Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Izuku Midoriya most certainly did not expect to wake up to the sound of bloodied coughs and wheezing, but when he opened his eyes, that's exactly what he found himself hearing.

The boy furrowed his brows, sitting up as his skin was tickled by the yellowed blades of grass that sprouted from the dirt beneath.

Definitely not his bed.

Before Izuku could further contemplate the situation, though, the coughs started back up, drawing his attention to the scene behind him.

A man - no more than a few inches taller than Izuku - was struggling to keep himself upright, hand held over a devastating (and incredibly bloody) wound.

The boy froze as he watched the blood blossom and intertwine with his clothes, only to realize that the man looked eerily similar to himself.

"Are... are you okay?" Izuku asked hesitantly.

The man visibly stiffened, eyes widening as his head rose. "It worked...," he whispered breathlessly.

Izuku stepped backwards while the man staggered towards him. "What-"

"Izuku," the man said, struggling to breath as he placed his hand on the boy's shoulder, "I know this is gonna sound crazy, but I'm you, alright? 26 years old - pro hero name 'Deku.'"

The freckled boy's throat became dry. "But that doesn't make any sense..."

The man looked to the side. "Look... I..." He squeezed his eyes shut. "Your name is Izuku Midoriya and you're about 15 years old. You lost against Todoroki in the Sports Festival, but you helped him to use his fire."

Izuku wasn't convinced - though the uncanny resemblance nearly made him reconsider. "A-anyone could know that if they were there," he replied uneasily.

"The reason he refused to use his fire," the man continued, "Was because of his awful relationship with his father, Endeavor."

"That's-"

"You were best friends with Katsuki Bakugou as a child, and his nickname for you was Deku because when you were four years old, you were diagnosed as quirkless. However, you received One For All From All Might, which is how you're a hero now."

Izuku's eyes widened. "You're..."

The man gave a slight smile before covering a cough. "Yes, Izu. Look, I know it's hard to believe, but-"

Before he could continue, he stumbled backwards, eyes wide and breaths heavy. He looked down, wincing as he watched his skin begin to fade. "Shit... It's starting already..."

"What's starting...? Are you okay?!" Izuku panicked.

"I'm...," he bit back a sharp pain, "I'm fine... As long as it worked...," he mumbled.

Izuku furrowed his brows. "Why do you keep saying that...?"

"I don't have much time, Izuku," the man said hesitantly, glancing down at his hands - which were continuously growing transparent - before sighing. "The future... It didn't turn out how we hoped. Everything's in ruins and-" 

"What...?" the boy croaked.

His older counterpart grimaced, fingers twitching. "I... I don't have enough time to explain, but Hatsume will do it for me. Just know that everything you hear about the war, about Shigaraki - about everything... None of it's a lie."

Izuku stiffened. "...The war?"

"The Second Quirk War. Not... a pretty sight," he sighed, a kind of fear swirling behind his eyes. However, he quickly shook the feeling off and took Izuku's hand before dropping a small device in his palm.

"Whatever you do," he said, looking into the younger's eyes, "Do not lose this. You're going to be confused at first, but you're going to need to listen. Izuku, I'm counting on you."
Izuku pulled his hand back, staring at the device breathlessly. "To do wh-"

Before Izuku could finish his sentence, a bright light began encroaching on them.

"Goodbye, Izu...," the man said, breaths shaky. "Don't mess up like me, 'kay?"

"I don-"

And suddenly, the room exploded into a burst of light, causing Izuku to fall to his knees as he panted.

He clutched his chest, eyes darting around wildly as he blinked away the sunspots in his vision. "I..."

"The fuck?!" he heard first, eyes instantly connecting with those of a familiar blonde's.

Aizawa stepped forwards, eyes already narrowed in suspicion. "What's going on...?"

A tall, lanky man stood from the ground, adjusting his glasses. "Hm..."

"M-Mirai?!" All Might sputtered.

The taller man looked towards the blonde, visibly stiffening. "All Might...," he mumbled.

"Alright guys," Kaminari whispered, eyes wide, "What's going on?"

Izuku slowly stood, looking around the room to see several familiar faces - as well as a few unfamiliar ones mixed in.

"He wasn't lying...," Izuku muttered to himself, pressing his hand to his head.

Kirishima, who he now realized was beside him spoke up. "Who wasn't lying?"

Izuku startled. "Ah... Well..."

"Midoriya," Nezu spoke up, eyeing him curiously, "Do you know something?"

The boy stiffened. "I... Not really, but..."

"If you know anything, you need to tell us, problem child," Aizawa sighed.

"Ah... Okay... Uhm..." The boy took in a sharp breath. "I know it sounds super crazy, but I went to sleep last night and then I woke up in a field or something... Uhm... Then a man appeared in my dreams. He looked..." The boy paused for a moment, furrowing his brows. "He looked just like me. He said that he was 26 years old and went by the hero name 'Deku.'" The boy squeezed his eyes shut, trying to calm himself and remember what he had said in the hectic moments.

"He... Uh..." Izuku grimaced, "He said something about a war. About how Shigaraki was going to take over an-"

"Tch," Bakugou rolled his eyes. "Do you know how ridiculous that sounds, Deku?"

Izuku's expression fell. "I know, but-"

"Relax, Midoriya," Nezu said, an ever-present smile on his face. However, he didn't miss the twitch of his whiskers at the mention of the war. "Do you have any proof to validate your claims?"

The boy chewed the inside of his cheek before suddenly remembering the device that his counterpart had given him. "H-here!" he said, unclenching his fist and holding the item towards Nezu.

"And what's this...?" the principal asked curiously.

"I... I don't know," he admitted. "But-"

"Whatever it is, it could be dangerous," Aizawa said. "We shouldn't-"

Before Aizawa could continue, Nezu - who was far too curious for his own good - had pressed the button.

Aizawa blinked before pinching the bridge of his nose with a sigh. "Why do I even bother...?"

"Not to worry, Aizawa," Nezu laughed, "I can already tell it's not dangerous. Besides... You can't admit that you're not at least a bit curious."

A chill went down the spines of the majority of the room.

Before anyone could continue, however, the device began shaking in Nezu's paws, launching itself onto the floor before sprouting legs and beginning to crawl towards the top of the room which - now that he had time to look around - Izuku recognized as a decent-sized auditorium of some sort.

After a few moments, the device secured itself to the floor, emitting a faint, blue light before sputtering to life.

"Hatsume Industries," a robotic voice said as the company's title screen played (though, they could've sworn it wasn't quite the same), only to be followed almost instantly by confused mumbles.

"This is supposed to go here... And... agh... But... Oh!"

"Well this is certainly interesting...," Nezu said, paw on his chin.

Mei Hatsume - who Izuku only now realized was there - stepped forwards with a curious look in her eye. "My father's company..."

"Do you know anything about this, Hatsume?" Power Loader asked.

The girl simply shrugged. "No idea. If I did, though...," she said, a grin spreading across her face, "I'd most certainly improve it."

Power Loader seemed as if he was torn between a shudder and a sigh.

After what seemed like a revelation for... well, somebody, the black swallowing the screen lit up, unblurring itself until it centered on someone's torso.

The camera slowly moved upwards, centering onto a familiar-looking pink haired girl.

Hatsume's eyes widened. "What?!"

Kaminari did a double take. "Isn't that you...?"

"Well it's certainly not my mom," she said, brows furrowed, "Considering the fact that her hair is brown."

"Finally!" she grinned, putting her hands on her hips as the gold flecks in her eyes shined. "Alright, I'm Mei Hatsume," she introduced, sending a confused murmur around the crowd, "And... God I so badly want to say 'and welcome to Disney Channel,' but this really isn't the time."

Kirishima chuckled. "That channel is so old..."

"Eh, I grew up on old shows," Hatsume said with a smile and a shrug.

Shinso raised a brow, which was a bit surprising considering his personality. "I'd call a 300 year old channel a bit more than old.

The girl simply laughed, when Mina suddenly spoke up.

"Wait...," she said with a concerned look, "Why does she look so panicked...? And why isn't it 'really the time?'"

Realizing what she said was more than a little worrying, everyone's eyes turned back towards the screen.

Just as the words left her lips, an explosion sounded outside - likely several kilometers away, but unsettling nonetheless - and she chewed on the inside of her cheek before shaking her head.

"Ah...," Nezu said simply, whiskers twitching.

"Alright so, I think I was finally able to make this work." Eyes trailing downwards, she scanned the area below the camera before snatching up a small disc-shaped object and holding it to the camera. "My most precious baby of all time!"

"Okay, there's no doubt about it," Kaminari said with furrowed brows, gesturing towards the pink-haired girl. "That's definitely you, but..."

Why does she look like an adult?" Jiro finished for him.

"So uh... Things aren't looking so hot right now, so I'll just cut to the chase," she mumbled, frowning as she brought the disc back down. "I... I don't think any of us are gonna make it."

A tension blanketed the room.

"We're... What does she mean...?" Kirishima asked breathlessly.

Izuku squirmed uncomfortably. "That's exactly what Deku said..."

After all eyes left the green-haired boy, they found themselves glued on the screen in the midst of an uncomfortable silence.

After a brief and tense silence, she shook her head and looked up with a smile. "Which is exactly why I created this baby!"

Her eyes flicked back and her shoulders rose at the sound of another, distant explosion (followed by some muffled cursing), but she didn't stop talking. "As you can hear, the world's kinda sorta ending outside. I know it's crazy and whatever, but... Yeah."

Izuku's eyes widened before flicking towards Bakugou, who seemed to have the same idea as him.

"The world's ending?!" Kaminari yelled, panicked.

Aizawa shot him a look. "Calm down. Clearly none of this is happening here, so don't worry so much about it." Though, he'd be lying if he said he wasn't uneasy himself.

She took in a deep breath. "So, at the request of Deku - who, by the way, little Izu," she chuckled, "Is now the number one hero..."

Izuku's cheeks flushed red. "I'm... The what now?!"

All Might's head snapped towards him, his eyes and bright smile filled with pride. Similarly, his classmates cheered him on.

"You go, Midoriya!" Kirishima laughed, patting his back. "That's so manly!"

"There's no way that's true!" Bakugou scoffed. "This video is a total lie!"

Mina smirked, jabbing him playfully with her elbow. "You're just upset because it's not you~"

While the blonde began to swear at the pink girl - who could do nothing but laugh - Izuku couldn't help but feel as if another pair of eyes were on him. And, for the briefest of moments, his eyes flicked back towards Sir Nighteye - who he'd immediately recognized but hadn't had the chance to think about too much - was staring at him with a calculating look in his eye.

However, just as the boy shuddered, the man looked away, eyes returning to the screen and allowing Izuku to let out a breath he hadn't known he was holding.

The woman paused for a moment, grinning as if she had expected the boy's reaction. "Anyways, he asked me to create some sort of time-thingy. I'm not gonna delve too deep into that for lack of much time, but I digress... It sure was hard work creating it, but eventually I got there!" she beamed.

Hatsume grinned, hands on her hips. "Aw yeah! You go, me!"

Power Loader sighed, attempting to soothe his already forming headache. "I should've known you'd make something that alters time."

Nezu smiled curiously, causing the man to further dread the future.

"So, basically, my newest baby allows one person to enter a sort of dreamscape in order to talk to their past selves. I... I didn't have much time to perfect the software or work out all the bugs, so I can't say how long it'll last. Not that it matters, since the only way this even matters is if it works so... Assuming it did!"

"Looks like she inherited your rambling habits," Kaminari laughed, eyes centered on Izuku.

"O-oh! I'm sorry," he said embarrassedly, "I didn't mean to. I just do it sometimes. It's kind of a bad habit I guess. I never thought that somebody else would pick it up because of me... I-"

Bakugou rolled his eyes. "Damn nerd, you're doing it right now."

The freckled boy blushed, allowing an easy chuckle to go around the room. "S-sorry, Kacchan..."

"We're stuck in a pretty shitty future, to put it bluntly. Which is exactly why this was necessary. At the moment, you're in a sort of... pocket space in time I guess? You're all still moving, but in the outside world it's moving so slowly that weeks for you are only a few seconds elsewhere." She laughed lightly, though she fiddled with her thumbs. "Sorry to the space time continuum, but I didn't really know what else to do... Uhm."

Izuku frowned. Even though he hadn't known her for long, he had never seen Hatsume act in such a way before. Even when she was nervous, she wasn't one to show it - instead boasting as much as she could and acting proudly no matter what happened.

"So...," Kaminari said, "We're cut off from the world...?"

Jiro rolled her eyes, though she felt just as nervous. "Nice listening skills, Jamming Whey."

The boy stuck out his tongue, just barely lightening the mood. However, as small as it was, it was still a welcome change from the suffocating tension that had been present in the room beforehand.

"So...," she sucked in a sharp breath, "Shigaraki and his men have taken over the whole of Japan and he's working his way across the continents. Nobody's looking so hot and... Well all that we have left are a handful of survivors and heroes..."

All Might visibly paled, and Izuku couldn't help but notice that Nighteye shot him a glance.

"Shigaraki...?" Sato furrowed his brows. "Isn't that the guy from the USJ...?"

Sero nodded uneasily. "I think so..."

Hatsume sighed, shaking her head. "I really hate all this doom and gloom, but in a way, it's kind of comforting. Like, even though I'm no doubt dead meat, this future won't even exist if all things go well... Which I'm really hoping for, by the way. Let me down and I'll sic past me on you," she chuckled.

Hatsume gave a slight laugh. "I'll be sure to follow through."

Izuku tossed her a grateful smile for not contributing to the awkwardness that had returned before finding himself on the receiving end of her thumbs up.

Suddenly, a loud boom echoed throughout the room she was in, shaking and distorting the camera (only for a moment) as Mei cursed to herself.

"Guess we don't have much time left... So uh... Alright. I'll explain as quickly as I can."

Hatsume pulled up a holographic chart, pointing at the figures. "Basically, I've created a rip in time - I guess - that'll allow Deku to meet his past self. From there, he'll be able to warn him and give him this device. But you already know all that, so onto what'll happen next."

Nezu nodded. "So this is what you meant."

Izuku looked down nervously. "Ah... yeah, I guess." After a moment, he frowned. "I was wondering why he was so hurt... Now I know why..."

Uraraka placed a hand on his shoulder, causing the boy to look over in surprise. "C'mon, Deku. Don't dwell over it." She offered him a small smile - not too much, but still there - and he gladly accepted it.

She cleared her throat, straightening. "Once this message ends, Izuku Midoriya's life will be played out in a sort of show format - collected by harvesting our Deku's memories, in a way - which his classmates and a few others will watch. Now, I know it sounds a bit unnerving given the circumstances..."

Each member of the audience looked between themselves confusedly.

"So like... We're gonna watch Midoriya's life as a TV show...?" Kirishima questioned, brows furrowing.

Hagakure raised her arm - presumably to rub the back of her neck, considering the motions - and spoke with a hesitance in her voice. "It sounds like it..."

While the chatter went on, Izuku, All Might, and Nighteye (though the latter's participation remained unknown to the youngest) shared knowing, uneasy glances.

"But just know that Deku trusts everyone that'll be collected in the room. And... Well it's kind of essential if you don't want to be in this shitshow." She frowned after a moment. "I shouldn't say everyone. I don't think the room has enough capacity or the disc enough power for that."

Shaking her head, Mei sighed at the cursing that seemed as if it was just outside the door by that point - voice sounding eerily similar to Bakugou's - before someone that sounded like Izuku shouted out a move.

Iida blinked. "Wasn't that...?"

"Midoriya and Bakugou," Todoroki nodded slowly.

"Guess time's just about up... Ah... Well, good luck guys. This way, you'll be able to prevent a lot of bad things from happening. Maybe you'll even save people that weren't so lucky in our timeline," she said, lips twisted in such a form that it could be either a sad smile or a grimace.

Nighteye, although not one to show emotions, had to fight the urge to wince as he looked over at All Might even before considering himself.

"So... I'm assuming a good amount of people died, then...," Yaoyorozu said, a crease showing itself in her forehead as her lips curled downwards.

"That's what happens in battles," Aizawa replied, a barely audible hint of sadness in his voice.

Present Mic and Midnight exchanged glances before sighing and reassuring the man with an almost unnoticeable hand on his shoulder which - surprisingly - he didn't bother to shrug off.

Without warning, the loudest explosion yet erupted within the room, followed by an older version of Bakugou being thrown against the wall with a heavy grunt.

"Kacchan!" Izuku shouted with wide eyes.

Bakugou looked on, a breath caught in his throat.

"Bakubro...," Kirishima winced.

"Kacchan!" the older Izuku shouted, panicked, rushing up to his friends.

"Hey, at least we know he didn't change much," Kaminari said, attempting to make a joke. And, although forced, his peers were relieved for his uncanny ability to lighten a mood.

"That bastard...," he mumbled, coughing.

Izuku watched as Bakugou struggled to push himself upwards, eyes flicking in between him and Hatsume. "M-Mei!" he finally shouted, "Is it ready?!"

"The device...," Izuku slowly realized, and Nezu nodded beside him.

Breaking out of her panicked stupor, the woman nodded. "Y-yeah. Just-"

A hollow laugh echoed throughout the hall - causing each person to visibly stiffen.

"Crusty ass is here," Bakugou groaned, peeling himself from the ground.

As the laugh resounded in the hall, nobody could find themselves in the mood to laugh - their blood chilled in a sort of unknowing fear.

"K-kacchan!" Izuku panicked further, "You shouldn't b-"

"Shut up, you damn nerd. It's not like any of this will matter soon..." His eyes slowly made their way towards Mei. "Binoculars over here said her invention was done." He took in a shaky breath - unrecognized by none except the most observant in the theater - before shaking his head. "I'll go distract Fuckhands McMike until your dumb ass can figure everything out."

"Tch," Bakugou simply said, looking away. Though Izuku, who couldn't help but to look at him repeatedly, felt his heart fall as he watched the blonde's attempt at hiding his fear.

Izuku opened his mouth to protest, tears already brimming in his vision. However, before he could even speak, the blonde cut him off.

"God, stop fucking crying," he scowled, though it was clear that he was scared as well. "It's not like I'll be gone forever. Everything will go back to normal or whatever. Now hurry up and go be a damn hero."

Bakugou rolled his eyes. "Looks like you'll never be able to turn off those waterworks."

Izuku stared at him with wide eyes before letting out a slight laugh. "Yeah..."

Kaminari looked between the two before smiling himself. "Damn Bakugou. Never knew you could lighten moods too."

The older blonde's eye twitched. "Just shut up, Sparky."

After a brief and incredibly tense pause (at least in the video), Izuku nodded, walking over to Hatsume and taking the device from her hands. And, just as she showed him how the device worked, Shigaraki burst into the room and a bright light filled the screen - leaving nothing but debris behind.

Everyone in the audience watched in silence as the video faded out - screen swallowed by a disturbing blackness.

"Ah...," Kaminari let out, being the first to break the silence.

Nezu straightened, shaking his head. "Well that was certainly something, wasn't it?"

Aizawa took in a deep breath. "My assumption is that we won't be able to leave until we watch those videos like Hatsume mentioned before."

"I'd agree," Midnight nodded.

Present Mic gave a slight, awkward smile as he looked around the room. "Yeah, doubt we're getting out of here anytime soon considering there are no exits."

"Well then," Nighteye sat down in his chair. "If we're going to be stuck here, we might as well sit down and watch."

The audience turned towards him expectantly before Kaminari spoke up.

"Uh... No offense but... Who are you?"

Nighteye paused for a moment before sighing. "Sir Nighteye. I run a hero agency."

Izuku couldn't help but grin. He knew of the man - there weren't many heroes that he didn't know of - and even had a page for him in his hero notebooks.

Nighteye's eyes briefly flicked towards Midoriya before he looked towards the blonde beside him. "This is Mirio Togata. He's doing an internship with my agency."

"Hello!" the boy grinned. "Nice to meet 'cha! As he said, my name's Mirio Togata - third year!"

"Oh, oh, me next!" a violet-haired girl waved frantically, bouncing up and down. "I'm Nejire Hado! Oh and!" she smiled chipperly, gesturing towards Tamaki. "This is Tamaki Amajiki. Aaaaand...," she looked towards Aizawa expectantly.

The man simply sighed. "They're known as the 'Big 3.' The top 3 students in the U.A. Hero Course."

Izuku's eyes widened. "Woaaah!"

Mirio turned towards him, chuckling. "Hello to you too!"

The boy blushed. "Oh... did I say that out loud...?"

Uraraka covered up a laugh. "Yeah, you did."

Although Izuku wanted to bury his head in the sand for a moment, he quickly shook his head and beamed. "So what are your quirks? They must be pretty strong for you to be the top 3 students, yeah?! Oh and I bet you all know really cool heroes! I mean," he looked to the side, muttering, "Clearly Mirio knows Sir Nighteye, who is clearly a great hero. I'm not sure about the rest of you, I guess. I only assumed. I'm so-"

"He doesn't stop talking," Tamaki said, looking dizzy. "Help..."

Nejire laughed. "You're a fun one, huh? Say," she tilted her head towards the notebook that Izuku himself had only just noticed he was writing in, "What's that?"

The boy looked down. "Huh...? Oh!" he blushed, "Well this is my hero notebook. I take a bunch of notes and stuff about people's quirks and personality and stuff like that. Though," he added, "I've also been writing some notes about villains lately. I-"

Detective Tsukauchi, who he had only just realized was there, turned to look at Aizawa, who interrupted the boy.

"You have information about villains?"

Izuku paused. "Uh... Yes...?"

The man blinked before stepping up to the boy. "Hand it over."

After a brief silence, Izuku nodded frantically and pulled the notebook from his bag, handing it over to Aizawa.

The man brought the notebook close enough to see, finding that it was labelled 'Villain Analysis Vol. 1.' Once he had scanned over the page, he walked over to his seat as Izuku rambled on with Nejire and the other Big 3, flipping through the other pages.

Although Aizawa wasn't one to show emotions, he'd be lying if he said he wasn't impressed.

"What's in there?" Midnight asked curiously.

"Yeah," Present Mic looked over his shoulder, "What's the little listener got?"

Tsukauchi stepped closer, intrigued as well. "Does he have anything worth taking a look at?"

The man blinked. "He's got everything...," he mumbled, voice holding the slightest tinge of awe. "Each villain has at least 3 pages that outline their weaknesses, strengths, all of that."

"Dang," the blonde blinked, unsure of what else to say. "Kid's smart."

"No doubt," Midnight said, brows raised.

"...Midoriya," Tsukauchi said, raising his head as Aizawa closed the book.

The boy looked over, shoulders straight and clearly nervous. "Y-yes, Detective?"

Aizawa raised a brow for the man. "How come you never mentioned this before?"

"O-oh," the boy stammered, "I didn't think it was good enough to show or anything... I mean there's not much so-"

Aizawa deadpanned him. "There are at least 3 pages about every villain in here."

The boy paused. "...Is that a lot?"

Detective Tsukauchi let out a surprised chuckle. "It's more than a lot, kid. If we could use this, it'd be incredible."

Similarly, Aizawa couldn't believe what he was hearing, but Present Mic beat him to a reply.

"Yeah, Little Listener!" he blurted. "Do you know how helpful this could be in taking down villains?!"

Izuku smiled sheepishly. "Uh... I guess I didn't think so..."

Aizawa furrowed his brows, glancing towards Tsukauchi. Why is his self confidence so low...?

Before he could continue roaming his thoughts, Izuku spoke up. "Y-you can use it if you want."

Tsukauchi paused before smiling. "That'd be nice, Midoriya. And if you wouldn't mind, could you come by the station sometime and give a few opinions? I'm sure you'd have a few things to say."

Izuku's eyes widened. "Wh-what? But I'm only 15..."

The man smiled, chuckling. "I'm sure I can get Tsuragame to agree. So," he glanced at the boy, "How about it?"

The boy looked as if he might explode from a mixture of excitement and embarrassment. "O-of course!"

As Tsukauchi laughed, Aizawa spoke up once again. "I agree that you should visit Tsukauchi sometime. However," he said, catching the boy's attention, "I'd like to ask; do you have any of these on heroes?"

While Tsukauchi placed his hand on his mouth, Izuku visibly brightened. "Of course! I have 13 in total! Wait...," he paused, "No I've just started my 14th." He eyed the man curiously. "Why?"

"...Are they as detailed as the ones about villains?" Midnight asked cautiously.

The boy seemed to realize where she was going. "...More..."

"Alright, Midoriya," Aizawa said. "This is an incredibly impressive skill, but I'm going to have to ask you to not write too much down about heroes. If villains got a hold of these notebooks, some problems could certainly arise. So if you must, you'll need to figure out a code of some sort."

"Ah, I agree with your teacher," Tsukauchi nodded. "I'm sure we could figure out something for you so you can continue with your writing, if you need it."

Izuku nodded. "O-of course, Aizawa Sensei! Tsukauchi-San! I'm sorry!"

"Don't apologize, Problem Child," the man sighed. "These are nothing to scoff at. With these, even a quirkless person could take down a villain."

Aizawa didn't miss how the boy stiffened at the word 'quirkless,' but he didn't bother mentioning it. "Y-yes, sir!"

Tsukauchi jumped in once again. "Don't be sorry, Midoriya. Actually," he said, placing his hand on his chin, "If you wouldn't mind, I'd like to have you work with a few heroes to see if you can make improvements in their fighting style, how they work, et cetera. Are you up for that?"

As the man's eyes fell upon Izuku, he felt a his heart flutter. "I...," he blushed, nodding quickly while Tsukauchi smiled (and All Might chuckled proudly). "If you think that I can help, I-I'd be glad to!"

"Hmmm," Nezu laughed, drawing the attention from the other two men. "I'd like to see these for myself, Midoriya, if you don't mind? And if they're worth as much praise as they're receiving - especially from people like Eraserhead and Detective Tsukauchi - I might take you on as a personal student."

Izuku turned red. "Wh-what?!"

The teachers shuddered at the thought, praying for the poor kid. However, he was too caught up in thanking the principal to notice how much trouble he was about to get himself into.

And, of course, he also didn't notice Sir Nighteye eyeing him curiously while All Might looked on with a sort of mixture of hope and pride.

"Alright," Bakugou finally grumbled, breaking the chain of apologies and praise. "Can we just get a goddamn move on with these episodes or whatever? I'm sick of hearing Deku rambling on."

Although Aizawa didn't much appreciate the tone that his student used, he nodded. "Right. Kaminari," he said, noticing that he was the only one still standing, "Go see if the device has some sort of remote."

The boy sighed before trudging up the stairs and bending down to grab some sort of tiny remote with nothing more than a pause button and a volume control.

"Got it!" he said, running down the stairs and tossing it as his teacher before hopping into his seat.

"I'm surprised you didn't fall," Jiro smirked.

Kaminari looked mildly offended, but after a moment he grinned smugly. "Guess you're not always right after all."

And that was the day that Denki Kaminari died.

...At least until the show started.

Chapter Text

After a brief pause in which Aizawa caught the remote and sent a glare towards a sheepish Kaminari, the show began.

The lights seemed to dim by themselves, allowing everyone to settle in (at least semi) comfortably, though the pros knew better than to be completely off guard.

Once the dimming had ceased, the screen brightened and the sound of a sobbing child began to echo throughout the room. Just as the auditorium tensed, Izuku appeared before them in child form, crying and shaking as he stood in front of a fallen child.

"Deku?" Uraraka asked worriedly, "What happened?"

The boy offered a small, sad smile rather than answering with words, causing her to shift uneasily.

"Why are you being so mean? You're making him cry, Kaachan!" the boy yelled out, voice trembling. And, despite the fact that he could barely stand, he shifted into a basic battle stance - no doubt inspired by various media sources - and he took in a deep breath. "If... If you keep hurting him, I'll... I'll uh... I'll stop you myself!"

Kaminari raised a brow. "Kacchan...? Isn't that?"
Kirishima, along with the majority of Class 1A and some faculty, turned towards Bakugou, who simply crossed his arms and looked away with an annoyed huff.

"Bakubro...," the redhead mumbled, though there were no further words about the situation.

The blonde - clearly Bakugou, as they had expected - scoffed while his friends snickered to either side. "You wanna pretend to be a hero?" He raised his palm, allowing explosions to dance about his skin. "You don't stand a chance without a quirk,  Deku ." He tossed the boy a mocking smile before launching towards him, only for the screen to cut to black.

The screen began to brighten once again, revealing a beaten and bruised Midoriya laying on the concrete - clearly only half awake. The sun beamed down on his crippled body, burns riddling his skin as the boy he protected cried and begged for him to get up.

Izuku, however, simply remained still, staring tiredly at the sky.

"Shouta," Hizashi said quietly, gesturing towards his hand.

Aizawa looked down to find that his knuckles were whitening as he gripped the side of his seat, teeth gritted. After a brief moment, he relaxed his hand, but didn't bother to hide his rage otherwise.

Not only did Bakugou use his quirk in public, but he nearly hospitalized a kid!

"Bakugou," he said in a calm voice, though it held an iciness that no one in 1A had heard before. "This is not acceptable behavior from a student, and if you ever dare to pull a stunt like that again, you will not see the light of day - much less the halls of U.A."

The blonde stared at the man with wide eyes before turning, clearly thrown off but refusing to show it. It most certainly didn't help that the majority of the room was looking at him with disgust in their eyes.

All Might, however, looked more pained than anything. He knew that they were childhood friends - that much Midoriya told him. He also knew that they didn't get along much anymore. But...

His heart ached with the thought that his protege had to go through such an ordeal.

"G-guys," Izuku spoke up, "Please. Kacchan's not like that anymore. I'm fine."
All Might turned towards the boy, a slight surprise visible behind his eyes. "Young Midoriya..."

"Little Listener," Hizashi said sternly, "Even if Bakugou has changed, his behavior is still in no way okay. Remember that."
The boy's brows raised by a fraction, bringing about an unsettling feeling to Aizawa.

"He's right, Midoriya," he restated. "You're not alone, alright?"

"Yes. If you're having any troubles, just let the U.A. staff know, and we'll deal with it," Nezu said with a small smile, somehow drinking tea that wasn't even worth asking about.

"Ah... Thank you," the boy nodded, though he still didn't seem entirely convinced - and that most certainly wasn't right.

Still, Aizawa simply sighed, turning towards the screen. He'd be lying if he had said he didn't shoot the occasional glance towards the boy, though.

Here's the sad truth. All men are not created equal. When I was four years old, I learned that some kids have more power than others.

The screen switched to middle-school Izuku, running through the streets.  But that won't hold me back. If anything, it pushes me to do better!

"At least he knows that much," Aizawa sighed, lips barely twitching upwards.

On the other hand, All Might gave a warm smile, enjoying the slight relief that came with the boy's determination.

"You go, Deku," Uraraka smiled, playfully punching the boy in the arm.

"It's amazing how you're so filled with determination," Yaoyorozu laughed, and for some reason, the word 'Megalovania' popped into Kaminari's head.

Izuku blushed slightly. "I've got to have some, yeah?"

Mirio grinned. "Ah, the beauties of youth."

"Who are you?" Nejire snorted, "Maito Gai?"

Tamaki groaned. "Wrong universe."

Sero yelled back annoyedly, causing everyone to grow quiet. "Hey, I only have so much tape!"

He glanced cheerfully at the sky, speeding up to find himself at a villain attack. A shark-man growled, causing a grin to widen on Izuku's face. The screen then became green, displaying Izuku's title card.

Aizawa pinched the bridge of his nose after sighing. "Did you seriously go out looking for trouble?"

Izuku laughed nervously. "Uhh...."

"Hey," Midnight shrugged, giving a slight laugh, "How else would he fill out those villain notebooks?"

The green-haired boy tossed her a smile, receiving a thumbs up in return.

"You know," Hatsume mused, "I could probably use those to make some beautiful babies..."
Ojiro looked nervous. "Uh... babies?"

Power Loader sighed. "It's what she calls her inventions. You'll get used to it."

Iida shuddered at the thought of the Sports Festival. "I remember all too well.."

Tsukauchi laughed. "As for the villain hunting, it's not illegal in any way unless Midoriya actively pursued them in order to stop them." After a moment, he added, "Not that it was safe. - just not illegal."

Aizawa sighed, causing both Tsukauchi and Midoriya to give awkward smiles. "Don't encourage him."

Once again, the screen panned out, revealing that he was located at Tatooin station, in which police were cordoning off the area as the civilians watched on. "Woah!" he marvelled at the villain, "That's one huge supervillain!"

"I wouldn't exactly call him a super villain," Midnight snorted, causing Izuku to blush and laugh nervously.

"Ah well... I guess I hadn't seen much worse in person before." He paused for a moment, a trace of a frown on his lips as the USJ crossed his mind, but he quickly shook it off and returned to his smiley self. "Besides!" he grinned, "Seeing heroes in action is always cool!'

"As one could see from those hero notebooks," Shinso smirked.

"Impressive ones," Aizawa reminded.

"Hey," Hizashi chuckled, "It doesn't change the fact that he's a fanboy."

Izuku blinked, thinking of his room and realized that it'd soon show that his love for heroes could be stronger than they had expected. Ah...

Ending the preview, the intro began to play, music audible throughout the cinema. All Might's figure appeared as Midoriya reached out to him, followed by each of the U.A. students' title cards.

"Nice music," Jiro commented, lip twitching upwards.

"And we're all there!" Sero grinned.

Ojiro gave a slight sigh. "Though not for long... I feel like a side character..."

Kaminari shrugged with a smirk. "I'll take what I can get."

The music slowed down as the screen faded into a rainy day, in which Izuku walked sadly on a bridge. His hero notebooks flashed on screen as he continued walking, looking down in an upset manner.

"What's wrong, Deku?' Uraraka asked with a frown.

Izuku chewed the inside of his cheek, thinking of the events that had transpired so quickly during the time that was being shown. "Ah... It's..." He smiled awkwardly, "You'll see."

She looked on with a twinge of worry, but still nodded before facing the screen.

His red shoes stopped on the screen, a pile of the notebooks falling from the sky, revealing a younger version of Izuku and Bakugou. The boys then switched places, revealing their teen selves, and eventually them fighting in their hero costumes.

"The training," Kaminari sighed. "One of the coolest fights and we never even heard what happened."
"You will now," Izuku pointed out, only realizing how bad that was after he said it.

Bakugou tensed slightly, but everyone was too busy getting excited over seeing all of the fights to care.

Tomura Shigaraki reached out to the screen as All Might clenched his fist, wiping out the villains that were coming for him. A fight with Nomu ensued, with All Might rapidly punching the bird-like creature's chest. Kurogiri appeared for a brief second before Aizawa began taking out more villains, his scarf wildly shooting about the screen.

"The USJ...," Tokoyami commented, a slight darkness in his voice.

"That was...," Aoyama said a bit sadly, "Less than magnifique."
"Agreed," the majority of the class mumbled.

Nejire tilted her head. "Oh yeah, I heard about that. What happened?"

"You'll see," Aizawa replied gruffly, causing a lot of the audience to sigh simultaneously.

"I have a feeling I won't like it...," Tamaki mumbled.

Midoriya ran forwards in his school outfit, Uraraka and several other classmates gliding through the air and showing off their abilities as Izuku's hero costume appeared on his person. He punched forwards, All Might's and his fist switching between each other as the rest of the students flashed on screen, poised for battle. At the end, Class 1A, along with All Might, were shown in front of U.A., looking onwards.

Iida raised a brow. "Is there a reason your fist is switching with All Might's, Midoriya?"

Izuku looked away nervously. "Uhhh..."
"Coincidence?" All Might shrugged awkwardly, causing Nighteye to internally facepalm.

Kaminari narrowed his eyes. "Coincidence?! I think not!"

"I think you should probably stay off Reddit for a few days, Jamming Whey," Jiro rolled her eyes.

The boy feigned being offended. "How could you even suggest such a thing?!"

Jiro blinked as if saying 'You are an idiot. This is exactly why.' without even open her mouth, though Kaminari was no doubt too dense to figure that out.

The intro finished, a blinding light flashed, revealing a hospital. Izuku's voice narrated the event of the first quirk.  The first incident was in Qing Qing city. An extraordinary child was born, who radiated light.  The baby appeared, his father looking on, terrified.

"How... How do you know that?" Sero asked confusedly.

"Quirk studies. It was an extra class," Izuku laughed, rubbing the back of his neck. "Most people didn't take it since they didn't care. But y'know, without a qu- Er..." He paused for a moment, "I... I just wanted to learn as much as I could."

"Impressive," Nezu smiled.

The boy offered a smile of his own. "Not really. I just really like studying quirks so I find out as much as I can."

"As we can see from your notebooks," Jiro mentioned, lips quirked into a smile.

"...Exactly," he replied, giving a slight laugh.

Nezu shook his head. "It's impressive nonetheless. Not many people would bother with the topic. You, however, took the time to learn more. That's impressive in its own right. And," he said, noticing that Izuku was about to speak up, "I won't take any more denial from you."

"Ah...," the boy blushed. "Y-yes, sir..."

Aizawa showed the hint of a frown. His analytical skills are more than impressive, and yet he still lacks an incredible amount of confidence. With his quirk and genius, he should be oozing with arrogance. And yet... The man sighed, shaking his head.

Quickly, many quirk-users appeared on screen, showcasing their abilities.  After that, reports of people with superpowers popped up across the globe. No one knew what was causing these quirks. Before long, the supernatural became the new normal. Dreams were a reality. The world became a superhuman society.

Transitioning from the previous image of Earth, All Might began walking across the screen.  About 80% of the population possesses some uncanny ability. Our streets look like scenes from comic books.  All Might's cape flowed as he stepped into a door emanating light.  As cities swirled with chaos and confusion, a new profession dominated our collective consciousness.

"Hard to believe that not everyone has a quirk now," Kirishima mentioned offhandedly, not noticing the way that Midoriya looked away.

"Nowadays," Tsukauchi said, "The quirkless population mostly consists of the elderly. Quirkless children are quite rare." His eyes flicked towards Midoriya, attempting to send him a soft smile, but he frowned once he realized that the boy wasn't looking.

All Might furrowed his brows in concern, watching the boy until he finally turned. Upon noticing that several people in the room were looking at him in concern, he sat upwards, putting on a strained smile.

Not that it was enough to ease them.

"Do you know somebody that's quirkless or something?" Mina asked out of the blue.

Midoriya sat upwards, eyes wide. "W-what?"

"Every time somebody mentions being quirkless, you look away," she mentioned. "I just assumed you knew someone without a quirk."

The boy stiffened, and Bakugou rolled his eyes. "Yeah. I knew him too," the blonde said, causing Izuku to stare at him in fear. However, much to the freckled boy's surprise, his childhood friend didn't elaborate.

"Do you still know him?" Sero asked curiously.

Hagakure frowned - though it wasn't like anyone could see her - before sighing. "I couldn't imagine being without my quirk..."

Izuku looked away. "Yeah, he's still around. He was always bullied in school, though." he boy felt his throat become dry as he mumbled under his breath. "Even by his only friend."

Bakugou just barely twitched as he heard Izuku's whisper. He was sure nobody else heard it - and that nobody noticed the look in his eyes that somehow showed a lack of emotion.

"Poor kid...," Mina mumbled.

All Might shot the boy a concerned look, heart falling, but his protege didn't bother looking over.

"We apologize for asking, Midoriya," Yaoyorozu smiled kindly. "I'm sure nobody meant any harm by it."
Izuku sighed before putting on a smile. He supposed there was no reason to keep it from anyone at the moment, but he just wanted that freedom a little longer. "Yeah. It's fine."

The shark-man once again appeared on screen, trashing the area. He stood atop an elevated highway, growling as he smashed down fixtures.  It was an age of heroes.

A hero, recognized as Death Arms by a citizen, rushed in, catching a large, steel beam.

"Way to go, Death Arms!"

"Didn't you have your internship with him, Jiro?" Hagakure asked.

Jiro nodded, smiling sheepishly. "Yeah. It was pretty hard to keep up with, though."

Yaoyorozu smiled thoughtfully. "I'm sure you got used to it." Her brows furrowed after a moment, lips pursed. "Mine wasn't exactly the best..."
Ojiro turned his head. "What was wrong with your internship?"

"Well..." She paused before waving her hand, "Maybe you'll see later. In short, I didn't exactly learn all that much..."
Aizawa sighed. "I believe I remember who you interned with. If I'm right, I apologize for that. I would've warned you but I assumed she'd at least be able to put her fame aside for the time being."

"Oh, its fine, sir!" Yaoyorozu replied embarrassedly, "It wasn't all bad. And it wasn't your fault, either!" She smiled, thinking of how her and Kendo were able to support each other, at the very least. "I did manage to make a friend, too."

While Aizawa nodded, Midnight turned towards him. "Who was it?" she questioned quietly.

He gave a simple answer. "Uwabami."

Midnight's expression soured. "Ah."

"Yeah."

"What's wrong with her?" Hizashi asked, brow raised.

Aizawa tossed a glance towards Midnight and shook his head, causing her to roll her eyes and turn towards the blonde. "She's not a bad hero - actually, she's quite adept at her job... That is when she's actually doing it. She just doesn't know the right balance between heroics and her modelling jobs. Not to mention, she's not great with children."
Hizashi nodded after a moment. "I see." Midnight, of course, often did her own modelling, but she, at the very least, knew how to stay on top of her heroics as well.

"The punching hero! I wish I had a quirk that made me super strong!"

An officer's eyes widened as the screen panned to show a hero that resembled a firefighter. "Everyone, please stay back! This area is far too dangerous!"

"Woah, the rescue specialist, Backdraft is here?!" a citizen gushed.

"Oh!" Uraraka beamed. "I love that guy! And," she smiled at the space hero, "Thirteen, of course."
Thirteen blushed under her suit, smiling. "Thank you..."

"Uraraka," she said, laughing awkwardly.

"Yes," Thirteen nodded, mimicking Uraraka's awkward laughter. "Thank you, Uraraka."

"You two are too nervous for your own good," Present Mic chuckled, causing both to blush - though, Thirteen's couldn't be seen from under her suit.

"Ochaco," Tsuyu said after a moment, catching the girl's attention. "Do you particularly like rescue heroes, then?"

Uraraka blinked before registering what the girl said. "Huh? Oh! Yeah," she nodded, smiling. "I think I'm probably gonna go for rescue, so..."

"That would be good for your quirk," Izuku mentioned before resigning himself to mutters. "Like in a destroyed area, you could float away debris, or at least lift it off of people. You could also make people lighter and therefore easier to carry... It could even be used on other heroes so they could get into the wrec-"

"Midoriya," Jiro said, causing the boy's head to snap upwards curiously. She gave a slight laugh at his wide eyes. "You were muttering again."

The boy's eyes slowly widened before he frantically shook his hands. "I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to ramble. Or interrupt anyone. Or-"
"Midoriya, nobody's mad at you," Todoroki said bluntly.

"If anything," Iida smiled, "Your observations are quite interesting."

Izuku blinked as if he couldn't believe what he was hearing. "...Really?"

Mina snorted. "Of course. You can't tell me you never noticed how crazy accurate you are."
"Uh...," the boy paused, brows knitting together. "Not really..."

Aizawa stirred with his last remark, eyes turned towards the boy. Slowly, he noticed that All Might was staring at the boy as well - though with a sort of sad look of understanding in his eyes. The black-haired man furrowed his brows, though just barely. Does he know...? If so, why has he never said anything...?

"Anyways!" Midoriya said out of the blue, not exactly appreciating that all eyes were on him again, "We should probably continue. We don't know how much time we have here and... Yeah."

Hound Dog's (U.A.'s guidance counselor) eyes flicked towards Aizawa, and he knew they were both thinking similarly. After a brief nod, the two turned back towards the screen, waiting for further information.

Another one chimed in, "He'll make sure we're okay!"

"This guy must be pretty desperate to go full-monster in the middle of the city," an onlooker commented, turning towards the man next to him, "You know what happened?"

Sighing, the man responded. "Just some amateur. Stole someone's bag and got himself cornered."

"A quirk like that and he's just a petty thief..."

Izuku pushed past the crowd, hearing another conversation as a man talked on the phone. "I got held up. Another villain! I'm not sure when I'm going to make it into the office."

"It's interesting to see how normalized villain attacks have become," Nezu mentioned, sipping his mysterious endless supply of tea. "Years ago, this would be regarded as something horrifying."

"Well with people like All Might," Kaminari grinned, "People don't really need to worry!" Just as Aizawa was about to sigh, the boy laughed awkwardly. "Though that's not to say they can protect everyone..."
The class shared a collective nod. After all, they were experienced with villains.

"Agh," Tamaki hid himself in his hands. "I think I'd die if I came into contact with villains like that so soon..."

"Don't be like that," Nejire rolled her eyes, punching the boy playfully. "You're strong. You would've done fine."

Mirio offered a smile. "Nejire's right. Though," he admitted, "I wouldn't want to have to go through that either.

Mei began to grin. "I have absolutely no idea what you guys are talking about it, but if this means that I can make more of my precious babies, I'm all for everyone learning more about villains!"

Shinso stared at her blankly. "Did you just say that you want them to be attacked?"

"Of course not," she said, brushing him off. "Just that they should learn, is all."

Though when it came to her 'babies,' nobody could be sure.

A few people looked surprised as fangirls began screaming. "AHH! IT'S KAMUI! WE'RE YOUR BIGGEST FANS!"

The wooden hero rushed towards the shark-man, dodging each of his attacks.

"GET AWAY FROM ME OR I'LL BREAK YOUR NECK!" the shark roared.

Kirishima crossed his arms. "Not manly."
Bakugou rolled his eyes at him. "He's a villain, dumbass."
The redhead paused before brushing him off. "Still. Not manly."

And by that point the blonde felt a headache coming on - courtesy of the entire class - and decided to drop it despite his annoyance.

Izuku made it to the front of the crowd, earning a glance from the man next to him. "Awww, this is gonna be good!" Kamui swung upwards, landing on a steel beam. "It's Kamui Woods! He may be new, but he's making a big name for himself!"

"I see that the inner fanboy never dies," Present Mic chuckled.

Rather than getting embarrassed, Izuku beamed. "Yeah! I used to really love seeing heroes fight!" After a moment, he blinked. "Well, I still do, but with class and everything, I don't have all that much time."

"Well," Mirio grinned, "When you and your class finally get to your internships, you'll be able to train and see some villains in action!"

Nejire beamed. "Oh, yeah, yeah! It's sooo cool! I mean," she said, "It's not cool to see people getting hurt. You have to save them - that's important. But it's still super fulfilling and stuff to help!"

Izuku paused for a moment, glancing towards a stiff Iida, but chose not to say anything. Todoroki tossed him a knowing glance, and the boy's lip twitched. Despite the whole ordeal, they were right. It did feel good to actually help. He shook his head, giving a slight smile. "Yeah."

"One look at that dopey grin and I know what you are," the man next to him began, pointing his finger at Izuku. "A fanboy!"

The boy nervously looked downwards. "Uh... Sorta... Heheh..."

Present Mic raised a brow, smirking as he pointed towards Tsukauchi - who had the book placed under his chair. "'Sort of.'"

Tsukauchi gave a slight chuckle once he realized what was going on, prompting quite a few people to toss knowing smiles towards Midoriya.

Izuku laughed. "I get it, I get it."

Nighteye, unbeknownst to most of the auditorium, sighed. "Izuku Midoriya...," he mumbled, causing Mirio to glance over silently.

Moving from Izuku, the screen switched back to Kamui, who was running up the villain's arm. He launched towards him, stretching out his wooden limb and latching onto the shark's wrist. Swinging upwards and releasing, he found himself atop a nearby surface.

"Assault, robbery, and the illegal use of powers during rush hour traffic!" He raised his hand to his face, dramatically saying, "You are the incarnation of evil!" The hero's arm began to grow, splintering off of the limb.

Aizawa blinked. "You're kidding."

Vlad King sighed, though there was a slight smile present on his face at the sight of Aizawa's absolute annoyance. "Rookies."
"Can't blame him," Cementoss chuckled. "It's not like most new pros come into contact with the worse villains."

Ectoplasm gave a slight nod. "Good thing, too. Wouldn't want new heroes jumping straight into the worst part of the fray before they even have a chance to find their footing."
Nezu smiled. "Well put, Ectoplasm."

"Look, there!" Izuku pointed, "There's his special move!"

The man next to him cupped his mouth, "C'mon tree-man, show us something flashy!"

"I-"
"I swear, Shou," Midnight deadpanned him, "If you were about to say something about flashy-moves being irrational, I will steal your coffee.'

The man narrowed his eyes before grumbling to himself under his breath.

"Eraser does have a point, though," Snipe mentioned. "It's not all about looking cool."
"Though," Vlad King offered, "It can help to bring peace to people's minds. Which is why All Might," he flicked his eyes towards the surprised man, "Is regarded as a symbol."
Cementoss nodded. "You have to find a balance."

Izuku and Kamui began reciting the move in unison. "The preemptive... Binding... Lacquered chain prison!"

"I can't believe you can remember the exact move," Kaminari laughed.

Before Izuku could speak, Kirishima laughed awkwardly. "To be fair, I know the moves of my favorite hero."
"But," Mina mentioned, "Midori's favorite hero is All Might - not Kamui Woods." She raised her brows teasingly towards the boy, causing him to blush, "He's just a fanboy."

And while they were teasing the 'damn nerd,' Bakugou was quiet - and definitely not because he knew a whole lot of hero moves too.

Kamui launched his attack, only to be outshined by a woman kicking the villain down. "CANYON CANNON!"

"I hate her," Midnight grumbled.

The teachers collectively sighed. We know.

Shinso furrowed his brows. "She jumped in just to steal the catch..."
Aizawa rolled his eyes. "Heroes are like that. Fighting for captures like a competition."
"If you're new, it's hard to make it in the business," Midoriya mentioned, further showcasing his hero knowledge. "That's why heroes compete so much."

Shinso paused before taking the information with a nod - though still bitter about how heroes were just competing with each other for the hell of it while he was trying his damn best to even be respected as a human being half the time.

The onlookers stared as she landed, leaving Kamui to stand there awkwardly. Photographers moved to the front, creepily taking pictures of the heroine. "Money shot, money shot."

"...I choose to ignore whatever the hell is going on here," Sero said.

After a moment of silence, a few surprised looks were shot in Mineta's direction

"What?" he asked.

Ojiro stared at him. "We kind of thought you'd say something."
The boy looked away, shivering. "Yeah, not after that hell the demon put me through..."

"Though we will need to talk if it's such a common occurrence that the rest of the class expects this kind of behavior," Aizawa warned, eyes narrowed.

"A-ah!" Mineta gulped. "Y-yes sir..."

"Piece of cake for the world's next hottest hero!" she grinned, turning around. "Hi there everyone, I'm Mt. Lady." She stressed her words out, clearly trying to appear in a certain light. "And you don't have to worry about this bum," she winked, "Anymore."

"Agh," Midnight said sourly, "It's just like her to accept any sort of attention."

"Also," Present Mic scoffed, "That pun was awful!"

Aizawa blinked. "Is that really all you gathered from that?"

"I'm a pun master, Shouta," the blonde said matter-of-factly. "I wouldn't tarnish my name with such an awful one."
Rather than reply, Aizawa simply stared at the man before letting out a long, heavy sigh.

"Guess you're not a fan, then," Mic smirked. "I-"
"If you try to tell me a pun, I will not hesitate to strangle you," the man said, expression and tone unchanging.

Present Mic looked mildly offended and was about to open his mouth to call his bluff, only for Tsukauchi to discreetly lean over and tell the blonde that Aizawa was, in fact, not lying.

And so the cockatoo decided to close his mouth since he quite liked his head attached to his neck, thank you very much.

The photographers continued taking pictures as onlookers cheered, while Izuku rifled through his bag and Kamui looked glum. "Wait... She's getting all the credit?"

Aizawa tossed an unhidden glance towards All Might. "Unfortunately, limelight hero work is a popularity contest.

All Might looked mildly offended. "Hey..."

"Don't worry about it," Midnight laughed, "He teases people he admires and likes the most."
Aizawa growled at her, considering making a threat but deciding against it when he received a glance from Tsukauchi.

Mt. Lady waved, shrinking as Midoriya narrated.  With the rise of superpowers came an explosive increase in criminal activity. While governments were trying to figure out how to reform laws with quirks in mind, courageous people started performing heroic acts to keep our city safe. Protecting us against villains who abused their powers for evil.

The screen showed heroes, along with the bound shark villain.  With overwhelming public support, heroes found an official place as peacekeepers, overseen by the government. Those who performed the best were paid the most and got all the fame and glory. Their careers depended on their ability to stay in the spotlight.

"Yeah - I can't wait to be a hero!" Kirishima beamed before his expression slightly fell. "Too bad my quirk isn't all that flashy..."

Before any teachers could even speak, Izuku was on the case. "No, your quirk is so cool, Kirishima! Like, you can work in both offense and defense. And partnered with a heavy hitter like...," He glanced at his childhood friend, who looked a bit surprised at the mention of his name, "Bakugou or someone similar, you could really do a lot! Plus, with your awesome personality, I'm sure you could be a limelight hero."

"I s-"
"Even if you couldn't be, there's always underground heroics," Izuku continued rambling, "Like what Aizawa-Sensei does. They aren't super well-known, of course, but they can get around a lot more. They can even choose their hours. That comes with the disadvantage of an unreliable pay, though... Really it dep-"

"Midoriya," Kirishima laughed, causing the boy to smile sheepishly.

"Sorry... I got a little carried away."

The boy grinned, shaking his head. "Nah. It's pretty manly of you to jump into helping me so quickly like that. And you're right - I can just be a little hard on myself sometimes." His eyes flickered with a sort of reawakening sadness, but before Izuku could comment, his expression morphed back into a happy one. "Thanks, man!"

"Ah...," Izuku paused before offering a smile. "Thanks to you, too. I'm glad I could help!"

"A true hero," Uraraka mused teasingly, causing the boy to laugh.

All Might gave an amused smile towards the interaction. At least he's more confident now. And..., he paused for a moment, a fatherly aura about him. They're right, Young Midoriya. You really are a true hero.

And after all Nighteye complained about the boy, he had to admit - watching somebody's show really made you want to root for them.

...Though he wouldn't tell anybody that.

Izuku examined the crack left by the woman's landing. "Gigantification," he mumbled to himself, writing in his book, "She's definitely got the looks and attitude to be a crowd favorite, and her quirk is really showy, but it'll be kinda hard for her to get around in the city without damaging lots of things. That means... She might not be very useful."

"Blunt but perceptive," Nezu chuckled.

"Ahh, I didn't mean any harm!" Izuku panicked. "I ju-"

Aizawa stared at the boy, lips in a straight line. "We know, Midoriya."
"Yeah, you're too much of a cinnamon roll," Mina shrugged.

"Though," Uraraka shivered, "If you were a sinnamon roll and you had all that information about us, I'd think twice about making you angry."

Izuku turned red. "Wh-what?!"

"Yeah," Kirishima said offhandedly, "If you were a villain we'd probably all lose."
"Why are yo-"

"Or maybe," Hagakure offered, "He'd get a million redemptions because his heart is good and a certain author can't commit."
"Wait a m-"

"GOD DAMN IT!" Sero shouted, pulling some tape from his elbow. "I thought we were done with this..."

"What's that, fanboy?" the man from earlier addressed him, "You takin' notes over there? Wanna be a hero too, huh?"

Izuku turned around, a large smile on his face as he cheeks tinted pink. "Yes! More than anything!"

Mina dramatically sunk into her chair, grasping at the air. "Too... pure..."

"Yeah, Deku," Uraraka laughed, "It's so amazing how determined you are."
Kirishima nodded, grinning. "Super manly."

Izuku blushed, resembling a tomato more than a human. "I-uh... Ah..."

While laughter was passed around - courtesy of his happy stuttering - Shinso just barely lowered his head, lips pressed into a thin line. Midoriya did work hard. But he was handed such a powerful quirk - no doubt giving him the confidence he needed. Yet... He glanced at the blushing boy. He's somehow not an arrogant bastard - and from what I've seen, there's no way he's faking it.

So... What exactly is going on here?

"So," the teacher said, the screen now centered on Izuku's classroom. "As third year students, it's time to start thinking seriously about your futures and what you want to do with your lives! I could pass out some career aptitude tests, but..." The screen switched from Izuku writing to the man snatching up papers, throwing them upwards and sending them flying around the room. Students began to activate their quirks, wide grins on their faces. "Why bother? I know you all want to go to the hero track!"

"W-what?!" Iida sputtered, "How unprofessional!"

Cementoss frowned. "It's nice to dream, and I hate to say it, but with those quirks, those kids would have to be really lucky to get into a hero school."

"And considering how confident they all seem - and taking into account the fact that it looks like they've not trained at all," Midnight tapped her nails on her opposite arm, "They couldn't even get in with basic strength."

Aizawa agreed. "His words were entirely illogical."

Izuku, much to the confusion of those who looked on, seemed completely bewildered by their teacher's words. His mind raced with thoughts - and not only at the unprofessional comment. Of course he knew that. Of course he knew the teacher was being a bit negligent.

But he hadn't expected the teachers to say it outright. For them to say that his classmates' quirks couldn't help them get into U.A. He had spent almost his entire life believing that, just because he didn't have a quirk, he couldn't be a hero.

And then Midnight mentioned training. Implying that, if they were to rely on their physical strength - if it were finely tuned - they'd still be able to be a hero.

So if he remained quirkless...

If he had never received One For All...

Could he still be a hero?

"Uh, Deku?" Uraraka said, snapping him from his thoughts. "Are you alright?"

"H-huh...?" the boy said shakily before noticing everyone was staring at him. Awkwardly, he put on a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. "Oh yeah... I'm uhm... I'm fine."

Tsukauchi frowned, glancing towards All Might and shaking his head.

Aizawa recognized the nonverbal cue - it meant that Midoriya was lying.

"Midoriya," Aizawa said suddenly, causing the boy's head to snap towards the man. "You can talk to us if you need something."
The boy paled. "N-no, Aizawa-Sensei! Really," he said, though it felt more like he was pleading. "I'm okay!"

"W-"

"Just leave the damn nerd alone," Bakugou scoffed, rolling his eyes. "He's just a moody dumbass."

Aizawa frowned at the blonde's response, which seemed to make Midoriya look even meeker than before.

"It's not like he's worth much anyways," he mumbled under his breath.

Now that was not okay.

"Excuse me?" Aizawa said, catching the words despite the murmurs that were going around the room.

"What?" the blonde challenged.

"I'm not going to sugarcoat it, Bakugou," the man snapped back, eyes narrowed, "You're far from hero material at the moment. You're just an arrogant kid who got lucky. And unless you can drop your fucking attitude, you might as well pack up now. Are. We. Clear?"

Bakugou's lip twitched, and he turned around, scoffing.

Izuku looked between the two, panicking. "K-Kacchan?! Aizawa-Sensei?!"

The blonde glared at the freckled boy. "Shut up, yo-"

"BAKUGOU!" Aizawa shouted, causing everyone to collectively suck in a breath. He didn't often raise his voice, and when he did, you knew better than to argue further.

"Aizawa-Sensei!" Izuku pleaded, noticing the tension, "It's fine, really! I'm used to it!" He paused for a moment, the realization of what he said slowly dawning on him. "I-I mean..."

Aizawa's eye twitched. "You're used to this...?"

The boy remained quiet.

And, as much as Aizawa wanted to chuck the blonde out the window, he restrained himself, instead taking a deep breath and turning towards Hound Dog. "I'm recommending Bakugou for anger management classes.

The guidance counselor took notice of the man's fiery look and simply nodded.

After a moment - which seemed like an hour with the suffocating tension - Aizawa sat down, causing the auditorium to let out sighs of relief.

"Christ, Shou," Present Mic whispered wide-eyed, "What did he do?!"

Aizawa took in a deep, annoyed breath and spoke through gritted teeth. "I'll tell you later."

Present Mic's gaze lingered for a moment before he and Midnight exchanged concerned glances. However, once Aizawa showed that he wasn't going to explain, the two decided it was best to drop it.

The classroom cheered, showcasing their abilities. "Yes, yes," the teacher continued, "You've all got some very impressive quirks. But no power-usage allowed at school. Get ahold of yourselves."

"Hey teach," a voice chimed in, "Don't lump me in with this bunch of losers. I'm the real deal, but these guys will be lucky to end up as sidekicks to some busted D-Lister." The boy chuckled, a card revealing him as Katsuki Bakugou.

Aizawa looked like he was about to burst a vein, so Kaminari attempted to lighten the mood.

"Uhh...," he said with a nervous smile, "It uh..." He slumped down. "Yeah I've got nothing."

"Doofus," Jiro lightly chuckled, leaving Kaminari grateful as shoulders around them slightly relaxed despite the insult.

"You think you're better than us, Katsuki?!" the class raged, earning a laugh from the blonde.

"Let's go, I'll take you all on!"

"Huh... You've got impressive test results," the teacher mentioned, "Maybe you will get into U.A. High."

Whispers erupted throughout the classroom, surprised at his choice. "Wait? He's gonna try for the national school?" "That school has a .2% acceptance rate!" "It's impossible to get into!"

Iida, attempting to further reduce the tension in the room - despite his rage towards Bakugou, which was quite uncharacteristic and frankly a bit terrifying - and stood, deciding to hold a spontaneous pep talk. "The rate may be true, which is why you should all commend yourselves for even making it into U.A. We are all...," he paused for a moment, gaze lingering on some unsavory characters before shaking his head. "We are all exemplary students and we should all feel proud!"

Everyone held their breath as they turned their head towards Izuku, only to let out huge sighs of relief when the boy cracked a smile.

"I guess you're right, Iida."

"Y-yeah!" Kirishima said awkwardly before pumping himself up. "Even if we mess up sometimes, we already know we're all strong!"

"Exactly," Nezu said, smiling - and even he was on edge before.

"That's exactly why it's the only place worthy of me," Bakugou said arrogantly, leaping onto his desk. "I aced all the mock tests. I'm the only one at this school who stands a chance at getting in. I'll end up more popular than All Might himself!" He clenched his fist, grinning. "And be the richest hero of all time! People all across the world will know who I am! And it all starts with U.A. High!"

"Oh yeah, Midoriya, don't you wanna go to U.A. too?" The teacher asked, causing laughter to ring throughout the classroom.

"Midoriya? You're kidding right?! There's no way you're getting into the hero course without a quirk!"

Izuku squirmed uncomfortably while eyes drifted towards him.

"That was incredibly unprofessional of the teacher," Cementoss said.

"Yeah," Snipe agreed, "Who just calls out a kid like that? It's like he wanted Midoriya to get bullied."

All Might's eyes widened when he watched Izuku stiffen. "Young Midoriya... They didn't, did they...?"
"What?" he squeaked.

Aizawa narrowed his eyes. "Midoriya... What have your teachers ever done about you getting bullied?"

"They-"

"Remember," Tsukauchi said, expression solemn, "I have a lie detecting quirk.

It was almost as if Izuku deflated. "They...," he sighed, burying his heads in his hands. "They didn't care. They didn't want to ruin their prized pupils' spotless records." Nobody mentioned how Bakugou looked away, instead continuing to watch Izuku. "Actually," he laughed drily, "They did more than condone it. They didn't care what happened to a quirkless child. After all, who would defend him - especially when others can get away scot-free."

"That's i-" All Might began, only stopping when he saw the expression on Nezu's face.

He was smiling - just as he normally did - but it had something twisted lying underneath.

"Ah, I see," he said, sipping his tea. "Well I sure hope they've got themselves some good lawyers."

Izuku froze. "Wh-what?"
Nezu simply grinned. "What was your old school's name again?"
The boy gulped. "...A-Aldera Middle School..."

"Wonderful!" The bear-mouse-creature clapped his paws together after setting his tea in his lap. "Tsukauchi-San! I believe you'd be able to collect evidence for our... case?"

Tsukauchi paused for a moment, looking a bit nervous, but nodded. "Ah... Uh, yes. Of course."

"Alright then," Nezu smiled, tail twitching. "As long as you provide your statement and if Tsukauchi-San and I can collect a good amount of evidence - which I'm sure we'll be able to - Aldera will be going down in a few days. That is," he mentioned, "When we get out of here."
Izuku blinked. "...What... What just happened...?"

Midnight shuddered. "We call it 'The Power of the Principal."

"When Nezu is dead-set on something," Cementoss said, nodding solemnly, "He'll never let it go."
Aizawa shrugged. "Not that they deserve mercy."
Izuku gulped. "I... see."

"Now then!" Nezu said cheerfully, dropping his deadly aura - and allowing everyone to let out a breath they hadn't known they were holding - and facing the screen. "Let's continue!"

He stood up, trembling. "Well, actually... They got rid of that rule! I could be the first one!"

Bakugou growled, exploding Midoriya's desk. Smoke rose from his hands as he talked down to Izuku. "Listen, Deku! You're even worse than the rest of these rejects, you quirkless wannabe! You really think they'd let someone like you in when they could have someone like me?!"

Kirishima looked away. "Baku...gou... That's not manly..."

The blonde winced at the lack of the nickname, feeling unusually small in the room.

After a moment, Aizawa spoke. "Bakugou... Do you have anything to say?"

Bakugou froze before turning. "No."

"Please," Izuku said, biting his lip. "Just leave Kacchan alone. He's not the same, I swear. He...," the boy gulped, "He's better now..."

The blonde stared at the freckled boy for a moment as if he were trying to read his mind. His brows slowly drew together in something like contempt, causing the boy to wince.

"Somehow," their homeroom teacher growled out, "I have a feeling that this'll get worse. We'll speak then," he said sharply, causing Bakugou to twitch.

All Might frowned, looking between Midoriya and Bakugou. He had always known they had a rivalry, but he thought it was just that. Clearly he didn't ask enough. And he couldn't help but feel as if he was to blame.

Especially after...

Izuku gasped, squirming until he reached the wall. He threw his hands up, blocking. "Huh?! No wait! You've got it all wrong! Really, I'm not trying to compete against you! You gotta believe me!" He looked down sadly, a dreamy look in his eye. "It's just that... I've wanted to be a hero since I was little. I may not have a quirk, but I can still try my hardest... Can't I?"

Uraraka lightly touched Izuku's arm. "Of course you can, Deku," she said softly, offering a smile. The boy glanced at her before nodding, giving a small smile of his own.

"You'd never be able to hang with the best of the best!" Bakugou growled, the class perceived as shadowlike creatures. "You'd die in the exams! Defenseless Izuku! The school's already awful. You really wanna embarrass it more by failing so hard?!" Laughter continued as class ended, the students filing out as Midoriya looked downwards sadly.

"Bakugou!" Iida turned around, a sort of fire in his eye that wasn't usually there. "That is not how you treat your classmates!"

"Whatever, four eyes," Bakugou mumbled, eye twitching. He didn't fucking understand. Why were all of the extras ganging up on him? Deku was the worthless one. That's what everyone always said. Being quirkless was being disgusting. Less than human.

To be something, you had to be strong.

You had to be the best or nothing at all.

Wasn't that how it worked?

A high-pitched scream sounded as the time leapt forwards.

"Hey, get back here!" A man shouted, the screen panning to a villain made of sludge. "Someone, stop that monster!"

"Yell all you want, sucker!" the monster mocked, "This catch is mine!"

A sickly man walked out from a market, a grocery bag in hand as people started whispering amongst themselves.

Several of the teachers stiffened, glancing between each other. They knew who he was, obviously. But the students...

"Dude, where are all the heroes?"

"Weird... Normally someone would swoop in right away."

"Maybe they're all still busy from that scene this morning. 'Member when we didn't have to worry about randos with quirks all the time?

"Seriously-there's no stopping 'em."

The sickly man began to grow in size, his voice deep as he spoke. "Yes there is," he drew everyone's attention, "You know why?" The people gasped, the sludge monster panicking as he saw the man. "I AM HERE!"

Kirishima furrowed his brows. "Wait... what?"

"All Might?" Kaminari said confusedly.

Tsuyu put her finger to her chin. "What happened to the guy that was there before? Ribbit."

"I...," All Might laughed awkwardly. "You'll see."

After a moment, the class - along with the Big 3, Shinso, and Mei - exchanged concerned glances before turning towards the screen.

The screen switched to Midoriya, scrolling through his phone. "Man. That fight from this morning is all over the news. Better write some notes down before I forget anything." He picked up his notebook, but it was quickly snatched from his grasp.

Midoriya glanced up to see Bakugou holding his notebook, a (derpy) scowl on his face. "I don't know what you think you're doin', Deku," he waved the book back and forth, "But we're not done."

"Christ," Aizawa groaned.

"Bakugou," Mina said annoyedly, "You need to stop picking on Midori!"

"It's kinda too late for that now," Jiro mumbled. "But yeah, seriously. It's not cool."

Bakugou's hands clenched.

"Whatchu got? His diary?" his friend joked as he glanced at the cover, "Huh? Don't tell me you're taking notes on how to be a hero! That's so pathetic!"

His other friend laughed, "He's delusional!"

"Aaaand," Kaminari said, unimpressed, "They're even worse."

"Yeah, real funny guys," Izuku reached for his book, "Just give it back!"

Bakugou activated his quirk, pressing against the pages. The book now singed, Bakugou tossed it out the window.

"AHH! That's so mean..." Midoriya mumbled, screaming even more when Bakugou threw it.

Aizawa tossed a glare towards the blonde. "More than mean."

"Bakubro...," Kirishima mumbled sadly.

The boy pressed his back further into the chair as their eyes bore into his soul. He took in a deep breath, bracing himself for the words he spoke only a few moments later.

Bakugou closed his eyes. "Hm. Most heroes show potential early on. People just look at them and know they're destined for greatness," he bragged, "When I'm the only student from this garbage junior high to get into U.A., people will start talkin' about me like that. They'll realize I'm legit, the next big thing. That's not ego talking, I just know I'm good."

His friend looked back.  Egooooo.

"Definitely," Mina snorted.

Bakugou simply growled.

"Midoriya," Iida smiled, turning towards the boy, "Congratulations on getting in as well!"

"Yeah, Deku!" Uraraka nodded, punching him in the arm playfully.

Izuku smiled back, but his stomach churned as he realized what was coming next.

Bakugou placed his hand on Midoriya's shoulder, smoke coming from the cloth. "Here's a little word of advice, nerd," he gave a false smile as Izuku looked nervously at his smoking jacket, "Don't even think of applying. Or else."

"Are you fucking...," Aizawa took in a deep breath. "Kidding me..."

Iida shot him a look. "Quirk use in public is prohibited, Bakugou! Especially if you use it on a fellow student! What if he got hurt?!"

Izuku decided not to mention that he did get a burn there.

"Bakugou Katsuki, was it?" Tsukauchi said, voice cold - which was quite a change from his usual warm smile.

"What about it?" the blonde replied. It would've sounded sarcastic if he didn't seem so defeated.

"Not only have you been shown using your quirk several times in public without a license, but you've also used it against another student. That'd be grounds enough to have you arrested as an adult, where you'd likely be considered as a villain," he said in his all-too-sweet smile.

Bakugou blinked, looking around the room at the annoyed faces that were pointed towards him. And, although he was confused, he knew better than to argue, instead choosing to give the slightest of nods and sink into his chair.

Midoriya stared at him, shaking as they left.

"That's just sad," Bakugou's friend commented, "I thought you at least had some fight in you."

"He finally gets it. He'll never be a hero," the other one replied. "Better to find out now instead of later, I guess."

"Midoriya?" Aizawa said, noticing that Izuku was fidgeting even more than usual. "Are you okay?"

Bakugou, similarly, stiffened, causing the man's jaw to tense.

"What's about to happen?"

"N-nothing special," Izuku said, looking away. Bakugou could only sit in silence.

Bakugou stopped at the door, looking back at Midoriya. "You know, if you really wanna be a hero that badly, there might actually be another way. Just pray that you'll be born with a quirk in your next life," he laughed, "And take a swan dive off the roof of the building!"

"Nothing. Fucking. Special," Aizawa all but growled out.

Other than that, though, the theater was entirely silent. Not even a breath was heard - everyone frozen in a sort of dumbstruck state of 'Did he really just say that?'

Iida was the first to turn around. "DID YOU JUST ENCOURAGE SUICIDE?!" he shouted. "BAKUGOU, WHAT THE ACTUAL HELL!?!"

Now, Iida was not one to swear for no reason, so Bakugou could do nothing but shrink further.

"...Guys," Izuku spoke up, voice no more than a whisper as he trembled, "It's fine... He didn't mean..." He squeezed his eyes shut, trailing off.

"Young Midoriya," All Might said, fists clenched in anger. "This is not fine. I...," he loosened his grip. "I'm sorry. If I had known what you were going through..."

"Bakugou," Aizawa finally said in a sharp voice, causing the boy to stiffend. "What the fuck were you thinking? I should expel your ass right now. Give me one goddamn reason not to."
"I-"
Before the boy could even begin to defend himself, Present Mic jumped in. "What if he had actually jumped, Bakugou? What would you have done then?" he asked, a coldness in his voice that sounded out of place.

"You can not just go around telling people to off themselves," Midnight said, eyes narrowed.

"Y-"

Gritting his teeth, Bakugou stood up, clearly trembling as he shouted over the teacher's voices. "IT'S NOT LIKE THAT LOSER WOULD'VE DONE IT ANYWAYS! HE'S TOO GODDAMN PERSISTE-"

"Yes I would have," Izuku whispered, tears rolling down his cheeks.

Bakugou stared at the boy, hands immediately falling to his sides. He'd never felt so small. "...What?"

The boy looked around at the horrified looks of everyone in the auditorium, face reddening before he looked down. "Just forge-"

"Midoriya," Aizawa said, voice still holding anger, but somehow incorporating a touch of softness towards the boy. "What do you mean?"

"I...," he looked away. "I was going to jump, okay? If...," he let out a rattly breath, "If I hadn't been interrupted on my walk (he thought it best not to mention what by at the moment), I probably would've. If my mom wouldn't have seen, I probably would have. If...," he trailed off, leaving everyone to sit in the remaining silence.

"...Deku," Uraraka finally said softly, "I'm... I'm sorry for everything you had to go through."

"Nobody should have to go through that alone," Iida said sadly. "You're..."

Even somebody as calm as Todoroki looked enraged. He had a cold glare aimed towards Bakugou, only to turn around and stare at Izuku and look almost heartbroken. He thought the boy had been infallible - unable to be brought down by the world.

Yet...

"That's...," Bakugou whispered, brows knitting together in confusion. "You..." He paused after a moment, collecting his thoughts. "But you're not supposed to get fucking sad. You're supposed to be a bright, smiley little loser who won't quit no matter how much I tell him to." His voice cracked as he spoke, and it seemed as if his world view was falling apart. "This makes no goddamn sense."

"People aren't like that, Bakugou," Aizawa said sharply, though there was an underlying concern - not only for Izuku, but for the blonde as well. "Everyone has thoughts and feelings. You can't expect them not to."
"I just...," he clenched his fists a few times before allowing his hands to fall limp. "I don't get it."

Midnight spoke up. "You don't get what?"
"Why...," he growled, "Why are you defending him?! Nobody has ever done that before! They all knew how worthless Deku was! How strong... I was..."

Tsukauchi furrowed his brows. "What do you mean...?"

"Everybody fucking knows!" he finally yelled, tears welled up in his eyes. "If you're not the best, you're a worthless piece of shit! And Deku...," he looked down, "He's worse. Because no matter how much the world was against him, he wouldn't stop fucking smiling. And," he gritted his teeth, "Always looking down on me with tha-"

Aizawa interrupted the boy. "Looking down on you?"

The blonde took in a deep breath before turning towards the man, throat raw from yelling. "Deku's a quirkless freak but he still looks down on me! He's a shitty nerd that can't do anything - and yet he's always there. Offering to help even if you don't fucking need it. Even though I- you're stronger than him, he still thinks he's better!"

The room remained silent.

"Bakugou...," Iida said slowly. "You're wrong."
The blonde's eye twitched as he wiped the tears from his face. "What?!"

"Deku doesn't help people to look down on them," Uraraka said firmly, "He does it because he's a hero."

"And even if Midori were still quirkless," Mina added, "He would have a better heart than most of us."
Shoji nodde. "I'm sure he still would've found another way to help out."
"Guys," Izuku whispered, voice cracking.

Bakugou stared wordlessly as Izuku, for some reason, began crying.

Hound Dog cleared his throat. "Bakugou, I think I understand your issue."
The blonde paused for a moment before turning. "I-what?"
"You've been told all your life that you're the strongest - that your quirk will allow you to be the best, correct?" he asked, though he didn't wait for Bakugou's nod. "And from that, you assumed that if you weren't the best, you were nothing. There's no in between. But it's not all black and white like that," Hound Dog said firmly. "People can be strong or weak without being the best or worst. Hell, they can even switch in between depending on the situation. It's not a static concept."

Bakugou furrowed his brows. "...Huh?"

Hound Dog paused before sighing. "If it's alright, I'd like to take Bakugou to the side for a moment."

The blonde found himself confusedly following the man to the corner after a resounding nod from the teachers, hands in his pockets as he looked away annoyedly. "What's this about?"
"I'm gonna be blunt, kid," Hound Dog said, "There's no doubt that your complex stems from your insecurities."
"...What?" Bakugou growled out, eye twitching.

"Exactly," the man said, unfazed. "You get defensive when it comes to your pride. You're worried that, if you're not the best, you'll be the worst. But you can't be the worst, because 'Deku' is the worst, and you don't want to be like them." He paused for a moment before continuing. "You don't want to be like Midoriya. You're afraid of being ridiculed and hated because people think you're weak. So you overcompensate. You constantly tell yourself that you're strong - and need other people to tell you as well - so you don't feel inferior."

Bakugou stared at the man silently. Was he... right?

"Look, kid," Hound Dog shook his head, "I know you probably thought you were in the right. Nobody ever told you that you were wrong, so you never bothered fixing your actions. The best heroes aren't ever wrong, right? Well," he said, "That's wrong in and of itself. Heroes can be wrong sometimes. Heroes can be weak sometimes. Even someone like All Might himself has weaknesses. And no matter how strong you become, you'll have them too."

"I..."
"You don't have to talk about it right now. I'm just telling you for your own good. Kid, there's not such a black and white world that pits best against worst. There's a balance. And even if you are the best," he said, gesturing towards Izuku, "You should protect who you think are weak. Because that's the job of a hero."

Bakugou looked down at his feet, unsure of what to say. He was ready to write the whole ridiculous situation off as a bunch of losers looking down on him.

But he was told that he was wrong. That they weren't looking down at him - they were genuinely trying to help.

He couldn't process it - not entirely. He was supposed to be strong. Not worthless like Deku. He didn't need help.

But now he just felt stupid.

Everyone had defended the person that he was told was useless all his life - and he had even beaten him before.

And although he hated to admit it, they were all right. He was fucking insecure. He didn't know what to do if he was perceived as weak.

So he carried himself like he wasn't. Like he couldn't be. He told himself all the time that he was strong, and that nobody would ever hurt him because he wasn't.

He squeezed his eyes shut as he fell back into his chair - all eyes on him.

Rather than ridiculing Deku, he thought, He should've been protecting him.

He had wanted to be a hero, and there he was, hurting his long-time friend on a daily basis.

God, he felt like an idiot.

He felt like... A Deku.

"Now then," Nezu said, clearing his throat, "I believe that Hound Dog and Bakugou had a conversation, so it'd be best if we continued. Please, everyone," he smiled in a soft sort of way, "Don't be too hard on Bakugou for now. I'm sure he regrets what he's done."

And with that, the video continued - although with an underlying tension that wouldn't dissipate so easily.

Midoriya spun around, anger on his face. However, he was quickly shut down by Bakugou as he lit explosions in his palm. "Something wrong?

Birds chirped as Midoriya walked down the path beside his school, searching for his notebook.  That idiot. You can't go around telling people to kill themselves. What if I really jumped-what would he do then?  He glanced down, noticing his notebook in a koi pond.  My dreams have turned into fish food.  He sighed, fishing the book out.  That's enough-give it back.

Bakugou twitched, eyes drifted towards Izuku before jerking backwards.

Midoriya's eyes watered as he read the title of his book.  Stupid jerk...

"Mom, hurry!" a young Midoriya said, sliding into the room. "C'mon, mom! It's computer tiiime!"

"Oh my god," Mina whispered. "He's so cute??"

Kirishima nodded. "Izuku protection squad, unite!"

Izuku gave a slight laugh and blushed, allowing for some breathing room.

Aizawa sighed, but cracked a slight smile. He'd be lying if he didn't appreciate his students' uncanny ability to make a good mood come back even after the worst of situations.

His mother glanced down from washing the dishes. "Already?"

"Awh," Nejire gushed, "Your mom seems so pure!"

Tamaki sighed. "That's such a weird sentence. Especially after...," his eyes flicked towards Bakugou and Midoriya, and he withdrew on himself.

Mirio lightly patted his shoulder, offering a kind smile.

They appeared in the next room, Izuku staring dreamily at the monitor. "Faster, let's go!" He rocked back and forth in the chair, All Might figurine in hand.

All Might's eyes widened at the figure in his hand before he chuckled, though in a way it made him feel worse about the whole situation.

He was admired so much by the boy, and yet...

"Jeeeez! I think you've added 10,000 views to this one yourself, Izuku!" she commented, clicking on the video, "I don't know why you like it-I think it's scary!"

Midoriya continued swaying, squealing.  The video I loved,  teen Izuku narrated,  was an old one. Disaster footage from a long time ago. But more importantly, it was the debut of the greatest hero the world has ever known!

All Might began to grin. "Ah... Thank you, Young Midoriya!"

Shinso winced, having expected the boy to continue being upset, only to be mildly surprised by how the boy began to beam, practically brightening the room. He frowned, remembering what he said at the Sport's Festival, and comparing everything to his own situation. Now he just felt as if he were overreacting...

Somehow, it seemed as if Izuku noticed, turning before offering the boy a smile. Shinso looked taken aback before looking away with an awkward, barely hidden smile of his own.

"Who is he?!" a bloodied man turned around, surprised. "The guy's already saved a hundred people at least and it hasn't even been ten minutes!" The camera panned over a fiery and destroyed landscape, "This is... This is crazy! I can't believe it!"

A man, All Might, came from over a bus, carrying civilians on his shoulders. Izuku watched in awe as the man's laughter boomed.

"Look, he's got more!" the original man shouted.

"Fear not, citizens!" All Might boomed, "Hope has arrived! Because I am here!"

"I still like watching this video," Izuku said with a sort of soft fondness.

Kirishima gave a slight laugh. "I remember watching it too. It was really manly - still is." His eyes flicked towards Bakugou, a pained expression crossing his face before he smiled once again. "Right, Bakubro?"

The blonde looked surprised, but sighed after a moment, nodding. "Yeah..."

Izuku squealed, causing his hair to defy physics. "He's the coolest in the universe! And once I get my quirk, I'm gonna be a hero just like him!" Izuku imitated his laugh as his mother watched happily, before a doctor spoke soul-crushing words.

"Sorry kid, it's not gonna happen."

Present Mic winced. "Harsh..."

"What a bad doctor," Uraraka said with a frown, crossing her arms.

"Yeah," Izuku sighed. "The bluntness was kinda crushing."

Midoriya froze, a smile plastered on his face as he panicked. His toy dropped to the floor as his mother looked on sadly.

"Oh dear... So you really think there's something wrong, then? Most of the other kindergarteners in his class  have  begun to show signs already..."

The doctor caught Inko's attention, "My records say you're a fourth generation quirk user. What powers do you and the boy's father have?"

She put her hand to her cheek, picking the toy up with her telekinesis. "Nothing too special... I can float small objects towards me and my husband breathes fire. They're useful enough, I suppose."

"How so?" Mina asked curiously, looking past the sadness of the situation. "I mean, what could you use those quirks for?"

Izuku tilted his head slightly. "Well uh... My mom's quirk is pretty helpful when it comes to cleaning and such... It's also generally helpful for simple tasks, like cooking, getting things ready, and stuff like that. As for the fire breathing...," he said, face souring for a moment at the mention of it - and catching the attention of All Might along with a few others - "It could be used to cook, I guess."

"You're usually so much more enthusiastic," Ojiro said. "How come you're unsure about the fire breathing?"

Izuku paused for a moment before shaking his head with a sigh. "My... My dad isn't around. I didn't really know him when he left."

"Awh," Uraraka let out, "I'm sorry, Deku."
The boy simply shrugged. "It's fine. It's not like I really remember him."

Aizawa sighed, turning towards Hound Dog.

The man quickly understood the look as 'Both Bakugou and Midoriya are going to need counselling.' Though, that was pretty obvious from the start.

"Izuku should've already manifested one of these quirks or a combination of both, but after viewing his x-rays I don't think he's going to. You see, when superpowers first began appearing, there were many research studies conducted and doctors discovered a link between the bones in a person's foot and their likelihood of developing a quirk. People with powers only have one joint in their pinky toes. Their bodies have evolved into a more streamlined version of the human form." He tapped on Izuku's x-rays, continuing, "You can see here that Izuku has two joints in his pinky. Like... Roughly 20% of the population these days. Based on the research that's available, it's safe to say that your son  isn't  going to develop a quirk."

"I'm sorry, Midoriya," Iida said, frowning. "Though!" he brightened slightly, "At least you made it in the end!"

Izuku gave a slight laugh. "Yeah, I'm glad. Thanks, Iida." His eyes flicked towards All Might, giving him a sort of thankful look, and the man couldn't help but smile.

"You know," Mei spoke up, startling those around her - as she hadn't exactly spoken much - "Even if you were still quirkless, I could've whipped up some babies to help you with your hero work," she grinned.

The boy blinked surprisedly. "Really?"

"Oh yeah!" she replied, nodding quickly. "I mean, as long as you were trained and..."

While she continued talking with Izuku (and as a few other students piped up) most of the teachers were exchanging confused looks.

"Two pinky toe joints?" Cementoss said confusedly.

Snipe put his hand on his mask. "Even if he were a late bloomer, he shouldn't have those."
"He's medically quirkless," Midnight agreed. "So how did he end up with his?"

Aizawa was about to speak up when he noticed a few particular people in the room. Tsukauchi, Nezu, Sir Nighteye, and even All Might were ignoring the conversation, continuing to face forwards in a sort of awkward silence.

"Yeah...," he mumbled, narrowing his eyes.

Midoriya sat on the chair, devastated as the screen faded to black, switching the image to his room. His monitor lit up with the video of All Might, his mother experiencing heartache for her son.

"See that mom?" his voice shook, "There's always a smile on his face no matter how bad things get. Even when things seem impossible, he never gives up." Izuku turned around in his seat, meeting his mother's face as tears streamed down his cheeks. Her eyes began to water as she looked at her son, a wide smile on his face. "Do you think...," he pointed at the screen, "I can be a hero too?"

"OF COURSE YOU COULD'VE, MIDORIYA!" Iida yelled out, hand-chopping with passion in his voice.

Kirishima wiped away a stray tear. "Midoriya, dude... That's so manly."
Uraraka smiled, sighing. "You're so inspiring."

"Entirely admirable," Yaoyorozu agreed.

Izuku looked overwhelmed, eye darting between each person as they gave him compliments. "Ah... Oh... T-Thank you!" he replied with a blush, causing a light chuckle to go around the room.

Inko silently walked over to the boy, collapsing on top of him. She hugged him tightly, his tears wetting her shirt. "I'm sorry Izuku... I wish things were different."

"Oh...," Mina mumbled.

Kirishima's brows knitted together. "Maybe she should've worded that better.

Mom. That's not what I needed you to say,  the older Midoriya narrated,  Couldn't you see? My world was crumbling. There was only one thing I wanted to hear.

"Young Midoriya..." All Might mumbled to himself.

The mood changed as the screen shifted to show Izuku walking underneath a bridge, glancing down sadly.  I made a decision that day,  he perked up,  No matter what anyone else thinks, I have to believe in myself. And I'll keep smiling-just like him!

"Yeah, Midoriya!" Kirishima brightened, "Keep being manly!"

Izuku laughed, scratching his jaw. "I don't think it was exactly manly, but thanks anyways."

Somehow, nobody noticed as Tokoyami whispered "Revelry in the dark," once the tunnel had been shown.

Except for, of course, a somewhat unnerved Tamaki.

Izuku clenched his fist, walking through the tunnel confidently. Waving his arm around, he imitated All Might's laugh, just as sludge began filling the screen.

"Spot on laugh," Mina laughed, causing Izuku to smile awkwardly.

As the mud sloshed, Izuku turned around, noticing the monster. His eyes widened as the creature grew. "A... A villain?!"

Izuku winced, and everyone else looked on, concerned.

Bakugou, however, seemed more confused than anything else, mumbling under his breath. "Isn't that...?"

"You'll make a perfect skinsuit for me to hide in, kid!" He grinned, launching towards the boy and enveloping him in his goo. Izuku's notebook flew to the side as the sludge villain crept through his mouth, causing the boy to struggle. "Don't worry-I'm just taking over your body! It'll be easier for both of us if you don't fight back! It'll only hurt for a minute..." He laughed, sharp teeth and bulbous eye above. "You'll feel better soon!"

Izuku grasped at the sludge in an attempt to break free, tears welling up in his eyes.  I can't... Breathe...

"Deku!" Uraraka gasped, hands flying to cover her mouth.

Iida looked mildly upset. "I know he's a villain, but just attacking you randomly like that..."

"Yeah," Izuku sighed. "It was pretty traumatic." He lightly touched his neck, remembering how it felt as his lungs burned. "Though," he said after a moment, putting on a smile, "I'm fine now!"

"You shouldn't just brush away trauma like that," Aizawa sighed, a hint of concern in his voice - which Midnight would've no doubt teased him for in any other situation.

Hound Dog nodded. "Along with Bakugou, as long as you accept, I'd like you to come to counselling with me."

Izuku paused for a moment. "...And you're sure I wouldn't be bothering you?"

"Of course not," the man sighed, "It's my job."

"This is exactly the problem," Aizawa mumbled.

Izuku looked away nervously. "Ah... Okay..."

"Grab all you want," he grinned, "My body is made of fluid. Thanks for the help. You're a real hero to me, kid!" The sludge continued, speaking of his encounter with All Might. "I didn't know  he  was in this city. I gotta get outta here fast before he tracks me down."

All Might frowned. "I apologize for not catching him sooner, Young Midoriya. I'm sure it was frightening to encounter him like that."
"It's not your fault, All Might," Izuku reassured him. "And you did end up saving me, so-"

"Wait!" Kaminari turned, bewildered. "You met him before U.A.?!"

"Ah, yeah," Izuku laughed awkwardly, "It was pretty cool..."

Kirishima grinned. "I bet!"

Izuku didn't mention the rooftop.

Midoriya desperately grabbed at the slime, yet got weaker as he fought.  My body... Getting weak...  He choked, losing his strength.  I think... I think I'm dying... No way...  He glanced down at his hero notebook, vision blurring.  This can't be the end... Somebody... Help!

A blue light pierced the air, the sewer gate popping from it's place. The  clink   of the metal caused the sludge monster to turn around, meeting face-to-face with All Might.

"The man himself!" Mina grinned, pumping her arm in the arm.

"Seeing All Might in action never gets old," Ojiro sighed with a smile.

"All Might will sparkle!" Aoyama posed, then added, "Though not as much as me!"

"Have no fear, you're safe," the man boomed, stomping his foot, "Now that I am here, that is!" Dramatic music played as a fight ensued between the two, the sludge villain launching a ranged attack. All Might, however, easily dodged it, yelling from the top of his lungs. "TEXAAAS..... SMAAASH!"

"That's so manly, All Might!" Kirishima cheered.

Similarly, many students praised him along - causing the man to laugh embarrassedly - while Nighteye himself attempted not to freak out.

The villain resisted the airflow from the attack, yet to no avail. "I can't... Hold together...!" he shouted as he was ripped apart, his sludge scattering throughout. As his body spread, Midoriya was freed, getting a small glimpse at All Might before falling unconscious.  Is that... All... Might...?

"Hey!" All Might said, slapping Midoriya on the cheek. "Wake up! Hey!" The boy slowly woke up, glancing towards the large man. "Thought we lost you there!"

Mina snorted, though Aizawa shot an annoyed look at the man. "You decided to wake him up by smacking him?"

"It... it was more of a light tapping!" he defended.

"It's really fine," Izuku laughed. "I didn't mind."
Still, Aizawa narrowed his eyes at the blonde, silently judging him and causing the Number One Hero to squirm.

Izuku gasped, starstruck by his idol. He screamed as he scooted away.

All Might laughed. "You seem to be moving around all right! Sorry about that back there! I didn't mean to get you caught up in my justicing! Usually I pay more attention to keeping bystanders safe!" He grabbed his forehead, "But it turns out this city's sewer system is pretty difficult to navigate!" The man laughed heartily, "Anyway! You were a big help! Thank you!" He showed off the villain, which happened to be trapped in water bottles. "I've captured the evil doer!"

Kaminari scrunched his nose. "The sewer..."

"It was the fastest route," All Might sighed, shivering. "Afterwards I took like 3 showers."

Bakugou paused for a moment before confusedly asking, "If All Might beat him... Then why did he end up attacking me...?"

"You were both attacked?" Aizawa asked, pinching the bridge of his nose.

The blonde nodded, but Izuku only shrank into his chair as All Might looked away with a sigh.

"I apologize, Young Bakugou. That was my fault." He tossed a glance towards Izuku, silencing the boy before he could begin to blame himself. "He escaped while I was trying to deal with him."
Bakugou looked suspicious, but didn't push the topic.

The most amazing hero in the entire world... All Might... The real thing. In the flesh. Standing right in front of me...! HE LOOKS SO MUCH COOLER IN PERSON!

The boy scrambled to his feet, searching for a notebook and pen. "I gotta get an autograph! I've got a pen around here somewhere!" He glanced over to the hero notebook on the ground, "Ah! Please sign my notebook!" He opened the book, only to see All Might's signature scrawled across the paper. "AHHH! HE ALREADY DID!" the boy shouted, bowing rapidly at the man. "Thank you so much! This will be an heirloom! A family treasure to be passed down for generations to coooome!"

Kirishima laughed. "Well, do you still have it?"

Izuku nodded, grinning widely. "It's in my notebook at home!" He paused before frantically turning towards Aizawa. "I can at least keep that, right?"
Aizawa rolled his eyes, while Tsukauchi gave a slight chuckle, relieving the boy. "Of course."

All Might gave him an awkward thumbs up, patting the bottle in his pocket. "Welp! I've gotta get this guy to the police so they can take care of him! Stay out of trouble! See you around!"
As the man prepared to take off, Izuku attempted to speak. "Wait... You're leaving...? Already?"

"Pro heroes are constantly fighting time as well as enemies!"

"Couldn't you have listened to him for at least a minute?" Midnight asked, frowning.

All Might's eyes flicked towards the side. "Time."

With that, the teachers - along with Nighteye, Izuku, Tsukauchi, and the principal - knew exactly what he meant. And, much to the confusion of the rest of the students, they made no further comments.

He can't go yet... There are still so many questions I have to ask him...

"Now stand back! I'm taking off!" The hero launched himself into the air, calling downwards, "Thank you for your continued support!" In the air, All Might looked down to see a freaked-out Midoriya latched to his leg. "Hey, hey, hey! What do you think you're doing?!" The man attempted to shove Izuku off of him, "Let go! I love my fans, but this is too much!"

"He was literally hanging off of you," Aizawa deadpanned.

Midnight facepalmed. "I respect you, All Might, but that was dense."

All Might turned red. "I..."

"Though," Iida glanced towards Izuku, who was now laughing nervously, "That wasn't the best idea you've had, I must admit."

"Noted," the boy replied with an awkward smile.

"On another note," Hatsume grinned, causing Power Loader and Iida to shudder, "I now have another idea for a baby!"

"Ooh!" Nejire grinned, tilting her head curiously. "What is it?!"

"Well," Hatsume began, "I don't have any specifics yet, but something that you could take super-powered jumps with!"

"Is that it?" the violet-haired girl asked.

"No," she shook her head, "But I think Power Loader already sighed into oblivion, so I thought it might be best if I explained later."

While Nejire laughed, the man looked eternally grateful.

At least until she spoke up again.

"Still, I will be talking his ear off later!" she grinned as he groaned.

He struggled as Midoriya yelled, "No way! We're flying! If I let go now, I'll die!"

"Oh... That's a good point," the man said, ceasing his struggle.

"Glad you finally noticed," Aizawa said sarcastically.

"Sorry," the man mumbled, rubbing the back of his neck.

"That's kinda sweet," Uraraka commented.

The man looked up. "What do you mean?"
"Both you and Deku do that all the time! Y'know - rub the back of your neck whenever you're nervous like that. It's like... A father-son trait!" she laughed.

Todoroki looked mildly surprised before he narrowed his eyes. "I knew it..."

Izuku and All Might were too busy looking awkward as students continued to point out their similarities to notice him, though.

"I just have a lot of things I wanna ask you... Personally! You're my all time favorite hero, All Might, please!" Midoriya's skin flapped as he spoke, eyelids and mouth raised.

Kaminari chuckled at the simple sight, sparking off a few other laughs as well.

"Okay, okay! I get it!" All Might sighed, "Just keep your eyes and mouth shut!" Izuku obeyed, burying his face into All Might's leg.

The man held onto Izuku as he looked around, a trickle of blood slipping from his lips as he coughed. He cursed under his breath, followed by the screen switching to the two at the top of a hospital.

Nighteye visibly stiffened, causing Mirio to look at him in concern.

Otherwise, the students were preoccupied looking confusedly at the screen.

"Was that blood...?" Sato asked nervously.

"That's not good," Tokoyami mumbled...

Kaminari turned towards the man, raising a concerned brow. "Are you okay, All Might?"

The man looked nervous, but he put on a smile and gave a thumbs up. "Don't worry about it!"

And, although the students exchanged nervous glances, they decided to drop the topic.

Izuku trembled, looking like he was at death's door. "My whole life just flashed before my eyes."

"Me too," Tamaki shuddered, "And I wasn't even there..."

"Not a very smart move. Knock on the door for a while. Someone will let you in," the man walked towards the edge of the roof, "Now. I have to go! See you on the flipside!"

"Wait, not yet! One second!" Izuku protested.

"No! I don't have any time!"

Aizawa furrowed his brows, eye twitching. "You were going to leave a kid on the roof alone after he was attacked by a villain?"

All Might looked nervous. "To be fair, I was running out of-"

"And?!" the man interrupted angrily. "What if he...," he glanced towards the fidgeting boy. "What would you have done?!"

"I...," the man sighed after a moment, "I know what I did was stupid. I was just panicking. I really do apologize, Young Midoriya."

"Ah, well...," the boy said nervously, "It's fine, All Might. I don't resent you for it."

'Why would you leave him in the first place?' most of the students wanted to ask, but they felt that the answer would come very soon.

The boy desperately shouted after him, reaching outwards as his memories flashed through his mind. "I have to know!" His fingers curled as he pulled his arm back, voices of sorrow and anger filling his thoughts. He stood, hands at his sides as he reflected.  Sometimes... I do feel like I'm a failure. Like there's no hope for me.  He clenched his fists,  But even so... I'm not gonna give up. Ever!

"Manly as always," Kirishima grinned.

Bakugou rolled his eyes. "Is that all you're ever gonna say, Shitty Hair?"

Kirishima chose to pay attention to the fact that Bakugou was talking more rather than the semi-insult. "Of course, Bakubro!"

The blonde simply sighed.

"Is it possible to become a hero even if I don't have a quirk?" Izuku shook, the man stopping for a moment to listen. "I'm a normal kid without any powers. Could I ever hope to be someone like you?!"

"Of course," Iida nodded, hand on his chin. "After all, many heroes fight practically quirkless."

"Like Aizawa-Sensei," Hagakure offered.

"Yes," Yaoyorozu agreed, "While he does have a quirk, his fighting style is primarily quirkless.

"I feel like Midoriya's hero knowledge is rubbing off on us," Jiro chuckled.

Kirishima laughed before turning towards tehs screen. "Anyways, I'm sure All Might said yes.

Nobody noticed the man's slight wince.

All Might looked back at Midoriya as he stood, with him narrating once again.  Meeting All Might was a dream come true. A real miracle. Standing in front of me was the hero I've idolized most of my life. I didn't realize it at the time, but that chance encounter would change the course of my future.

After a moment of silence, the scene faded to black, leaving everyone to stare.

"That was totally awesome, right?" Kaminari finally asked.

"I mean, there were some... moments," Yaoyorozu coughed awkwardly, "But I agree! That was quite interesting to experience!"

Kirishima grinned. "I'm glad we have more to go! There'll be so many cool things to actually see in person!"

"I wonder how meeting All Might changed Midori's future," Mina mentioned, earning some nods.

"Yes, yes," Nezu smiled, "I'm sure we're all excited to see the next 'episode.' For now, though, we should all take a break."

"But-" "Don't try to argue," Tamaki whispered to the first years, "He's terrifying." And so, everybody collectively shivered and decided to take the offered break, chatting amongst themselves as they waited.

Chapter Text

Bakugou would be lying if he said that he wasn't uncomfortable. In fact, as he sat in a room off to the side - how they didn't notice it was there before, he had no clue, since there were even more rooms further along - he twitched nervously, staring at the ground. He had no idea why he was there, and the unfamiliar isolated feeling of not being in the know was suffocating.

Although he was alone, at least at the moment, he felt as if eyes were staring at him from every direction. The feeling wormed its way under his skin, prickles shooting through his muscles.

After a moment, he took in a deep breath, drowning out the outside chatter of his classmates, some other students, and the pros. Though, breathing wasn't going to ease his tension.

"Bakugou," a voice spoke up, causing the blonde's head to snap upwards. His eyes quickly darted towards the door, falling upon his homeroom teacher as he stood in the doorway.

Unsure of what to say, Bakugou remained silent, allowing Aizawa to continue.

"Since Nezu opted to give everyone a break," he explained, "You're going to start your sessions with Hound Dog. You won't have them every break, though. You'll be allowed to rest every once and a while while Midoriya has his."

Bakugou furrowed his brows. "What is this...?" he said, growling more than he meant to, "Some kind of shitty therapy session?"

Hound Dog stepped through the remaining space in the door before taking a seat across from the blonde. "That's exactly what this is."

Bakugou stared at the man for a moment, shifting uncomfortably as the school's counselor opened up a notebook. Something that he was no doubt planning to write all of the blonde's underlying issues in. His greatest fears. Observations about him.

It felt invasive.

"I'll leave you to it," Aizawa said gruffly - the sound of the door closing causing Bakugou to come back to reality.

"I don't want to do this," Bakugou said before Hound Dog could even speak.

The man sighed. "I was expecting an adverse reaction." He tapped his pencil on the page, staring at Bakugou. "Why?"

Eyes dragging themselves down to the notebook, Bakugou let out low grumbles before speaking up. "You're going to try to change who I am or whatever. Turn me into some weird copy of Deku or one of those other losers. And all the fuckin' while you're gonna write in your stupid little book and document every little detail about me like some sort of creep."

Hound Dog paused for a moment. "...Is that what you think? I'm going to change you?"

"That's what therapists do," he scoffed. "Don't act like its any different, dumbass."

The man hummed in reply - though it sounded more like a growl, the cause of which could likely be attributed to his quirk. "I'm just trying to work out your anger issues." He raised his head, and it seemed as if he was trying to peer into Bakugou's soul. "Are you saying that your only personality trait is anger?"

Bakugou froze. "What?"

"If you think that your personality will be ripped away from you just from calming down, you must be saying that your main trait is your rage. Are you saying that's true?" Hound Dog pressed.

The blonde furrowed his brows. "You're twisting my words, goddamn it," he growled, sparks popping in his hands.

"I'm not trying to attack you, Bakugou. You shouldn't be taking these words like you'd take on a villain," he said sharply, causing the blonde's mini explosions to stop abruptly.

"Anyways," he said, leaning back slightly, "I understand where you're coming from. In a way, at least." Before the blonde could protest - which, judging by his sudden anger, he was planning on it - Hound Dog continued. "I'm sure you remember that, whenever I become irritable, my quirk goes a bit out of control. I can't be understood and such. But it's not just a change when I become angry - my quirk causes me to be angrier." He glanced towards Bakugou's hand before looking back up, "And I'm assuming yours plays a part in your rage as well."

"That's fuckin' stupid," Bakugou scowled, even though he knew that it was partly right.

Hound Dog's eye twitched, and when he began to speak, his words became choppier. However, after a moment, he cleared his throat. "Case in point," he mumbled before straightening himself. "Moving on... I'm sure you felt as if you were being ridiculed in the theater."

Bakugou did a double take. "What?"

"Everyone was ganging up on you. That's how you felt, correct?" Hound Dog asked, taking the blonde's twitch as confirmation. "Well I'm sure that's how others feel when you pick on them. Especially," he said, "Midoriya."

The blonde felt anger - along with a sort of guilt, but he'd never admit that - bubble in his stomach. "What does that fucker have to do with this?"

"He's the main reason we're holding these sessions in the first place," Hound Dog replied, causing Bakugou to grumble under his breath. "And I thought you understood that, given your earlier response."

Bakugou just barely recoiled before crossing his arms. "Yeah, whatever. I'm sure he's just being overdramatic." Shut up, goddamn it. Why can't you ever say what you want to say?

Hound Dog's jaw tensed, but he, for the most part, kept his speech stable. "I see." The words cut deeper than any shouting would've, and Bakugou wanted to retreat into his thoughts. Before he could even consider it, though, the man continued. "Well then we should move away from Midoriya for now. We'll get there later, after we talk about what caused all this?"
The blonde looked up, confusion written all over his face. "Caused what?"

"Your inferiority complex." Before Bakugou could argue, Hound Dog gave a low growl that shut him up. "Clearly, you're too prideful for your own good. That's a given. However," he said, eyeing the boy, "Your need to constantly receive praise - or give it to yourself if someone else refuses to - brings up the question as to what the issue really is."

Bakugou looked away and scoffed. "You're wasting my time. I'm not insecure or whatever the fuck you say," he said, balling up his fists, "I just know I'm the best."

"Yes, and that's why you try so hard to prove yourself all the time," Hound Dog said sarcastically, receiving an angry scowl in reply. "First off, nobody actively proclaims that they're the best - at least so often - unless they're afraid of losing that title. If you're not the best, you're useless, right? Just a Deku." he asked, reminding the blonde of their earlier conversation and causing him to wince. "Take All Might for example. He's the number one hero, yes, but do you see him proclaiming his greatness for the whole world to see?"

Bakugou looked down. "...No. But," he turned angrily, "I'm going to be even better than he is!"

"And why exactly do you feel the need to say that all the time?" Hound Dog asked, flipping the statement on him and bringing a confused (and mildly offended) expression to the blonde's face. "Is there a reason you always proclaim that you're the best? A reason why you need validation from others?"

The blonde twitched, and he knew that the man would answer for him. "It's because you're insecure, Bakugou. It's not bad to feel insecure about things sometimes. You just shouldn't push that insecurity onto others like you have," he said sharply yet somehow soothingly, "You always call everyone extras and refer to them using derogatory names. Despite your clear relationship with others, you still refuse to call them by their proper names - or at the very least a nice nickname."

"They don't deserve my time!" Bakugou spat, though he seemed reluctant to say it. "Like you said - they're just extras! Pebbles on my road to becoming the best!"

Hound Dog readjusted himself. "Well, that might be the case. What I think however," he said, causing the blonde to stiffen, "Is that you're scared. You're afraid that if you open up to people and show them that you do have weaknesses, - despite your denial of them - they'll see you as weak. You don't want anybody to look down on you, so you distance yourself from them and project that feeling on others."

Bakugou twitched. He felt as if the man was digging into his very core, and he didn't fucking appreciate it. Just as the man was about to speak again, Bakugou mumbled.

Hound Dog glanced at the boy. "What?"

Taking in a breath, the blonde clenched his fist before staring dead at the man, shouting out his frustrations. "WHAT WOULD YOU KNOW, YOU STUPID ASS MUTT?! YOU DON'T KNOW HOW I FEEL! YOU'RE NOT ME," he panted, grasping onto his shirt, "YOU COULDN'T FUCKING UNDERSTAND WHAT IT FEELS LIKE TO BE LOOKED UP TO CONSTANTLY BY A BUNCH OF REJECTS. WHAT IT FEELS LIKE TO HAVE ALL EYES ON YOU ALL THE TIME BECAUSE YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO BE THE BEST AND YOU CAN'T SHOW ANY WEAKNESSES. WHAT IF FEELS LIKE TO CONSTANTLY HAVE TO STAND UP TALL BECAUSE IF YOU MAKE ONE GODDAMN MISTAKE, YOU'LL BE LOOKED AT AS SOME USELESS... LIKE...," he growled, taking in a shaky breath. "Like... some sort of Deku."

As Bakugou fell back into his seat, Hound Dog simply watched for a few moments as he calmed himself.

"So," Hound Dog finally said, catching the blonde's attention, "You were pressured to be great and never had the chance to be less than the best. It was expected of you to be responsible and strong, so you became that way in order not to disappoint anyone."

The blonde blinked. "I..." However, he simply looked down, unsure of what to say.

Hound Dog sighed once he saw the blonde's state. "I think that's enough for now. We can try this again later."

Bakugou looked up, confusedly watching as the man made his way towards the door. "...What?" he finally let out.

Hound Dog glanced back "Hm?"

"...You're not going to make me talk or something? Pick me apart until there's nothing left?" he asked confusedly, no trace of anger left in his voice.

The man paused before shaking his head. "Bakugou, that's not what this is for. I'm not here to dissect you like some sort of lab rat. We're here in order to make sure that you understand that some things you do aren't right. And to show you that, while you're not entirely at fault for the way you were treated growing up, you can't be completely cleared of blame, either. Anyways," he said with the hint of a smile, "We should get back. I'm sure the break's almost up by now."

Bakugou remained still as Hound Dog left the room, thoughts prodding at him until he finally stood, taking in a deep breath. "Whatever," he grumbled. Though, it was less malicious than before.

---

Bakugou stepped into the chattering mass that was the theater, shaking off any worries before falling into his seat. His eyes flicked towards Deku - Midoriya - only looking away when the boy noticed.

"Oh, hey, Bakubro!" Kirishima grinned noticing that he had taken his seat next to him. "You're finally back! We just finished our break. Anyways," he asked cheerfully, "How are you, man?"

The blonde blinked at the sudden display of kindness before simply turning away. "I'm fine, Shitty Hair."

The redhead laughed, relaxing in his seat. "Are you ever going to call me by my name?"

Bakugou paused before the hint of a smirk appeared on his face. "Sure thing, Eijiro."

Kirishima processed what the blonde said for a moment before suddenly sputtering confusedly, while Mina, Sero, and Kaminari turned to cackle at the boy's misfortune, all the while teasing the (now annoyed) blonde for actually calling someone by their name for once (even if it was their given name).

"Quiet down," Aizawa sighed, gathering the attention of the rowdy students - which, from an outside eye, was incredibly impressive, though the man just had an air around him that told you not to mess around or he'd dropkick you into the sun (but that's really besides the point).

Kaminari grinned, turning. "Are we starting?"

The man simply nodded, glancing towards Midnight, who now held the remote.

Cheerfully, the woman pressed play and, as soon as the room began to brighten, everyone's attention was pointed towards the source.

A younger Midoriya watched in awe as his favorite hero revealed himself, several people resting on his shoulder. In the wreckage and blazing fire, All Might grinned widely. "Fear not, citizens! Hope has arrived! Because I am here!"

"Oh!" Uraraka beamed, "The video!" With a wide grin on her face, she imitated the man and made punching motions. Bet when he punched away and threw the rubble it was like, 'Bam Bam!'"

While everyone watched bemusedly at the girl's depiction of All Might, the man himself chuckled.

"It's nice to see that people still appreciate the old videos," he smiled, earning a nod and grin from Uraraka.

"I've seen it too," Jiro mentioned, "But I don't remember; what were you doing during all of this?"

"Ah," he said, rubbing the back of his neck as he thought, "I believe it was a large-scaled bombing."

Izuku nodded, "Some villains bombed part of the city and All Might - along with a bunch of other heroes - helped to save everyone. In fact there were zero fatalities! Of course," he rambled on, "There were incapacitations, but that's to be expected in really any villain attack if it's big enough. I-"

"Midoriya, no offense, but you're rambling again," Sero pointed out, giving a slight, lighthearted laugh.

The boy looked around before smiling sheepishly. "Sorry."

"No," All Might grinned proudly, "It's amazing that you know such detail without having been there."

"A-ah!" Izuku rubbed the back of his neck, blushing when he remembered what Uraraka said about the similarity of the action, "Thank you..."

All Might tossed the boy a smile and a thumbs up. "Yep!"

Midoriya's memories flashed through his mind as he stood on the rooftop, glancing down with his fists clenched. Those of his excitement over All Might. His disappointment in not getting a quirk. The constant bullying that plagued his everyday life.

The room tensed at each memory, while Uraraka's hand slowly inched towards Izuku's before squeezing his hand in hers.

He didn't bother to let go.

His fists tightened with every word as he thought back. "Even if I'll never have superpowers. Even if everyone thinks I'm useless." The boy shook, tears staining his freckled cheeks. "Despite everything, I still dream. And I have to know." He bit his lip, glancing up at All Might. "Is it possible to become a hero... even if I don't have a quirk?" All Might halted as Midoriya continued to speak, his body trembling. "I'm a normal kid without any powers.... Could I ever hope to be someone like you?!"

All Might turned slightly, his lips parting as he spoke. "Without a quirk?"

Kirishima grinned. "Of course, man!" He turned towards All Might with a hopeful smile on his face. "Right, All Might?"

"Ah," the man chuckled softly, "...Yes, of course."
And, although nobody much liked the vague answer, they simply gulped before returning their attention towards the screen before them.

Before he was able to continue, a sharp pain shot through All Might, his entire body steaming as he struggled. "Oh no...," he whispered, "Not now... Not here..."

Jiro straighted. "What's going on, All Might?"

Mina's brows knitted together worriedly. "Are you okay?"

All Might put on a strained smile. "Don't worry about it. I...," he looked away awkwardly, though appreciating the kind looks he was receiving from those in the know. "It'll be explained in a moment."

"People think I don't have a chance," Midoriya twiddled his thumbs, oblivious to the man's discomfort, "That having no powers makes me some kind of weakling. My classmates like to make fun of me. But you know what? That makes me wanna prove them wrong. Ever since I was a kid, I thought that saving people is the coolest thing you could do? I want people to see my fearless smile and feel safe! And be the kind of hero the world looks up to." He glanced up, a wide grin on his face. "Just like you!"

Midoriya's face twisted into one of horror as he got a look at All Might, who was a skeletal version of himself. He began panicking, screaming as he processed the situation.

Kaminari would've spat out his drink if he had one. "iS THAT YOU, ALL MIGHT?!"

Bakugou blinked, a sense of unease washing over him.

"It's... It is, isn't it?" Sero asked, dumbfounded.

"I must say, this is an... interesting development, to say the least," Iida mumbled, frowning.

Todoroki glanced down, clenching his fist. Despite his best efforts, he couldn't keep his mind wandering to his father. How he had trained him ragged. All while the Number One Hero himself was in such a state...

All Might sighed. "Yes, that is me. It... It happened as a result of a fight with a prominent villain a few years back. You wouldn't know of him, though." He then deflated, startling the students and causing them to look over nervously.

Uraraka glanced towards a nervous Izuku who simply twiddled his thumbs before turning back towards All Might. "How did none of us know?"

"Well," the man gave an awkward chuckle, "All of U.A.'s staff did. As well as Detective Tsukauchi, Sir Nighteye, and of course, Young Midoriya. Otherwise," he sighed, "I asked for this all to be kept under wraps. I didn't want word getting out about my weakened state."
"Makes sense," Tsuyu said, voice calm. Though, she'd be lying if she said that she wasn't unnerved as well. "If villains learned about All Might's other form, they'd probably attack a lot more..."

"I'm assuming that's why you took a position at U.A.?" Yaoyorozu half-asked.

All Might nodded. "It was meant to be set up so I could retire soon later..." Izuku couldn't help but notice that he left out the part about the successor.

The room was tense after the news broke. It was a lot to take in, all things considered. Everyone had thought of All Might like an immovable object - always wearing a fearless smile no matter the situation.

But their world view shattered when they were reminded that, even though he was the Number One Hero, he was a human too.

"This is insane," Kaminari mumbled.

"Does this mean...," Hagakure asked uneasily, "That the Nomu really did almost kill All Might...?"

Nobody bothered replying, as deep down, they all knew the answer.

Shinso looked down at his hand, stomach churning. If such a strong figure was hurt so badly that he was reduced to such a state... Then what could he do?

Even the calmest of the crowd were shaken, but Nezu didn't let it go on for long.

"Now, now, students," Nezu said, offering his smile which, if paid attention to, was noticeably softer than normal. "This incident is a thing of the past and it cannot be changed. All we can do now is to move past it."

"But...," Mina struggled, asking the question that everyone had on their minds. "How could All Might almost be defeated by someone?"

Yaoyorozu frowned. "I must admit, the idea is quite unsettling... How powerful must someone be to reduce All Might of all people to such a sad state...?" She straightened slightly, quickly bowing her head at the man. "No offense, sir."

"None taken," he said, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. "I... Everyone has enemies. And there's almost always someone that's stronger than you."

Izuku sucked in a breath. Even he didn't know the extent of the power of the man that All Might had been so wary of.

Similarly, Tsukauchi tensed. He remembered the blood that had seeped through the man's clothes as he lay in the rubble, barely able to breathe. Having to watch as his friend was carried away into an ambulance with no certainty on how it would turn out...

"The past can't be changed," Nighteye spoke up, causing several people around him to stiffen. "It's best to remember it as something that was inevitable and move on. Learn from it."

Mirio furrowed his brows. "Sir..."

"Exactly," Nezu agreed, though he couldn't help but notice the sad look that flickered behind the man's eyes. "So while I'm not saying that any of you should forget what happened, you shouldn't dwell on it. It's a thing of the past and it cannot be changed so easily."

And with that, the room remained silent until the video began once again.

Changing perspectives, the show quickly played through the intro, switching to the Tatooin Shopping District. After a brief shot of the area, the camera focused on a bottle in which the sludge villain was encased.

He awoke, struggling to escape. "Where am I? What happened?" He paused, remembering his encounter with All Might, "Oh yeah. If it wasn't for him, I'd be out of town already..."

"That was rough," a voice said, the camera switching over to Bakugou and his friends. "Weren't you and Midoriya good friends back when you were kids?"

Bakugou froze. "Wait..."

"Kacchan...," Izuku mumbled.

"I... I apologize for losing him, Young Bakugou. It was entirely my fault - neither you nor Young Midoriya should blame yourselves," he rambled, "Pros are supposed to be more responsible, and yet I-"

"Just...," Bakugou let out, clenching and unclenching his fist, "...Leave it."

All Might closed his mouth, but he kept a worried eye on the boy.

"It's alright, Bakubro," Kirishima said, offering some kindness.

"Whatever," he replied, looking away. "Just shut up about it."

"Yeah," the other turned to Bakugou, "You were a little harsh with him today."

Bakugou looked down, an empty soda can resting in his palm. "It's his own fault for getting in my way." As he walked, he kicked the bottle that held the sludge villain.

"You shouldn't waste your time with the guy," one of his friends suggested.

Bakugou thought back to that morning, scoffing as he exploded the can with his quirk. "Someone's gotta teach that worthless nerd how the world really works," he threw the can to the side, "I hate it when he talks heroes."

Most people in the room tensed, but after Bakugou looked down, nobody found it necessary to say a thing to him.

However, Iida did speak up nonetheless. "I understand that Bakugou likely feels bad for his actions, but shouldn't the other students be reprimanded as well?" he asked, frowning.

Ojiro sighed. "It's not like anyone can do much since most of them probably went to different schools."

"I wouldn't underestimate his power," Tamaki mumbled, and suddenly they felt a coldness in the air.

"Oh," Nezu said 'calmly,' "I wouldn't be so sure about that."

"It's really fi-" Izuku began, only for Nejire to shoot him wide eyes and shake her head. Afterwards, he confusedly sat back down, mumbling to himself.

His friends laughed, one of them giving a suggestion. "Hey, I got an idea. We should go to the arcade. Get your mind off it, ya know?"

"Fine."

"Or," the other grinned, "We can sneak into the bar at the station. Pick up some ladies."

His friend agreed, while Bakugou yelled at them, the sludge seeping out of the bottle as they spoke. "Idiots! If we get caught, there's no way U.A. would let me in!"

Midnight raised a brow. "I hope that's not the only reason you didn't go."

Bakugou turned around - half confused, half annoyed. "Why are you the one scolding me?"

She scoffed. "What is that supposed to mean?!"

"No, no," Present Mic said, "He has a point." And, in that moment, Kaminari looked at him like he was his personal hero.

"How rude," she grumbled, crossing her arms. "I wasn't that bad."

"Yes you were," Mic and Aizawa said simultaneously, leaving her to annoyedly mutter to herself.

As Bakugou talked, his friends' eyes widened, noticing the sludge villain behind him. They each pointed towards him, drawing Bakugou's attention to a reforming sludge monster.

"Perfect," the mud-like creature gurgled, "I like a skinsuit with some fire!"

The screen once again switched to where Midoriya and All Might were, resuming the boy's scream.

Bakugou visibly tensed, and All Might gestured for Aizawa to pause the video, though he was already doing so.

"Young Man," he said to the younger blonde, "Do you need to leave for now?"

"It's totally fine if you don't wanna watch, little listener," Present Mic agreed. "Trauma isn't a great thing to re-experience."

Bakugou scoffed. "I'm not traumatized like some damn weakling."

Cementoss frowned. "Even heroes go through trauma."

"Shut it, you oversized cinder block!" he barked, "I said I was fine!"

The man looked a bit offended, but he nodded nonetheless.

"If you're sure," All Might said, only gesturing towards Aizawa once again when the blonde discreetly nodded.

Nobody mentioned the way he leaned towards the man's direction, and the video continued.

Midoriya stuttered as he looked at the man, "Huh... Wait... I... Who... What happened?! You deflated!" Glancing left to right, he searched for All Might, not recognizing him in his skeletal form. "Where'd All Might go? You!" He switched his attention to the man, accusing him. "You're not him! You're a fake! An imposter!"

"I assure you that I am All Mi-" he sighed, blood pouring from his mouth.

"Yikes," Kaminari said, recoiling. "F in the chat."

Jiro blinked before burying her head in her hands.

"Seriously though," Kirishima squirmed uncomfortably, "That's gotta hurt."

All Might shook his head. "Actually, only the initial injury hurt all that much. I admit," he sighed, "It is uncomfortable sometimes, but it doesn't really ever hurt unless I strain myself."

"That's still not good, All Might," Izuku frowned. "You shouldn't strain yourself enough to know that."

"Wh-" the man said, "You already..."

"Even Midoriya knows," Mina said, "And he breaks his bones like it's a hobby."

All Might looked positively defeated, sulking as if he had a bunch of Recovery Girls berating him. He swore he could even hear her voice.

Midoriya rightfully screamed, shouting, "IMPOSSIBLE!"

A cartoon of a man at the pool appeared, straining to flex. "You know how guys at the pool are always sucking in and flexing and trying to look buff?" he wiped the blood from his lips, "I'm like that."

"THIS CAN'T BE REAL!" Midoriya panicked. "No... I'm dreaming... All Might's a giant of a man who saves everyone. He defeats all obstacles and wins the day with a fearless smile...!"

"Maybe," Todoroki said, narrowing his eyes, "He has a twin."

Jiro turned towards him, dumbfounded. "Are... are you being serious right now or-"

"You're right!" Mina exclaimed.

Iida looked between the two. "That doesn't make any sense! How would he switch so quickly?!"

"No, man," Kirishima spoke up, nodding solemnly, "You don't understand; it's the power of twins. They've got some freaky magic stuff goin' on."

"What is even going on?!" Jiro groaned.

"It makes more sense than that whole pool explanation," Tsuyu added.

Tokoyami agreed. "Maybe, one of the twins prefers to revel in the dark while the other prefers fame."

"Or!" Mei suggested, grinning, "He's a robot!"

"That could be a possibility too," Sero said, nodding to himself.

Coming to a surprise to most, even Shinso joined in. "What about like, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde?"

"Oh, oh, yeah!" Nejire exclaimed, "That makes sense too!"

"But," Midoriya mentioned, "Neither of his forms are evil."

"Even you, Midoriya?!" Iida yelled exasperated.

"Fair point," Shinso admitted, ignoring Iida. "But I was mostly suggesting a shared body in general."

Uraraka put her hand on the cheek. "But which one is true?"

"Well, it's definitely not the pool thing," Ojiro replied.

A resounding nod passed through the students in the room.

"Is this seriously going on right now?" Midnight muttered.

"It's all in good fun, right?" Cementoss said, a slight hint of worry in his voice.

Snipe chuckled. "It's not as if they believe it. They're just jokin' around."

"I wouldn't discount them," Aizawa deadpanned, causing the teachers to look a bit nervous.

"Hey, Present Mic!" Kaminari called out, "You're a pro - what do you think the answer is?"
The man looked a bit surprised, turning towards a sighing Aizawa as a grin grew on the blonde's face. "Good question, Little Listener. Honestly, I'm fond of the body-switch theory myself."

"It does make more sense than the whole robot thing," Mina mentioned. "Since there's no metal parts or anything."
"And he doesn't shine like me!" Aoyama winked.

Mei narrowed her eyes suspiciously towards All Might. "That's what you think..."

All Might gulped at her gaze, attempting to turn away only to find more eyes on him.

"So," Todoroki finally pressed, "What's the answer, All Might?"

"My money's on the twin thing!" Mina shouted.

Hagakure raised her hand. "Swap for me!"

"I also agree with the twins," Tokoyami said.

Shoji grew a mouth on one of his limbs. "Swap."

"Robot," Mei said simply, still eyeing the Number One Hero.

"Nah," Bakugou shook his head, joining in as well and earning grins from the Bakusquad, "He's just cosplaying. It's makeup and all that shit."

Mineta looked bewildered. "How would he even change that fast?!"

"Duh," Mina replied, rolling her eyes, "He would've been practicing. Anyways," she said, turning towards Bakugou, "It is another possibility."

Bakugou simply nodded, and Yaoyorozu herself spoke up. "I personally agree with the makeup idea. It can really do wonders."

"Oh my god, Yaomomo," Jiro groaned.

Koda gave a slight smile, putting up two fingers (one more curled than the other) and swapping them.

"Clearly he believes the Hyde-Jekyll swap theory," Sato said, "And I personally agree."
"I like the twin thing," Mirio said, grinning.

Tamaki simply sighed before nodding. "Yeah, sure, why not...?" he mumbled.

"Enough," Nighteye finally said, causing All Might to sigh with relief while the other students stiffened. "Clearly," he spoke sharply, scanning the room, "The twin teleportation theory is nonsense."

All Might sighed. "Thank y-"

"Obviously, he uses his quirk to run home and bring his twin over, hence the smoke," he finished, causing everyone in the room to look at him with a bewildered expression.

"Sir!" All Might shouted out, and the man simply straightened back in his chair, allowing the chaos to continue as Mirio chuckled beside him.

"Of course," Midoriya muttered, "As much as twins are magical, I doubt teleportation without a quirk is in their ability set. And the smoke could always be kicked up from the dust created from the speed of his quirk. It just makes sense."

Mina cleared her throat, gaining the attention of the class. "Here ye, here ye. All in favor of the new and improved twin idea raise thy hands."

Slowly, the majority of the room began to raise their hands - asides from most of the teachers, Mei, Jiro, and Iida. Even Nezu held one paw up, and Present Mic raised his hand, earning an exasperated sigh from All Might.

"C'mon, Iida," Uraraka grinned, "You know it's true."

The boy simply blinked, shaking his head as he put his hand into the air. "I suppose it makes the most sense out of all of them..."

"Yes!" Mina grinned before turning towards Jiro. "C'moooon."
"No," she said.

"Jiroooo," Hagakure half-whined, "C'mooooooon."

Soon enough, half the room was begging Jiro to raise her hand, causing her to twitch in annoyance.

"fINE GOD DAMN IT!" she shouted, throwing her hand into the air. "Happy?!"

Kaminari sniffled, wiping a fake tear away with his free hand. "So happy."

Jiro sighed, but she still allowed a small smile to cross her face.

"Mei?" Mina asked.

"Sorry," she shrugged, "I'm all for the robot theory."

"Fair enough," she nodded.

Kaminari turned around towards the teachers. "Any of you in favor? Besides Present Mic and Nezu, of course."

With a deadpan expression, Aizawa slowly raised his hand, causing the teacher's to look at him with bewildered expressions while the students snickered.

"What?" he asked. "They're right - it's a better excuse than flexing."

"Fair enough...," Midnight finally muttered, raising her hand. "Alright, I agree."
Cementoss sighed and chuckled to himself. "Fair enough," he said, raising his own hand.

Soon enough, the only one in the room with their hand down (besides Mei) was All Might, who looked positively distressed.

"Admit it, All Might," Todoroki said.

Kaminari solemnly nodded. "The council has decided your fate."

The man looked between those who originally opposed, - Iida and Jiro - those who he thought would've opposed, - Tokoyami and Yaoyorozu - the teachers, and even Midoriya himself, but to no avail. Each person stared into his soul, waiting for his admittance.

"Really?" he asked.

He earned a resounding nod.

"Fine," he sighed, putting his hand up. "Sure."

The theater slowly put their hands down before erupting into cheers, leaving a bewildered All Might. However, after a few moments, he found himself chuckling, glad that humor could be found in the situation.

All Might sighed, sitting down as he leaned against the bars behind him. "There's plenty of fear behind that smile. I'm counting on you to keep your mouth shut. Don't go talking about this online or telling your friends." Midoriya leaned forwards, confused, gasping as he saw an injury on All Might's stomach area. Though, 'injury' was an understatement.

"Dang that got depressing fast," Kaminari said bluntly.

"...Does this count as telling it to his friends?" Sero asked offhandedly.

Mina dramatically gasped. "It does! Midoriya!" she yelled, causing the boy to look over confusedly, "You broke your promise!"

"Wh-" he let out, "Huh?!"

"Wow, Midoriya," Kaminari sighed, shaking his head, "I thought you were better than that."

"Sorry, Deku," Uraraka said with false pity in her voice, "But I'm going to have to agree."
Izuku looked around for help, eyes falling upon All Might. And, although the man tossed him a sympathetic look, he read in between the lines: 'Sorry, young man, but you did the same thing to me just moments ago.'

The boy sighed in defeat, nodding and accepting his fate.

"Pretty gross, right?" he gestured to his wound, "I got this in a fight five years back. My respiratory system was basically destroyed. I lost my whole stomach. All the surgeries have pretty much worn me out."

"I know this isn't a completely appropriate question given the circumstances," Yaoyorozu began, "And I apologize if I'm ruining the mood, but how do you eat, sir?"

All eyes turned towards the man, and he looked a bit flustered before clearing his throat.

"It's more of an exaggeration, I suppose," he answered, "But my stomach wasn't removed. It still works, just not as well as it used to.

"I see," Yaoyorozu replied, nodding slowly. "That makes sense. Thank you."

"Sure," he chuckled.

"Besides that," Iida mentioned, "I hope you're still seeing medical professionals, All Might."

The man turned red once again. "Of course..."

"Well," Mina laughed to herself, "If you're anything like Midoriya, we can't be sure."

Kirishima gave a slight smile. "Yeah, it's super manly what you guys do, but you've really got to take care of yourselves."

While All Might looked a bit embarrassed, Izuku was confusedly trying to figure out how the topic changed to include him, completely missing the look Todoroki was tossing at the two.

"We know neither of them have any sense of preservation," Aizawa said monotonically and earning slightly offended looks from them, "But if we mentioned it every time it happens, we'd be here for way too long."

Nezu chuckled, sipping his tea and causing the two to look defeated. "I concur."

"I can't be fixed. Right now I can only do hero work for about three hours a day. Rest of the time? This is what I look like."

"Ah...," Kirishima said, rubbing the back of his head, "So that's why you're leaving class as soon as it ends. And that time's probably even lower now..." All Might nodded at his last statement, causing a few students to shift nervously, though he didn't bother specifying just yet.

Once everyone was done processing All Might's confirmation, Tsuyu agreed with Kirishima's words. "It makes a lot more sense now. Ribbit."

"Though," Yaoyorozu mentioned, "Shouldn't you be spending your time doing hero work instead? Ah," she added embarrassedly, "Not that I'm trying to be rude..."

"Well, I suppose I could," All Might replied, chuckling nervously, "But I wanted to be able to teach the younger generations. And, well... There is another reason, but you'll see that very soon." All but Midoriya, Tsukauchi, Nezu, and Nighteye looked over confusedly, and Mirio spoke quietly to his mentor.

"Do you know something, Sir?" he questioned.

"I do," he replied simply, "But it's not my secret to share. You'll have to wait like everyone else."

Mirio almost spoke up, but when he saw the distant look in the man's eyes, he decided against it, instead looking back towards the screen.

"No way," Midoriya leaned forwards, "Five years ago? So does that mean it was the fight with Toxic Chainsaw?"

"Of course you'd know that," Kaminari laughed.

"Honestly," Jiro smiled, rolling her eyes, "You must have a whole encyclopedia in that brain of yours."

Izuku blushed. "Uh..."

Uraraka laughed as well. "There's no need to get all flustered, Deku," she said, though her cheeks tinted pink when he turned towards her. "It's actually really inspiring, y'know?"

"I-inspiring?" he stuttered.

"Yeah, like," she turned away awkwardly, scratching her jaw and attempting to hide the pinkness in her face (though Mina gave her a sly grin), "It makes you want to learn more and stuff, y'know? And it's just interesting... Uhm..."

"I agree," Iida spoke up, saving Uraraka from her embarrassment, "It is quite admirable, Midoriya."

"It's really not that amazing," he mumbled, and he was beginning to resemble Tamaki in his awkwardness (which Nejire was sure to tease him about).

"I'm pretty sure everything thinks it's impressive, little listener," Present Mic said with a grin.

"But-"

"JuSt tAke ThE fReAkInG CoMplImEnT," Kaminari said, somehow speaking in both uppercase and lowercase in 'real life.'

Izuku sighed. "Yeah, okay." He raised his head, giving everyone a smile that could light up a room. "Thanks, guys."

"Oh god," Kirishima said, smiling, "So manly."

Mina reached towards the ceiling, gasping for air. "I should've... brought... sunglasses..."

"Knock it off, extras," Bakugou said, rolling his eyes, "You're gonna give him an aneurysm."

"Awh," Mina shot up from the dead, cooing, "So you do care."

He shot her a glare, sparking explosions in his palms. "I can make sure you stay dead next time."
Mina gulped, looking up at Aizawa, but the man simply shook his head.

"Learn to take consequences for your actions," he replied bluntly, causing Present Mic and Midnight to laugh next to him. And, as for Izuku, he was simply glad that the attention had moved away from him by that point.

The pink girl, however, slumped down, sighing. "Aw man..."

"Wow," All Might praised him, "You know your stuff. But no," he flexed, "The punk may have landed some hits, but he couldn't bring me down. Most of the world has never heard of this fight. I did everything I could to keep it under wraps."

"Damn," Kirishima frowned, "It just keeps sounding worse and worse."

"Luckily for us," All Might said, giving a small smile, "The villain is gone now."

Neither he nor Tsukauchi mentioned that they weren't quite sure about his claim.

After showing a quick scene of citizens, there was a close up on All Might's face. "I'm supposed to be the guy who's always smiling, right? I'm the Symbol of Peace. People everywhere have to think that I'm never afraid. But honestly," he revealed, clenching his fist, "I smile to hide the fear inside. It's just a brave face I put on when the pressure is high. This job isn't easy. Pro heroes are always having to risk their lives."

"And that," Nezu said, sipping his tea as always, "Is the truth. As much as most aspiring heroes hope to be able to jump into the easy and 'interesting' parts of heroism, that's not all there is."

"Exactly," Aizawa said once Nezu glanced towards him, "Hero work - like life - isn't all sunshine and rainbows. You'll have good moments, ones where you feel glad, proud, and all of that, but you'll also have the bad ones. There'll be times where you'll get injured, where you'll see people close to you get injured or even be mortally wounded. There'll also be times where you won't be able to save everyone.Your class should know this kind of thing better than anyone." Every student in the room, although faced towards him, looked down in a sort of sad understanding.

"Still," he sighed, "Don't always keep your mind on the negatives. That's how things get depressing. As much as I hate to admit it, people like All Might really do help even when things go wrong." The man in question looked mildly offended, but he didn't speak up. "Smiling or even remaining calm in the face of danger is something that's difficult and will take time to learn. You'll learn, however, that it'll help. Not only will it calm citizens if you remain calm, but it'll help you to keep that up, and if you're strong enough, it might even strike fear within villains." Once the room was silent for a moment, he said his final words for the time being. "Understand?"

After a brief moment, the class gave a resounding nod. "Yes, sir."

"It's scary how good you are at that," Midnight mentioned under her breath.

"It's part of being a teacher," Aizawa replied, waving her off.

Present Mic chuckled to himself. "Not all teachers care that much, Shou."

"Yeah," Vlad mentioned, "As much as I hate to admit it, I'm not as great as you when it comes to teaching. Though," he sighed, eye twitching, "My class doesn't exactly make it easy..."

Aizawa simply sighed. "That's what happens with problem children."

"Some villains just can't be beaten without powers," All Might said.

"Oh no," All Might muttered, and Izuku bit his lip.

"What's wrong?" Hagakure asked nervously. "Is something bad about to happen."

All Might placed his hand over his mouth. "I suppose it could be worded that way."
"Uhm...," Izuku spoke up, "Just... Don't think any less of All Might after this, okay? He was right." He shook his head when All Might began to protest. "I didn't even bother trying to train myself or anything before. I had already mostly given up, I guess. And normally he wouldn't be wrong."

Everyone shifted uneasily, a thought within their collective minds pointing to what All Might might've said.

So no, I honestly don't think you can become a hero without a quirk."

"I... See," Midoriya gulped.

The room was so silent that you could hear a pin drop.

"He...," Kirishima trailed off. "Why?"

"It... It was a mistake," All Might admitted, sighing. He looked down, though, not ready to see the eyes that he already felt shooting through him. "I was obviously wrong, and I regret what I said. If anyone were to ask me again, I'd say yes in a heartbeat."

"Given that they actually tried," Izuku mentioned, offering a slight smile.

All Might gave a sad chuckle. "Yes. If they tried or at the very least had the heart for it."

"As much as I'd like to say All Might is wrong," Aizawa said, and All Might began to wonder if he was just giving harmless (or even unintentional) jabs or he really disliked him, "He's not, in a way. I do fight quirkless, as you know, but I trained so I could do so. If Midoriya had never even attempted to train before, what All Might said would make sense. Though," he said, tossing the man a sharp look, "Breaking it to him so harshly wasn't the best way to do it.

"I can agree with that," All Might said, nodding. After a moment, he turned towards Izuku, offering a small smile. "I apologize for what I said, Young Man. I was incredibly wrong to be preaching what I couldn't follow through with myself."

Izuku looked mildly embarrassed, but shook his head nonetheless. "Really, All Might, I don't mind anymore. Please don't beat yourself up about it." He bit his lip, glancing around the room. "Nobody else, either."

Although nobody reacted, they all knew their silence was an agreement, and they offered understanding smiles to the hero.

"If you wanna help people, there are plenty of other ways to do it. You could become a police officer. They're looked down on because the heroes do most of the work, but it's a fine profession." All Might opened the door that led downstairs, saying final words before shutting the door behind him. "It's not bad to have a dream, young man, just... Make sure your dreams are attainable. Realistic. Understand?"

"Harsh," Kirishima winced.

All Might sighed, placing his hand on his forehead.

"But," Yaoyorozu admitted a bit sorrowfully, "Realistic."

Midoriya was left on the roof as All Might walked down the steps, coughs escaping his lips.

"Excuse my language," Iida said, turning around, "But what the fuck were you thinking leaving him on the roof?!"

The man winced (along with most people who heard Iida's sharp swear). "I know..."

"I take back every good thing I've ever said about you," Aizawa said coldly.

All Might seemed to deflate even more than he already had.

After a jab from Midnight, though, Aizawa sighed. "Whatever. That's not true. But I expect you to fucking understand that your words have consequences - especially if you're dealing with a kid on the roof, and extra especially because you're the god damn Number One Hero that literally every child looks up to."

"I understand," All Might said, nodding solemnly. "It was an awful mistake. More than."

And, while some of the adults carried on with their conversation, Uraraka turned towards Izuku with a horrified expression. "Is that when you..."

The boy turned, speaking quietly. "It was only a thought..."

She gave him a sad look, but there was no pity in her eyes - only kindness. And, instead of mentioning it so all could see, she simply put her hand on top of his, squeezing it tight to show her understanding.

Izuku could admit - he really appreciated it.

"Now that we're done with all that 'French,'" Kaminari said, "I'll be the first to say that this is really awkward. And I know this is all emotional, but it's in the past, yeah? I don't mean to be harsh, and yeah we should probably talk about it, but I don't want a bunch of tension everywhere. I mean, I don't wanna crack jokes and seem like I don't care, y'know? So can we like... I don't know," he sighed, "Agree that after everything's talked out, we lighten the mood afterwards?"

After a brief moment of silence, Aoyama spoke up. "That wasn't even French."

Kaminari stared at the boy, blinking repeatedly before bursting into laughter. "God damn it man, the one time I have a good point."

Aoyama gave his signature smile - though softer, in a way - as everyone around chuckled and laughed (Izuku included), and shrugged fashionably. "It's what you wanted, mon amie - non?"

Safe to say, everyone appreciated the change in mood.

Glancing down, he said, "Now, let's get you to the station." After tapping on his pocket, he gasped, pulling the material inside out of each of them. He glanced back and forth, panicking as a loud explosion was heard from outside.

"Oh crap," Sero let out, "I totally forgot about that..."

"Yeah," Kirishima frowned, "I kinda got caught up in the moment..."

Looking out the window, All Might noticed smoke billowing from a few blocks away. Gulping, he dropped his pockets. "Not good."

"More than not good," Iida said, raising a brow. "The situation is downright severe."

Izuku sucked in a breath. "Can't argue much with that..."

Bakugou huffed. "Yeah."

The boy was broken from his trance as he heard the explosion as well, wandering closer to the edge to investigate. Upon noticing the smoke, he gasped, hurriedly running towards the door. "A villain! I wonder what hero will show!"

Midoriya stopped as All Might's words echoed through his mind.  "Some villains just can't be beaten without powers. So no, I honestly don't think you could become a hero without a quirk."  His shoulders drooped and he closed his eyes, making his way downstairs at a much slower pace.

"I really am sorry, Young Man," All Might restated.

"It's fine, All Might," Izuku replied with a genuinely cheerful smile, "I really don't mind anymore. I know you care."

"Because he's your FATHER!" Todoroki said, yelling towards the end (yet somehow retaining his monotone voice).

Both turned to look at the boy, only for Izuku to facepalm moments later.

"What...?" All Might asked confusedly.

"Sports Festival," Izuku muttered with a sigh.

"Well now I'm curious," Mina said, grinning. "Spill."

"Clearly," Todoroki stated again, "Midoriya is-"

"Todoroki," the boy groaned, "Please."

Todoroki narrowed his eyes. "Fine... For now..."

And from then on out, the theater was all-too-confused, with only Todoroki and Midoriya in the know.

All Might ran (incredibly strangely and slowly) through the city as the screen shifted to reveal the wreckage of the villain attack.

Flames licked at posts, bringing them down with  thuds  as panicked people ran from the chaos. Heroes, however, rushed to the scene, soon realizing that there was someone encased in the monster's goop.

"Bakubro," Kirishima said suddenly, and the blonde stiffened.

"You can still leave, Young Bakugou," All Might offered, but the boy simply shook his head, teeth gritted.

Kirishima just barely shifted towards the blonde, but it still acted as some sort of nonchalant comfort that he could (but likely wouldn't) admit was helpful.

"They've taken someone hostage!" Death Arms exclaimed, his fists colliding. The man rushed towards the creature, punching the sludge. "How dare you prey on a child?!"

The monster simply laughed as the man's hand sunk into his body.

"What is this?!" Death Arms shouted, desperately trying to free his arm. His eyes widened as a tentacle came his way. "Some kind of goo!"

Death Arms was thrust into the door of a garage, groaning as he fell.

Jiro winced. "Damn..."

"Did you know anything about this before, Jiro?" Yaoyorozu asked curiously.

"Huh? Oh," she replied, shrugging, "I mean, he mentioned an attack. He said something about training so he wouldn't find himself in a situation like that again."

"That's always good," Tsuyu mentioned.

"If he didn't at least try," Aizawa said drily, "Then he'd be a poor excuse for a hero."
Present Mic shook his head solemnly. "Brutal as always."

"You okay, Death Arms?" a hero asked, running towards the monster.

"Heh! Stay back or I'll snap his neck!" he gargled.

"That must've been terrifying!" Mineta yelped.

"Really, though," Ojiro shuddered. "I'd like to say I'd be fine, but I seriously doubt it."

"Tch," Bakugou let out. And, although he didn't say anything else, everyone understood it as 'Stop mentioning it, because yes, it was terrifying and no, I won't admit it out loud.'

Shinso frowned. He was more than beginning to feel like he judged most of Class 1A entirely unfairly. Izuku, though, tossed him a smile, causing Shinso's eyes to widen and wonder if the boy was also telepathic.

Bakugou struggled, screaming as he stretched the sludge. "YOU PICKED THE WRONG GUY TO MESS WITH! I'M GONNA SEND YOU BACK TO WHATEVER SEWER YOU CRAWLED OUT OF!" His palms forced out explosions as he fought back, spreading the fire. "LET ME GO!"

"Always fighting," Kirishima chuckled, attempting to alleviate the awkwardness.

"Yeah, Shitty hair," Bakugou said, rolling his eyes. "If I just stopped I wouldn't be much of anything."

Mina stared at him with wide eyes before smiling. "They grow up so fast..."

"I'll kill you."

"Alright," she said, recoiling a bit, "Maybe not that fast."

Wind rushed from the explosions, pushing the heroes backwards.

"You have so much power!" the sludge monster laughed, "I really hit the jackpot! With a quirk like yours under my control, I could take All Might down with one punch!" He began forcing his 'tentacles' into the air, sending them into a spiraling motion.

Bakugou scoffed. "Even with my quirk, that bastard couldn't take him down."

Hound Dog slightly smiled at the boy's acceptance, but the blonde refused to acknowledge it. And, similarly, Izuku gave a slight, knowing smile, hoping that his 'Kacchan' really was changing for the better.

Citizens began to comment on the action, panic rising among them.

"What was that? Some kind of special move?"

"Dude is a legit supervillain..."

Smiles lit up as gasps came from the crowd. "It's her! The hero Mount Lady will stop him!"

Mount Lady rushed forwards, eyes widening as she stumbled backwards. "My only weakness!" she gasped, "I need at least a two-lane road if I'm gonna make my way through here!"

Aizawa's eye twitched. "You're kidding."

"Seems like plot convenience to me," Kaminari mentioned.

Sero shot him a dirty look. "Dude!"

The lightning-quirked boy tossed him a cheesy grin, shrugging as Sero ripped off tape and grumbled to himself.

"Ignoring whatever that was...," Midnight said before looking irritated, "Seriously! This is ridiculous! This woman, I swear..."

Kamui Woods wrapped up civilians in his limbs, rescuing them from the scene. "Fire and wood don't exactly make a good combination! I'll let someone else stop this guy!"

"Don't look at me!" Backdraft called out, hosing down the fire, "I've got my hands full here!" He glanced from left to right, speaking to the heroes. "Where are those fire trucks?! Can you guys get to him?!"

"I can't get a grip on his weird body," Death Arms replied, "Plus, that kid's quirk is causing explosions left and right!"

"This is a shutout! We gotta rally and knock him out of the park somehow!" shouted a nearby hero.

Slowly, as soft words began to fill the air, the theater looked down to see Midoriya muttering to himself, causing anyone with plans to speak up to remain silent.

"If she couldn't fit, that means Mount Lady can't regulate her sizes. Even so, she likely could've done multiple things to end the situation quickly. Hm... Maybe she could simply reach her hand in and grab Kacchan - it seems long enough. If not, her sheer size gives her power. And she might've been able to work up a good wind if she swatted at the sludge villain, allowing Kacchan breathing room and a possible escape." He frowned, tapping on his chin. "Even if that didn't work, Kamui Woods could've reached in through the back, entirely avoiding his explosions and bringing him out safely. Or," he shifted, "Backdraft could've diluted the sludge villain's slime, thereby ensuring that Kacchan could leap out or Death Arms could pull him away. By ignoring him in favor of attending to the fires, he was just allowing more to be created, which caused issues for both him and Kamui."

"In short," Nezu said near the end, "If they had actually bothered to work together, they'd be able to save Bakugou."

Izuku blinked, looking up at the mouse-dog-bear-thing and pausing as his cheeks bloomed with red. "Was that out loud...?"

"Yeah," Kaminari chuckled, a grin spreading across his cheeks. "And honestly, I'm pretty proud of myself! I actually kinda followed along!"

"Deku's muttering habit rubbing off on all of us," Uraraka laughed.

Mei snapped her fingers together. "Explains the future me situation!"

Izuku blushed. "Sorry..."

Kirishima laughed. "Nah, it's really cool, man."

"Besides," Yaoyorozu added, "You're helping the rest of the class to understand what's going on."
"And inadvertently teaching everyone how to analyze and adapt to situations," Iida mentioned.

The boy blinked surprisedly. "Really?"

"Really, kid," Aizawa said with a sigh. "Stop being so harsh on your work."

All Might grinned. "Exactly, Young Midoriya! Not only are you figuring things out for yourself, but you're also helping your classmates and future coworkers.Though," he admitted while chuckling, "You might want to keep that muttering down when you're trying to keep your plans secret."

Izuku blushed, but nodded anyway. "Okay! Gotcha!"

"Also," Mina said, grinning, "I wouldn't mind a lesson in analyzation."

"That might be fun!" Hagakure agreed.

Kirishima laughed. "I'm all for it."

"As am I," Yaoyorozu said, and Iida nodded next to him.

"It'd be pretty fun," Uraraka said, smiling.

The boy looked nervous as each of his classmates asked him for lessons, and All Might couldn't help but smile.

You  are  a true hero Young Man. You may not realize it just yet, but you're one of the best things that'll happen to the future hero world.

And, unfortunately for his previous stance, Nighteye was relatively inclined to agree.

Bakugou continued to struggle as the sludge monster laughed maniacally, almost completely enveloping the boy. He then launched an attack towards the heroes, forcing them to move backwards.

"Yuck," Mina shivered. "Also, scary."

Most were inclined to agree, even with the simple statement.

"It's no good! None of us have the right quirks for stuff like this!" Death Arms shouted, exasperated.

"But," Jiro mentioned, "As Midoriya pointed out, they could totally take the villain out if they helped each other out."

"Then again," Shinso muttered, "Most heroes are more obsessed with fame than actually taking the villain out."

Todoroki turned around with wide eyes, looking between the purple-haired boy and Aizawa. "Another one??" he whispered to himself, earning himself a confused look from Shinso, a sigh from Izuku, and a 'You better stop thinking what you're thinking right now' look from Aizawa.

The other hero nodded. "We'll do damage control until someone with the right quirk shows up!"

Aizawa looked annoyed. "That's an irrational stance to have. Even if you don't have the 'right' quirk, you can still do something about the situation instead of just waiting around hoping for the best. That's the difference between rookies and real pros."
Kirishima stared at the man, breaking out into a smile. "So manly..."

"Hear that, Shou?" Present Mic grinned, "You're manly."
The man rolled his eyes. "Shut it."

"There are still plenty of people to save...!" Backdraft commented, continuing to deal with the rising flames.

Kamui raised more citizens out of the blaze, "Don't worry, I bet all the heroes in the city are coming!"

Tsukauchi raised a brow. "That's definitely not true. Most heroes are busy at all times - believing that is nonsense." He scanned the future heroes - aka the students of U.A. - and offered a small smile that also held a sort of warning. "Don't count on someone coming to save you. You'll never know how long it takes, so always be prepared for the worst." Nobody noticed how his eyes flicked towards All Might.

"Yes, sir," both 1A and the Big 3 responded.

I'm sorry kid,  Death Arms thought, fists shaking,  you'll just have to hang on a little bit longer!  He grunted, "If I only had more power I could blow this guy away!"

"You could do more than that!" Sero yelled, throwing his hands forwards. "I can think of like, a million ways right now."

"Seriously," Kaminari sighed. "At least he figured it out later, but still."

"Like literally just trying to grab Bakugou instead," Mina suggested, shrugging dramatically.

"Or," Jiro mentioned, "He could've asked the others for help."

"Exactly," each of them (except Jiro) said in unison.

Unbeknownst to most, the Bakusquad mainly kept up their comments to keep the attention off of Bakugou, who clearly didn't want to be pitied.

It was stupidly sweet and he refused to admit that it felt nice.

All Might arrived at the scene, panting as he rounded the corner. Civilians shouted towards the heroes, encouraging them to fight back.

Upon glancing at the battle, All Might gasped, remembering his encounter with Midoriya.  I must've dropped him in the air... I got distracted, worrying about my time limit...,  he clutched his chest, gripping a pole with the opposite hand,  What a rookie mistake... And after lecturing that kid about what it takes to be a hero. I'm pathetic!

All Might sighed, scratching his jaw. "I apologize for my mistake, Young Bakugou."

"If you apologize again I'm gonna make sure you can't do it again," the blonde snapped back, rolling his eyes and surprising the man. "Seriously, old man, you're almost as bad as Deku. And," he said once he noticed that the man was about to speak again, "If you say sorry for that..." He sparked explosions in his hands, a menacing grin on his face. "I'll be kind of annoyed."
Izuku looked over, the tops of his ears turning red as All Might's did the same (though, the man was also looking a bit nervous).

It was only more fuel to the secret love child fueled fire (which, when worded in such a way, admittedly sounds a bit dark...)

"Anyways," Kirishima said, chuckling, "Don't be like that, All Might! You're not pathetic at all." He grinned, pounding his fist on his chest. "You're super manly!"

"Ah, well," the man said, reddening further, "Thank you, Young Man, but I'm not sure I deserve your praise."

"Nonsense!" Iida spoke up, shaking his head robotically. "All people - including heroes - make mistakes. You can only do your best to learn from them."

"Well put, Iida," Nezu smiled.

The boy startled, but he gained a slightly wider smile. "Thank you, sir!"

"For someone so famous," Aizawa mentioned under his breath, "You sure do blush a lot for compliments."

"Well... It's...," he fidgeted awkwardly, "It's different..."

"I getcha," Present Mic said with a grin, "When you get to know people, it means a lot more coming from them." He smirked, slyly turning towards Aizawa. "Right, Shou? Like when you-"

"I'll end you."

Tsukauchi simply nodded solemnly, and no more was said. He wasn't going to bother reprimanding the man for his threats - they'd never stop.

The screen turned over to Midoriya, who was wandering the streets as he flipped through his hero notebook. Echoes of doubt rattled around his brain as tears pooled in his eyes.  Even All Might said it. A hero needs a quirk.  He sniffled,  Don't cry, dang it. Deep down you knew this. You've just been avoiding reality. That's why you were trying so desperately to prove yourself wrong.

"nOOOoo," Mina shouted, "my bAbiE!"

"You're super manly too, Midoriya!" Kirishima affirmed.

Uraraka grinned. "Yeah, you're powerful, smart, you help people calm down, you're inspiring-"

Mina slowly raised her head with each compliment Uraraka gave the boy, noticing how he was turning red. "Oh...," she chuckled darkly. "I see..."

Uraraka felt a shiver go down her spine.

The boy heard another explosion, causing his attention to shift.  That's strange. Is the fight from earlier still going on?  He glanced over to the crowd, explosions continuing as his heart pounded.  Why am I here? Did I subconsciously walk this way to check it out?

"Heroic instinct," Kirishima grinned.

"Or coincidence," Jiro provided. "Though, I wouldn't discount the first option, knowing Midoriya?"

The boy blinked, returning from his embarrassed stupor. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Didn't you hear Ochako?" Tsuyu asked.

"Yeah, Midori," Mina smirked, "Didn't you?"

Uraraka couldn't help but feel like she was being targeted for a reason, but she decided not to think about it too much.

"Anyways," Sero said, "You're really heroic and it's honestly kind of crazy how willing you are to hurt yourself for others."

"I admit," Iida smiled, "I'm a bit jealous of your resilience."

"Yeah," Ojiro agreed, sighing with an awkward smile. "I don't think I could do half the things that you do."
"...I-"

"Take the compliments, damn nerd," Bakugou suddenly said, earning surprised looks from his classmates.

Similarly, Izuku startled, but his lips slowly spread into a smile. "Thanks, guys."

"Finally!" Sato half-shouted, causing the audience to delve into a bit of laughter.

He wandered over to the crowd, attempting to get a look at the fight. His head tilted back and forth as peered through bodies.  I shouldn't even stop. All my notes are useless.

"Totally wrong," Midnight snorted.

"You've got Nezu's attention," Power Loader said, a slightly terrified look in his eyes, "And that's an impressive feat."

Nezu smiled, tail flicking, and Izuku gulped as he watched the staff shiver.

"Praising the kid is great and all," Aizawa said, "And I agree, but I think if everyone keeps doing this to him, he's going to have an embarrassment-induced heart attack."

"Fair enough," All Might said, lip quirking upwards.

"Like you're any better," Midnight snickered to herself, and the man looked over, sighing.

Midoriya suddenly gasped, eyes widening as he noticed the villain.  It's the guy who attacked me! ...That can't be right. All Might captured him.  His breath hitched as he thought back.  But the bottle... If he dropped it... That means... It's my fault.

"I still agree, though," Izuku said, shaking his hands frantically when everyone opened their mouths to shower him in positivity, "I get it, It's not entirely my fault - a few people are to blame. But I can't say I'm not partly to blame either."

Kirishima sighed, laughing to himself. "I guess that's fair. Pretty manly to admit that, too."

"Is that your catchphrase or something?" Shinso asked. "You've said 'manly' 17 times already, you know."

Present Mic looked over amusedly. "You counted?"

Shinso snorted. "It got kind of hard not to."

"Fair enough," Kirishima agreed, grinning. "I guess it is my catchphrase."

"Watch him be in the field and start yelling at villains about how unmanly they're being," Jiro said, covering her mouth as she laughed.

Mina turned towards the boy, a desperate look in her eyes. "Please. I'm begging you. Please do that."

The boy looked a bit startled, but was quick to smile and put his thumb up. "Will do!"

"Awesome," Kaminari grinned, leaning back in his chair. "We've already changed the future - Kiri's got a catchphrase."

Sero nodded. "It's really our greatest accomplishment."

"At this rate, we'll be sure to save the world!" Uraraka exclaimed with an overexaggerated, dreamy look in her eyes.

Bakugou rolled his eyes. "God damn idiots."

Mina tossed him a grin. "You love us."

"Tch. You're all annoying as hell."

"But," Kirishima mentioned, wiggling his brows teasingly, "You didn't deny it."

"I swear I'll fuckin' roast you!" he barked back.

"Awh," Kaminari chuckled, "He's like an angry little pomeranian."

"WHAT WAS THAT, YOU BRAIN-FRIED PIECE OF SHIT?!" he roared, jumping up in his chair and lighting off explosions in his palms. "YOU TALK A WHOLE LOT OF CRAP FOR A WEAK ASS POKEMON RIPOFF!"

"Damn," Sero whispered, laughing under his breath, "He got you."

Kaminari looked offended, but before he could speak, Aizawa turned his gaze towards the two. "Knock it off," he said simply.

Bakugou twitched, but he sat down nonetheless, grumbling to himself. Similarly, Kaminari pouted, looking slightly downwards and attempting to hide the half-amused smirk on his face.

"How'd you do that?" Present Mic asked in awe.

"He's not stupid," Aizawa simply replied, refusing to give a more detailed response.

A man turned to someone next to him. "Why aren't the heroes doing anything?"

"It looks like they've met their match. Plus, it looks like the villain captured a kid," the other replied, "Things aren't looking good for the heroes."

"That's gonna be an oof from me, dawg," Kaminari said.

Jiro turned towards him, eye twitching. "You really need to stop."

"I think my memes are very plus ultra, thankyouverymuch," he replied smugly, causing her to take in a deep breath while she mumbled to herself.

Sero laughed. "You're gonna break her if you keep doing this."

Kaminari simply shrugged. "It iiiis what it iiiis."

While Mina and Sero had to suppress their laughter, it seemed as if Jiro might have a stroke. Poor, poor Jiro.

"Okay but," Hagakure mentioned, "I've seen you watching those meme videos too. Something about needing to keep up with Kaminari or something?"

Mina's shipping senses kicked in, and she turned towards the girl with a terrifying glimmer in her eyes. "Oh?"

Her cheeks tinged red, and she looked away. "I have no idea what you're talking about."
"Awwwwh," Kaminari said, putting his hand over his heart. "I'm touched."

"Shut up, Jamming Whey," she muttered, sinking further into her chair as the red on her cheeks blossomed further.

Uraraka turned towards her. "I think it's pretty cute, actually!"

Jiro was more flustered than she could handle. "Well...," she said, looking between her and Midoriya, "What about you two?!"

It was Uraraka's turn to nearly die by that point, while Izuku looked a bit surprised as to whatever was going on.

"Uraraka?!" he asked, shaking her a bit, "Are you okay?!"

Mina grinned evilly, pulling out her phone as Izuku panicked and tried to snap Uraraka out of it, taking a picture. "This one's for the books. Heh... heh... heh..."

Ojiro shivered. "You're evil, you know that?"

She looked more smug than she probably should've. "I try."

After hearing their conversation, Midoriya's head snapped back to the fight, noticing blonde tufts of hair peeking from the sludge.  He captured someone? I wonder how long they've been in there... How can they survive being suffocated like that?  He thought back to his own encounter with the villain.  I thought I'd die after only a few seconds of struggling.

Bakugou's fingers curled into a fist, and, although he wouldn't admit it, he was grateful that his classmates knew enough not to shoot him pitiful looks.

"I wonder if I just thought that in the moment," Izuku mumbled, rubbing his hand on the front of his neck, "But either way, it definitely wasn't fun..."

Uraraka frowned. "I wouldn't think it would be."

"Maybe for someone Irredeemable," Kaminari shrugged, "Y'know, a masochist."

"I am going to kill all of you, but mostly Kaminari," Sero grumbled. "You keep doing this."

Kaminari snickered. "Sorry not sorry."

Sero looked towards him, holding his tape. "I've watched Aizawa-Sensei use his scarf too many times not to know how to kill a man using my tape."

"Yeah right," Kaminari smirked, rolling his eyes. After Tsukauchi tossed him a look, though, he shot up with a panicked expression. "Wait, seriously?!"

Aizawa almost felt proud.

...Almost.

Oh man...  he cupped his hand o ver his mouth.

Confusion began to rise amongst the crowd.

"Wait, I'm confused. Isn't that the villain All Might was chasing after earlier?"

"What? All Might?! No way he lost! Where is he?!"

"Well, can someone call him or something?!"

"Seriously! Why hasn't he shown up to help the heroes!"

All Might frowned, but his students were quick to jump to his rescue.

"Hey!" Kirishima yelled at the screen, "That's totally not manly! All Might can't be counted on for everything!"

Aizawa would be lying if he said his lip didn't curl upwards at the comment, but he sure wouldn't acknowledge it if no one asked.

"Yeah!" Mina agreed, nodding rapidly, "Don't be so rude!"

"The ones in the bitter darkness scorn those in the spotlight only because they themselves can do no better," Tokoyami said, shaking his head.

Izuku looked offended on behalf of the man. "All Might has more arrests than any hero in the world (aside from Endeavor, admittedly, but we don't talk about him) - and his agency has more than double the amount of the bottom 20 heroes combined (10-20, im making this up, fight me xD). He also has one of the lowest rates when it comes to grievous injuries, and despite his immeasurable strength, his formidable control places him in the lower tiers of property damage as well! Besides," he said, clearly heated, "They weren't commenting about the other heroes on the scene, and they were only blocking the scene!"

After a moment of silence, Izuku began to realize that he had been ranting, redness blooming on his cheeks. "Oh. Sorry."

"That was so sweet," Uraraka said, laughing from under the hand that was placed over her mouth.

"Yeah, you tell it to 'em, Midoriya!" Kirishima half-yelled, grinning.

Shinso smirked and slightly teased the boy. "When it comes to others, you can't keep yourself from defending them, huh?"

"Well," he laughed nervously, rubbing the back of his neck, "It's different when it's someone else... I can only see all the facts and..."

"Great," Nezu smiled, "Now you know that the majority of the negative thoughts in your mind are simply unjust opinions because they're about yourself."

"If you look from an outside perspective," Thirteen mentioned, "You're much more impressive than you give yourself credit for."

Izuku blinked, looking around the room and seeing faces of agreement. And, rather than deny them, he gave a sigh before glancing up with a bright smile. "Thank you."

All Might looked touched and proud. "Young Man..."

"Soooo," Kirishima mentioned, "We have an Izuku Protection Squad... Should we make an All Might one too?"

"Protect the smiles of hope!" Mina cried out like a warrior.

Shrugging, the majority of the theater threw their fists into the air. "Of hope!"

Izuku and All Might exchanged looks before beginning to laugh, putting their own hands into the air as they grinned.

Lights shined on Midoriya and All Might, regret and blame clouding their minds.

I'm the one to blame. He wasted his energy on me.

All Might's grip tightened with each intrusive thought.  I'm worthless.

He can't power up yet. And none of the heroes have the quirks to stop this monster.

So pathetic.

It's my fault. I'm sorry. So sorry.

A disgrace.

Help will show up and save the day, I'm sure.

I'm not a real hero.

Someone. A real hero will come soon.

"Boooo!" Kaminari yelled at the screen, giving the scene an animated thumbs down. "Old news!"

Uraraka shook her fist. "Yeah, Deku and All Might are both amazing!"

Izuku smiled, while All Might chuckled lightly as each student - and even some pros - gave the two praise.

"Protection Squads, Unite!" Kirishima yelled out, earning the support of the rest of the squads.

"You bet!" Present Mic shouted, careful not to use his quirk but still making Aizawa's eye twitch at the sudden yell.

Somehow, Nighteye was now wearing All Might merchandise and a single 'Deku' pin. Nobody bothered to question it, especially since they didn't want to evoke Sero's newfound wrath towards fourth wall breakage.

"Yes!" Mei grinned, causing Power Loader to sigh. "They'll make opportunities for me to create my babies!"

And, although the wording might have caused embarrassment before, everyone was far too used to it by that point to even stir. Except Tamaki, of course, who almost died.

"What's wrong, man?" Mirio asked.

"Wh-what's wrong?!" Tamaki sputtered. "She's talking about making babies - how can you not get embarrassed??"

Nejire waved him off. "They're just her inventions, Jiki."

"But-"

Iida tossed him a solemn, understanding look that said, 'I know it's weird, but honestly she's said it so many times that nobody even bothers to question it anymore. It'd be best if you got used to her antics as well, lest you end up in... unfavorable situation.'

Tamaki looked nervous at the mention of the 'unfavorable' situation (how he read Iida's silent words so well, nobody could guess), but still nodded, gulping.

Bakugou's eyes widened, fear plaguing his visible features.

Midoriya broke free, his notebook falling to the ground as he took off. He weaved through the crowd as the heroes watched.

"OH MY FUCKING GOD!" Sero blurted.

"He just... He..." Tamaki struggled to find his words, instead ending up just making several confused and defeated faces in a row.

Bakugou let out a deep, annoyed sigh. "You're still a fuckin' dumbass," he said, not quite yelling but not exactly quiet either.

Izuku shrugged sheepishly. "I just moved bef-"

"'I just moved before I could think,'" Iida said for him, raising a brow as he mimicked his voice. "That's what you were going to say, right?"

The boy blinked at his open mocking. "Well that kinda hurt..."

"Your recklessness transcends boundaries so much that even Iida sees it fit to mention it," Todoroki said. "And I agree. Especially after the Sport's Festival and Hosu."

"Todoroki," the boy said, exasperated, "You too?!"

Neither boy had any mercy for Izuku. Still, although everyone teased him about his lack of self preservation, they all knew that the boy really was going to be a great hero.

All Might gasped, eyes widened as he saw the boy in action.

The heroes took quick notice as well, attempting to stop him.

"NO, YOU IDIOT! STOP! YOU'RE GONNA GET YOURSELF KILLED!" Death Arms shouted.

"No u," Kaminari simply said.

Uraraka shook her head. "At least he tried."

"It's undeniable that you need to work on your carelessness in such situations, though," Aizawa said, a brow raised.

"Yes sir," he agreed sheepishly.

"Y'know," Midnight commented, "I don't know why, but I have the feeling that when/if we actually get into the future parts of this, he'll be even more reckless than before."

Nobody could really say much, as, even though they didn't want to think about it, they couldn't help but agree. It was kind of a personality trait at that point.

Midoriya tuned each of them out, picking up speed.

"UGH! This brat again!" the sludge monster growled.

"Well," Kaminari said, far too smugly for someone who didn't do anything, "That 'brat' is gonna take you out!"

"Terrifying," Mineta mumbled. "But kinda cool?"

"I can't say I disagree," Yaoyorozu commented, hand on her cheek as her lips curled into a slight smile.

Jiro sighed, putting her head back in her chair as she smirked. "I think your spirit is becoming infectious."

"Is that good or bad?" Izuku asked cautiously.

"Ehh," Kirishima shrugged, shaking his hand, "Both? It's manly, but at the same time I'm pretty sure if it gets too bad Aizawa-Sensei might kill us all."

Aizawa didn't protest, and that inspired more fear than words could.

"Anyways," Ojiro laughed nervously, "I mean, I don't think it's weird to see this as cool."

Uraraka agreed, beaming. "Yeah! We're able to see all this from a different perspective or whatever! Like, it really does feel like some exciting TV show."

"Almost like a shounen anime," Shoji offered, causing Sero's eye to unconsciously twitch.

"Oh, yeah!" Nejire grinned, "That'd be so cool!"

"Fair enough, students," Nezu smiled, "But don't be getting any ideas, alright?"

"Yes sir," the students replied.

"...Deku?" Bakugou tiredly whispered.

What am I doing?! Why am I running?! Why can't I stop?!  He thought, rushing towards the creature. As the villain reached out his muddy hand, Midoriya panicked.  What do I do? What would a hero do right now?!

"Why are you running?!" Kaminari shouted in an accent, "Why are you running?!"

"God damn it," Jiro mumbled.

"Hey!" the boy beamed, "That means you recognized it!"

Jiro froze. "...Uh."

"Just admit you like memes, already," Hagakure teased.

"No reason to be ashamed," Kirishima grinned. "I'm not on Reddit all the time like Kaminari, but I appreciate funny videos and everything."

Mina nodded, a smirk look on her face. "Memes are pretty great."

"Agreed," Sero said with finger guns.

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure everyone in here likes them. At least when it comes to students," Ojiro offered with a sheepish smile.

Present Mic looked far too smug. "Well, I'd consider myself a high tier memer as well. Though," he frowned, "Now that I say that out loud, I sound like an old man."

"Nah - you go, Mic!" Kaminari laughed.

"Even Shou likes memes," Midnight snickered, causing the man to groan. "Though, they're mostly cat related."

Shinso's head just barely turned, but the look behind his eyes gave away his excitement - even with the bags underneath them.

Todoroki took notes.

"So, anyways," Mina said, "Just admit you like them, Jiro."

Izuku laughed. "There's nothing bad about them."

"Tch, damn nerd. You probably only like All Might memes," Bakugou said, rolling his eyes with the ghost of a smirk on his face.

The boy blushed, but he didn't deny the blonde's claim.

Jiro sighed, dragging her hands down her face. "Why...?"

"So you don't look like a boomer," Kaminari replied.

Her eye twitched, and after a moment, she took in a deep breath. "Fine. I like vines and memes. Whatever. Sue me."

Tsuyu tilted her head to the side, while the Bakusquad - and some others - cheered.

"Mission success," Kaminari grinned, "We got 'em this time."

Jiro didn't bother hiding her small smile, or her annoyance.

And the cringe moment (mostly) ceased.

He quickly thought of his hero notebook, mentally opening up to a page about Kamui Woods.  Page twenty-five! Right!

Kaminari clicked his tongue, using an over-exaggerated Australian accent. "Noice."

The boy spun, hurling his backpack at the sludge villain's grotesque eye. "TAKE THIS!"

Flinching, the monster released Bakugou for a moment, allowing him to take a gulp of air.

"AWWWW YEAH!" Mina grinned, pumping her fist in the air and causing Izuku to laugh. "You go, Midori!"

Kirishima opened his mouth to speak, and Bakugou slapped his hand over it before he speak. 

"Dwayne I swear to fucking god if you were about to say manly..."

The boy's eyes widened, and he closed his mouth from underneath the blonde's palm. Slowly, he removed his hand, and Kirishima smirked. "Manly," he whispered quickly, only to leap out of his chair and running past the Bakusquad. "HEeEeLp!" he shouted, Bakugou close behind him.

"We'll miss ya, soldier," Kaminari said sadly, bowing his head.

"It was an honor knowing you," Mina agreed solemnly.

Sero wiped a fake tear from his eye. "Rest in piece...s."

"pIeCeS?!" Kirishima blurted, weaving through the seats. "MAYBE THIS WAS A MISTAAAAKE!"

"You kinda brought it on yourself," Jiro said, shrugging with a small smile on her face.

"But I thought it'd be funnnyyyy!" he cried out.

Shinso leaned on his chair, smirking. "If it's any consolation, this is pretty entertaining."

Kirishima was about to respond when, suddenly, he heard a roar behind him.

"SHITTY HAIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIR!"

"Uh oh," he whispered, eyes wide as he was tackled to the ground. As Bakugou popped explosions in his hands, he looked up at Midoriya, fake tears in his eyes. "Avenge... me...," he whispered, falling to the ground, 'dead.'

"GET THE FUCK UP SO I CAN ACTUALLY KILL YOU FIRST!" Bakugou shouted.

Aizawa stood, scarf and hair floating into the air and eyes becoming a crimson red. "Bakugou," he warned, "Go sit back down."

"NO W-" he began, only to freeze when he saw the look in the man's eye. Grumbling under his breath, he stood up, returning to his seat (though not before scowling at Kirishima).

Slowly, when he heard the blonde leave, he let out a deep sigh. "Saved..."

"I can't protect you forever," Aizawa simply said, blinking and sitting down. Kirishima stiffened before solemnly nodding and standing, walking back to his seat while shaking his head at the Bakusquad, who simply tossed him cheesy grins in response.

"Comfort me, Bakubro," Kirishima mumbled sadly, leaning towards the blonde.

"Did you really just ask him for help?" Ojiro asked, bewildered.

"He's closest and I don't trust my Bakubois anymore," he said, looking away with false resentment.

Mina laughed. "C'mon, Kiri, don't be like that."

"It's too late for forgiveness," he said sadly.

"We'll get you some Crimson Riot merch," Sero offered, a smirk on his face.

Kirishima suddenly turned, a goofy grin on his face. "Alright, maybe you guys aren't that bad."

Most of the theater laughed at the sudden change, while Bakugou rolled his eyes, letting a small smile creep onto his face.

"KACCHAN!" Midoriya shouted, grasping at the sludge monster's body.

Bakugou yelled at the boy. "What?! Why are you here?!"

"Be grateful," Kaminari joked, "Tsk, tsk!"

"I must agree," Iida mentioned, nodding as he took the situation seriously. "Although Midoriya didn't make the best move, you should thank him for what he did for you."

Izuku smiled sheepishly. "I mean... he kind of did. In his own way."

Bakugou scoffed. "Shut up, damn nerd."

"Awwh," Mina cooed, "You care!" Bakugou turned towards her, a deadly look in his eyes. 

"Waitwaitiwait," she backtracked after noticing his glare, "NevermiND NEVERMIND-"

She was about to jump from her seat when Aizawa tossed down 'the look' and both students shifted back into place - the blonde annoyedly and the pink-haired girl nervously.

"I DON'T KNOW! MY LEGS! THEY JUST STARTED... MOVING!" he shouted frantically, still attempting to release the blonde.

Memories flashed on screen as an older Midoriya spoke.  I don't know why I did what I did. Maybe it was the look on his face.

"So manly," Kirishima said, wiping away a fake tear.

Bakugou began to sit up, when Ojiro caught the boy's attention, shaking his head. "There's no point. He'll never stop."

The blonde's eye twitched, and he simply grumbled under his breath. After all, he wasn't wrong.

"Kacchan," Midoriya cried, "I couldn't just stand there and watch you die!"

All Might gasped, staring wide-eyed at the boy.

"GET OFF ME!" Bakugou shouted.

"Wack!" Kaminari half-yelled.

"Midori was doing his best," Mina scolded. "Be nice, Bakugou!"

The blonde rolled his eyes. "Shut it, Pinky."

"It's fine, guys," Izuku said, smiling sheepishly, "Kacchan's not great at expressing himself."
"wHAT'D YOU SAY, DEKU?!" he shouted. "I'M AMAZING AT SHOWING EMOTIONS!"

"Anger, maybe," Sero laughed under his breath.

Bakugou threw his arms to the sides, angrily yelling as he lit his explosions. "I'LL SLAUGHTER YOU, TAPE ELBOWS!"

"Could you compliment Midoriya?" Yaoyorozu asked, half-curious but admittedly amused.

"OF COURSE I COULD, PONYTAIL!" he scoffed.

"Bet," Jiro smirked. "Do it."

Bakugou turned towards the boy, a smug look on his face. "YOU'RE NOT AS STUPID AS THESE DUNCES."

Izuku looked a bit startled, while the Bakusquad suppressed their laughter.

"Wow," Sato blinked, "That sucked."

"I admit," Aoyama commented, "That was less than magnifique."

Bakugou turned red, partly because he was angry, and partly because he realized that he said something not too awful about Deku. "LIKE YOU FUCKERS COULD DO ANY BETTER!"

Aizawa blinked, unimpressed. "Have you even heard them this whole time?"

The blonde opened his mouth to speak, only to pause. "wHATEVER," he said finally, turning towards Izuku. "YOU KNOW WHAT, DAMN NERD?!"

"Ohmygod," Mina whispered, "Is he really..."

Izuku gulped. "Y-yeah, Kacchan?"

"YOUR NOTES ARE CREEPY AS FUCK!" he shouted, causing the entire theater to groan. "BUT THEY'RE NOT HALF-BAD, ALRIGHT?!"

Most of the theater was staring, slack-jawed at the blonde.

"No way," Kaminari muttered, snickering.

"T-thank you, Kacchan," Izuku said, beginning to smile.

"YEAH!" he shouted. "BUT STILL, FUCK YOU! USING YOUR GODDAMN NOTES AGAINST ME, NERD! THE ACCURACY WAS ANNOYING AS HELL!" After a moment, he fell back in his seat, crossing his arms with a red face.

Izuku tilted his head, scratching his jaw nervously. "I really can't tell if I should be offended or happy."

"It's probably best to take what you can get," Uraraka laughed.

Hound Dog looked down at Bakugou, nodding with a sort of pride. Not too bad, kid. Not great, he admitted with a slight laugh, But not bad.

All Might's muscles began to expand, steam rising from his skin.  I have to do something...,  he grunted,  No matter the cost!

"iNspIrATiON," Mina shouted, mostly mentioning the Number One Hero but still a bit stuck on Bakugou's admittance (which they of course continued to tease him for, no matter how red in the face he became).

"You inspired All Might!" Uraraka gasped, looking at Izuku with stars in her eyes, hands on his arm. "That's so cool, Deku!"

Izuku began to turn redder than Kirishima's hair, and that's when Uraraka noticed what she was doing. Quickly, she pulled her hands away, laughing far too awkwardly. "I mean... Yeah."

"Ah...," he muttered nervously, "Thanks..."

All Might almost spoke up to praise the boy further, but remained silent, chuckling as his classmates did the work for him. If anything, their compliments only cemented the point further.

"Just a little bit longer, kid!" he addressed Bakugou, switching to Midoriya as he aimed an attack. "AND I'M DONE WITH YOU!"

The heroes lunged towards Midoriya, panicked. "SAVE THE BOY!" Death Arms ordered. "THIS THING WILL KILL HIM!"

"And to this day," Kaminari nodded solemnly, "Izuku Midoriya is dead."

"A tragic fate," Mina sighed, joining the boy.

Izuku simply blinked, a bit confused but amused nevertheless.

"Did anyone hear that?" Sero whispered, face paler once Izuku laughed. "I still feel like I can hear his voice..."

"Oh my fucking god, you're all idiots," Bakugou grumbled.

"gASP?!" Kaminari yelled. "Your childhood friend died trying to save you and you don't even care?!"

"Maybe in another fanfiction," Iida shook his head, "But he's very much alive."

"Poor Iida," Mina muttered, "He's still in denial."

"fORGET THAT!" Sero shouted, "I THOUGHT I COULD COUNT ON AT LEAST YOU, IIDA!"

The boy, seeming a bit out of character to most, tossed him a sly smile. "Whatever do you mean, Sero?"

"Oh my god," Kaminari laughed, "This is great."

Sero buried his head in his hands. "I hate you all..."

Midoriya braced for an attack that never came. Wind rushed through the area, and upon looking up, he locked eyes with All Might.

"I really am pathetic," All Might addressed the boy, goop latching onto him as he held off the attack.

"Incorrectamundo," Kaminari stated a matter of factly.

All Might attempted to protest, but Aizawa shot him a glare. "Are we really going to have another Midoriya moment on our hands?"

Izuku looked offended (barely, but it was still there), while All Might sighed, chuckling to himself. "Thank you, Young Kaminari."

"You bet," he grinned, shooting finger guns at the man.

"All Might... But..."

"I told you the traits that make a great... Champion!" he struggled, "But I see now I wasn't living up to my own ideals!" Midoriya watched in awe as the man broke free from the sludge, grasping onto Bakugou's arm. "PROS ARE ALWAYS RISKING THEIR LIVES," he shouted, blood spewing from his mouth, "THAT'S THE TRUE TEST OF A HERO!"

Aizawa rolled his eyes. "Not entirely."

"Yeah, definitely don't be as reckless as All Might," Tsukauchi smiled, tone a bit teasing.

"Or Midoriya for that matter," Nighteye sighed.

"Like father like son," Todoroki whispered, narrowing his eyes. However, he spoke too quietly for most to notice (except Izuku, who didn't even know what to say anymore).

"wAIT A DAMN MINUTE," Bakugou suddenly blurted, "WERE YOU FUCKING OVEREXERTING YOURSELF, ALL MIGHT?!"

The man froze.

"All Might!" Mina scolded jokingly.

"I had t-"

Iida shook his head, suppressing his own smile. "I'd expect such a prominent pro to be far more responsible."

"Plea-"

Todoroki's expression didn't even change. "No excuses."

"Fine," All Might sighed. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay - at least you learned your lesson," Kirishima grinned. "And you saved Bakubro!"

All Might couldn't help but feel like he had a bunch of mini-Aizawas on his case, in a way. 

It was terrifying.

The sludge monster growled, attempting to fight back. All Might, however, was quick to react, ripping Bakugou from the sludge body as he attacked. "DETROIT.... SMASH!" he yelled.

"Lemme just say," Kaminari mentioned, awestricken, "Did you notice how easily All Might pulled Bakugou from the sludge?? Like, that was totally effortless."

"Well duh," Mineta responded, "He's All Might."

"Fair enough," Sero agreed, "But it's still impressive."

All Might chuckled. "Thank you all. Though it isn't as effortless as it might seem - I had to regulate my power well so I didn't hurt Young Bakugou, but still strong enough that I could pull him free."

"That's even more manly!" Kirishima exclaimed.

Uraraka nodded rapidly. "You're strong enough that you even have to think about something like that! Like, imagine being so powerful that you have to make sure you 'regulate' it, like you said."

"Everyone regulates their quirks," Aizawa mentioned, "Just differently. I'm sure that you don't go full force every time you use your gravity."

The girl blinked before smiling sheepishly. "I guess you're right..."

"Maybe Midoriya should take a page from All Might's book," Jiro joked.

Izuku turned a bit red at the small jab, but at the same time he fidgeted nervously, wondering if they noticed the similarities between the two already. He's pulled more than one all-nighter wondering if he was too obvious - especially after Tsuyu pointed out a comparison between their quirks on the bus to the USJ. Plus, there was the time when he accidentally let his secret slip when he talked to Bakugou and, although the boy didn't believe him, he'd no doubt have suspicions after all this time.

His nerves were calmed, though, when he saw that no one was looking at him anymore (except Todoroki, but he was sure that was for a different, child-related reason), and let out a sigh of relief. Although it wouldn't matter later, it was comforting that he was safe for a while longer - at least for the time being.

An incredibly strong burst of wind erupted from All Might's fist, sending the villain flying. Tornado-like winds began rising into the sky as people struggled against the winds, attempting to stay grounded.

As the winds dissipated, the sky darkened, harsh rain falling from the sky. All Might panted as he stood, people staring at him. Looks of awe plagued not only the citizens' but also the heroes' faces.

Wrenching them from their daze, the rain poured harder, their attention now turned to the weather.

"Huh? It's raining..."

The screen showed the two middle schoolers unconscious, lying beneath All Might.

"Don't tell me all that wind just now was..."

"Look at the clouds... They're moving!"

The darkened sky had twisting clouds, spiraling in a slow circular motion.

After a glance at the sky, Death Arms whispered breathlessly towards the man. "He changed the weather..."

Most of the theater also looked on in a sort of awe (even Bakugou, since he had been nearly unconscious when it had all happened), breathless during the whole scene.

"That... was so cool...," Mina let out.

A smile grew on Kaminari's face. "Definitely."

"Fuck," Bakugou simply said, tone low and surprised (and possibly even a bit self-conscious, though he'd never admit it).

Kirishima sniffled. "It's enough to make a manly man cry."

"That never gets old," Izuku said, a fond grin spread across his face.

"Seriously," Midnight sighed, putting her hand to the side, "It's really not fair how cool that is."
Cementoss nodded, a smile on his face. "I agree."

Sir Nighteye was literally buzzing in his chair, which looked considerably odd, but he refused to look at anyone who tried to glance over or speak to him, not even changing his blank expression.

"It's nice to see this kind of thing every once and awhile," Tsukauchi chuckled.

All Might's face reddened with each comment, and he couldn't suppress the grin that stretched across his face. "I'm glad to be able to inspire hope in people," he said.

Ojiro smiled a bit wider than normal. "Of course!"

"That's why he's the Number One Hero, for sure," Sato laughed, grinning.

"That and his ability to smile in any situation," Tsuyu mentioned before adding, "Even when he's scared."

"Must be successful with babes," Mineta mumbled, though most ignored him, already used to his antics.

Plus, technically he wasn't wrong.

Todoroki, although having a stoic expression, had a sort of shine in his eyes, but it also mixed with a hardened sadness that caused Izuku's hand to twitch. Right... Endeavor.

Izuku bit his lip, briefly wondering if Todoroki's past and Iida's revenge fueled rage would be shown. Logically, the answer was yes, but he couldn't help but hope that they wouldn't be. It just felt wrong to peer into someone's life like that - even if the same thing was happening to him.

Uraraka glanced over, noticing his saddened expression, and simply moved closer to him. And, although the gesture was small, he did feel grateful.

Wiping the blood from his lips, All Might stood tall, earning smiles and cheers from civilians around him.

"Did that really just happen...?"

"It diddly darn did!" Kaminari yelled out, earning a few chuckles.

"He changed the weather with a single punch like it was nothing!"

"All Might saved the day again! He's amazing!"

"He really is," Kirishima beamed. "I hope I can inspire people half as much as he does."

All Might offered the boy a kind smile. "I'm sure you will, Young Kirishima."

The boy turned around, surprised, before he gave a toothy grin. "Thanks, All Might!"

Tamaki couldn't help but notice the brief flicker of sadness in Kirishima's eyes, but he didn't mention it - instead choosing to wait.

Donning his signature smile, All Might faltered before pumping his fist into the air. The action caused the crowd to erupt into cheers, putting an end to the battle.

After that,  Midoriya narrated, switching to a truck being loaded with garbage bags of sludge,  The heroes collected all the scattered mounds of sludge. And the villain went into police custody where he belonged.

Cameras flashed as All Might posed, while Midoriya was berated.

"You moron! Do you have a death wish?!" Kamui scolded him.

Death Arms quickly joined in, "There was absolutely no reason to put yourself in danger like that!

I got chewed out by the heroes big time,  he continued,  while Kacchan was praised for his bravery.

"Man, you're tough kid! And that quirk is something else!" a pro complimented, "When you wanna go pro, head over to my agency first! I'd love for you to be my sidekick while you're training!" Bakugou simply gave a scornful look towards Midoriya, ignoring the man as the screen faded to black.

"hoLD THE PHONE!" Mina yelled out, gesturing a grabbing motion as Izuku twitched nervously. "Now give the phone to me! What the actual hELL IS WRONG WITH THEM?!"

Tsukauchi frowned. "I admit, he shouldn't be let off without a warning, but he shouldn't have been reprimanded with zero praise."

"And I don't mean any harm," Yaoyorozu mentioned, "But Bakugou didn't exactly do enough to show off his heroic prowess."

"Exactly," Iida said, hand on his chin. "They saw his strong quirk and paid attention to nothing else."

"That's how heroics is," Aizawa said bluntly. "Those who have strong quirks are automatically praised, even if they're not a great person. Take Endeavor for example," he continued, only Izuku noticing the way Todoroki stiffened, "He's not a good person, and has one of the highest injury counts of any hero out there. However, because his quirk is powerful, he receives little to no backlash for his actions. It's illogical, but it's not easy to change public opinion."

Shinso looked both annoyed and mildly upset, fist clenched, while the other students looked on with a sort of determination in their eyes.

"Well, we're gonna show people that personality matters too!" Hagakure declared.

"Yeah!" Kirishima exclaimed, "Manliness - and womanliness - matter, not just cool quirks!" Although, he didn't entirely seem to believe it himself.

"Your wills are admirable," Nezu said, interrupting the chatter than went on below, "But as Aizawa said, it won't be that easy." Once the students started looking annoyed and as if they were about to protest, he put his paw up, offering a devious smile. "Not impossible, though."

Kaminari began to grin. "I think I see what you're sayin'."

"Well then," Mina huffed, putting her hands on her hips. "We're gonna try extra hard."

Izuku gave a slight smile, happy that his classmates were (in a way) defending him, all the while trying to change heroics. "I'd say we should go beyond."

The realization was slow, but everyone broke out into grins, nodding and pumping their fist into the air. "PLUS ULTRA!"

And, after a bit more chatter about planning (and a promise for Nezu to help them all figure it out), they continued the 'show.'

Cars whizzed past a street, the previous events being displayed on screens in a nearby shop. Midoriya, however, quickly took his leave, making his way back home.

I wanted to apologize to All Might. But he was swarmed by interviewers. I didn't wanna interrupt. I can always try to send a message through his website when I get home.

Aizawa didn't even have to say anything, because everyone heard his voice echo in his heads already. 'Civilians shouldn't get involved with hero work.' it seemed to say. And then, of course, 'The media are a bunch of vultures.'

The man wasn't quite sure whether he should be annoyed or a bit proud as nearly the entire auditorium repeated the phrases in a monotone voice, but he didn't dwell on it too much.

"DEKU!" Bakugou's voice echoed, stopping the boy in his tracks.

"Oh shit," Kaminari let out, and Bakugou grumbled under his breath.

He quickly turned around, confused as he saw Bakugou running towards him. "Kacchan?"

Bakugou stopped before Midoriya, panting as he caught his breath. "Listen," he shook, "I would never ask for a weakling like you to help me. Don't think you can look down on me!" He glanced up menacingly, "Huh?! Got that?! I was fine by myself! You're just a quirkless failure who won't even cut it as a rent-a-cop! You didn't help me! You did nothing! Don't forget it!" The boy then angrily spun around, stomping away awkwardly. "I don't owe you anything!"

"Actually, you were totally on point with your whole 'Kind of a compliment' thing earlier," Mina mentioned, brows raised. As she spoke, Izuku nodded before shrugging, while Bakugou looked ticked.

Tamaki looked bewildered. "How is that a compliment?"

"I mean, you've seen him attempt to give one earlier," Sero mentioned, hand to the side. "He can't really say thank you, so he words it poorly until it kind of sounds like an insult, but at the same time you know it's meant to be nice because of how he's acting."

The boy blinked confusedly, question coming off more like a statement. "What."

Mirio laughed, putting his hand on Tamaki's shoulder. "I think it's better not to question it."

And, while everyone waited for the video to begin, Bakugou was grumbling under his breath about how that 'wasn't a damn compliment,' and 'he was fine on his own.' Though, judging by the fact that he wasn't saying it outright, he was just being some weird version of a tsundere.

A sweatdrop appeared on Midoriya's head as he stood, bewildered.  What was that...?  He thought for a moment before continuing his thoughts.  Kacchan is right, though. It's not like I actually did anything to help today. But...  he hung his head, smiling a bit,  At least I tried.  He turned around, resuming his trek back home.  Guess now I should get back to giving up on my dreams.

"yEs YoU dID dO sOmeTHing!" Mina yelled, clapping.

"NEVER GIVE UP, LIKE OUR LORD AND SAVIOR RICK ASTLEY ALWAYS SAID!" Kaminari shouted, agreeing.

"God damn it," Jiro sighed but laughed nonetheless, "Now the song's gonna be stuck in my head."

Izuku smiled sheepishly. "Thanks, guys, but I know now."

"We're just reinforcing it in your head," Uraraka smiled. "Y'know, just in case."
Kirishima grinned. "Yeah, man. You've gotta know how awesome you are."

"Well...," the boy blushed, rubbing the back of his neck. "You all, too."

The theater was silent for a moment before Mina practically melted. "aWWWWH, that was so precious!!"

"It really was!" Nejire beamed, "Do it again!"

"Wh-what?" he sputtered embarrassedly.

Kirishima looked like he might cry. "I can't believe you think I'm manly too!!"

"Of course," he said frantically, "Why are you crying?!"

Kaminari, similarly, was crying. "They're tears of jooooooy...!"

"You're all being dumbasses," Bakugou mumbled, but he gave his own look towards Izuku that caused the boy to become further flustered (though, Shinso briefly wondered if he knew how to say anything else).

"Guys, c'mon...," he said awkwardly.

"I thought my heart was made of ice...," Shinso mumbled, frowning.

Mei sighed. "I knew mine wasn't fully made of metal..."

Izuku groaned. "Pleaaaase!"

"Don't get all flustered, Midoriya," Tsuyu said, putting her finger on her chin. "Your praise is worth a lot, you know."

"Yes, I, like I imagine much of the class does," Iida said a bit awkwardly, "Look up to you, in a way."

Izuku suddenly froze, and Aizawa sighed. "You broke him."

Mei blinked. "Does he need a reboot?"

Power Loader looked towards her, narrowing his eyes. "Don't try anything."

She grinned sheepishly, and Izuku slowly came back to reality, while everyone laughed at his embarrassment. Though, he soon began laughing too, and All Might couldn't help but to beam with pride.

"I AM HERE!" All Might shouted, appearing from inside a nearby alley.

"oH OKAY THAT WAS FAST," Kaminari blurted out, doing a double take.

A few people laughed at his confusion, but admittedly were curious as well.

Deku turned and screamed before gasping at the man. "All Might! Why are you here?! Huh...," he glanced around, "How'd you get rid of all those reporters?"

All Might laughed and posed. "I stand for justice! Not soundbytes!" he flexed, "Because I, I am All Mi-" Blood spewed from his mouth as he shrank down, causing Midoriya to scream once again. The heroic music that had been playing quickly scratched out, the camera turning at the sky as birds cawed.

Half of the theater burst out into laughter.

"Ohmygod," Mina grinned to herself, "I feel bad for laughing but..."

"Humor is important to find in even grim or otherwise unsavory situations," Sir Nighteye stated a matter-of-factly.

"Besides," All Might chuckled, "I don't mind."

As the screen turned back, the man coughed, wiping away the blood from his lips. "Young man," he addressed Midoriya, "I came here to thank you. And also to discuss your question from earlier."

"Huh?"

Uraraka let out a gasp. "No way..."

Several students looked between All Might and Izuku, expressions forming into ones of surprise.

"eVERYONE BE QUIET!" Nejire yelled out, "THIS IS IT, FOLKS."

"If you hadn't told me about your life... If you hadn't run into that fight... I would've been a worthless bystander watching from the crowd," he admitted. "So thanks."

"Oh! No!" Midoriya shook his head, "It was my fault he was there to begin with!" The boy glanced down sadly, nervously shifting around. "I got in the way of your hard work... I wasted your energy... And not to mention your time."

"WRONG!" Mina shouted out quickly.

Izuku leaned back. "I get iiiit!"

"We're just drilling it into your mind," Sero grinned, wiggling his fingers.

Bakugou looked over, scowling. "Oi, don't be so fuckin' creepy about it."

The boy looked a bit upset for a moment before quickly bouncing back. "Sorry, Midoriya. But seriously - if you keep doing cool things and doubting yourself..."

"We're gonna have to teach you how amazing you are!" Hagakure exclaimed.

"A true light in the darkness," Tokoyami agreed.

The boy gave a small, kind smile. "Alright, alright."

Mirio glanced over at Sir Nighteye, noticing how his lip just barely twitched, his own lips curling into a smile. "Siiir-"

"I can easily remove you from your internship," he stated bluntly.

The boy blinked before grinning. "You wouldn't."

He turned, adjusting his glasses with a sharp look in his eye. "Really?"

Mirio shrunk down slightly, laughing awkwardly. "Okay, maybe you would."

"No, I wouldn't," he responded, turning. "But the tickle machine isn't off-limits."

In all honesty, that terrified Mirio more, so he decided not to finish his previous sentence.

"I'm not done," All Might interrupted him, "You told me you didn't have a power. So when I saw this timid, quirkless boy try to save a life, it inspired me to act too." Midoriya glanced up, meeting the man's eyes. "There are stories about every hero. How they became great. Most have one thing in common." An image of Midoriya running flashed on screen, revealing what All Might was speaking of. "Their bodies moved before they had a chance to think. Almost on their own."

"Ohhhh," Mina said, nodding, "It was All Might's fault."

"What?!" he asked, half-shouting.

"No," Aizawa said, shooting him a sharp look, "But clearly he encouraged it."

All Might protested. "But it's true."

"While that may be the case, actively encouraging children to get them mixed up into situations like that," Snipe said through his mask, "Is definitely not good either."

"I'm gonna have to agree with 'em here, All Might," Present Mic said, a slightly sympathetic (but equally as mischievous) smile on his face.

Kaminari put his hand over his mouth, laughing. "All Might's being bullied."

"Ahh!" Izuku panicked. "Wait, what?! Don't blame him!"

"Wow, All Might," Midnight said, shaking her head, "You're even making him defend you."

Both of them blurted out the same thing at once. "What?! No!"

Todoroki raised a brow. "Secret love child?"

All Might froze, turning towards the boy. "What?"

"Don't mind him," Izuku said frantically. "He just-"

"Is Midoriya your secret love child?" Todoroki asked bluntly, causing both All Might and Izuku to turn red.

"...Did he really just ask that?" Mina whispered.

"You know...," Sero scratched his jaw, "It makes sense..."

"Huuuh?" Izuku let out, a frantic look on his face.

Kaminari tilted his head, putting on a thinking face. "Honestly, they are really similar. I wouldn't have expected Todoroki to propose the idea, though," he admitted.

The boy looked back. "I have a bulletin board."

"yOU HAVE A WHAT?!" Izuku shouted, while a large majority of the students cackled (or, at least laughed).

"Is that why you seem to have favoritism towards him?" Aizawa asked the man, causing him to choke out blood.

"N-no!" he said, moving his hands back and forth. "We're not related!"

Shinso smirked. "Maybe not by blood."

"I have one about Shinso and Aizawa too, now," Todoroki casually mentioned, causing the man to look over, with slightly wider eyes, while Shinso coughed on his own spit.

"It's more likely that they'd be siblings, due to decently small age difference," Tokoyami suggested, smirking and earning dirty looks from both.

Todoroki seemed to ponder this before nodding. "You're probably right."

"Shouuu, I didn't know you had a little bro," Present Mic teased.

Before Aizawa could do much more than glare at the man, Todoroki piped up again. "One about Present Mic and Kaminari too."

"OH MY GOD," Mina wheezed, "IT KEEPS GETTING BETTER."

While Present Mic attempted not to die and Kaminari looked mildly amused, Midnight glanced over nervously. "Now I'm too nervous to say anything."

"Any...one... else...?" Sero wheezed, pounding on his chest to get the words out.

"Midnight and Yaoyorozu are likely related," he said with a shrug. Yaoyorozu looked uncharacteristically bug-eyed, and Midnight looked like she wanted to cry (from laughter, sadness, or terror, no one was sure). "Tokoyami and that hero, Hawks, could be related, too."

"Betrayal comes from those you're closest to," Tokoyami whispered, while Dark Shadow appeared to cackle at the boy.

"Anyone else?" Kirishima asked, laughing to himself.

"You and Crimson Riot," Todoroki replied, not blinking.

The boy, although originally surprised, grinned afterwards. "Well I'm honored that you think so!"

"Next you're gonna say Ingenium and Iida or something," Mineta laughed.

"What? No. That one's true," Todoroki replied confusedly.

"Haha, very funny, Todoroki," Mina smirked.

Iida rubbed the back of his neck, smiling. "No, Ingenium really is my brother."

Multiple people in the room stared surprisedly. "Wait... WHAT?!"

"Otherwise," Todoroki said, turning away from the chaos. "I don't know about anyone else. I have my suspicions, though."

"Alright," Aizawa finally sighed, "That's enough."

All Might looked a bit offended. "Now it matters?"

"Yes," he replied bluntly, "It was funny when it was just you. Now it's not."

The man did a double take, but Aizawa paid him no mind. "Everyone settle down so we can continue."

Midoriya looked at him, tears pooling in his eyes. He began choking out sobs, turning his attention downwards as he clenched his fists.

For some reason, I remembered my mother's words in that moment.

"I'm sorry, Izuku. I wish things were different."

The boy clutched his shirt, gripping the fabric as he held back tears.

"And today," All Might smiled, "That's what happened to you.

"Purity," Nejire whispered, causing Izuku to blush.

Midoriya's tears began to flow freely.  You never told me, mom. Back then. The thing I wanted you to say...  He collapsed to the ground, meeting All Might's eyes.

The sun blazed, a warm, yellow glow touching Midoriya's skin.

Cherry blossoms danced in the calm breeze.

Tears stained his freckled cheeks, continuing as he heard what he had been longing for all those years.

"Young man. You too can become a hero."

"OHMYGODYES!" Mina cried out.

"THE MAD LAD REALLY DID IT!" Kaminari shouted.

The theater erupted into whoops and hollers, and Nighteye found that, when he looked at the boy, he saw at least a bit of what All Might had seen in him.

All Might chuckled. "Yes, I realized my mistake. Young Midoriya really did deserve it."

The boy smiled happily, tears welling up in his eyes. "Thanks, All Might."
"Oh, Deku!" Uraraka exclaimed worried, "Are you alright?"

Izuku nodded, wiping the tears from his eyes. "Yeah. These are happy tears."

The theater couldn't help but collectively think, 'That's the purest thing I've ever seen and heard in my life.'

Dreams can become a reality. Oh, by the way. I forgot to mention that this is the story...

Of how I became the world's greatest hero.

"hOLY SHIT, WHAT?!" Kaminari shouted.

"Huuuh?!" Izuku yelped, wide-eyed.

"Ex-fuckin'-scuse me?" Bakugou growled out, eyes narrowed.

"Wait, so when future Mei said that he was the number one hero...," Uraraka said slowly, "She meant the world's greatest hero too??"
"No way," Kirishima whispered breathlessly, a grin on his face. "I'm in a class with a famous person!"

All Might tossed the boy a prideful and goofy grin as he became flustered, blushing nervously. He also couldn't help but enjoy how the teachers were exchanging bewildered grins (and even Nezu seemed a bit surprised, if his barely noticeable eye-widening was noticed), and Nighteye himself couldn't help but twitch with excitement.

"NO FUCKING WAY!" Bakugou shouted, causing the room to freeze.

"Bakubro...," Kirishima said worriedly, reaching for the blonde. However, he simply scoffed, throwing his arm off.

He gritted his teeth, turning towards the boy while the room watched with bated breath. The teachers, of course, were ready to stop the boy, and Hound Dog began to frown. "DEKU!"

"Y-yeah, Kacchan?" he asked nervously.

The blonde paused for a moment before he let out a frustrated yell. "THERE'S NO WAY I'M JUST LETTING YOU TAKE THE SPOT." His lips twitched upwards until he wore a sort of maniacal grin. "YOU'RE GONNA HAVE TO PRY IT FROM MY COLD DEAD HANDS."

Izuku blinked surprisedly, only for a grin to spread across his face. "Alright, Kacchan. I accept your challenge."

"Holup," Kaminari said confusedly, looking between the two. "Was that like, a declaration of war."

Bakugou grinned, eyes narrowed. "You fuckin' bet, Pichu."

While Hound Dog and the teachers began to give their own versions of smiles and the students began hyping them up, All Might grinned.

While times may have been tough, both of you are working through it together. If you two continue as rivals, there's no doubt in my mind that you'll be the most formidable heroes the world has ever seen.

Good luck, both of you. And always remember U.A.'s motto - Plus Ultra!