boys, but nothing she could find had any details on their quirks. One would think something like that would make global news...which could also be exactly why they weren't talking about it.

"Where are they?" Shigaraki hissed. "Our lil mole should have called by now."

"Patience, Shigaraki," Sensei waved their hand. "It has only been a few minutes. Perhaps they-" At that moment the phone rang. Everyone in the bar jerked from the sudden noise before the barkeep hit the Speaker button.

"It's me," the voice of their spy announced.

"You're late," the hand lady growled.

"Sorry, had to do a few things before I got free," the spy said without a hint of apology. "I do have some fun stuff for you, though."

"It had better be worth the wait."

"I have information on the boy's quirks," the spy sneered. "They shouldn't have exercised in such an open area, I basically had front-row seats for the entire display." With that, the spy went on to describe the way they moved, how the boys fought, everything she had seen. Everyone in the bar listened attentively. 

"...in conclusion," the spy finished, "both boys seem to have quirks similar to Tokoyami's Dark Shadow, albeit invisible and seemingly detached from their bodies. Just the way they were able to fly around indicates that."

"How very interesting," Sensei nodded. "Anything about their personalities? Kurogiri couldn't really dig up too much on how they think."

"Oh, there's something about that you might like..."

***

The boys spent the rest of the day in Recovery Girl's office. Turns out they each had a few broken bones that needed setting before they were released. While they were waiting, the boys were the subject of many of Class 1-B's questions, such as how they had quirks, but Bakugou refused to talk. Not only was Izuku asleep after his healing, but due to the fact over half of Class 1-B were pretty injured (and how small they were), the two boys had to share the same bed. 

Bakugou would never tell the rest of his class about that part.

When the day ended, Katsuki roused Izuku and the two darted out before anything else could happen. Before they reached the class, however, they bumped into Kendo, Yaoyorozu, Jirou and Ochako. The latter two were carrying their bags, and Kendo glanced nervously at Bakugou. She still had some bandages from that last explosion.

"Oh, you're up!" Ochako smiled as she handed Izuku his bag. "We were on our way to get your bags to you. But since you're up, wanna walk to the train station together?"

"I insist," Momo spoke up before the boys could say anything. "We're all headed to the same one, after all." Before the boys could say anything, the girls all crowded around them and began to gently push them along, though Kendou walked a bit ahead of the group. Izuku, startled at their closeness, dug around his bag and pulled his red cap on before turning his head down.

"We don't need no fucking escorts," Bakugou growled. 

"Bakugou, you were kidnapped yesterday," Ochako said with worry. "We just don't want that to happen again."

"We don't know if it was just that one group after you," Momo glared at some other students who were eyeing the boys at her legs. "The day after a rescue tends to be the most dangerous, as one's guard could be dropped."

"This isn't us thinking you're weak cuz you're men," Jirou pointed out. "This is us worrying about you because you're our classmates, and our friends." The group walked in silence after that. Izuku glanced over to Bakugou, and the prickly teen himself was looking down in shock. Izuku knew exactly why.



Their entire lives, they'd been looked down on (in both ways), belittled and demeaned. Even those who had only the best intentions thought of them as too weak to do things for themselves. Deep down inside, both boys had been afraid their classmates at UA would be no different. It had been around two weeks since school began, and while Todoroki didn't think highly of them, and on the opposite end it seemed like Ashido just wanted to cuddle them like plushies, even then it didn't feel like the same sort of thing they dealt with in middle school. It was...nice.

I-I'll get the tickets!" Izuku shouted as the group neared the station. "Be right back!" He rushed forward before any the girls could act, but thankfully he was easy to spot with his red cap. It looked kinda cute seeing him get on his tiptoes to purchase the tickets, but watching him brought to mind another question.

"Hey, Bakugou," Momo asked as she leaned down, "why does Izuku wear that cap all the time? I mean, he's even worn it in class." This question got all the girl's attention, and they leaned close to hear what Bakugou had to say.

"...He's short," Bakugou stated.

"That's kind of obvious, dude," Jirou deadpanned.

"No, I mean, he's short even by men's standards," Bakugou continued. "Because of that, if he stood right next to you girls and looked up, he'd be peeking under your skirts." At this remark, most of the present girls put their hands on their skirts. "Dekiru ain't no pervert, but he doesn't wanna cause any problems, so he wears that hat so he doesn't accidentally look up and see something unmentionable. Don't tell him I told you, it's embarrassing for him." The blond boy shut his mouth after that, not saying a word until Izuku rejoined the group. The girls made no remark on what they heard, but all of them, including Kendo, decided they would do something about it.

Their little greenette more than deserved that consideration.

Chapter Text

It was time. After what felt like an awkwardly long time, one of the biggest events of the nation had arrived. It was time for the UA sports festival.

Class 1-A had assembled in their waiting room. Each student stood tall and proud (though some's stature was more figurative than most), ready to get called out. They all knew how they would walk out, how they would act for the crowd. They were ready. However...

"Are your mechsuits ready?" Ochako asked the boys in front of her. 

"Yeah," Izuku replied, "but we can't use them until the third event."

"Not like we'd need them before then, anyways," Bakugou smirked as he hit his fists together. His smirk turned into a feral sneer as the doors opened out to the field. 

"AND HERE THEY ARE!" Madam Mic screamed through the speakers. "THE CLASS THAT HAS THREE BOY STUDENTS AND ALL FACED VILLAINS ALREADY, GIVE IT UP FOR HEROICS CLASS 1-A!!" The audience roared as the class strode out onto the field. The girls all walked in file, with the three boys walking proudly in front (well away from the unreasonably-twitchy Mineta). Bakugou was giving his toothy smile at the crowd while Izuku and Mashirao were a bit more reserved. They looked out at the crowd, seeing the sheer number of pro heroines in the stands. 

As the other classes walked out behind them, Class 1-A was in awe at the sheer size of the stadium. It was far larger than any sports stadium any of them had ever seen before. It had to be at least a half-kilometer across. If the boys were feeling small before, they were feeling downright microscopic right now. Despite that feeling, everyone was excited. Now was their time to shine in front of the entire nation. 

As the first years finished gathering in the field, Izuku couldn't help but lean out a bit to look at the other classes. He wanted to see if he could spot the other boys among the first years. He could spot Shinsou standing in front of 1-C, but the others were either too far away or buried among their taller classmates. He thought he saw someone with wings towards the far end, but it was hard to tell without a telescope. He should have brought one. After a moment his attention was grabbed by Midnight, who was standing next to a small podium with a microphone. Oh yeah, the student pledge was next.

"Without further ado..." Midnight smirked towards Class 1-A, "time for the student pledge, delivered by Bakugou Katsuki of Class 1-A!" The blond boy just kept grinning as he walked up the steps to the microphone. 

"Why does he get to say it?" Izuku heard one girl in a different class ask.

"Maybe it's a publicity thing," another one replied. Izuku tuned out any further jibes or scoffs as Bakugou reached the microphone. Midnight was reaching over to pull it off the stand for him, but Bakugou surprised everyone by simply jumping almost three meters straight up and removing it himself. Landing on his feet, he cleared his throat before speaking.

"If your age is less than my height, cover your ears!" Bakugo crossed his arms, waiting a moment, seeing if anyone heeded his warning. Satisfied with the results, he smirked and declared, “Yeah, I know what you’re all thinking! A GUY?! In the HERO COURSE? News flash you fucking Brobdingnagian bimbos, my buddies and I EARNED our seats, and it’s gonna take a fuck of a lot more than kidnapping us, like a pussy, to take us down! If you think my friends and I are weak just cuz we're guys, you got a storm comin and I got two fists of fury for anyone who wants to argue, CAPICHE!?” With that last remark, he tossed the mic to Midnight and jumped from the stage to rejoin his class. Most of the audience was silent, save for whatever men were present and those women who found Katsuki's remarks entertaining. A few heroines were impressed to know Bakugou read the classics. After a few moments, the R-18 Heroine cleared her throat.

"And with that energetic pledge," she called out to the stadium, "we're ready for our first event!" She smiled up at the display screen as it showed an arrow spinning over a dial. The display dinged when the arrow stopped and Midnight turned back to the audience. "SCAVENGER HUNT! Each student will be given a slip of paper with an object they must find! Better go fast, though! Only the first 42 winners move on to the next event!" As she announced this, officials approached all the students and handed them envelopes with their objectives. "You can look in the area immediately surrounding the stadium! Some objects have been placed by the staff for you to find, but other things you'll have to make do! Quirk use is permitted, but you cannot attack or sabotage your fellow students! The event lasts until we have 42 victors! Ready...GO!!" At the announcement, each student ripped open their envelopes to see what they needed. Izuku struggled with his envelope at first, but got it open and looked at what he needed. 

"...Really?" Izuku muttered to himself. Looking up, he noticed almost everyone else was already scattering to find their objectives. Thankfully for him, Momo had not moved. She was looking at her own piece of paper in consternation. The greenette walked over and gently poked her leg to get her attention. When she looked down at him, he gestured her towards the official's tents. Looking back at her paper, she gave a small smile and nodded. He was curious about her objective, but Izuku was thankful she was willing to put herself behind to help him out. At the same time everyone else was exiting the stadium, Izuku and Momo jogged to the officials. Izuku moved ahead and handed his paper over first. 

Something Big

The official read this, looked at the 3.46m-tall Momo, and nodded their acceptance. Izuku sighed with relief that it counted. After his score was counted, Momo leaned down and gently grabbed Izuku's shoulder to keep him in place while handing her paper over. The official gave a 'really?' look of her own as she took Momo's slip and read it.

Something Adorable

"...Well, you ain't wrong," the official shrugged. Izuku and Momo both cheered that they both counted, taking the first two spots in the first event.

***

Bakugou Katsuki growled as he looked around the area outside the stadium. He looked down at the paper with his objective and growled again. How the hell was he gonna find something like this? Maybe he could just turn in the paper itself? 

"You look a little lost," a familiar voice chided from above him. Bakugou grit his teeth and looked up at the person blocking the sun.

"Whaddya want, fuzzyface?" Bakugou growled at Mt. Lady. The pro heroine gave a snarky smirk as she towered over her younger cousin.

"Just wanna see how you do, you grease stain. What'cha get, anyways?" She leaned to try reading the paper, but Bakugou looked away and pocketed it before she could. "Gee, real nice."

"Nothing you could help with anyway, you-" Katsuki stopped. He looked back up at Mt. Lady and stared...before his widened. "YOU!!"

"W-what about me?" Takeyama asked. Rather than respond, Bakugou jumped up to grab her hand and pulled her towards the stadium.

"You should work fine, you halitosis-inflicted bint!"

"What are you talking about!?" the heroine yelled. "You're not making sense, you idiotic brat!" Again, Bakugou did not respond and just kept pulling the heroine across the stadium field to the officials in the tents. As the got close, the boy waved his paper high for the official to take. The woman caught it and opened it up.

Something Aggravating

"...I'm sorry, how is a pro heroine aggravating?"

"She's my shitty older cousin," Bakugou explained, "and she drew on my face last summer." As proof, Bakugou held up Mt. Lady's phone (the heroine's eyes widened when she saw he somehow got it from her pocket without her noticing) and showed off the pic she had taken after the deed. The official looked at the photo...then gave their nod of approval. Mt. Lady gave a scoff at how this worked, but smirked down at her cousin.

"Not bad, runt."

"AH!" Bakugou laughed and pointed up at her. "That was two insults in a row, and the next letter was J! I win!"

"...Dammit."

***

Shinsou was in a pickle. Not literally, but he was having a tough time with his objective. He looked around the food stalls with narrowed eyes before looking back down at his paper.

Something Spicy

Under most circumstances, he could just grab a thing of spicy noodles and call it good. Problem was, after spending time with Izuku and Bakugou, he knew people all had different definitions of 'spicy,' and didn't know if the officials would be extra judgmental to him. What if he grabbed something that would roast his tongue but the judge would only consider mild? Maybe he could see if he could borrow a jar of spices? Would that qualify?

As he looked back up, he saw a girl jogging behind the food stands. She was carrying a boy with her, and was going away from the stands. That did not bode well. Stuffing his paper back into his pocket, Shinsou slipped away from the food stands. Staying hunched and quiet, he followed the girl. Judging from her attire and appearance, she appeared to be an upperclassman, while he recognized the boy as someone from another Gen Ed class in his year. He started to worry even more before noticing the boy wasn't struggling. If anything, he seemed to be clinging to the girl. What was going on?

To add to his confusion, the pair of students ducked into a girl's restroom.

...Should he follow them?

...

Shinsou sighed as he slipped into the restroom structure. This was the first time he ever stepped into a girl's restroom and he hoped it would be the last. The main area was thankfully empty, but he could see the girl's feet from under the stall. Removing his shoes for the sake of stealth, he slowly stepped towards the stall. He could hear them whispering something, but couldn't catch any words. He moved closer, but froze when he heard shuffling noises. Then the girl...knelt in front of the toilet? What was she even-

When he was mere meters from the stall, something flew out from under the side and hit him. He almost shouted at the sudden impact but managed to cover his mouth to avoid making any noise. Taking a breath to calm down, he looked down at what hit him.

...It...It was a bra.

Shinsou just stared at the weird and huge bra at his feet. Then he heard giggling from inside the stall. He then made the executive decision that he did not wanna be in here anymore. He took a step to leave but an idea hit him. Looking back down, he saw the bra was white and covered in a chili-pepper pattern. This combined with what the pattern was on...would it work for 'something spicy?'

***

"It works," the official stated as she took the bra from Shinsou. The purple-haired boy sighed with relief as he took his spot among the other winners. Izuku and Bakugou both voiced their curiosity on where Shinsou got a bra, but the third spirit-bearer refused to answer.

***

After Shinsou finished his hunt, the rest of them went by surprisingly quickly despite the hundreds of students. Not too many students from Class 1-A made it through, to their chagrin. Several students from Class 1-B did make it, though they were all a bit nervous around Izuku and Bakugou. The Class 1-Beatdown was still fresh in their minds. After a bit, Midnight directed everyone to look at the display screen above the field, showing off the names of the winners. 

To everyone's surprise, a fair few boys made it through the event. Said boys were grouped together in the winner's crowd. Izuku was amazed to see the few who had mutations, among whom were the silver-haired catboy he had seen repeatedly through the year and a really tall boy that looked more like a black dragon with glasses than a human. That must have been who Izuku saw earlier. Among the winners were also the two boys from the Support Course, who glowered at the fact they were listed under the same name on the display board.

"How does everyone keep getting it wrong?" one of them groaned. "I'm Hagiwara!"

"And I'm Ogiwara!" the other one shouted. "Can nobody read kanji these days?"

"Your names look exactly the same!" Bakugou laughed before looking back up at the display. He smirked as he read the names of everyone else, but his smile dropped when he reached a specific name. A name he wished he never had to see again.

23: Sanada Reika - Class 1-E

Sanada Reika. The girl who bullied them throughout middle school. His eyes were glued to that name for a good minute or two. Glancing over to Izuku, the shock on his face it clear he saw the name too. How did she even get into UA? The teacher back then didn't announce it. True, she didn't announce they had made it in either, but she hated them so that was expected. Izuku was a bit nervous at the thought of meeting his old bully again while Bakugou just felt anticipation. 

He looked forward to shoving her into the dirt again.

"And those are the winners for the first event!" Midnight called out to the crowd. "Quite the diverse crowd this time! Perfect for the next event!" She turned her gaze back to the display screens, which now displayed three big words. "PIGGYBACK OBSTACLE COURSE! This event requires students to partner up and give a piggyback ride! There are four stages to this event, two that can only be done by the person giving the ride and two that must be done by the person doing the riding! If your rider falls off, you gotta go back to the last checkpoint and run again! Quirk usage is prohibited for this event, and again no sabotaging the other contestants! You have five minutes to choose your partner, so choose quick!"

As Midnight finished her explanation, Izuku suddenly felt immense dread. Looking up, he noticed almost every girl among the winners were looking down at the almost-dozen boys who had won the previous event with an almost predatory gaze. Their eyes shining, their mouths twisted into sinister smiles as they regarded the smaller, lighter, easier-to-carry boys. The black dragon boy gave his glasses a cursory cleaning before replacing them on his snout and saying a single word.

"Run."

***

She couldn't take it anymore.

Ever since the villain attack, tension had been building up inside her. Her limbs shook, her vision was blurry, and her mind was stuck on one thing. One thing she had been denied this entire year. The one thing she came here for. She wanted it. 

She wanted a release.

She couldn't use anyone she was close to. They wouldn't play along, and wouldn't believe her if she tried tricking them. She needed someone from a different course. She looked around as the other girls chased the boys like a slapstick comedy routine. Each girl wanted a boy for a partner in the next event due to how small and light they where. She could even hear the audience laughing at the crazy antics. She herself might have been laughing if not for the sheer desperation plaguing her mind. Her thoughts were interrupted when she heard squawking from above her. 

Looking up, she saw that black dragon-looking kid had taken to the air to avoid the melee. In his arms was the small catboy from...she didn't know the course, she only knew he seemed to be everywhere like some incessant background character. At the moment, both boys were being targeted by a group of girls with flying quirks. The dragon boy was fending them off pretty good, but his grip on his feline friend was beginning to-

"AAAAAH!" the silver-haired catboy screamed as he fell. What luck. She was right where she needed to be. Taking a single step forward, she deftly caught the smaller boy, who gave a nervous chuckle. "Heh heh, I guess we're together?" 

"...Yes," she smirked.

***

The chaos on the field lasted a good several minutes, with only a handful of the boys being nabbed by the girls. Izuku, Bakugou and Shinsou had managed to avoid capture so far, while Ojiro had voluntarily leaped into Hagakure's arms before they ran off to the starting point. He did want to participate, but he didn't wanna go with someone who just wanted him because he was light. Especially with the sort of scary faces some of these girls were making.

Suddenly there was a loud ringing through the arena. Everyone stopped at the noise, which quickly ended and was replaced with Aizawa's baritone voice.

"Since very few of you actually had the restraint to try this with dignity," she explained, "we have no choice. Everyone who hasn't already been paired up with someone will now be paired up at random. Stand calmly and wait for your names to appear on the display." 

At her words, the students finally calmed down and began milling about. A few had the decency to look embarrassed after the chase. Izuku was glad for that. Nice to know it was a spur of the moment thing, and not anything more dastardly. He watched as the display board up above started listing the designated pairs for the next event. For a brief period he was scared he'd be paired with Sanada, but sighed with relief when he saw his name paired with Shiozaki. The religious hero student approached him at the same time Bakugou's name was displayed, pairing him up with...

"Oh no," one of the support course boys laughed, "Bakugou's stuck with Hatsume!"

"Be careful, dude!" the other shouted as Bakugou hopped onto the inventor's back. "Don't let her drag you into any of her crazy tangents!"

"Remember her idea with the underwater hamster colonies?"

"That woulda worked if you twins didn't stop me!" Hatsume glared.

"WE'RE NOT TWINS!"

As that little group bickered, Shiozaki knelt down to let Izuku climb onto her back. She stood back up, scooting Izuku around a bit to help him get comfy on her back. Izuku initially gripped her shoulders, but then he had an idea. 

"What are you doing?" Shiozaki asked as she felt Izuku messing with her vines.

"Quirk use isn't permitted here," he explained, "but there's no rules saying I can't use your hair to tie myself to you like this. It doesn't hurt, does it?"

"I am more worried for you," Ibara replied. "My hair has thorns."

"And our gym clothes are thick enough to keep them from poking into me," Izuku smiled as he patted her shoulder, ignoring the three thorns jabbing into his waist. The taller girl nodded and proceeded to the starting line. To her surprise, Midnight instructed everyone to remove their shoes. Shiozaki did so, joining the other girls in wearing her socks. In front of them was a pile of paired shoes, sandals, what looked like slippers shaped like giant feet, even a few cans of veggies with straps attached to them.

"The course will stretch in a straight line from here to other end of the stadium!" Midnight smirked. "The first event is for you runners! You all gotta find some manner of footwear and cross the line to the second event! There's another pile of shoes on the other side of the line if you find yourself stuck with something less than pleasant, but it'll take time sorting through those, so choose quickly! Get ready kids!" Hearing this, Izuku had a crazy idea. Quirks were prohibited, yes, but not other tricks.

"Shiozaki," Izuku whispered, "what shoe size are you?" His partner was confused, but whispered back her size. Upon being answered, Izuku covered his eyes and started focusing his sight through Cobalt. The spirit surged forward, looking across the different shoes. After a moment, Izuku found the shoes they needed. The moment Midnight called for the race to start, Izuku directed Cobalt to grab the shoes and fly low to the ground.

"Grab those!" Izuku pointed at the scuttling tennis shoes. Shiozaki was a bit confused at the sight, but accepted them readily. She slipped them on with ease and rushed for the line. She was grateful they were comfy, meaning she wouldn't need to swap out for better shoes and could just keep going. There was a bit of distance before the next challenge, and some of the faster students began to catch up as Izuku and Shiozaki reached the second challenge. There was a large canopy with a couple dozen strings hanging down from underneath. Stuck to each string was a bread roll, kept in place with plastic clips.





"Looks like the first students are reaching the Bread Roll Hangers!" Madame Mic hollered through the speakers. "Each team's rider must eat one of these bread rolls in their entirety! Catch is, they aren't allowed to grab the roll with their hands! The only thing allowed to touch the roll is their face!"

"Anyone with a boy rider," Aizawa spoke up, "will find themselves at a disadvantage here simply because the boys have smaller mouths. Try to overcome that weakness if you want to continue." 

"Just get me close to one," Izuku stated. "I got this." Shiozaki nodded and rushed to the nearest bread roll. The roll was just above her head, and Izuku crawled up to it. Keeping his hands planted on her head, he went to work eating the pastry. Everyone else around them was focused on trying to take large bites, but Izuku took small, quick bites. Due to him not pushing too hard, Izuku was actually whittling away the roll bit by bit. Watching him go at it, Shiozaki was reminded of a hamster. She began to wonder if it was a similar situation that spawned the expression "going ham on something." She contemplated this until she felt Izuku tapping her shoulder, signifying his completion of the task. Moving her arms around to get Izuku comfy, Shiozaki took off in a sprint towards the next challenge.

"DEKIRU, YOU ASS!" Bakugou shouted as the two ran by, still with half a bread roll in his mouth. Izuku just laughed in reply. Shiozaki just kept running, focused on moving forward and not getting bumped into by the other runners. She rushed up a small set of stairs, ending a few meters above the ground, and saw a series of raised platforms before her. Each platform was connected by thick metal cords.

"And there's the third challenge!" Mic cheered with the crowd. "The runners gotta get across the gap! If you fall off, you gotta go back and start again! How good's your balance, ladies!?"

"Sorry I can't help you with this one," Izuku sighed and rested his head on Shiozaki's shoulder. The taller girl simply looked at her partner and smiled.

"Worry not, little one," she reassured him. "Just hold tight." Then, to everyone's surprise, Shiozaki took a running leap into the fray. Izuku screamed at first, but stopped when she deftly landed on one of the cords and jumped again. And again. Anyone watching Shiozaki just stared as the girl leaped from cord to platform to cord with ease and grace. At some points she flipped forward and landed on the cords with her hands before flipping forward onto her feet. She gave Izuku another scare (and earned a few gasps from the stands) at this. Before any of the other challengers were even halfway across, Shiozaki and Izuku landed on the other side.

"...Th-that was amazing!" Izuku finally stammered.

"I've been in gymnastics since primary school!" Shiozaki laughed as she took off running again. "A challenge of balance like that was nothing!"  The audience was roaring with support at her agility. Izuku was laughing in disbelief as they approached the last challenge of the race. This one looked a lot more complicated than the rest. Just inside the area was a barrel filled with colored wooden rods, and past that were rows upon rows of colored ribbons hanging from a series of arches. At the end of each ribbon was a large colored ring.

"No fancy name for the last challenge," Aizawa droned. "The goal is for the rider to grab a rod and, while the runner goes through the course, they have to use that rod to grab three rings of the same color as the rod. No turning back, no slowing down. Run straight to the end with no turns. If you reach the end and don't have three rings, you have to go back and try again, but with a different rod. The first eight pairs to get past this challenge will move on to the last event of the Festival, so make it count."

"No room for error here," Izuku muttered to himself as Shiozaki leaned over to let his grab a red-and-black rod. With a pat on her shoulder, Shiozaki ran through the arches. As Izuku looked down the path, he noted Aizawa omitted the fact that there didn't seem to be many more than three rings for each color. He needed to look close to spot his rings as they ran by. He nabbed the first one with ease, looping it over his arm to keep it on and barely caught the second one before Shiozaki rushed past it. Where was the third one? They needed one more-there! He spotted the third ring just before the end of the challenge area, and he knew Shiozaki spotted it as well. He had to move up a bit, but he cheered as he felt that third ring rip off it's ribbon and slide down his arm. Shiozaki smiled at his cheering and rushed out from the arches, running the last few meters to the finish line. The audience roared as they crossed the line, being the first to do so. It was close to a minute before the next pair, Uraraka riding Momo, crossed the line. Just behind them were Bakugou and Hatsume. 

"Ya know," Bakugou stated as he slid off Hatsume's back, "for a pink pine tree who's obsessed with explosions...you're not bad." Mei just smiled and playfully ruffled his hair.

"...Whoa, your hair is soft!" she exclaimed. Izuku just sighed and facepalmed.

A bit after that came Shinsou riding Todoroki (the latter of whom looking a bit awkward for some reason), followed by Sanada Reika riding some poor girl with purple hair. She glared at the boys as Kirishima crossed the line with the black-dragon boy on her back. The last two pairs to make it were Kodai Yui riding Kendou Itsuka ahead of Ashido Mina riding Iida Tenten. Iida had an embarrassed look on her face, having come in last because she fell from the cords several times, but sighing in relief as the PA system blared her narrow success.

"AND THERE YOU HAVE IT!" Madam Mic yelled. "Those eight pairs will be moving on to the third and final Main Event of the Sports Festival, the one-on-one fights!"

"We'll be taking a break to determine the matchups," Aizawa explained. "Anyone who failed prior to this will have the chance to show off their skills in some recreational challenges we have in place while the arena is set up. Otherwise, use this break to get some snacks or use the restroom, speaking of which..." 

Izuku sighed with relief as Shiozaki knelt down and gently unwrapped her vines from around him. She noted the puncture holes in his sides and fussed over them, but Izuku waved her off. As he did so, the black dragon boy watched the other competitors moving towards the finish line. His eyes narrowed in confusion as the other disqualified competitors approached the finish line.

"Where is he...?"

***

"You can't do this!" the silver-haired catboy screamed from his spot against the wall. He struggled against the restraints, trying to get free as he stared at the person responsible for this.

Mineta Shinobu. 

The purple midget girl had been paired with the boy before the second event. Once it became clear they wouldn't win, she used some of her hairballs to adhere him to her and sneaked to the nearest restroom. It took a bit of work (catboy was a fighter), but after a few minutes she managed to stick him to the wall. All four limbs were splayed out, leaving him open and vulnerable to the desperate, drooling hero student.

"Let me go!" the boy screamed. "If you don't let me go-"

"Shut it!" Mineta drooled through her sneer. "I've been waiting for this since school started! And after fighting off villains a few weeks ago, I've earned this! Just sit there and be a good toy for me!" Her hands reached forward, ready to start ripping his clothes off, when someone unexpected happened. The balls keeping the boy against the wall suddenly withered like grapes. The boy fell to the ground and took off running towards the door. Mineta screamed, turning to grab him, but stopped. Standing in the doorway, glaring down at her, was an irate Aizawa Shoka.

"What the hell are you doing, Mineta?"

Chapter Text

The race had ended a few minutes prior. Izuku and Bakugou were in line at one of the food stalls to eat something before the fights started. Behind them in line were Mei and Mt. Lady, both of whom were hassling Bakugou.

“Stop touching me,” the blond boy growled as he swatted Mei’s hand away. 

“But it’s so soft!” the inventor girl laughed as she pet his head again. Bakugou just growled and yanked his head away. 

“Yo, Mt. Bitch, can’t you stop her or something?”

“Hmm, nah,” his cousin smirked. “This is revenge for the scavenger hunt, you neophyte shrimp.”

“That insult doesn’t fucking work, you oversized hagfish.”

“And yet you’re still playing along.”

Izuku laughed as he got his food. It was nice to see how close those two were. He stepped aside so Bakugou could order his food, the blond sighing with relief as he finally escaped Mei’s patting. He placed his order, then turned around to say something else to his cousin but stopped.

“Dekiru,” Bakugou muttered, “got a gaggle of girls headed this way. They don’t look like they’re coming to order food.” Izuku turned and, sure enough, there was a large group of girls headed their way. He instinctively hid behind his friend while Mt. Lady stepped in front of them both.

“Can we help you?” the pro heroine asked the group. 

“We heard that the blond boy has soft hair earlier,” one of the girls in front spoke up nervously. “We...just wanna see if that’s true?” Mt. Lady looked at the group, taking in their expressions, before turning to Katsuki. She stared for a moment before smirking.

“Don’t you fucking dare,” Bakugou growled. 

“Revenge,” the heroine smirked as she stepped back to stand next to Bakugou. “Ladies, you’re in luck!”

“I will shove my foot up your-” was as far as he got before Mt. Lady yoinked him off the ground and held him out to the crowd.

“Go ahead!” Mt. Lady cheered. “Pet his head as much as you want!”

“Put me fucking down, bitch!”

“He don’t bite!”

“Yes I do!” 

Bakugou’s yells fell on deaf ears as the girls began taking turns patting the volatile blond’s head. Izuku laughed at his friend’s current dilemma and chose to leave before the girls saw him too. Thankfully, his escape went unnoticed and the noises of the food stalls and angry blond faded into the distance. 

Izuku trotted down the hall, munching on his pork bun. He was curious how the tournament was gonna be set up. Who was he gonna fight in the first round? He was hoping it wouldn’t be Kacchan, but knowing the principal that was a very real possibility. He probably needed to get fitted in his armor, though. He was able to try it out a day ago, and it was-

Izuku froze as a wall of red emerged before him. He slowly turned his head up, paling a bit when he saw the very angry face of Madame Phoenix, formerly Endeavor, glaring down at him. She was wearing her formal attire, resembling a chinese dress with decorative red wings on her back to help emphasize her new name. Cobalt Star immediately moved between the two, and Izuku was getting a feeling of bad that he hadn’t felt since the villains attacked the USJ. 

At the same moment, Todoroki Eiko was quietly seething. She recognized the brat below her as one of the boys she wanted “disappeared” from the Hero Course. Truthfully, she had been fairly angry for the past few weeks. The people she hired failed their job miserably, someone she still didn’t know who infiltrated her house to stab a knife into her pillow, and the inept police officers actually misplaced the knife before they could dust for prints. Seeing her daughter, her masterpiece , come behind this diminutive foot stool in the past two events did nothing to improve her mood either. 

“You,” she addressed Izuku. “You’re in the Hero Course.” Confused, the boy nodded. “You’re wasting everyone’s time and resources. If you have any semblance of intelligence, you’ll leave the school immediately.” Eiko was expecting the boy to shake in fear, possibly obey her order immediately and run off to get the paperwork done. Instead, she was surprised to see him straighten up and glare back up at her.

“No.”

Judging from the look on the heroine’s face, she was unused to anyone, let alone a man, denying her requests.

“I’m not leaving,” Izuku continued. “I worked my butt off to get here, and made it against every obstacle people like you threw at me. I earned this chance, and I am not letting it go.” With that, Izuku stormed past the heroine. “Watch your step. They waxed this floor recently and you don’t want to slip.” 

Eiko, meanwhile, could not believe her ears. That boy, that waste of space, dared talk back to her? If they weren’t on UA property she would have had no qualms with reducing him to ashes right there and then. Unfortunately for her pride, she was on UA property, and thus in view of no fewer than ten different cameras. So instead of giving that brat what he deserved, she just grit her teeth and walked-

FWIP!

“KYAA!”

THUD!

“Warned you,” Izuku deadpanned, not even looking at the fallen heroine as Cobalt Star returned to their position behind Izuku.

***

Hitoshi had been trained well by his mother.

Since he was smaller than most everyone else on the planet, Shinsou Kiyoko had worked hard to instill her son with life-saving instincts and observational skills above his peers. These skills are what enabled him to slip away from so many bullies in the past. They were what helped him spot so many minor details among his classmates and people he passed.

Those same skills of observation were also how he knew he was being followed.

Shinsou had just stepped out to grab some shaved ice and noticed he was being tailed. He wasn’t just being followed by a classmate or something. No, he was being followed by Todoroki Shouko, who was trying (and failing) to remain hidden. He had to admit, her footsteps were pretty quiet amid the crowds, but her candy-cane hair was hard to miss even when she was ducking around a corner. Hitoshi tried to ignore her, he really did. However, the fact she seemed intent on following him wherever he went was grinding on his nerves. He was sorely tempted to duck into a restroom, but what if she just hovered outside the door and trapped him like a peppermint condor waiting for him to die?

...He needed to lay off the MST3K. 

Instead of getting trapped in a bathroom, he had another idea. Tossing his empty cup into the trash, he took a few more calm steps before suddenly breaking out into a sprint. Through the corner of his eye he could see Shouko had also sped up her pursuit. He would say he was disappointed she chose to continue, but for that to be true he’d also have to be surprised. With an exasperated sigh, he ran around the corner and found himself in an empty hall. The only things in it were windows and vending machines. That’d work for him. He quickly turned and shimmied up a vending machine and waited.

After a moment, Shouko turned the corner and skidded to a stop. He watched her eyes widen as she looked down the hallway. Shinsou had to stifle a chuckle as he noticed the girl never looked up. Guess you wouldn’t need to look up if you were the tallest person in the room. He waited until she had passed him before jumping from the machine and onto her shoulders. The girl legitimately gave a shout of surprise and instinctively tried to freeze Shinsou, only for said boy to duck under her ice and otherwise stay sitting on her shoulders.

“Why were you following me?” he inquired.

“How did you know?” Shouko responded.

“My mom’s a detective, remember? Now why were you following me?”

“..I...I wanted to ask about your thing.” There was a brief silence, Shinsou still on her shoulders, before she continued. “I know that Midoriya’s thing is something like telekinesis, and Bakugou’s can generate explosions. I wanted to know what your thing could do.”

“And that required you to sneak behind me like some secret agent?”

“Didn’t think you’d talk about it in the open, so I was hoping to corner you in an isolated place to talk.”

“You do realize how wrong that sounds, right?” 

“...Okay, fair point,” Shouko sheepishly acknowledged. 

“...Tell you what,” Shinsou said as she slid off her shoulders and plopped to the floor. Shouko turned around to face the smaller boy as he continued, “I’ll make you a deal. I’ll tell you what my spirit can do, if you tell me why you aren’t using your fire side.” 

“Is my reasoning really important?”

“Yes. Now spill.” Shouko looked down at the boy for a few moments before sighing.

“Ever heard of quirk marriages?”

---

“AND WELCOME BACK TO THE SPORTS FESTIVAL!” Midnight announced to the roaring crowds. “It’s time for what you’ve all been waiting for! The third and final event for the Sports Festival, a one-on-one tournament for the remaining contestants!” As she said this, the sixteen contestants appeared on the display behind her. “Now, normally we also post who’s facing who before we start, but we decided to mix things up a bit this time! We ain’t gonna announce the combatants until just before their fight begins! With the first match being…” The pictures of the contestants started spinning around the screen, each one comically flying away before two were left behind.

‘MIDORIYA IZUKU VERSUS SHIOZAKI IBARA!” 

The crowd exploded as Shiozaki approached the arena. She walked with confidence, having survived the last two events, but internally she was beyond nervous. She really didn’t want to go toe-to-toe with one of the boys that practically steamrolled her entire class a couple weeks ago. Even if it was just the one with telekinesis, she was still less than eager. She took a breath and shook her negative thoughts away as she climbed the steps onto the arena. Looking ahead of her, she saw something surprising. Something that made the crowd murmur in confusion.

Izuku was standing across from her, that much was obvious. However, instead of a gym uniform like her, he was wearing a heavy suit of armor. It looked like something from a video game, in all honesty. His footsteps were slow, but each step sounded like his suit was rather heavy.

“For anyone who’s curious about the tin can,” Madam Mic called out from the commentator’s booth, “as a means of helping the last event be fair for all involved parties, the boys who made it this far were given suits of power armor! Each suit has various gadgets and tricks added, so no two are exactly the same!”

“That means what works for one suit,” Aizawa droned, “might not work for the others. Try to be creative out there.”

“Sorry to face you first match, Shiozaki,” Izuku apologized as he took a fighting stance. 

“Just bad luck,” the much taller girl acknowledged. She felt a bit more hopeful now. Since he was using that armor, he might not use his telekinesis. She remembered she had to sign an NDA before the Class 1-Beatdown, so of course he’d limit himself here. 

“You lose if you’re unable to move, forfeit, or fall from the ring!” Midnight explained to the teens. “Poking in the eyes and hitting below the belt is just plain mean and will not be allowed! Ready...BEGIN!” 

The moment she finished her words, Shiozaki sent her vines under the arena to attack. At that same instance, Izuku’s power armor roared to life. Less than a second before her vines burst from the stone, there was a boom as jets in Izuku’s armor propelled him forward. 

“THERE WE GO!” a young girl’s voice yelled through the speakers. “Take a good look, support companies!”

“What the-?” Mic asked as she turned to see Hatsume in the booth, standing between her and Aizawa with a headset.

“How did you get in here?” Aizawa asked.

“What you’re seeing,” Mei continued without acknowledging either commentator, “is a demonstration of the power armor crafted by yours truly! Based off the tried-and-true Shield industries design, you can see that armor is designed for men’s use!”

Izuku chuckled at Mei’s antics as he sped at Shiozaki, who pulled back her vines and narrowly dodged a fist to her gut. She tried to retaliate with a kick of her own, but Izuku ducked under her leg, grabbed it, and threw her across the arena. Only quick use of her vines prevented her from falling out completely.

“That particular model is what I call the Grappler loadout!” Mei explained, “The armor’s small size makes it comparatively lightweight, enabling the use of boosters and strength-augmenting pistons! Men in that armor can jump high as any woman, and in several cases display greater feats of strength! At the same time, the individual fingers allow for dextrous action and fine manipulation! Need a pint-sized battering ram or some way to protect male police officers? The Grappler Loadout is your answer!”

“OH YEAH!” Katsuki cheered from the stands as Izuku rushed at Ibara and delivered more punches. “GO NEW VEGAS ON HER ASS!”

Izuku did just that. His punches and kicks were swift, only missing a few. At the same time, Ibara’s vines were proving ineffective in keeping him in place. Anytime she managed to grab him with her vines, he either tore free or used the flames of his boosters to burn his way out. Meanwhile, anytime she grabbed him with her arms, he was somehow able to break free. The one time she attempted to throw him out of bounds, he managed to spin himself around and latch onto her arms, causing her to stumble as he landed on his feet. Just like that fight a couple weeks ago, Shiozaki was regretting not pushing their heroics teacher to cover ways to fight smaller opponents. 

With her fretting and being pushed back, Shiozaki barely noticed she was close to the edge of the arena before Izuku grabbed her legs. With a shout of effort, he hoisted her off the ground. As he did, though, Shiozaki felt something else on her legs. Was he-

“YER OUTTA HERE!” Izuku roared as he tossed her the final few meters out of the arena. She squeaked as she bounced off the grass before landing on her rump. It took her a few moments to fully realize what happened.

“SHIOZAKI IBARA IS OUT OF BOUNDS!” Midnight cheered. “THE WINNER OF THE FIRST MATCH IS MIDORIYA IZUKU!” The audience roared as Izuku stepped down from the arena. Ibara was still sitting as he approached her and held out his hand.

“Are you okay, Shiozaki?” 

The taller girl stared at his hand for a moment before accepting the help. It was mildly awkward getting helped up by someone around half her size, but she accepted it anyways. She got to her feet, dusted herself off, and nodded at Izuku.

“I am fine,” she smiled. “I must know, though, were you using-” Her words were cut off as Izuku raised a finger to his mask and shushed. It took a moment, but she smiled again and nodded her understanding before they both exited the field.

Up in the stands, Iida Tenten was smiling herself. She knew that, for reasons unknown, one or two members of their sister class held animosity towards 1-A. Seeing Izuku being himself and possibly gaining friends in that other class warmed her heart and made her hope that maybe their classes wouldn’t become enemies. 

However, that warmth was pushed aside when she checked her phone. She had gotten word from her sister that she had gone on patrol earlier, and would call during the tournament portion of the Festival. There were no calls so far. She could only hope nothing bad had happened.

***

Iida Tenmei, the heroine Ingenium, sped down the road. She and her sidekicks had gotten word of some suspicious individuals being seen around this street. Of particular interest was when someone reported seeing a ragged red scarf.

The hallmark of the elusive Hero Killer.

She ran down the street, but skidded to a stop when she heard a scream from a nearby alley. She quickly called it in before rushing in. Just past a pile of trash cans was the heroine Lustergaze. She was lying in a pool of blood, and Tenmei had no idea if she was still alive. Of bigger concern was who was standing over her.

“...A man?”

Standing over the heroine was a fairly tall, skinny man. He was dressed in black and covered in blades of varying sizes. He held a long katana in each hand, and tied to his head was a long red scarf. There was no mistaking who this was, no matter how unbelievable.

“Hero Killer Stain!” Ingenium shouted as she raised her fists. No one, not even past survivors, had ever gotten a good look at the Hero Killer before. Seeing they were a man was completely unexpected.

“Ingenium,” the villain rasped. “You...you’re one of the good ones. Leave and I will not leave you lying in your own blood.”

“I cannot do that!” Ingenium yelled. “You have caused many deaths, villain! It is my duty to bring you in!” She rushed forward, arms raised to block any swinging swords. With her experience, devotion to duty, and unwillingness to underestimate any opponent, she would be ready for anything Stain threw at her.

Which is why it was unfortunate Ingenium could not perceive the entity that floated behind Stain’s shoulder.

Chapter Text

Bakugou watched as Izuku helped Shiozaki to her feet. He couldn’t hear what they were saying, but judging from Izuku’s gesture, he could guess there was something he didn’t want brought up. He could guess what that was, though. Izuku was not the most stealthy in that fight...in a manner of speaking. 

“What an exciting first match!” Mic shouted as Izuku and Shiozaki exited the field. “The boys in your class are certainly showing what they’re made of, aren’t they?”

“They could do better,” Aizawa shrugged.

“...It is completely impossible for you to praise someone, isn’t it?” Hatsume asked, earning a chuckle from Bakugou.

“Why are you still here?”

“Moving on!” Mic ignored Aizawa as the display board outside lit up again, listing the remaining 14 students. “Let’s see who gets to fight next!” The photos of the kids spun around quickly and dramatically for several tense seconds until all but two were hurled off-screen. “WHAT A TWIST! OUR NEXT FIGHT IS BETWEEN BAKUGOU KATSUKI OF CLASS 1-A AND SANADA REIKA OF CLASS 1-D!”

‘ ...Well, would you look at that? ’ Bakugou smirked as he got to his feet. Looks like he got to strut his stuff next.

“Good luck, Bakugou,” Kirishima smiled. 

“Go out and throw stuff,” Ashido smirked while clenching her fist. Bakugou just smirked right back, high-fived Ashido, and disappeared into the hall behind the stairs. After another minute, Izuku rejoined his class, without his power armor.

“You kicked butt down there, Midoriya!” Ochako beamed. 

“It was quite impressive,” Momo stated as she helped Izuku into the seat next to hers. 

“Thanks,” the green boy blushed a bit. “A-anyway, I’m eager to see how Bakugou fights Sanada. It’s been a while since we met, I wonder if she’s gotten any better.”

“You know her?” Momo asked, tilting her head a bit.

“She went to the same middle school as Kacchan and I. She used to bully us a lot, but Bakugou was able to fight her off pretty easily. And that was before he learned how to control his spirit.” Izuku was about to continue before the crowds roared. Looking back at the field, Izuku saw the doors swing open.

“HERE COME OUR NEXT COMPETITORS!” Mic roared. “FROM CLASS 1-A, WE GOT THE EXPLOSIVE BLOND BOY BAKUGOU KATSUKI! AND FROM CLASS 1-D, HERE COMES THE QUEEN OF WHIPS, SANADA REIKA!”

Bakugou emerged from his door wearing his power armor. Unlike Izuku’s armor, his was red and bulky. From how he walked it was clear that Bakugou could still move fast, but it was also clear that getting punched by that armor would hurt. On the armor’s back was a white tank of some sort with hoses connecting to the gauntlets. Most likely some sort of ignition system so that Bakugou could utilize his explosions without causing suspicion. Wait. Bulky red armor with a white pack. Izuku groaned and facepalmed. There was no way that wasn’t a reference.

From the other side, Sanda Reika sauntered up like she owned the place. She twirled one of her wrist-whips lazily, smirking at the smaller boy from across the arena. Izuku was curious if she had actually learned how to fight since they last met, but was otherwise not worried in the least. He actually had the feeling the Principal arranged it this way to let his friend have some fun. He was definitely gonna enjoy the show.

***

Sanada smirked as she stepped onto the arena. She worked her ass off to get this far, and her first real chance to show off was gonna let her get revenge on one of her old schoolmates? Looked like luck was on her side. 

“And here we are, support gearheads!” Hatsume screamed from the commentator booth. “Power Armor number two! I call this loadout the Hellfire Loadout because-”

PSHH!

Everyone watched with curiosity as the power armor hissed just before reaching the steps to the arena. Said confusion only increased as the armor opened up and Bakugou hopped out.

“Hey, what gives, kid?” One of the heroines in the audience shouted.

“I don’t need some fancy armor to beat that bitch,” Bakugou replied as he quickly detached the gauntlets from the armor and slid them over his hands. A moment later, he grabbed the fuel tank and hung it from his back. “I’m only grabbing these as a courtesy.”

“You’re supposed to wear the full armor!” Mei comically whined.

“Be glad I’m keeping the gauntlets!” Bakugou roared as he walked up the steps to the arena. Sanada, meanwhile, just sneered bigger. Brat was foregoing his one advantage? He didn’t know she had only gotten better since they last met. There was no way a midget like him could stand up to her now. 

“You both remember the rules, right?’ Midnight asked, getting a nod from them both. “BEGIN!” 

Sanada laughed and threw her whips out. Now would be her chance to prove she belonged in the Hero Course instead of those boys and why was she looking at the sky?

It took her a moment to realize what had happened. In the brief two seconds since the fight began, Bakugou had done his signature dropkick, leaping ten feet off the ground and ramming his soles into her face. Just like the previous year, the force of the impact knocked her backwards. This time was different, though. First, the kick hurt harder than before. Secondly, instead of landing on her chest to pin her down, Bakugou used the impact on her face to flip back and land on the ground before she did. 

While Sanada was still airborne, Bakugou shot around her and grabbed her hair. Using her momentum and airborne status, the smaller boy roared and yanked her into the ground head first. The impact dazed the taller girl, giving Bakugou the chance to land another strong kick on her side, knocking her back down just as she got to her knees. Sanada growled in frustration and swung her whips, only for Bakugou to leap over the lengthy tendrils with ease and land another kick.

The audience was watching in stunned silence even as Madam Mic relayed the events. They were willing to suspend their disbelief in the last fight because Midoriya had power armor. This time, they were watching a boy who was weighed down with a fuel tank and heavy gauntlets practically fly around the arena beating a girl twice his size. Just what were they teaching them in the Hero Course? 

The audience watched as each one of Bakugou’s strikes sent Sanada closer and closer to the edge of the arena. Aizawa blanched. She swore that he had more aggression in that opening kick than in almost anything else she'd seen him do. The girl, meanwhile, had not been able to land a single blow on her faster opponent. Her skill with her whips was impressive, but not good enough to hit Bakugou. With a last roar, Bakugou landed one last dropkick that sent Sanada flying from the arena. She grunted in pain as she landed on the grass. 

“SANADA REIKA IS OUT OF BOUNDS!” Midnight announced. “BAKUGOU KATSUKI PASSES!” The audience exploded with excitement once again. That last fight was not something they had expected at all. Bakugou didn’t even look at Sanada as she got to her feet. The girl growled and raised her hand. It was clear she was about to attack.

“SANADA, NO!” Midnight yelled as she ran towards the girl, ripping her suit to release her quirk.

“I AM NOT LOSING TO A QUIRKLESS, USELESS PIECE OF TRASH!” Sanada yelled as she swung her whip at Bakugou. Just before it hit him, Bakugou spun around and raised one arm. The gauntlet ignited, releasing a massive explosion that knocked away Sanada’s whip and sent the girl flying back. She impacted the grass again, this time sporting a few burns. Without another word, Bakugou just turned around and kept walking away. 

The heroines in the audience were silent again. If Bakugou had used those gauntlets from the get-go, he would have won a lot quicker. Some heroines muttered about how he couldn’t go half-ass like that in an actual battle. The silent ones among them went agape with a dawning horror of a realization: he did take it seriously. He knew he didn't need to go all out. Despite his volatile personality (seen during prior events), Bakugou had demonstrated he could restrain himself and use no more force than necessary. Whatever the reaction, Bakugou’s first fight was not one that would be forgotten anytime soon. 

***

The UA Sports Festival was the biggest event in all Japan. Three days of students from Japan’s premiere hero school strutting their stuff was an irresistible display. With fans even in other countries, some argued the Sports Festival was as big as the Olympics. 

So it only made sense that villains watched, as well.

In a small bar several towns away from Musutafu, a trio of villains watched the performance. Kurogiri stood behind the counter of the bar, casually washing glasses. On a stool close to the television was Shigaraki, growling and scratching at her neck. While not technically present in the bar, but still viewing the Festival with them, Shigaraki’s sensei was present on the other television screen.

“That was the other one,” Shigaraki hissed. “That was the other Shiny that beat Noumu.”

“Did he use his quirk just now?” Sensei asked.

“Hard to tell,” the misty hostess replied. “He could have, but he used his gauntlet.”

“Looks like they crafted a means for them to use their quirks while hiding it from the masses,” the villain leader observed. “Clever.”

“I want them,” Shigaraki growled. “I want those Shinies on my team.”

“Just keep watching,” Sensei ordered. “Keep an eye open for any abnormalities. Listen to what you can.” Shigaraki growled, but nodded. “Kurogiri, any progress on what I asked you?”

“I...have made progress,” Kurogiri hesitantly replied.

“...Why the pause, Kurogiri?”

“Well…” the barkeep shuffled her hands, “...they’re a man.”

“...What?”

***

Iida took a few breaths before stepping out to the field. There had been a handful of matches between Bakugou’s and her own (with Ochako and Todroki winning their fights against Kirishima and Kendou), and the maintenance crew just finished patching the arena. Now it was her turn to show what she could do. She walked out amid the cheers of the audience, stepping up to the arena at the same time as her opponent. 

Across the arena was Shinsou Hitoshi. The short boy was wearing dark purple power armor similar to Izuku’s, but with an owl motif. It also looked a bit slimmer, possibly allowing for faster movements. She would simply have to be faster. She waited for Midnight to finish repeating the rules before leaning into a fighting stance.

“Good luck,” Shinsou said at the commencement of the match.

“Thank yo-” Iida nodded before freezing. What the heck? She couldn’t move! On top of that, her vision was messing up. She was wearing her special focal goggles, but even then everything at the edge of her vision was blurry. Her ears weren’t working right, either. What was happening?

“Got you,” Shinsou chuckled. Why could she hear him clearly but nothing else? “Rush forward to kick my head, but miss by three centimeters to your right.” To Iida’s inner shock, her body did just that, speeding forward and delivering a near miss as Shinsou leaned to the side. “Next, punch your left arm five centimeters to the right of my chest.” Again, Iida’s body obeyed the boy’s words. She tried to fight it, but her body obeyed the boy’s every command. He was giving orders and making weak blows to make it look like they were having an intense match. How was he-

Wait.

With one thought, one idea, everything made perfect sense. How Shinsou was pulling this off. How he got to be good friends with Izuku and Bakugou despite being in General Education. How he would apparently get into Hero Course if he did a good job here.

Shinsou Hitoshi had a Spirit.

Iida would have grit her teeth if she could. She needed to break free of this control. Every time Shinsou gave a command she would resist best she could, but it felt meaningless. No matter what sort of thoughts she made, no matter how hard she tried to control her own limbs, she could only dance to the commands of the boy before her. She did, however, notice Shinsou would only make flashy, yet weak, attacks against her while slowly moving her towards the edge of the arena. Iida had heard of similar quirks being broken by heavy contact. Perhaps his Spirit worked the same way?

Told you she was a smart one.

Iida was shocked, and probably would have froze if Shinsou were not controlling her. Whose voice was that?

Pah, she’s barely passable.

Don’t be like that, she’s trying her best.

Her best doesn’t seem like quite enough here, though. Should we help her a bit?

Iida was legitimately hearing voices. She didn’t recognize any of them, either. They didn’t sound overtly hostile, thankfully. Were they part of Shinsou’s Spirit? Oh crap, while she was listening and thinking, Shinsou had moved her against the edge of the arena.

“It’s been fun,” Shinsou stated, “but time for you to go. With my next hit, fall backwards out of the arena.” The small boy jumped up with his power armor and delivered a light punch to her stomach. Iida felt herself tipping backwards and-

She stopped.

The crowd, and everyone watching across the nation, held their breath.

Iida was leaning back, but not far enough to fall out. Shinsou was in front of her, his stance indicating his surprise. What happened? Did his Spirit stop working? No, wait...She could just barely see it through the corner of her eye, but there was a transparent hand on her shoulder, holding her in place.

“Fall out,” Shinsou ordered. When nothing happened, he repeated the order, and was shocked further at the lack of response.

This is the best we can do, honey. You gotta take it from here.

Shinsou shouted and gave a leaping kick at Iida, trying to push her out, but that hand kept her steady. Upon impact, the hand disappeared, but Iida’s vision cleared up. Her hearing returned as well. And she tensed her hands. She was back. She was in control. She looked down at Shinsou and grit her teeth. She didn’t know what happened, but she was given a second chance. She would not squander it. With a glare of determination, she kicked at Shinsou, hitting him square in the chest. The only reason her leg didn’t bruise was because she put one percent of One For All behind the kick for durability’s sake. The crowd gasped, then erupted into cheers.

“Dammit, why didn’t you fall out!?” Shinsou screamed. Iida was about to reply, but stopped herself. She remembered how her saying something before precluded her losing control, so she guessed her speaking to him would have the same result. No, she would stay silent now.

“Well, say something!” Shinsou shouted as he ducked under another kick and jumped up to punch her chin. From the outside, the fight looked about the same, save for Iida’s newfound glare and expressions. Now, however, it really was a fight between two competitors. Iida was moving faster than before, and Shinsou found himself being beaten back. Even with the power armor, even with the bit of training he had since he met the other boys, he was the underdog. To make matters worse for Shinsou, every hit from Iida was denting and cracking his armor. He needed to find a way to turn this back around.

In a matter of minutes, the fight had gone to the other side of the arena, with Shinsou against the edge. He needed an opening. An opening Iida wasn’t really giving him. Shinsou grit his teeth and focused. He needed to win this. If he won just this fight, he’d get into Hero Course for sure. As he thought this, Iida gave a roundhouse kick aimed at his head. There was his opening. The crowd was roaring, but neither competitor could hear them.

Shinsou ducked under her kick, and before she could straighten up the small boy shot forward under Iida’s leg. Shinsou gave a shout of effort as he jumped up and slammed into Iida’s back with all the force his power armor could muster. Caught off-balance by the hit, Iida topped over...out of the arena. She tried to catch herself, but narrowly missed the edge. 

“IIDA TENTEN IS OUT OF BOUNDS!” Midnight yelled the instant Iida hit the ground. “SHINSOU HITOSHI ADVANCES!” The audience roared with excitement after that epic match. A lot of the heroines were beginning to rethink a few things, as well. Four boys had made it to the final event of the Festival, and so far three of them were winning. One of them didn’t even use their armor for their fight! Maybe there was something to having boys in UA’s Hero Course.

***

Up in the stands. Bakugou and Izuku were in stunned silence. They looked at each other, neither saying a word. They both knew what they saw. They saw Shinsou use his Spirit to puppet Iida around in an epic fight. They saw him lose control at the most crucial moment. But even more shocking…

They saw the hand on Iida’s shoulder that kept her in the arena.

Chapter Text

Shinsou walked back to the 1-C section of the stands, feeling more than a little winded. He had gone to Recovery Girl to get patched up, so he missed a few matches. Despite his injuries, it was his mind that was still reeling. He didn’t think anyone could break from his hold like that. How did Ilda even resist his commands to walk out of the ring in the first place? Could it have something to do with

“SHIIIIINSOUUUUU~!” a familiar voice screamed as he ascended the steps. Looking up, he saw one of his more...clingy classmates lunging at him with her arms wide open and a smile like one would give to a puppy. Her laughter turned to comedic honking as Shinsou easily side-stepped her attempted glomp, resulting in her bouncing down the stairs. She wasn’t mean or anything, but this long-haired classmate with a humongous...pair of assets felt like she was required to hug Shinsou at every opportunity.

“Nice dodge,” one of his more level-headed classmates smirked as she helped him into a seat. The purple-haired boy nodded and leaned back as the same classmate handed him his phone. Hopefully he’d catch his breath before his next match. As he relaxed, his phone buzzed. He didn’t even have to check the notice to know who it was. He simply opened the group chat to read what was there.

CS: Way to go, Shinsou. ^w^

EF: Way to have it down to the wire McSchwarzenegger. Three of us guys made it so far. Let’s see if that dragon guy from Management can do anything.

IQ: At least he has claws. Didn’t see anything else around him, though.

CS: Us either. We did see something interesting during your fight against Iida, though.

IQ: You mean the weird hand on her shoulder that kept her from falling out?

EF: Yeah, the fuck was with that?

IQ: Didn’t feel the same as you guys. Maybe she has her own thing?

Before the conversation could continue, the PA systems blared to announce the next match. Shinsou looked up from his phone. Stepping out into the arena were the last competitors of the round. One was the boy they had just been talking about. He was a tall boy, nearly two meters tall, and looked more like a bipedal black dragon with glasses. Shinsou briefly wondered if he could breathe fire. From the other side was a girl with lavender hair worn in a pair of looped braids on the side of her head. 

“FROM THE RED CORNER,” Mic roared through the speakers, “YOU KNOW HOW SOME FAMILIES HAVE A BLACK SHEEP? WELL, HERE COMES A BLACK DRAGON! FROM CLASS 1-J MANAGEMENT COURSE, GIVE IT UP FOR THE AMERICAN DRAGON, ALPHONSE DU INTEGRAM!” The audience applauded the boy’s arrival, eager to see what this one would bring to the field.

“Who sadly couldn’t wear power armor due to his extensive mutations,” Mei was heard muttering.

“Why are you still here?” Aizawa asked, curious why the student wasn’t sitting with her class after her match.

“FROM THE BLUE CORNER,” Mic continued, ignoring her co-commentators, “IS A CUTE LITTLE GIRL WITH A FEW TRICKS HIDDEN AWAY! HAILING FROM CLASS 1-D GENERAL EDUCATION, GIVE SOME APPLAUSE FOR KAKUCHO RITSUZEN!” The girl flushed a bit at the cheering she received. Taking a breath to compose herself, the Gen Ed student turned her attention to the shorter dragon boy in front of her.

“You both remember the rules, right?” Midnight asked both students, who nodded in reply. “BEGIN!”

Midnight hopped back to avoid any attacks, but to her surprise nothing happened. Alphonse didn’t move an inch, and Kakucho gave a bit of a sad expression. The audience was silent as the girl walked over to the dragon and gently picked him up. No one said a thing as she walked to the edge of the arena and gently dropped him down to the grass. The entire time, Alphonse did not move or react.

“...Umm…” Midnight hesitantly voiced, “...Uh, Alphonse is out of bounds! Kakucho wins by ringout!” Some of the audience clapped, but virtually everyone else was in stunned silence as Kakucho hopped down in front of Alphonse and snapped her fingers in front of his face. Alphonse gave an immediate, heart-wrenching scream before curling up on himself. Kakucho carefully pulled him into a hug and rocked him back and forth. Shinsou could see she was saying something to him, but he couldn’t tell what. As Kakucho gently carried the dragon boy away, Shinsou’s phone buzzed.

EF: You saw that, right?

IQ: Had to be a mental quirk or something. What’s Midoriya got to say?

EF: He’ll be here in a moment. He used Cobalt to sneak close and listen in.

CS: Clearlysomeformofmentalquirkthatrequiredeyecontactbecausehereyeschangedbeforethefightbeganandalphonsedidn’tmovetheentiretimeuntilshebroketheconnectionanditwasclearlyafeareffectfromthescreamhegaveandthewordshewassaying.

IQ: He does that in chat, too?

CS: Sorry, Kacchan just bopped my head to snap me out of it. Anyway, she has some fear quirk that relies on eyesight. Her eyes changed shape just before the match was called. When the effect ended, I heard Alphonse say “They’re dead” over and over, and she was apologizing and saying it was just a nightmare.

IQ: A nightmare quirk? If any of us face her, we’d better be careful.

“AND THAT’S IT FOR THE FIRST ROUND!” Mic yelled to re-energize the crowd. As she did so, the eight students who made it to the second round were listed on the display monitors. Midoriya Izuku, Bakugou Katsuki, Shinsou Hitoshi, Kakucho Ritsuzen, Uraraka Ochako, Todoroki Shouko, Yaoyorozu Momo and Kodai Yui. “AND JUST LIKE LAST TIME, WE’RE GONNA SHUFFLE THINGS AROUND, THOUGH THIS TIME EVERYONE’LL KNOW WHO THEY’LL BE FIGHTING! SHAKE EM UP!” At her words, the names startling bouncing around the edges of the screen before coming to a stop, paired together in boxes.

Midoriya Izuku v Shinsou Hitoshi

Todoroki Shouko v Kodai Yui

Uraraka Ochako v Yaoyorozu Momo

Bakugou Katsuki v Kakucho Ritsuzen

“AND THERE’S THE ROSTER FOR THE NEXT ROUND!” Mic yelled, earning cheers from the audience.

“For now,” Aizawa finally spoke up, “we’ll take a thirty-minute break for food and letting the students catch their breath.”

“See you when the fighting starts!” Mei laughed. After a brief silence, a quiet sigh was heard over the speakers.

“Thank god she’s gone,” Aizawa murmured.

***

Shouko was getting a drink from a fountain during the break. She was still a bit sore from her fight against Kendou. She didn’t think the huge-handed girl would put up as big a fight as she did. Shouko knew she could have ended the fight by throwing a glacier at her, but for some reason she didn’t feel like going that hard. In fact, ever since her conversation with Shinsou, she found herself unusually calm. Who would have known letting it all out, telling someone about everything she had suffered, would help?

“Shouko…”

And now she was stressed again.

Shouko looked up, her eyes narrowed as she saw her mother, Madame Phoenix. She was glaring down at Shouko, but what else was new? Shouko was certain her mom was the textbook definition of “resting bitch face” by this point.

“What do you want, Endeavor?” Shouko asked, refusing to refer to her mother by her new hero name.

“Why are you still refusing to use the fire I gave you?” Eiko glared. “I saw you struggling in your fight, and you would not have struggled if you had just burned that girl.”

“I will never use your fire,” Shouko glared. “I will never act carelessly, I will never do more harm than I need. I will never be anything like you.” At this last sentence, Todoroki Eiko narrowed her eyes further and leaned down to stare her daughter in the eyes.

“You are everything like me,” the heroine hissed, “because I made you that way.”

“You may have birthed me,” Shouko glared back, “but it was my father who made me what I am.”

“All that pest ever did was-”

“SHOUKO!”

Both women stopped, turning to see Izuku rushing up to his fellow hero student. He ignored Madame Phoenix completely as he jumped up and (barely) managed to grab Shouko’s hand. 

“Been looking all over for you!” the boy exclaimed. “I need your help with something.”

“Go be annoying somewhere else, boy ,” Eiko glared at the boy. She opened her mouth to say something else, only to scream in surprise as something yanked on her ponytail and kept pulling. Shouko watched in a mix of shock with a smidgen of fear as an unseen force dragged her mother down the hall and around the corner. Her angered screams faded as Izuku pulled Shouko the opposite direction.

“I’d say we have about ten seconds before she gets loose,” Izuku explained as he pulled Shouko along. “I advise we get as far as we can.” It was at that moment that the icyhot girl realized that Izuku used his Spirit, risked exposing his abilities to her mom, to help her escape. Having mentally registered this, Shouko decided to help expedite their escape by whisking Izuku off the ground, carrying him prince style, and running at full speed. Izuku was surprised by his sudden ascension, and remained motionless as Shouko ran for a good couple minutes before stopping outside, next to some solar-powered vending machines. Shouko noted just how light Izuku was (just like she noticed during their skill assessment at the start of the year) and again wondered how he could be so durable before setting him down. 

“You have my thanks,” Shouko bowed her head. “It may surprise you, but I am not-”

“Shinsou told me,” Izuku interrupted. Shouko froze at his words, and just kept looking at the short boy as he continued. “Shinsou told Bakugou and I about your past. About how your mom bought your father, Reigen, like a pet. How she...did cruel things to birth you and your siblings. And what Reigen did to you to cause that scar. I know you’d probably think it a breach of secrecy, but we can’t help you without knowing everything. I promise not to tell anyone else, but I want you to know you can count on us boys to help you however we can, alright?” Shouko just stared down, stunned into silence at his words. His conviction. His earnest desire to help. He was small, physically weak, and yet in that moment he had more of a heroic presence than her mother ever did.

“I thank you,” Shouko finally said. “And if there’s anything you need my help with, do not hesitate to ask.”

“About that…” Izuku replied, “...think you could gimme a lift? I wanna buy something from the machine here, but can’t reach the button.” The icyhot girl stared for a bit before giving a genuine giggle and gently hoisting Izuku off the ground.

***

Iida was sitting alone in a side hall, hunched forward with her face in her hands. She had stayed there since her loss. Her latest loss in a string of humiliation. She narrowly passed the first two obstacles, and now she had lost in the first round of the tournament. True, she had lost against a boy with a Spirit, but that didn’t make her feel any better. 

“Young Iida?” 

Iida was startled by the voice and straightened up. Turning to the side, she saw the withered Lady Might walking toward her with a worried expression. The heroine said nothing else until she sat down next to her student.

“Young Iida, why are you still down here? Are you alright?”

“...I am ashamed,” Iida admitted, pulling off her glasses before any tears could form. “It feels like me time in the festival...no, my entire time at UA, hasn’t lived up to your expectations of me. I only scored middle ranks in the entrance exam. It feels like I’ve only narrowly passed my Hero Course practical assignments. During the USJ I ran to get help rather than stay to help my classmates. And now in this festival, my performance has only been subpar at best.” And now came the tears. “Am I truly worthy of carrying One For All when I’m so consistently behind?”

“Of course you are,” Lady Might replied. “Young Iida, I am glad to see you are taking your responsibility seriously, but do not forget you are still a child. A student. Remember, I myself didn’t start off excelling at everything I do. I had to learn how to do things, and work my way up to where I am now. You just have to do the same, and I know you’ll get there. You just gotta keep working at it.”

“...You think so?” the student sniffed as she wiped her eyes.

“I know so,” Yayoi smiled as she rubbed Iida’s shoulder. “Keep your chin up, Young Iida. I believe the saying goes ‘Athens wasn’t built in a day.’ Same thing applies to you.”

“...It’s Rome.”

“Pardon?”

“The expression is that Rome wasn’t built in a day,” Iida responded with a smirk. Lady Might coughed a bit and looked away.

“I’m old, don’t hold it against me.” The two shared a good laugh before they heard something like a stampede coming their direction. Both ladies turned to the noise in time to see Ashido come rushing around the corner. She was holding Iida’s phone (oh yeah, Iida had asked her to hold it during her match) and clearly had tears in her eyes.

“IIDA!” she screamed. “THERE’S TROUBLE!”

***

Shigaraki tapped her fingers impatiently on the bar. She was watching the Sports Festival like she was told to, but she was frustrated because neither of the boys were using their quirks. How was Sensei supposed to see their quirks if the brats wouldn’t use them? If Kurogiri had not supported her claims of the USJ fight, she feared Sensei wouldn’t have believed her. 

Speaking of Kurogiri, said Warper had stepped out earlier to invite the Hero Killer to their bar. Possibly into their ranks, too. She heard Kurogiri say something to Sensei that surprised them, but she didn’t catch what it was. Shigaraki didn’t really have the patience to wonder what it was, but thankfully didn’t need it as the familiar smell of ozone wafted into the bar. A sign of Kurogiri’s return. She turned to gripe about her taking so long, only to stop when she saw just what came with Kurogiri.

“...What’s with the man?” Shigaraki asked.

“This,” Kurogiri gestured, “is the Hero Killer, Stain.” The killer in question was looking around the bar, sniffing through the bandages on his face.

“Place smells funny,” the man rasped. Shigaraki scoffed.

“ That’s the Hero Killer?” she asked. “That’s gotta be a fucking joke. No way can a man kill so many-” 

There was a red blur as the Hero Killer disappeared from the floor. In under a second Stain had landed on the bar and slashed one of his swords at Shigaraki. Before Kurogiri could react, Stain made a small cut on her arm. Not a big one, but enough to draw blood. Shigaraki growled and attempted to grab the man, only to suddenly fall limp to the ground. 

“Shigaraki?” Kurogiri asked as she walked/hovered over.

“What the hell!?” the villain screamed as Stain nonchalantly hopped off the counter. “I can’t move an inch!”

“Scum like you are what I hate the most,” Stain hissed as he pressed a blade against her neck. “You look down upon me, upon all men. Thinking us worthless, fit only to be pushed aside, treated like trash. Give me one good reason not to purge you the same way I’ve purged so many others.”

“Please don’t,” Sensei called out from a nearby TV. Their tone was level and calm, as though they weren’t asking a madman to spare their subordinate. “Shigaraki is still young, and has only recently found herself in a position to see the worth of men. Though I find myself curious how you paralyzed her. Are your blades poisoned?” Ignoring the question, Stain stepped on/over Shigaraki and approached the TV with Sensei on it.

“So you’re the real leader,” Stain growled with narrowed eyes. “What do you want with me?”

“I want to help you,” Sensei calmly replied. “We both know how far society has fallen, especially in the last couple centuries. How men are treated so cruelly even after being thrust down the well of Darwinism. You want to fix things, so do we. Shigaraki there is just angry due to a past event involving her being beaten by some boys, but she is learning.”

“She was beaten by boys?” Stain looked back at the paralyzed villain. 

“Very unusual boys,” Sensei admitted, “in that they possessed emitter quirks.” That got Stain’s attention. “We would like to recruit them as well, but we managed to find you, first. So what do you say, good sir? Will you aid us in bringing down the society that has cast your gender aside?” Stain stared for a bit, before growling and turning away. Shigaraki gave a shout of surprise as she found herself mobile again.

“For now,” Stain growled. “We have common goals, but if that ever changes, I will purge you all. Now take me back to Hosu.” With an affirming nod from Sensei, Kurogiri opened a warp for Stain. Closing it after his departure, Kurogiri turned back to Sensei.

“I couldn’t help but notice you did not mention our desire to kill Lady Might,” the warper stated.

“Lady Might is one of the biggest supporters of men,” Sensei explained. “If we said we planned to kill her, this meeting would have ended differently. Especially since I noticed something at the end there.”

“Noticed what?” Shigaraki hissed as she got to her feet.

“Unless I am mistaken,” Sensei smirked, “Stain has a quirk, just like those two boys.”

***

Villains and UA staff weren’t the only ones talking about the last few fights. Only a handful of times since UA’s founding had men made it to the third round of the Sport’s Festival. Even fewer made it past the first fights. The audience in the arena and across Japan, even a few in the United States, were also talking amongst themselves about this. Among them were a group of heroines standing close to an outdoor stand.

“Are you sure your cousin doesn’t have a leg quirk or something?” Kanna Woods asked Mt. Lady. “Cuz there’s no way a boy should be able to jump like that.”

“I was there for his quirk test,” Yuu replied while munching on some takoyaki. “Not even a minor mutation quirk. He was not a happy kid.”

“Well, he must have something going for him,” Death Arms shrugged her shoulders. “Unlike the other two, he didn’t even use his armor for his fight.”

“That doesn’t mean the other two were weak,” Mt. Lady glared at her other partner. “I dunno anything about that Shinsou kid, but I know Midoriya well enough. Even if he didn’t have that armor, he woulda thought of some way to beat that vine girl. Seriously, that kid is a bloody genius. Hell, for all we know he coulda helped that Hatsume girl design those suits of armor.”

“Glad they’re both on our side, then,” Kanna laughed. “Between Midoriya’s brain and your cousin’s brawn, it’s almost like they could take down most villains.”

“Hey, Bakugou’s smart, too,” Death Arms pointed out. “He sized up his opponent instantly, and knew he wouldn’t need his armor to beat her.”

“I wouldn’t go that far,” the gigantism heroine shook her head. “My cousin and his friend went through middle school with that witch. She bullied them a lot, and Katsuki would fight back. He just knew how to beat her.”

“Does that mean he’ll use his armor for his next fight?” Kanna asked. “Against that lavender girl?”

“Who knows?” Mt. Lady shrugged. Before anyone else could say anything, the screens blared with activity as the next round of matches began.

Chapter Text

“Welcome back, viewers!” Present Mic yelled while leaning into her microphone. “It’s time for the second round of the tournament portion of the Sports Festival! Up next is a match I’m sure a lot of you here were surprised would occur! TWO first-year boys duking it out in the ring! From Class 1-A Hero Course, step on up Midoriya Izuku! And from Class 1-C General Education, come on in Shinsou Hitoshi!” The crowd began to cheer, but their tumult died down a bit when they saw both boys coming out from opposite ends of the arena. 

Neither of them were wearing their mech suits.

“Oy, what gives!?” Hatsume screamed over the PA. “I can’t advertise the suits if no one bothers wearing them!”

“The suits are there so the boys stand a chance against their female classmates,” Aizawa droned. “If boys are facing each other, there’s no point in them having the armor on. Also, when did you get back up here?”

“Few minutes ago!” the inventor girl replied as Izuku and Hitoshi reached the arena. The two boys looked at each other with smiles on their faces. Both them had their hands in their pockets.

“Ready to amaze the crowd?” Izuku asked as Cobalt Star manifested behind him.

“They’ll lose their socks,” Hitoshi smirked, his own Ivory Quill flexing their muscles behind Hitoshi. Both boys pulled their hands out and took up stances, each mirrored by their Spirits. Izuku turned to an angle and pulled his right arm back, like he was gearing up for a punch. At the same time, Shinsou pulled his own right arm up, like he was gonna punch down at something. As they did this, the wind in the arena kicked up, adding to the dramatic image. Up in the stands, Bakugou’s eyes widened.

“...They’re not…”

“Oh ho!” Midnight giggled at the display. “You lovely boys seem eager to get started! You remember the rules? Are you ready?”

“You’re going down, Shinsou!” Izuku shouted as the wind blew even harder.

“Tell me how the tile tastes, little man,” Shinsou sneered, his eyes widening to a creepy level.

“And…” Midnight raised her whip, “...BEGIN!”

“ROCK-PAPER-SCISSORS!”

Izuku and Shinsou both shot their arms out, opening their hands in the common-seen gesture of the game. While only Bakugou (and maybe a few men in the arena) could see it, their Spirits also pushed their hands out but made differing gestures. After a second, they pulled their arms back.

“ROCK-PAPER SCISSOR!” the two boys screamed again, and again shot their arms out. The intense wind from before died down, and all manner of dramatic tension in the arena deflated like a whoopie cushion. Other than the two boys down in the arena, the only voice that could be heard was from Katsuki, who was laughing his head off.

“THEY DID IT!” the blond roared with laughter. “I HEARD THEY WERE PLANNING SOMETHING LIKE THIS, BUT I DIDN’T THINK THEY’D ACTUALLY DO IT!” His laughter intensified, and he flailed around so much he would have fallen out of his chair had Tsuyu not spotted him and grabbed him with her tongue. Izuku and Shinsou continued their match for close to a minute before Midoriya shot his hand out in ‘scissors’ to counter Shinsou’s ‘paper’ while Cobalt Star’s ‘rock’ countered Ivory Quill’s ‘scissors.’ 

“WOO-HOO!” Izuku cheered as he started doing a little dance with his hands in the air. “I win!” Hitoshi growled as he glared at his open hand for a few seconds before looking up at Midnight.

“I forfeit,” Shinsou sighed. “I lost fair and square there.” His words were followed by silence for several seconds before Midnight cleared her throat and gestured to Izuku.

“SHINSOU HITOSHI HAS FORFEIT AFTER LOSING THAT, um, ROUSING GAME! OUR FIRST SEMI-FINALIST IS MIDORIYA IZUKU!” No one cheered as the two boys left the arena, all too stunned and confused at what just happened. There was one quiet “boo!” from the audience, but with the current atmosphere this came off more comedic than deriding. 

“...Well,” Mic announced, “With how pretty much nothing happened in that fight, we can immediately move to the next one!”

“And with that I’m outta here!” Hatsume called out. “Peace out!”

“...Lock the door, Mic.”

***

Todoroki Shouko was the image of calm as she stepped into the arena. Curiously, she wasn’t the least bit nervous. She was certain that the boys knowing her secret would induce some level of anxiety, but it was actually the complete opposite. She was feeling better about that. However, she still didn’t feel comfortable with using her fire. Her talk with Izuku may have lightened that feeling, but she still refused. She wouldn’t need it against her opponent anyway.

Shouko watched as Kodai Yui stepped up from the opposite side. The 1-B girl looked at Todoroki with her usual bored face. She didn’t look the least bit intimidating. Todoroki had missed her previous fight, so she had no idea what Kodai’s quirk was, nor how she fought. With any luck, a glacial strike would be enough. 

The instant Midnight declared the start of the match, Shouko fired an immense amount of ice at Kodai. It was roughly the same amount she used to defeat Kendou last round, enough to cover Kodai’s half of the arena. Shouko was expecting it to cover Kodai or at least push her out. She did not expect to see Kodai simply raise her hand and grab the ice. The moment she did, the ice seemed to disappear into her opponent’s hand. After a moment, Kodai was standing there holding a block of ice the size of a baseball. She looked back at Todoroki, but her blank stare now held a hint of derision.

“Pathetic.”

Yui threw the block back at Shouko. The icyhot teen’s eyes widened with shock when she found her own glacial strike being thrown back at her. She had to jump to the side to avoid the expanding ice, narrowly avoiding falling out of the arena. Before the ice even finished, Shouko found her face being impacted by Kodai’s foot. Todoroki grunted as she fell back, and didn’t have time to get back up before Kodai kicked her stomach. This time, Shouko was able to use the force to get back to her feet. She raised her hands in time to block nother kick from her opponent, but the impact still hurt. 

“Well, look at that!” Mic exclaimed. “I thought this was gonna be another quick fight, but Todoroki’s on the defensive!” 

“That’s the problem with relying on large attacks like that,” Aizawa bluntly explained. “Over-reliance on attacks like that can leave you open if your opponent happens to evade the opening move.”

The banter between the two commentators continued, but Shouko wasn’t listening because she was too busy trying to fend off Kodai. The blank-faced girl was moving incredibly fast and kept close to Todoroki. Because she was staying so close, Shouko couldn’t get the space she needed to create ice. She could barely dodge and block Kodai’s kicks.

“You’re really not that good, are you?” Yui asked with a dull tone. “A one-hit wonder, only capable of massive attacks. How did you even make it into the Hero Course?” At this point, Shouko got lucky and managed to land a kick back at her. This knocked Kodai back and gave Todoroki the space she needed to make another ice wave. This one was smaller, but faster. It also shot up a lot of mist, obscuring Shouko from Yui’s sight. Todoroki took a breath and moved away from the ice. However, she barely managed to get two breaths before Kodai emerged from the mist behind Shouko and delivered a roundhouse kick to her side.

“Again, pathetic,” Kodai deadpanned as Todoroki was flung back. “Oh yeah, you’re a Recommendation Student. That means you only got into the Hero Course because your mother is Endeavor.” Todoroki glared and swung her arm, trying to hit Kodai with ice. Instead, the girl was barely hit with what qualified as slush before she delivered another strong kick to Shouko’s chest. “You’re not really strong. You’re not a good fighter. You consistently use large attacks that could endanger any civilians you’re trying to help. You might think you’re one of the top hero students, but honestly...” Shouko glared and tried to shoot more ice. Kodai simply ducked under her arm and came face to face with the heterochromatic teen.

“Even those boys are better than you.”

Shouko screamed and headbutted Yui, following up with another punch. After this punch, still screaming, Todoroki grabbed Kodai’s shirt and conjured ice right there. Kodai was too stunned to counter, and in seconds found herself encased in ice. The blank-faced teen’s eyes widened when she realized she couldn’t move. Shouko herself gave a sigh of relief and stumbled back. Kodai had given her a beating she wasn’t gonna forget any time soon. Once Midnight declared her the winner, Todoroki used her left arm to melt the ice around Kodai. Once she was freed, Shouko turned and left the arena. She didn’t want to hear Kodai mock her for using such a large attack at the end. 

She didn’t need another reminder of just how inadequate she truly was.

***

Thankfully, the ice Shouko left behind was significantly less than last time, so the next match was able to get started fairly quickly. From one side, Ochako stepped up onto the arena. Across from her, Momo stepped up. 

“Ready for a good match?” Yaoyorozu asked.

“Does that mean you’ll take my idea?” Ochako asked, a glimmer in her eyes.

“Don’t see why not,” Momo smirked. Before Midnight could declare the match started, Momo held out her arms and started generating a pair of weapons. From her right palm grew an ornate yet durable glaive. From her left palm emerged a wicked-looking spiked club longer than her leg. Once both weapons formed, Momo tossed the club to Ochako, who took it and gave a few swings. 

“What’s this!?” Mic shouted. “Yaoyorozu is providing her foe with a weapon?”

“We discussed things earlier,” Momo explained. “Since you let the boys earlier do rock-paper-scissors for their match, we figured it would be entertaining and fun to fight without using our quirks.”

“Besides,” Ochako smirked, “we both know I’d just have to touch her once and game over. This makes things a bit more fair, too.”

“Sounds good to me!” Midnight beamed and raised her whip. “You both ready? BEGIN!”

Momo started things by rushing at Uraraka, swinging her glaive in a streak of light. Ochako ducked under the glaive and spun around, swinging her kanabo back at her. Momo narrowly avoided the swing, and attempted to counter with a thrust. To her surprise, Ochako deftly raised the club to deflect the thrust. A look of realization dawned on Momo’s face.

“You have training in that weapon, don’t you?”

“Kind of!” Ochako laughed as she spun through the air, swinging her club down and cracking the stone where Momo had been standing moments prior. “Remember, my moms own a construction company, so I’ve played around with metal pipes all my life!” She pressed the attack, forcing Momo onto the defensive. The 3.4-meter girl didn’t expect Ochako to be so skilled with a weapon that probably weighed more than the boys in their class. And with how Ochako was swinging it, it was clear she hadn’t used her quirk to negate its gravity. Momo knew Ochako would be a tough opponent, but this was a whole new level. She could hear the audience cheering at the martial display, but one voice hit her more than the others.

“You’ve got this, Yaoyorozu!” Izuku screamed from his seat. “I believe in you!” She knew he was referencing how she had felt after the USJ, but hearing him cheer her on like that lit a fire she didn’t know she had. With a glare of determination, she pressed the attack. Shimmying past Ochako’s swing, Momo managed to land a thrust on her chest. Uraraka was pushed back from the strike, and didn’t have time to recover before Momo slid her polearm between her legs. With a jump and a twist, Yaoyorozu tripped Uraraka off her feet. Unfortunately, the gravity girl was able to use her club to stay airborne long enough to right herself, following that up with a wide swing. Momo blocked the swing, but the force behind it sent her flying meters back. Even more unfortunately, this swing knocked her out of the arena. Neither girl had realized just how close they were to the edge until Momo’s feet touched the grass.

“YAOYOROZU MOMO IS OUT OF BOUNDS!” Midnight hollered. “THE WINNER IS URARAKA OCHAKO!” The minute this was announced, Uraraka hopped from the arena and ran to the taller girl. 

“I am so sorry!” she exclaimed, tossing her club away. “I didn’t mean to knock you out like that, I swear!”

“It’s not a problem,” Momo laughed and shrugged. “You beat me fair and square. And speaking of beating, I need to go see Recovery Girl. You got me a few times there.” 

“I’ll escort you!” Ochako fistbumped Momo when they made their way off the field. It may have been a loss for Momo, but she wasn’t feeling discouraged or defeated. She got to show off her skills for two rounds, and that was something.

***

Around the same time Momo and Ochako had reached the nurse’s office, Iida Tenten had reached Hosu General Hospital. She actually had to restrain herself to keep from using either of her quirks to accelerate down the halls. Even then, it took under a minute for her to reach the door her mother was waiting outside. 

“Mother!” she skid to a stop. “Is sister...Is she…”

“She’s alive,” Mama Iida cried as she hugged her taller daughter. “I don’t know the full details yet, but-”

As if like magic, the door opened. Both Iidas turned to see the male doctor step out, being flanked by a pair of nurses. Tenten knelt down, coming face to face with the doctor. Her eyes were watering so much she had to remove her glasses.

“Doctor! Is she-”

“She’s alive,” the doctor interrupted. “Her wounds, while great, were thankfully non-lethal. If her armor had been any thinner they might have been. Even then, though, she did suffer nerve damage to her lower spine. For the foreseeable future, she’ll be confined to a wheelchair.”

Iida was in utter shock at the words. Her sister...was crippled? Tenmei loved running, it was her passion all throughout school. To hear she’d lost the ability to do her favorite pastime...Tenten had never felt so cold. 

“C-can I see her?” she asked. The doctor nodded and stepped aside to talk with Tenten’s mother while she walked into the room. Laying on the bed was her sister. Her tall, strong sister. But now, she looked so small and frail. She was covered in bandages, and hooked to a few machines. That deep cold feeling persisted as Iida staggered to the bed. When she bumped into it, her sister’s eyes cracked open.

“Sister?” Tenten sobbed.

“Tenten,” the wounded heroine whispered. 

“What happened?” Tenten asked as she knelt by the bed. “Who did this to you?”

“...You wouldn’t believe me,” Tenmei gave a weak chuckle. “But it was Stain.”

“The Hero Killer!?” the younger Iida screamed in shock. “She attacked you!?”

“Yes,” Tenmei nodded. “But sis...Stain...isn’t a woman…”

Tenten was again stunned into silence. Her honored sister survived an attack from one of the worst serial killers in history...and they were a man? No, their gender wasn’t important. What was important was they had crippled her sister. The cold persisted, but surrounding it was the heat of ineffable rage. 

Iida Tenten, in that moment, resolved to never be weak. To never lose.

Never again.

***

Bakugou Katsuki sat in his waiting room, tapping his foot impatiently. Honestly, it seemed like it was taking longer to fix the cracks Round Face made in the arena than it did to clean up Peppermint’s ice. He knew his next opponent would be that weird purple girl with the fear quirk. According to Dekiru, her eyes changed shape before the last match. He’d just focus on something else during the fight. He’d read enough stories about Medusa to know how to not get petrified, and this would be no different.

After what felt like too long, his name was finally announced. Grabbing the gauntlets from his power armor, he pulled them on and walked out to the field. He probably wouldn’t need these, but he didn’t need to make the crazy pink girl angry. He could hear his classmates cheering him on, and simply gave a thumbs up. A few moments later, he was in the arena, standing a few meters away from the lavender medusa. Bakugou kept his eyes focused on her shoes, not wanting to meet her eyes. As he was doing this, he didn’t see the girls pupils turn to feline slits.

“Give us a good fight to finish the round!” Midnight licked her lips. “Ready? BEGIN!” Bakugou opened his mouth to yell as-

***

Bakugou gasped and shot up. He was laying in his bed and covered with sweat, like he had woken up from an unremembered yet unpleasant dream. Was it morning already? He felt like he was in the middle of something else, but that might have been a leftover sense of urgency from whatever nightmare he had. He stretched and hopped off the bed. He knew he had time before school, so he decided to head downstairs to see what his mother was cooking for breakfast. Curiously, he heard no sounds of cooking.

In fact, he heard nothing at all. 

That made him worried. As he descended the steps, he noticed the house was a bit of a mess, like there was a fight. What happened? How could he have slept through the entire scuffle? He tried to summon Ember Fang, but to his horror the hellhound was nowhere to be seen. That really scared him.

“Hag!?” he called out as he reached the bottom. “Old man!? Where are you!?” He turned the corner and found himself regretting his question. His mom was lying on the ground, curled up over her husband. Her body was covered in injuries, blood pooled around her. It was clear that she died trying to protect Masaru, but his limp form showed her efforts were in vain. Katsuki stared in abject horror. They were dead. His parents were dead. 

He turned his head to vomit, and saw the front door was open. For some reason, Frogger was lying in the doorway, her face twisted in fear. Her body looked like it had been thrown through the door, and her tongue had been ripped out. In her arms was Izuku’s body, and it looked like his chest had been ripped open by a wild animal. Katsuki didn’t get the chance to turn away before vomiting.

***

The very instant Midnight declared the start of the match, Katsuki had frozen in place. No one in the audience made any noise. Even Mic and Aizawa were silent, wondering why Bakugou wasn’t attacking his foe. Kakucho Ritsuzen gave a sad sigh as she walked over to the unmoving boy. 

“I’m sorry,” she whispered as she lifted the smaller boy. She moved him around to carry him gently, like an infant, before walking to the edge of the arena. “I really don’t like using my quirk on people who don’t deserve it, especially boys like you, but if I want to make it into Hero Course, I need to win this. I know you can’t hear me, but I’m sorry.”

From the stands she could hear one of the other boys, clearly Bakugou’s classmate, shouting. He had to have been trying to snap his friend out of her trap, but it wouldn’t work. He’d be trapped there for a few minutes, or until she released her quirk. From the way he focused on her shoes at the start of the match, he had to have had some idea of how her quirk worked. Sadly, her quirk required her to look at him for ten seconds before it could work. He didn’t need to make eye contact for it to function. 

After a moment, more of his classmates joined in, shouting and trying in futility to rouse their entrapped friend.

***

Katsuki ran down the street, his fear and dread increasing with each step. After leaving his house, he began to see the corpses of his classmates. Each and every one had been killed in some horrible manner that left their faces twisted in fear. His dread hit a crescendo when he saw the bloody corpse of Lady Might herself dangling from a tree. He passed his shitty cousin Yuu, her massive body collapsed through a house. He passed Auntie Inko, a knife in her chest, and-

Wait.

He stopped. He turned back to Inko’s body. She was sitting against the wall with a huge knife stabbed right in her chest. That...that wasn’t right. Katsuki did not know everything about Auntie Inko. He would openly admit he knew only a fraction of her past and her true prowess…

...But he was absolutely certain that Auntie Inko could not be killed with a knife.

From there, he looked back at the corpse of Mt. Lady. Her body was massive and had crashed into a house. That was wrong, too. The quirk docs stated with absolute certainty that, if she died while large, her body would revert back to her true size. A stopped heart couldn’t give off the quirk emissions needed to maintain her size. Then the fact that Lady Might was dead. No one could kill her, that was a solid fact. 

Then things started coming back. He was at the festival. He was fighting. He was about to punch that scare-medusa bitch when-

“Coming back, huh?”

Bakugou gave a shout of surprise as he turned to the voice. There was Ember Fang, sitting like a trained canine.

“...D...Did you just speak?”

“Yes,” the Spirit nodded. “I know, talking dog, fucking surprising. Come on, you’ve seen enough anime to-”

“And why didn’t you come earlier!?” Katsuki yelled. “Back there when I saw-”

“Because I couldn’t, fucktard,” the hound replied with four narrowed eyes. “I can’t go somewhere that isn’t real. I could only show up now because you’ve figured this place isn’t real. In doing so, you basically made your own bit of reality. Like lucid dreaming...I think. I dunno, Cobalt’s the smart one.”

“...Okay,” Bakugou rubbed his face, trying to make sense of things. “How do I get out of here, and will you still talk when I’m out?”

“That’s a no on the talking,” Ember shook his head. “Not yet, anyways. For how you get out...well, how do you normally wake up from a nightmare?” Katsuki thought for a moment, then grit his teeth.

“Explode me.”

“...wut?”

“I said explode me, you fucking mutt!” the blond screamed. “Use a small explosion on me! This ain’t real, but pain sure is! Come on!”

“...You’re crazy and this is why I love you,” the hellhound grinned with his chipped teeth as he rushed forward and bit Katsuki’s shoulder.

***

Bakugou screamed as he came back to his senses. The sudden noise startled Kakucho, who was only a few steps from the edge of the ring. Still screaming, Bakugou looked around to make sure he was back. Still screaming, he looked up, saw Kaukucho, and punched her square in the face. The impact caused her to drop the flailing boy, who landed on his feet and pointed both gauntlets at her. Utilizing the fuel from his tank (and secretly using Ember at the same time), he created a massive explosion that sent his opponent flying back. Before she even hit the ground, Bakugou was above her and firing another explosion. She bounced off the floor and flew onto the grass after one more explosion.

Bakugou landed and panted from the sudden exertion. While he felt like he was in that nightmare for almost a half hour, the entire match had lasted under two minutes. Everyone was surprised by the sudden turnaround, it taking several seconds for Midnight to recover and raise her arm.

“KAKUCHO RITSUZEN IS OUT OF BOUNDS! BAKUGOU KATSUKI MOVES ON TO THE SEMI-FINALS!”

As the audience began to cheer, Bakugou looked down at the burned girl as she sat up. She didn’t look at him, but Katsuki could see tears forming in her eyes. He scoffed and looked away.

“You’re fucking scary,” he admitted. “I won’t underestimate you next time.” He turned and walked away, missing Kakucho’s stare of surprise. “I’d hate to be the villain that pisses you off!” He finished without breaking stride, wanting to see his classmates. He wanted to bury that nightmare. As he walked, he glanced at Ember, who was walking beside him silent as ever.

“...I’ll teach you to Speak someday, you fucking mutt.”

Chapter Text

The break between the quarter-finals and the semi-finals was short and thankfully devoid of drama. No one had bumped into Madam Phoenix, none of the boys were accosted by women, and Bakugou was finally able to get some spicy noodles. Aizawa, meanwhile, had Yamada check the door to their booth multiple times to make sure the locks were in place. 

All of them. 

As the break wound down, the last students in the tournament were all in the same waiting room. They didn’t see any point in waiting in different rooms with them being the only four left. Shouko and Uraraka were sitting at the table. Izuku was pacing by the boy’s power armors, muttering to himself about Shouko’s fire while Bakugou sat by the door slurping his noodles. 

“Hey Dekiru,” Bakugou smirked between noodles, “2000 yen says Icyhot busts up the arena enough we take another break before my fight with Round Face.”

“I don’t take loser bets anymore, Kacchan,” Izuku deadpanned.

“We have names, you know,” Ochako sighed. Bakugou opened his mouth to retort before the PA blared up.

“WELCOME BACK TO THE FIRST-YEAR SPORTS FESTIVAL!” Mic screamed. “CAN I GET A YEEEEEAH!?” The remaining participants could hear the cheer from their room. “THAT’S WHAT I’M TALKING ABOUT! Now, I know we said we wouldn’t change around the fighting order for our matches after the first round, BUT!”

“Due to the fact Todoroki’s matches have all required some hefty cleanup,” Aizawa droned, “we’ve decided to move her match for last, so the next fight is-”

“BAKUGOU KATSUKI VERSUS URARAKA OCHAKO!” Mic roared. 

“Oh shit!” Bakugou cursed. Izuku watched as he literally inhaled his spicy noodles and tossed the cup into the trash before hopping into his armor. Ochako simply stood up and stretched as Bakugou’s red armor gave a thematic hiss. The two kids rushed out, leaving Shouko and Izuku alone in the waiting room.

“...Who do you think is gonna win?” Izuku asked.

“...You know,” Shouko admitted, “after everything I’ve seen you boys do, I honestly have no idea.”

***

Bakugou and Ochako marched to the arena. Ochako glanced down at her smaller classmate occasionally, Bakugou kept his gaze forward. No words were exchanged during the walk. After a minute, they emerged from the tunnel and were greeted by the roaring crowd. 

“HERE ARE THE NEXT COMPETITORS!” Mic cheered.

“From Class 1-A,” Aizawa said with a dead tone, “Bakugou Katsuki and Uraraka Ochako.”

“Oh hey he’s wearing his armor this time!” Mei shouted.

“Wha-” Aizawa choked. “How do you keep getting in here!?”

“Not telling!” Hatsume laughed. “Look close, everyone! Hopefully the boy’ll actually show off that masterpiece this time!”

“Wonder why he chose to wear it this time,” Mic verbally wondered.

“Because he’s taking this fight seriously,” Aizawa explained. “He’s seen what Uraraka can do, and knows he’ll have to do his best to win.”

 The two teens continued walking up to the arena as the audience chuckled at Mei’s antics and listened to Aizawa’s explanation. After taking their place in the middle of the arena, they turned to face each other. Bakugou flexed his fingers while Ochako gave one last stretch.

“You kids remember the rules, right?” Midnight smiled. “Good...BEGIN!”

Bakugou initiated things by holding his hands behind him and utilizing the gauntlets and Ember Fang’s explosive powers to propel himself at Ochako. Even with the armor’s weight, he flew at her faster than she could react. Bakugou impacted her like a red cannonball, and she shouted in pain as he bowled her over. She landed on her back with him on top of her. Bakugou pulled his fsts back to punch her, but she grabbed his helmet and shoved him off. Uraraka scooted away as Bakugou slowly floated through the air. In response, Bakugou gave a laugh and positioned his hands before firing another explosion to launch himself at Ochako.

“Gonna take more than zero-G to get rid of me, Round Face!” Katsuki roared as he flew around like an explosive hummingbird. Ochako tried to punch and kick at him, but without gravity affecting him Bakugou was suddenly a lot harder to hit. 

“Well, that’s an application I never thought about!” Mei laughed through the speakers. “But with how light we had to make the armor, I guess such a thing was possible!”

“Light?” Mic asked. “That doesn’t look light.”

“Comparatively speaking, all armors are,” Mei explained. “We had to make them strong enough to help protect the boys from too-heavy impacts, but from a soft enough alloy that any girl punching them wouldn’t immediately break their hands.”

“Leave,” Aizawa ordered.

“No.”

“How are you so good at dodging!?” Ochako yelled. “There’s no way you were able to practice for this!”

“Dekiru’s mom is a telekinetic!” Bakugou laughed. “Maybe not zero-G, but close enough to play around with explosions!” Ochako grit her teeth as Katsuki shot back at her. She waited for him to get within a few meters before negating her quirk. With the sudden addition of gravity, the heavy power armor fell like a petrified goose. Before he hit the ground, however, Ochako grabbed his face and negated his gravity again. Rather than gently push him away like last time, Ochako yelled and hurled him from the arena hard as she could. She waited for him to cross the edge before negating her quirk.

“TELL ME HOW THE GRASS TASTES, LITTLE MAN!” she laughed.

“FUCK YOU!” Katsuki screamed as he fired his gauntlets as hard as he could. It took a tense second use, but Bakugou was barely able to stay in the arena. He crashed onto the stone, took a breath, then rolled away before Ochako could kick him out. He rolled to his knees and aimed his gauntlets at the girl, firing a third immense blast. Ochako wasn’t able to dodge, but she caught herself before she could fall from the arena herself. She coughed from the smoke before rushing back at the charging Bakugou. She quickly sidestepped another explosion before punching him in the helmet. The impact was hard enough to snap his head back and send the boy sprawling. 

“I GOT YOU!” Ochako yelled as she lunged for him. However, even while dazed Bakugou seemed cognizant enough to ignite an explosion underneath him. This both knocked her back and sent him flying straight up. Then he fired another explosion to send him slamming into the taller girl. While she was recoiling from the impact, Bakugou landed on his feet and grabbed her leg. With a yell of effort, he spun her around in the air before hurling her towards the edge of the arena. Before she could do anything to try correcting herself, Bakugou let loose one last explosion in her direction. The flames didn’t reach her, but the shockwave was enough to send her flying out of the arena and more than a few meters through the air before impacting the grass. Bakugou took a deep breath through gritted teeth, his gauntlets red hot from all those consecutive explosions.

“URARAKA OCHAKO IS OUT OF THE RING!” Midnight yelled. “THE FIRST FINALIST IS BAKUGOU KATSUKI!” The crowd was roaring with excitement from such an explosive match. After how most of the last few matches had gone, this was the sort of fight they were dying for.

“What a match!” Mic screamed. “With everything that went on, I seriously had no idea who could have won that! Alright, looks like the arena took some damage so we’ll take ten to get that fixed up before the next match!”

“And with that,” Hatsume announced, “I’m stepping away until the next match!” She sped from the announcer’s booth before she could hear Aizawa’s exasperated sigh of relief. Even if she had stuck around, her mind was racing with the current mystery. 

Mei had tested the fuel in that armor before the Festival. She had gone through rigorous trials to figure out how much fuel would be needed for bursts of different magnitudes. Bakugou had consistently fired large explosions throughout that match. By her calculations, his gauntlets should have run out of fuel halfway through. There was no way she was wrong, she was Hatsume Mei. 

So how did Bakugou last that long?

***

While the arena was being repaired by Cementess, Ochako sat in a side room after being looked over by Recovery Girl. She had lost. She got so close to victory, but lost at almost the last minute. She promised her parents she’d win, but here she was. Defeated. She slowly grabbed her phone to call her parents to apolo-

The door slammed open behind her. Ochako gave a nervous squeak as she turned to see Bakugou walk into the room. His arms were bandaged, and he had a small ice pack against his head. He was looking at her with his usual scowl, but for some reason it seemed to lack the usual venom.

“B-Bakugou?” she asked.

“Why you crying, Round Face?” he growled. “Crying cuz I defeated you?” Ochako didn’t answer. Couldn’t answer. She was wiping her tears as Bakugou walked further into the room, looking at something on his own phone.

“Hold on, needed Dekiru to look this up for me,” he growled as he stood next to her. “Alright, UA has four different courses in it. Heroics has two classes of 20 students. Gen Ed, Support and Management have three classes, each with 20 students. That means, among the First-Years alone, there are 220 students.”

“W-why are you-”

“That means 220 students took part in this Festival,” Katuski continued, ignoring Ochako’s question. “ You , Round Face, made it to the semi-finals of the last portion. You know what that means?” He pointed up at her with a glare. “That means you did better than 217 other fuckers! A lot of them had more combat-effective quirks than you did, and you still beat over 200 extras! Maybe you didn’t win, but you sure as hell didn’t lose! So stop crying!” Having finished his piece, Bakugou turned and stomped out of the room without another word. 

Ochako stared in silence at the empty doorway. Did...did he just try to give her encouragement? Bakugou Katsuki, the violent, potty-mouthed and explosive boy in her class? Was he trying to be nice there? She was so in shock at his words that she almost dropped her phone when it started ringing. She barely caught it and looked at the screen. Feeling a bit better about herself, she wiped her eyes and answered.

“Hi, Mom. Hi, Mama.”

***

Shinsou walked down a hall with his hands in his pockets. He had made it to the final event of the Festival. It was pretty much assured he’d be in the Hero Course next week. He didn’t know if he’d replace someone or just be Student 21. Either way he was a bit excited.

But only a bit, because he was being followed again. 

This time, he was being followed by the crazy mechanic girl who made the suits he and the other boys were using. She was clearly trying to be sneaky, but apparently forgot you couldn’t sneak around that easily in heavy boots (one of which squeaked a little). She was clearly trying to be sneaky because he noticed her ducking behind plants and corners. What was with crazy ladies trying to follow him today? Well, he was tired of it. 

He turned just enough for the crazy lady to see him give her sidelong glance. An instant later, he shot around a corner. Shinsou dashed fast as he could, chuckling a bit at the surprised squawk he heard the girl make. Sadly, there were no vending machines in this hallway for him to jump on. However, he still had an escape route. With barely a mental nudge, Shinsou had Ivory Quill grab him and toss him up to one of the windows. Honestly, he wasn’t sure that would work, with Ivory’s whole “no hostile action” clause. Thankfully, he landed on the high sill just fine, and watched with a smirk as the inventor girl rushed into the hall. He heard her slide to a stop, no doubt confused at how he just seemed to vanish.

“Where’d he go?” she muttered as she walked down the hall, peering around plants trying to find him. “Just wanted to ask some questions…” Shinsou might usually be the sort to answer questions, but whatever questions she had that required her to sneak around were probably not comfy ones. He stayed silent until she was completely gone. Hitoshi sighed, and then tried to think of a way out of his current dilemma. He was a good 5 meters off the ground (why were the windows this high anyway?). A jump from here would likely break a leg. If Izuku’s experiments with Cobalt were any indication, he couldn’t order Ivory to just carry him down, either.

“...I should have thought this through better,” Shinsou admitted to himself. 

“Need a hand?”

Shinsou almost fell from the windowsill in surprise. Looking right below him, he saw Yaoyorozu. She was looking up at him with a small smile. It wasn’t the usual teasing smile he was used to seeing girls give him. It was the sort of soft, friendly smile he had seen a few times.

“How’d you even get up there?” Momo giggled.

“An escape,” Shinsou replied.

“Fair enough,” Momo shrugged as she held out her arms. “I’ll catch you, don’t worry.” Normally Shinsou would reject an offer, wanting to do stuff on his own. Here, however, was his (future) classmate, and someone his two best friends trusted (even if Bakugou denied anything). So, with minimal shame, he slid off the sill and fell the couple meters into Momo’s arms. Less than three seconds later, he had his feet on solid ground again. 

“Thanks for the help,” Shinsou bowed his head a bit. “Gotta ask though, what were you doing here?”

“Was on my way to the food stands,” Momo replied. “Was hoping I could hold out to the end of the Festival, but-”

“I get it.”

“SHINSOU!”

Both teens jumped from the shout and turned to see Shinsou’s excitable and well-endowed classmate rushing down the hall at him. Her eyes were wide and sparkling like she was in some shoujo anime. Making things even more awkward, the way she was running demonstrated she was...bereft of a certain piece of attire.

“Shinsou!” she called out again. “I was so worried! You just disappeared after your match and I just had to find you!” The girl leaped through the air at her male classmate, only for Hitoshi to duck under her arms. He and Momo were both treated to her comedic honking as she hit the floor and rolled down the hall.

“...I assume that happens a lot?” Momo asked.

“Every day,” Shinsou sighed. “Mind if I sit with your class after we get your food?”

“Sure.”

***

Shouko and Izuku were on their way to the arena. Their names had been called, marking their turn to fight. She was walking in pace with Izuku, who was in his power armor. She glanced down at the boy. Even now, she was feeling the least bit hesitant at the thought of actually fighting him. Hopefully just using a glacial strike on him would suffice, since he wasn’t using his Spirit in these fights. 

“AND HERE THEY ARE!” Mic’s voice roared through the speakers. “THE LAST TWO SEMI-FINALISTS OF THE FESTIVAL! ON ONE SIDE, WE GOT ONE OF THE RECOMMENDED STUDENTS OF HERO COURSE! YOU’VE SEEN HER WIN FIGHT AFTER FIGHT WHILE CHILLING HER FOES TO THE BONE, BUT IS THERE MORE TO HER!? GIVE IT UP FOR TODOROKI SHOUKO!”

“And from the other side!” Mei yelled from her spot between the two pros, “The quirkless boy who came in first for the first two events, and he didn’t even have my special-made power armor  to help him there! Put your hands together for the green bean of Hero Course, Midoriya Izuku!”

The audience’s excitement was palpable. They were still riding the high from watching the previous match. Anyone in the audience who started watching the Festival deriding the boys were in silent awe at what they had seen the boys do. There was no reason Izuku would be any less exciting. The two contestants moved to opposite sides, turning to face each other. Shouko formed ice on her leg while Izuku’s armor hummed. 

“Give us a good fight, kids!” Midnight smirked before cracking her whip. “GET IT ON!”

Shouko started the fight with a glacial strike. This one was smaller than her previous ones, sparing Midnight of the freezing. However, she found herself thwarted when the boosters on Izuku’s armor ignited and he jumped over the ice. He landed just as the ice stopped growing and, activating his boosters again, rushed at Shouko. The girl unleashed a second, smaller ice wave. This time, Izuku punched through the wave and jumped at the taller girl. Imitating Bakugou’s signature move, Izuku managed to land a dropkick on Shouko’s face. 

“BOOYAH!” Bakugou screamed from the stands as Todoroki fell on her back. Izuku landed on her stomach and managed to launch a single punch to her face before she grabbed his head. She tried to encase him in ice, but the boy broke free. It appeared those little boosters on his armor would be the most annoying part about him.

“STOP TOYING WITH HIM!” a voice screamed from the stands. Neither competitor bothered looking to the voice, knowing who was screaming. Everyone else, however, turned to look at Madam Phoenix. “IT’S JUST A BOY, SHOUKO! WIPE THE FLOOR WITH IT!”

Shouko grit her teeth and sprayed a cloud of frost at Izuku. This was a trick she had actually learned from Izuku during the weeks leading up to this Festival, essentially using her quirk like a fire extinguisher. Maybe he could punch and boost through chunks of ice, but not if she iced his armor like it was at high altitude.

He punched through it.

Shouko’s eyes widened as his armor shot through the ice storm with ease and planted his fist in her gut. She coughed and jumped back, ducking down to avoid another flying drop kick. As Izuku flew overhead, Shouko grabbed his leg and slammed him into the ground. Even with boosters trying to soften the blow, the taller girl slammed Izuku into the ground hard enough to crack the concrete. She gave a smirk as she heard Izuku’s armor crackle a bit. With any luck, she broke a few of his boosters. Izuku shot to his feet the moment he was released and jumped away when Shouko fired more ice at him. His boosters fired awkwardly and he fell to the side, almost getting his leg caught in the wave. Todoroki smirked, but then hissed as she gripped her arm. 

“Your arm is freezing,” Izuku spoke up. “Looks like you’re hitting your limit.”

“I’m fine,” Shouko growled. 

“You need to heat yourself up,” Izuku declared before rushing forward. “You’ll only get sick if you don’t!”

“I don’t need to!” Shouko yelled as she dodged Izuku’s fist. “I don’t need to use my mother’s fire!”

“IT’S NOT HERS!” Izuku screamed. “IT’S YOUR QUIRK AND YOUR QUIRK ALONE!” Izuku gave another angered shout when he delivered another punch to Shouko’s gut. Shouko flew back from the hit, but this time noticed something. Izuku only hit her with one arm...but she felt two fists hitting her.

“You…” she gasped before moving forward and gripping Izuku in a hold so she could whisper. “You’re using your Spirit, aren’t you?”

“Of course I am,” Izuku responded quietly.

“Why?” Shouko asked before getting an elbow to her face. She stumbled back again, shaking her head before asking, “Why are you risking discovery when-”

“Because I’d be a hypocrite if I didn’t!” Izuku retorted. “This entire time I’ve been trying to make you realize that your fire is your quirk, your power! I’ve been trying to get you to do your best! What sorta person would I be if I didn’t do the same!?” This made Shouko think back to everything that happened earlier in the day. Her spilling the beans to Shinsou. Izuku using his Spirit to drag her mom away long enough for them to escape. Their short conversation after that.

“Why are you so focused on helping me?” 

“Because that’s what heroes do! Heroes help everyone!”

…

Click

Those words...those words resonated with Shouko. Hearing those words took her back to an earlier time. A time just after her quirk came in, but before her mother started their training…

***

A young Todoroki Shouko was sitting on the couch watching the television. Sitting next to her was her father, the white-haired Reigen. At her current age, Shouko was still shorter than Reigen, so this was one of the few times she was able to sit on her father’s lap. The two were watching one of Lady Might’s many interviews.

“A true heroine does more than fight villains,” Lady Might was explaining to the newscaster. “A true heroine is someone who’s willing to save people. To do whatever they can to ensure the safety of those around them. That even extends to villains themselves. For every villain I punch into a cell, there are three or four more who are just lashing out as a cry for help. That is why I always smile. To give confidence to those who need help, and let them know...I AM HERE!”

“Lady Might is so cool!” young Shouko cheered. “I wanna be just like her!”

“Ya do, huh?” her dad laughed.

“Mm-hmm!” Shouko nodded. “I wanna be a heroine who helps everyone, papa!”

“I’m sure you can do it, sweetie,” Reigen smiled. “You can be whatever sort of heroine you want. You don’t have to be what your mom wants you to be.”

***

That memory hit Shouko quickly. The words of her father synced with the words Izuku just told her. Those words restored a feeling Shouko had not experienced for over a decade. She didn’t know what she was feeling, but it resulted in her left side warming up. In moments, her left side was engulfed in flames. All the cold she was experiencing dissipated in an instant.

“WHAT IS THIS!?” Mic screamed. “Todoroki’s covered in flames!”

“That’s gnarly!” Mei screamed. “Good time to test the armor’s fireproofing in an extreme situation!”

Izuku, meanwhile, had a scared smile under his helmet. That was a lot of flames. Enough that the heat sensors in his armor were screaming at him. At least she started using her fire. 

“SHOOOOOOUKOOOOOO!”

This time Izuku jumped from shock as Madam Phoenix screamed her approval. 

“YOU DID IT! YOU FINALLY USED MY GIFT! NOW YOU CAN REALLY SHOW THAT RUNT WHO’S BOSS!”

“Shut up you asswipe!” Bakugou yelled over, but no one was paying attention, instead choosing to focus back on Izuku and Shouko.

“You’re crazy, you know that?” Shouko smiled. “I dunno how to hold back on my fire.”

“Fine by me,” Izuku laughed (nervously) as he clenched his fists. He readied Cobalt as well, the Spirit moving close. “Ready to finish this?” Shouko replied by increasing her flames. Neither teen noticed Cementess and Midnight moving in to end the fight. Instead, Izuku rushed forward, Cobalt’s fist lining up with his own to try landing a good punch. The ice around the arena disappeared in moments as Shouko raised her hand. Izuku knew he wouldn’t make it in time.

“Midoriya...thank you.”

There was a flash of light, followed by a pressurized explosion that tore through the cement walls that formed between the two teens. Midnight was blown away, chunks of the arena were thrown around. The resulting shockwave blew through the stands, knocking some people over. Bakugou himself almost flew away, had Tsuyu not caught him again. Even up in the commentator’s box Mic was knocked over. Madam Phoenix was one of the only people who managed to stay upright, gripping the rail with a sadistic smile on her face. Less than ten seconds after the explosion occurred, the wind finally died down.

“...What the hell was that?” Mic asked. 

“Todoroki’s ice chilled the air,” Mei explained, “and when she used her flames it heated the air back up. Hot air expands, and such a drastic increase in temperature resulted in that explosion. Didn’t you take science class?”

“What she said,” Aizawa groaned.

“Never mind that!” Mic shot to her feet. “What about the contestants!?” As she asked this, Midnight stood back up from where she landed and staggered back into the arena. The steam filling the arena began to dissipate. 

At first, the only thing anyone could see was Shouko standing in the arena. Her flames were off, and she was gasping for air. The left side of her jacket had burned away, and for once she was thankful for her mother pushing her to wear fireproof underwear. Her gaze was focused ahead of her, where she last saw Izuku. 

As the steam dissipated further, Shouko was stunned to see a particular suit of armor, hands raised, standing just inside the arena boundaries.

Chapter Text

The entire stadium was in silent awe. As the steam cleared, everyone could see the small silhouette of power armor standing just inside the arena, arms raised against the past shockwave. Somehow, against all odds, the explosion wasn’t enough. Shouko stared in shock and mild fear. That blast left her exhausted. She was too tired to try anything else. If Izuku moved back in, she would lose.

...So why wasn’t Izuku moving?

“Midoriya Izuku, can you continue!?” Midnight shouted her question. There was no response from the armor. Shouko and Midnight were both worried. Was he unconscious in the suit?

“E-excuse me!” a voice called from the audience. Everyone turned to the voice, spotting a heroine in a rather precarious position.

“C-could someone please come grab him?” The heroine asked. Laying across her ample bosom was Midoriya Izuku. The small boy was definitely out cold.

“Woo!” a nearby heroine shouted as she took a photo of the scene. “Tawawa Challenge!”

With this revelation, Midnight turned back to the suit of armor. Rushing from her spot, she waved away the last bits of steam. With things fully clear, she could see the back of the armor was open. 

“...Uuuhhh…” Mei nervously said over the PA. “...Well, I didn’t want the boys to get cooked inside their suits, so I set up an auto-eject if the suits detected too much heat. I, uh, didn’t anticipate an explosion like that...I...gotta work on that for next time.” There was a bit more muttering among the audience before Midnight raised her arm.

“MIDORIYA IZUKU IS OUT OF BOUNDS! THE SECOND FINALIST IS TODOROKI SHOUKO!”

“And with that,” Mic screamed, “the semi-finals are over! We’ll take a break to repair the arena and give our Finalists a break! Be back in half an hour for what’ll undoubtedly be an explosive fight!”

Shouko sighed and dropped to her knees. That was one of the most exhausting fights she’d had in a long time. She watched some robots come and grab Izuku’s armor while other medic bots picked her up. She just lay on the gurney as the bots carried her towards Recovery Girl’s office. It took a few moments, but the bots carrying Izuku’s unconscious form caught up. She looked at the small boy. There were small burns across his body, showing even that auto-eject failed to fully protect him from the heat. Despite that, the word ‘fragile’ didn’t cross her mind. No, this Festival had proven to her that Midoriya Izuku was not fragile. 

Maybe the other boys weren’t, either.

“Shouko.”

The bots stopped moving, their way blocked by the massive form of Todoroki Eiko. She gave Izuku a quick, disgusted snarl before looking at Shouko with a smug smirk. Shouko looked back with her usual bland expression.

“You finally used my fire,” the heroine stated. “You’ve finally pushed past your infantile act of defiance. Now I can truly begin to show you-”

“Shut it.”

Madame Phoenix’s eye twitched at Shouko’s remark. 

“What did you say?”

“It’s like Midoriya said,” Shouko replied. “This power is mine. I will decide how to use it. I will not let you control me anymore. “

“And what brought this about?” the heroine snarled. Shouko didn’t respond immediately, instead looking at her left hand.

“In the past, any time I thought about using my fire, the attempt was marred by my hatred of you. But down there, when I used my fire in the arena...you were not in my mind at all. For those few moments, you did not exist. You...were nothing .” Madame Phoenix snarled and was about to retort when the medic bots could wait no longer and pushed past her, continuing their journey to Recovery girl. The tall heroine was about to follow before she found herself blocked by Lady Might, who simply grabbed her shoulder and pulled her away to talk about...turnips? Shouko looked back at the two in confusion, almost missing the small wink that Lady Might gave her. Oh, that’s what was going on. With a smile, Shouko lay back down and let herself get carried away.

***

Bakugou walked down the hall. Despite the hustle-n-bustle of the Festival, this hallway was empty. That was because this hall led to the Support workshop being used to repair the boy’s power armors. As he got closer to the workshop, he could hear machine noises. Good, someone was actually in there. He slammed his fist on the door hard as he could before stepping aside. He didn’t wanna suffer the same marshmallowing that Izuku did when they first met that crazy girl. 

Speak of the devil.

“Who is it!?” Mei screamed as she slammed the door open, dragging one of the Support Course boys by his leg. She looked left and right before finally looking down at Bakugou. “What ya need, shrimpy?”

“You fixin’ my suit, right?” the spiky boy asked.

“Yeah, me and the twins are fixing it.”

“WE’RE NOT TWINS!” both boys screamed angrily.

“You’re not fooling anyone,” Mei said as she held up the boy in her hand, who was looking at her indignantly.

“We don’t even have the same surname! I’m Hagiwara!”

“And I’m Ogiwara!” came from further in the shop.

“LISTEN!” Bakugou screamed. “Look, I was wondering if you could change something up with my suit.”

“Sorry,” Mei shook her head, “but any changes to the suit design and function must be pre-approved by the teaching staff.”

“Well,” Bakugou asked, “what about aesthetic changes?” There was silence from Mei and the boys. 

“...Go on…” Hagiwara said as he dangled upside down a couple meters above the ground.

***

Far away from UA, across Earth’s biggest ocean, a man stormed down the hall in a subterranean bunker. He had under fifteen minutes to complete his current task, and he was eager to finish it well before that deadline. He had a good reason not to be late.

The faint lighting of the hallway barely illuminated his straw-colored hair and military outfit. Next to him, walking in pace, were a tall woman with a pair of brunette braids and a shaggy black dogman. The dogman was dragging a cart with a covered load. All three wore a harsh scowl.

When they reached the end of the hall, the woman slammed the door open, letting the two smaller men into the room first. In the very center of the room was a chair. Tied to that chair was another woman, this one wearing torn clothes and covered in bruises. She had a spiteful glare as the three individuals stormed in, with their woman closing the door behind them. The straw-haired man stopped in front of the prisoner while the dogman moved next to him. After a moment, the man uncovered the cart.

 Resting on the cart was a monstrous severed head. The skin was black, the mouth was like a hawk’s beak, and there were six eyestalks protruding from the exposed brain. The prisoner woman blanched at the sight. There was recognition in her eyes. Good.

“We caught your friend here this morning,” the straw-haired man explained. “They and their handler were in an alley behind the Soldier’s Pass Hero Agency.” He paced back and forth between the prisoner and the head. “The beast wasn’t one for talking, and it’s handler died not long after the altercation, but they were sure to point out they worked for you.” The man stopped, glaring at the prisoner. “Where did you get it?”

“Fuck off,” the tied-up woman groaned. 

“It’s not Chinese,” the man continued. “It’s lacking the signature gene-print of Russian creations. And I can attest the U.S. government isn’t in the market for genetically-modified supersoldiers. So where. Did you. Get it?”

“It was a Christmas present,” the woman spat. “Now piss off.” 

This was clearly the wrong answer. With a nod from the blonde man, the brunette woman spun her finger in a circle. The woman in the chair suddenly had all the air pulled from her lungs and out her mouth before a small whirlwind formed around her head. The woman tried to gasp for air, only for the whirlwind to deny her even a single breath. It persisted for ten seconds before the brunette lowered her finger.

“Normally we’re a patient bunch,” the head man explained as their prisoner gulped for suddenly precious air. “Normally we’re fine with using longer, less invasive means of getting information. However, your prior decision has just cost you that little privilege. So tell us what we wanna know or you’ll lose more than your breath this time.”

“You won’t kill me,” the woman in the chair shook her head. “I’m all you got.” She was breaking.

“No we won’t,” the dogman spoke up.

“Doesn’t mean we can’t make you wish you were dead,” the brunette snarled as she yanked the breath from the prisoner’s lungs again. This time, the whirlwind persisted almost fifteen seconds before dispersing. The prisoner caught the smallest breath before catching nothing at all. After this third act, the woman and the straw-haired man traded places. His emerald eyes bore into her own.

“Just answer one question, and we’ll stop,” the leader stated. “Who sold you this monster?”

“I...I dunno his name,” the prisoner sputtered. “I bought the beast through an intermediary from some league. It was made in Japan. That’s all I know.”

“There, was that so hard?” the man softly smiled as he gently patted her knee. “If my wife were here, she’d definitely give you a cookie for answering. Breathe deep, small-time.” With that, the trio of interrogators exited the cell, leaving the monster head with the prisoner. “Alright, Toto, contact the Japan cells. I’m pretty sure the ‘league’ our guest mentioned is the League of Villains we were briefed on a couple weeks back. Dorothy, write up the report and ship it to the higher-ups. Let ‘em know what we learned. If I’m thinking things correctly, we might make a jump across the pond soon.”

“Sure thing, Scarecrow,” the woman nodded.

“See you in the break room,” the dogman smirked before he and the woman rushed down the hall. After they were out of sight, Scarecrow gave a tired sigh.

“Why couldn’t it have just been a mainframe?” he muttered to himself as he turned down a side hall. “At least that only took a few minutes. If nothing else pops up, I should be able to catch the Finals.”

***

Hot. 

Izuku felt hot.

Even inside his power armor, with all the protections Mei added, he could feel the heat. His armor’s alarms were all blaring about the unsafe temperatures. The sensors also indicated a massive shockwave coming his way. He wouldn’t be able to power through that, even with Cobalt’s help. But if he could brace himself against it, he could stay in the ring. 

Izuku held his arms out, directing Cobalt to raise his shield as well. He was braced as best he could, ignoring the increasing beeping of his power armor’s sensors. Suddenly there was a loud bang and Izuku found himself flying backwards, struck by intense heat and blinding light.

Next thing Izuku knew, he was lying on his back. His eyes were shut so he didn’t see where he was. There was something cold on his forehead. He was lying on something soft...a bed. He was on a bed? How did he get on a bed? Was the arena ground lined with beds? That would be convenient. 

After a moment, Izuku slowly opened his eyes. Instead of the open blue sky he was expecting, his eyes saw a pristine white ceiling. Oh. That meant he was in the Nurse’s office. Which meant he likely lost.

Definitely lost.

...

Oh well. 

“Finally awake, huh?” Recovery Girl emerged in his vision. “How are you feeling, young man?” Izuku thought for a few seconds before giving his answer.

“Other than what’s on my head, I feel pretty warm.”

“But no pain? No aches?”

“Oh yeah, aches all over but nothing too major. What happened at the end there? I just remember everything going white, and...”

“Your suit ejected you at the last moment,” Recovery Girl explained. “You got caught in the shockwave and were catapulted into the audience. I won’t say where you landed, but it’s safe to assume you lost consciousness in midair. Unfortunately, you also got burned during your flight. Nothing too bad, but you’ll be hurting for a while. Now eat.” She shoved a huge gummy into his mouth. “I’ll go let your friends know you’re awake.” She hobbled away while Izuku tried to eat the gummy without using his hands. He still felt too tired to move. He barely finished eating the treat before his vision was filled with the concerned faces of his Ochako, Momo, Shinsou, Ojiro and Tsuyu.

“Welcome back to the world of the living,” Shinsou muttered as he and Ojiro sat on the bed by his feet while the girls towered over him.

“Are you feeling okay after that fight?” Momo asked, her voice full of concern. “You flew quite a distance at the end there.”

“Even Todoroki was worried,” Ochako said. 

“I’m fine,” Izuku groaned as he tried sitting up. “Kinda aching, but fine.” He looked around the group. “Where’s Kacchan?”

“He hung around for a bit,” Tsuyu explained, “but had to leave since the Finals are starting soon, kero.” At this tidbit of news, Izuku gasped and shot up, ignoring the pain in his body.

“THE FINALS!” he screamed. “Have they started yet!? Do we still have time!? Is it safe for me to-”

“STOP SHOUTING!” Recovery Girl screamed louder than Izuku. “No, the finals haven’t started yet, you got around 7 minutes, and yes it’s safe for you to go watch directly if you promise not to tax your body.”

“I can assist with that,” Momo announced before sitting on the bed, her back to Izuku. “Climb on, I’ll carry you.” Izuku gave a shy squeak and opened his mouth to decline. Before he could say anything, though, Ojiro and Shinsou each grabbed an arm.

“Up you go,” Shinsou deadpanned as he and the tailed boy tossed Izuku up onto Momo’s back. Before Izuku could try to move away, Momo wrapped her arms around Izuku’s legs and stood up. The greenette gave a defeated sigh as he drooped his head onto Momo’s shoulder. The girl looked away to hide her blush as the group exited the infirmary. 

***

Todoroki Shouko walked down the hall to the arena. She hadn’t spoken to anyone since being dismissed from the infirmary. She had wanted to talk to Bakugou, but he pretty much vanished after her match. It was weird for him. She stepped up into the arena amidst the roaring crowd. 

“WHOA, WHAT’S THIS!?” Mic screamed through the speakers. Shouko raised her head to look at her opponent. Bakugou was walking into position across from her. He was wearing his power armor, but there was something new. 

His helmet had undergone a minor transformation. The overall shape was still pretty much the same, but one half of the face had been painted green with a metal star close to the eye. The other half was purple with metal feathers. 

“What’s with the helmet!?” Mic yelled her question. 

“Bakugou requested a minor aesthetic change during the break,” Mei’s voice replied through the speakers. “Since it didn’t affect the overall functionality of the helmet, we didn’t need teacher permission to make the change.”

“...I’ve given up on trying to make you leave,” Aizawa sighed.

“Only cuz this is the final match!” Mic laughed. “Now, LADIIIIES AND GENTLEMEN! WE'VE GOT AN EXCITING MATCH THAT YOU'VE BEEN WAITING FOR! In one corner we have the explosive teen, the blonde bombshell, KATSUKI BAKUGOOOOOOOOOOO!" The crowd was roaring with excitement, though some people snorted at the moniker. "He's made leaps and bounds, but who knows if he's got any tricks left up his sleeve! In the next corner we have the best of both worlds! She's a phoenix reborn from the ashes and is ready to take on any challengers! Her explosive rebirth is just the tip of her iceberg! Give it up for TODOROKI SHOOOOOOOUKOOOOO!”

“Hope you’re all ready for an exciting finale,” Mei laughed, “cuz this match is anyone's game!"

Shouko knew those last words were true. At the start of the year, she would have simply scoffed at the idea of a strong boy. Now, however, she knew better. She took up a stance against her smaller foe, knowing it would be a serious battle to take him down. Simultaneously, Bakugou’s armor gave a roar as he raised his fists. For one of the first times since the start of the Festival, Shouko’s eyes were alight with determination. Midnight smiled at the two students before raising her whip.

“READY...FIGHT!”

Chapter Text

“FIGHT!”

The instant the word left Midnight’s mouth, Bakugou’s feet left the ground. He flew at Shouko like a crimson missile, plowing into her. Shouko gave a grunt when Katsuki’s shoulder impacted her gut, but she stayed upright. She quickly retaliated by grabbing the boy and trying to freeze him in place. She managed to encase his arm before he used his other one to break the ice. Before Shouko could try again, Bakugou backhanded her with his gauntlet and flew back. 

“Well, now,” Madam Mic laughed through the speakers, “that was an exciting way to start things, huh!? So, Hatsume, what’s your take on our competitors?”

“Not asking me anymore?” Aizawa sighed.

“I’ve given up on you giving a good answer.”

“I’d say we’re in for an epic fight!” the mechanic girl cheered. “Bakugou has proven that he’s mobile, but he relies on close-quarters attacks. Meanwhile, Todoroki is adept at mid-range and long-range attacks, while also having the height advantage. In other words, Todoroki needs to keep Bakugou at a distance, while Bakugou needs to get close. The winner will be whoever can get in their groove for the longest.”

The two fighters in the ring ignored the commentators, too focused on their fighting. True to Mei’s words, Bakugou was more focused on staying up close and personal. Shouko was narrowly dodging the explosions he was throwing at her. A few times she caught his arm or leg and threw him away, but he just blasted right back before she could use any ice. 

Time for a different tactic.

She waited for Bakugou to try another kick before grabbing his leg. Rather than throw him away, Shouko slammed him into the ground. The impact stunned Bakugou, and Shouko yanked him up and slammed him again before he could recover. And again. And again. There was a good minute or two of Shouko slamming Bakugou into the ground over and over. Bakugou tried to retaliate, but she was swinging him too fast for him to get a good shot off. After almost a dozen slams, Todoroki saw the tank on his back crack open. She could hear the hiss and smell the odor of escaping gas. No more fuel for his explosions, and if he planned to keep his Spirit hidden he couldn’t use them. She raised him up to slam him down one more time, only to hear a sudden hiss and feel a small heel smash into her cheek. 

“TAKE THAT, YOU FUCKER!” Bakugou yelled as he delivered a follow-up punch to her nose. During that last swing, Bakugou had popped the seals on his power suit and jumped out. Without the bulky armor, Katsuki could exploit his smaller stature and limber form even more. The crowd in the stands watched as Katsuki practically turned into a gold-and-blue blur, zooming over and around Shouko and delivering punches and kicks every few seconds. Shouko  tossed his armor aside and tried fighting back, but Bakugou was slipping around too fast for her to get any good hits.

Until she used her fire.

Bakugou’s eyes widened and he jumped away as Shouko’s left side ignited. It wasn’t a lot at first, as her mother’s face flickered in her mind, but she soon pushed past that and her arm flared with incredible flame. Shouko gave the smallest of smirks as she shot a stream of fire at Bakugou, who narrowly dodged the conflagration. Rather than freak out, however, Bakugou gave a wide smile.

“THAT’S WHAT I’M TALKING ABOUT!” he screamed. “DON’T YOU DARE HOLD BACK ANYMORE, YOU PEPPERMINT BITCH!” Another stream of flame sent him leaping back. In the few seconds it took Shouko to reorient herself, Bakugou popped the gauntlets and fuel tank off the armor. He put them on as he dodged a line of icy spikes.

“Bakugou has his gauntlets back!” Mic roared. “Now the fight can really begin!”

“It won’t work,” Shouko told the smaller boy. “The tank cracked. No fuel.”

“I know that,” Bakugou smirked. “You know that. But... no one else does .” Understanding his message, and feeling foolish about her thoughts, the tall girl jumped away in time to avoid Bakugou’s explosion.

“And there are his signature explosions!” Hatsume laughed. “Looks like we really will have an exciting finale!”

 Now Shouko was back on the defensive, with Bakugou firing explosions left and right. The only thing going for Shouko was that, due to the lack of fuel, Bakugou could only make one explosion at a time. She tried raising more ice walls to catch her breath, only for the ice to explode and pelt her body. Any time she tried shooting him with her fire, the agile boy simply flew past it. After the latest attempt, Shouko reacted instinctively to Bakugou’s sudden presence in her face and-

“GAH!”

The heterochromatic girl’s eyes widened in surprise as her fist collided with Bakugou’s chest and sent him flying back. The smaller male bounced from the unexpected strike, but recovered in time to dodge Todoroki’s leg. He swung his arm to send another explosion her way, but Shouko somehow dodged past it and planted a solid kick on him. 

“Looks like she’s adjusted to his explosions!” Mei laughed through the speakers. “Are we gonna have a slugfest, or will the little man get a good blast in?” Mei got her answer when Bakugou ducked under another kick and launched a point-blank explosion at her stomach. Before she could recover, he jumped up and launched another at her face. 

“...Okay, has it ever been explained how Bakugou can jump that high without a quirk?”

“I WORK OUT, BITCH!” the blond boy yelled, catching himself on Shouko’s extending fist and delivering a roundhouse kick to her head. As she fell over, Shouko grabbed Bakugou’s leg midair and slammed him into the ground right with her. Before he could recover, she pinned him down with her greater mass, yanked the tank off his back (tearing the hoses) and hurled it from the arena. During this brief moment where Shouko only had one arm pinning him, Bakugou punched her in the nose and slid away. While he could still use his spirit, this would result in revealing it. The boy grit his teeth, now having to rely on his quirkless techniques. 

Unfortunately, Shouko did not have that handicap. 

The tall girl got to her knees and launched a stream of fire at Bakugou, barely able to keep it at a less-than-lethal force. Bakugou leaped aside just in time to avoid the flames before bounding back and delivering a series of gauntlet-cushioned punches to her. He aimed as many at her face as he could. If he wanted to win, he had to end this, now. Shouko raised her arms after a few punches, blocking the onslaught but hardly getting the moment she needed to use her quirk. She tried to stand up, put some room between them, but she had no idea this was just what Bakugou was waiting for.

With a laugh, Bakugou grabbed Shouko’s arm and spun himself around, mimicking Izuku during the quirk assessment. His foot impacted Shouko’s face, stunning her and pushing her to the side. Bakugou followed up by kicking off her arm and delivering a hard punch to her face. This second hit stunned her long enough for Bakugou to grab her shoulder, spin around behind her and wrap his legs around her neck. Shouko’s eyes widened. He was gonna choke her out. She tried to summon more ice, fire, anything, but she was feeling tired and the last few hits to her head stopped her from focusing enough. The smaller teen kept his legs tight around her neck as she fell back and tried prying him off. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough, and her vision turned black.

After he was sure she was out, Bakugou slowly pulled his legs away and stood up. Catching his breath, he looked up at the audience, gave a signature toothy smile, and shot his fist into the air.

“FUCK YEAH, BITCHES!”

“TODOROKI SHOUKO IS UNABLE TO CONTINUE!” Midnight announced. “THE WINNER OF THE FIRST YEAR SPORTS FESTIVAL IS BAKUGOU KATSUKI!”

***

In a bar far from UA, a group of villains watched the final fight of the Festival. After they had finished patching themselves up from their ‘conversation’ with Stain, Shigaraki decided to try cheering herself up by watching the quirked boys getting beaten up. Instead, she saw one win the entire Festival. It was only due to the misty barkeep’s quick thinking (and warp quirk) that the television wasn’t dusted.

“I can’t believe it!” Shigaraki roared. “Those tiny shiny bastards should have lost!”

“At least this showcases the boys are not to be underestimated,” Kurogiri sighed as she set the TV at the far end of the bar. “If we can succeed and turn them to our cause, we would gain invaluable allies.”

“Indeed,” Sensei spoke up through their television. “Perhaps we should tell our agent to try endearing herself to them…” A sigh. “No, too late. They’ve already cemented themselves among the students who demean the male students. Trying to alter their mission now would be a waste.”

“How can we catch those shinies if they keep winning?” the handsy villainess mumbled. “Can’t catch anything without lowering its’ hp first.”

“We still have time,” Sensei smirked. “Just keep focusing on finding recruits. Who knows? Maybe one of them will have a…Master Ball, I believe it’s called.” At that comparison, Shigaraki smirked back. Yeah. Maybe someone would have a way. They had to. She wanted them.

***

Half an hour after that last fight, the four top students of the Festival were assembled on the podium. Said podium was under the stadium so it could rise dramatically when it came time to give out the medals. Bakugou stood in the First Place spot, smirking with his arms folded. Shouko was on the Second Place stand, standing casually. In the Third Place spot, Izuku nervously stood next to Ochako, who was sitting down so she was a little less than eye-level with Izuku. 

“I have never seen Bakugou that calm,” Ochako observed the explosive blonde.

“He’s not calm,” Izuku chuckled. “He’s gearing up for something.”

“...He’s not gonna explode the podium, is he?”

“Hopefully not.”

Before the conversation could continue, the podium began to rise. The students looked up as they rose above the ground, wincing a bit at the sudden sunlight. The audience roared at their arrival.

“AND HERE THEY ARE!” Madam Mic announced. “THE WINNERS OF THE FIRST YEAR SPORTS FESTIVAL!”

“And for the first time in UA history,” Mei grinned from her seat (which she stole from Aizawa after said heroine left), “we’ve got not one but two boys up on the podium! This year’s one for the history books!”

“TAKE THAT!” Bakugou screamed at the crowd as he flipped the bird with both hands. “STILL DON’T THINK WE CAN DO ANYTHING!?”

“Whoa,” the first-year inventor laughed, “someone’s a little excited!”

“GOOD THING OUR CAMERAS HAVE AUTO-MOSAIC INSTALLED FOR SOMETHING EXACTLY LIKE THAT!” Mic shouted in reply. 

“Nice to see you all so excited!” Midnight laughed from her spot in front of the podium, despite the fact Shouko was the very definition of a statue. “To make things even better, we have a special guest today to give the medals to the lucky winners! And that guest is…”

There was a loud, boisterous laugh as an immense shadow appeared in the air above the stadium. Everyone looked up as the shadow descended, laughing all the way. Everyone recognized the person the instant they heard her voice. 

“...is Lady Might herself!”

“Is I, Lady Might!”

The stadium was silent after the two heroines accidentally spoke over each other. Lady Might slowly turned to look at Midnight, who whispered a quick embarrassed apology. After that, the Number One Heroine cleared her throat, took the box that contained the medals, and approached the students. Ochako shot to her feet, almost hitting Izuku with her thigh as she did so. To the surprise of everyone in the stadium, Lady Might approached Izuku first with his medal.

“Young Midoriya,” Lady Might beamed, “no one today can deny the effort and skill you’ve displayed in today’s Festival. I see a bright future in heroics for you!” Izuku teared up at her praise and nodded in agreement. Lady Might gently placed the medal around his neck before ruffling his hair. Then she turned to Uraraka with her medal.

“Uraraka Ochako,” the heroine continued, “you have demonstrated great strength and cleverness today. That such strength is tempered with kindness and compassion shows that you have the capability of becoming a fantastic heroine.” Uraraka teared up a bit at Lady Might’s remarks as she bowed her head to accept the medal. She wiped her tears and stood tall, a far cry from her mood after her fight against Bakugou. With a smile of her own, Lady Might moved on to Shouko.

“It’s weird, Lady Might,” the student looked down at her left hand. “I came into this Festival determined to never use any fire. And yet, I found myself doing so for these last two fights. Even after my fight against Midoriya, I was not expecting to use it. It feels wrong, but…so right, too.”

“Your fire is a part of you. You neglected it for so long, that it must feel weird to use it so much. Rest assured, young Todoroki, the more you use your full might, the more natural your fire will feel.” With those words, Lady Might hung the silver medal from Shouko’s neck. Shouko looked at the medal and gave a small grin. Her mother would undoubtedly be pissed at her loss, but Shouko genuinely did not mind. As Shouko looked at her medal, Lady Might moved to the winner of the Festival.

“ YOUNG BAKUGOU!” she cheerfully roared. “ON THIS DAY YOU’VE PROVEN YOUR WORDS TO ALL OF JAPAN! YOU MIGHT NOT BE ALL THAT TALL COMPARED TO YOUR PEERS-”

“Fuck you.”

“-BUT TODAY YOU CERTAINLY STAND TALL AS THE FIRST BOY TO EVER WIN A UA SPORTS FESTIVAL! YOUR SKILLS IN COMBAT, AND YOUR RESOURCEFULNESS TO OUTWIT TODOROKI DEMONSTRATES YOUR OWN HEROIC POTENTIAL! IT IS WITH GREAT HONOR THAT I GIVE YOU THIS!” 

The heroine smiled wide as she slid the gold medal over Bakugou’s head. The small teen slumped forward a bit from the weight, but caught himself. He straightened up, giving his signature sneer before pointing to the crowd.

“YOU BITCHES SEE THIS!?” he yelled. “YOU REMEMBER LAUGHING AT ME WHEN WE STARTED!? WELL, LOOKS WHO’S LAUGHING NOW!” This shout elicited some laughter from the commentator’s booth.

“No arguments from us!” Mei yelled down. “You earned this, dude!”

“AND WITH THAT,” Lady Might addressed the crowd, “WE’VE REACHED THE END OF THE FIRST-YEAR’S SPORTS FESTIVAL! IT HAS BEEN ONE FOR THE HISTORY BOOKS! AND WHO KNOWS? THIS COULD BE THE FIRST OF MANY WHERE BOYS MAKE IT TO THE PODIUM! I MYSELF WOULD LOVE TO SEE THIS HAPPEN AGAIN! LET’S END IT WITH A CHEER FOR OUR COMPETITORS! ONE, TWO, THREE!”

“PLUS ULTRA!” the crowd cheered.

“GOOD JOB!” Lady Might laughed simultaneously.

…

“WHAT WAS THAT!?” the audience yelled when they realized what Lady Might yelled. While the heroine tried defending herself, the teens on the podium all gave a laugh of their own. Even Shouko had to stifle a laugh at how awkward Lady Might made things. A fun end to a crazy day.

***

Shinsou gave a groan as he pulled his shirt down. He hadn’t participated past the first round of the tournament, but he still wasn’t allowed to change out of the UA gym uniform until after the Festival ended. Seemed pointless, but he guessed they needed to keep an image. Meh, at least he wasn’t hassled on his way to the changing room. 

Instead, he encountered a pair of tree-like legs waiting outside the room.

Thankfully, he had been walking slow enough that was able to stop himself from walking right into them. Instead, he stared at the sudden knees for a bit before stepping back and looking up. To his surprise, he had come face-to-knee with Todoroki Shouko. Oddly, her expression seemed a bit nervous, with the silver medal around her neck shining some light to her face.

“...Can I…help you?” Shinsou asked.

“...I need to apologize,” Shouko admitted. That was not what Shinsou was expecting at all. The admission stunned Shinsou long enough for Shouko to continue, “For as long as I can remember, I had been taught by my… mother how your gender is inferior. Even after you showed me your Spirit, as best you could, my prejudice persisted. But over these past few weeks, and leading through today…I am sorry for ever thinking-”

“Hush,” Shinsou sighed. “Look, you said your mom taught you this, right? You’re not the only one who’s been taught like that, even if you were taught in a more negative light. We’re used to being looked down like that. Remember Bakugou’s speech? So yeah, apology accepted, see you in class next week. Now I-” Shinsou suddenly tensed up before ducking. Less than a second later, a blur shot over his head and flew past them both. Somehow, his well-endowed classmate had snuck up on the two of them and tried to glomp him again. Shouko’s eyes widened in surprise as the girl honked while bouncing down the hall.

“...Not sure I want to know the story behind that,” the heterochromatic teen stated.

“Good,” Shinsou stood up. “Anyway, I need to get going. The school’s got heroine escort for us boys to get home safely, and I don't wanna miss them.”

“I’ll walk with you,” Todoroki nodded. “In case anyone else tries…whatever that was.”

“Thanks.”

After that, the two teens walked in silence, neither understanding just how significant this small conversation would be to them in the future.

Chapter Text

UA had given all their students a long weekend to wind down and destress from the Sports Festival, but the news carried on with the reports of how two boys reached the podium. For the entire weekend, Izuku, Katsuki and Hitoshi were given heroine escort if they needed to go anywhere. Which is why it may have been fortunate that all three boys were mostly too tired to do anything. 

The only bad spot over the weekend was the news of Iida Tenmei, the heroine Ingenium and their classmate’s older sister, being attacked by the Hero Killer. She survived, but was hospitalized. Her condition was still being kept mostly under wraps, but based on prior victims she’d probably have to retire. Izuku could only hope Tenten was doing as alright as she could be.

The weekend quickly came to an end, and it was time for the boys to return to school. With any luck, this would also be the last time Izuku would need to be escorted. The green teen gave a quiet sigh as he stepped into his class, brushing past Midnight’s voluminous leg. The teacher waved before walking to her own classroom. 

“Good morning!” Ochako smiled as the much smaller greenette walked towards his desk. “Have a nice weekend?”

“Kinda wish it was one day longer,” Izuku admitted as he climbed his desk behind Bakugou. When he reached his seat, Izuku finally noticed something weird. Mineta’s desk was…gone. In its place was another boy’s desk. He knew Shinsou would be joining their class, but was Mineta demoted? He didn’t see any more desks, and-

“Glad to see you’ve finally learned to be quiet,” Aizawa droned from her spot at the front of the class. “Your performance during the Festival has been reviewed. Suffice to say, almost none of you were disappointing. However, I’m sure you’ve noticed the lack of Mineta Shinobu.”

“Was she moved out of Hero Course?” Kaminari asked.

“Remember what I said at the start of the year?” Aizawa asked right back. “How I expected you all to treat the boys with the same dignity and respect as any other individual? Mineta Shinobu openly disregarded my statement during the Festival. While I caught her before she did anything…irreversible, that doesn’t change the fact she attempted it by dragging a boy from Management into the restrooms and restraining him with her quirk. As such, she has been expelled from UA entirely, and charged with Assault and Attempted Rape Of A Male. It will be a long time before she sees anything outside of solitary confinement.”

The class was dead silent at that declaration. They knew Mineta was…unpleasant. Some thought that word was putting it mildly. But to hear Mineta attempted something so heinous was something else entirely. A few of the girls in class started feeling nauseous.

“That being said,” Aizawa continued, “due to their performance in the Festival, we have a student to fill in the vacancy. Come on in.”

The door slid open, and everyone watched as Shinsou walked into the room with a styrofoam cup of water. Most of the students had met him in the past, but very few knew he had been aiming to join 1-A. Most stared in wonder, Ashido gasped like she was seeing a puppy, and the other three boys all cheered.

“Shut it,” Aizawa growled. “This is Shinsou Hitoshi. He will be joining our class from today forward. I’m pretty sure most of you are familiar with him.”

“Pleasure,” Shinsou shrugged as he sipped from his cup. “Guess you girls are wondering how I got in. Watch.” Shouko knew where this was going, and gave a small smirk as Shinsou held his cup out, then left it hanging in the air. Several girls gasped as the cup spiraled around Shinsou’s head before the tired-looking boy took it back.

“...You have a thingy too!” Sero screamed. “Like Mido and Baku! One of those invisible servant doohickeys!”

“We prefer the term “Spirit,’” Izuku clarified.

“Your seat is back there,” Aizawa gestured. “Go sit. Good. For the rest of you, going back to the Festival, your performances have been reviewed. As you were told in the past, you would receive requests for Experience Week depending on your performances. Here’s who got how many requests.” The gruff woman hit a button on her remote and the board behind her lit up with names and numbers. To everyone’s surprise, the top two spots were filled by Yaoyorozu Momo and Uraraka Ochako, each girl earning several thousand offers. After those two, the numbers dwindled fairly rapidly. Neither Bakugou nor Midoriya were surprised at how each of them earned less than fifty offers. Didn’t matter that they’d earned places in the winner’s circle, they were boys. Of greater surprise…

“Why does Todoroki have so few offers?” Kaminari asked, eyeing Shouko’s 424 offers. “She got second place in the entire thing.”

“Probably because she went overboard with the boys,” Kirishima replied. “I mean, yeah, we all know the boys can take a beating, but I don’t think anyone in the audience knew or cared. They just saw a girl beating the crap out of boys.”

Todoroki, in all honesty, didn’t care what the audience thought. She gave it her all against Bakugou and Midoriya. Anything less would have been insulting, and possibly result in her loss. Her mom might take some offense to her not having the most offers, but Shouko really didn’t care. She didn’t care when her mom reamed her for visiting her father in the hospital over the weekend, she wouldn’t care about this either.

“Shinsou,” Aizawa spoke up, “as you’ve just joined the Course, you’ll be spending the Week here, with us teachers helping you catch up on what the rest of your class has done. For everyone else, spend the rest of homeroom reading your offers, just don’t disturb me.” With that closing remark, Aizawa pulled her sleeping bag out of the same space Izuku keeps his notebooks and went to sleep.

***

When Hitoshi received the official invitation to join Hero Course, he was a mix of excited and nervous. Excited he finally made it, nervous at how things would go after he joined. He knew from Bakugou and Midoriya that things were different compared to his own Gen Ed class, but that nervousness still persisted for a bit. 

Once he actually joined 1-A’s homeroom, however, that nervousness dissolved in an instant. 

Unlike his Gen Ed class, the girls in this class treated him less like a rare exotic (despite his Spirit companion) and more like an actual classmate. After the initial shock of his arrival, no one stared. No one asked if he wanted to sit on their laps. Through most of Homeroom, the only interaction he had was when one of the girls offered candy to munch on, and even then she offered it to everyone around her. As the classes started, everyone was focused on the teacher, not on him nor his fellow male classmates. They all treated him like just another person.

That immediately made this class better than his original.

As Shinsou climbed down from his desk for lunch, he noticed something. While surrounded by the forest of girl’s legs, he noticed the girls immediately around him were all wearing pantyhose. He didn’t remember them wearing that the last time he was around them. Upon further observation, he saw the other girls in the class were also wearing pantyhose. Those who weren’t were instead wearing spats or shorts under their skirts. This was possibly the first time since he started attending UA that he didn’t need to worry about accidentally seeing someone’s unmentionables.

“Hey guys,” Shinsou waved over to the boys as they exited the class, “when did the girls start wearing stuff under their skirts?”

“Oh they started around a week ago,” Ojiro replied.

“The girls noticed Dekiru here would always wear his red hat no matter where he went,” Bakugou continued, “and they didn’t want him to be uncomfy, so they decided to start wearing stuff under their skirts. The only ones who, initially, didn’t were Peppermint and Invisigirl.” Shinsou noticed Izuku’s face turn red. “Peppermint just said she knew Dekiru wasn’t a perv, and so if he saw something she knew it was an accident. But Invisigirl took things one step further.”

“Like, wearing a suit or something?” Shinsou’s question was met with shaking heads from Ojiro and Bakugou, while Midoriya just covered his face with his hands.

“For all of homeroom that day, she wasn’t wearing panties at all,” Ojiro bluntly stated.

“When Midoriya learned that, Speedy Gonzales had to carry him to the nurse. Passed out from excessive nosebleeding.”

“STOP TALKING ABOUT IT!” Izuku shrieked. There was a moment of silence before the other three boys just laughed at his embarrassment.

Yeah, Shinsou was gonna like this class.

***

While the rest of the sheep were eating lunch, the spy for the League was by herself, on the phone with the League. Of course, it didn’t look like she was on the phone. The spy had done a good job convincing people she would mutter to herself, meaning even if someone saw her (or if she was seen on the cameras) they’d just think she was doing her usual thing. 

“...and with the ‘Experience Week’ the Hero Course students are going on,” the spy concluded, “I won’t be able to keep an eye on those 1-A boys with the freaky quirks. Nor do I know where they’ll be going, unless they jabber about it in public.”

“Unfortunate,” Sensei sighed. “However, if you do happen to hear where they’ll go, do inform me. I’ll see if I can send some agents to watch them. Could find an opportunity to…invite them for a talk.”

“And if I get lucky and happen to be in the same area one of them is in?”

“Try to isolate them, of course. Make it look accidental, but try to put them in a place where Kurogiri can whisk them away. I would like to have a talk with one or both of them, make them see just where this society is failing. It would be easy to make them join our side, and it would be quite nice to have more than one agent in UA.”

The spy was glad that Sensei couldn’t see her twitch. While a second agent would make things easier, she did not enjoy the idea of possibly losing her spot as Sensei’s favorite agent. Especially to a boy, of all things. After all, no one would suspect a boy of being a villain. 

“Do you have anything else to report?” Sensei asked after a brief silence.

“Er, um,” the spy recovered, “not really. Things appear to have calmed down after the Festival. I heard another boy was accepted into 1-A, but-”

“Another boy?” Sensei asked. “Hmm, now why would they do that…”

“I looked into him earlier, he seems to be the son of a detective. Maybe they brought him in for some investigative talent. Looks like a freaking insomniac, though.”

“I see. Well, keep an eye on things. Shigaraki is starting to get antsy, so there may be an assignment in the near future.” 

click

“...I wish,” the spy sighed. She was starting to get bored of just quietly trying to spread discord among the students. Initially she had fun whispering little falsehoods here and there, but after only a week it had become clear almost none of the students would fall for them. The few who did listen were inconsequential General Education students. The sort who would be lucky to graduate. 

The spy sighed and decided to eat her lunch. She really hoped Sensei would give her something else to do.

***

It was almost the end of the day. Iida had been reading her packet the entire day. Well, that might not be accurate. She had made her decision on which heroine to spend the week with that morning. She had filled out the required forms, but hadn’t turned them in yet. She needed to make a big decision before turning them in. 

This was a decision that had been eating at her the entire day. A dilemma that formed from what Tenmei told her back in the hospital. What she knew about the Hero Killer… who was a male. That fact right there changed things so much. Most people these days would either not believe that fact, or think that served as a reason to think less of them. However, Iida knew better. And that was why-

The bell rang. Her classmates moved to leave the class. Leave the school. She was running out of time. Desperation drove her to haste, and she made her decision. Rather than head for the door, she turned and approached one of her classmates.

“Midoriya…can we talk?”

***

Fire.

Destruction.

Several city blocks in flames. Heroines fighting monsters. Cries of pain mingled with roars of battle.

And away from it all, in a dark secluded alley, blue faced red.

The man gasped for air as his vision returned. He was in his office, sitting at his desk. The sunset was visible through the window, his clock denoted he had lost mere moments of time. That was better than it had been in the past. The man sighed with relief as he wiped his glasses. He leaned back in his chair and turned to look at his tall, faceless companion.

“That’s an omen if I’ve ever seen one. There goes our quiet week.”

Chapter Text

It had been a bit more than a week since Shinsou joined the Hero Course. To both his surprise and relief, the standard school day was the same as when he was in General Education. The only difference was the last class, which was Foundational Heroics rather than a study hall. That took some adjusting, and sure didn’t leave much free time. Thankfully, his classmates were more than happy to help him pick up the slack, and they did it without any hint of condescension. Though he didn’t like how much Aizawa pushed their class. It was like she was trying to break everyone.

At least he’d be away from her for the next week. 

Class 1-A was currently in the train station, waiting to be dismissed to their respective Work Experiences. The four boys of the class were assembled at the front of the group, somewhat shielding them from the rest of the station. In front of the group stood Aizawa. She glowered at the class (like usual) as she addressed them.

“Remember, when you’re out there, you’re representing our school. Don’t fool around, don’t screw anything up. If I hear you did anything less than perfect behavior, you’re expelled. Now go.” The class separated, all heading for their own trains. The four boys stayed close and looked at each other. 

“Stay safe, everyone,” Izuku stated.

“I think that goes double for you, dekiru,” Bakugou jabbed his shoulder.

“Just promise you’ll duck out if things get too dicey,” Shinsou added.

“I still think you’re crazy,” Ojiro admitted, “but you’re also probably the only one who can pull this off. Good luck.” 

With that, all four boys fist-bumped and split off. Midoriya, Bakugou and Ojiro went to their trains while Shinsou walked back out of the train station with Aizawa. It sucked he was gonna be stuck with Aizawa for the trip back, but he could handle that. 

“Still don’t know why you chose Midnight over me,” Aizawa Shoka groaned to her remaining student. “You’re gonna be in over your head if you go with her.”

“I’ve chosen the second-best heroine for the job,” Shinsou calmly replied. “Would have chosen the best if she weren’t on a difficult case.”

“You mom can’t hold your hand all the time.”

“The fact you said that proves how little you think of me.” Shinsou let the words hang, refusing to speak to his teacher for the rest of the trip.

***

Bakugou grumbled as he got off the train about an hour after leaving UA. The heroine he’d chosen was one that really pissed him off. He honestly wanted to go with someone else, but he promised his mom he’d go with said-aggravating heroine. With any luck, she’d given this heroine a talking-to before he arrived. 

The walk to the agency wasn’t too long, though Katsuki had to scare some girls who wouldn’t stop patting his head. It was like they hadn’t seen a boy before. Thankfully, they fled before he reached the place. Bakugou took one more aggravated breath before stepping inside.

“You’re late, runt,” Mt. Lady smirked from her chair next to the door. Katsuki would never admit to being startled at her sudden voice. Never.

“Then you shoulda chosen a building closer to the station, ya stooge,” Katsuki grumbled. His older cousin just giggled and hopped to her feet before looming over him.

“Say whatever ya want, tiny,” she ruffled his hair. “You’re stuck with me for the week, so try to behave, alright~?” 

“Leggo, you uncultured swine.”

“Make me.” Mt. Lady soon regretted her words. Less than five seconds after they left her mouth, a sudden explosion erupted right in front of her face. It wasn’t strong, but it was enough to knock her flat on her back. “DAFUQ WAS THAT!?”

“I dunno,” Bakugou casually shrugged. “Someone’s throwin’ stuff.”

***

Ochako was surprised at the feeling of a distant explosion, but shrugged it off as her heroic mentor greeted her.

“It’s nice to meet you,” Kanna Woods nodded. “Mind telling me your hero name, lass?”

“Oh, um, I’m Uravity,” the student bowed. “Thanks for accepting me. I hope to learn a lot from you.”

“Hey, no need for formalities,” Kanna laughed. “We’re pretty relaxed around here, for the most part. So, I heard you wanted to learn some more fighting techniques. Well, we’re not as good as, say, Gunhead, but with so many of us in the building you’ll have your pick of the litter.”

“PUT ME THE FUCK DOWN, BITCH!” emanated from the hallway.

“...That sounded like my classmate,” Ochako observed.

“That would be awkward,” Kanna nervously laughed. “Come on, let’s get you sorted out.”

***

A couple hours after departure, Iida Tenten got off the train in Hosu. She looked around, taking in the calm breeze and clear skies. The streets were fairly crowded, though not as much as Musutafu. Iida found her gaze drawn to a nearby alleyway. Was Stain hiding in one this very moment? As much as she wished she could go looking immediately, there was protocol to follow, for now. 

“Do you remember the way to Manual’s agency?” she asked her fellow student. “I am afraid I was…distracted when we were given directions.”

“I wrote it down,” Izuku replied, holding up a notebook. “It’s not too far from here, just a few blocks.” With that, the two students rushed down the street towards the agency. The two earned some stares from the locals. After all, it wasn’t often they saw a teen boy able to run alongside a fairly tall girl (even with the girl simply jogging). A few even recognized Izuku from the Festival, and tried to stop them for a talk but were ignored.

Within a few minutes, the agency was in sight. It was a fairly plain building, looking more like a family-owned shop than a hero agency. The kids kept up the pace until they reached the building, where they both stopped so Izuku could catch his breath. Once he had recovered, Izuku and Iida entered the agency at the same time. The inside looked plain but comfy, thankfully not giving a sterile feel. Izuku took a step towards the desk, but was stopped by Iida. He looked up at her, and she gestured to a nearby wall. Izuku followed her gaze and saw a sign above a pair of chairs.

UA First-Year’s please take a seat, we will be with you momentarily.

“Maybe we got here early?” the boy asked.

“This agency has a theme of acting as a beginner agency for new heroes,” Iida stated. “Maybe this is their attempt at teaching us patience?”

“Who knows?” Izuku shrugged as he walked to the chairs. Iida casually sat down while Izuku hopped into his own seat. The two sat in silence, waiting to be called by the heroine they’d be spending the week with.

***

“How long have we been waiting?” Ojiro asked Hagakure as the two sat in the lobby of an agency in Hokkaido. 

“Around fifteen minutes,” the invisible girl replied. “We definitely got here too early.”

“But if we were early, why’s the door unlocked?”

“Cleaning crew, maybe?” Ojiro just sighed at Hagakure’s answer and leaned back in his chair.

The two had been specifically requested by a heroine neither of them had heard of. A quick rundown from Midoriya, however, enlightened them on the heroine. Her name was officially Frosty the Snow Ninja, but she had at least half a dozen nicknames depending on your opinion of her. She was a heroine with an ice quirk (not unlike their classmate Shouko) with a focus on stealth. Many considered her Edgeshot’s unofficial rival. However, as the two worked in different areas it was hard to really compare them.

“I just hope we don’t have to wait much longer.”

“Oh, stop whining,” a new voice playfully chided.

Both teens shouted in surprise and moved away from the new person, who was suddenly seated next to Ojiro, opposite from Hagakure. The woman was garbed in white, ninja-styled clothes that almost shimmered. Her face was covered, revealing only her pale lavender eyes. Even with her mask, the teens could tell she was smiling.

“G-gonna assume you’re Frosty,” Ojiro declared.

“And you’d be correct,” the heroine giggled as she deftly hopped to her feet. “Sorry for the wait, I had an appointment with a plate of tofu, but here we are! Welcome to my agency! It’s mostly just me, but you might see some others around here over the course of the week! So, ready to begin?”

“Before we do,” the tailed boy slid off his chair, “I have a question. I can understand why you chose my partner here, but why’d you send me a request? I mean, you did ask for me specifically when no other heroine did.” There was a pause before Frosty leaned down a bit.

“Easy,” she smirked through her mask. An instant later her foot was flying right at the boy. Ojiro’s sharp instincts let him jump over the limb moments before impact, and those same instincts led him to respond by spinning his tail at the heroine’s head. She caught his tail, but had to lean back a bit to catch Ojiro’s foot as he spun around to kick her. The two continued for a few more seconds, with Ojiro sending a few more attacks at her before the heroine caught his shoulders, spun him around and swiftly sat him back down in his chair.

“Because you’ve trained to combat taller foes like me,” Frosty icily explained. “Most boys I’ve seen in Hero Courses utilize support gear. You don’t. You use your sheer skill and your tail. I find that to be more impressive than most.” She moved back and went back to smiling. “Aaaanyway, while you’re here I’d like to help teach you both stealth tricks and see if I can grind some more physical moves into your repertoire. Would like to grow old knowing a male hero used stuff I taught him, after all.”

The two teens, while digesting this new info, were also trying to recover from the multiple mood whiplashes they just experienced. They weren’t sure how to handle this heroine’s switching moods, and they hoped this playful mood was her default setting.

“W-we’ll do our best,” Hagakure stammered.

“Aww, don’t be nervous!” Frosty playfully slapped her shoulder. “I just wanted your boyfriend there to learn why I chose him after all!”

…

“B-b–b-boyfriend!?” both teens exclaimed at the same time.

“Oh wow, we’ve upgraded to surround sound.”

***

When Shinsou stepped into Midnight’s actual hero agency (which he was certain was technically UA until last night), he was expecting many things. He was expecting it to have the vibes of an S&M dungeon, or maybe the polar opposite and have shelves covered with plush dolls. He was expecting the PA system to be playing anything from music to more…salacious content. When neither of those happened, and the agency looked more like his mom’s own detective office, he felt relief.

Unfortunately, there was something else he was expecting that did happen.

“OHMAGAWD, HE’S SO CUTE!”

Hitoshi groaned as he casually side-stepped one of Midnight’s sidekicks as she tried to glomp him. He didn’t even look back as he heard the heroine squeak and go sliding across the tile. It appeared some things never changed no matter where you were.

“Oh, sorry about that!” Midnight hollered as she came rushing down the hall to meet him. “I told her not to do that, but I guess Megumi was just overcome by your natural cuteness.”

“I shudder to think what sort of world this would be if my resting face was considered cute,” Shinsou deadpanned.

“You’re a boy, you’re cute by default,” Midnight pointed out. “Plus, that face just makes you look pitiable and in need of comfort.”

“Is that really something a heroine should be saying?”

“I like being honest. Now, I agreed to take you in cuz your mom wants you to expand your horizons, and we can both agree training under Aizawa for this week could be a howling disaster. I know you got that…thingy that the other two boys have, and I’d like to ask you about that in private. For the most part, however, we’ll be spending this week bulking you up.” 

Midnight knelt down and gently poked his arm with her whip as she continued, “You’re skinny as a twig, and your physical assessment is average in every way. We gotta get that to above average as soon as possible, m’kay?”

“I’ll do my best,” Shinsou nodded as he followed her deeper in the agency. He did his best to get this chance, and he wasn’t gonna squander it. 

Unfortunately, if Midnight’s next sidekick was any indication, he’d also be spending this week dodging surprise hugs.

Chapter Text

“Banana?”

“Sure, thanks.” 

The afternoon sun bore down on Shinsou as he caught the arm-sized fruit tossed by Dusk, Midnight’s (thankfully mellow) sidekick. The other two sidekicks had tried glomping him a few times by this point, but the purple-haired sidekick had taken him seriously. Probably helped that she’d seen him trip the other two to deter some glomps (not knowing it had been Ivory pulling him out of the way).

The heroine sat next to Shinsou in the training yard behind the agency. Dusk and Midnight had worked Shinsou to near exhaustion to see just how fit he was. Sadly, he was indeed barely adequate in terms of physical fitness. Shinsou knew the week would only get harder, but he honestly hoped part of his week would include some time filling out paperwork. 

Call him weird, but he liked paperwork.

“We’ll take a short break,” Dusk stated, “then do one more exercise before moving on to mental pursuits.”

“Please don’t tell me you’ll have Dawn or Noona chase me,” Shinsou grumbled through the quirk-enhanced fruit.

“As much fun as that would be to watch, I don’t think Midnight would let us do that.”

“Thank god.”

“Oh hush, you…you…wait, what is your hero name? I ain’t heard you say it yet.” 

“...You ain’t read my file?” Shinsou asked. When the sidekick shook her head, the smaller boy shrugged. “Weird. Anyway, my hero name is Hazy Peregrine.”

“...That’s…a different one…” Dusk tried to say diplomatically, yet failing miserably.

“It’s special,” Shinsou smirked as he glanced over his shoulder to glance at his Spirit. “My ma’s a fox, but I really got a thing for birds.” Dusk nodded in reply before Midnight called for them both. Looked like Shinsou latest round of torture was about to begin.

***

At the same moment Shinsou was praying for a swift death, Bakugou and Uraraka were sparring together. They were in the underground dojo of their chosen agency, supervised by Mt. Lady and Kanna Woods. The two teens had been going at it for over ten minutes before Kanna Woods leaned towards her coworker.

“Gotta ask what they’re feeding these kids,” the wooden heroine muttered. “I ain’t seen that many actual heroines go this long.”

“Oh, this is nothing for ‘Splosion there,” Mt. Lady smirked. “I’ve personally sparred with him in the past. Even before entering UA he could go for a while.”

“...’Splosion?” Kanna asked.

“His hero name. The full thing is Prince Pack-A-Splosion, but he’s fine if we shorten it.”

“The school let him use a name like that?”

“Girl, one of our fellow heroines is literally named Death Arms. His name is nothing.” The conversation would have continued if not for the sudden, high-pitched squeak from their trainees followed by a thud. Both heroines turned to see Uravity on the ground, clutching a bloody nose, while ‘Splosion was doing a victory dance on her chest.

“Hnng! Yeah! Still got it! Take that, ya floaty bitch!”

“Language!” Mt. Lady laughed as she walked over. She picked up the smaller teen (who was still doing his victory dance) while Kanna helped Uraraka to her knees. The girl accepted the cloth the heroine offered, using it to wipe the blood from her nose while Bakugou struggled to get free from Mt. Lady’s grip.

“Once my nose stops bleeding I’m gonna kick your ass,” Ochako muttered through the cloth.

“Then I’d better kick you again to keep it bleeding,” Bakugou snarked back as he kicked the air.

“No more kicking,” Kanna declared. “Once you stop bleeding we’re going on patrol. Short one to start, got it?”

***

Over in Hosu, Izuku and Tenten had joined Manual on a patrol of their own. Some people they passed giggled at the sight, either at Izuku jogging to keep up or the fact it looked like Manual was being followed by a pair of armored robots. Both the students were wearing their hero outfits, though Izuku’s had undergone some minor changes. Instead of just a cap, he now had a full helmet to protect his face. Though Izuku made sure his new helmet still had a cap-like bill with a flashbang attachment. His back was also a bit more bulky than before, but only because his new armor incorporated a few Charge Packs to power itself.

“With Stain on the loose,” Manual explained to her charges, “patrols like this help keep the civilians calm, showing we’re here to keep them safe.”

“Or put targets on our backs for said murderer,” Iida stated.

“That’s pessimistic.” The heroine spun around and walked backwards as she continued, “Part of our patrols today will also be to check in on the different businesses and facilities around Hosu. We had a rash of organized crime in the past, so we wanna make sure everyone is still doing good and not being harassed. And honestly, it’ll be a bit easier today with you, young man.” Izuku stiffened a bit at that.

“First, I have a hero name. Second, why would my presence make it easier? I doubt I look particularly cuddly in full plate armor.” 

“I know, but I honestly think you should try to get a name change. No offense but ‘Heart-and-Soul’ seems a bit…out there for a hero name to me, so others may have difficulty with it. Just a heads up. As for the second reason, one of the businesses on our route is a Gentlemen’s Club.”

“Ah, I have heard of those!” Iida spoke up, hoping to distract Izuku from the comment about his name. “A glimpse into how things were before the rise of quirks! It will be quite interesting to see one!”

“If you know what they are,” Manual laughed, “then you should also know that women aren’t allowed inside, unless there’s an emergency going on. That’s why having…Heart here will be helpful.” Izuku was still cranky about Manual’s disapproval of his name, but kept quiet. He could anonymously post stuff online to vent his annoyance later. After another couple minutes, the trio reached the club in question.

The Ocula Nocturne Gentlemen’s Club was a simple, yet fascinating structure. A brickwork with concrete construction, it was three stories high yet significantly shorter than buildings with similar floors. Just looking at it, Izuku could tell this building was one that had been painstakingly and carefully preserved since before the dawn of quirks over two centuries ago. Even the front door only came up to Iida’s armpit (and that was a form of measurement Izuku prayed he’d never have to use again). 

“It’s before noon,” Manual explained, “so there’s not likely to be too many people inside. Ingenium Mk II and myself will be waiting outside, just call us on the comms if anything happens, alright?” Izuku nodded and walked up the steps to the door. Taking another breath, the hero student stepped inside.

The interior of the building looked just as charmingly rustic as the outside. Despite the title of Gentlemen’s Club, the business was more like a sport’s bar with wooden furniture, televisions displaying different sports events, and a back wall with at least three dozen different vintages. Unlike other sport’s bars, however, everything was built to men’s standards. Men didn’t need to climb a stepstool to sit at the bar, they could play poker with cards that weren’t the size of their torsos, it was indeed a glimpse into how things had been before women outgrew men.

Izuku lifted the visor of his helmet as he tried to walk to the bar without showing his nervousness. There were at least fifteen men in this bar, more than Izuku had seen in the past month, and they were all looking right at him. Fingers crossed they weren’t feeling…antagonistic. Fortunately for Midoriya, he was greeted by a cheerful shout before even reaching the counter.

“That’s Midoriya!” The quite bulky bartender laughed. “Midoriya Izuku! He was the green kid on the pedestal at the end of the UA Sports Festival!” 

That broke the ice for the patrons. Murmurs of curiosity and suspicion turned to excited chatter, and several even rose from their seats to greet Izuku up close. The boy suddenly found himself shaking hands with several men, a few a bit too excitedly. It took a smidge longer than he wanted, but eventually Izuku made it to the bar. When he reached it, the bartender set down a mug in front of him. Izuku eyed the drink suspiciously, and the bartender just laughed.

“Relax, it’s just juice!” the bulky man smiled. “Drink up! On the house!”

“B-but Heroes can’t accept gifts from businesses,” Izuku stated, reciting Hero Law.

“You ain’t a Hero yet, and this isn’t an official gift. It’s hot out there and kids like you need to stay hydrated. Go on!” The man gestured to the drink. Unable to think of any other reasons to refuse, Izuku silently admitted defeat and took a sip from the mug. Yum, apple juice. “So, what brings ya here, kid? Isn’t school in session?”

“Oh, um, I’m out for an…internship with Manual,” Izuku replied. He was unsure just how much he was allowed to explain so he decided to stay vague. “We’re out on patrol, and she likes checking on the different businesses to make sure everything’s alright. She’s been wanting to check on this place for a while, but…”

“But since we’re a Gentlemen’s Club,” the bartender nodded in understanding, “she’s prohibited from entering unless there’s an emergency. It’s nice to know she cares, but we’re doing okay, aren’t we boys!?” The bartender raised his voice for the last few words, and was answered by several men raising their hands or mugs and cheering. He laughed before continuing, “Yeah, there might be a few gangs around here, but they never hassle us. Last group that tried learned what it’s like to have broken tibias. Maybe we-” The phone behind the counter cut off his words, and the bartender immediately picked it up. “Yeah, boss? …You wanna…understood.” He hung up the phone before looking back at Izuku. “Boss wants to talk with you up on the third floor. He says it’s important.”

“O-oh, okay. He’s up those stairs, right? J-just give me a minute.” Izuku quickly rushed back out to update Manual on the situation before heading up the stairs to meet the boss of the establishment. Cobalt was at the ready, behind Izuku’s shoulder, in case things turned hostile. Thankfully there was only one door on the uppermost floor, so Izuku didn’t get lost. He knocked and waited for the boss's response before stepping in. 

The room was brightly lit, with clean white walls in contrast to the dark wood of the Club. Most of the walls had shelves covered in Lady Might paraphernalia, a collection that Izuku had to restrain himself from geeking over. As he walked further in, he soon met the owner of the Club sitting on a couch by the windows. The man was tall, almost 2 meters even, with green hair that bore yellow streaks. His gaze was cold and stern, but not hostile at all. His suit was gray and, curiously, he also wore a red tie with white spots. It honestly looked kinda goofy compared to the rest of the man’s attire. However, none of that shocked Izuku.

What shocked Izuku was the tall, see-through individual standing behind the man. 

The man had a Spirit. There was another Spirit right in front of Izuku. It took a few seconds, but Izuku recognized the Spirit. It was the one who gave him that tiny flashlight after his abduction prior to the Sports Festival. But where was its’ mouth? Maybe it only appeared under certain circumstances? Before Izuku could internally freak over the Spirit any further, the man across from him cleared his throat and gestured to the couch across from him. Izuku quickly sat down, directing Cobalt to float by his side. The man smirked, giving Cobalt a quick glance before turning back to Izuku.

“It is nice to finally meet you,” the man nodded his head. “I am Sasaki Mirai, and this,” he gestured to the faceless man behind him, “is Sightless Omen. May I know the name of yours?”

“C-Cobalt Star,” Izuku replied. “He’s a brawler with claws. Your, um, Omen has precognition powers, right?”

“Correct. I’ve honestly been worried about you for some time, young Midoriya,” Mirai stated. “Omen was…quite frantic to make sure you received that vision. Have you encountered the people in that vision?”

“No, but I’ve kept carrying that penlight everywhere just to be safe.”

“Smart boy. I also felt the need to inform you that Omen had another vision, and due to your armor’s colors I feel it involves you as well.” Izuku straightened up at this. His full attention was on the man’s words. “The vision wasn’t abundantly clear, but I know that tomorrow night there will be a major villain attack in Hosu. A lot of fire and destruction. You will be facing a flash of red. I dunno what that means, but be careful.”

Izuku was tense. A villain attack? Here? And based on what Iida told him, at least he would find Stain. That was all incredible news. Before Izuku could respond, Mirai spoke back up.

“I know you’d have trouble convincing your Heroine mentor about the attack, but I’m sure you’ll think of something. If nothing else, you can inform her that, while this is a Gentlemen’s Club, our basement has a shelter. It’s built to accommodate women, and has an alley access. That should be something.”

“I-I see,” Izuku nodded stiffly. “I’ll pass it on to Manual. Thank you, sir. But, um, before I leave, may I ask a question?”

“Of course.” Rather than respond immediately, Izuku pulled a notebook from behind his back. Mirai’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion. Where did he pull that out of?

“Have you encountered any other Spirits in your life?” Izuku asked, excitement creeping into his words. “And if so, do you know what they could do?”

“Err…” Now it was Mirai’s turn to be caught off guard. With a cough, he replied, “Only two, when I was a child. First was with an old man, and it looked like a small floating turtle. I don’t know what it could do, we only passed each other on the subway one morning. The second one was in high school, a small blue dinosaur…thing. That one was with a man running a sandwich cart. Nothing else since.”

“That’s still amazing to hear,” Izuku smiled as he finished writing in his notebook. “If you encountered them when you were younger, that means these aren’t a recent thing. Maybe they emerged with quirks?”

“...Did you just call me old?”

“Anyway, I’d better get back to my mentor,” Izuku shot to his feet. “Thank you for your time, and please give my thanks to your employee downstairs for the juice.” And with that, Izuku rushed out. Sasaki Mirai leaned back in his chair, sitting in silence. After another minute, he looked up at his Spirit.

“...Do I look old?”